According to a brief article referenced over at SF Signal, the SciFi Channel is planning a new Flash Gordon series. A full 22-episode run (that’s a complete season for a weekly series these days) has already been greenlighted.
Although I’m normally opposed to remakes on principle, I find that I’m okay with this one. That’s probably because I grew up enjoying multiple (and radically different) versions of the Flash Gordon story, including the campy 1980 feature film that most readers of this blog probably know, the 1930s-vintage serials starring Buster Crabbe, and the comic books published by Gold Key in the late ’70s. Like Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes, Flash seems to endure in part because he gets dusted off and updated for a new audience every 20 or 30 years. So long as the basic premise of his adventures on the planet Mongo and struggles against the evil Ming the Merciless remain intact, I’m willing to give the latest version a try.
My biggest concern is that SciFi’s original productions generally look pretty cheap, and the involvement of Robert Halmi Sr. and his son suggests that this one will, too. Which is a shame. Personally, I’d love to see a Flash Gordon series that’s visually faithful to the original comic strips drawn by Alex Raymond, possibly even beginning as a 1930s period piece before the action shifts to Mongo, but I imagine that such a series would cost more than SciFi wants to spend. We’ll see, I guess. As I said, I’m willing to try it.
Incidentally, if you’ve never seen those original Raymond strips, the Checker Book Publishing Group has recently reprinted them in a series of nicely done hardcovers. I suggest you buy them from this guy, who has always provided me with fast delivery and excellent customer service.
And if you don’t get the title of this entry, you obviously don’t remember the best line of the 1980 Flash movie…
“I love you, Flash! … but…”
Yes, that is the best line.
Man I loved that film. Brian Blessed, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Topol and music by Queen.
And the question mark at the end leaves it open for a sequel!
Brian Blessed has reportedly said that if they ever had done a sequel, it would’ve taken place on Mars, to mimic the old serials (Flash Gordon, Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars, and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe). But, like Buckaroo Banzai Versus the World Crime League, or whatever the sequel to The Sword and The Sorcerer was to have been, we’ll know…
[Ed. note for anyone who cares: The unrealized sequel promised at the end of The Sword and The Sorcerer was Tales of the Ancient Empire.]
Well considering that Sci-Fi is opting for a series and not for a film is a decent sign. The series they’ve produced have been much improved over the films they’ve been involved in (having participated in Lightspeed myself and having only watched the trailer, I’m still crossing my fingers though) 🙂
If there’s one thing they do well as a company it’s that they make a great mess and never pay their people..
still crossing my fingers.. maybe they could ressurect the Queen soundtrack or at least theme for the series though.
A new Flash series that used even a suggestion of the Queen music would immediately score a few more points in my eyes… I love that soundtrack! They’ll probably opt for some generic orchestral thing, though, judging from their other programming.
I just hope they don’t try to recast Flash in the same uber-serious mold as the Galactica remake. Flash Gordon is pure space opera; it’s supposed to be light-hearted and fun. Without being too cheesy, of course…