The Official Flash Thread

[Octoberist]

I'm sure Barry is bad ass in Blackest Night thanks to Geoff Johns. But Barry's still in a transitional stage where it'll take a couple of years before his stories and character development gets settled in. Thank God we have Johns as a producer on the movie too.

 

[Kevin Smith]

If WB wants to see how they should portray Barry Allen in a film, look no further than Darwyn Cooke's DC: The New Frontier.

Yup. Right on!

 

[Kevin Smith]

i actually wanna see some wise cracks from Barry.

Heh I'm sure we will. Barry definitely has a sense of humor. I liked his shot at Ollie in BN #4.

 

[Kevin Smith]

I'm sure Barry is bad ass in Blackest Night thanks to Geoff Johns. But Barry's still in a transitional stage where it'll take a couple of years before his stories and character development gets settled in. Thank God we have Johns as a producer on the movie too.

amen ta that ^^

 

[Fresh Prince]

Why not a Flash television show on CW.....have it last 8 seasons about Wally West from high school to college in him becoming a great super hero and keeping up the Flash legacy......have other DC heroes make appearances on the show.

 

[MadVillainy]

I dont think that is a good idea at all. Why have a TV show when you could potentially do a movie? All your gonna get with a TV is cheaper budget, smaller actors, and it probaly will lose alot of potential to be epic
There's Wider audience for movie then with TV shows and on TV I think it has a big risk for being The Flash's version of Smallville

 

[ChickenScratch]

You mean like that amazing show Smallville? No thanks.

 

[Webhead2006]

actually there was ideals floating around for a flash show to happen and invovling time travel or something that never made it off ideal stage.

 

[MadVillainy]

actually there was ideals floating around for a flash show to happen and invovling time travel or something that never made it off ideal stage.

good...
forget TV (at least live action) worry about films

 

[GoblinWhirlwind]

Flash getting a TV show is the same thing as saying he's not good enough for a movie.

 

[MadVillainy]

I know this is old as hell but I just want to generate any sort of discussion since Flash is one of my favorite characters

 

[Timstuff]

A TV budget would mean lots of cheap slow motion and sped up photography to show how fast Flash is moving, and I don't think that would do him justice. If they had a full movie budget of 150 million or more (like most SH movies do) the stuff they could do would be insane. Just look at the Paris chase scene from GI Joe and then imagine how much they could do with The Flash!

 

[Webhead2006]

well i dont think if for a tv show it would need to be slow moe being done all the time. Super speed is a pretty easy power to do on a tv show, we have seen it many times for decades now.

But yea i dont see any reason why a flash film cant happen. There is great characters in barry/wally/etc..... flashs, he has some interesting rouges. Now we just need to get the dam execs on board.

Found the article i was talking about. It was a very stupid idea:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]News Posted September 12, 2003[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Speeding Back To TV?
Variety's Joseph Adalian reported today that the DC Comics character The Flash may be the next super-hero to show up on the small screen, courtesy of the WB.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The network has committed to a pilot based on The Flash, written and executive produced by Todd Komarnicki ("Resistance"). A "hefty penalty" has been attached to the project if it is not picked up as a regular series.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Just like Smallille's "no flights, no tights" policy, the red costume will not be seen in the series. This Flash is a young Gothamite (hey, what about Central City?) who just graduated from college. "Once our hero gets his calling, he's given the advice, 'Live fast so others don't die young,' " Komarnicki tells Variety. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The red suit will not be present, and the series will include the recurring element of time-travel.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Warner Bros.' Carolyn Bernstein told Variety that WBTV topper Peter Roth came to the network a few months ago with the Flash - but with a new, added twist involving time travel. "We've been talking internally about doing a 'Time Tunnel'-style show, and this was the perfect way to blend time travel with an established franchise we know is beloved by people who know the comic," she said. (Of course, there is a great franchise out there already with time travel that's not currently being used... I forgot who that Doctor was, though...)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Apparently, instead of a cosmic treadmill, this Flash's power allows him to run so fast he can travel backward or forward in time. "This is a story about a guy who's aimlessly drifting through life and barely moving at the speed of life when he discovers his calling is to move at the speed of life," Komarnicki said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The show will have self-contained stories in addition to ongoing plot threads. "Every week he'll have a mission, a la Mission Impossible" Bernstein told Variety. "It's a big, fun, adventure series. There's also a mentor character who'll train him, and there's a legacy of Flashes before him." (If the mentor's name is Jay Garrick, we're in.)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"When he's in the future, he's missing his present," Komarnicki said. "He's really giving up his own life to help others."[/FONT]

 

[Timstuff]

Ah yes, now I remember. And I seem to recall thinking:

 

[Webhead2006]

totally it was a stupid idea. But yea lets look away from that and to the future film take on flash.

 

[Octoberist]

so we all agree that A Flash TV show is the wrong way to go? Here here.

