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* ] as Eddie Thawne: A recent transfer to the Central City Police Department, Eddie's past is a mystery and he harbors a dark secret.<ref name="Cosnett/Panabaker" /> * ] as Eddie Thawne: A recent transfer to the Central City Police Department, Eddie's past is a mystery and he harbors a dark secret.<ref name="Cosnett/Panabaker" />
* Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon: Named after the civilian identity of the DC Comics character ]. A mechanical engineering genius, Cisco is the youngest member of the team of scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs.<ref name="Valdes" /> * Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon: Named after the civilian identity of the DC Comics character ]. A mechanical engineering genius, Cisco is the youngest member of the team of scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs.<ref name="Valdes" />
* ] as ]: The mind and money behind Central City's S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator, who becomes a pariah after the lab explodes.<ref name="Cavanagh" /> He serves as a mentor to Barry Allen after he exhibits his powers, but Dr. Wells is keeping secrets from Barry, including his plans for the speedster. Wells is ultimately revealed to be the Reverse-Flash, but unlike Barry, his super speed requires periodic recharging.<ref name="Harrison Reverse">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Flash-Arrow-CW-Reverse-Flash-TCA-1091654.aspx|title=The Flash Will Introduce Reverse Flash – But Is There Just One?|last=Raftery|first=Liz|work=]|date=January 8, 2015|accessdate=January 8, 2015}}</ref><ref name="sound fury">{{cite episode| title = The Sound and the Fury| episodelink = The Flash (2014 TV series)#Episodes| series = The Flash |season=1 |episode=11}}</ref> * ] as Dr. Harrison Wells: The mind and money behind Central City's S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator, who becomes a pariah after the lab explodes.<ref name="Cavanagh" /> He serves as a mentor to Barry Allen after he exhibits his powers, but Dr. Wells is keeping secrets from Barry, including his plans for the speedster. Wells is ultimately revealed to be the ], but unlike Barry, his super speed requires periodic recharging.<ref name="Harrison Reverse">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Flash-Arrow-CW-Reverse-Flash-TCA-1091654.aspx|title=The Flash Will Introduce Reverse Flash – But Is There Just One?|last=Raftery|first=Liz|work=]|date=January 8, 2015|accessdate=January 8, 2015}}</ref><ref name="sound fury">{{cite episode| title = The Sound and the Fury| episodelink = The Flash (2014 TV series)#Episodes| series = The Flash |season=1 |episode=11}}</ref>
* ] as Detective Joe West: A cop who acts as a surrogate father to Barry after his mother's death and father's imprisonment, and who is the father of Iris West.<ref name="S1LogLine" /><ref name="Martin" /> * ] as Detective Joe West: A cop who acts as a surrogate father to Barry after his mother's death and father's imprisonment, and who is the father of Iris West.<ref name="S1LogLine" /><ref name="Martin" />


Revision as of 23:59, 24 February 2015

2014 American TV series or program
The Flash
File:TheFLASHlogo.png
Genre
Based onCharacters appearing in DC Comics
Developed by
Starring
ComposerBlake Neely
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes14 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJP Finn
Production locationsBritish Columbia, Canada
CinematographyGlen Winter
C. Kim Miles
Jeffrey C. Mygatt
EditorsPaul Karasik
Harry Jierjian
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time43 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkThe CW
ReleaseOctober 7, 2014 (2014-10-07) –
present
Related
Arrow

The Flash is an American television series developed by writer/producers Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Geoff Johns, airing on The CW. It is based on the DC Comics character Barry Allen / Flash, a costumed superhero crime-fighter with the power to move at superhuman speeds. It is a spin-off from Arrow, existing in the same fictional universe. The series follows Allen, portrayed by Grant Gustin, a crime scene investigator who gains super-human speed, which he uses to fight criminals, including others who have also gained superhuman abilities.

Initially envisioned as a backdoor pilot, the positive reception Gustin received during two appearances as Barry on Arrow lead to executives choosing to develop a full pilot to make use of a larger budget and help flesh out Barry's world in more detail. Colleen Atwood, costume designer for Arrow, was brought in to design the Flash's suit, which was modeled after the comic books. The creative team wanted to make sure that the Flash would resemble his comic book counterpart, and not simply be a poor imitation. The series is primarily filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The Flash premiered in North America on October 7, 2014, where the pilot became the second-most watched premiere in the history of The CW, after The Vampire Diaries in 2009. It has received generally positive reviews from critics, and won the People's Choice Award for "Favorite New TV Drama" in 2014. On January 11, 2015, The CW renewed The Flash for a second season.

