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Flashback: When The Flash Was Developed For The WB In 2003
Ten years before The CW, The Flash was developed as a new series on The WB network.
The Flash series for The CW was not the first TV revival that was planned for the character.
In 2003, more than a decade after John Wesley Shipp wore the red tights, and two years after the premiere of Smallville, it was announced in the trade magazines that The WB had ordered a pilot script for a Flash series with a “healthy penalty” if it did not happen (and of course, it didn’t, and it was dead by January of the next year.)
News of The WB Flash series came out in Daily Variety on September 12, 2003 in an article by Josef Adalian. Todd Komarnicki (Resistance, Elf) was attached to write and executive produce — and just like Smallville’s “no flights, no tights,” there wouldn’t be a costume. This character also had a different background — he’s a young Gothamite who had just graduated from college. “Once our hero gets his calling, he’s given the advice, ‘Live fast so others don’t die young,’ ” Komarnicki said. “This is a story about a guy who’s aimlessly drifting through life and barely moving at the speed of life when he discovers his calling is to move at the speed of light,” he added.
The other zinger, and something present-day CW Barry should always avoid himself, is that The Flash would be a time-travel show, with Barry’s powers allowing him this ability to travel forward and backward in time.
“We’ve been talking internally about doing a Time Tunnel-style show, and this was the perfect way to blend time travel with an established franchise we know is beloved by people who know the comic,” Warner Bros.’ Carolyn Bernstein told Variety. Komarnicki added that “when he’s in the future, he’s missing his present,” and “he’s really giving up his own life to help others.”
Bernstein also revealed that every week would have a mission, a la Mission: Impossible, which makes it sound a bit like modern-day shows like Timeless. “It’s a big, fun, adventure series. There’s also a mentor character who’ll train him, and there’s a legacy of Flashes before him,” she added.
The 2003 pilot script for The Flash has, to our knowledge, never leaked, so we don’t even know if The Flash was Barry Allen, Wally West, or another choice. Still, this is a mostly-forgotten part of TV history that never ended up being casted or filmed. Ultimately, a Flash appeared on Smallville in 2004 in the form of Bart Allen, as played by Kyle Gallner, but beyond the appearances of that character, we’d have to wait another ten years to see Grant Gustin in live action as the Scarlet Speedster. Oh, and interesting trivia: The Flash TV series that never happened was announced on the same day that news came that Christian Bale would be Batman. That story, of course, was a lot more successful.
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John Wesley Shipp Is Rewatching Flash 1990: “I Can See So Much More”
Actor John Wesley Shipp has revealed that he is watching the classic Flash series for the first time in 34 years.
1990 Flash actor John Wesley Shipp, who later played Henry Allen and Jay Garrick and reprised his original role in crossovers, is currently rewatching his classic series as it was recently released to Blu-ray.
Some very exciting news came today courtesy of the Warner Archive… the 1990 Flash TV series starring John Wesley Shipp is coming to Blu-ray!
“Watching series straight through for first time in 34 years,” the actor posted on Twitter/X. “Now in blu-ray – Man! I can see so much more. It’s cool, like watching somebody else, discovering things I didn’t know were there.”
The six-disc set was released on June 14 from the Warner Archive Collection and it featured the entire first season with new 2024 1080p HD masters from 4K scans of the original camera negatives. Here’s how the set is described; the box art can be seen below. Hopefully, this means we’ll get remasters on other classic series in the future.
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Who-o-o-o-osh! The origins and exploits of the crimefighting DC Comics superhero come your way in this 22-episode live-action series, from the 1990-91 television season. John Wesley Shipp portrays Barry Allen, a police crime technologist endowed with sudden talents after a fluke lab accident. He pledges to use his new powers for good, powers that include ultra-speed reflexes and the ability to vibrate his molecules so rapidly he can pass through solid walls. Amanda Pays is medical researcher Tina McGee, who monitors Allen’s accelerated metabolism and guards his secret identity. The Tricksters, Captain Cold, the Ghost, mad inventors: Central City is rife with criminals. Now there’s a hero to keep pace with them. He’s called The Flash. And in our era of instant communications, he’s more in step with the times than ever.
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New CW Head Throws Shade At The Flash
New CW President Brad Schwartz has thrown shade at The Flash while propping up another series.
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Flash Cast Member Returns for the Superman & Lois Finale
A major actor from The Flash will be playing a role in the series finale of Superman & Lois.
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