# The Flash (1990)

> A crime lab chemist is transformed into the fastest man alive after a lightning strike and must use his new speed to fight crime.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/219

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 22
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: action, science fiction
- Created by: Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo
- Network: CBS
- Cast: John Wesley Shipp, Amanda Pays, Alex Désert, Lycia Naff, Corinne Bohrer, Jeri Ryan, Michael Nader, Biff Manard
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098798/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: wholesome, breezy, earnest, cheerful, action packed

## What critics say

The 1990 series is remembered as a earnest, low-budget superhero adaptation of the DC character with a likable lead performance, though its effects and writing were dated.

## Synopsis

The Flash (1990-1991) is a United States network superhero series created by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo for CBS. John Wesley Shipp plays chemist Barry Allen, who becomes the fastest man alive after a bolt of lightning and a mix of electrically charged substances transform him in a police crime lab. Amanda Pays appears as Christina Tina McGee, and Alex Désert as Julio Mendez, two colleagues who orbit his double life. The engine of the series is simple: Barry uses his new speed to help the police catch criminals while hiding his identity from the people closest to him. Each of the single season's 22 episodes is a self-contained case of the week, with a crime to stop, a villain to outrun, and a lesson to deliver. The show is a one season story with a broadly cheerful tone, a wholesome family-friendly register, and an earnest hero who wants to do good. Set in a contemporary American city, it sits in the tradition of 1990s network superhero adventures, alongside fans of The Incredible Hulk and Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, who will find the same mix of accessible action and gentle heroism. Its arc was cut short after one season, leaving the story unfinished.

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- [The Greatest American Hero (1981)](https://ember.film/tv/1801)
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- [Supergirl (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55709)

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