''Flash Gordon'' is a short-lived

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

that debuted on

Sci-Fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on August 10, 2007 and continued airing new episodes through February 8, 2008. It has also appeared on the British/Ireland variant of

and

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The series was developed by Peter Hume, who served as executive producer/

show runner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...

and wrote the first and last episodes, among others.

Plot

The series was loosely based on the comic strip of the same name and incorporated elements from several previous adaptations, following the adventures of Steven "Flash" Gordon (

Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to: Music *Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist * Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone Politics * Eric Joh ...

), a twenty-five-year-old who lives with his mother and whose scientist father was lost in a mysterious accident when Flash was 13 years old. Flash's ex-girlfriend,

Dale Arden Dale Arden is a fictional character, the fellow adventurer and love interest of Flash Gordon and a prototypic heroine for later female characters, including Princess Leia and Padme Amidala in '' Star Wars''. Flash, Dale and Dr. Hans Zarkov fi ...

(

Gina Holden Gina Holden (born March 17, 1975) is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Coreen Fennel in '' Blood Ties'', Dale Arden in ''Flash Gordon'', and Shea Allen in ''Harper's Island''. Early life Holden was born in the small town ...

), is a television news reporter and is engaged to police detective Joe Wylee. They introduce Gordons' eccentric former assistant,

Hans Zarkov Dr. Hans Zarkov is a fictional character appearing in the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip and the following serials, films, television shows and comic books. Zarkov is a brilliant scientist who creates a rocket and forces Flash and Dale Arden to co ...

(Jody Racicot), when rifts in space appear, allowing travel between Earth and the planet

Mongo Mongo may refer to: Geography Africa * Mongo, Chad, a Sahel city * Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo (Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction) * Mongo, Sierra Leone, a chiefdom * Mongo River (Little Scarces River), Guinea and Sierra Leone, a tributar ...

. Mongo is ruled by the ruthless dictator

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

( John Ralston), who controls "Source Water", the only source of safe drinking water on Mongo. Unlike the previous adaptations, he is not normally called "the Merciless" and is instead called "Benevolent Father", though he is still called "the Merciless" in closed circles. He also exhibits the traits of modern, media-savvy dictators, rather than the more simplistic, stereotypically evil characterization of earlier incarnations. Also, unlike previous depictions, Ming resembles a blond Caucasian human, rather than a bald East Asian man. Ming has a daughter,

Princess Aura Princess Aura is a fictional character in the Flash Gordon comic strips and serials. She has been portrayed by various actresses in the many ''Flash Gordon'' adaptations in film and television. Character overview Aura is the daughter of the ser ...

( Anna van Hooft), who is disturbed by her father's brutality. The series adds a new non-Terran character, Baylin (

Karen Cliche Karen Cliche (; born July 22, 1976) is a Canadians, Canadian Actor, actress. She is known for her roles as a regular on the television series ''Vampire High'', ''Adventure Inc.'', ''Mutant X (TV series), Mutant X'', ''Young Blades'' and ''Flash G ...

), a bounty hunter from Mongo. She finds herself trapped on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

and becomes a comrade of Flash, Dale and Zarkov and their guide to Mongo and its inhabitants. The peoples of Mongo live in "

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

", tribal groups that echo the animal-human hybrids of the original comic strip. The cantons include the Verdan (based on Prince Barin's forest-dwelling people from the strip), the Turin (based on the strip's Lion Men), the Dactyls (the series' version of the strip's Hawkmen), the Omadrians (women who create powerful medicines), the Frigians (who live in the frozen wastelands), the Tritons (who live beneath the ocean), and the Zurn (painted blue "Magic Men" led by Queen Azura). There is also another group known as the Deviates, mutants whose ancestors drank "Grey Water" (toxic water) to survive. The Deviates are led by Terek, their unofficial king (and Aura's brother) and are distrusted by almost everyone.

Cast

Main

as Steven "Flash" Gordon *

as Baylin * Jody Racicot as Dr.

* John Ralston as

Jonathan Lloyd Walker Jonathan Lloyd Walker (born 13 September 1967) is an English-Canadian film and television actor, producer and screenwriter who resides in Canada. He is known for film roles in ''Shooter'', '' RED'', and as the British radio operator Colin in ' ...

as Rankol

Recurring

* Anna Van Hooft as

Panou Panou is a Canadian actor. Biography His birth-name translates to 'God Among Us' in his native Creole.Panou.net
His first

as Nick Gilmore *

Giles Panton Giles Panton (born September 13, 1982) is a Canadian actor. He has worked in television, film, stage, and web media, and is also known for his voiceover work. Career Giles Panton trained as an actor at the William Davis Centre of Vancouver's V ...

as Joe Wylee *

Jill Teed Jill Teed is a Canadian actress. She is an actress who has appeared in many sci-fi roles. She has appeared in a number of television guest roles such as ''Street Justice'', ''The X-Files'', ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Sliders'', and '' The Outer Limits ...

