The Flash Season 1

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

When I heard “The Flash” was getting a TV series on the CW I had my doubts. Friends told me DC Comics was doing an excellent job with Arrow, but I never got around to watching it. I went into “The Flash” with cautious optimism. What I saw far exceeded my expectations!

CW clearly isn’t working on a budget comparable to some of the other big hits, but for the resources they have I feel “The Flash” goes above and beyond bringing this fantastical concept of the Fastest Man Alive to the small screen. Episodes are (for the most part) well produced. There’s some awkward scenes and performances in the first two or three episodes (that may cause an unintentional laugh), but once you feel the cast and showrunners hitting their stride the show really speeds past those initial missteps.

Naturally, the fights between Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and his superhuman arch enemies are one of the series’ primary draws , but The Flash never stoops to relying on a “villain of the week” formula. The overarching narrative about Barry mastering his powers and discovering the identity of “The Man in the Yellow Suit” who killed his mother and resulted in the wrongful incarceration of his father, and Barry’s personal relationship with friends and peers effectively bridges episodes and kept me yearning for more.

Tonally the series is most comparable to Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy, with forensics specialist Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) looking an awful lot like Peter Parker. There’s just a giddy sense of joy to the series that seems to embody why we all read comic books growing up.

Speaking of growing up, the showrunners were kind enough to include throwbacks to the short-lived 1990 The Flash TV series with John Wesley Shipp as Barry’s father. Mark Hamill (Star Wars) also drops by to reprise his role as The Trickster from the original series (and as DC fans know, Mark Hamill’s Trickster made way for his iconic run as The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and the Arkham video games).

If you’re looking for an engaging superhero show that offers fun characters, engaging conflicts, and just the right amount of comic cheese than I’d highly recommend sitting down with The Flash.

-Vance

I enjoyed this from the start. Stays very in the spirit of comic books, sporting soap opera style dramatics, but exciting totally ridiculous plots. I dislike the gay virtue signalling here as it seems needlessly in your face, but the main characters keep you hooked. Barry Allen is fun to watch as he sorts out right from wrong while all around him smarter people screw up by not caring about such things. Dr. Wells is a treat as a classic INTJ hero/villain. I can’t help but admire his relentless goal-drivenness. Cisco is fun to watch, because we inventor people just wish we could whup up whatever we want like that! Caitlyn adds some balance and dry dark humor to anchor the clan, all the while taking care of those nearest to her. Joe is such a teddy bear – with TEETH – that you just wish you had a guy like that looking over your shoulder, too. Then comes Iris with the killer smile. Hard not to like her even though you probably wouldn’t if she wasn’t so attractive. Bottom line, the whole thing is a romp and good medicine if you want a simple fantasy with likeable characters.

– Mary E. Sutton

First let me say that except for Superman, who I have always had a secret fetish for, I’m not really into the superhero/comic genre. So the fact that I absolutely love this series with all my heart is saying a lot. I think a lot of that has to do with the main character; who is possibly the sweetest, most lovable geeky goofball the world has ever seen. Also the supporting cast is exemplary, and the writing is stellar. Tom Cavanagh is an excellent subtle villain, and I’m glad he returns for the second season. It wouldn’t be the same without him. Also it’s wonderful that the cast is not exclusively white people; which is often the case in genre fiction. This is something I hope we see more of in film and television. It seems to be happening more and more and that gives me hope for the world. And we are talking major characters, here. Also, the fact that one of those major characters is Jewish, but not the stereotype that we usually see is fantastic! Besides all that; you get wonderful, engaging stories week after week and the cross pollination with Arrow isn’t anything to sneeze at, either. All in all, a wonderful show that can be enjoyed by anyone, even if you’re not into the whole superhero/people in tights thing. It also seems that they’ve done a wonderful job incorporating elements from the comic books for those fans. Though I’m not one of those myself, I’ve watched a number of You Tube reviews which seem to indicate that the writers are doing a good job of giving the nod to those origins, as well. I think this is important, even for those of us who aren’t into the comic books. This first season was spectacular on many levels, and the next season doesn’t seem to be falling short, either. Also, look for the new series; “Legends of Tomorrow,” which starts in late January 2016.

-Jwlhyfer de Winter

DVD Wholesale Main Features :   

Actors: Various
Directors: Various
Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 5
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: September 22, 2015
Run Time: 979 minutes