so i actually thought this show was about The Flash

No totally different character. There was actually a show done for The Flash back in the early nineties. It starred John Wesley Shipp and it was obviously called The Flash incase you didn't know. I remember it being kinda cheesy.

So did I. I kept wondering when he would get his powers. Of course, I knew the movie Flash Gordon (soundtrack by Queen), but still didn't realize this wasn't "The Flash."

although, in your defense a lot of Flash (speedster) fan boys probably would argue that Eric Johnson does resemble classic Barry Allen and would have been a decent casting choice, if Smallville had not used him as the Hypotenuse in the Clark/Lana Triangle for season 1