After the onslaught of superhero shows that was the 2014 television season — DC Entertainment has proven its place on the small screen outpacing the competition in audience numbers. There was only one serious casualty in primetime, and it wasn’t necessary that the show Constantine was bad — it was just on the wrong network, sandwiched between two shows that had little to no connectivity with the property. That the acerbic magi John Constantine will be returning to television — it was already announced that actor Matt Ryan would be reprising his role on this season’s arc of Arrow — is itself a testament to DC’s dedication to expanding its live-action universe.
So as both The CW hits Arrow returns with a new vision for Season Four and The Flash leaves behind any indication of its freshman fancy; that honor will go to the new kid on the block Supergirl (premiering on CBS 25 years after the now-classic The Flash starring John Wesley Shipp had its run) — fans can get all caught up with the newly minted Blu-ray discs, DVD and Digital HD Combo Packs available now for home viewing. With stories practically leaping off the page, these Blu-ray packages are loaded with bonus content that will blow your mind.
The CW’s DC Universe exploded the same night that the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator did, turning CSI Investigator Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) into the fastest man alive – The Flash. In the ensuing year that followed, Barry with the help of his allies took on a series of rogues including Captain Cold, Heatwave, not one, but two Weather Wizards, and a Gorilla Grodd — all the while dodging a dangerous masterplan from his greatest adversary the Reverse-Flash.
For diehard Flash fans, the new television series, a proper spin-off of Arrow, was a dream! Seeing the flesh and blood versions of a Weather Wizard (Liam McIntyre), Reverse-Flash (Tom Cavanagh) not to mention a gorilla named Grodd rampaging underground Central City was like tuning in to Christmas every Tuesday night. That The Flash was a ratings hit as well as critically acclaimed, the first season was awarded a 2015 People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama, validated the genre’s appeal.
Since introduced at Comic-Con in 2014, the cast has ascended to new heights of celebrity. Grant Gustin, Danielle Panabaker, Candice Patton and Carlos Valdes have easily become the template by which all other casts in this genre will be judged. Producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg draw the perfect balance between action adventure, and serious character drama, and the effects are on a par with Hollywood’s best.
Attracting veteran actors like Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanagh and Victor Garber into the mix legitimized the genre and opened it up to an entirely new generation, and including “The Flash” from the original show, John Wesley Shipp in the role of Barry’s father Henry Allen, was a wonderful homage to what had come before. The Flash is now ready to run on its own legs, but will always be worth revisiting again and again. With this 4-disc Blu-ray set, fans get to go behind-the-scenes with over 3 hours of content.
After catching your breath while visiting Central City, head on over to Starling City the home turf of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) and get caught up on Arrow – The Complete Third Season. This may have been the most powerfully charged hour on television, which had Oliver facing down the threat of Ra’s al Ghul and his League of Assassins. “Team Arrow” indoctrinated Arsenal (Colton Haynes) this season, and also the introduction of Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) threw the Atom into the mix.
As the season got underway, the first series of cross-over events between Arrow and The Flash made it all real…the DC TV Universe was in full-effect and was about to get bigger, but in the meantime, Oliver faced off against urban street fighters. Assuming the mantle left behind by her departed sister Laurel (Katie Cassidy) muscled up, took up kick-boxing from Ted Grant, the Wildcat and became the Black Canary. The Arrow would have to make the hard choices, but with a new future ahead of him all bets are off.
Season Three of Arrow concludes what show-runner Marc Guggenheim has described as a pivotal arc in the development of Oliver Queen’s journey to becoming the iconic DC Comics Emerald Archer. As fans await the next evolution of the show, which promises to be “lighter” though not any less thrilling, we know that what’s on the horizon is going to be supernatural!
The 4-disc Blu-ray set features all the season’s episodes including the epic cross-overs and bonus content from Comic-Con 2014 starring the show’s cast with a special look at the development of that other DC legend, the Atom.
Get caught up on all your favorite DC Entertainment now in anticipation of the new seasons this October on The CW with Arrow – The Complete Third Season and The Flash – The Complete First Season available now on Bu-ray and Digital HD.
