TV Review: Flash Gordon

The Sci-Fi Channel’s newest original series, ‘Flash Gordon,’ doesn’t hearken back to the classic cheese of the 1980 film that most of us remember. Both the classic film and the new series are based on Alex Raymond’s 1930’s comic strip about an All-American who travels to the planet Mongo to save Earth from Ming the Merciless. Out of the latest run of original programming on the “What if” network this is the most tolerable to watch. But maybe this time – and probably the only situation where this is a problem – the cheesy sci-fi fantasy drama is sorely missed.

Steven “Flash” Gordon (Eric Johnson) is a small town athlete – a runner instead of football player, which ostensibly explains Gordon’s moniker – whose father was a physicist working on top-secret research. It’s been 13 years since Daddy Gordon supposedly died, and now there are rifts opening throughout the small town. Probes, aliens, and other more attractive baddies start attacking in a search to find an item known as the “Imex.”

Flash teams up with his former girlfriend; the now engaged Dale Arden (Gina Holden), to discover the truth about his father’s death. Along the way they meet Daddy Gordon’s colleague Hans Zarkov (Jody Racicot), who holds a few secrets to the truth about Flash’s dad. This sets up the main trio that it looks like we’ll see in the series. There’s really a lot of potential to tell a story of the everyman being a hero in the series, but the dynamic between the trio doesn’t hit on all cylinders like it should. Their best moment in the premiere is a fight with an alien robot where they utilize kitchen tools to dispatch the enemy. If that type of material becomes the standard for interaction then Sci-Fi could build ‘Flash Gordon’ into something enjoyable. Plus it would have just the right amount of camp comedy to properly call itself ‘Flash Gordon.’

A show about a battle between good and evil is only as good as the villain. John Ralston as Ming the Merciless leaves much to be desired in the premiere. Again, this is all just setup but other than a brief comment to his daughter about hunting her down if she were anyone else Ming just doesn’t seem too merciless. ‘Battlestar Galactica’ improved on the schlock that was the Cylons in the original series, but all you want when watching the newest Ming is for Max von Sydow to return and do the role justice. There is Ming’s daughter though, who is the clear highpoint of the show. Anna Van Hooft as the beautiful Aura is the only character that as the credits role you’re interested in seeing more of. Let’s hope she appears more than at random intervals.

The problem with ‘Flash Gordon’ is that it tries to take itself a little too seriously, yet still adds in the typical sci-fi schlock. Viewers may not know what to think, and this could easily turn them off. Judging from the first episode that may not be a horrible thing. It’ll take time to determine the tone of the series, but I have far more fears than hopes.