Kevin and Bethany take a well-deserved prison break to talk about their new favorite show. Chill out and stick around for a while, ’cause we’re taking a look at CW’s The Flash.
This week, Barry and his team take on a new, more dangerous villain than they have faced so far, and an old friend from Barry’s (relatively recent past) comes to visit him in Central City.
Spoilers abound under the cut.
Is it just me or is it getting a bit misty in here? Lock up your emotions tight, ’cause we’re taking a look at CW’s The Flash.
KEVIN
Barry Allen has a complicated relationship with the law, his fathers, and how the law interacts with his fathers. Jailbird Dad was arrested and incarcerated by Cop Dad, but then Barry was given powers by Science Dad1 and uses it in a way that makes both Jailbird Dad and Cop Dad proud of him, and then the skies turn red and the Crisis of Infinite Dads begins.
(The Flash Season One: The Flashpoint Pair-o-dads)
Hope you had a lovely Father’s Day, readers. Or, in Barry’s case, Fathers’ Day.2 I’ve had a tumultuous few weeks, which is why this episode is so late, but I’m back – and I’m not alone! Joining me in these Flash reviews is our friend Bethany, who will join us a little further down the post.
The episode may be old, but spoiler warnings are still in full effect after the cut.
This week’s episode has Kevin beside himself with delight. Kick back and get yourself something filling, ’cause we’re taking a look at CW’s The Flash.
Last week’s post was more recappy and less analytical than I was originally intending. But that’s sort of the problem with first episodes – regardless of the usage of origin stories, there’s just way too much world-building and exposition that needs to happen before we get to the real dynamics.
But with the setup out of the way, it’s time to get down to business – which is something that Barry Allen fully agrees with, based on the opening narration of this week’s episode.
BARRY: “This is the part where I’m supposed to do the whole intro thingy. Barry Allen, Fastest Man Alive, but you know all that already. All right, let’s get to the good stuff.”
Far be it from me to argue with the protagonist.
The episode may be old, but spoiler warnings are still in full effect after the cut.
Lightning may not have given him abs, but Kevin is here to talk about his new favorite show. Strap yourselves into your Cosmic Treadmills, ’cause we’re taking a look at CW’s The Flash.
I’ll start out by saying that I don’t really keep up with Arrow. I had seen a couple episodes before this, and I’ve gone back and watched the Flash crossover episodes (and then I went back to some of the rest on Netflix afterwards), but I have trouble really getting into it. It’s dark and melodramatic and I’m sure it’s very good, but it hasn’t been holding my interest nearly as much as it could be.
(I’ll probably watch it anyway, though. At some point.)
I also do not really read that many comics, not like some of the ladies here1 do. All I know about the Flash comes from the animated Bruce Timmverse (which is Wally West), Young Justice2 (which has all four Flashes at one point), the 1990 series that I used to watch with my mom, and a couple of friends who are really into speedsters so I’ve picked some stuff up from proximity.
(I also am caught up with the series, as well – as of this writing, the most recent episode was 2×23, “The Race of His Life”, so until my writing catches up with the airing, this is a rewatch, rather than a first-watch review.)
But! Anyway. Let’s talk about a show that’s been on for two years, but I’m only now3 starting to get into it. Let’s talk The Flash.
The episode may be old, but spoiler warnings are still in full effect after the cut.
Hey, I’m bored. Want to start a podcast? I think it would be a lot of fun.
When Dayna and I started Made of Fail six years ago, we had no idea it would become what it is now. We recorded the first episode on my laptop, sitting on her living room floor, an audio splitter plugged into the microphone port so we could both use our gaming headsets. We didn’t do any editing, just immediately uploaded the finished show to LiveJournal so that our friends could download and listen to it.
Our first guests were our friends and family. Our first episodes were scattered and unfocused, as neither of us really knew what we were doing, but we learned as we went. We got better. We took advice. And through it all, we made new friends, gained new family.
Through it all, we’ve always maintained that This Should Be Fun. And to make sure it stays fun, we’ve made some changes over the years. We brought Devin on board as our dedicated audio editor, and he very quickly rose to the occasion. I retired from hosting three years ago in pursuit of my own projects, and George filled the role splendidly. The show has remained important to all of us, and we’ve always strived to keep it fun for you, our listeners.