Premise

After witnessing his mother's supernatural murder and his father's wrongful conviction for the crime, Barry Allen is taken in by Detective Joe West and his family. Allen becomes a brilliant but socially awkward crime scene investigator for the Central City Police Department. His obsession with his tragic past causes him to become an outcast among his peers; he investigates cold cases, paranormal occurrences, and cutting-edge scientific advancements that may shed light on his mother's murder. No one believes his description of the crime—that a ball of lightning with the face of a man invaded their home that night—and Allen is fiercely driven to vindicate himself and to clear his father's name. Fourteen years after his mother's death, an advanced particle accelerator malfunctions during its public unveiling, bathing the city center with a previously unknown form of radiation and creating a severe thunderstorm. Allen is struck by lightning from the storm and doused with chemicals in his lab. Awakening after a nine-month coma, he discovers he has the ability to move at superhuman speeds. Dr. Harrison Wells, the disgraced designer of the failed particle accelerator, describes Barry's special nature as "metahuman"; Allen soon discovers that he is not the only one who was changed by the radiation. Allen vows to use his gifts to protect Central City from the escalating violence of metahuman criminals. He is aided by a few close friends and associates who guard his secrets.

Cast

Main article: List of The Flash characters
  • Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / Flash: A Central City assistant police forensic investigator. Moments after an explosion at the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator, Barry is struck by lightning in his laboratory and doused by chemicals affected by the accident. When he awakens from a nine-month coma, he has superhuman speed. In September 2013, Grant Gustin was cast in the titular role. Andy Mientus, who would eventually be cast as Hartley Rathaway, also auditioned for the role. Gustin began researching the character during the audition process, and reading as many comics as possible. Gustin primarily focused on The New 52 series of comics, because he knew it would be difficult to read everything and he felt the New 52 was the closest to the show's "look and feel".
  • Candice Patton as Iris West: the daughter of Detective West and Barry Allen's best friend and longtime crush.
  • Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Caitlin Snow: Named after the civilian identity of the DC Comics character Killer Frost. A highly intelligent bioengineering expert, Caitlin believes her fiancé, Ronnie Raymond, was killed during the particle accelerator explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs.
  • Rick Cosnett as Eddie Thawne: A recent transfer to the Central City Police Department, Eddie's past is a mystery and he harbors a dark secret.
  • Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon: Named after the civilian identity of the DC Comics character Vibe. A mechanical engineering genius, Cisco is the youngest member of the team of scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs.
  • Tom Cavanagh as Dr. Harrison Wells: The mind and money behind Central City's S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator, who becomes a pariah after the lab explodes. He serves as a mentor to Barry Allen after he exhibits his powers, but Dr. Wells is keeping secrets from Barry, including his plans for the speedster. Wells is ultimately revealed to be the Reverse-Flash, but unlike Barry, his super speed requires periodic recharging.
  • Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West: A cop who acts as a surrogate father to Barry after his mother's death and father's imprisonment, and who is the father of Iris West.

