"Flash Gordon" (1979) TV series 1979-1980

Directors:

Hal Sutherland
Don Towsley

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

8 September 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Animation | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The adventures of the comic strip space hero and his friends as they battle the tyranny of Ming the Merciless on the planet Mongo.

Plot Keywords:

Flash Gordon | Based On Comic Strip | Based On Comic | Character Name In Title

Cast

Robert Ridgely

...

Flash Gordon / ... (unknown episodes)

Also Known As:

The New Adventures of Flash Gordon (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

30 min | 20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7

Company:

Filmation Associates

Trivia:

This series was originally conceived as a live action film for television, but it soon became clear that live-action would be cost prohibitive, so an animated film was instead commissioned. The results were so well received that it was decided not to air it as a film, but instead as a series. The film was heavily re-edited to play as a weekly serial and many additional episodes were ordered. After the series was canceled, the original version of the film (which included a lengthy prologue and other scenes that were never seen in the series) aired under the title Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All (1982) (TV).

Movie Connections:

Version of "Flash Gordon" (2007)

No "Flash" in the pan....

This Saturday morning cartoon series came out a full year before the theatrical version with Sam Jones and Max Von Sydow; but for sheer entertainment value, you couldn't ask for more on an early weekend morning.

Anyone who knows Flash and company already knows the plot of "The New Animated Adventures of Flash Gordon". It follows the age-old plot of Flash and Dale accompanying Dr. Hanz Zarkov into space and, up[on landing on the planet Mongo, become quick enemies of the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Eventually, they ally themselves with King Vultan and help fight for truth, justice and the American (or at least non-Mongo) way.

This is the kind of series that benefits from animation and the Hal Sutherland logo always signified something worth watching in the mid-to-late '70s as far as TV animation goes. All the heroes look appropriately heroic, the damsels are all alluring, the villains more villainous and the monsters more... monstrous. Outer space has never looked more exciting or dangerous than it does here, and the "roto-scoping" of the spaceships and actors is well-used in this venue.

TIDBIT - the voice for Flash Gordon was actually that of Robert Ridgley, who most may remember as the "airport cop" who accosts Mel Brooks in "High Anxiety" and the mayor of Beverly Hills in Eddie Murphy's "Beverly Hills Cop II".

Eight stars for "The New Animated Adventures of Flash Gordon", proof positive that space is not the final frontier - Saturday mornings are.