document_title: Genetically modified food

question_text: when was the first genetically modified food created

text: Genetically modified food

text: Definition[edit]

text: Genetically modified foods, GM foods or genetically engineered foods, are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering as opposed to traditional cross breeding.[26][27] In the U.S., the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) favor the use of "genetic engineering" over "genetic modification" as the more precise term; the USDA defines genetic modification to include "genetic engineering or other more traditional methods."[28][29]

text: According to the World Health Organization, "Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. The technology is often called 'modern biotechnology' or 'gene technology', sometimes also 'recombinant DNA technology' or 'genetic engineering'. ... Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods."[26]

text: History[edit]

text: Human-directed genetic manipulation of food began with the domestication of plants and animals through artificial selection at about 10,500 to 10,100 BC.[30]:1 The process of selective breeding, in which organisms with desired traits (and thus with the desired genes) are used to breed the next generation and organisms lacking the trait are not bred, is a precursor to the modern concept of genetic modification (GM).[30]:1[31]:1 With the discovery of DNA in the early 1900s and various advancements in genetic techniques through the 1970s[32] it became possible to directly alter the DNA and genes within food.

text: The first genetically modified plant was produced in 1983, using an antibiotic-resistant tobacco plant.[33] Genetically modified microbial enzymes were the first application of genetically modified organisms in food production and were approved in 1988 by the US Food and Drug Administration.[34] In the early 1990s, recombinant chymosin was approved for use in several countries.[34][35] Cheese had typically been made using the enzyme complex rennet that had been extracted from cows' stomach lining. Scientists modified bacteria to produce chymosin, which was also able to clot milk, resulting in cheese curds.[36]

text: The first genetically modified food approved for release was the Flavr Savr tomato in 1994.[2] Developed by Calgene, it was engineered to have a longer shelf life by inserting an antisense gene that delayed ripening.[37] China was the first country to commercialize a transgenic crop in 1993 with the introduction of virus-resistant tobacco.[38] In 1995, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Potato was approved for cultivation, making it the first pesticide producing crop to be approved in the US.[39] Other genetically modified crops receiving marketing approval in 1995 were: canola with modified oil composition, Bt maize, cotton resistant to the herbicide bromoxynil, Bt cotton, glyphosate-tolerant soybeans, virus-resistant squash, and another delayed ripening tomato.[2]

text: With the creation of golden rice in 2000, scientists had genetically modified food to increase its nutrient value for the first time.[40]

text: By 2010, 29 countries had planted commercialized biotech crops and a further 31 countries had granted regulatory approval for transgenic crops to be imported.[41] The US was the leading country in the production of GM foods in 2011, with twenty-five GM crops having received regulatory approval.[42] In 2015, 92% of corn, 94% of soybeans, and 94% of cotton produced in the US were genetically modified strains.[43]

text: The first genetically modified animal to be approved for food use was AquAdvantage salmon in 2015.[44] The salmon were transformed with a growth hormone-regulating gene from a Pacific Chinook salmon and a promoter from an ocean pout enabling it to grow year-round instead of only during spring and summer.[45]

text: In April 2016, a white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) modified using the CRISPR technique received de facto approval in the United States, after the USDA said it would not have to go through the agency's regulatory process. The agency considers the mushroom exempt because the editing process did not involve the introduction of foreign DNA.[46]

text: The most widely planted GMOs are designed to tolerate herbicides. By 2006 some weed populations had evolved to tolerate some of the same herbicides. Palmer amaranth is a weed that competes with cotton. A native of the southwestern US, it traveled east and was first found resistant to glyphosate in 2006, less than 10 years after GM cotton was introduced.[47][48][49]

text: Process[edit]

text: Genetically engineered organisms are generated and tested in the laboratory for desired qualities. The most common modification is to add one or more genes to an organism's genome. Less commonly, genes are removed or their expression is increased or silenced or the number of copies of a gene is increased or decreased.

text: Once satisfactory strains are produced, the producer applies for regulatory approval to field-test them, called a "field release." Field-testing involves cultivating the plants on farm fields or growing animals in a controlled environment. If these field tests are successful, the producer applies for regulatory approval to grow and market the crop. Once approved, specimens (seeds, cuttings, breeding pairs, etc.) are cultivated and sold to farmers. The farmers cultivate and market the new strain. In some cases, the approval covers marketing but not cultivation.

text: According to the USDA, the number of field releases for genetically engineered organisms has grown from four in 1985 to an average of about 800 per year. Cumulatively, more than 17,000 releases had been approved through September 2013.[50]

text: Crops[edit]

text: Fruits and vegetables[edit]

text: Papaya was genetically modified to resist the ringspot virus. 'SunUp' is a transgenic red-fleshed Sunset papaya cultivar that is homozygous for the coat protein gene PRSV; 'Rainbow' is a yellow-fleshed F1 hybrid developed by crossing 'SunUp' and nontransgenic yellow-fleshed 'Kapoho'.[51] The New York Times stated, "in the early 1990s, Hawaii’s papaya industry was facing disaster because of the deadly papaya ringspot virus. Its single-handed savior was a breed engineered to be resistant to the virus. Without it, the state’s papaya industry would have collapsed. Today, 80% of Hawaiian papaya is genetically engineered, and there is still no conventional or organic method to control ringspot virus."[52] The GM cultivar was approved in 1998.[53] In China, a transgenic PRSV-resistant papaya was developed by South China Agricultural University and was first approved for commercial planting in 2006; as of 2012 95% of the papaya grown in Guangdong province and 40% of the papaya grown in Hainan province was genetically modified.[54]

text: The New Leaf potato, a GM food developed using naturally occurring bacteria found in the soil known as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), was made to provide in-plant protection from the yield-robbing Colorado potato beetle.[33] The New Leaf potato, brought to market by Monsanto in the late 1990s, was developed for the fast food market. It was withdrawn in 2001 after retailers rejected it and food processors ran into export problems.[55]

text: As of 2005, about 13% of the Zucchini (a form of squash) grown in the US was genetically modified to resist three viruses; that strain is also grown in Canada.[56][57]

text: In 2011, BASF requested the European Food Safety Authority's approval for cultivation and marketing of its Fortuna potato as feed and food. The potato was made resistant to late blight by adding resistant genes blb1 and blb2 that originate from the Mexican wild potato Solanum bulbocastanum.[58][59] In February 2013, BASF withdrew its application.[60]

text: In 2013, the USDA approved the import of a GM pineapple that is pink in color and that "overexpresses" a gene derived from tangerines and suppress other genes, increasing production of lycopene. The plant's flowering cycle was changed to provide for more uniform growth and quality. The fruit "does not have the ability to propagate and persist in the environment once they have been harvested," according to USDA APHIS. According to Del Monte's submission, the pineapples are commercially grown in a "monoculture" that prevents seed production, as the plant's flowers aren't exposed to compatible pollen sources. Importation into Hawaii is banned for "plant sanitation" reasons.[61]

text: In 2014, the USDA approved a genetically modified potato developed by J.R. Simplot Company that contained ten genetic modifications that prevent bruising and produce less acrylamide when fried. The modifications eliminate specific proteins from the potatoes, via RNA interference, rather than introducing novel proteins.[62][63]

text: In February 2015 Arctic Apples were approved by the USDA,[64] becoming the first genetically modified apple approved for sale in the US.[65] Gene silencing is used to reduce the expression of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), thus preventing the fruit from browning.[66]

text: Corn[edit]

text: Corn used for food and ethanol has been genetically modified to tolerate various herbicides and to express a protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that kills certain insects.[67] About 90% of the corn grown in the US was genetically modified in 2010.[68] In the US in 2015, 81% of corn acreage contained the Bt trait and 89% of corn acreage contained the glyphosate-tolerant trait.[43] Corn can be processed into grits, meal and flour as an ingredient in pancakes, muffins, doughnuts, breadings and batters, as well as baby foods, meat products, cereals and some fermented products. Corn-based masa flour and masa dough are used in the production of taco shells, corn chips and tortillas.[69]

text: Soy[edit]

text: Genetically modified soybean has been modified to tolerate herbicides and produce healthier oils.[70] In 2015, 94% of soybean acreage in the U.S. was genetically modified to be glyphosate-tolerant.[43]

text: Wheat[edit]

text: As of December 2017, genetically modified wheat has been evaluated in field trials, but has not been released commercially.[71][72][73]

text: Derivative products[edit]

text: Corn starch and starch sugars, including syrups[edit]

text: Starch or amylum is a polysaccharide produced by all green plants as an energy store. Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odourless powder. It consists of two types of molecules: the linear and helical amylose and the branched amylopectin. Depending on the plant, starch generally contains 20 to 25% amylose and 75 to 80% amylopectin by weight.[74]

text: Starch can be further modified to create modified starch for specific purposes,[75] including creation of many of the sugars in processed foods. They include:

text:
Maltodextrin, a lightly hydrolyzed starch product used as a bland-tasting filler and thickener.
Various glucose syrups, also called corn syrups in the US, viscous solutions used as sweeteners and thickeners in many kinds of processed foods.
Dextrose, commercial glucose, prepared by the complete hydrolysis of starch.
High fructose syrup, made by treating dextrose solutions with the enzyme glucose isomerase, until a substantial fraction of the glucose has been converted to fructose.
Sugar alcohols, such as maltitol, erythritol, sorbitol, mannitol and hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, are sweeteners made by reducing sugars.

