Flash Gordon – Season 1
Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 106 August 2008
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Saviour of the universe?
The Lowdown: Steven ‘Flash’ Gordon is just an average American guy – until, that is, he plunges through a rift in space and ends up on the mysterious planet of Mongo. On Mongo he discovers that his long-disappeared father may still be alive and in the malevolent clutches of ruthless dictator Ming…
Review: 1930’s comic strip heartthrob Flash Gordon has adopted many new guises over the years, but this latest offering is arguably one of the most ill conceived ideas yet… Steven ‘Flash’ Gordon (Eric Johnson) is a keen athlete who lives with his mother in Maryland. His father disappeared after a mysterious accident when Flash was just a teenager, and Flash has never really recovered from the ordeal. However, when Flash and his ex-girlfriend, TV reporter Dale Arden, hook up with Flash’s father’s eccentric assistant Hans Zarkov (Jody Racicot) in the process of researching fake alien sightings, they discover a wormhole between Earth and Mongo!
Mongo is ruled by the sporadically merciless Ming (John Ralston), who keeps his citizens in check by limiting the amount of safe drinking water in Mongo – which is hardly the most fearsome tactic ever employed by an intergalactic warlord! Naturally, with an inter-dimensional wormhole duly established, Flash and his fellow fun-seekers bounce between planets, getting embroiled in all manner of wacky sci-fi scrapes…
A painfully slow pilot sets the tone for a seriously bland series, which eventually wheezes to a halt after 22 seriously below-par episodes. The fact that Flash Gordon is actually now called Steven demonstrates quite how naff things have got! In fairness, Eric Johnson (Flash) and Gina Holden (Dale) are reasonable enough in the lead roles, and both have enough experience to keep their heads above water when the series starts to sink out of view. That said, their romance is generally unconvincing, and much of the banter is seriously cringe-worthy.
All previous Flash Gordon escapades have seen Flash, Dale and Zarkov stranded on Mongo, bereft of hope. The plot of this decidedly lightweight TV show hinges on a wormhole between Earth and Mongo, which allows our plucky trio to come and go as they please. Obviously, this tactic is utterly lacking in intrigue or suspense. The fact that most of the show takes place on Earth underlines the producers tenuous grasp of science fiction dynamics. The infrequent Mongo setpieces show the alien planet looking embarrassingly un-otherworldly. In fact, it looks roughly as exotic as Canada, which was where it was filmed!
The Dino DeLaurentiis 1980 cult classic movie pushed Flash Gordon into ridiculous balls-out camp territory, getting away with it by the skin of its teeth. By fobbing us off with an averagely camp re-hash, the Sci-Fi Channel isn’t fooling anyone. Flash isn’t meant to be ‘cool’, and the whole endeavour reeks of lousy judgement. Inevitably, in April the Sci-Fi Channel cancelled Flash Gordon, putting the show out of its misery once and for all. Sources close to the producers suggest that the guilt-ridden Channel has even gone as far as admitting that it treated the franchise “very poorly”. If you have enjoyed the recent re-imaginings of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and been surprised at the potential of a new favourite then you will be bemused and slightly angry at this bland debacle. Very poor.
FILM: 4
EXTRAS: 3
DVD Info:
Certificate: 18
Starring: Eric Johnson, Gina Holden, John Ralston, Karen Cliche
Directed By: Various, 2007
Distributor: Contender Home Entertainment
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 1012mins
Price: £39.99
Special Features:
Episode Selection
Alternate Version of ‘Pilot’