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production
code 		U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"David NutterStory by: Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns
Teleplay by: Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns		October 7, 2014 (2014-10-07)2966484.83
Barry Allen, a forensic crime scene assistant for Central City Police Department, is struck by lightning during a storm that is created after a particle accelerator from S.T.A.R. Labs explodes. In a coma for nine months, Barry awakens in S.T.A.R. Labs, having been placed in the care of his scientist idol, Dr. Harrison Wells, along with his assistants, Dr. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon. Barry quickly learns that he can move at extraordinary speeds, and that there were other "metahumans" created from the explosion. One of them, Clyde Mardon, is robbing banks with his ability to control the weather. In order to stop Clyde, Barry is outfitted with a suit that can withstand his high speed of movement. He tracks down Mardon and with the help of Detective West, who learns of Barry's abilities, Barry is able to stop Mardon. With his new powers, Barry vows to find out who killed his mother when he was a child, believing him to be another metahuman who has similar abilities of speed as he. Elsewhere, in a secret room at S.T.A.R Labs, Wells reveals he is not paraplegic, while reading a newspaper from the future concerning Barry's fate as the Flash.
2"Fastest Man Alive"David NutterStory by: Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg
Teleplay by: Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns		October 14, 2014 (2014-10-14)3J53524.27
With help from Cisco, Barry begins using his abilities to stop minor crimes and help citizens across the city. As Barry begins to push himself more and more, he begins to develop debilitating side effects. While assisting Iris on a school assignment, Barry witnesses a robbery by a crew of men, but faints while trying to stop them. The S.T.A.R. Labs team determine that Barry is becoming hypoglycemic from the use of his abilities due to a sped-up metabolism and needs to ingest more calories to maintain his energy level. The team eventually learns that the robbers are actually one man, Danton Black, who has the ability to create clones of himself. Black wants to kill his former employer, Simon Stagg, who stole Black's cloning research. With encouragement from Joe, Barry goes after Black and successfully stops him from killing Stagg. However, Black commits suicide to prevent being captured. Afterward, Barry accepts Joe's help in finding out who really killed Barry's mother. Later, Wells visits Stagg, who has already become obsessed with the Flash after witnessing his powers and plans to exploit him as he did to Black. To protect Barry, Wells kills Stagg.
3"Things You Can't Outrun"Jesse WarnAlison Schapker & Grainne GodfreeOctober 21, 2014 (2014-10-21)3J53533.59
As the police investigate the murder of one of the city's crime families, Barry suspects that the killer may be a metahuman who can control poison gases. As Barry and Joe work to discover the killer's identity, Dr. Wells and his team work to retrofit the particle accelerator into a prison specifically for metahumans where S.T.A.R. Labs can begin to find a way of reversing their mutations. This brings up difficult feelings and memories for Dr. Snow, whose fiancé, Ronnie Raymond, was killed when the accelerator exploded. Following another murder, Barry locates the killer, Kyle Nimbus, but is unable to subdue him. Barry discovers that Kyle does not control gases, but literally transforms his body into them. The team learn that Joe, who was the lead detective in the original case, is Kyle's next target. Barry races to Iron Heights Prison in time to save Joe's life. Barry forces Kyle to overexert himself so that Barry can apprehend him without Kyle turning into mist. The team lock Kyle into a custom cell that is able to keep him from escaping. In a flashback to when the accelerator explodes, Dr. Wells is seen going into his hidden room and viewing a surveillance video of Barry getting struck by lightning in his lab.
4"Going Rogue"Glen WinterGeoff Johns & Kai Yu WuOctober 28, 2014 (2014-10-28)3J53543.53
Dr. Wells begins testing Barry's powers by forcing him to perform multiple tasks at superspeed. In the middle of the tests, a group of men attempt to hijack an armored truck carrying a priceless diamond. Barry races over and stops the crime, as well as identifies Leonard Snart from a set of police mugshots. Felicity Smoak arrives to check on Barry, after learning that he woke from his coma. Happy to see Felicity, Barry introduces her to his friends at S.T.A.R. Labs. To combat the "Streak", Snart acquires stolen tech from S.T.A.R. Labs, which includes a cryonic gun. Cisco reveals to Barry that he created the gun as a fail-safe against Barry should he become a killer like the other metahumans they encountered. Felicity helps the team locate Snart, who sets a trap for Barry. Cisco, Caitlin, and Felicity arrive in time to save Barry, and Snart is able to escape. Later, Snart tracks down his former partner, Mick, who has an affinity for fire, and offers him a place by Snart's side taking back Central City from the masked superhero.
5"Plastique"Dermott DownsAaron Helbing & Todd Helbing & Brooke EikmeierNovember 11, 2014 (2014-11-11)3J53553.46
