Flash Blasts Off Again
SCI FI Channel has green-lighted production on Flash Gordon, a series based on the popular comic-strip franchise, the channel announced Jan. 12 at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif.
Production on the 22 one-hour episodes begins in Canada early this year. The series, produced by Reunion Pictures, is slated to debut on SCI FI in July, with a broadcast syndication window to follow.
The series will be produced under an agreement between King Features Syndicate, which owns the rights to Flash Gordon, and Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr. (The Legend of Earthsea).
The characters of Ming, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov will be brought back for a contemporary retelling of the comic-strip story created in 1934 by Alex Raymond. The strip is still distributed internationally by King Features Syndicate.
Still LOVE the movie with the Queen soundtrack and Max von Sydow. Hopefully the new show will do the character/comic some justice. Looking forward to it.
I just LOVED the corny Flash Gordon with Queen soundtrack. It was so cool. And the music was so awesome for a space show. I can't wait to see what they have come up for this time around. Thanks for the info!
Flash, ahhhhhhhhhh, savior of the universe.... bump bump bump bump bump bump..... :ohbaby
Flahs Gordon, Quarterback, New York Jets.
I believe ne of the JAmes Bonds.....Timothy Dalton was in that movie.
Cool news! Any names for the cast yet?
Flash Flash, I love you....but we only have 14 hours to save the Earth. Priceless
Smallville’s Johnson Is Flash
Former “Smallville†regular Eric Johnson has been cast as the lead in the SCI FI Channel’s new “Flash Gordon†series.
“Flash Gordon†has a 22-episode commitment from SCI FI and is scheduled for an August 2007 premiere.
Johnson is best-known to genre fans as Whitney, Lana Lang’s boyfriend from the first season of the (then) WB hit, “Smallville.†Johnson reunited with long-time “Smallville†director, Rick Rosenthal for the two-hour “Flash Gordon†pilot.
“Flash Gordon†is still in the process of casting and is looking for actors to take on the roles of Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov.
I think he would be a good choice for Flash. Now, who could play Dale Arden? Hmm...
I loved the old black and white serials, the Buster Crabbe stuff. However, I am sure we wont see this badboy
Flash Gets Its Dale Arden
Gina Holden (Fantastic Four) has been cast as Dale Arden, the female lead in SCI FI Channel's upcoming original series Flash Gordon. She will co-star opposite Eric Johnson (Smallville), who plays the title character.
In other casting, Jody Racicot (Night at the Museum) will play Dr. Hans Zarkov, and John Ralston (Earthstorm) will play the villainous Ming.
Holden, who also appeared in The Butterfly Effect 2 as well as the upcoming Alien vs. Predator 2, will play Flash Gordon's love interest in the show, which is based on the classic SF comic-strip franchise.
"During auditions and rehearsals, we could tell this one was the right Dale, because [Johnson] had such good chemistry with her," said Mark Stern, SCI FI's executive vice president of original programming. "We had to find the right actress to work with him, because there's jealousy and a love triangle and friendship involved, and we did not want to stick him with an actress he couldn't stand."
Others in the cast include Karen Cliché (Baylin), Giles Panton (Joe), Panou (Nick), Jonathan Walker (Rankol), Jill Teed (Norah), Carmen Moore (Jolie) and Anna van Hoft (Aura).
SCI FI has ordered 22 episodes of Flash Gordon, which began shooting this week in Vancouver, Canada, and will debut in August.
This awesome news! I'm a huge fan of the flick, and the old comics.
Brian Blessed was the King of the Hawkmen, Timothy Dalton was the Prince of the Treemen, and even Richard O'Brian (Riff Raff of Rocky Horror fame) was in this, as one of the treemen stuck in the cage in the swamp with Flash!
Well I just got done watching the second episode of the new Flash Gordan. The first episode was just okay.. the second one was better but still missing something. I really want them to get to Mongo in search for Flashes Dad... they need to get away from Earth. The second episode was good enough to make me want to watch the next one.
It is pretty campy, but the one scene that stood out as very powerful was the execution. If it all was like that, it would rock.
I don't know..... the jury is still out for me. I'll give it a couple more.
:)
Yeah I'm with you Rick.. the execution scene was fantastic.. that actually saved this episode for me.
Ack! Spoiler tag next time guys!
Anyway, I will watch the second episode. I think I'm only willing to because the first episode actually lowered my IQ enough that I can now curl into a ball and play with keys for hours.
They're jingly, people.
JINGLY!
