The Flash: 1990 Behind-the-Scenes Preview Video Reappears Online

A new look at an old video promoting CBS's The Flash has surfaced on the Internet, giving a rare behind-the-scenes look at television's first Flash series.

John Wesley Shipp, who played the Flash in the old series (and now plays Barry Allen's father in the current one), posted the video on his Facebook page earlier this week. The video, which aired just prior to the series' release in September 1990, interviewed the show's cast, crew, and executives. Through conversations with figures like executive producer Danny Bilson, fans can get a feel for what the show's creators hoped to achieve with the old series, which only made it to one season.

"I always called the Flash, as we've done it, Batman's cousin," Bilson says in the video. "We keep the same kind of tone and intensity to the character."

It's interesting that CBS wanted The Flash, DC's poster boy for optimism and silver-age charm, to mirror their perpetually brooding icon, Batman. The two couldn't be more different. But seeing as how Tim Burton's Batman, which came out in 1989, sparked an unprecedented pop culture frenzy, it's likely that The Flash was trying to ride on Batman's success as a dark and gritty franchise.

Check out the full video below for more interviews with the crew's costume designers, John Wesley Shipp, and more.

Shipp appears regularly on The Flash, which airs on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. on The CW.