A new metahuman appears in Central City, with the ability to turn anything she touches into an explosive. Barry is able to discover that the metahuman, Bette Sans Souci (Kelly Frye), is a former military explosives expert who was changed by the particle accelerator when it bonded bomb shrapnel to her body on a cellular level. As General Wade Eiling hunts for Bette, Barry brings her to S.T.A.R. labs where the team explains to her how she got her powers. Unfortunately, they cannot reverse the process. While the team is away, Dr. Wells convinces Bette to kill Eiling so that he cannot exploit any metahumans. Barry races to stop her, but Bette sets off several bombs around Eiling and his men. Eiling manages to shoot Bette, which causes her body to turn into a massive bomb. Barry speeds off with Bette's body and drops it in the river to save the city from the explosion. General Eiling visits Dr. Wells demanding that they work together, as they did in the past, to collect the metahumans. Dr. Wells refuses and warns Eiling to never return to S.T.A.R. labs. In a flashback set five years in the past, Dr. Wells tells Eiling he is putting an end to their experiments. After Eiling leaves, Wells walks to a cage and tells Gorilla Grodd that he has plans for him.
6"The Flash Is Born"Millicent SheltonJaime Paglia & Chris RaffertyNovember 18, 2014 (2014-11-18)3J53563.73
Iris is visited by the Streak, who again pleads with her to stop writing about him. Before he can finish, Barry speeds off to stop a car thief. Barry confronts the thief, but when he hits him the thief's skin turns to steel and Barry breaks his hand. Barry runs back to the lab before he can be hurt further. The thief is identified as Tony Woodward, who was Barry's childhood bully. Barry and the team discover Tony's hideout, and Barry rushes in without a plan to defeat him. Tony gets the upper hand again and Barry is beaten up and left for dead. Back at the lab, Cisco determines that if Barry can hit Tony at over 800 mph at the right angle, then he can create enough force to compromise Tony's metal structure. Tony kidnaps Iris and demands that she write about him. Barry arrives and successfully hits the speed necessary to temporarily disable Tony's abilities. Afterward, Tony is locked away at S.T.A.R. labs, and Iris renames her hero "The Flash". Meanwhile, Joe is visited by the metahuman that killed Barry's mother, who steals the case file and threatens Joe to drop his investigation.
7"Power Outage"Larry ShawAlison Schapker & Grainne GodfreeNovember 25, 2014 (2014-11-25)3J53573.47
Dr. Wells returns to his secret room, where it is revealed that he has been documenting Barry's growing abilities, and using his computer to look at events in the future. Barry arrives at a crime scene where the victim was murdered via electrocution, and charred beyond all recognition, suggesting a metahuman was involved. While investigating the victims identity, the team identifies a power drain in the city. When Barry arrives, he is attacked by Farooq Gibran, a man who has the ability to siphon electrical energy. The attack drains Barry of his speed, and when Wells checks his secret computer it reveals that there are no references to Barry or "The Flash" in the future, and thus the timeline is in danger of temporal paradox. Wells believes that Barry's body just needs an electrical jumpstart, and Farooq arrives at the lab while the team is attempting to help Barry. The process does not appear to work, but Wells quickly realizes that Barry's problem is psychological. When Farooq catches up to the team and Dr. Wells' life is in danger, Barry overcomes his fear, connects to his speed on a cellular level and stops Farooq. Later, Dr. Wells sees that the timeline is back on track, and takes a sample of Farooq's blood to determine how he was able to absorb Barry's abilities.
8"Flash vs. Arrow"Glen WinterStory by: Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg
Teleplay by: Ben Sokolowski & Brooke Eikmeier		December 2, 2014 (2014-12-02)3J53584.34
A new metahuman, Roy Bivolo, shows up with the ability to send people into an uncontrollable rage, and uses his ability to rob the Central City bank. The police track him to a warehouse, where he uses his abilities on a cop to facilitate his escape. Barry arrives in time to save Joe, but is almost injured himself before Oliver, as the "Arrow", arrives to stop the cop. Later, Oliver informs Barry that he and his team are tracking a killer who uses lethal boomerangs. Barry and Oliver agree to team-up and catch each other's targets. Oliver tries to teach Barry to be more mindful of his surroundings, but Barry decides to go after Bivolo by himself. Bivolo uses his abilities on Barry, but because of Barry's powers it makes the effects last longer. Oliver tries to stop Barry, and the two engage in a fight. Oliver manages to wrangle Barry long enough for Dr. Wells and Joe to use colored strobe light to reset Barry's emotional state. Afterward, Barry and Oliver capture Bivolo and place him in the prison at S.T.A.R. Labs.
9"The Man in the Yellow Suit"Ralph HemeckerTodd Helbing & Aaron HelbingDecember 9, 2014 (2014-12-09)3J53594.66
The metahuman that killed Barry's mother returns, killing two guards at Mercury Labs in search of the company's work in tachyon particles. Barry witnesses the man in yellow, and engages in a high speed fight around the city. The man in yellow insinuates to Barry that they know each other before speeding off. Meanwhile, Eddie asks Iris to move in with him and Ronnie is revealed to have survived the particle accelerator explosion, but does not remember who he is and has the ability to burst into flames. Barry confesses his love for Iris before the police and S.T.A.R. Labs use the tachyon particle technology as bait to lure the man in yellow into trap. The man in yellow escapes and attacks Dr. Wells and the police before engaging in a second fight with Barry. Ronnie appears and blasts the man with flames before both flee the scene. Later, Dr. Wells enters his secret room and unveils the same yellow suit as the man that they captured, placing the stolen tachyon technology on the suit's chest.
10"Revenge of the Rogues"Nick CopusKai Yu Wu & Geoff JohnsJanuary 20, 2015 (2015-01-20)3J53603.87