Sorry about that.. I added Spolier tag to this thread.. but if a new episode aired today.. why would you click on the thread if you haven't seen it yet? :confused
I learned it from YOU, DAD! OK, I learned it from YOU!
I don't think I can bring my self to watch episode 2 after the first was so lame. I really wanted to enjoy this show
I think I'm with darthcooley. My wife and I watched the premiere episode last night and I didn't like it at all.
You also got to remember it was the pilot... pilots are shot months and months before the series gets the go ahead.. characters change, stories are refined... I would watch the second episode and if you don't like it.. then give it up.
I watched episode 2. Still not the greatest show but it has a campy appeal. I'll watch a few more.
Quote from: StarTrekFanatic5 on August 19, 2007, 06:51:21 PM
You also got to remember it was the pilot... pilots are shot months and months before the series gets the go ahead.. characters change, stories are refined... I would watch the second episode and if you don't like it.. then give it up.
Still first impressions are important. Most people don't have a lot of free time so if a show doesn't capture them right away it's hard to give them a second chance. I didn't get a chance to see the show but now I'm not horribly motivated to see it.
Well this is the first time that I'm actually happy that a network cancelled a tv series.. even a sci fi one.
A FLASH in the Pan!
Written by: Tim J. Mapes (SoSF Contributor)
Finally, it looks like everyone can say goodbye to what some critics have called one of the worst SF television shows to come along in quite so time. SCI FI Channel's "Flash Gordon" is history, according to Variety.
While no formal announcement has come from the NBC Universal owned cable franchise, Flash is nowhere to be found on the network's upcoming schedule now or in the distant future.
SCI FI Channel president David Howe told trade publication Variety back on March 21 that the network didn't treat the character of "Flash Gordon" the way he should've been treated, and the network may try to do it again sometime ... just not right now,".... which reading between the lines means that "Flash Gordon" is no longer on the schedule.
Even with the introduction of Howe to SCI FI Channel viewers, who reports to longtime chief Bonnie Hammer, it appears that the network still doesn't seem to think it's worth giving the official announcement on different shows in its program lineup.
Exactly the same kind if dismissal occured with fan favorite "The Dresden Files." One minute fans get the official announcement that the show is changing shooting locations in Canada to help defer production costs, and the next thing they know, the show is gone from SCI FI's schedule. Even after month's of a letter and drumstick campaign no progress has been made on getting that show back, and it was a good one....so for the few fans of the "Flash Gordon" series? Fo-getta-bout-it! Since SCIFI's abrupt and rude decision to cancel "Dresden," Paul Blackthorne, the star of the series, has moved on to other projects.
SyFy Portal reported through sources last September that "Flash Gordon" was on the chopping block. However, the SCI FI Channel responded officially to the online site that the series was not in trouble, and that while ratings were below expectations, the show's production was a lot cheaper than many of its other scripted series and that it didn't need to generate as much advertising revenue as shows like "Battlestar Galactica," "Eureka" and "Stargate: Atlantis" needed.
A month later, SCI FI Channel offered a conference call to reporters, with executive producer Peter Hume, who admitted that some storyline changes were taking place, including more action on Mongo instead of Earth, but that the cast and crew were confident that the SCI FI Channel was standing behind the series.
"You can't compare us to 'Battlestar Galactica.' That's not fair," Hume said at the time. "It's not fair because you're going to judge a show on the show. And so you could compare us to 'Chuck' [on NBC], but what we're doing is with so much less than they have. I'm not asking for that as an excuse. I'm just saying that there's a reality of what we have to operate in and there's only so much visual effects we can do."
"Flash Gordon" starred Eric Johnson as the title character, John Ralston, Gina Holden, Jody Racicot and fan favorite Karen Cliche. It was filmed in Aldergrove, British Columbia, just south of Vancouver where the SCI FI Channel films many of its other series including "Battlestar Galactica" and "Stargate: Atlantis," and where its new backdoor pilot "Caprica" will be filmed this summer.
And the peasants...rejoice.
WOW! I am so upset right now! This was one of the best shows on television and yet again they just pull the rug from under us. My wife and I have watched this show faithfully since it first debuted and loved every moment of it.
How dare they cancel it! How dare they take away the sci-fi joy that is ... umm ... this isn't the 4400 thread is it?
Sorry ...
Wrong righteous fury ...
Flash Gordon? Umm I'm glad they finally put it out of its misery. Worst Show Ever. It was like that took everything that made BSG good and tossed it out of an airlock and then focused on the things that didn't work on any show that was ever shown.
I watched the first two episodes.
I think you can see by my comments above that I called this one pretty early on.
Worst.
Show.
Ever.
Was this still even on?