Flash Gordon

[Ed_Laprade]

Saw it, didn't care for it. It might improve, but it sure ain't Flash Gordon! Might watch some more episodes since its going to be on after Dr. Who. We'll see. So far the best character looks like it might be the bounty hunter (or whatever she is) that showed up near the end.

Question: Did they ever mention Zarkov by name? If they did, I didn't catch it.

 

[Truth Seeker]

Previews didn't impress me. And saw some of it, forgot that it ran longer into the Doctor Who time.

Bring Dresden Files back.

 

[Pseudonym]

Heh, that's kind of funny! Although, hotel or not ... I still enjoyed the show and would probably continue to enjoy it. To be honest, though, I always assumed there was behind the scenes help. I mean, nobody can go out into that many bad situations and succeed all the time without help. Nobody is that good. Eventually - even if you are good - a string off bad luck is bound to come about.

What did it for me was the episode where he came across a "wild" horse that had obviously had it's feet trimmed. Perhaps something that the general viewing public would have missed, but to a horseman it was blatantly obvious.

As to Flash Gordon; I got bored real fast, but stuck it out in the hopes it would give me something to connect to. Nope. Granted the BSG pilot I thought royally sucked but I became hooked on the series, so I'll give it at least one more episode.

 

[Kaledor]

Question: Did they ever mention Zarkov by name? If they did, I didn't catch it.

IIRC, When Flash and ladies in tow first come back to Earth he see the RV and says something to the effect of, 'There's Zarkov's van'.



I don't like that they will be popping back and forth between Mongo and Earth.
I liked my Flash stranded and fighting... not stopping home to check in with mom.

I'll keep watching till they cancel it just when it starts getting better.

 

[horacethegrey]

I don't like that they will be popping back and forth between Mongo and Earth.
I liked my Flash stranded and fighting... not stopping home to check in with mom.

:\ I'm betting the producers added this bit so as to ground Flash in reality. This is all wrong of course, as Flash Gordon isn't some hard scifi TV series in the vein of Taken or BSG. It's f***in space fantasy! The best that Scifi could have done was to fashion the show more in the vein of Farscape...

Oh wait, they did that didn't they? And canceled it soon after.

 

[lrsach01]

:\ I'm betting the producers added this bit so as to ground Flash in reality. This is all wrong of course, as Flash Gordon isn't some hard scifi TV series in the vein of Taken or BSG. It's f***in space fantasy! The best that Scifi could have done was to fashion the show more in the vein of Farscape...:

I was all set for a long rambling diatribe, but Horace said it better than I could. Flash Gordon is Space Fantasy! Not some whining twenty something pining for a lost girlfriend. Who, in THIS Flash's place, wouldn't JUMP at the chance to see a WHOLE NEW WORLD.

And one more thing, this version of Ming is about as frightening as cold spaghetti....no style...no menace...no fun.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

The thing is, changing appearance/persona is a staple of Doctor Who. It's part of the character, and has been for... What, over forty years? That's why we're on the Tenth Doctor. Not the tenth actor--the tenth Doctor.

Tennant is a "stand-in." He's not supposed to be the exact same character as Eccleston; he's a new regeneration, and that means new appearance and new persona. In essence, he is a new character.

Ah, well. Then it probably is a good thing that I stopped watching it after the first season of Eccleston. Because I totally wouldn't have enjoyed switching it ten times. Note that I'm not criticizing the show by saying what they are doing is wrong. If that's a staple of the show, then that's cool. But it is wrong for me.


Ahhhh. Bring back Dresden files. That was one of the few shows that brought my wigfe and I together in front of the TV and took me away from the internet or my sports programming!

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Sorry for the double post, but I logged off and went to the place where I do much of my better thinking ... and had a thought. So I thought I would come back and ask.

- - -

Of the people responding, how many are familiar with the old series? Because I have neither seen any of the old episodes nor did I ever read any books/comics on Flash Gordon.

- - -

And, I think that is important. It isn't fair to a new series with a 1.5 hour pilot to compare it with the scope of the old series. It just isn't fair. You cannot develop the depth of characters and vile hatred for the bad guys in that short of a time span. [Well, you can in a movie, where the run of the show is 2-3 hours. But in a series, you have to develop over time or else the show burns out too quickly]

Perhaps the next 2 or 3 episodes are designed to solve some of the above issues. Such as the bouncing back and forth. Maybe the next few episodes are going to solve the character depth problem. Perhaps the next few episodes are going to reveal just how vile the bad guys are. Perhaps the next few episodes are going to turn it more into a Farscape Space Fantasy.

EDITORIAL: Although, I doubt it. As I said, I am not familiar with the original series, and I was hard pressed to care about the action - what little there was. And I thought the acting was not impressive. So I think my above speculation is likely incorrect ... but I am just hypothesizing. What if the next few episodes are designed to pull you in and they slowly introduce the elements of the old series that weren't in the short pilot?

 

[Elodan]

Flash Gordon = boring. I kept looking at the clock and saying, "cool they're going to Mongol, now the action and spaceships happen"; "guess they're going back to Earth to pick up Zharkov, then back to Mongol for the action and spaceships"; "uh, not going to Mongol for action and spaceships?"
The pilot should pull you in and have you want to watch the next episodes. This one didn't.

David Tennant as Doctor Who = One of my favorite doctors (either 1 or 1a). School Reunion was possibly my favorite episode ever.

Dresden Files = They canceled it? Not as great as the books but it was growing on me. Shame.

 

[horacethegrey]

Of the people responding, how many are familiar with the old series? Because I have neither seen any of the old episodes nor did I ever read any books/comics on Flash Gordon.

The onscreen incarnations of Flash Gordon that people are most familiar with are the old 30's movie serials starring Buster Crabbe, the late 70's Filmation cartoon, and of course, the cult classic 80's flick starring Sam Jones and featuring that killer Queen soundtrack.

Personally, I've never seen the serials, but the cartoon and the movie I have fond memories of.

Perhaps the next 2 or 3 episodes are designed to solve some of the above issues. Such as the bouncing back and forth. Maybe the next few episodes are going to solve the character depth problem. Perhaps the next few episodes are going to reveal just how vile the bad guys are. Perhaps the next few episodes are going to turn it more into a Farscape Space Fantasy.

Farscape did it all in the pilot. It didn't need additional episodes to establish what a fantastic headtrip it was to become. This new Flash series has no excuse I feel for the dullness of it's beginning.