*Sigh*
The more of these things I watch the more I realize that time has NOT been kind to this series.
Let's just jump right in, shall we?
The Plot: There is a mob war in Central City's criminal community and one of the mobsters ups the ante when he arranges for a killer for hire code-named Captain Cold to take out his rivals. The good Captain has a unique method of dispatching his victims -- flash freezing them!
Now, there's only one thing that stands between the lone mob boss and total domination of the city... the hero known as the Flash. And the super-speedster presents an intriguing challenge for Captain Cold.
The Flash has never a met a villain like this before and Captain Cold just may prove to be the one to put the Flash on ice!
My Take: Well, seventeen episodes in and we FINALLY get another one of the comic book's traditional Flash villains. Yay! Unfortunately he bears no likeness to the comic book villain. Boo. Also, the show continues to shy away from giving the villains more traditional costumes. Crap.
In the comic books Captain Cold is Leonard Snart -- a thief who actually tends to shy away from killing. Yeah, okay, the name is kinda not very intimidating and the original costume -- a guy in a parka -- would probably also look a little silly in live action but there should be SOME kind of happy medium because the Captain Cold we get here is... really uninteresting.
For one thing, the live-action Captain Cold is a killer-for-hire. That, I suppose, might be interesting enough but it seems a bit... overkill (heh)... to make him a killer who freezes his victims. Why not just shoot them? Or poison them? Or blow them up? The killing-by-freezing thing seems needlessly elaborate besides which is going to draw attention to himself and his later pursuit of the reporter character makes it seem as though he DOESN'T want to draw attention. So it makes even less sense. Whereas the original Captain Cold's freezing gimmick actually works from a bank robber point of view. He could freeze the guards, freeze the vault door until it becomes brittle, and then freeze any cops who arrive on the scene so he can make his getaway.
The original Captain Cold was also more of a thinking man's villain. Sure, in the Silver Age stories things get goofy but at least you see Cold really trying to think of ways to use his cold-based weaponry to defeat the Flash. He doesn't just spray the room and hope for the best.
For another thing, the live-action Captain Cold we get here is an albino. Why? Because he's a cold-based villain and we all know that cold-based villains have to have pale skin... or blue skin... because... COLD! And since the series was striving for some measure of reality the character must have a reason for the pale skin and hair so... albino! Yeah. Right.
Still, the actor does a pretty good job with the role until about half-way through... when he decides to start hamming it up. It just kind of all slides downhill from there.
The episode also suffers from yet another example of 'Poor Female Character' syndrome. In this case we get a female newspaper reporter working for a National Enquirer-like rag. She lies and tricks her way through the story in an attempt to expose the real identity of the Flash in hopes of breaking into the "big time" of a serious and respected newspaper. Because, you know, the New York Times hires people from the National Enquirer all the time. And, of course, her stunts nearly get the Flash killed -- and then nearly get her killed too as Captain Cold tries to eliminate her as a witness to his (presumed) killing of the Flash. And, of course, all this also happens because she doesn't go to the police right away so that she can publish her "scoop" (despite the fact that telling the police would do NOTHING to prevent her from still having the scoop). As is usual for this series, she learns her lesson when the Flash/Barry shows her the error of her ways... and she decides to go work as a writer for a greeting card company.... WHAT THE HECK?!?!?! Ugh.
Okay, it's bad enough that we have yet another "career driven female character" who is portrayed as having her priorities out of whack because she is too determined to succeed at her career. It's bad enough that yet again the male character has to "teach" said female character the "error" of her ways. But then we get to add insult onto injury by having said character seemingly give up her dream of journalism in favor of a much "nicer" job writing copy for the inside of cards. It's flat-out patronizing. And I'm sure a degree in journalism makes one infinitely suitable for writing 'Hallmark Moments'. You can't see me but I am currently rolling my eyes so hard I'm liable to roll them out of my head. Why not have said female character get a job working for a little, suburban newspaper to learn the ropes of good reporting better? Why not have said female character decide to take a refresher course in journalism? And speaking of journalism school -- I'd love to know what kind of journalism program she graduated from that encouraged lying, sneaking, conning, and bad reporting all around. Yeesh.
