The first time around, with John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen.

Burned by Birds of Prey, but still willing to dance with the fire, the WB has once again turned to their sister company DC for inspiration.

This time around, it's The Flash, which the WB has ordered to pilot for the 2004-2005 schedule. Though it's too soon to really know much of anything, especially casting, what little news is out there sounds ...interesting, at least.

To be written and executive produced by Elf producer Todd Komarnicki, this new take on the character will, of course, try to duplicate some of the Smallville magic. (If you want to call it that.)

The new speedster will be a young man, learning to deal with his powers. Those powers allegedly include the ability to travel through time, but no word on if he needs the cosmic treadmill. He will be the latest in a long line of speedsters, and will have a mentor to guide him.

It almost sounds more like Impulse than Flash. Name him Bart and fans just might buy it.

However, it is alleged that we can give up hope of seeing the character in anything resembling an official costume. Because, clearly, The Huntress' costume was what was all wrong with Birds of Prey.

One other weird note: reports have it that the show will be using Gotham City as its home base, not Central City. Hey, WB, if you're going to build on this sort of thing, even Smallville knows there are other cities in the DCU besides Metropolis and Gotham City. In fact, Central City has been mentioned several times and nobody tuned out. Just a thought.

This does mark the second time The Flash has been up for a live-action television show. CBS ran him for a full season in the early 90's, starring John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen. Then he had the red suit, lived in Central City, and even fought a few costumed villains, including Mark Hamill as The Trickster and David Cassidy as Mirror Master. None of those villains could take him down; ultimately, it was The Simpsons that did it.

Derek McCaw