As Barry works on improving his speed through various training exercises, Leonard Snart returns to Central City with the freeze gun and a new partner, Mick Rory, to set a trap for the Flash. Barry discovers his plan, and agrees with Dr. Wells to not engage Snart in the hope that he goes away and no one gets hurt like the last time. When the Flash fails to show, Snart and Rory, who now has a gun that can emit absolute hot temperatures, kidnap Caitlin to force Barry out of hiding. Cisco and Barry realize that if they can get Snart and Rory to cross the streams of their respective weapons it will cancel out the effects. The Flash meets Snart and Rory in the middle of a city for a showdown, exposing himself to the media. After multiple failed attempts, Barry eventually gets them to cross the streams with Eddie's help, successfully damaging the weapons and disabling the criminal pair. While in transport to Iron Heights Prison, Snart and Rory are broken out by Snart's sister. Meanwhile, Caitlin investigates the cause of Ronnie's transformation.
11"The Sound and the Fury"John F. ShowalterAlison Schapker & Brooke EikmeierJanuary 27, 2015 (2015-01-27)3J53614.08
While home, Dr. Wells receives a threatening call from an unidentified person before having to use super speed to move out of the way of his glass ceiling shattering around him. Wells informs Barry and the team that the caller was Hartley Rathaway, a former protégé. Hartley begins attacking his family's business with sonic blasts, and when Barry arrives to stop him Hartley reveals that he knows the secret Dr. Wells is hiding. Dr. Wells reveals that Hartley warned him that the particle accelerator could explode ahead of time, but Wells chose to risk it for the potential rewards. Cisco discovers that Hartley intentionally got caught so he could steal information from S.T.A.R. Labs' computer that would allow him to identify the frequency of Barry's molecules so he can kill him. Barry triggers a trap set by Hartley, which starts shredding Barry's organs. Dr. Wells taps into a satellite and sends an alternative frequency to disable Hartley's weapons. Later, Joe has Eddie start an investigation into Dr. Wells. Hartley, imprisoned back in the particle accelerator, reveals to Cisco that he knows where Ronnie is and how to save him. In his secret room, Dr. Wells uses the tachyon technology to temporarily recharge his speed force energy.
12"Crazy for You"Rob HardyAaron Helbing & Todd HelbingFebruary 3, 2015 (2015-02-03)3J53623.60
A woman with the ability to teleport to any location she can see breaks into Iron Heights prison to free her boyfriend, Clay Parker. Barry finds residual DNA particulates all over the scene and when analyzing it at S.T.A.R. Labs the team identifies the woman as Shawna Baez. To help Barry, Henry Allen tracks down leads in Iron Heights and finds out that Clay owed money to a local crime boss, who was also planning a major heist. Barry learns the location of the heist, finding Shawna and Clay robbing an armored truck. Barry is able to capture Shawna after removing all the lights in a tunnel, effectively making her unable to teleport without being to see where she is going. Cisco goes to Hartley to find out more about Ronnie; Hartley reveals that Dr. Stein, who developed research into a F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. project focused on transmuting elements, was at S.T.A.R. Labs the day of the explosion. Hartley reveals that during the explosion Ronnie and Dr. Stein merged, before he escapes Cisco's custody. Later, Barry and his father discuss the Flash, with Henry insinuating he believes Barry is the Flash. Elsewhere, two city workers are attacked by the gorilla, Grodd, in the city's sewer system.
13"The Nuclear Man"Glen WinterAndrew Kreisberg & Katherine WalczakFebruary 10, 2015 (2015-02-10)3J53633.66
The team attempts to track Ronnie's whereabouts after he injures a scientist. Knowing that Dr. Martin Stein is in control of Ronnie's body, they use his wife to talk Stein/Ronnie into coming back to the lab for testing. Meanwhile, Joe enlists Cisco's help to identify who murdered Barry's mother. Cisco discovers an old mirror left in the former Allen home that captured images from the night of the murder, and Joe finds blood from two people behind some new wallpaper, one of whom was likely the killer. Joe asks Cisco to compare the blood to Dr. Wells', but Cisco refuses to believe Dr. Wells is involved. Dr. Wells discovers that Ronnie and Dr. Stein's atoms are in conflict, and if it continues they will become nuclear. Dr. Wells determines that a component of the tachyon device recharging his speed could be converted to a quantum splicer to stabilize Ronnie's body and separate the two personalities. Dr. Snow uses the device; Ronnie's body still goes nuclear, but safely away from the city. The explosion alerts General Eiling, who orders a team to recover "Firestorm". Cisco runs the blood samples and informs Joe that while neither is from Dr. Wells, one is from an adult Barry.
14"Fallout"Steve SurjikKeto Shimizu & Ben SokolowskiFebruary 17, 2015 (2015-02-17)3J53644.01
Barry and Caitlin investigate the explosion and find Ronnie and Dr. Stein have separated. General Eiling investigates the crater left by Ronnie and Stein's explosion, and realizes that "Firestorm" has separated. Joe shows Barry the images from the night his mother was killed, and Barry learns that a future version of himself was there trying to save his mother. Barry talks to Dr. Stein and learns about the possibility of time travel. Dr. Wells visits General Eiling, who reveals that he knows Barry is the Flash and that he wants the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. project. Dr. Wells gives up Dr. Stein, who is tortured by Eiling until Ronnie shows to save him. Ronnie and Dr. Stein are forced to reunite to survive Eiling's military onslaught. Merging properly this time, Ronnie and Dr. Stein work together to control the Firestorm Matrix within them, gaining enough control to be able to merge and separate on command. The pair decide to leave Central City to stay ahead of Eiling and learn more about their new powers. The Reverse-Flash kidnaps Eiling and brings him to the sewers. He reveals himself to be Dr. Wells, and allows Grodd, who is displaying psychic abilities, to drag Eiling deeper into the sewer.