This is a story that could have had class. Captain Cold is one of the Flash's oldest and most storied villains. He could have posed a real threat and been poised to be a recurring foe but instead we're treated to a one-off appearance by a character who bears no resemblence to the the comic book villain and who is instead a rather bog-standard hired gun type... it's just that the gun in question is a little unusual.
Whether you're a comic book fan or not, there's just nothing here that makes any sense.
Showing posts with label John Wesley Shipp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Wesley Shipp. Show all posts
Monday, June 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Flash Reviews: "Deadly Nightshade"
This episode was.... surprisingly not to bad. And we got even closer to an actual costumed supervillan again! Too bad I've now noticed a disturbing trend with the female characters who appear on the show. More on that to follow but first....
The Plot: There's a new vigilante in town... or is it an old one? A new vigilante seems to have started taking care of crime in Central City with extreme prejudice -- mowing down criminals with automatic weapons. A new psychiatrist in town seems to think the Flash might actually be responsible or, if he isn't, that the Flash is just as much a criminal. This causes Barry to question his motives as the Flash and to seek out the 1950's vigilante hero Nightshade -- physician Desmond Powell (first seen in episode 9, "Ghost in the Machine"). Powell puts Barry's mind at ease and quickly comes out of retirement when it is discovered that this killer vigilante is calling himself Nightshade!
Powell and the Flash set out to clear the name and memory of Powell's heroic deeds but they are unprepared for the new Deadly Nightshade, who has decided that any heroes who are not for him are against him... and he has found a way to even the playing field with the Flash...
My Take: Well, any episode with the excellent Jason Bernard as Desmond Powell gets an instant boost for me. There are certainly a few tropes thrown in here -- such as the tired old one about some "expert" who declares the hero is actually a villain or responsible for the crime and criminals or is messed up in the head leading said hero to have something of a crisis of conscience -- but it works fairly well here as a plot device to bring Powell back into Barry's circle.
And Jason Bernard sells it beautifully. He seems to have the uncanny knack of keeping his character grounded and relatable and most of all REAL despite the rather funny costume.
The villain here is both good and bad. His characterization is really, really thin. We're talking like cheap, 1 ply college dorm toilet paper thin. And as a result we just don't invest in him like we should. We don't feel any pity for him as a character who actually could have been a genuine hero if he hadn't gotten so twisted up, nor do we pity him as a man tortured by a family past he can never really redeem. On the flip side we can't really boo or hiss him as, even with his extreme body count, he never feels capital 'E' evil -- he just, actually, comes across as a little pathetic. As Deadly Nightshade, though, he does come up with an exosuit that looks appropriately comic book like in a good way and he proves clever enough to keep the Flash at arm's length for a while AND make a decent fight partner at the end.
This brings us to the other problem here that I've suddenly taken note of with this series... the female characters don't seem to come off very well. Here Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar of Star Trek: Next Generation) plays the misguided psychiatrist. Like many of the female characters who have appeared in the series to date she is, well, as I said, misguided, and career driven. These attributes are not portrayed as positive. The script leaves her character somewhat ridiculed for holding such silly views that Our Hero the Flash could be mentally unstable. She is also somewhat cast as the 'dateless, dry stick, who doesn't know how to unwind or step back from the job' type. Of course, by the end of the story the MALE characters in the form of Barry Allen and Desmond Powell have taught her how wrong she was about vigilantes in general and have caused her to do one of those 'transformation' things where she leaves her glasses behind, puts on a sexy dress, and becomes a totally different woman. It's subliminated sexism. Like I said, I missed it myself for a long time and only recently became aware of it. It sucks a lot of fun out of the story.
