Flash Gordon

[Jamdin]

My biggest problem with the show was Ming. When he first appeared, I wondered who he was and I was surprised to find out that he was the emperor. He just did not have a menacing presence.

 

[Wycen]

My biggest problem with the show was Ming. When he first appeared, I wondered who he was and I was surprised to find out that he was the emperor. He just did not have a menacing presence.

Bingo. I thought the look and feel of Ming was horribly off target.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

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.

I used to read the strip in the Sunday comics when I was a kid. I also saw some of the 50s TV show episodes (with Steve Holland). And I've seen all the serials, plus the Sam Jones film. So yeah, I'm about as famailiar with Flash as anyone my age can be. And, as I said, this ain't it! The thing they missed with Ming is that he was wicked, not just evil. And he had style! The new Ming just needs someone to shot him in the head.

 

[trancejeremy]

I'm guessing a lot of it had to do with having a very small budget. They have to shoot it in Canada, I guess, and it's impossible to make Canada look like anything but Canada, much less someplace as exotic as Mongo (cast, too, they look and sound Canadian - not that it's a bad thing as they tend to be attractive, but you just don't think of Flash Gordon as being Canadian, much less the people of Mongo). And the low budget probably rules out spaceships and the like. I guess cheap model making has largely been wiped out by cheap CGI, and just sticking a sparkler to a model rocket on a string probably wouldn't work these days anyway. And action scenes cost money as well, it's much cheaper to have a character mope around than do something exciting.

While people like the 1980 movie now (though I loved it then as well, I think I saw it 5 times as a kid), at the time it was largely a flop. It cost something like $35 million to make (not cheap for 1980) and I think only pulled in about 75% of that in the theaters. So it's doubtful that Sci-Fi would have given the show a big budget, given the riskiness (not to mention their own stinginess with regards to their own shows that actually are hits)

 

[Mouseferatu]

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.

Actually, you misunderstood. They haven't changed 10 times since Eccleston. They've changed once. Eccleston was already the ninth doctor. (The new show is still considered part of the original series' continuum.)

That said, if it's not for you, it's not for you... But I think you'd enjoy it. It's not like they change that often.

 

[jaerdaph]

Back to Flash Gordon:

That sucked donkey dung. First of all, 1930s sweet as pie all American girl/boy next door just doesn't work anymore. And Ming the Merciless looked more like the lead singer from Wang Chung.

I'd rather watch a Voyager Captain Proton holodeck episode.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Actually, you misunderstood. They haven't changed 10 times since Eccleston. They've changed once. Eccleston was already the ninth doctor.

I guess what he's saying is that Christopher Eccleston (2005) is the one true Doctor; all others (even if they preceded him by several decades) are but poor imitations of the real thing

-Hyp.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Yeah, Hyp. That's what I meant to say. Looking back at my post, though, I admit that the words I actually typed are really misleading. [FWIW, I did understand that Eccleston was 9, but my words don't really indicate that.] That's what I get for typing and not proofreading.

On a side note, thanks for the vote of confidence anyway, Mouseferatu. I did really like the year with Eccleston. Maybe when my wife decides to sign us up for Netflix again I'll have her order the series and give them a fair shake. I'm hesitant, but I'll try anything once! Also, I'm glad to have learned that Eccleston is in the same story line as the rest. Here I honestly thought that this was a remake of the original series (with different stories, of course, to keep the viewers interested).



Back to Flash. Does anyone know just what the contract for Flash Gordon is? How many episodes for the first year before they are picked up (or more likely dropped)? And, did anyone bother to see how Flash did according to the ratings? I suppose the ratings might be misleading, because it sounds like a lot of people tuned in and were disappointed. What might be more telling is the rating from last week to this week.

 

[horacethegrey]

On a side note, thanks for the vote of confidence anyway, Mouseferatu. I did really like the year with Eccleston. Maybe when my wife decides to sign us up for Netflix again I'll have her order the series and give them a fair shake. I'm hesitant, but I'll try anything once! Also, I'm glad to have learned that Eccleston is in the same story line as the rest. Here I honestly thought that this was a remake of the original series (with different stories, of course, to keep the viewers interested).

I suggest you peruse this thread for recommendations on what Doctor episodes to check out. New and old series alike.

So it's doubtful that Sci-Fi would have given the show a big budget, given the riskiness (not to mention their own stinginess with regards to their own shows that actually are hits)

Why the hell make a show that's sure to be a hit when you're not going to actively support it?! What the hell are the execs of Scifi smoking on that they take this backwards approach to broadcast TV?!

Sorry, just venting my Farscape frustrations there.

 

[Mistwell]

Well, first episode was not so good.

The woman playing Dale Arden either is not a good actor, or is getting some bad direction, or both. Three times she had a line that was supposed to be presented as comedy or snarky or sarcastic, and she blew the line and said it deadpan as part of a run-on sentence.

Nor did I sense even a moment of actual chemistry between her and Flash, despite that being a big part of the premise of this show. The both seemed to be acting in a vacuum, worrying more about getting their own next line out than about acting with and off of each other.

I will continue watching for a while. I want the show to succeed. But so far, it's not very good.

I'd rather at this point that they brought back The Lost Room as a regular show.