Central City (2004 TV Series)

Central City is an American Television series, based off of DC Comic's superhero the Flash, the 2001 Television series Smallville and it's popular recurring character Bart Allen/Impulse. The series debuted October 2004, on the CW Television Network. The series is composed by Mark Snow and the theme song, "Save Me" is performed by Remy Zero.

The show has been noted as one of the supernatural-themed shows on the network, such as Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Charmed, Supernatural, and Roswell, and has been noted many times for its mixing of multiple genres (from famtasy to comedy to mystery to horror and even soap).

Overview
Bartholomew "Bart" Allen's life changes forever when his mother is murdered by what seems to be a man in a ball of lightning, and his father is convicted of the crime, leaving Barry to live with his best friend's family. Years later a teenage Bart mysteriously wakes up from a flash of light, discovering his super speed. The series sees Bart coping with adolescence as he get faster and faster, while exploring his mother's murder and the origin of his powers.

Like Smallville, the series is depicted as a three chapter series; Chapter 1 (Seasons 1-4) is Bart's high school years battling meta-humans. Chapter 2 (Seasons 5-7) is the beginning of his adulthood, facing dangerous supervillains. Chapter 3 (Seasons 8-10) is Bart's final trials and battles before becoming the Flash.

The series also focuses on Bart's relationships with the people in his life; his adoptive father Joe West, who took him in after his mother's death. His friends and S.T.A.R. Lab co-workers, Cisco Ramone and Kaitlynn Snow, who each develop powers of thier own. His on again off again love interest Linda Park. His friendship to romance with Iris West. And finally his friendship/mentorship to arch-rivalry with Harrison Wells/Eobarde Thawne/Reverse-Flash.

The particle accelerator explosion is used as a recurring plot device throughout the series, as it is shown to have lingering effects on human physiology, as the young speedster often has to battle the psychotic meta-humans, with bizarre powers, and mainly because it is revealed to have given Bart his powers.

Cast
• Bartholomew "Bart/Barry" Allen, a meta-human with super speed. As a child, his mother was murdered by somewhat of a man in a ball of lightning, and his father was convicted for the murder, leaving Bart to stay with the West family. Barry discovered his powers after waking up from a flash of light. Throughout the series, Bart constantly wears red and yellow, and in season 8 he is nicknamed "The Red Streak", then simply "The Streak", in seasons 9 and 10. Throughout most of the series his name is shortened to Bart, but then he changes it to Barry.

• Jesse L. Martin as Joe West, Iris West's father, Barry's foster father, and a detective for the Central City Police. He took Bart in after Nora's murder and Henry's conviction anf is one of the few people that knew Barry's secret and was the first to know, since episode one.

• Erica Tham as Linda Park, Bart's first love interest and his on again off again romance. She is a skilled journalist, first at her school paper and then the Central City Picture Newspaper.

• Tom Cavanagh as Harrison Wells/Eobarde Thawne/Reverse-Flash, the mind behind the Particle Accelerator. They became friends after Bart saved him and Harrison always pretended to have suspicions about Bart, until revealing he has super speed himself and to be the Reverse-Flash, from the future plotting to make Bart the Flash to steal his speed in order to return to his time.