Nowhere near as awful as you've been led to believe

ariannaofMI

Most of the reviews I've read of Flash Gordon have been supremely unfair. I've seen most every episode, and I thought it was pretty good.

Admittedly, it got off to a rocky start, but it was bearable and there's so little sci-fi on TV these days I decided to stick with it. To my surprise, it actually improved significantly, going against all known laws of television shows, which generally peak with the first few episodes/seasons and then drop off from there. The actor who plays Ming is my favorite sort of villain--quietly evil, no maniacal laughter or cheesy lines. Eric Johnson is excellent as Flash, and the actresses in this show astounded me by playing female characters I didn't despise (I'm a girl, but I can't stand them on TV and in movies--they're all so stereotypical). The main character actors are actually all really good--I don't have a complaint about any of them. Some of the one-episode villains can be annoying, but they're not there to stay, and it was only a few times.

It was the plots that made this so-so at first. They were of the "meh" sort, at first, but story arcs are beginning to develop, and now that the Flash-Dale relationship has appeared to stabilize (no more awkward, groan-inducing pseudo-romance scenarios), this is one of my favorite shows. I love the whole business with Aura's relationship with Ming, her father. It's interesting, and isn't the tired, overdone child-hates-father relationship.

I've never read the comics or seen any previous show/movie adaptations of Flash Gordon, so I can't compare, but the citizens of Mongo are believably oppressed, the characters (especially Aura, strangely enough) are deep and have realistic motivations, and the plot lines are getting better all the time. I really hope they pick it up for another season.

score 8/10

ariannaofMI 9 January 2008

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1797246/