text: Lecithin[edit]

text: Lecithin is a naturally occurring lipid. It can be found in egg yolks and oil-producing plants. it is an emulsifier and thus is used in many foods. Corn, soy and safflower oil are sources of lecithin, though the majority of lecithin commercially available is derived from soy.[76][77][78][page needed] Sufficiently processed lecithin is often undetectable with standard testing practices.[74][not in citation given] According to the FDA, no evidence shows or suggests hazard to the public when lecithin is used at common levels. Lecithin added to foods amounts to only 2 to 10 percent of the 1 to 5 g of phosphoglycerides consumed daily on average.[76][77] Nonetheless, consumer concerns about GM food extend to such products.[79][better source needed] This concern led to policy and regulatory changes in Europe in 2000,[citation needed] when Regulation (EC) 50/2000 was passed[80] which required labelling of food containing additives derived from GMOs, including lecithin.[citation needed] Because of the difficulty of detecting the origin of derivatives like lecithin with current testing practices, European regulations require those who wish to sell lecithin in Europe to employ a comprehensive system of Identity preservation (IP).[81][verification needed][82][page needed]

text: Sugar[edit]

text: The US imports 10% of its sugar, while the remaining 90% is extracted from sugar beet and sugarcane. After deregulation in 2005, glyphosate-resistant sugar beet was extensively adopted in the United States. 95% of beet acres in the US were planted with glyphosate-resistant seed in 2011.[83] GM sugar beets are approved for cultivation in the US, Canada and Japan; the vast majority are grown in the US. GM beets are approved for import and consumption in Australia, Canada, Colombia, EU, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, the Russian Federation and Singapore.[84] Pulp from the refining process is used as animal feed. The sugar produced from GM sugar beets contains no DNA or protein – it is just sucrose that is chemically indistinguishable from sugar produced from non-GM sugar beets.[74][85] Independent analyses conducted by internationally recognized laboratories found that sugar from Roundup Ready sugar beets is identical to the sugar from comparably grown conventional (non-Roundup Ready) sugar beets.[86]

text: Vegetable oil[edit]

text: Most vegetable oil used in the US is produced from GM crops canola,[87] corn,[88][89] cotton[90] and soybeans.[91] Vegetable oil is sold directly to consumers as cooking oil, shortening and margarine[92] and is used in prepared foods. There is a vanishingly small amount of protein or DNA from the original crop in vegetable oil.[74][93] Vegetable oil is made of triglycerides extracted from plants or seeds and then refined and may be further processed via hydrogenation to turn liquid oils into solids.  The refining process[94] removes all, or nearly all non-triglyceride ingredients.[95] Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) offer an alternative to conventional fats and oils. The length of a fatty acid influences its fat absorption during the digestive process. Fatty acids in the middle position on the glycerol molecules appear to be absorbed more easily and influence metabolism more than fatty acids on the end positions. Unlike ordinary fats, MCTs are metabolized like carbohydrates. They have exceptional oxidative stability, and prevent foods from turning rancid readily.[96]

text: Other uses[edit]

text: Animal feed[edit]

text: Livestock and poultry are raised on animal feed, much of which is composed of the leftovers from processing crops, including GM crops. For example, approximately 43% of a canola seed is oil. What remains after oil extraction is a meal that becomes an ingredient in animal feed and contains canola protein.[97] Likewise, the bulk of the soybean crop is grown for oil and meal. The high-protein defatted and toasted soy meal becomes livestock feed and dog food. 98% of the US soybean crop goes for livestock feed.[98][99] In 2011, 49% of the US maize harvest was used for livestock feed (including the percentage of waste from distillers grains).[100] "Despite methods that are becoming more and more sensitive, tests have not yet been able to establish a difference in the meat, milk, or eggs of animals depending on the type of feed they are fed. It is impossible to tell if an animal was fed GM soy just by looking at the resulting meat, dairy, or egg products. The only way to verify the presence of GMOs in animal feed is to analyze the origin of the feed itself."[101]

text: A 2012 literature review of studies evaluating the effect of GM feed on the health of animals did not find evidence that animals were adversely affected, although small biological differences were occasionally found. The studies included in the review ranged from 90 days to two years, with several of the longer studies considering reproductive and intergenerational effects.[102]

text: Enzymes produced by genetically modified microorganisms are also integrated into animal feed to enhance availability of nutrients and overall digestion. These enzymes may also provide benefit to the gut microbiome of an animal, as well as hydrolyse antinutritional factors present in the feed.[103]

text: Proteins[edit]

text: Rennet is a mixture of enzymes used to coagulate milk into cheese. Originally it was available only from the fourth stomach of calves, and was scarce and expensive, or was available from microbial sources, which often produced unpleasant tastes. Genetic engineering made it possible to extract rennet-producing genes from animal stomachs and insert them into bacteria, fungi or yeasts to make them produce chymosin, the key enzyme.[104][105] The modified microorganism is killed after fermentation. Chymosin is isolated from the fermentation broth, so that the Fermentation-Produced Chymosin (FPC) used by cheese producers has an amino acid sequence that is identical to bovine rennet.[106] The majority of the applied chymosin is retained in the whey. Trace quantities of chymosin may remain in cheese.[106]

text: FPC was the first artificially produced enzyme to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.[34][35] FPC products have been on the market since 1990 and as of 2015 had yet to be surpassed in commercial markets.[107] In 1999, about 60% of US hard cheese was made with FPC.[108] Its global market share approached 80%.[109] By 2008, approximately 80% to 90% of commercially made cheeses in the US and Britain were made using FPC.[106]

text: In some countries, recombinant (GM) bovine somatotropin (also called rBST, or bovine growth hormone or BGH) is approved for administration to increase milk production. rBST may be present in milk from rBST treated cows, but it is destroyed in the digestive system and even if directly injected into the human bloodstream, has no observable effect on humans.[110][111][112] The FDA, World Health Organization, American Medical Association, American Dietetic Association and the National Institutes of Health have independently stated that dairy products and meat from rBST-treated cows are safe for human consumption.[113] However, on 30 September 2010, the United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, analyzing submitted evidence, found a "compositional difference" between milk from rBGH-treated cows and milk from untreated cows.[114][115] The court stated that milk from rBGH-treated cows has: increased levels of the hormone Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1); higher fat content and lower protein content when produced at certain points in the cow's lactation cycle; and more somatic cell counts, which may "make the milk turn sour more quickly."[115]

text: Livestock[edit]

text: Genetically modified livestock are organisms from the group of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, birds, horses and fish kept for human consumption, whose genetic material (DNA) has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.  In some cases, the aim is to introduce a new trait to the animals which does not occur naturally in the species, i.e. transgenesis.

text: A 2003 review published on behalf of Food Standards Australia New Zealand examined transgenic experimentation on terrestrial livestock species as well as aquatic species such as fish and shellfish. The review examined the molecular techniques used for experimentation as well as techniques for tracing the transgenes in animals and products as well as issues regarding transgene stability.[116]

text: Some mammals typically used for food production have been modified to produce non-food products, a practice sometimes called Pharming.

text: Salmon[edit]

text: A GM salmon, awaiting regulatory approval[117][118][119] since 1997,[120] was approved for human consumption by the American FDA in November 2015, to be raised in specific land-based hatcheries in Canada and Panama.[121]

text: Health and safety[edit]

text: There is a scientific consensus[5][6][7][8] that currently available food derived from GM crops poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food,[9][10][11][12][13] but that each GM food needs to be tested on a case-by-case basis before introduction.[14][15][16] Nonetheless, members of the public are much less likely than scientists to perceive GM foods as safe.[17][18][19][20] The legal and regulatory status of GM foods varies by country, with some nations banning or restricting them, and others permitting them with widely differing degrees of regulation.[21][22][23][24]

text: Opponents claim that long-term health risks have not been adequately assessed and propose various combinations of additional testing, labeling[122] or removal from the market.[123][124][125][126] The advocacy group European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER), disputes the claim that "science" supports the safety of current GM foods, proposing that each GM food must be judged on case-by-case basis.[127]

text: Testing[edit]

text: The legal and regulatory status of GM foods varies by country, with some nations banning or restricting them, and others permitting them with widely differing degrees of regulation.[21][22][23][24] Countries such as the United States, Canada, Lebanon and Egypt use substantial equivalence to determine if further testing is required, while many countries such as those in the European Union, Brazil and China only authorize GMO cultivation on a case-by-case basis.  In the U.S. the FDA determined that GMO's are "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) and therefore do not require additional testing if the GMO product is substantially equivalent to the non-modified product.[128]  If new substances are found, further testing may be required to satisfy concerns over potential toxicity, allergenicity, possible gene transfer to humans or genetic outcrossing to other organisms.[26]

text: Regulation[edit]

text: Government regulation of GMO development and release varies widely between countries. Marked differences separate  GMO regulation in the U.S. and GMO regulation in the European Union.[129] Regulation also varies depending on the intended product's use. For example, a crop not intended for food use is generally not reviewed by authorities responsible for food safety.[130]

text: United States regulations[edit]

text: In the U.S., three government organizations regulate GMOs. The FDA checks the chemical composition of  organisms for potential allergens. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) supervises field testing and monitors the distribution of GM seeds. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for monitoring pesticide usage, including plants modified to contain proteins toxic to insects. Like USDA, EPA also oversees field testing and the distribution of crops that have had contact with pesticides to ensure environmental safety.[131][better source needed] In 2015 the Obama administration announced that it would update the way the government regulated GM crops.[132]

text: In 1992 FDA published "Statement of Policy: Foods derived from New Plant Varieties." This statement is a clarification of FDA's interpretation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to foods produced from new plant varieties developed using recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) technology. FDA encouraged developers to consult with the FDA regarding any bioengineered foods in development. The FDA says developers routinely do reach out for consultations. In 1996 FDA updated consultation procedures.[133][134]

text: Labeling[edit]

text: As of 2015, 64 countries require labeling of GMO products in the marketplace.[135]

text: US and Canadian national policy is to require a label only given significant composition differences or documented health impacts, although some individual US states (Vermont, Connecticut and Maine) enacted laws requiring them.[136][137][138][139] In July 2016, Public Law 114-214 was enacted to regulate labeling of GMO food on a national basis.

