Late to the Game Review: The true story of how I flashed through The Flash in a week..

 

So I'm late on this by a few years, I'm here and that's what's important. Right? **Insert Padme Face Here**Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh?

I came to this one in a weird way though. Boyfriend and I were having our usual meme exchange and he sent one with someone who looked like The Dawson's dad. And I made a joke about said Dawson's dad resemblance and well, y'all, I never knew he was the 90's Flash. My fandom tendencies are weird and exhibit themselves in less than normal nerdy areas. Is what it is. But I digress...... He mentioned that John Wesley Shipp had also played the new Flash's dad. And..... Well...............

My love of The Dawson is the stuff of legend. I vividly remember forcing my parents to take me to Best Buy long before I worked there to buy ten packs of VHS tapes to tape it's weekly entry. And I always remember good ole Mitch Leery fondly. And he played a dad well enough that I figured hey, let's give this new dad role of his a go. 

And I'm so fucking glad I did. His roles, (Yes. Roles. Parallel Earths. Shit gets weird.), are played excellently, as even while in jail he's still rocking that good ole' Mitch Leery "I love you, son, now stop being a dumbass" spirit that I remember so well. Hell, he even pulls that off as another character when they walk into a diner that happens to be playing Dawson's Creek on the TV. (I could barely breathe I was laughing so hard. This is not an exaggeration. I thought I might pass out.)

And he's not the only one who I've come to adore in this show. Detective Joe West played by Law & Order alum Jesse L. Martin is another fatherly type to be much appreciated in this. If you play a cop this well, please dude, ALWAYS play jump at the chance to play a cop. There's a reason why I've watched insane amounts of L&O through the years and it's all down to the acting. Cos I feel like an anomaly of my generation..... Watching stuff about crime does not entertain me. Even the best writing won't do it alone, so acting plays a massive role in any crime show that does pique my interest. And Jesse L. Martin can play a fucking cop. And apparently a great dad to some kids with some oddness in their lives.

But I guess any review of The Flash wouldn't be complete without talking about this Flash and Grant Gustin did a fantastic job of sucking me into a chapter in the life of a hero that I actually came to the table knowing nothing about. Embodying a character who has actually been quite fucked in life life, but still insists on never letting it change him is a task that is a tall order to fill and he does it beautifully. 

The whole cast is quite well suited for their roles, exhibiting sides of their range that I've not quite seen before and executing it with superhero like precision. Enough so, that yes..... I literally watched the first six seasons in a week and a day.