Why the '90s Flash TV Series Was Canceled | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Popular and beloved DC Comics hero, the Flash, is garnering lots of attention these days. Fans are buzzing about the upcoming 2022 The Flash film and the multiverse it's allegedly going to bring to the DC Extended Universe. Ezra Miller is set to reprise his Justice League role as Barry Allen, with reports of other DCEU heroes to join as well. Prior to Miller's Flash, Grant Gustin portrayed the scarlet speedster in the popular Arrowverse television series, The Flash. But years before either Gustin or Miller took on the mantle, actor John Wesley Shipp starred in the '90s Flash show. However, this series was extremely short lived, only airing for about eight months. Here, we look at why Barry Allen's '90s series was canceled.

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The Flash aired on CBS on September 20, 1990. As previously stated, Barry Allen was played by John Wesley Shipp, who, interestingly, later played Dr. Henry Allen, Barry's father, in the Arrowverse series. The show opened with Flash's origin story. Barry worked as a forensic scientist for the Central City police when one day he was struck by lightning and doused in chemicals in his lab. This incident caused him to develop super speed, and thus, he became the crime-fighting Flash. The series documented his heroic adventures and attempts at living a double life.

Before Shipp entered his role as the Flash, showrunners Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo began development for the series back in 1988. Initially, they conceived a show featuring several superheroes, including Flash, but that project wasn't made. Two years later, in 1990, then-new CBS Entertainment president Jeff Sagansky expressed interest in creating a Flash series, and Bilson and De Meo were brought on to produce it.

Things started out well for the show. Bilson and De Meo produced a two-hour-long pilot episode detailing Flash's origin story, complete with presenting his super-speed and his over-exaggerated muscley suit. However, things quickly began to take a turn for the worse. Apparently, Bilson and De Meo thought it would be wise to take inspiration from Tim Burton's Batman series which was popular at the time. They incorporated Batman's gothic energy into The Flash. But the dark grunginess of Gotham City didn't work well in Barry's world. As an article from A.V. Club stated, "The resulting Central City exists in a perpetual cultural twilight, trapped between 1955 and 1985 in a way that could be fascinating, but is really just messy."

The convoluted artistic setting wasn't the only thing off about The Flash. The plotline didn't follow a particular thread, which was, admittedly, common for shows of this time; however, a series such as The Flash could have greatly benefitted from this. As well, many of Barry's relationships were confusing and unclear, specifically with Tina McGee, a fellow S.T.A.R. Labs scientist who supported Barry in his superhero endeavors. The two were certainly friends, but had a "will they, won't they" relationship that is never clearly defined. Even more frustrating was the fact that Flash never went up against a worthy opponent. He fought criminals such as a motorcycle gang leader and an escaped convict, but it would've been much more thrilling to see the scarlet speedster go up against a villain of his own caliber.

While the lack of artistic direction, undefined character relationships, and underwhelming villains certainly didn't help the show, it was its shifting time slot that led to its ultimate demise. CBS originally had it slotted for 8 PM on Thursdays to compete with NBC's The Cosby Show in an attempt to draw the younger audience. However, Fox moved The Simpsons to the same time for the exact same reason, leaving The Flash to contend with two already popular shows. After The Flash debuted its pilot, CBS moved the show to Thursdays at 8:30 PM, where it had less threatening opponents in Fox's Babes and NBC's A Different World. Later, The Flash was moved yet again, this time to Saturday nights. But even that move wasn't enough to save the series, and The Flash aired its twenty-second and final episode on May 18, 1991

Though the '90s Flash series met an unfortunate end, it represents a piece of superhero history. The Flash embodies the campiness that was the superhero genre of that time, before the likes of Raimi's Spider-Man and 2000's X-Men came along and ushered in a new era. It may be true that The Flash wasn't the best or longest-lasting superhero show, but it's still a great one to watch if you want to revel in a bit of nostalgia.

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