text: In some jurisdictions, the labeling requirement depends on the relative quantity of GMO in the product. A study that investigated voluntary labeling in South Africa found that 31% of products labeled as GMO-free had a GM content above 1.0%.[140]

text: In the European Union all food (including processed food) or feed that contains greater than 0.9% GMOs must be labelled.[141]

text: Detection[edit]

text: Testing on GMOs in food and feed is routinely done using molecular techniques such as PCR and bioinformatics.[142]

text: In a January 2010 paper, the extraction and detection of DNA along a complete industrial soybean oil processing chain was described to monitor the presence of Roundup Ready (RR) soybean: "The amplification of soybean lectin gene by end-point polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was successfully achieved in all the steps of extraction and refining processes, until the fully refined soybean oil. The amplification of RR soybean by PCR assays using event-specific primers was also achieved for all the extraction and refining steps, except for the intermediate steps of refining (neutralisation, washing and bleaching) possibly due to sample instability. The real-time PCR assays using specific probes confirmed all the results and proved that it is possible to detect and quantify genetically modified organisms in the fully refined soybean oil. To our knowledge, this has never been reported before and represents an important accomplishment regarding the traceability of genetically modified organisms in refined oils."[143]

text: According to Thomas Redick, detection and prevention of cross-pollination is possible through the suggestions offered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Suggestions include educating farmers on the importance of coexistence, providing farmers with tools and incentives to promote coexistence, conduct research to understand and monitor gene flow, provide assurance of quality and diversity in crops, provide compensation for actual economic losses for farmers.[144]

text: Controversies[edit]

text: The genetically modified foods controversy consists of a set of disputes over the use of food made from genetically modified crops. The disputes involve consumers, farmers, biotechnology companies, governmental regulators, non-governmental organizations, environmental and political activists and scientists. The major disagreements include whether GM foods can be safely consumed, harm the environment and/or are adequately tested and regulated.[124][145] The objectivity of scientific research and publications has been challenged.[123] Farming-related disputes include the use and impact of pesticides, seed production and use, side effects on non-GMO crops/farms,[146] and potential control of the GM food supply by seed companies.[123]

text: The conflicts have continued since GM foods were invented. They have occupied the media, the courts, local, regional and national governments and international organizations.


document_title: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

question_text: when does tower of terror take your picture

question_tokens: when does tower of terror take your picture

root

text: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

text: Queue and preshow[edit]

text: This section is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (December 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: In the American and European versions of the attraction, guests make their way to the Hollywood Tower Hotel through the front gate. Guests then walk along a cracked, curved pathway that leads to the hotel. The pathway goes past overgrown gardens, signs pointing to the stables, a bowling green, tennis courts, swimming pools, and a vine-covered pavilion. In most parks, 1930s jazz music plays in the queue area.

tag: p

text: Entering through the hotel's front doors, guests encounter an interior designed to give the impression that the Hollywood Tower Hotel has been left untouched since the night of its closure. The lobby is covered in dust and draped with cobwebs, and throughout there are other signs of the hotel's abrupt closure. Past the front desk, the main elevators are in a dilapidated state, and a sign reads "Out of Order". Guests are informed by bellhops that their rooms are not ready yet, and they are then ushered into the hotel library, which houses the hotel's collection of books, antiques, an old television set, and various pieces of Twilight Zone memorabilia scattered about the room. Through the library window, guests can observe a severe thunderstorm raging outside.

text: With a crash of thunder and lightning, the power suddenly goes out, except for the television set which crackles into life and plays the opening sequence from the fourth and fifth seasons of The Twilight Zone, hosted by Rod Serling. The episode goes on to depict the events of a stormy night in 1939 when a lightning bolt struck the tower and caused five people—a celebrity couple, a rising child star, her nanny, and a hotel bellhop—to vanish from the elevator. The television then turns off and the guests are directed through to the boiler room, where they await the maintenance service elevator's arrival.

text: Disney's Hollywood Studios version[edit]

text: History[edit]

text: In the late 1980s, a second phase of development was being designed for Disneyland Paris (then Euro Disney). Included was a free-fall type ride in Frontierland that was to be named Geyser Mountain. It would have been part roller coaster, part free-fall ride that shot guests up a vertical shaft. The plan was scrapped, but was picked up by Disney's Hollywood Studios (then Disney-MGM Studios) as part of a massive expansion to their U.S. park. Several attractions had already been proposed, including "Dick Tracy's Crimestoppers", which would be later made into Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland. Still needing a major "E-ticket" attraction, the idea of a drop-shaft ride came up and was chosen.[12] There had been several proposed ideas for haunted attractions, including a ride based on Stephen King's novels, a Vincent Price ghost tour, a Mel Brooks-narrated ride, a real hotel, and a whodunit murder mystery, but none progressed into development.[13]

text: Walt Disney Imagineering eventually took inspiration from Rod Serling's anthology stories featured in The Twilight Zone, as a foundation for their original story. Imagineers mused that the attraction would be able to take guests into the Fifth Dimension that Serling always described as unlocking in every episode of the series. With the project in firm development, Disney licensed the rights to use The Twilight Zone intellectual property from CBS Inc.[14] The Imagineering team settled on a 1930s-era Hollywood hotel with a Twilight Zone theme, but a new ride system had to be built, which would allow both more capacity inside the ride and make the drop fast. Otis Elevator Company created the vertical ride system, and Eaton-Kenway a ride vehicle that could drive itself horizontally.[12] Joe Dante directed the ride's short preshow film.[15] The archival footage of Rod Serling used in the preshow was taken from the episode, "It's a Good Life".[16] Mark Silverman provided the voice for Serling in the attraction; Serling's wife, Carol Serling, approved the casting of Silverman after several auditions.[7]

text: Site-clearing and prep began early 1992. A sinkhole led to the site being moved slightly. The tower's interior and exterior design took inspiration from existing Southern California landmarks, including the Biltmore Hotel and Mission Inn.[7] The distinctive Spanish Colonial Revival architectural features on and around the attraction's roof were designed so that the rear facade, which is visible from Epcot, would blend with the skyline of the Morocco Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase Lagoon.[17] After construction ended, the ride was initially set to open on July 4, 1994. However, the Tower of Terror actually opened on July 22, 1994, along with the Sunset Boulevard thoroughfare.[12]

text: Technical details[edit]

text: The ride system of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios employs specialized technology developed by Walt Disney Imagineering, particularly the ability to move the vehicle in and out of the vertical motion shaft. The elevator cabs are self-propelled automated ride vehicles, also known as automated guided vehicles, which lock into separate vertical motion cabs. The cabs can move into and out of elevators horizontally, move through the "Fifth Dimension" scene, and on to the drop shaft.

text: In order to achieve the weightless effect the Imagineers desired, cables attached to the bottom of the elevator car pull it down at a speed slightly faster than what a free fall would provide. Two enormous motors are located at the top of the tower, measuring 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, 35 feet (11 m) long, and weighing 132,000 pounds (60,000 kg). They are able to accelerate 10 short tons (9.1 t) at 15 times the speed of normal elevators. They generate 275 times the torque of a Corvette engine, reaching top speed in 1.5 second. The ride's slogan, "Never the Same Fear Twice!", refers to the drop pattern being randomly selected by a computer before the ride begins. The drop reaches a top speed of 39 miles per hour (63 km/h).[18]

text: After the elevator cab has completed the ride, it propels itself to the unload dock and then back to the show shaft. The Florida ride runs on a unique loop system different from the versions used in California, Paris and Tokyo.

text: Ride experience[edit]

text: Corridor scene[edit]

text: At this stage in the attraction, Rod Serling's voice greets passengers the moment the elevator doors close, saying:

text: The elevator rises for a few seconds before coming to its first stop. The doors open to reveal a long, dimly lit hotel corridor, with overgrown plants and doors to guest rooms, with morning newspapers and room-service trays outside, along its length. There is a single window at the opposite end of the corridor. A violent thunderstorm is raging and lightning flashes outside the window. The five missing passengers from 1939 appear for several moments, turning to face the elevator and beckoning the guests to join them. Then they disappear in a burst of electricity. The corridor fades away, but the window remains until it appears to be floating in a dark field of stars. The window morphs into the window from the Season 5 opening sequence, and breaks.

text: Fifth Dimension scene[edit]

text: The elevator doors close and the car continues its ascent. Serling's narration goes on, saying:

text: The elevator stops once more. The doors open to what at first looks like a maintenance room, but slowly transforms into a field of stars. The elevator car emerges horizontally from the lift shaft and enters a section of the ride called "The Fifth Dimension", which is a collection of sights and sounds and star fields, again in the style of the television show's opening sequence. A rendition of The Twilight Zone theme plays throughout. The scene ends as the elevator reaches another star field which splits and opens much like elevator doors. The elevator enters another vertical shaft, this one pitch black. Serling's voice is heard again, saying:

text: Drop sequence[edit]

text: On the last word of Serling's narration, the elevator starts its drop sequence. Rather than a simple gravity-powered drop, however, the elevator is pulled downwards, causing most riders to rise off their seats, held down by a seat belt. At least once during the drop sequence, wide elevator doors in front of the riders open to reveal a view of the park from a height of 157 ft (48 m), however the drop is only 130 ft (40 m), the height of a 13-story building. The elevator drops at a top speed of 39 miles per hour (63 km/h). In the Hollywood Studios version, the back of the "Hollywood Tower Hotel" sign partially obstructs the view (the on-ride camera is located here, recording the ride for video or a photograph to be purchased later).

text: In celebration of the attraction’s tenth anniversary in 2004, randomized patterns of drops and lifts have been added, where the ride vehicle will drop or rise various distances at different intervals. Other added effects include projected images of the breaking window, wind effects, lightning flashes, and ominous blue-lit figures of the five ghostly original riders. These changes were made so that each trip on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a slightly different experience. The ride system was reprogrammed in its fourth conversion,[vague] so that the ride  allows for a combination of four sequences consisting of randomized drops and lifts. When guests enter the drop shaft, a computer randomly chooses one of four drop profiles, one of which is a modified version of the ride's third incarnation in 1999, a “triple drop.” (Back in 1994, the ride only had one rise and fall. Two years later, the ride was given a double drop sequence, making it “twice the fright.”) Regardless of the number of randomized drops and lifts, each drop sequence always features one "faux drop" meant to startle the riders, and one complete drop through the entire tower at the top speed of 39 miles per hour (63 km/h).

