This review spoils the identity of a DC character who
shows up in this episode. Be warned.
Cast
Tom
Welling as
Clark Kent
Kristen Kreuk as
Lana Lang
Michael
Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
John
Glover
as Lionel Luthor
Annette
O’Toole as Martha Kent
John
Schneider as Jonathan Kent
Jensen Ackles as
Jason Teague
Allison Mack as
Chloe Sullivan.
Written by former Angel scribe Steven S.
deKnight.
Directed by David
Barrett.
Original Airdate
Run
originally aired on Wednesday,
October 20, 2004.
Synopsis
Clark learns that someone else is as fast as he is.
High Point
The last 30 seconds or so.
Low Point
A state of the art security system is a bunch of
lights and sirens?
The Review
This strikes me as a different version of the Flash
than we’re used
to, which counts for originality. This
didn’t even need to
be the DC character, but could have been any one of
the superpowered
villains we’ve seen. He was just more fleshed out
than most. I give
it 5 out of 6.
The effects were well done. They could have
used the same
effects they’ve used for Clark the entire time, but
went with a more
traditional Flash look instead. Excellent choice,
and a nice
indication that they don’t want to fall into a rut.
I give it 5 out
of 6.
The story was fairly well done, with the one
exception I
noticed above. There were no moments that really
demanded to be
overlooked, unlike several other episodes of the
show. We’ve got a
decent plot driving the main story forward, while
telling an
interesting one-time character piece in the meantime.
I give it 5 out
of 6.
The acting from Welling was better than
usual, possibly
because his character spent so much time lying and
withholding things
this week. He wasn’t supposed to come off as
natural. Kyle Gallner
did some good work as a guest star, too. I give it 5
out of 6.
The emotional response was pretty good. The
Talon scene was
very amusing, and many of the interactions between
cast members worked
quite well. I really like what we saw from Jonathan
this week. (I
expect his story to take a larger role this season.)
I love the way
they can use this as a seed to establish the entire
DC Universe. I
give it 5 out of 6.
The production was, again, well done. These
people know
their jobs, and they don’t seem to be tiring just
yet. I give it 5
out of 6.
Overall, it’s a pretty good episode, with
hardly any sex!
It’s probably going to be one of the high points of
the season. I
give it 5 out of 6.
In total,
Run
receives
35
out of 42.
Fakes ID’s
Were all the names of the other Flash characters –
I heard Barry Allen and Wally West. Was the first one Jay Garrick?
Pretty cool.
Re: Fakes ID’s
It sounded to me like they said “Jake Garrick” but I probably just misheard it. Still, I definitely shouted “Oh hell, yeah!” when I heard those fake ID names.
Another nice touch was when Bart told Chloe he was from the future. I chuckled a bit at that one.
Did we ever learn Bart’s last name? I don’t recall.
Re: Fakes ID’s
Clark called him “Bart Allen.”
They almost got the hair right, but his feet were way too small.
Re: Fakes ID’s
There’s no way they could have gotten away with making him look truly like comic book Bart, but damn it would have been funny. I did like the bonus geek service we got with the line UncleJam cited above.
I wonder, though, why they went with making him Bart instead of Wally. Considering the [power] origin they gave more closely lines up with Wally, it seems like that would have been just as easy. Of course, making him annoying and cocky is more of a Bart thing. I dunno. Any way you slice it, that was one heck of a good episode – let’s just hope that it doesn’t make them try to do a teen Wonder Woman episode as that could be truly painful.
Re: Fakes ID’s
You know, he could still actually be a young Barry Allen. Both “Bart” and “Barry” could be nicknames for “Bartholomew” and as Bart grows older and more mature, he might start using the name “Barry” as an adult.
I must have zoned out or something because I don’t recall the details of the origin they gave Bart. Can anyone refresh my memory?
Re: Fakes ID’s
Not having read the Flash comics myself I found a really good page on all characters with the Flash’s power. See Impulse under the 30th Century list for Bart.
To actually answer your question, they cover Bart’s origins (according to Smallville) here.
-cb
hey
anyone got a torrent I could get this? My tivo died and I”m out of town. email me trekkie at nomorstars.com so I don’t read the review looking for a response
thank you
Re: hey
You mean nomorestars dot com, right? :-) Bummer on the Tivo – you need two! Great episode. Favorite so far and a wonderful relief after last week.
Re: hey
So far this season :-)
Re: hey
Heh, that was my second one. The first one recorded Lost :)
Clark lied too much
Personally I thought that Clark lied too much. I saw no reason for him to hold back everything about the page as he should have known that Lex would have had it closely examined. I also don’t understand why he just stood there after the page was swiped, or why he even had to go there secretly since Lex said for him to come back and they would spend more time examining it.
Re: Clark lied too much
Do you mean holding back from Lex about the page? How would he explain seeing the map without giving away his x-ray vision? As for his standing there after Bart’s theft, the simplest explanation is that by letting himself be “caught” in the room, he ruled himself out as a suspect. Considering Clark’s penchant for secrecy, he could hardly be suspected of having an accomplice who got away with the page.
Re: Clark lied too much
He wouldn’t have had to say much, just that he suspected there was more to the page than met the eye, something vague like that. About the theft, he could have told Lex that he thought he knew who took it, a person he just recently met that had folowed him there earlier that day, and that he would take care of it.