And speaking of the story... There are some really good moments here -- mostly between Barry and Powell as two crimefighters going out and kicking butt. There is some definite humor and the plot, on the whole, hangs together pretty well. The pseudo-science doesn't go too far off the mark so there isn't too much here that comes off as ridiculous or laughable. I do wish the writers would have let the identity of the Deadly Nightshade come as a surprise to build up suspense and also allow Barry and Powell to do some real detective work together but, eh, I won't quibble. And the characterizations of the villain and Croby's Dr. Frost are wallpaper paste and sexist respectively and the villain's exosuit ends up getting short shrift.
Overall, as a comic book fan, this episode really FELT like one of those great, old team-up stories where two heroes got together to fight crime together. The original Nightshade also has the look and feel of one of the old Mystery Men or Pulp Heroes like the Shadow or the Crimson Avenger and I LOVE the old pulp heroes so I have to plant this story in the "win" column. If you want to check out a Flash episode then this is one to look into.
The Plot: There's a new vigilante in town... or is it an old one? A new vigilante seems to have started taking care of crime in Central City with extreme prejudice -- mowing down criminals with automatic weapons. A new psychiatrist in town seems to think the Flash might actually be responsible or, if he isn't, that the Flash is just as much a criminal. This causes Barry to question his motives as the Flash and to seek out the 1950's vigilante hero Nightshade -- physician Desmond Powell (first seen in episode 9, "Ghost in the Machine"). Powell puts Barry's mind at ease and quickly comes out of retirement when it is discovered that this killer vigilante is calling himself Nightshade!
Powell and the Flash set out to clear the name and memory of Powell's heroic deeds but they are unprepared for the new Deadly Nightshade, who has decided that any heroes who are not for him are against him... and he has found a way to even the playing field with the Flash...
My Take: Well, any episode with the excellent Jason Bernard as Desmond Powell gets an instant boost for me. There are certainly a few tropes thrown in here -- such as the tired old one about some "expert" who declares the hero is actually a villain or responsible for the crime and criminals or is messed up in the head leading said hero to have something of a crisis of conscience -- but it works fairly well here as a plot device to bring Powell back into Barry's circle.
And Jason Bernard sells it beautifully. He seems to have the uncanny knack of keeping his character grounded and relatable and most of all REAL despite the rather funny costume.
The villain here is both good and bad. His characterization is really, really thin. We're talking like cheap, 1 ply college dorm toilet paper thin. And as a result we just don't invest in him like we should. We don't feel any pity for him as a character who actually could have been a genuine hero if he hadn't gotten so twisted up, nor do we pity him as a man tortured by a family past he can never really redeem. On the flip side we can't really boo or hiss him as, even with his extreme body count, he never feels capital 'E' evil -- he just, actually, comes across as a little pathetic. As Deadly Nightshade, though, he does come up with an exosuit that looks appropriately comic book like in a good way and he proves clever enough to keep the Flash at arm's length for a while AND make a decent fight partner at the end.
This brings us to the other problem here that I've suddenly taken note of with this series... the female characters don't seem to come off very well. Here Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar of Star Trek: Next Generation) plays the misguided psychiatrist. Like many of the female characters who have appeared in the series to date she is, well, as I said, misguided, and career driven. These attributes are not portrayed as positive. The script leaves her character somewhat ridiculed for holding such silly views that Our Hero the Flash could be mentally unstable. She is also somewhat cast as the 'dateless, dry stick, who doesn't know how to unwind or step back from the job' type. Of course, by the end of the story the MALE characters in the form of Barry Allen and Desmond Powell have taught her how wrong she was about vigilantes in general and have caused her to do one of those 'transformation' things where she leaves her glasses behind, puts on a sexy dress, and becomes a totally different woman. It's subliminated sexism. Like I said, I missed it myself for a long time and only recently became aware of it. It sucks a lot of fun out of the story.
