Yes, I know, I've fallen behind. What can I say -- life sometimes interferes with life. But either way, your humble hostess Stressfactor is back with yet another episode of The Flash.
Episode 10: "Sight Unseen"
Plot:
Tina is working late at STAR Labs when 'a little man who was not there' unleashes a toxin into the building. Now she and her boss are infected and have four hours to live. To make matters worse, STAR Labs failsafes will irradiate the building if anyone tries to breach the building seal. It's up to Barry to figure out who this 'invivible man' is and get the anti-toxin or else Tina dies. Adding to his plight, there are indications that the mystery man also intends to use more of the toxin to poison Central City itself! It's going to be a long night for both Barry and the Flash.
My Take:
Every series, sooner or later, likes to do some kind of variation on a "beat the clock" story. The Flash is somewhat unique since it decided to do TWO of them. This one, which is a quasi-"beat the clock" and the next one in line, which is a true "beat the clock" (something I'll discuss with the next review). These type of stories are really effective when done well; they amp up the tension, they put the hero on the wire, but lives most literally on the line. Problem is, this story? Not done so well.
One major failing right out of the gate is the amount of plot holes and improbabilites we have to swallow. I mean, from the start we see that whatever gadget the invisible man is using to make himself invisible it interferes with electrical equipment -- it causes lights to flicker, it causes radios to get static interference, it prevents a car from starting, it causes security TV's to go fuzzy, etc. It is supposed to be an electromagnetic device to bend light (yes, it's comic book science, get over it. In the 1960's everything that wasn't "ATOMIC!" was "MAGNETISM!") and yet, while still wearing the activated gadget our villain is able to use a computer with no problems whatsoever! And these are 90's computers! The kind where just sneezing around one seemed to cause it to crash! And we're supposed to accept that a guy wearing some kind of sophisticated electromagnet is just blithely booting up a computer and loading a virus?! Seriously, a nice EM pulse next to the server would have just fragged the whole thing anyway.
And then there is STAR Labs safety measures... I mean, what kind of a place has a lockdown that will irradiate a building and yet apparently there is NO ONE IN THE WORLD WHO CAN SHUT DOWN THE SYSTEM SAFELY!!! I mean, you know, if there were a chemical leak or something, even if you assume that everyone in the building is dead you can't just.... you know... LEAVE THE BUILDING SITTING THERE! At some point someone has to be able to start getting in there to clean up, neutralize the chemicals, etc. so that the building can either be safely put to use again or else safely abandoned. And besides all of that -- there is also the case scenario of what we see this episode -- people infected with a poison or a disease but where there is some hope of administering an antidote -- in which case you need protocols for entering the building and safely removing the sick people for treatment. I could just see STAR Labs motto now: "Work here but if anything happens to you you're on your own because we don't care." Just... stupid.
And then... we've got a guy who checks off most of the mad scientist supervillain boxes... Created a device which basically gives you a superpower? Check. Got a line in crazy, dramatic, death and threat filled ranting? Check. Going to destroy a major metropolitan area? Check. Got a cool costume? No check. GAH!! This is one of the things that drives me crazy about this series. It's like they WANT supervillains but they DON'T want supervillains. They want villains who have all the trappings of supervillains but hen they don't want them to LOOK like supervillains. We saw this in the previous episode where the Ghost started out the episode with a cool (by 1950's standards) costume and yet when he enters the modern era they're quick to stick him in a button down shirt and pleated pants. And really, NO ONE looks good in pleated pants. Here, we have our quasi-mad scientist -- a tall but slightly portly fellow with glasses and thinning hair wearing pleated pants (again!) and a jersey top.... and a duster and wide brimmed fedora. Seriously, if you're going to try to make the duster and fedora look seem cool a dark green knit top and pleated pants are NOT the way to go!
And our villain also has a number of plot conveniences centered around him. For one, while being about six foot (according to one witness) we're supposed to believe that this ill scientist -- this somewhat out-of-shape guy -- is able to lift a full-grown, also slightly portly man, off the groud by his throat and strangle him! Not only do we have to swallow that, but we have to believe that, somehow, just the fact that he's invisible means that the Flash... the FASTEST MAN ALIVE... cannot catch him. I mean, we're expected to believe that in the ONE SECOND it takes the Flash to move across the room to where he heard the invisible man's voice coming from said invisible man has managed to move far enough away that the Flash can't find him. Writers, the guy is INVISIBLE, not INTANGIBLE. And there's no way this out-of-shape guy could be moving THAT fast.
