So I waited until after the second episode to give my review/opinion on the new CW series, The Flash.  My opinion is that it is quite good!  For those of you that enjoy watching sci-fi and superheroes and even those that don’t, I think it’s worth checking out.  My kids (10 & 11 yr olds) have loved watching Arrow and Smallville (re-runs) so I thought they would enjoy this series too.  Well, they did and so did I.  It has a lighter feel than Arrow, with a less tormented hero, so I feel less guilty letting them watch.  However, it isn’t so cheesy and young that adults wouldn’t get into it.  Grant Gustin, the actor who plays Barry Allen is very likeable and does a good job portraying a young man who is struggling with new-found abilities and secrets.  The show delves into the origin of his powers right away and now we get to see what he does with them.

The show has interesting villains who can control weather, multiply themselves and who knows what’s next.  There is also a back story about the mysterious death of Barry’s mom and how his dad is wrongly incarcerated for her murder.  There is also some mystery about Dr. Wells of S.T.A.R. Labs that will unfold over time.  I think they’ve done a good job setting this series up with some cool individual episodes as well as some ongoing storylines to keep you hooked.  There are also enough quality actors to keep adult viewers interested.  In fact the actor who plays Barry’s dad, John Wesley Shipp, played the Flash in a 1990 show.  Tom Cavanagh (of Ed fame) plays the intriguing Dr. Wells and Jesse L. Martin (of Law & Order and Ali McBeal) does a great job as Detective Joe West who is Barry’s guardian.

I think this show has great potential and our family is into it already.  Maybe by next year my son’s will want a Flash costume for Halloween.  But for now, the boys have put the Smallville re-runs on hold in favor of The Flash…