And speaking of the story... There are some really good moments here -- mostly between Barry and Powell as two crimefighters going out and kicking butt. There is some definite humor and the plot, on the whole, hangs together pretty well. The pseudo-science doesn't go too far off the mark so there isn't too much here that comes off as ridiculous or laughable. I do wish the writers would have let the identity of the Deadly Nightshade come as a surprise to build up suspense and also allow Barry and Powell to do some real detective work together but, eh, I won't quibble. And the characterizations of the villain and Croby's Dr. Frost are wallpaper paste and sexist respectively and the villain's exosuit ends up getting short shrift.
Overall, as a comic book fan, this episode really FELT like one of those great, old team-up stories where two heroes got together to fight crime together. The original Nightshade also has the look and feel of one of the old Mystery Men or Pulp Heroes like the Shadow or the Crimson Avenger and I LOVE the old pulp heroes so I have to plant this story in the "win" column. If you want to check out a Flash episode then this is one to look into.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Flash Reviews: "Be My Baby"
Remember how I said I was going to finish reviewing the box set? Well after this one I don't want to anymore. Seriously, the stupidity hurts. It actually physically hurts! I don't even think watching this one after two glasses on wine could make it any better!
*Sigh* Let's start shredding this with razor sharp kitten claws shall we?
The Plot: Barry (as the Flash) saves a young woman on the streets from an attacker. He soon finds out she has nowhere to stay and is also caring for her baby girl. He takes her in and the next day finds her a place at a shelter for mothers and infants. He is, however, suspicious that there is more to this than meets the eye. Sure enough, baby Lily's father shows up and Philip Moses proves to be a crime boss who wants his daughter back at any price... Any. Price. The only way Lily and her mother can be free is to get Moses behind bars but to do that risks Lily's being taken by her father... forever.
My Take: There's so much wrong here I'm not even sure I know where to start.
First and probably most maddening is the fact that the series fails yet again to give viewers an actual supervillain. It's really bizarre the way the show is willing to put the Flash in a costume but is so afraid of putting any villains in costumes. Not only is our creep du jour here not a supervillain, he's not even in the Flash's weight class! Because of this the writer seems to bend over backwards to pad out the story to make sure that the villain and the Flash pretty much never meet up. Throughout the episode the special speed effects are used mostly for entertaining kids... no, I'm not talking about the audience, I'm talking about literally, in the story. What a wast of the FX budget!
Which brings us to the padding. Early on in the episode it is established that Barry has some experience taking care of babies as he used to babysit his nephew when the boy was a toddler. Despite this, once Barry is left alone with baby Lily the whole thing turns into a rip-off of Three Men and a Baby. And it's so dumb it's painful.
Then there is the villain. Better get comfortable, we're going to be here a while.
First, there are indications Moses is a germaphobe yet this is not handled consistently throughout the story.
Second, Moses's motivations are really not clear. Why does he want Lily so badly? It's obvious that he's not father material. He mentions, just in passing, that he chose Lily's mother to give birth to his child because her mother was an Olympic athlete and her father was a Nobel Prize winner. Well.... so what? That's no guarantee that Lily will be either of those things and anyone with half a brain and a basic college level biology class would know that. Plus, why does he want this supposed "super child"? He doesn't seem the type to be looking to groom his successor to his vast, criminal empire and he doesn't seem in the market for a "trophy child" and if he's a germaphobe why would he want to be around a child because, let's face it people, kids are nasty. You turn around and they're eating something (God knows what) they found under the sofa, they seem to strive to get as dirty as possible, they're nearly always somehow sticky despite your best efforts, and they'll play with stuff you don't even want to think about. Shall I tell you the story I got from one of my friends about turning her back for one minute while outside and then finding the toddler she was babysitting eating garden slugs? Yeah. So why on Earth is this man so fixated on this baby?! We're never given a good reason.
