Whole New World(s) for The Flash in Season Two now on Blu-ray

The second season of CW's breakout superhero show (and two-time winner of Critical Blast's Best Television Show of the Year) THE FLASH is now available on for home video on Blu-ray and DVD, including the crossover with ARROW (but not the crossover with SUPERGIRL). Maybe next year.

This second season really brought to the television screen what The Flash is all about in comic book history -- the science and fantasy of the potential of alternate worlds and variant timelines. After having closed the singularity that threatened everything at the end of the first season, Flash (GRANT GUSTIN) and his allies at S.T.A.R. Labs -- Caitlyn Snow (DANIELLE PANABAKER) and Cisco Ramon (CARLOS VALDES) -- make a startling discovery: the singularity created rifts, 52 to be exact, in the fabric of space that serve as a bridge to an alternate Earth, Earth-2. Through this rift comes a man calling himself Jay Garrick (TEDDY SEARS), who is also known as The Flash. However, he claims that he lost his speed fighting a super-fast baddie known as Zoom, a killer who wants the speed of all speedsters for himself.

With Zoom aware of the rifts -- and of the existence of Barry Allen -- we start to see a barrage of new villains as Zoom sends them from Earth-2 with the mission to kill The Flash. Some of the villains are brand new -- Sand Demon, Atom Smasher -- and some are new as villains but familiar faces. When Doctor Light comes through the rift, we are shocked to learn that her identity is Linda Park (MALESE JOW), Barry's former fling who works as a journalist alongside Barry's like-a-sister / lifelong-crush Iris West (CANDACE PATTON). In fact, most of the people on Earth-2 have a doppelganger, including Dr. Harrison Wells (TOM CAVANAGH), who was the Reverse-Flash in the first series but who is now just a cynical pain in the ass who is out to stop Zoom so he can rescue his captive daughter, Jesse (VIOLETT BEANE).

The season also introduces some shakeups to the West family who raised Barry. Detective Joe West (JESSE L. MARTIN) gets a visit from his said-to-be-dead wife, Francine (VANESSA WILLIAMS) and learns he has a son he never knew about, Wally (KEIYNAN LONSDALE), who has a thing for speed himself. The revelation that her mother is alive rocks Iris, but also hardens her when she learns the truth about her dad's deception.

The writers deliver some great stories with some great villains, but it's the effects department that really shines in this show. The super-speed effects alone are fantastic, with the utilization of 'digital doubles' to film some of the greatest CGI motion shots to date. But the CGI team also comes into play when showing other characters and their abilities, like Sand Demon's ability to turn himself into sand, or the towering, imposing, and scary-as-hell King Shark and Gorilla Grodd. None of this would have been possible in the previous incarnation of THE FLASH, which featured JOHN WESLEY SHIPP as the hero. Speaking of Shipp, I loved that the series cast him as Henry Allen, Barry's father, and I cursed his fate during this season. However, his appearance in the final episode in a surprise role was something that made me stand up and cheer -- a touching and absolutely fitting choice of casting.

The bonus features on this release are worth the watch, even if some of the bits do get repeated in other bits. You get some interesting glimpses into the process of the special effects, and some insights to some of the stories that were hallmarks of the season, like "Family of Rogues" which introduced MICHAEL IRONSIDE as Lewis Snart, the cold-hearted killer father of Captain Cold / Leonard Snart (WENTWORTH MILLER) and Golden Glider / Lisa Snart (PEYTON LIST, who will be headlining the very entertaining and intriguing FREQUENCY this Fall), and "Running to Stand Still," the season's Christmas episode, which brought together Rogues Captain Cold, Weather Wizard Mark Mardon (LIAM MCINTYRE) and the insane Trickster (MARK HAMILL).

Of course, the season ends on a cliffhanger that still has fans talking, as expectations for season three are super-high to see what "Flashpoint" will be bringing us. Season three debuts on CW this October 4, so get your copy of the second season today to do some flash-binging before it starts.