text: After a series of these drops have been made, the elevator returns to the basement of the decrepit Hollywood Tower Hotel, past a curious array of abandoned items. A short clip plays, showing elements from the Season 5 opening sequence, along with the 1939 elevator passengers and Rod Serling falling into the "vortex" seen in the Season 3 opening sequence. Serling's voice says:

text: Guests then exit the elevator, leaving the hotel through the gift shop.

text: Ride exit and shop[edit]

text: On leaving the elevator, guests are led through a hotel corridor towards what would appear to be the old "Lost & Found" desk of the hotel; however, it is now where photos taken on the ride may be purchased. Beyond this desk, guests pass a cracked fountain to the left and on the right can be seen the Hollywood Tower Hotel's dining room, previously called The Sunset Room. The menu, placed outside the closed double-doors, is dated October 31, 1939. Guests then enter the shop which is called Tower Merchandise. The shop, in keeping with the theme of the hotel, has cracked walls and is dimly lit. There, guests may purchase Twilight Zone merchandise and Hollywood Tower Hotel-themed souvenirs, including hotel bathrobes and slippers.

text: On August 13, 2014, the ride's on-ride camera began recording video, so that riders could purchase a photograph or video of their ride.[19] This was the first ride at Walt Disney World to offer on-ride videos. On September 18, 2014, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride at the Magic Kingdom began offering on-ride videos and pictures as well, making these the only two rides at Walt Disney World to offer videos and pictures.[20][21]

text: Summer Nightastic update[edit]

text: In February 2010, Disney announced that the Tower of Terror would receive "new lighting effects and a new addition" as part of a summer entertainment package called "Summer Nightastic!".[22] The Fifth Dimension scene is changed, mostly covered by black tarps with fiber-optic stars, and Serling's voice is removed from just before the drop profile. Replacing it is music played in the drop shaft, along with a projected picture of the riders just before they enter the drop shaft. Similar to the Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios Park versions of the ride, the riders disappear, leaving an empty elevator. A new drop profile was created for "Summer Nightastic!", and replaces the other drop profiles on all rides. The profile mainly consisted of utilizing the entire tower for the drop sequences, as compared to the numerous faux and shortened drops in the randomized version. The changes were implemented on June 5, 2010, but were officially introduced the day after. All changes were temporary, and lasted until August 14, 2010.[23]

text: Disney California Adventure version[edit]

text: While similar in concept and theme to the original attraction in Florida, the attraction at Disney California Adventure, which opened in 2004[8] and closed in 2017, featured some significant differences. The exterior of Disney California Adventure's tower had architectural features reminiscent of Pueblo Deco styles found throughout Southern California during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

text: The California version also had a slightly different queue area. The boiler room scene in the queue area had two floors, instead of the one floor in the original Florida version. The two floors allowed for one elevator in one shaft to have guests on ride, while the other elevator of the same shaft was loading guests. There were three elevator shafts in the Disney California Adventure version, with two elevators per shaft, for a total of six elevators operating[vague]

text: New ride operation system[edit]

text: Imagineers redesigned the ride system for the attraction at Disney California Adventure and made some changes to the show scenes. The attraction featured three elevator shafts. Each shaft was its own separate ride with its own separate operating system. This made it easier to repair individual areas of the attraction without causing the entire attraction to go down. Each shaft had the capacity to accommodate two vehicles operating from two load levels, each vehicle loading and unloading at the same point. The ride was designed so that one vehicle could be in its ride profile while the other was at its loading level, giving each ride shaft the ability to accommodate more riders. Disney used this ride system again for Walt Disney Studios Park's version of the ride, and for Tokyo DisneySea's Hotel Hightower.

text: Ride experience[edit]

text: Instead of the autonomous vehicle found in the original incarnation, the Disney California Adventure attraction limited a car to a single shaft. As the elevator doors closed, the lights of the service elevator flickered out. The redesigned, multiple-cars-per-shaft, multilevel-boarding ride system for the California version of the tower required that one elevator load while another be in the drop shaft progressing through the ride cycle. As such, the first movement guests experienced is horizontal, as the elevator itself was pulled back from the doors as Rod Serling's voice was heard:

text: With a flash of lightning, the walls of the basement disappeared altogether, leaving only a starfield around the service doors with a rotating purple spiral.

text: The elevator rose quickly to the 5th floor. Because the dark-ride portion of California's tower took place in the drop shaft, the physical vertical vehicle conveyance system moved more quickly and nimbly than Florida's (in which the first tower functions only as a dark ride and is not built for the quick movements that the drop portion requires). As such, visitors felt a moment of weightlessness as the elevator quickly ascended and then stopped on the 5th floor, where when the doors opened, an ornate, wood-framed mirror stood in a brightly lit hallway of the hotel and riders saw their reflection in its glass. Serling then said:

text: Suddenly, lightning struck the hotel and the lights of both the hallway and elevator flickered out. A ghostly wind blows through a window and the reflection of riders in the elevator became distorted. With another blast, the elevator rumbled and shook and with a final blast of lightning the electrified reflection disappeared, leaving only the image of the empty elevator in the mirror as the doors closed.

text: The elevator descended and opened to reveal the "corridor" scene with an image of another elevator at the other end of the hallway, while Florida's version shows a window. Serling delivered his next narration:

text: The five missing guests from 1939 appeared in the hallway, crackling with electricity and beckoning riders to join them. Then they disappeared in a bolt of electricity, and the walls in the hallway became a starfield, leaving just the other elevator, as Serling said:

text: The other elevator doors opened to reveal the lost passengers inside as both elevators appeared to float through space.

text: The distant guests fell, then the distant elevator, followed by the ride elevator. California's version did not have a randomized drop sequence. The ride experience was identical in every drop shaft, regardless of which floor passengers boarded on. Two small drops occurred in pitch-black darkness, followed by a rise to the top of the tower as in-cabin lights flickered. The doors then opened out to reveal the view from the top floor before the ride drops briefly, pauses, and drops along the remainder of the shaft. The elevator then raised and immediately dropped without stopping, in complete darkness. The elevator then was raised to the top of the tower, shuddered, and fell to the bottom of the shaft, to the area in between the two loading floors (to assure each ride is identical), with the elevator being finally returned to its load level and horizontally pushed back into place at the boiler room service doors. The height of the ride is 130 feet (40 m) and the elevator drop 124 feet (38 m) in total.

text: As the elevator was pushed back into place, Serling delivered his final narration:

text: After which, the service doors opened and guests exited the hotel through the basement and the gift shop.

text: Closure[edit]

text: On July 23, 2016, at San Diego Comic-Con, Disney announced that the California version would be replaced by an attraction based on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy film series, titled Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!, which opened in May 2017 and utilizes the same structure and ride system.[2][24] This is the first American Disney attraction to be based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Marvel Entertainment having been wholly acquired by Disney in 2009).[25]

text: The Tower of Terror's final day of operation was January 2, 2017; the ride then closed January 3.[3][4] In preparation for the closure, Disney began a "farewell" promotion of the ride on September 9, 2016, which featured a "Late Check Out" option to experience the drop portion of the ride in total darkness. On the night of September 19 and early morning of September 20, the "Hollywood Tower Hotel" sign was removed to prepare for the new attraction.[26][27]

text: The other three Disney parks with versions of the Tower of Terror are unaffected, and Disney has stated that there are no plans to change the ride in its other locations.[28][26]

text: Tokyo DisneySea version[edit]

text: The attraction at Tokyo DisneySea omits any connection or tie-in whatsoever with The Twilight Zone, as the television series is not well known in Japan.[13] Instead, the attraction is themed as the fictional Hotel Hightower. The ride tower, its facade an example of Moorish Revival architecture, is located in the American Waterfront area of the park, close to the S.S. Columbia ocean liner. The ride system for this version is similar to that of the Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios Park versions.

text: The story line of the attraction is more complex than that of its American and European counterparts. The scenario involves the adventures of the hotel's famous builder and owner, Harrison Hightower III (modeled after Walt Disney Imagineering executive Joe Rohde), who went on many expeditions throughout the world and collected thousands of priceless artifacts. Most of these artifacts were stolen for personal gain and stored in his hotel. After one such expedition to Africa, he brought home an idol with the name of Shiriki Utundu.

text: Hightower claimed that the natives were angry to have their beloved god taken, and that they threatened that the idol would curse him. On New Year's Eve, 1899, Hightower held a press conference about his expedition to Africa, followed by a huge party. Hightower boasted about how he acquired the idol and denied claims of it being cursed. Just as he left the party, he mocked the idol, using its head to put out his cigar. Around midnight, he entered the elevator to retire to his private apartments in the hotel penthouse. As the elevator neared the top, the idol came to life.

text: The idol's immense rage and power caused the elevator to plummet and crash on the ground floor. When the doors were pried open, only Hightower's hat and the idol were recovered. The hotel was abruptly closed and condemned for more than a decade, rumored by locals to be haunted. In 1912, following pressure to demolish the hotel, a New York restoration company reopened it because of its historical significance. The company now offers paid tours of the building. It is on these "tours" that guests embark when they enter the hotel.

text: Queue and preshow[edit]

text: The queue area winds through gardens filled with statues from many different countries up to the Hotel Hightower, where guests can see that the windows are almost completely shattered. Signs are posted all over the hotel front advertising the tour. Guests then enter the lobby, an elaborate and well-decorated room filled with plush furniture and beautiful art. On each ceiling arch is painted a mural of Hightower on one of his adventures, showing him escaping native people with a valuable artifact or item in his possession. At the end of the lobby is the elevator in its destroyed state, its doors left open with only a single plank of wood holding them together, a broken cable visible inside. Guests are then ushered into a room filled with many pictures of Hightower, his expeditions, and his hotel.

text: Guests enter one of two rooms that are Hightower's office. In each room a large stained glass window depicts a confident Hightower with Shiriki Utundu sitting on a pedestal nearby. A tour guide talks about Hightower, then winds up an old gramophone that plays a recording of Hightower's last interview. At this point, the lights dim. Suddenly, the stained glass window changes to show a frightened Hightower holding the idol and then entering the elevator on that fateful night. It then shows the outside of the hotel as the elevator ascends. Suddenly, all the lights in the hotel go out, and there is a flash of green lightning, shattering the bottom of the window. At this point, Shiriki Utundu comes to life, looks around, laughs mischievously at the guests, and then vanishes into a star-field. A gray fog covers the window, which remains the same when the fog lifts. Guests are then ushered into an enormous storage room where Hightower kept his treasures. There are multiple loading rooms on the second floor, each themed to a different type of item. One has swords, another has tapestries, the third has stone tablets and other valuable artifacts.