Thirdly, he's an idiot. No, actually, being an idiot is too kind. This villain is dumb as a box of rocks. You see, when he *does* finally have to face the Flash he's "prepared" and produces a sonic weapon. Well, okay, that works. It isn't supervillain level but bless him at least he made a little showing... and then it all goes downhill. Why? Because said villain has the Flash down and does he shoot him or something? No. He *kicks* him. And you know the old saying about never kicking a man when he's down... he might get up. The villain and his thug have the Flash down for the count and they do nothing. Nooootttthhhhhiiiinnnngggg to make sure he stays down. They don't disable him, they don't try to make him even the least little bit dead, oh no, they kick the guy and leave. And then, as if that were not bad enough, said villain doesn't even have the forethought to keep the sonic weapon handy and consider the possibility that the man who can run faster than the speed of sound might recover and catch up to him! Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!
Fourthly, as a villain, Philip Moses isn't scary. We're told he's a crime boss but we don't actually see him doing much crime -- at least not until the end and by then it's far too late to try to convince the audience to respect this guy. No, we're told he's bad news but, aside from him being a slimy creep, we don't get to see any of it. Here's a newsflash writers: SHOW don't TELL! Geeze.
So of course, with a villain as incompetent as this it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that once the Flash sets off the whole thing will be wrapped up quickly. And it is. With pretty much not a lick of tension. Booooorrrrriiiiinnnngggg.
The capper on this turkey of the story, though, is reserved for the end. Lily and her mother are safe and happy now and Lily is preparing to say her first word. And can you guess what it is? That's right... "Flash". And she says it while looking directly at Barry. And she even says it two more times. *Facepalm* First off, this is a really, really bad bit of overdubbing as it is very clear that the little actress playing baby Lily is not saying the word. Second, the voice they use to say "Flash" doesn't even sound like a real kid! It sounds like what it probably was -- an adult trying to sound like a baby. It doesn't work. Third, we're expected to buy that a toddler has figured out Barry is the Flash. Because, you know, toddlers are renowned for their cognitive thinking. I mean, the name "Flash" is rarely ever spoken around Lily and I don't think it's spoken around her in connection with the Flash at all, let alone spoken around Barry. And yet the writer wants us to believe that somehow Lily managed to pick up on the idea that Barry is the Flash with little to know association of that word with an idea let alone a person. This is just insulting.
Even composer Shirley Walker must have been insulted by the stupidity levels here because for once her score is uninspired. It seriously sounds like she just phoned this thing in and, as an Emmy Winning composer and knowing her tremendous body of work with the various DC Comics' animated series from Batman: the Animated Series to Superman to Batman Beyond she can and usually does do better.
"Be My Baby"? No, this story is more like a dirty diaper.
*Sigh* Let's start shredding this with razor sharp kitten claws shall we?
The Plot: Barry (as the Flash) saves a young woman on the streets from an attacker. He soon finds out she has nowhere to stay and is also caring for her baby girl. He takes her in and the next day finds her a place at a shelter for mothers and infants. He is, however, suspicious that there is more to this than meets the eye. Sure enough, baby Lily's father shows up and Philip Moses proves to be a crime boss who wants his daughter back at any price... Any. Price. The only way Lily and her mother can be free is to get Moses behind bars but to do that risks Lily's being taken by her father... forever.
My Take: There's so much wrong here I'm not even sure I know where to start.
First and probably most maddening is the fact that the series fails yet again to give viewers an actual supervillain. It's really bizarre the way the show is willing to put the Flash in a costume but is so afraid of putting any villains in costumes. Not only is our creep du jour here not a supervillain, he's not even in the Flash's weight class! Because of this the writer seems to bend over backwards to pad out the story to make sure that the villain and the Flash pretty much never meet up. Throughout the episode the special speed effects are used mostly for entertaining kids... no, I'm not talking about the audience, I'm talking about literally, in the story. What a wast of the FX budget!
Which brings us to the padding. Early on in the episode it is established that Barry has some experience taking care of babies as he used to babysit his nephew when the boy was a toddler. Despite this, once Barry is left alone with baby Lily the whole thing turns into a rip-off of Three Men and a Baby. And it's so dumb it's painful.