The fifteenth episode is set to air on March 17, 2015. The sixteenth episode is titled "Rogue Time", and the eighteenth episode will be titled "All-Star Team-Up".

Production

Development

On July 30, 2013, it was announced that Arrow co-creators Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, Arrow pilot director David Nutter, and DC Comics CCO Geoff Johns would develop a television series based on the Flash for The CW, and it would detail Barry Allen's origin. Kreisberg revealed after the announcement that Allen would first appear as a recurring character on Arrow in three episodes of season two—all written by Berlanti, Kreisberg and Johns—and the last of the episodes would act as a backdoor pilot for the new show. Kreisberg added that Allen would be a forensic scientist and the introduction of his superpowers, as well as the reactions to this, will be very human and grounded. Johns stated that the character of the Flash in the show will resemble his comic book counterpart, complete with his trademark red costume, and not be a poor imitation. Kreisberg elaborated: "No sweat suits or strange code names; he will be The Flash." While researching the best way to depict the Flash's lightning speed, Johns stated it would not just be the standard "blurring around".

Barry ultimately appeared twice in Arrow's second season, with the planned backdoor pilot cancelled in favor of a traditional pilot by The CW executives, who had been impressed by early cuts of Barry's first two episodes on Arrow. This allowed the creative team to flesh out Barry's story and his world on a bigger budget, as opposed to a backdoor pilot's constraint of incorporating characters from the parent show. The pilot was officially ordered on January 29, 2014, and was written by Berlanti, Kreisberg, and Johns, and directed by Nutter. On May 8, 2014, The Flash was officially picked up as a series, with an initial order of 13 episodes. Three more episodes were ordered in September 2014 following a positive response to newly completed episodes by executives, while seven more were confirmed the next month for a full 23-episode season.

