Anyone attempting to take Flash Gordon (2007) seriously shall be flogged with a... "something like a light saber... but a whip... I guess you'd call it a... LASER WHIP" (says the poor park ranger who has already been smeared with extraterrestrial potato salad, attacked by an invisible girl, and tormented by a freaky caveman all in one afternoon).If you didn't get the message from that example, I'll spell it out: Flash Gordon (2007) is the greatest sci-fi comedy since... well... Flash Gordon (1980). You see, the key to doing this story justice is that it has to be unapologetically absurd but without crossing over into silly. The original Flash Gordon was of course a comic book, about as believable as bazooka Joe, but it was full of action, thrills and spills. A faithful adaptation must bring those diametrically opposite elements together, and the creators of this version certainly pulled it off. The audience doesn't know that this is a comedy, but it's full of lols just the same.They accomplished this by doing the unthinkable: making a parody of all the cheesy (but lovable) late 80s-early 90s action fantasy tv shows. Xena Warrior Princess, Knight Rider, Quantum Leap, Manimal... if you grew up on that stuff you'll be stupefied at how well they captured that vibe here. I swear I had to check twice to make sure this was actually the 2007 production and not some lost gem from 20 years prior.I mean, come on, in the opening episodes a (hot) space bounty hunter comes to Earth to kill Flash Gordon, but the dimensional portal closes up stranding her here, so what does she do...? She becomes Flash's roommate. Oh, I should also mention that Flash lives with his mom. Pure 80s gold!The writers were either total geniuses or totally high. Either way, I totally enjoyed this great production. Some of the plots are so bizarre you feel like you're watching a Coen Brothers flick (like episode 4 where Flash's best friend is dying from the venom of a 'joy bug' and the only way to keep him alive is to make him feel really miserable, and by the way this all happens at his brother's wedding LMAO). It also helps that all the women are smoking hot and often scantily clad, while beefcake Flash seems to unerringly lose his shirt, all within the confines of a strict G rating. More or less.Eye candy aside, the acting was very human and personal which draws you in fast. Eric Johnson plays Flash as a sort of cross between James Dean, Peewee Herman and Ferris Buehler. Gina Holden plays Dale Arden in a way that oddly reminded me of Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City, that is, sassy & in control but just one bad hair day away from a nervous breakdown. Karen Cliche, the bounty hunter, steals the show with her quirky larger than life personality. Jody Racicot plays Dr Zarkoff as a lovably loony nerd (who refuses to use a cell phone because it increases the chances of brain cancer 12x). And Anna Van Hooft, though she had some big pumps to fill taking the role made infamous by the seductive Ornella Muti in 1980, brings us the "poor little rich girl" Princess Aura in a way that makes you really feel for her especially in the dramatic scenes.I know it's tempting to compare this show to the remake of Battlestar Galactica, but don't even think of it. That's like comparing "Kick-Ass" with "The Dark Knight". Take Flash Gordon for what it is: a true one of a kind, a throwback to the 80s-90s and way ahead of its time.

Spoiler-lite. 13 years before the series begins, Flash Gordon's scientist father vanishes in a lab fire. Now grown, marathon runner Flash encounters Dr. Gordon's jittery lab partner, Hans Zarkov, who clues him in to "rifts," which are portals to other universes -- on the other side of the rifts is planet Mongo, ravaged by drought and ruled by debonair but greedy and sadistic Ming, who plans to steal Earth's water. Soon Flash and ex- girlfriend/reporter Dale find themselves traveling back and forth to Mongo to search for Dr. Gordon, along with alien hunter Baylin, who sought refuge from Ming on Earth. Quickly Flash earns a word-of-mouth reputation in the foreign land for his bravery and willingness to fight for what's right, and he becomes a key player in a planet-wide movement to collapse Ming's corrupt empire.The majority of the countless negative IMDb comments about this show were penned in August 2007, shortly after a butchered 1-part SciFi Channel edit of the longer 2-part pilot aired (seems the network wanted to sabotage it from the start). Thing is, this update is a series that plays better on DVD than it did over 6 months on the TV. Yes, there were some major problems in the beginning -- mainly cheap effects and an overtly comedic tone which permeated the first half of the series -- but they ironed out a lot of wrinkles as the season progressed and were well on their way to a great second year when the show was unceremoniously canceled. And aside from some major surface deviations with Ming (who's no longer an inhuman, politically incorrect Asian slur), they took the essences of the earlier incarnations and injected them into modern characters. (And yes, I'm a lifelong Flash fan, from Buster Crabbe to the porn spoof; from the Filmation cartoons to the campy 1980 DeLaurentis flick.)The biggest problems were budgetary constraints which forced them to set the bulk of each of the early episodes on Earth with the gang having to fend off the alien-of-the-week. "Sliders" and "Stargate" comparisons were rampant and the backlash against the show was LOUD and immediate, which forced the network to give them some more money to work with. Unfortunately, the CGI team clearly wasn't given more funds but eventually they shifted the bulk of the episodes to Mongo (with plans to keep the characters stranded there for season 2) and phased out the characters of Joe, Dale's cop boyfriend (a character which was a bad decision from the get-go), and Nick, Flash's best friend. The alien-of-the-week had been tedious on a week-to-week basis, but it ultimately served as good framework, since it slowly established most of the characters who would go on to be pivotal in the overall season storyline. Matter of fact, this was a character-driven show with a lot of development and character arcs. Eric Johnson exuded charisma as Flash, who went from being dumb jock to defender of the universe (or of Mongo, anyway). The prim and proper Dale got to kick ass a few times -- and even be slutty once when a evil witch stole her body. Ming, who showed some signs of real humanity when the show began, became more "merciless" as he found his empire drawing nearer to ruin. And Ming's daughter Aura, who began the show as a spoiled, bratty princess probably went through the biggest character arc of all. Also worth noting are the show's two original characters -- warrior Baylen and creepy, droid-ish scientist Rankol -- as both seemed to get more layered and intriguing with each passing episode.It's a shame this show never recovered from the backlash against initial episodes (or from the childish, mob-like mentality of Sci-Fi viewers who trolled all of the message boards, making civilized discussion utterly impossible), but I commend the crew for getting it on track and telling a complete story by the finale - so few serialized shows get closure. If only fans and the network had stuck with it, the 2007 "Flash" could've gone on to become a show that was truly great. As is, it falls short of that, but it's a show with a lot of heart, humor, action and lovable characters. If you're willing to stick with it through the first 12 episodes, or if you like light, family-friendly "Xena" and "Hercules" type of fare, it's worth the $5 at Walmart for Mill Creek's complete series DVD release.