And is that enough terrible stuff to swallow for one episode? Oh no. No, here comes that LOVELY old chestnut -- the arrogant, jerk of a Federal Agent... oh, who also happens to be corrupt as well. Got enough sterotypes in there yet?
In the episode's defense... there are a FEW nice touches. There are a couple of good lines of dialogue (I particularly like it when Barry tells the corrupt Fed to "Pack up your cloak and dagger") and it is a nice touch to try to humanize the mad scientist and show him as someone haunted by the horrors his work has unleashed, as someone wanting to get the truth out there (Yes, that was an X-Files reference), as well as being sick which has likely contributed to his madness. the problem is that these little touches are just too little to save a story that was filled with way too many plot holes and pushed suspension of disbelief past the breaking point.
I will say this as well, overall, the 'invisible' effects largely hold up over time. There are some sequences which look like the action was filmed backwards and then run forwards but it isn't too egregious.
Unless you're a completist, a purist, or someone who likes to rip stories apart MST3K style, this episode can be skipped like a hopscotch board.
Flash Facts:
Barry and Julio were planning a night at the racetrack and Tina was supposed to go with them. When Barry returns to Julio waiting at the lab Julio greets him by singing "I've got the horse right here..." and then says to Barry "We've got the guys where's the doll?" These are references to the musical Guys and Dolls (which was based on some short stories of Damon Runyon's). The opening song is called "Fugue for Tinhorns" and consists of three gamblers looking at their racing forms and each one backing a different horse and insisting that their horse will be the winning one. The song opens with the line "I've got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere..." It's a fun little musical. For those wanting to see it, the only version of it put to film was in 1955 featuring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra. But for voices -- I far more recommend listening to the 1992 Broadway revival cast album featuring Nathan Lane and Peter Gallagher.
Showing posts with label STAR Labs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STAR Labs. Show all posts
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Breaking the Bank
The Flash
Episode 3: "Watching the Detectives"
Plot: A corrupt DA is involved with a mobster running an illegal casino but when both hatch schemes to get out of their deal the DA decides he wants to stack the deck. He hires private investigator Megan Lockhart to discover the real indentity of the Flash and when she does the DA uses the information to threaten Barry with exposure... unless Barry does exactly what he is ordered to.
My Take: Much better! The story here hangs together pretty well and there is a nice mix of humor and action. There is still a bit of a simplistic, moralizing tone as P.I. Megan Lockhart has to be 'shown how her work can impact others' lives' and the ending is entirely too convenient and smacks of deus ex machina but overall the tale is solid. There is also some nice acting by Shipp as Barry. For perhaps the first time he seems more at ease in the role and he doesn't try to force the humor which therefore actually makes it funny for a change. The scene where Barry breaks the bank at the illegal casino is genuinely entertaining with some good lines. Joyce Hyser is also quite good in her guest starring turn at Lockhart -- injecting the character with a lot of spunk and a little bit of grit. Hyser would reprise the role two more times before the series' end.
The series is still suffering from a bit of Burton Batman worship, though. There are elements of 'creative anachronism' as viewers see modern style reporters carrying 1930's style microphones -- just as they did in the Batman movie.
There is still a bit of a problem with the threat levels, though. In dealing with superhero stories there is an expectation that the threats the heroes face will be equal to their powers. Here we have a mobster, a crooked DA, and an arson-for-hire scheme that your average powerless pulp-style detective hero could have wrapped up in no time flat. The addition of the threat to Barry's secret ID adds a little jolt to the proceedings but really, there's nothing here that really pushes our hero. Just as an aside... The arsonist is called "the Spaniard". A guy who is so "white and nerdy" (as Al Yankovic sang) he practically defines the words is called "the Spaniard". Seriously?!
It is interesting, though, that the writers chose to go for the whole 'exposure of secret identity' theme this early in the series.
Most of the special effects are also quite good here. The opening fire looks good although the fire staged toward the end of the story is weak sauce and pretty obviously the work of a pyrotechnics department. As was mentioned before, the sequence of Barry using his powers to cheat in the casino comes off beautifully but the final fight between the Flash and the mob henchmen has not aged well at all.
Special note should be made of Shirley Walker's score here. Walker would score this series and then go on to score Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, and Batman Beyond. She would win an Emmy for her work with B:TAS. Here, in keeping with the sub-theme of the semi-shady private eye, she devised a score that had a real 1930's sound with a kind of jazzy/bluesy edge to it. It's really nice work and worth paying attention to.