text: Ride experience[edit]

text: The mechanics of the DisneySea tower are identical to those of the Californian and Parisian towers, with dual loading floors, horizontal push-back from the doors and into the drop tower, a "hallway" scene, and a mirror scene, but with thematic changes. The order of the mirror and "hallway" scenes is reversed compared to the American and European counterparts.

text: As the ride begins, a flash of electricity appears on the top of the elevator doors. The lights flicker, then go out. Hightower explains what happened to him, then the elevator is pulled backwards. The glowing green eyes of the idol appear in the darkness as the elevator enters the drop shaft. The elevator begins its ascent, stopping at the first scene.

text: The elevator doors open to reveal the private apartments of Harrison Hightower, the idol sitting on a table in the center. Hightower's ghost, glowing blue, appears beside it and reaches out to touch it. The idol zaps him with a bolt of green electricity, blasting him backwards past open elevator doors at the opposite end of the apartments, where Hightower falls down the shaft, which then fades away, replaced by a star field. The idol turns toward the guests' elevator and laughs before the doors close.

text: The elevator ascends to another level. The doors open, revealing a large, ornate mirror. Hightower tells the guests to wave and say "good bye to themselves". As they do, the lighting of the hotel is replaced with an eerie green glow, which makes the reflections of the guests ghostlike, an effect similar to the California and Paris rides, but absent the lightning strike. The ghostly reflection of the riders disappears and leaves the idol alone in the empty elevator. The idol laughs menacingly at the riders, and suddenly shoots forward at them. The elevator vibrates, then begins the drop sequence. The sequence is identical to the US version except the first two drops are missing (the ascent comes first) and the final drop takes place from the bottom set of doors rather than the top of the shaft.

text: At the end of the drop sequence, the elevator returns to its loading level, where the idol's green eyes glare one last time in the dark and then disappear, replaced by the service doors through which guests entered.

text: Walt Disney Studios Park version[edit]

text: La Tour de la Terreur – Un Saut dans la Quatrième Dimension (English: The Tower of Terror – A Jump into the Fourth Dimension), at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris, is similar to the version at Disney California Adventure, which used the designs for the Paris park to construct its ride first, when it was needed as an additional crowd-puller.[29] When financial troubles hit Disney's Parisian resort, the attraction had to be put on hold.

text: The attraction was finally green-lit in 2005 and was under construction in the center of the park, behind the La Terrasse seating area, by early 2006. Upon completion, it was joined by a new Hollywood Boulevard lined by faux movie sets.[30] Unlike its American cousins, the Paris Tower was constructed using concrete rather than steel due to French construction guidelines and standards, at a total cost exceeding €180 million.[31] The Paris version opened in 2007.[10]

text: The Paris and California versions were originally intended to be almost identical upon completion, but there are differences, notably the height of the building and the location of some rooms backstage, as well as other differences due to different construction and work regulations in France.[32]

text: The default language for the pre-show library video and the ride is French, but can be changed to English by the Cast Member upon request. The library video is the same as the American version, but is dubbed in French and subtitled in English.

text: The Twilight Zone references and design information[edit]

text: In an effort to be true to the spirit of The Twilight Zone, Disney Imagineers reportedly watched every episode of the original television show at least twice.[33] The attraction buildings are littered with references to Twilight Zone episodes, including:

text:
At Walt Disney Studios (Paris), in the lobby of the hotel, on a couch, sits a dusty old doll. Some say the doll is supposed to be Talky Tina from the Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll", but others say it is Sally Shine, the little girl in the pre-show and ride experience, from the 1997 movie Tower of Terror. Others think the doll is simply a Shirley Temple doll. It is in fact a Shirley Temple doll, despite reasonable suspicion that it is a Twilight Zone reference. Talky Tina can be found in the library of Disney's Hollywood Studios version in Florida.
At all rides besides Tokyo's, the preshow includes a little girl holding a Mickey Mouse plush toy, along with her still holding it on the hallway scene.
In the library, the Mystic Seer machine from the episode "Nick of Time" can be seen sitting on the high shelf.
In the Florida library, there is the book titled To Serve Man from the episode of the same name.
The trumpet from "A Passage for Trumpet" can be seen in the display while exiting the libraries.
The queue of the Disneyland Paris version features a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "Little Girl Lost". Chalk marks on the walls are in the same style as those in the episode, when people were trying to find the portal to the girl. This can be found in the upper level of the boiler room next to the attraction warning signage. Periodically the girl's voice can be heard calling out for help from the wall and from the radios around the boiler room.
The elevator has a plaque that gives the last time the elevator was checked. Its number is 10259, which is a nod to the date October 2, 1959, when The Twilight Zone first aired. The plaque also states the elevator was checked by Mr. Cadwallader, the sinister deal-maker from the episode "Escape Clause".
After guests are loaded on the elevator, the needle indicating which floor the elevator is on moves past the 12th floor. This is a reference to the 9th floor in the episode "The After Hours".
As the ride comes to a stop in Florida, the slot machine from the Twilight Zone episode "The Fever" can be seen.
Upon exiting the Disneyland Paris venue, the display cases on the ground floor contain advertisements for, among other things, a "Housemaid Wanted" (a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "I Sing The Body Electric") and for "A Pair of Reading Glasses Wanted" ("Time Enough At Last"). There are some 20 advertisements of this nature at the exit of the Paris venue.
As the ride comes to a stop, the flying saucer from the Twilight Zone episode "The Invaders" is hanging from the ceiling. The eponymous characters of that same episode can be found on display in the libraries at the Florida and Paris attraction.
Both of the elevator exit areas of the Florida ride contain a display featuring, among other things, the ventriloquist dummy "Caesar" from the Twilight Zone episode "Caesar and Me".
"Picture If You Will...", a phrase Rod Serling used in more than one Twilight Zone episode, appears in the gift shop where guests can buy their on-ride photo.

tag: ul

text: The ride appeared on the Disney Channel's 1994 Halloween edition of Walt Disney World Inside Out with guest star Gilbert Gottfried. Scott Herriott was the host.

text: Following the ride's success, Disney produced the TV film, Tower of Terror, based on the attraction in 1997, starring Steven Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst. Many shots were filmed at the Orlando theme park, while others were filmed on Burbank movie sets. As of  October 2015[update], a theatrical film based on the ride, with a script by John August, is in the works.[34]

text: References in the Disney California Adventure version[edit]

text:
In the Hollywood Tower Hotel's lobby at California Adventure, there was a door with 22 in brass numbering. This was a reference to the episode "Twenty Two".
Similar to the version at Walt Disney Studios (Paris), at California Adventure in the lobby of the hotel, on a couch, sat a Shirley Temple doll.
At California Adventure there was a picture, behind the counter in the gift shop, that is said to be of Walt Disney at a Tip Top Club party holding a Mickey Mouse plush toy.
Outside the library in the glass case adjacent to the doors, there is a gold thimble accompanied by a card that reads, "Looking for a gift for Mother? Find it in our Gift Shop!" This is a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "The After Hours".
Envelopes with the names Rod Serling and Victoria West could be found in both libraries at California Adventure, near the sliding wall, a reference to the episode "A World of His Own". In Library 1, it stuck out of the top of the green books. In Library 2, it sat in front of the books. The green books contained titles of selected Twilight Zone episodes. Other books in the libraries were in various languages from around the world, including German and Danish.
Similar to the Disneyland Paris venue, the California Adventure queue featured a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "Little Girl Lost". Chalk marks on the walls were in the same style as in the episode when trying to find the portal to the girl. This could be found in the upper level of the boiler room next to the attraction warning signage at each of the 2 venues. Periodically the girl's voice could be heard calling out for help from the wall and from the radios around the boiler room.
There was a display case in the photo gallery of the Tower of Terror attraction at Disney California Adventure that contained two items relating to the "A Thing about Machines" episode. One was a typewriter (with the GET OUT OF HERE FINCHLEY message); the card next to it read "Almost Writes By Itself". There was also an electric razor; its card read "Has A Long Cord - Can Follow You Everywhere". There was also a toy telephone from the episode "Long Distance Call" with a card saying "Perfect for the children's room and those late night calls from Grandma."
Whilst exiting the Disney California Adventure ride, there was a display window for "Willoughby Travel", a nod to the episode "A Stop at Willoughby".
In the photo gallery of the Tower of Terror attraction at Disney California Adventure, there was a poster advertising "Anthony Fremont's Orchestra". Anthony Fremont was the young boy with god-like powers from the episode "It's a Good Life".

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: In the queue for the Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios, music from the 1930s is played.

text: The ride's score was composed by Richard Bellis,[35] and incorporates the main Twilight Zone theme composed by Marius Constant. The attraction's theme and can be found on several theme park albums:

text:
Disneyland/Walt Disney World Music Vacation (as part of a medley)
Walt Disney World Resort: The Official Album (1999 CD)
Walt Disney World Resort: Official Album (2000 CD)
Official Album: Walt Disney World Resort Celebrating 100 Years of Magic (2001 CD)
The Official Album of the Disneyland Resort (2005 CD)
Disneyland Resort: Official Album (2013 CD)
Walt Disney World: Official Album (2013 CD)
Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection–Disneyland (2015 CD)

text: The Tokyo DisneySea version of the attraction is scored by Joel McNeely, who has released the overture on his site.


document_title: The Flash (season 4)

question_text: when does episode 410 of the flash come out

text: The Flash (season 4)

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)

70
1
"The Flash Reborn"
Glen Winter
Story by : Andrew Kreisberg
Teleplay by : Todd Helbing & Eric Wallace
October 10, 2017 (2017-10-10)
T27.13401
2.84[1]

Iris has been aiding Team Flash in Central City for six months, but refuses to grieve Barry. A flying samurai with superpowers appears in Central City, threatening to destroy the city if the real Flash does not face him. Cisco reveals he has formulated a way to bring back Barry without destabilizing the Speed Force and tracks down Caitlin for help. Against Iris' orders, Team Flash successfully returns Barry, who rambles random statements and continually writes symbols on the walls. Wally engages the samurai, but is defeated. Cisco deciphers Barry's writings and finds an apparently meaningless sentence. In an attempt to recover Barry's memories, Iris gives herself up to the samurai. The plan works and Barry speeds away, rescuing Iris and defeating the samurai, who is revealed to be an android. Caitlin rejoins Team Flash, but is revealed to have been working for a mobster called Amunet, while also continuing to prevent the Killer Frost personality from emerging. The "Samuroid" is revealed to have been controlled by the Thinker, whose plan was to draw out the Flash for his next schemes.

