# Flash: new TV show (boxed spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818 "2014-10-09T01:14:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/161 "2014-11-05T13:55:17Z")
As with most TV shows if you’re wondering how he eats and breathes and other science facts, then repeat to yourself, “It’s just a show I should really just relax”. Sounds better with robots of course. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/162 "2014-11-05T14:22:42Z")
Even more than being a TV show, it’s a _comic book._ Remember, in the comics, his costume fits into a _ring._ ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/163 "2014-11-05T21:58:45Z")
But I’m okay with handwaving that stuff, which is fundamentally necessary for the premise to work. Adding a zero and saying “3,000 MPH” or “7,000 MPH” would cause no problems I can see. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/164 "2014-11-06T03:50:12Z")
All of that said, I would like at least two lines of dialogue about why his super-speed fails whenever someone decides to take a punch at him. It doesn’t have to be brilliant, just something. God knows I can suspend me some disbelief; just look at the Doctor Who threads this season. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/165 "2014-11-06T13:22:23Z")
He’s still new to this and he isn’t invulnerable… that whole “equal and opposite reaction” thing rears its ugly head. If somebody takes a swing at him and he doesn’t catch it in time to dodge it, he’ll run right into a fist at N(hundred) MPH, and even if it’d tear the other guy’s arm off, it wouldn’t his face much good, either, so he slams on the brakes and lets them punch him at a more reasonable speed. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/166 "2014-11-06T14:55:08Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Just watched the pilot. Aren’t the speeds being thrown around waaayyyy too slow? It takes him several seconds to accelerate to 300 MPH, and they wonder if he can possibly handle going 700 MPH at the end. But when he is zipping through traffic, or “flashing” across the room and back (to stop the guy from grabbing the gun) so fast his crush doesn’t notice he’s gone, he’s obviously going, what, several thousand MPH at least? You move around a room at 300 MPH, and you’ll create quite a stir…but you certainly will be anything but invisible! I did a rough calculation based on the persistence of vision and came up with an approximate speed of 1,700 mph to be invisible, depending on how long he was in your field of vision. Obviously coming straight towards you or going away he’s going to be more perceptible. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/167 "2014-11-07T00:26:48Z")
Okay, this is odd. the CW web site has Wednesday’s (11/5) episode of _Arrow_ posted, but not Tuesday’s (11/4) episode of _The Flash_. 😕 ETA: Okay, according to _The Flash_’s Facebook page, there was no episode aired on Tuesday. Because elections. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/168 "2014-11-07T01:49:01Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > He’s still new to this and he isn’t invulnerable… that whole “equal and opposite reaction” thing rears its ugly head. If somebody takes a swing at him and he doesn’t catch it in time to dodge it, he’ll run right into a fist at N(hundred) MPH, and even if it’d tear the other guy’s arm off, it wouldn’t his face much good, either, so he slams on the brakes and lets them punch him at a more reasonable speed. Hey, that’s fine. I just wish they’d put in a couple lines of dialogue to that effect. I’m willing to let it slide, in other words, but I’d like them to at least paper over it w/ some in-universe rationale. Rather disappointed not to have an episode this week–this is getting to be a show I look forward to. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/169 "2014-11-07T06:13:12Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I did a rough calculation based on the persistence of vision and came up with an approximate speed of 1,700 mph to be invisible, depending on how long he was in your field of vision. Obviously coming straight towards you or going away he’s going to be more perceptible. Nice, thanks for doing this. This squares with my gut sense too. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/170 "2014-11-09T21:07:14Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Something that bugs me about Clark Kent, Flash and other super fast characters is how they experience time. Presumably, their thoughts speed up and time moves more or less normally for them when they’re at speed. Okay, but what about when they run across town, or across country? It would take all day to run across town and many days to run across country. But these characters will zip there and back like it’s no big deal. Just went to get a sandwich. How incredibly boring would it be to run across the country, just for a sandwich? To them, that’s days and days of boring running, isn’t it? I’ve always wondered exactly this. When Flash is chasing Zum in the JLA issues with the Hyperclan, they run around the Earth multiple times. If his mind is sped up along with his body, then you’re talking months or years of subjective running. But, if his consciousness is somehow divorced from the distances he’s traveling so that his mind is working in real time, how does he react to anything along the way, and not just plow through every obstacle that’s in his path before he even knows it’s there? Eh, comics. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/171 "2014-11-12T04:03:44Z")