Design

The costume was designed by Colleen Atwood, who also designed the costumes for Arrow. It features a burgundy color scheme, a masked helmet, and gold accents throughout, and went through multiple adjustments from the moment it was placed in computer renderings to the day of filming the pilot. Primarily made of leather, the suit contains areas with a stretchable material to allow Gustin room to bend. It initially took Gustin approximately 40 minutes to get into his costume, as the first cowl was prosthetic and had to be zipped and glued to his face. This was cut down to approximately 15 minutes by episode eight, when designers were able to develop a new cowl that easily slid over Gustin's face and locked into place.

Filming

Production on the pilot began in March 2014, with filming taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia; additional filming for the series takes place in Portland, Oregon. On how action sequences are shot for the series, compared to Arrow, Gustin said, "When shoot action sequences, pretty much what you see is what you get and they're really doing everything. We do a lot of plate shots that are empty shots of the area we’re going to be in and then they’re putting us in later in post. I do a lot of the fighting. I don’t have to do it full speed and then they ramp it up and a lot of people have to freeze and I keep moving. Then I have to clear frame and step back into frame. It’s really tedious stuff that we have to do. On theirs, they learn fight choreography and they shoot it from the perfect angles and what you see is what you get."

Music

This section needs expansion. You can help by making an edit requestadding to it . (December 2014)

Arrow composer Blake Neely also composes for the series. On December 18, 2014, WaterTower Music and La La Records released a selection of music from The Flash/Arrow crossover episodes, as well as two bonus tracks from their respective 2014 midseason finales.

Broadcast

The Flash was screened at the Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment panel at San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2014. The series officially premiered on The CW on October 7, 2014, during the 2014–15 television season and also premiered in Canada on the same night. The second episode was screened at New York Comic Con on October 9, 2014, as a way to repay the viewers that watched the series' premiere episode. The series premiered in the United Kingdom and Ireland on October 28, 2014, and in Australia on December 3, 2014.

Critical reception

Regarding Gustin's debut as Barry Allen in Arrow and the potential for a series, IGN's Jesse Schedeen stated his concern: "Gustin doesn't come across as leading man material. His awkward bumbling intertwining with Felicity's was cute, but rarely did I get the impression that this character could or should be given his own spinoff series." Schedeen eventually warmed up to the character, however, once the "dorkiness and social awkwardness" were downplayed a bit and the emphasis was placed on "his keen scientific mind."

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 7.4/10 based on 55 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "The Flash benefits from its purposefully light atmosphere, making it a superhero show uniquely geared toward genre fans as well as novices." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 73 out of 100, based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". IGN's Eric Goldman and Joshua Yehl praised the show's premise and cast after viewing a press screening copy of the pilot. Goldman and Yehl favorably compared it to Arrow, stating that The Flash progresses with a confidence that Arrow did not get until later in the series.

Ratings

The first episode of The Flash was watched by 4.8 million viewers and had a 1.9 18–49 demographic rating, making it The CW's most watched and highest rated series premiere since The Vampire Diaries in 2009. It also became The CW's second-most watched series premiere ever, behind 90210, and the third-highest rated in the 18–49 demographic. Factoring Live + 7 day ratings, the pilot was watch by a total of 6.8 million viewers, becoming The CW's most-watched telecast and the highest-rated premiere among men 18–34 (2.5 rating). It broke the previous record for the most-watched telecast held by the cycle 8 finale of America's Next Top Model in 2007 (6.69 million). Additionally, across all platforms, including initiated streams on digital platforms and total unduplicated viewers on-air over two airings the week of October 7, 2014, the premiere was seen more than 13 million times.

The Canadian premiere was watched by 3.11 million viewers, making it the most-watched broadcast that night and the second for that week. In the United Kingdom, the premiere was the fourth highest-rated broadcast of the week and the eleventh of that month, with 1.53 million viewers. The timeshifted version got 82,000 viewers. The premiere in Australia was the most-watched broadcast on pay television, with 129,000 viewers tuning in.