Well, the SciFi channel wanted to create a new 'flagship' show for when the much loved and respected Battlestar Galactica finishes it's four season run. This was meant to be that show. In an attempt to bring in the huge existing fan base, stretched over several generations worldwide for the hugely successful and influential Flash Gordon as well as update the story for the new millennium and bring in new fans as well, SciFi decided that they could hoodwink everyone. They threw out any notion that this was related to Alex Raymond's wonderful, ahead of their time strips, they ignored the terrific Buster Crabbe serials and they stuck two fingers up at the amazing 1980 cult movie. What they also did is look at other failed and abysmal television shows, take all the elements that could keep the budget down to miniscule levels (failed actors, bad writers, the cheapest effects known to man), threw it all together as a name only production and hoped it would somehow stick.It didn't. The resultant disgraceful show received some of the worst critical reviews ever seen for a new science fiction show. It was reviled across the print press and lambasted by cast members of the other, successful versions. The audience didn't take to it either - by the 15th episode by the SciFi channels own admission it had halved it's viewers at EVERY episode. It ended up after it's mid-season break with an audience so small it couldn't even be counted by Neilson. Not surprisingly, it's cancellation was kept quiet by the channel - as they have a tendency to do with under-performing shows - but the writing was on the wall before the mid-season break began. The producers of this mess had so little interest in it's miniscule fan base that the official word of cancellation had to come from one of the show's actresses on a little-heard internet blog show.Perhaps this can be seen as a lesson for future 're-imaginers'. Take the lessons of Battlestar Galactica and Flash Gordon respectively and learn. One show, a cheesy knock-off of a successful movie was remade into probably the greatest science fiction show to hit television - ever. How did they achieve this? Talent behind the camera, talent in front, and respect for the original story in that when changes were made, they were made for the better. Not to mention a decent budget. The other franchise had previously had mixed levels of success from pretty low (1950's Steve Holland version) to ecstatic (Alex Raymond's strips, the 1930's radio shows and the serials) to cult and beloved (the 1980 movie). Overall it is a much loved story that has thrilled audiences for over 75 years. The remake ignored the consistent story completely, destroyed previously grand characters and casted totally against type. It spent no money on production value and sneered at it's core audience. Now, one of these shows has gone on to have 4 successful seasons, a mini-series, a television movie, and a soon-to-begin production spin-off prequel. Here's a hint - that show is not Flash Gordon 2007. Good riddance Flash Gordon 2007. If it had a grave, I'd spit on it.

I watched the pilot and, frankly, thought this series was plain bad. HOWEVER a funny thing happened over the months. Around October I tuned back in with a friend to show them how weak a show "Flash" was...turns out it was much better. Still not fantastic but watchable. Some of the characters were interesting, the plot was more action oriented and set on Mongo (rather than Flash's Mom's house). It made me re-evaluate it. Another few weeks passed and I tuned in again...turns out the show isn't that bad after all.So the question begs itself, can you write off a show that starts poorly or should it be judged in its entirety? I think, all things considered, the show is better than it was and might well become a quality show. There are a few episodes left in the season so I'm adopting a wait and see attitude. But the most recent episodes are far better than previous ones and I think the show deserves a second season...assuming they up the budget and tweak the writing.