71
2
"Mixed Signals"
Alexandra La Roche
Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza
October 17, 2017 (2017-10-17)
T27.13402
2.54[2]

When Barry, Joe, and Cisco report to a crime scene, they discover remnants of a mysterious code. Cisco presents Barry with a technologically advanced suit, intended to facilitate his activities. He tests it out, trying to save someone from a haywire car, caused by metahuman Ramsey Deacon. Gypsy arrives on Earth-1 for a date with Cisco, who is forced to cancel it so as to focus on Deacon. Acting on a suggestion from Caitlin, Iris signs her and Barry up for couples therapy to sort out their relationship. Deacon kidnaps a witness, who was previously a member of a tech team who sold him out of his idea. Barry and Wally go to save him, but Deacon uses his abilities to send Barry's suit haywire. On Iris's instructions, Barry throws lightning at himself, shorting out his suit. He then incapacitates Deacon, who is locked up in the meta wing of Iron Heights, revealed to be part of the Thinker's plan. Cisco finally goes out with Gypsy. Wondering how Deacon gained his powers being absent during the particle accelerator incident, Barry and Joe learn from Deacon that there are "others".

72
3
"Luck Be a Lady"
Armen V. Kevorkian
Sam Chalsen & Judalina Neira
October 24, 2017 (2017-10-24)
T27.13403
2.62[3]

In flashbacks, the Thinker observes Becky Sharpe, a woman with seemingly unending bad luck, and determines that she will be easily manipulated. In the present, Becky robs a bank, and gets away when Barry slips on marbles. Harry arrives from Earth-2, and tells Wally that Jesse has decided to break up in order to focus on her vigilantism. Cisco deduces that Becky is a metahuman with the power of favorable luck while inducing misfortune to others. Barry realizes that the portal he used to escape the Speed Force exposed an entire busload of people, including Becky and Deacon, to transformative dark matter. Harry informs Cisco that Jesse has expelled him from her crime-fighting team due to his attitude. Becky's powers expand out of control, reactivating the particle accelerator, which Harry deliberately allows, nullifying Becky's powers and leading to her incarceration. Cisco and Harry identify twelve new metahumans created on the bus, and the latter suspects that an unknown party has manipulated events surrounding Barry's return. Wally decides to leave on a journey to find himself. The Thinker is revealed to be spying on S.T.A.R. Labs through the "Samuroid" helmet. Joe learns Cecile is pregnant.

73
4
"Elongated Journey Into Night"
Tom Cavanagh
Sterling Gates & Thomas Pound
October 31, 2017 (2017-10-31)
T27.13404
1.99[4]

Gypsy's father, Breacher, attacks Cisco, vowing to hunt and kill him in 24 hours, allowing the romance should he survive. Team Flash learns that the bus driver was murdered and tracks down another passenger, Ralph Dibny, former corrupt CCPD detective exposed by Barry and currently an infamous private investigator. As two thugs attack Dibny, he is revealed to have the power to stretch. Caitlin stabilizes his powers with a serum. The team learns that Ralph has been blackmailing Mayor Bellows for adultery, with the latter revealed to have hired the thugs. Barry confronts Ralph for his actions while the latter scolds him, claiming to have been a "good cop". He later stops blackmailing Bellows, who still attempts to kill him while Breacher mistakes the former for a Plastoid, the species that invaded Earth-19 previously, and attacks him. Cisco intervenes and saves Ralph, whom Barry, having revealed his alter-ego, convinces to help arrest an escaping Bellows. Admiring Cisco's gallantry, Breacher allows the relationship. Barry recruits Ralph for Team Flash and learns that someone named DeVoe instructed Ralph to watch Bellows. Barry remembers that Abra Kadabra and Savitar both mentioned DeVoe. Meanwhile, Caitlin finds a message on her apartment door.

74
5
"Girls Night Out"
Laura Belsey
Lauren Certo & Kristen Kim
November 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)
T27.13405
2.38[5]

While failing to track DeVoe, Team Flash is visited by Felicity, who joins Iris's bachelorette party. Mocking Cisco's plans for Barry's bachelor party, Ralph takes the men to a strip club, where they learn that Cecile's daughter, Joanie, is working. Joe confronts her, who states she is only doing feminist research. Ralph incites a brawl, leading to the men's arrest until Harry posts bail. Meanwhile, Amunet's enforcer, Norvock, demands Caitlin's return and attacks the women when she refuses. Killer Frost emerges and repels him, later telling Iris that Caitlin accepted Amunet's employment in exchange for the means to control Frost. Learning that Amunet is holding a metahuman she calls "the Weeper", whose tears are a strong narcotic, prisoner and intends to sell him, Iris's party decides to stop her. Though Caitlin refuses to join, she attacks Amunet when seeing her friends in danger. Using a strong magnet, the team robs Amunet's metal shards, leaving her powerless. Iris dissuades Frost from killing Amunet, who promises revenge. Both parties refuse to tell each other about their adventures. Iris asks Caitlin to be her maid of honor while Joe convinces Joanie to tell Cecile about her research. DeVoe captures the Weeper.

75
6
"When Harry Met Harry..."
Brent Crowell
Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza
November 14, 2017 (2017-11-14)
T27.13406
2.46[6]

Barry trains Ralph to use his abilities, with Cisco making a stretchable suit for him. Another bus metahuman, a Lakota Sioux Native named Mina Chayton, who can animate statues, starts attacking Central City & stealing pieces of a Black Bison necklace, which she claims belongs to her tribe. When Barry and Ralph catch up to her, she attacks Barry with a caveman statue and attempts a getaway. Ralph chooses to stop her, but a little girl is injured in the process. Ralph regrets his actions, but is comforted by Barry. Chayton escapes CCPD, going after the last necklace piece held at the museum. When Barry and Ralph confront her, she brings a dinosaur skeleton to life. Barry arrests Chayton while Ralph saves a security guard from the skeleton. Later, Ralph reveals he mailed the necklace back to Chayton's tribe, before visiting the little girl in the hospital, using his abilities to entertain her. Meanwhile, Harry, trying to make friends, works with his doppelgangers of alternate Earths, The Council of Wells. They figure out that DeVoe is a man named Clifford DeVoe. Barry and Joe head to DeVoe's house, to find out that he is a middle-aged man in a wheelchair.

76
7
"Therefore I Am"
David McWhirter
Eric Wallace & Thomas Pound
November 21, 2017 (2017-11-21)
T27.13407
2.20[7]

Barry and Joe interrogate DeVoe and his wife to try and get more information. In flashbacks, DeVoe and his wife build a thinking cap to improve his brain capacity, powering it through the particle accelerator explosion. DeVoe's increased brain power accelerates his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, forcing his wife to build him a special chair to keep him alive. Barry discovers the camera in the Samuroid head and goes to DeVoe's house, narrowly avoiding being caught by DeVoe's wife. Barry later confronts DeVoe, who reveals his true identity, leading to Cisco dubbing him "The Thinker". Wally returns to Team Flash from Blue Valley.

77
8
"Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3"
Dermott Downs
Story by : Andrew Kreisberg & Marc Guggenheim
Teleplay by : Todd Helbing
November 28, 2017 (2017-11-28)
T27.13408
2.82[8]

Barry, Oliver, Sara, Alex, Martin and Jax wake up in a Nazi concentration camp on Earth-X wearing power dampeners. The arriving SS Sturmbannführer is revealed to be the Earth-X doppelgänger of Quentin Lance, who plans to execute them, but they are saved by Citizen Cold (the Earth-X doppelgänger of Leonard Snart) and Ray Terrill. Snart and Terrill take them to the headquarters of the Freedom Fighters, where the team meets the resistance movement's leader, General Schott (Winn Schott's Earth-X doppelgänger). They learn that the only way back to Earth-1 is through a temporal gateway in a research facility, which Schott plans to blow up to strand Dark Arrow (Oliver's Earth-X doppelgänger) on Earth-1. Oliver disguises himself as Dark Arrow to infiltrate the facility and discovers the Nazi doomsday device against parallel Earths is a militarized timeship called Wellenreiter. Barry and Ray battle the Freedom Fighters' Red Tornado to stop it from destroying the gateway while the rest of the team enters the facility to reactivate its portal, during which Stein is shot and gravely wounded. On Earth-1, Thawne prepares to perform surgery on Kara to save Overgirl. Felicity and Iris try to stop him, but are captured.

This episode continues a crossover event that begins on Supergirl season 3 episode 8 and Arrow season 6 episode 8, and concludes on Legends of Tomorrow season 3 episode 8.

78
9
"Don't Run"
Stefan Pleszczynski
Sam Chalsen & Judalina Neira
December 5, 2017 (2017-12-05)
T27.13409
2.22[9]

While out Christmas shopping, Barry is ambushed and kidnapped by DeVoe while Caitlin is kidnapped from Jitters by Amunet. Iris claims they have to look for both of them, despite Wells' claim that they have insufficient time and resources and that they can only afford to search for one. Barry is held in DeVoe's lair. Caitlin is forced by Amunet to perform surgery on a metahuman named Dominic Lanse, who can read minds. They try to escape, but Amunet blocks their exit. Caitlin manages to briefly incapacitate Amunet, and she and Dominic flee the building they are being held in. Once outside, they are rescued by Cisco and Ralph, as Iris has chosen to focus on finding Caitlin. Barry manages to escape from DeVoe. Team Flash celebrates Christmas at the West house and Dominic joins them. Barry gets a security alert from his apartment. When he arrives, he receives a phone call from Dominic, who reveals that Amunet re-kidnapped Dominic and DeVoe has transferred his consciousness into Dominic's body. Barry discovers DeVoe's original body dead on his apartment floor and he realizes DeVoe has framed him for his "murder"; the police arrive, and Barry lets himself get arrested, not wanting to leave Iris again.