as Norah Gordon *

Carmen Moore Carmen Moore (born 24 December 1972) is a Canadian actress known for her work in television. She is known for her role as Loreen Cassway on ''Arctic Air'' (for which she was nominated for a Leo Award in 2012) and the lead role of Leona Stoney, o ...

as Joely Lavant *

Carrie Genzel Carrie Genzel (born 18 September 1971) is a Canadian actress and film producer.(9 August 2007)"'Flash Gordon' more than space filler" New York Daily News. Retrieved 30 September 2015.Cristina Kinon (15 April 2008)"'More than Flavor of the Month'" ...

as Vestra * Craig Stanghetta as Terek *

Steve Bacic Steve Bacic ( ; hr, Bačić ) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing the characters Gaheris and Telemachus Rhade on the Sci-Fi series ''Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda''. After guest starring in seasons 1-3 as both characters, he joined the c ...

Prince Barin Prince Barin is a character in the Flash Gordon stories. He is king of a region of Mongo called Arboria. Barin becomes one of Flash's best friends, and is deeply in love with Princess Aura. In his appearance, Barin resembles the character of R ...

Ty Olsson Ty Olsson (born January 28, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Benny Lafitte in ''Supernatural'', real-life 9/11 victim Mark Bingham in the A&E television film '' Flight 93'', and Ord in the PBS Kids animated children's series '' ...

Prince Vultan Prince Vultan is a fictional character in the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip and its adaptations. Vultan is the ruler of the Winged Bird-Men, a race of flying extraterrestrials who dwell in Sky City, a metropolis that floats in the sky. He fits ...

Jody Thompson Jody Rae Thompson is a Canadian actress, screenwriter and filmmaker working in film and television. Personal life Thompson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to mother Grace Diane, and father, Ray Thompson, the lead singer of Canadian g ...

as Queen Azura

Episodes

Broadcast

''Flash Gordon'' was canceled in April 2008. Re-runs of the show began airing weekly on

ION Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...

on August 1, 2008.

Reception

The show was not well received. Metacritic gave the show an average score of 35/100 based on reviews from 13 critics. UK science fiction magazine '' SFX'' described episode 3 as "possibly the worst episode of anything, ever", and as part of their 200th issue features, they named the series as the worst they had ever reviewed. The ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' gave the show 0 stars describing it as "a disgrace to the name of the enduring comic-strip-character-turned-movie-and-TV space hero". Another UK science fiction magazine, ''

TV Zone ''TV Zone'' is a British magazine that was published every four weeks by Visual Imagination that covered cult television. Initially, it mostly covered science fiction, but branched out to cover other drama and comedy series. History ''TV Zone'' ...

'', in a review for episode 13, stated "the series continues to improve, and you start to see the meaning in the producers' madness - they must have hoped they could lull passing viewers into watching Sci-Fi with pedestrian, mainstream plots, before building up a world of ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

''-like complexity...which might even have worked if the early episodes hadn't been so dire that no-one but reviewers are still watching". When the show premiered in the UK, the magazine recommended it to readers, noting "you may well be wondering, considering the vitriol of our early reviews of the series, why we're picking out ''Flash Gordon'' as something to watch out for. Well, the point is that while the early episodes are dire...this is one series that does eventually—and we mean eventually—reward patience and endurance".

Home media

In August 2007,

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

offered an exclusive DVD that included "The Premiere Episode", selected deleted scenes (with incomplete effects) and a gallery of series concept art. This release includes the truncated 65-minute version of the pilot, exactly as it aired on

four days prior. Subsequent DVD releases include the full 87-minute version of the pilot, split into two parts.

Phase 4 Films Phase 4 Films was a Canadian film distribution company based in Toronto. It had two branches in the United States: Los Angeles, California and Fort Mill, South Carolina. Its subsidiary kaboom! Entertainment markets children's entertainment. Histo ...

released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 (Canada only) in July 2009. The 5-disc set features all 22 episodes of the series. Mill Creek Entertainment has released the complete series on DVD in the USA in April 2013.USA Release for 'The Complete Series' of Sci-Fi's 2007 Show

In other media

CD releases

In February 2014,

Perseverance Records Perseverance Records is a record label which releases film scores on CD and online. Releases are usually accompanied by extensive booklets. Extras, such as audio interviews with composers, are also sometimes included. Discography * *''No Pass ...

released a CD containing selected cues by composer Michael Picton. A second album was released in May, with the final volume scheduled for later in the year.

References

External links

SCI FI Digital Press Day, Cast Video

a
www.sci-fi-online.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flash Gordon (2007 Tv Series) 2000s American science fiction television series 2007 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings 2000s Canadian science fiction television series 2007 Canadian television series debuts 2008 Canadian television series endings American action adventure television series American fantasy television series American fantasy drama television series Canadian action adventure television series Canadian fantasy television series Canadian fantasy drama television series Flash Gordon television series Space adventure television series Syfy original programming Television shows filmed in Vancouver Television series set on fictional planets English-language television shows