Fun episode. Good dialogue. Cool new villain/character! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/172 "2014-11-12T04:40:43Z")
Should have seen that last scene coming as soon as the doc explained what Eiling originally wanted from him. Instead I didn’t figure it out until ‘he’ was mentioned.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/173 "2014-11-12T05:10:34Z")
Fans will definitely go ape when they see the ending to the latest episode. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/174 "2014-11-12T07:53:11Z")
Heh, playing “I Ran” while Barry tries to convince Iris to stop blogging. That was a pretty good episode. I think this show has hit its stride. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/175 "2014-11-12T19:37:34Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Fans will definitely go ape when they see the ending to the latest episode. That fell sort of flat to me. They did the “slow dramatic zoom pan” like it was a surprise when they’d already shown us the cage and nameplate. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/176 "2014-11-12T23:10:21Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > That fell sort of flat to me. They did the “slow dramatic zoom pan” like it was a surprise when they’d already shown us the cage and nameplate. That was kinda funny. We saw the nameplate. Zoom in. Hold. Okay we saw it! I’m googling it now! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/177 "2014-11-14T21:38:25Z")
Of all the pointless nitpicks, I had to fixate on this one. Watched a new episode last night, with the Incredible Exploding Girl who had Afghani shrapnel embedded in her causing her to make things explode when she became a meta-human. All that was fine with me. However, Barry Allen complains that his super-fast metabolism means he cannot feel buzzed from normal alcoholic drinks. He chugs five or six shots - nothing. At the end, one of the scientists gives him a shot that she says will buzz him, saying it is 500 proof. This is impossible. “Proof” is an expression of the percentage of alcohol in a given liquor, corresponding to about half a percent. Thus 40 proof is 20% alcohol, 80 proof is40%, and Everclear is (I believe) 199 proof. 500 proof means it is 250% alcohol. No such thing, and the scientist should know this. He can accelerate to 650 mph in a few seconds, but I get annoyed when they make a misstatement about booze measurements. Go figure. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/178 "2014-11-14T22:10:50Z")
It would have been better if the scientist mixed the alcohol with a “kryptonite” substance that temporarily negates his powers. Then a super villain could get their hands on it. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/179 "2014-11-14T22:16:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Of all the pointless nitpicks, I had to fixate on this one. > > Watched a new episode last night, with the Incredible Exploding Girl who had Afghani shrapnel embedded in her causing her to make things explode when she became a meta-human. All that was fine with me. > > However, Barry Allen complains that his super-fast metabolism means he cannot feel buzzed from normal alcoholic drinks. He chugs five or six shots - nothing. At the end, one of the scientists gives him a shot that she says will buzz him, saying it is 500 proof. > > This is impossible. “Proof” is an expression of the percentage of alcohol in a given liquor, corresponding to about half a percent. Thus 40 proof is 20% alcohol, 80 proof is40%, and Everclear is (I believe) 199 proof. 500 proof means it is 250% alcohol. No such thing, and the scientist should know this. > > He can accelerate to 650 mph in a few seconds, but I get annoyed when they make a misstatement about booze measurements. Go figure. > > Regards, > Shodan Perhaps you do not understate superscience as it relates to potent potables: [307 Ale | Tom Smith](http://tomsmith.bandcamp.com/track/307-ale) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818/180 "2014-11-14T22:35:33Z")
Sure, that alcohol was 500 proof. And Captain Cold’s freeze-gun is, like, a thousand degrees below zero. The original comic-book Plastique was French-Canadian. I was vaguely annoyed that the character was made American and played by a not-good actress. And do American Army Generals typically walk around in combats without head-dress? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-new-tv-show-boxed-spoilers/700818.md?page=10)