79
10
"The Trial of The Flash"
Philip Chipera
Lauren Certo & Kristen Kim
January 16, 2018 (2018-01-16)
T27.13410
2.51[10]

Barry stands trial for the murder of Clifford DeVoe, with Cecile representing him. Cisco and Joe have to leave during the trial for a meta investigation, in which a meta caused people to collapse. Singh reveals to Joe he is appearing as a witness for the prosecution against Barry. The meta is eventually discovered as Neil Borman, who is a meta who produces radiation, which is causing the illness and collapsing. Barry takes him on, but is ill equipped to deal with the situation. Cisco and Killer Frost travel to the scene where Caitlin tries to freeze Borman, who quickly defrosts and incapacitates Caitlin. Barry creates a vacuum seal around Borman to contain the radiation, with Cisco transporting the radiation to the dead Earth-15, draining the meta and defeating him. Barry is eventually found guilty by the jury and is sentenced to life in prison.

80
11
"The Elongated Knight Rises"
Alexandra La Roche
Sterling Gates & Thomas Pound
January 23, 2018 (2018-01-23)
T27.13411
2.12[11]

Barry uses his speed to secretly help the guards contain the other inmates during a prison riot. He also befriends Dave Ratchet, his father's former cellmate. The next day, Barry meets Axel Walker who was later broken out of prison by his mother Zoey Clark, his father's one-time partner Prank. Axel challenges Ralph by threatening to cause chaos in the city. Ralph attempts to stop him but is wounded by Axel and is evacuated by Cisco. Ralph sneaks into the prison to talk to Barry about how scared he is. Barry reassures him that being a hero isn't about not being scared, but about having the ability to rise above your fear. Cisco and Caitlin go to rescue the hostages, but get captured by Axel and Zoey, who intend to kill them. Ralph arrives, and attempts to shield the two from an acid shower, until Wells manages to hack into the shower system to neutralize its acidity. Iris visits Barry in prison, where they reaffirm their love for each other. Ralph and Cisco go to get coffee, where they meet the excitable girl from the wedding. The girl writes in her journal, where she appears to be writing in the language Barry was using when he came out of the Speed Force.

81
12
"Honey, I Shrunk Team Flash"
Chris Peppe
Sam Chalsen & Judalina Neira
January 30, 2018 (2018-01-30)
T27.13412
2.60[12]

Cecile develops telepathic abilities as a result of her pregnancy, combined with dormant dark matter in her cells, which Caitlin assures her should be temporary. In prison, Barry learns that Ratchet is innocent of a robbery-homicide that was actually committed by Sylbert Rundine fifteen years prior. Barry asks the team to look into the case. Rundine turns out to be a bus meta with the ability to shrink and enlarge objects, and he shrinks Cisco and Ralph while escaping. Harry's attempted cure backfires, and Caitlin determines that if they are not re-enlarged within a certain period of time, their bodies will explode. The team confronts Rundine at a warehouse, where Harry tricks him into re-enlarging Ralph and Cisco. Rundine is arrested, but refuses to confess to the earlier crime. Barry gathers that even if Ratchet went free, he would be as unhappy in the city as he is in prison; he wishes to live in a secluded Chinese village called Jiaju, but fears he will never get there. After Joe assures him that he will always do his best, Barry uses his speed to take Ratchet to Jiaju, where he can live out his dream. After discovering Barry is the Flash, the prison's warden, Gregory Wolfe, locks Barry in his private metahuman wing, intending to sell him to Amunet.

82
13
"True Colors"
Tara Nicole Weyr
Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza
February 6, 2018 (2018-02-06)
T27.13413
2.28[13]

Wolfe plans to sell Barry and the imprisoned bus metas (Ramsey Deacon, Becky Sharpe, Mina Chaytan, and Sylbert Rundine) to Amunet, so they plan to escape. Cecile discovers Wolfe's plans after reading his mind. Ralph encounters a former colleague and his negative interaction with him prompts the discovery that he can shapeshift. His lack of mastery of the new ability prevents his attempt to foil Amunet's deal with Wolfe. Barry helps the metas escape the power dampeners, but they are cornered by Wolfe and Amunet. DeVoe arrives and again uses his chair to extract the metas' abilities, before transferring his mind into Sharpe's body. He then crushes Wolfe's skull as Marlize looks on in horror; Amunet flees. Ralph uses his shapeshifting ability to appear as the original DeVoe at Barry's appeal, claiming that he was unconscious at Barry's loft but not dead, which clears Barry's name. Team Flash realizes that DeVoe is only stealing powers from metahumans who were on the bus when the dark matter wave was unleashed, which means he will likely target Ralph as well. Back at the DeVoes' house, their marriage continues to deteriorate, and DeVoe drugs his wife with the Weeper's tears to maintain her devotion towards him.

83
14
"Subject 9"[14]
Ralph Hemecker
Mike Alber & Gabe Snyder
February 27, 2018 (2018-02-27)
TBA
TBD

84
15
"Enter Flashtime"[15]
Gregory Smith
Todd Helbing & Sterling Gates
March 6, 2018 (2018-03-06)
TBA
TBD

text: The sixteenth episode will be titled "Run Iris, Run".[16] The seventeenth episode is written by Lauren Certo and Kristen Kim, and directed by Kevin Smith.[17]

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / Flash[18]
Candice Patton as Iris West[18]
Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost[19]
Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe[18]
Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West / Kid Flash[18]
Neil Sandilands as Clifford DeVoe / Thinker[20]
Tom Cavanagh as Harrison "Harry" Wells[18]
Jesse L. Martin as Joe West[18]

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Danielle Nicolet as Cecile Horton[21]
Kim Engelbrecht as Marlize DeVoe / Mechanic[20]
Jessica Camacho as Cynthia / Gypsy[22][23]
Patrick Sabongui as David Singh[24]
Richard Brooks as Gregory Wolfe[25]
Hartley Sawyer as Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man[26]
Katee Sackhoff as Amunet Black / Blacksmith[27]

text: Guest[edit]

text:
Britne Oldford as Shawna Baez / Peek-a-Boo[28]
Mark Sweatman as Norvok[29]
Dominic Burgess as Ramsey Deacon / Kilg%re[30]
Donna Pescow as Sharon Finkle
Sugar Lyn Beard as Rebecca Sharpe / Hazard[31] and Clifford DeVoe / Thinker
Chelsea Kurtz as Mina Chayton / Black Bison[32]
Violett Beane as Jesse Chambers Wells / Jesse Quick[33]
Danny Trejo as Josh / Breacher[20][23]
Vito D'Ambrosio as Anthony Bellows
Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak[27]
Riley Jade Berglund as Joanie[34]
Matt Afonso as Weeper[35]
Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow and Dark Arrow[36]
Victor Garber as Martin Stein / Firestorm[36]
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / White Canary[36]
Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers[36]
Franz Drameh as Jefferson Jackson / Firestorm[36]
Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance / Sturmbannführer
Jeremy Jordan as General Schott[36]
Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake / Black Canary
Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El / Kara Danvers / Supergirl and Overgirl[36]
Wentworth Miller as Leonard Snart / Citizen Cold[37]
Russell Tovey as Ray Terrill / The Ray[36]
Frederick Schmidt voices Metallo-X
Kendrick Sampson as Dominic Lanse / Brainstorm[38] and Clifford DeVoe / Thinker
Mark Valley as Anton Slater[39]
Devon Graye as Axel Walker / Trickster[40]
Corinne Bohrer as Zoey Clark / Prank[40]
Bill Goldberg as Dave Ratchet / Big Sir[40]
Derek Mears as Sylbert Rundine / Dwarfstar[41]
John Wesley Shipp as Jay Garrick[42]
Max Adler as Jaco Birch / Pyro[43]
Anne Dudek as Tracy Brand[44]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: The series was renewed for a fourth season on January 8, 2017,[45] earlier than usual for the series. Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg said on this, "The great thing about our dear friends at The CW and Mark Pedowitz picking the shows up as early as they did has allowed us to start building the schedules for next season."[46] In May 2017, it was announced that Aaron Helbing would not return as an executive producer for season four, with only Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Sarah Schechter, and Todd Helbing returning from previous seasons.[47] Todd Helbing and Kreisberg were slated to serve as the season's showrunners.[48][49] In November 2017, Kreisberg was suspended from his role as executive producer and showrunner on The Flash over allegations of sexual harassment.[50][51] By the end of the month, he had been fired, with his name eventually being removed from the credits from all shows he worked on. In addition, Berlanti would take additional responsibilities working with Helbing to co-showrun the season.[52]

text: Writing[edit]

text:
The way I see it is, time is non-linear and everything is happening at once in the Speed Force. In some ways he's had an awakening and he's had a rebirth. Our first episode is called 'Reborn,' and it is a rebirth for Barry, but he's kind of scrambled, too, because he's experienced so much so quick over the course of six months, even though for him it was an eternity. He's not Barry when we see him for the first time.

