Grant Gustin
Candice Patton
Danielle Panabaker
Rick Cosnett
Carlos Valdes
Tom Cavanagh
Jesse L. Martin

Developed by:
Greg Berlanti
Andrew Kreisberg
Geoff Johns

2014-
Action, Adventure, Drama
The CW
TV-PG

“The Flash” has a pilot that’s flawed yet likable. There’s enough backstory presented in that first episode to keep viewers interested, and it has a lighter take (for the most part) on the superhero genre. It’s closer to “Spiderman” or the original “Superman” films than to “The Dark Knight” trilogy or “Man of Steel.”

There’s nothing new here. Before he becomes The Flash (a transformation that we see in the pilot), Barry Allen (played by Grant Gustin) is an assistant police forensic investigator who has genius capabilities. Of course, most of his colleagues don’t take him seriously except for his surrogate father, Joe West (played by Jesse L. Martin), who’s a detective. Barry’s a nerd who has trouble telling the girl whom he loves, West’s daughter and his best friend, that he loves her. Again, nothing new here.

But then a lightning storm triggered by the explosion of a particle accelerator gives Barry the strength and speed that he never came close to having before. This storm reminds him of the event that led to the death of his mother and the incarceration of his father for that death, though he doesn’t believe that his father’s responsible. Along with that mysterious death, there’s a mysterious doctor (Dr. Harrison Wells played by Tom Cavanagh) who takes Barry under his wing after the explosion of Wells’ particle accelerator. Dr. Wells helps Barry adjust to having superpowers, but the doctor has ulterior motives that aren’t fully revealed in the pilot. Well, of course they aren’t.

So, there’s enough story to sustain a series. The question is: Will they be able to balance the superhero parts of the story (Barry’s newfound powers, the death of his mother, his new relationship with Dr. Wells, etc.) with the detective-procedural parts of the story? The superhero stuff is much more interesting, so this series will require a delicate balancing act to be successful. Also, the execution is uneven. It does start, pardon the pun, in a flash. And the beginning zips by rather nicely. However, as the pilot progresses, “The Flash” loses some of its momentum. But, overall, it does maintain enough forward momentum to remain watchable.

Furthermore, “The Flash” finds the right tone in its pilot. It knows what it is and how to present that. So, it starts off better than Fox’s “Gotham” does.

However, during the second half of the pilot, things get a bit hokey at times. That’s especially the case when this show descends into seriousness. It should have some cheese, but that cheese should be combined with fun, not with drama. Please. When the cheese and drama collide, we get melodrama: not a good thing. But those melodramatic moments are only occasional, and they aren’t too melodramatic to be tolerated.

Based on the pilot, “The Flash” has potential. The acting and writing are good enough to avoid embarrassment. That doesn’t mean that they’re great (or even good), though. But I liked the acting and writing of this show better than its predecessor, “Arrow.” (By the way, the actor who plays Arrow, Stephen Amell, shows up in this pilot and does a reliably bad job.) If the writers focus on the best parts of the story, then this may be something worth watching for a bit of fun. And, if so, fans of this genre may be surprised by how effective it turns out to be. …

Overall, the first season of “The Flash” is successful. It has many problems, but there’s enough going for it to make it acceptably diverting … mildly diverting, that is. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Verdict: Somewhat Good

About: (Source: flash)

Barry Allen was just 11 years old when his mother was killed in a bizarre and terrifying incident and his father was falsely convicted of the murder.  With his life changed forever by the tragedy, Barry was taken in and raised by Detective Joe West, the father of Barry’s best friend, Iris.  Now, Barry has become a brilliant, driven and endearingly geeky CSI investigator, whose determination to uncover the truth about his mother’s strange death leads him to follow up on every unexplained urban legend and scientific advancement that comes along.

Barry’s latest obsession is a cutting edge particle accelerator, created by visionary physicist Harrison Wells and his S.T.A.R. Labs team, who claim that this invention will bring about unimaginable advancements in power and medicine.  However, something goes horribly wrong during the public unveiling, and when the devastating explosion causes a freak storm, many lives are lost and Barry is struck by lightning.  After nine months in a coma, Barry awakens to find his life has changed once again – the accident has given him the power of super speed, granting him the ability to move through Central City like an unseen guardian angel.

The series stars Grant Gustin (“Glee,” “Arrow”) as Barry Allen/The Flash, Candice Patton (“The Game”) as Iris West, Rick Cosnett (“The Vampire Diaries”) as Eddie Thawne, Danielle Panabaker (“Necessary Roughness,” “Justified”) as Caitlin Snow, Carlos Valdes (“Once” on Broadway) as Cisco Ramon, with Tom Cavanagh (“Ed,” “Eli Stone”) as Harrison Wells and Jesse L. Martin (“Law & Order”) as Detective West.