Flash Gordon
05/03/08 16:32 Filed in: Media
Okay yes I know it's not actually very good, but I've
said it before, it doesn't
have to be good to be fun and I kind of like
it.
I'm of course talking about the latest revision of Flash Gordon, which has just started showing here in the UK on the sci-fi channel.
I'm of course talking about the latest revision of Flash Gordon, which has just started showing here in the UK on the sci-fi channel.
Yes, we have
flash gordon back on our screens, and on the evidence
of the first episode it's not as bad as I heard. Okay
yes, it's not the greatest bit of TV ever made for
sure, but it seems worth a watch. And to be fare I
don't think any Flash Gordon is ever going to be the
greatest bit of TV ever made, it's just not in the
'genes' of the story.
Coming from the 30's as the original idea did I don't think it's ever going be great, but that wont stop me from liking it. I grew up with Flash Gordon and no this doesn't mean that I was around in the 30's! No the BBC used to repeat the classic Larry 'Buster' Crabbe episodes in the mornings on it seems most school holidays during my childhood. This for me is the definitive version.
Yes it's very dated and primitive now (and yes I do have them DVD!) which is part of there charm. But they are part of modern sci-fi cinemas DNA, they where after all George Lucas's main inspiration for Star Wars. For this reason alone they are worth watching.
And of course I do love the 80's Flash Gordon film, which has absolutely no pretensions of being anything other than a pure pop corn film. It knows it's very kitsch and camp and just revels in that fact. It is great fun for that reason and it of course has the line that Brain Blessed will be remembered for ever, no matter what else he does in his life ("Gordon's Alive!"). Apparently there was a 50's TV version as well which wasn't very good. I didn't even know about this till I saw the sci-fi channels documentary on Gordon (with of course Brain Blessed doing his bit).
So what of this new version? Well of course lots of elements have to changed, doing a straight re-make simply wouldn't work in this age, unless it was played for laughs. So yes we have modern ideas in there, like the hint of some sort of conspiracy, probably by the government and of course we need our heros to have more motivation now days, so Flash is looking for his dad. This is an interesting point that we want more character in our err...characters these days. There is even a suggestion that Ming is not quite as evil in this version. It's true that this view comes from his daughter, so it may not be unbiased, but she seems to suggest that he's not really evil, just a strong leader that was needed to get people through hard times. This is a view I'm sure most of history's worst dictators have had of them selves, so maybe he is really evil, but it would be nice if we get to see why he is evil. The Ming from the 30's films was just pure evil because we never had any reason why he did the things he did. Maybe this Ming has a reason?
One thing I didn't like was the first scene with Ming that just made him look like a tax collector, he is (to me at least) the original evil overlord. All the others that have followed have been copies in some way or another. But maybe that's the cost of having bad guy's with a troubled past, they don't seem quite as evil!
And what of the new Flash Gordon, mmmm, not so sure about him. At the moment he seems just like your generic all american hero. As do much of the supporting cast, but maybe I shouldn't expect anything more. It also seems that much of the supporting cast are female and...how can I put this...lifted straight of the catwalk, but then again that hasn't changed much since the 30's either. Dale Arden has always been eye candy, the only thing that has changed is the clothing has got skimpier over the years! At least so far this Dale Arden hasn't screamed or fainted yet, but it's early days.
I guess at the end of the day, the real question is will I be watching again next week. And the answer to this is, for the moment at least, yes.
Coming from the 30's as the original idea did I don't think it's ever going be great, but that wont stop me from liking it. I grew up with Flash Gordon and no this doesn't mean that I was around in the 30's! No the BBC used to repeat the classic Larry 'Buster' Crabbe episodes in the mornings on it seems most school holidays during my childhood. This for me is the definitive version.
Yes it's very dated and primitive now (and yes I do have them DVD!) which is part of there charm. But they are part of modern sci-fi cinemas DNA, they where after all George Lucas's main inspiration for Star Wars. For this reason alone they are worth watching.
And of course I do love the 80's Flash Gordon film, which has absolutely no pretensions of being anything other than a pure pop corn film. It knows it's very kitsch and camp and just revels in that fact. It is great fun for that reason and it of course has the line that Brain Blessed will be remembered for ever, no matter what else he does in his life ("Gordon's Alive!"). Apparently there was a 50's TV version as well which wasn't very good. I didn't even know about this till I saw the sci-fi channels documentary on Gordon (with of course Brain Blessed doing his bit).
So what of this new version? Well of course lots of elements have to changed, doing a straight re-make simply wouldn't work in this age, unless it was played for laughs. So yes we have modern ideas in there, like the hint of some sort of conspiracy, probably by the government and of course we need our heros to have more motivation now days, so Flash is looking for his dad. This is an interesting point that we want more character in our err...characters these days. There is even a suggestion that Ming is not quite as evil in this version. It's true that this view comes from his daughter, so it may not be unbiased, but she seems to suggest that he's not really evil, just a strong leader that was needed to get people through hard times. This is a view I'm sure most of history's worst dictators have had of them selves, so maybe he is really evil, but it would be nice if we get to see why he is evil. The Ming from the 30's films was just pure evil because we never had any reason why he did the things he did. Maybe this Ming has a reason?
One thing I didn't like was the first scene with Ming that just made him look like a tax collector, he is (to me at least) the original evil overlord. All the others that have followed have been copies in some way or another. But maybe that's the cost of having bad guy's with a troubled past, they don't seem quite as evil!
And what of the new Flash Gordon, mmmm, not so sure about him. At the moment he seems just like your generic all american hero. As do much of the supporting cast, but maybe I shouldn't expect anything more. It also seems that much of the supporting cast are female and...how can I put this...lifted straight of the catwalk, but then again that hasn't changed much since the 30's either. Dale Arden has always been eye candy, the only thing that has changed is the clothing has got skimpier over the years! At least so far this Dale Arden hasn't screamed or fainted yet, but it's early days.
I guess at the end of the day, the real question is will I be watching again next week. And the answer to this is, for the moment at least, yes.
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