—Grant Gustin on the rebirth of Barry in season four.[53]

tag: div

text: In March 2017, Kreisberg confirmed that the main villain for the fourth season would not be a speedster, like the previous three seasons.[54] Executive producers Aaron and Todd Helbing also mentioned that there would be less time travel in the season, with Aaron saying, "We like playing with the timelines and the different time periods and future and past. For now, I think we're going to focus on the present."[55] In June 2017, Clifford DeVoe / Thinker was reported to be the main antagonist of the season. He was first hinted in the third season episode "Abra Kadabra" when the titular villain mentions him among the Flash's greatest enemies, and again in the season finale "Finish Line" when Savitar mentions facing DeVoe but states that the Flash has not dealt with him yet.[56] At the series' San Diego Comic-Con panel, the speculation was confirmed, with Todd Helbing saying, "With three Speedsters in a row, this year it's the fastest man alive against the fastest mind alive."[21] He added that the writers were "making a conscious effort this year to get the fun quotient back up".[57]

text: Regarding the possibility of Wally West taking on the mantle of the Flash in Barry's absence, Keiynan Lonsdale said that "It's not something that's on my radar. I feel as though there is so much story to tell and Wally has so much growing to do... We need to see how these character realistically get to where they are headed for."[58] With the action picking up six months after season three, Kid Flash and Vibe are left to protect Central City, with Carlos Valdes saying "the team is sort of clutching at straws to keep the city together,... there is a unanimous feeling amongst the remaining members that it's just not the same without Barry... So in light of that, Cisco does whatever it takes to get his friends back."[59] Valdes also confirmed the return of Cisco's more lighthearted joking manner.[59] Candice Patton explained Iris West's larger role within Team Flash as "a way of distracting herself,"[59] adding that "[Iris] is forced to deal with that anger and resentment and abandonment by kind of focusing on protecting Central City... We're seeing a very different Iris, almost a very hardened Iris."[60] Kreisberg also hinted at some major growth for Iris this season, and noted that "the season premiere is all about Iris and Cisco, not Barry".[61]

text: In July 2017, Sterling Gates, DC Comics comic book writer, joined as a member of the fourth season's writing staff.[62] At the Television Critics Association press tour in August 2017, Pedowitz stated that the fourth season of The Flash is "going to try to find the lightness... of the Barry Allen of the first two seasons,"[63] and said that the show was likely "done with Speedster villains".[64] Later in the month, Kreisberg confirmed the return of Harry Wells from Earth-2, saying that "season 4 for Harry is really realizing what he's missing in his life and what it is he needs to become a better, more complete person, and so he's going to be going on a fairly epic emotional journey this season that is tied to the Thinker's plan," in addition to confirming the introduction of a new version of the Wells character.[65]

text: In September 2017, Helbing noted "There's a lot of love in the air this season," and compared Barry and Iris' reunion to "somebody going off to war for six months and coming back. There's a lot that Iris experienced that Barry didn't when he was gone, and it's really [about] the fun and the emotional component of making up that time when they weren't together." Helbing also explained that the Speed Force "let [Barry] deal with all of the baggage [from the past three seasons]. When he comes out, he's sort of left that all behind."[66] That month, Kreisberg also confirmed that Barry and Iris will be getting married this season,[67] while also revealing that the pair will be going to couples therapy since "[they] keep comically clashing inadvertently because [both are] used to being in charge, and so they wind up going... to work through it." He added, "The two of them with the therapist is some of the funniest stuff we have ever done on this show, but it also leads to a deepening of their relationship."[68]

text: Casting[edit]

text: Main cast members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Keiynan Lonsdale, Tom Cavanagh, and Jesse L. Martin return from previous seasons as Barry Allen / The Flash, Iris West, Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost, Cisco Ramon / Vibe, Wally West / Kid Flash, Harrison Wells, and Joe West, respectively.[18] Cavanagh will portray Harry Wells from Earth-2 at the start of the season, without ruling out the possibility of introducing another incarnation of the Wells character later on.[59] Teasing the arrival of a new Harrison Wells, Cavanagh said, "We're going to start with Harry and then find a way, I think, to try and get a different version of Wells in there, be it some version of Harry or whatnot as the season's gaps present themselves."[69] Also returning from earlier in the series are Jessica Camacho as Gypsy,[22] and Anne Dudek as Tracy Brand.[44] Tom Felton, who joined the cast as Julian Albert in the third season, was revealed not to be returning to the series, although there is a possibility he could return if the storyline demanded it and Felton's availability permits.[70] Julian's absence will be addressed "pretty quickly — there's a reason why he's no longer with the team," said Helbing.[71] In the season premiere, Julian is revealed to have returned to London.[72] Kreisberg also confirmed that he had put on hold the planned return of Violett Beane as Jesse Quick due to the high number of speedsters on the show, but did not rule out a possible return in the future.[73] Beane eventually appeared as Jesse on the episode "Luck Be a Lady".[33] Britne Oldford, who previously appeared as Shawna Baez / Peek-a-Boo in the first season and the web series The Chronicles of Cisco, reprised her role in the season premiere.[28]

text: In July 2017, Neil Sandilands was announced to be cast as Clifford DeVoe, a metahuman genius who embarks on a seasonlong battle with the Flash in order to fix all that he deems wrong with humanity; while Kim Engelbrecht was announced as The Mechanic, Devoe's right hand and a highly intelligent engineer who designs devices for him; and Danny Trejo as Breacher, a bounty hunter from Earth-19 and the father of Gypsy.[20] Also in June, the series was looking to cast a role that "should put the visual effects department to the test",[74] with the role later revealed to be Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man, a metahuman with the ability to stretch his body to superhuman lengths and sizes.[75] Hartley Sawyer was cast in the recurring role that July as the fast-talking private investigator who after discovering his abilities will help Team Flash solve one of Central City's greatest mysteries.[26] The character was previously mentioned in the first season, as one of the fourteen people who seemingly died as a result of the particle accelerator explosion.[76] The next month, Katee Sackhoff was announced in the recurring role of Amunet Black / Blacksmith, who operates an underground black market of metahuman supervillains.[27]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Filming for the season began on July 4, 2017,[77] in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is set to conclude on April 21, 2018.[78] Kevin Smith will return to direct an episode in January 2018.[79]

text: Music[edit]

text: In August 2017, series composer Blake Neely and Nathaniel Blume began to compose the music for the fourth season.[80]

text: Arrowverse tie-ins[edit]

text: In May 2017, The CW president Mark Pedowitz officially announced plans for a four-show Arrowverse crossover event, crossing over episodes of the television series Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow.[81] The crossover will begin with Supergirl and a special airing of Arrow on November 27, 2017, and conclude on The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow on November 28.[82] In August 2017, Berlanti noted that it would be "a big life event for a few different people" that would bring them all together for the crossover, adding "There are many life events that happen."[83] Arrow actress Emily Bett Rickards appears as Felicity Smoak in the fifth episode of the season.[27]

text: Release[edit]

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: The season began airing on October 10, 2017, on The CW in the United States,[84] and on CTV in Canada.[85]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: In July 2017, cast from the series appeared at San Diego Comic-Con International to promote the season, where exclusive footage was shown.[86] During the panel, a trailer for the season was shown, with James Whitbrook at io9 feeling that despite the "grim" tone, there was "some fun signs of the team coming together to protect the city without [Barry],... Sprinkle in a few wacky things, like, say a goddamn Samuroid ripped straight from the comics, and ladies and gents, you've got a good season of The Flash lined up."[87] Ben Pearson with /Film felt seeing Iris West deal with the absence of Barry was "a nice change of pace for that character", but anticipated that "Barry [would] be back two or three episodes in at the latest."[88] Collider.com's Allison Keene also noted Iris "getting an actual storyline" with Barry gone, and similarly presumed that he "[would] be back in the fold by the end of the first episode" alike to Flashpoint in the third season. She added, "There are some new foes, lots of action, plenty of tech — it's great!"[89]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Air date
Rating/share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
DVR
(18–49)
DVR viewers
(millions)
Total
(18–49)
Total viewers
(millions)

1
"The Flash Reborn"
October 10, 2017
1.1/4
2.84[1]
0.7
1.92
1.8
4.77[90]

2
"Mixed Signals"
October 17, 2017
0.9/4
2.54[2]
0.8
1.82
1.7
4.36[91]

3
"Luck Be a Lady"
October 24, 2017
1.0/4
2.62[3]
0.8
1.84
1.8
4.46[92]

4
"Elongated Journey Into Night"
October 31, 2017
0.7/3
1.99[4]
0.7
1.79
1.4
3.79[93]

5
"Girls Night Out"
November 7, 2017
0.9/4
2.38[5]
0.8
1.84
1.7
4.22[94]

6
"When Harry Met Harry..."
November 14, 2017
1.0/4
2.46[6]
0.7
1.83
1.7
4.29[95]

7
"Therefore I Am"
November 21, 2017
0.8/3
2.20[7]
0.8
2.08
1.6
4.28[96]

8
"Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3"
November 28, 2017
1.0/4
2.82[8]
0.7
1.83
1.7
4.64[97]

9
"Don't Run"
December 5, 2017
0.8/3
2.22[9]
0.6
1.45
1.4
3.67[98]

10
"The Trial of The Flash"
January 16, 2018
0.8/3
2.51[10]
0.7
1.55
1.5
4.06[99]

11
"The Elongated Knight Rises"
January 23, 2018
0.7/3
2.12[11]
0.7
1.69
1.4
3.81[100]

12
"Honey, I Shrunk Team Flash"
January 30, 2018
0.9/3
2.60[12]
0.8
1.84
1.7
4.43[101]

13
"True Colors"
February 6, 2018
0.8/3
2.28[13]
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.36/10 based on 13 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "After an unsteady turn in season three, The Flash returns to its roots with a fourth season packed with humor, spectacle, and a whole lot of heart."[102]

text: Reviewing the first two episodes of the season, Allison Keene writing for Collider.com, felt the premiere "wipes the slate clean, fixing a lot of the issues that plagued the end of the last season, and setting up a much more toned-down storyline. Most importantly, it's brought back some fun." She added that with a "streamlined team," the core characters now have time to interact and have meaningful plot lines. On the second episode, Keene described it as "truly a delight" with the show taking "the time to focus on character relationships, and not just romantic relationships" and each character "feeling like a refreshed version of themselves, with new narrative purpose". She also highlighted the setup of the Thinker "as an Alchemy-like villain who manipulates evil metas into the Flash's path as part of some kind of masterplan", saying "The Flash is a series that truly works best as a procedural, with the team finding creative ways to bring down Villains of the Week."[103]