From a comic book standpoint there is not too much to kick about. At this stage in the series they were still portraying the Flash as a kind of urban myth and having some of the population believing he existed and others not. This was yet another throwback to Burton's Batman as, in the comic books, the Flash was always public about his existence -- often appearing on TV and being mentioned in the news. Interestingly though, in the Silver Age Batman operated out in the open as a hero as well. His status between public hero and urban myth has veered from one to the other in the comic books in the modern era to the point where I wonder if anyone knows for certain which he is supposed to be.
Flash Facts:
The title for the episode comes from the song by the same name by Elvis Costello.
At one point in the story Tina McGee indicates she is expecting a phone call from "Dr. Carter Hall". Carter Hall was the civilian name of the superhero Hawkman. In the comic books Carter's day job was as a museum curator so one would wonder what a museum curator would be doing calling a STAR Labs scientist.
Episode 3: "Watching the Detectives"
Plot: A corrupt DA is involved with a mobster running an illegal casino but when both hatch schemes to get out of their deal the DA decides he wants to stack the deck. He hires private investigator Megan Lockhart to discover the real indentity of the Flash and when she does the DA uses the information to threaten Barry with exposure... unless Barry does exactly what he is ordered to.
My Take: Much better! The story here hangs together pretty well and there is a nice mix of humor and action. There is still a bit of a simplistic, moralizing tone as P.I. Megan Lockhart has to be 'shown how her work can impact others' lives' and the ending is entirely too convenient and smacks of deus ex machina but overall the tale is solid. There is also some nice acting by Shipp as Barry. For perhaps the first time he seems more at ease in the role and he doesn't try to force the humor which therefore actually makes it funny for a change. The scene where Barry breaks the bank at the illegal casino is genuinely entertaining with some good lines. Joyce Hyser is also quite good in her guest starring turn at Lockhart -- injecting the character with a lot of spunk and a little bit of grit. Hyser would reprise the role two more times before the series' end.
The series is still suffering from a bit of Burton Batman worship, though. There are elements of 'creative anachronism' as viewers see modern style reporters carrying 1930's style microphones -- just as they did in the Batman movie.
There is still a bit of a problem with the threat levels, though. In dealing with superhero stories there is an expectation that the threats the heroes face will be equal to their powers. Here we have a mobster, a crooked DA, and an arson-for-hire scheme that your average powerless pulp-style detective hero could have wrapped up in no time flat. The addition of the threat to Barry's secret ID adds a little jolt to the proceedings but really, there's nothing here that really pushes our hero. Just as an aside... The arsonist is called "the Spaniard". A guy who is so "white and nerdy" (as Al Yankovic sang) he practically defines the words is called "the Spaniard". Seriously?!
It is interesting, though, that the writers chose to go for the whole 'exposure of secret identity' theme this early in the series.
Most of the special effects are also quite good here. The opening fire looks good although the fire staged toward the end of the story is weak sauce and pretty obviously the work of a pyrotechnics department. As was mentioned before, the sequence of Barry using his powers to cheat in the casino comes off beautifully but the final fight between the Flash and the mob henchmen has not aged well at all.
Special note should be made of Shirley Walker's score here. Walker would score this series and then go on to score Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, and Batman Beyond. She would win an Emmy for her work with B:TAS. Here, in keeping with the sub-theme of the semi-shady private eye, she devised a score that had a real 1930's sound with a kind of jazzy/bluesy edge to it. It's really nice work and worth paying attention to.
From a comic book standpoint there is not too much to kick about. At this stage in the series they were still portraying the Flash as a kind of urban myth and having some of the population believing he existed and others not. This was yet another throwback to Burton's Batman as, in the comic books, the Flash was always public about his existence -- often appearing on TV and being mentioned in the news. Interestingly though, in the Silver Age Batman operated out in the open as a hero as well. His status between public hero and urban myth has veered from one to the other in the comic books in the modern era to the point where I wonder if anyone knows for certain which he is supposed to be.
Flash Facts:
The title for the episode comes from the song by the same name by Elvis Costello.
At one point in the story Tina McGee indicates she is expecting a phone call from "Dr. Carter Hall". Carter Hall was the civilian name of the superhero Hawkman. In the comic books Carter's day job was as a museum curator so one would wonder what a museum curator would be doing calling a STAR Labs scientist.
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