Then there is the villain. Better get comfortable, we're going to be here a while.
First, there are indications Moses is a germaphobe yet this is not handled consistently throughout the story.
Second, Moses's motivations are really not clear. Why does he want Lily so badly? It's obvious that he's not father material. He mentions, just in passing, that he chose Lily's mother to give birth to his child because her mother was an Olympic athlete and her father was a Nobel Prize winner. Well.... so what? That's no guarantee that Lily will be either of those things and anyone with half a brain and a basic college level biology class would know that. Plus, why does he want this supposed "super child"? He doesn't seem the type to be looking to groom his successor to his vast, criminal empire and he doesn't seem in the market for a "trophy child" and if he's a germaphobe why would he want to be around a child because, let's face it people, kids are nasty. You turn around and they're eating something (God knows what) they found under the sofa, they seem to strive to get as dirty as possible, they're nearly always somehow sticky despite your best efforts, and they'll play with stuff you don't even want to think about. Shall I tell you the story I got from one of my friends about turning her back for one minute while outside and then finding the toddler she was babysitting eating garden slugs? Yeah. So why on Earth is this man so fixated on this baby?! We're never given a good reason.
Thirdly, he's an idiot. No, actually, being an idiot is too kind. This villain is dumb as a box of rocks. You see, when he *does* finally have to face the Flash he's "prepared" and produces a sonic weapon. Well, okay, that works. It isn't supervillain level but bless him at least he made a little showing... and then it all goes downhill. Why? Because said villain has the Flash down and does he shoot him or something? No. He *kicks* him. And you know the old saying about never kicking a man when he's down... he might get up. The villain and his thug have the Flash down for the count and they do nothing. Nooootttthhhhhiiiinnnngggg to make sure he stays down. They don't disable him, they don't try to make him even the least little bit dead, oh no, they kick the guy and leave. And then, as if that were not bad enough, said villain doesn't even have the forethought to keep the sonic weapon handy and consider the possibility that the man who can run faster than the speed of sound might recover and catch up to him! Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!
Fourthly, as a villain, Philip Moses isn't scary. We're told he's a crime boss but we don't actually see him doing much crime -- at least not until the end and by then it's far too late to try to convince the audience to respect this guy. No, we're told he's bad news but, aside from him being a slimy creep, we don't get to see any of it. Here's a newsflash writers: SHOW don't TELL! Geeze.
So of course, with a villain as incompetent as this it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that once the Flash sets off the whole thing will be wrapped up quickly. And it is. With pretty much not a lick of tension. Booooorrrrriiiiinnnngggg.
The capper on this turkey of the story, though, is reserved for the end. Lily and her mother are safe and happy now and Lily is preparing to say her first word. And can you guess what it is? That's right... "Flash". And she says it while looking directly at Barry. And she even says it two more times. *Facepalm* First off, this is a really, really bad bit of overdubbing as it is very clear that the little actress playing baby Lily is not saying the word. Second, the voice they use to say "Flash" doesn't even sound like a real kid! It sounds like what it probably was -- an adult trying to sound like a baby. It doesn't work. Third, we're expected to buy that a toddler has figured out Barry is the Flash. Because, you know, toddlers are renowned for their cognitive thinking. I mean, the name "Flash" is rarely ever spoken around Lily and I don't think it's spoken around her in connection with the Flash at all, let alone spoken around Barry. And yet the writer wants us to believe that somehow Lily managed to pick up on the idea that Barry is the Flash with little to know association of that word with an idea let alone a person. This is just insulting.
Even composer Shirley Walker must have been insulted by the stupidity levels here because for once her score is uninspired. It seriously sounds like she just phoned this thing in and, as an Emmy Winning composer and knowing her tremendous body of work with the various DC Comics' animated series from Batman: the Animated Series to Superman to Batman Beyond she can and usually does do better.
"Be My Baby"? No, this story is more like a dirty diaper.
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