Glad They Gave Us A Honest Grading System To See If It's Worth It!

Glad they gave us a honest grading system to see if it's worth it!

The Flash: The Original Series Blu-ray Review

The original Flash TV show from the early 90s is available in HD for the first time on the Blu-Ray format. All 22 episodes of this live-action series are included in the 6-disc set. The show originally aired from September 20, 1990, to May 18, 1991, starring John Wesley Shipp as the police crime technologist Barry Allen, and his alter-ego, The Flash. Alongside Shipp is actress Amanda Pays who portrays a medical researcher (Tina McGee). Tina monitors Allen's accelerated metabolism and guards his secret identity. Fans of the character will really enjoy appearances by Flash’s well-known rogues such as Mirror Master (David Cassidy), Captain Cold (Michael Champion), and The Trickster (Mark Hamill).

The storylines here are elemental but enjoyable. Some special effects seem dated, but anyone who grew up watching 80s and 90s tv, they are equal to if not better than standard. It was nice to see an actor sporting real muscles portraying this superhero. The Flash costume here, in my opinion, is by far the best the Scarlet Speedster has donned (live-action wise). Since the show premiered a year after Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman flick, the show tries its best to mimic the look and feel of the previous year’s summer blockbuster. Viewers should also notice the use of neon colors in the background, giving the show a more comic book feel. A technique director Joel Schumacher used for the films Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Although the budget here is not that of Burton’s or Schumacher's Batman outings, at the time, this show had a very sizable one for television. Something else that should be a bit familiar with fans of Batman is the score; both Danny Elfman (Batman & Batman Returns) and Shirley Walker (Batman: The Animated Series) tackle the music end of the series.

VIDEO QUALITY 📽️ : B

The 1080p video resolution looks great presented with the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. This is obviously the most impressive version fans will have viewed of this classic television show.

AUDIO QUALITY 🔈 : C+

There is no bombastic sound here as far as explosions and action sequences are concerned, but the dialogue is crisp, and the soundtrack sounds very pleasing with this DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) presentation.

EXTRAS 📀 : F

You’ll get zero extras with this set. No director or actor’s commentary, no making of or behind the scenes featurettes. It would have really been nice to have a digital copy included which would have allowed fans to watch episodes on the go.

FINAL GRADE: B-

Even with the lack of extras, this release is a welcome addition to anyone who is a fan of the superhero genre. With over 18 hours, this is more than worth the suggested retail price.

Episodes & Dates 1st Aired:

Disc One Pilot: (9/20/1990) Out of Control (9/27/1990) Watching the Detectives (10/18/1990)

Disc Two Honor Among Thieves (10/25/1990) Double Vision (11/1/1990) Sins of the Father (11/8/1990) Child's Play (11/15/1990)

Disc Three Shroud of Death (11/29/1990) Ghost in the Machine (12/13/1990) Sight Unseen (1/10/1991) Beat the Clock (1/31/1991)

Disc Four The Trickster (2/2/1991) Tina, Is That You? (2/14/1991) Be My Baby (2/21/1991) Fast Forward (2/27/1991)

Disc Five Deadly Nightshade (3/30/1991) Captain Cold (4/6/1991) Twin Streaks (4/13/1991) Done With Mirrors (4/27/1991)

Disc Six Good Night, Central City (5/4/1991) Alpha (5/11/1991) The Trial of the Trickster (5/18/1991)

This set is now available at Amazon. Direct link here.

More Posts from Darknight2525

darknight2525

1 year ago

In light of the sad news about Bernard Hill, I feel like we should take a moment to really appreciate the acting performances in the LOTR trilogy. The fact that none of the cast got Academy Awards is well-known and I think even now the sheer visual spectacle of the trilogy can overshadow everything else, but the performances were SO crucial to what made the films great.

It’s easy to take the success of the movies for granted now, but that was never a guarantee. Aside from the practical aspects of portraying such an epic fantasy onscreen, the series is peppered with dialogue that is fine on the page but unbelievably difficult to deliver. As Harrison Ford famously remarked to George Lucas re Star Wars “You can write this stuff, but you can’t say it.”

From Gandalf’s “To the Bridge of Khazad-Dum!” to Elrond’s “It must be cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came!” it would be so easy for the whole thing to collapse into farce. The only reason it doesn’t, is because of the talent and conviction of the actors.

Bernard Hill was tasked with one of the most objectively ridiculous lines in the entire trilogy. “The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep one last time!” And he delivered. BOY, did he deliver. He gave it all the gravitas and emotional weight of Shakespeare, he made it truly rousing instead of ridiculous, he took the audience with him to that moment, that place, right into Middle Earth with its people and its history, and made it REAL.

And for that, I thank and salute him. RIP, sir. Go now to the halls of your fathers. You earned it.