We Can Never Have Too Much Flash Gordon
Just when I was thinking we were about due for a remake (or “reimagining,” as the current trend has it) of this classic, along comes this. That’s right. Apparently there is a new Flash on the way from the Sci Fi Channel. (which means it could be good. . .or not.)
I already have three Flash Gordons in my collection. For some reason, this dashing space hero has always appealed to me. It’s space opera, but through the eyes of the folks next door. He may be a square-jawed icon, and Dale Arden may be beautiful and spunky, but they’re our surrogates in these space-faring adventures.
The 1930s serials starring Buster Crabbe are credited with being one the inspirations for Star Wars — and really, just about every space opera that came after it. It’s all about the rockets with fins. These are so much fun to watch, because each episode is only about ten minutes long — and each one ends on a hideous cliffhanger, so we’ll be sure to come back and pay our nickel at the theater next week to see what happens. So every ten minutes, Flash falls down a chasm, gets blasted by an exploding robot, crashes his space ship, nearly freezes to death on an ice planet. . . you get the idea. Many of these episodes are online at the Internet Archive.
I discovered the 1950s TV version starring Steve Holland in, of all places, the Target dollar bins. This version is fascinating because for one thing, it was filmed in postwar West Berlin. All the extras have German accents. Also, it’s a very 1950s version of the character, with less swashbuckle, and more science. They actually try to explain things from a scientific standpoint as they go along. It’s like the writers were devouring issues of Astounding magazine, which was busy publishing authors like Clarke, Heinlein, and Asimov at the time.
Then there’s the 1980 feature film starring Sam J. Jones as Flash. All camp, all the time. Timothy Dalton in green leather as Prince Barin. Songs by Queen. As embarrassing as it might be to say it, I love this one. It’s just so happy. Come on, you can sing it now… “Flash! Ah-aaaaahhhh! He’ll save everyone of us!”
Will Sci Fi be able to say the same? Stay tuned…