Shared universe

Arrow

Main article: Arrow (TV series)

Barry made his first appearance in the Arrow season two episode "The Scientist" as a CSI from Central City. He arrives in Starling City to investigate a suspect with super powers who might have connections to a case in Central City. He meets Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) after Queen Consolidated is burgled. Barry has an immediate rapport with Oliver's confidante, Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards). Oliver is immediately suspicious of Barry despite the needs of his forensic expertise; Barry's investigation of the theft allows Oliver and his partners to begin uncovering the Mirakuru plot orchestrated by Deathstroke (Manu Bennett). Barry reveals that he is not in Starling officially, and his quarry may have been involved in the murder of Barry's mother. In addition, Barry hopes to meet the Arrow during his time in Starling City, as he has been reading the hero's exploits as a fan and seeks his help in solving his mother's murder. He is ordered to return to Central City, but Felicity and John Diggle (David Ramsey) bring him to their hideout when Oliver is poisoned. In the following episode, "Three Ghosts", Barry saves Oliver's life, and continues to assist Felicity in hunting Cyrus Gold (Graham Shiels), a test subject of Sebastian Blood (Kevin Alejandro), after proving that he can be trusted. In a gesture of friendship, he leaves a custom-made domino mask for Oliver to improve his disguise. Returning to Central City, he is hit by lightning while in his lab at the same time that the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explodes across town. In "Blast Radius", it is revealed that Barry was left in a coma following the lab accident. In "The Man Under the Hood", Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon take inventory at the Starling City facility of S.T.A.R. Labs prior to its shutdown by Harrison Wells; they are interrupted by Deathstroke. Caitlin and Cisco later help Felicity create an antidote for the Mirakuru drug.

In March 2014, it was announced that Gustin would not appear in a third episode of Arrow as originally planned. However, Danielle Panabaker and Carlos Valdes appear in the Arrow episode "The Man Under the Hood" in their roles as Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon, respectively. Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim stated, "This was something that really came about because obviously Barry is in a coma at the end of . That pretty much made it impossible for Barry to appear in ... The idea of bringing in really, really appealed to us because it allowed us to honor our original intention doing something Flash-related around episode 19 or 20 without having comatose Barry and basically paying Grant Gustin a lot of money to sit around with his eyes closed just unconscious the whole episode... It allows us to further flesh out the Flash universe in Arrow."

In May 2014, it was revealed that Amell appears as Oliver Queen / Arrow in the pilot episode. In July 2014, Kreisberg stated that Rickards would appear in the fourth episode as Felicity and that a crossover event would occur in episode eight of The Flash and the eighth episode of Arrow season 3. In August 2014, it was announced that previous Arrow nemesis William Tockman/The Clock King (Robert Knepper) would be making an appearance in the first season's seventh episode. Members of The Royal Flush Gang, who previously appeared on Arrow, made a cameo appearance in the eleventh episode of the series. In early January 2015, The CW president Mark Pedowitz announced the intention to do a Flash/Arrow crossover every season, while later that month, it was revealed that Rickards and Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer would appear in the eighteenth episode, "All-Star Team-Up".

Digital comic

The Flash: Season Zero, written by Kreisberg, Brooke Eikmeier and Katherine Walczak, with art by Phil Hester and Eric Gapstur, is intended to take place between the pilot episode and episode 2. Kreisberg stated, "Barry will be the Flash, he will have his team, everyone will be in that world, and we'll [sic] introducing a new set of villains that we won't be seeing on the TV show. It'll feel like the same heart, humor and spectacle that you get watching Flash." The comic will showcase the entire TV cast, plus new rogues, a group of circus performers who gained super powers as a result of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explosion. The group is led by Mr. Bliss, a character who first appeared in Starman. The comic launched digitally biweekly on September 8, 2014, with its first physical release featuring a collection of the digital releases, releasing on October 1.

Vixen

In January 2015, the CW announced that an animated web-series featuring the DC heroine Vixen would be debuting on CW Seed in late 2015. It will be set in the universe of Arrow and The Flash. The character is expected to make a live-action appearance on The Flash and/or Arrow as well.

Awards and nominations

The Flash won the "Favorite New TV Drama" People's Choice Award for 2014.

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