This winter, we have another exciting change for all of you. Following our next episode, we’ll be passing the reins of the flagship podcast to new hosts. Fret not, for they’ve been part of the Made of Fail family almost since it began, and neither Dayna nor I could leave it in more capable hands.
Cleolinda Jones is a blogger and recapper that many of you may have known longer than we have. Emily Whitten has been all over fandom and has the con badges to show for it. We’re thrilled to have them on board, and we’ll be making the transition as smooth as possible for them.
Dayna will be taking my role as Executive Producer, and will be handling more of the back-end production duties, to leave Cleo and Emily free to make Made of Fail uniquely theirs.
As for me? I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be around anywhere you can find me – I just won’t be in charge anymore. And for that matter, I haven’t been for quite some time; the show has largely been self-sufficient, and I couldn’t possibly leave it in better hands.
The end of an era is always swiftly followed by the start of a new one, and I know I’m looking forward to see what happens as Made of Fail finds its way through the future.
Kevin here! We’ve been fundraising for a couple weeks now, and we’re in the home stretch! The Kickstarter for my upcoming theatre company is at 73%, with only nine days remaining!
If you’d like to support geek theatre in Chicago, want to help a Discworld play be staged, or just generally support the Made of Fail crew (joining me are The Burnham Society’s Rowan Bristol and Made of Fail’s own Tessa) (also support her breaking by watching her eversion videos!), please consider backing our project. Take a look at some of the fantastic rewards! And please share this with your family and friends.
Thank you, everyone. Without you, Made of Fail wouldn’t have come nearly as far as we are right now.
Hey, Kevin here, and I’m here with some fantastic news.
This summer, I’m forming the MorBacon Theatre Company, with fellow Made of Fail veterans Rowan Bristol and Tessa, and we’ll be putting on Terry Pratchett’s “Wyrd Sisters”, adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs. There’s a lot going into this, not the least of which is the royalty payment to license the play itself, so we’ve just started fundraising.
We’ll need $5,000 to put this show on here in Chicago, and for that I’m asking you for help.
Our Kickstarter is now live, and will be up until April 10th. Please consider donating if you can, and please pass the link around if you can’t. There are some special rewards and donation incentives, so take a look and see if there’s anything that interests you.
Thank you so much for being with us for the past nearly five years, and I look forward to going on this journey with all of you as well.
New episode of The Burnham Society Podcast, brought to you by Bristol Books!
New episode of The Burnham Society Podcast, brought to you by Bristol Books!
This week we introduce one of the newer members of the family. No bagpipes this time, though. Kayleigh brings us snark direct from the highlands.
What is your role in Made of Fail Productions?
I am a co-host on the pod-cast Anglo-Filles. This role mainly requires me to say lots of random and incoherent things that can occasionally be passed off as insightful, partly due to my accent. In my defence, it’s a cool accent.
What fascinates you the most about your fandoms, or fandom as a whole?
I’m hugely interested in the psychology behind fandom, both the positive and the negative. When it’s at its best, fandom can create an amazing sense of community, a safe place for discussion. Then it can go crazy. I mainly stick to book blogging these days, and YA blogging has seen its fair share of the madness, particularly over the past year or so. Seriously, why would you need the NYT book reviews section when you can have the bully blogger scandals? And yes, I’m apparently one of those bully bloggers. It’s a badge I wear with sick pride. The publishing industry has changed so dramatically recently thanks to some terrible books I won’t mention, and it’s the ultimate train wreck to document.
What is your proudest accomplishment or achievement?
Being called a bully blogger embarrassment to feminism and a monster because of my reviews? No, not quite. I’d say graduating from university with my degree in Celtic & English literature. It nearly destroyed me but it was worth it.
What do you do when you’re not online?
Not online? What an odd concept. I mainly read, write and watch movies.
What is your dream job?
I’m going back to university in 2013 to study theatre & performance studies, with the intention of specialising in writing about politics of and in drama. Ideally I’d like to work in theatre or dramatic academia, but I also have a sick and uncontrollable desire to work in politics. Not that you’d know it from my reasonable and balanced twitter feed.
What is your greatest pet peeve?
People who think that you can get away with saying abhorrent things if you do so nicely and claim you’re not trying to offend. Um, boo to you and your nice-person routine, it’s a terrible and insulting smoke-screen. Don’t think a smiley or a “good day” makes your comments excusable!