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The animated series first season follows, more or less, the traditional Flash Gordon mythos, opening with the launch of the rocketship carrying Flash, Dale Arden, and Dr. Zarkov from somewhere in the Eastern Hemisphere (or at least the opening scene shows the ship clearing Earth's atmosphere above Europe and the Middle East). The series actually opens with the crash of the Terran ship into an ocean on Mongo after being attacked during the final approach to the planet.
In the opening scenes, 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 coincidence (meeting reigning royalty of two different realms by apparent chance) sets much of the tone of the series, in which it must be concluded either that logic is irrelevant, or that Destiny is at work in the arrival of Flash Gordon on Mongo. It is later revealed that an earlier king of all Mongo, more powerful than Ming, was named Gor-dan, and that he strongly resembled Flash. When he asks Zarkov why this is, Zarkov simply replies that there are some things even science can't explain.
The remainder of the first season consists of the adventures of Gordon and company across the face of Mongo, in traditional pulp style passing from one near-death situation to another with a cheery disregard for probability or logic, and a definite sense of fun. The protagonists meet Emperor Ming almost immediately, and Ming is revealed as being the classic archetype of the Evil Overlord. Flash later gains the aid of King Vultan, ruler of the Hawkmen as a friend and ally, and also gains the attention of many of Mongo's female monarchs, such as the adventurous Queen Undina of Coralia, the kindly, smoky-voiced Queen Fria of Frigia, Azura, the powerful but delusional Witch-Queen of Syk, former lover of King Gor-dan who believes Flash is his reincarnation, and the barefooted Queen Desira of Tropica. But the most notable of these admirers was, of course, Princess Aura. Violence is somewhat limited. Flash carries a ray pistol after the fifth episode, but uses it only twice, once to set a stump aflame and attract attention, and once to blast through a wall. Prince Barin and his men are armed with "ice arrows" that freeze whatever they hit. King Vultan's Hawk Men and the desert tribesmen of Tropica are armed with conventional ray weapons that disintegrate whatever they hit, as are Ming's forces, mainly composed of robots. Ship to ship combat does result in the shooting down of several fighters on both sides. Mongo the Planet
Mongo is Earth-like, and is portrayed as boasting a rich variety of biomes, ranging from the polar ice of Frigia, the domain of Queen Fria, to the lush jungle and hot desert of Tropica, Queen Desira's demesne. Vast forests give Prince Barin's realm of Arboria its name, and there are deep and shallow oceans inhabited by many life forms, the most notable of these are the people of Coralia, ruled by Queen Undina and the Mer-Men, who work for Ming as enforcers. Temperature and weather extremes are quite comparable to those of Earth, and the biology of Mongo appears to be based on the same biochemistry as that of Earth. Certainly Flash, Dale, and Hans ingest food from Mongo with no ill effects.
Mongo's surface gravity appears to be a bit less than that of Earth, or at least there are comments on occasion that Terrans are stronger on Mongo than they are on Earth. The difference in surface gravity can not be too great, however, because Mongo is so Earth-like, and Terrans on Mongo are by no means superhuman.
Mongo's crust is host to highly extensive underground tunnels and chambers, more so than Earth (as far as is known), including an entire underground realm, Syk, the "witch-kingdom". Peoples of Mongo
Mongo is home to a variety of races of sapient life, though the most common breed appears, at least on the surface, to be classic Homo sapiens. Along with the humans of Mongo, though, are the Lion-men, a race of humanoid cat-creatures, the Hawk-men, who have angel-like wings on their backs and are skilled aerial fliers, the undersea people of Coralia, a race of waterbreathers who are apparently descended from air-breathing Humans, a race of giants found (at least) in Frigia, Ming's infamous Lizard-men and Lizard-women, reptilian, tailed humanoids apparently dedicated to Ming, and the Beast-men, a race of primitive humanoids kept artificially primitive by Ming. Additionally, Ming rules a race of 'Gill-men' who breathe water and who are separate from (and enemies to) the water-breathing Humans of Coralia. The "witch-men" of Syk appear to be other than human, as they are gray-skinned and have fewer than five fingers on each hand, but their voluminous robes conceal all else.
This huge variety of humanoid life seems an improbable result of purely Darwinian evolution. At the very least, it is known that the people of Coralia adapted themselves artificially to underwater existence, and in fact retain the technology to transform air breathers such as Flash and Dale and Hans into water-breathers, and back again. They do appear to be unable to create beings able to operate in both media, however, one is either an air or a water breather. This is however, discarded in the final episode when Undina and a troop of Coralian sea warriors arrive to participate in the final battle and advance onto land to take the fortress guarding Ming's capital.
It would seem likely, though of course unconfirmed, that many of the various races of Mongo are the result of genetic manipulation, eugenic projects, and other artificial means of inducing change, over the course of Mongo's vast history. Probably H. sapiens is the base stock for most if not all Mongo's living intelligent races, but the points of divergence would likely date very far back in the past. Ming the Merciless
Main article: Ming the Merciless
The chief villain of the series is Ming the Merciless, archetype of the Evil Overlord. Cruel, cold, arrogant, avaricious, ruthless, and Machiavellian, Ming is the epitome of the tyrant. Yet he is brilliant, referred to by some as the greatest scientist in the universe, and politically and diplomatically capable. He is skilled in personal combat, but feels no compulsion to engage in it when misdirection will work as well.
His personal race is unclear, his ears are pointed, his teeth seem fanged, his frame oddly thin yet very strong...and he claims to be immortal, with some supporting evidence. He also appears to have some Asian features, a stark contrast to that of his daughter, Princess Aura.
