Even though The Flash is a much lighter show than Arrow, things have gotten pretty dark for Central City and its gang of metahuman-stoppers. The CW has the perfect way to counterbalance the grimness, though, with the new web series Chronicles of Cisco, which takes a closer look at everyone’s favorite nickname-dropping S.T.A.R. Labs tech whiz. Check out the first episode below!
In Cisco we trust. If there’s any character in the current DC TV Universe that is worthy of getting extra (and possibly superfluous) attention through supplemental web content, it’s Cisco Ramon. As the largest source of comic relief on The Flash, Cisco is the ideal kind of person to hang out with for curious people interested in hearing mind-boggling inventions and dimension-breaching adventures. And that’s kind of what Chronicles of Cisco is at its core.
Of course, it’s just the mechanical engineer and no one else, so it’s not exactly like a chummy chat, but Cisco does like to talk to himself more than 90% of TV characters, so it kind of feels like a conversation is happening. (And one involving show references, which is even better.) In any case, the draw here is watching what this brainiac gets up to whenever no one else is around. You’d think he might eat or sleep (outside the office) or get invested in any kind of entertainment media, but he apparently doesn’t do much unattached from the lab. When you’re assisting one of the most powerful people in the world, I guess it’s good to keep up a ridiculously strong work ethic.
This doesn’t seem to just be a mindless set of installments destined for the extras menu on the Blu-ray, either, and it looks like there will be a selection of mini-arcs for Cisco to investigate and conquer. (To probably end up on the Blu-ray.) If each of the combined “Parts” is tied to some new gadget or costume upgrade, this could be a really fun and geeky way to squeeze more enjoyment out of the Scarlet Speedster’s universe that doesn’t need to involve another hour-long weekly drama full of crazy crossovers and months-long mysteries. Although we’ll take another one of those as well.
And if they wanted to use this route to develop Cisco’s family and his Vibe powers, that’d be great, too. The main story is going well with Zoom and Barry’s feud getting more intense, so Chronicles of Cisco will hopefully remain a nice breath of amusing air, complete with snazzy science, with fewer stakes attached.
The Flash airs Tuesday nights on The CW, and it only gets more exciting between now and the season finale.
