The Flash: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]

Cast: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker

Release Date: Now Available On Blu-ray & DVD

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 9.5/10

 

Synopsis:

Central City forensic investigator Barry Allen is, always charming and – as a result of a scientific experiment gone awry – now the fastest man alive! He’s The Flash, zigzagging through the action-packed new series from the creative team behind Arrow and based on the supersonic DC Comics character. With his life shadowed by his mother’s murder and his father wrongly convicted of the crime, Barry finds that his newfound power of super speed grants him the ability to move through Central City like an unseen guardian angel. Barry quickly discovers he’s not the only “metahuman” created by the explosive disaster – and not everyone is using their new powers for good. Now, to protect the innocent, Barry and his close friends who know his secret, race to combat evildoers in one astonishing adventure after another.

Following the popularity and praise (from myself included) of DC’s recent hit series ‘Arrow’, the same creative team brings us ‘The Flash’ which tells the story of young genius Barry Allen (originally introduced in the second season of ‘Arrow’) who after being struck by lightning during a freak occurrence and surviving, awakens some time later to discover that he has been granted the gift of super speed as an apparent result of the accident. Joining forces with the scientist responsible for creating the object which caused the occurrence in addition to his two assistants, Barry learns how to control his abilities and become a hero for the city, racing throughout town in order to help those in need, while also doing everything in his power to discover the identity of the man who killed his mother and framed his father for her murder back when he was a child, someone who just may have abilities similar to his own.

‘The Flash’ is easily one of the best new shows of the previous TV season, right up with their with its amazing brother series (so to speak) ‘Arrow’ and if anything only delivering more intensity and excitement. While only one season in so far, ‘The Flash’ has already managed to throw a barrage of mind blowing twists and thrilling turns at us, taking things to a level far wilder than I could have ever imaged being reached in its initial season, or even second. It also pays homage not only to its comic origins, but to the short lived 1990 TV series, including John Wesley Shipp who played the title character in the 1990 version portraying Barry’s father this time around, not to mention the legendary Mark Hamill reprising his role of the Trickster. ‘The Flash’ is incredibly fun and I can’t possibly recommend it highly enough, it’s an exhilarating, fast-paced show that is well worth checking out for those who haven’t yet had the pleasure.

Fellow fans of ‘The Flash’ as well ‘Arrow’ and the DC Universe in general will all almost certainly want to make sure to pick up a copy of ‘The Flash: The Complete First Season’ on Blu-ray to add to their collections. While some may want to play it safe and rent at least a few episodes prior to purchasing the set, those who enjoy ‘Arrow’ will almost undoubtedly love ‘The Flash’ as well. The Blu-ray release delivers top notch high definition video and audio presentations on all 23 episodes of the debut season, along with a number of great bonus goodies included Deleted Scene(s) for over half of the episodes, Audio Commentary on the Pilot episode and more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) easily making it a must own.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Flash: The Complete First Season’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the show’s original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio on all of the first seasons episodes. The video presentations look fantastic, delivering a sharp, detailed video presentation on each episode, beautifully representing the rich, warm colors so prominent in the series. They hold up impressively during the fast moving action sequences which there are certainly no shortage of here, never causing anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, these are impressive high definition video presentations that should easily please fellow fans of this incredibly fun show.

AUDIO:

The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on all 23 Season One episodes. These lossless multichannel soundtracks sound amazing, delivering aggressive, clean and enjoyable audio presentations on every episode, utilizing all five available channels more often than not in order to surround the viewer with any number of action oriented auditory effects, including plenty of Barry zipping past throughout the speakers, while never resulting in any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, these are top notch 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtracks that perfectly compliment the series and contribute even more fun to the overall viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Flash: The Complete First Season’ includes a solid collection of fast-paced extras. Included on the release are Deleted Scene(s) on over half of the season’s episodes, plus an Audio Commentary on the ‘Pilot’. Also included are a few Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore different aspects of bringing the series to life, they include: ‘Behind the Story: The Trickster Returns!’ (running approximately 9 minutes in length), ‘The Fastest Man Alive!’ (approximately 31 minutes), ‘Creating the Blur! The VFX of The Flash’ (26 minutes) and ‘The Chemistry of Emily and Grant Screen Test’ (4 minutes). We are also treated to a ‘Gag Reel’ (8 minutes) and ‘DC Comics Night at Comic-Con 2014 Presenting Gotham, The Flash, Constantine and Arrow’ (30 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

Disc Rating: 9.5/10

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