His sexual tastes seem varied, to judge by the various types of female we see in glimpses of his harem, but he seems to find Dale Arden particularly attractive, and his daughter Aura seems to be a Homo sapiens, so presumably Ming is not very alien. His origin may tie in to the nature of Syk, the Witch-Kingdom, as the series reveals a legend of a one-time King Gor-dan of Syk, to whom Ming served as High Priest.
His resources are immense, with armies of robots, armies of humans and other species, a fleet of armed rocket ships and spacecraft...and access to even more impressive technologies. However, he does seem to fear the possibility of a united rebellion on Mongo, because he seems to work to keep the races at each other's throats. Season 2
When a second season of episodes was ordered for fall 1982, NBC insisted that the serial format be dropped and that the stories be more episodic. This resulted in the addition of the pet dragon Gremlin, an artist in mouth-blown smoke. This second season of episodes was not well received (and was not seen in some markets, due to being scheduled at 12:30 PM Eastern/11:30 AM Central and thus often being pre-empted for sports coverage). The program was canceled after completion of the second season run. Episode list Season 1
A Planet in Peril
The Monsters of Mongo
Vultan - King of the Hawkmen
To Save Earth
The Beast Men's Prey
Into the Water World
Adventure in Arboria
The Frozen World
Monster of the Glacier
Blue Magic
King Flash
Tournament of Death
Castaways in Tropica
The Desert Hawk
Revolt of the Power Men
Ming's Last Battle Season 2
Gremlin the Dragon
Royal Wedding
Sir Gremlin
Deadly Double
The Game
The Seed
Witch Woman
Micro Menace
Flash Back
The Warrior
The Freedom Balloon
Sacrifice of the Volcano Men
Beware of Gifts
The Memory Bank of Ming
Survival Game
Gremlin's Finest Hour DVD release
BCI Eclipse LLC (Under license from Hearst Corporation) released The The New Adventures of Flash Gordon: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on July 24, 2007. The 4 disc set includes many special features.
DVD Name
Ep #
Release Date
Additional Information
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon: The Complete Series
32
July 18, 2006
"Blasting off with Flash Gordon!" A 20-minute documentary
Three episodic commentary tracks"A Planet in Peril," "Sir Gremlin," and "Gremlin's Finest Hour"
Interactive storyboard-to-clip comparison of various action sequences
Extensive gallery of original model sheets for all main heroes and villains
Detailed profiles of various characters (deleted creatures and artifacts)
Trivia and fun facts
Two collectible 4x6 exclusive Flash Gordon art cards by acclaimed comic artists Frank Cho and Gene Ha
Easter Eggs
DVD ROM Features
Bonus Preview: Episode #1"Escape from Mongo"rom the series Defenders of the Earth Voice acting credits
Dr. Hans Zarkov, Gundar the Desert Hawk, Ming the Merciless: Alan Oppenheimer
Thun the Lion Man, King Vultan: Alan Melvin
Princess Aura: Melendy Britt
Narrator: Lou Scheimer Later incarnations
In 1986, Flash appeared with fellow King Features heroes The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Lothar, as well as all of their children, in the cartoon series Defenders of the Earth. In 1996, the character of Flash Gordon returned to television again in a short-lived updated series featuring him using a Hoverboard, and in 2007, the character was revived in a live-action series on SciFi Channel. References
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon at the Internet Movie Database
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon at TV.com
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Flash Gordon
TV Series
Flash Gordon (1954 TV series) The New Adventures of Flash Gordon Defenders of the Earth Flash Gordon (1996 TV series) Flash Gordon (2007 TV series)
Film
Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All Flash Gordon
Movie serials
Flash Gordon Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
Characters/Actors
Flash Gordon
Gale Gordon (1935) Buster Crabbe (1936 - 1940) Steve Holland (1954) Robert Ridgely (1979, 1982) Sam J. Jones (1980) Lou Richards (1986) Toby Proctor (1996) Eric Johnson (2007)
Dale Arden
Jean Rogers (1936 - 1938) Carol Hughes (1940) Irene Champlin (1954) Diane Pershing (1979, 1982) Melody Anderson (1980) Lexa Doig (1996) Gina Holden (2007)
Ming the Merciless
Bruno Wick (1935) Charles Middleton (1936 - 1940) Alan Oppenheimer (1979) Max von Sydow (1980) Vic Perrin (1982) William Callaway (1986) John Ralston (2007)
Hans Zarkov
Maurice Franklin (1935) Frank Shannon (1936 - 1940) Joseph Nash (1954) Alan Oppenheimer (1979) Topol (1980) Bob Holt (1982) Paul Shaffer (1996) Jody Racicot (2007)
Princess Aura
Priscilla Lawson (1936 - 1938) Shirley Deane (1940) Melendy Britt (1979, 1982) Ornella Muti (1980) Anna van Hooft (2007)
Prince Barin
Richard Alexander (1936 - 1938) Roland Drew (1940) Robert Ridgely (1979) Timothy Dalton (1980) Robert Douglas (1982) Steve Bacic (2007)
Prince Vultan
John Lipson (1936 - 1938) Allan Melvin (1979) Brian Blessed (1980) Ted Cassidy (1982) Ty Olsson (2007)
Prince Thun
James Pierce (1936) Ted Cassidy (1979) George Harris (1980) David Opatoshu (1982)
Other media
List of Flash Gordon comic strips Flash Gordon (album) "Flash" (song) Flash Gordon (pinball) Flash Gordon (video game)
Related articles
Alex Raymond King Features Syndicate Mongo Categories: American children's television series | Flash Gordon television series | 1970s American animated television series | 1980s American animated television series | 1979 television series debuts | 1980 television series endings | NBC network shows
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon - China Turned parts - China Sheet Metal Fabrication
