Written By: Ken Hulsey
The 'Flash Gordon' animated series (1979-1982 on NBC) was originally envisioned as a live-action TV film, but the costs proved prohibitive. Instead, an animated version was commissioned, and it was so well-received that it was turned into a weekly serial rather than a one-off movie.
The first season was more violent and featured "sexier" female characters than typical Saturday morning cartoons, as it was originally intended for primetime. It also had a single, overarching serialized story rather than separate episodes. However, the second season was made more child-friendly, with two 11-minute mini-episodes instead of the serialized format - a change that led to a severe ratings drop and the show's eventual cancellation.
Dino De Laurentiis became involved as a "ghost" producer when Filmation ran into financial issues completing the computer-animated spaceship sequences, one of the earliest uses of computers in traditional animation. In exchange for funding the animation, De Laurentiis secured the live-action film rights to Flash Gordon, while Filmation retained the rights to animated projects.
The first season of the animated Flash Gordon series follows the traditional Flash Gordon mythos, more or less. It opens with the launch of a rocket ship carrying Flash, Dale Arden, and Dr. Zarkov from somewhere in the Eastern Hemisphere. The opening scene shows the ship clearing Earth's atmosphere above Europe and the Middle East. However, the series actually begins with the ship crashing into an ocean on the planet Mongo after being attacked during its final approach.
After being captured by Ming's Gill Men, Gordon, Arden, and Zarkov meet King Thun the Lion-man and Prince Barin of the forest-kingdom of Arboria. This chance encounter with the ruling royalty of two different realms sets the tone for the series, suggesting that either logic is irrelevant or destiny is at work in Flash Gordon's arrival on Mongo.
Later, it's revealed that a previous king of all Mongo, named Gor-dan, was more powerful than Ming and bore a strong resemblance to Flash. When Zarkov is asked about this, he simply replies that there are some things even science can't explain.
The remainder of the first season follows the adventures of Gordon and his companions as they traverse the world of Mongo in classic pulp style. They face one perilous situation after another with a cheerful disregard for probability or logic, yet a definite sense of fun. The protagonists quickly encounter Emperor Ming, who is revealed to be the quintessential Evil Overlord archetype.
Flash later gains the support of key allies, including King Vultan, ruler of the Hawkmen, and the bandit chieftain Gundar, the Desert Hawk. He also attracts the attention of several female monarchs of Mongo, such as the adventurous Queen Undina of Coralia, the kind-voiced Queen Fria of Frigia, the delusional Witch-Queen Azura of Syk, and the resolute Queen Desira of Tropica. However, the most notable of these admirers is, of course, Princess Aura.
Violence is somewhat limited but not entirely absent. After the fifth episode, Flash carries a ray pistol, which he uses occasionally to set fires, trigger avalanches, blast through walls, and stun but not kill adversaries. Prince Barin and his men wield "ice arrows" that freeze their targets, while most other forces, including King Vultan's Hawkmen, the Frigian "snow troopers," and the royal guard and desert tribesmen of Tropica, are armed with conventional ray weapons that disintegrate whatever they hit, as are Ming's primarily robotic forces led by human officers. Ship-to-ship combat results in the shooting down of several fighters on both sides, and there is a limited amount of hand-to-hand fighting in certain scenes.
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