 

[solidsnake86]

The only superhero I could see having a show that wouldnt look cheap is green arrow. Think of all the money you could save on effects and put it into things like his costume (Which I think is desperately in need of a redesign) and set design.

Has anybody seen the vampire's assistant, I just saw a few trailers and really liked the way they did some of the super speed effects, couple that with some lighting and I think it would look cool.

 

[Drakon]

I dunno--it's risky. You guys keep thinking like Flash fans. To the general audience, they don't even KNOW who the Flash is. And if they do, all they know is that he runs fast. A little character exposition in the form of a TV show [or even like a miniseries] might not be a bad idea. Keep in mind that it could not only help gauge the audience and interest, but it could also gauge the direction/tone of the potential movie.

 

[Webhead2006]

Yea if its honnor's the comic character and have the suit, and real villains and all that. I think a tv show could be good. Cause it gives more time to develop characters then a 2hr movie would and all that. Plus with today's tech superspeed and all the other cool moves that flash can do with speed is an easy process.

 

[Drakon]

See, the thing that you guys need to realize is that, again--you're looking at this as a fan of the character. Which is fine---but make sure you don't cross the line over to fanatic. Too many people tend to get ******** over the smallest changes. For any kind of cross-media interpretation, comic fans specifically need to learn to give a little. Case in point would be the Wolverine movie. If you know nothing of the character, and just went in wanting to see an action movie, then you're fine. But people were so ******** over all the changes, when in the end, the main character was represented well enough to be recognizable to the masses.

As for the tech specs and representing superspeed, it could be done several ways. Bullet-time ala Matrix, for example. Or, my personal fave: not showing anything at all, but like, a gust of wind, or maybe footprints in his wake.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea there is so many things that could happen.

 

[Evil Twin]

so we all agree that A Flash TV show is the wrong way to go? Here here.

I wouldn't say it's necessarily the wrong way to go. The early 90s CBS series came awfully close to working and there are things you can do in television that you can't do on film. But, at this point, I'd agree that a movie is the way to go. (Especially since there's already been a tv show.) Spend the money and aim big.

 

[ChickenScratch]

There are advantages to TV that movies just don't have, but then the trade off is budget. With special effects where they are with shows like SGU, Sanctuary and the upcoming Spartacus, we are pretty close to having a Flash TV show that would be awesome though.

 

[MadVillainy]

so we all agree that A Flash TV show is the wrong way to go? Here here.

Here here

I dunno--it's risky. You guys keep thinking like Flash fans. To the general audience, they don't even KNOW who the Flash is. And if they do, all they know is that he runs fast. A little character exposition in the form of a TV show [or even like a miniseries] might not be a bad idea. Keep in mind that it could not only help gauge the audience and interest, but it could also gauge the direction/tone of the potential movie.

I say give Flash a DTV. That would get him out there. I mean why divert the already slow process of making a Flash film by changing the focus to make a tv show/mini series?

All of my friends are the GA, they dont surf the net for movie news, they dont read comics or know about characters, etc. And after seeing Batman/Superman he said: "I want to see a movie with that Shazam guy". he was referring to Captain Marvel and he didn't even know his name but just by seeing him animated for less than 10 mins had him interested. Imagine was an hour of Flash could do.

I do think there are characters that would probably need intro through a tv show or mini series like Moon Knight for example; but The Flash isnt one of them. At least with Flash his superpower is recognized and his costume and logo is known

There are advantages to TV that movies just don't have, but then the trade off is budget. With special effects where they are with shows like SGU, Sanctuary and the upcoming Spartacus, we are pretty close to having a Flash TV show that would be awesome though.

The only benefit I see to having a TV show/miniseries is that you get the character out there into the world
But with a movie you get the character out to a bigger audience then you could with TV, also with better SFX, and probaly would be able to attract more known actors/talent to different roles as well
As I said above Flash isnt so unknown that you need a live acton (mini)series before a movie

 

[Evil Twin]

The only benefit I see to having a TV show/miniseries is that you get the character out there into the world
But with a movie you get the character out to a bigger audience then you could with TV, also with better SFX, and probaly would be able to attract more known actors/talent to different roles as well
As I said above Flash isnt so unknown that you need a live acton (mini)series before a movie

Here's where I think we disagree. There are enormous opportunities for long form storytelling and character introspection that you can't do in two hour movies. Subplots, smaller stories, and being able to delve into more characters, both supporting and myriad villains. You can do a ton more world building at a tv show level. Smallville is perhaps a missed opportunity, but a superhero tv show set in the DC universe would have enormous potential for exploration, albeit hindered by budget in all likelihood.

Star Trek the tv show vs. Star Trek the movies is an example. There's no room for a relatively action free story like City on the Edge of Forever in the latter. Or a pure character story without an overt villain like Amok Time.

Which isn't to say that a Flash movie isn't the way to go at present. We've had a Flash tv show. Now we should try something else.