More than 70 years after Flash Gordon first went head - to - head against Ming the Merciless, he’s revived once again for television..

The Sci Fi Channel greenlit the production of Flash Gordon back at the start of the year.. A 22 - episode one - hour series based on the popular 1930’s comic book franchise originally drawn by Alex Raymond..

The new series, based on the comic strip of the same name and its adaptations, follows the adventures of Steven ” Flash ” Gordon ( The nickname referring to his running ability ), who lives with his mother in Maryland and whose scientist father was apparently lost in a mysterious accident when Flash ( Smallville’s Eric Johnson ) was 13 years old.. Flash’s former girlfriend, Dale Arden ( Gina Holden ), is a television news reporter and is engaged to police detective Joe Wylee.. They meet the elder Gordon’s eccentric former assistant, Hans Zarkov ( Jody Racicot ), when rifts in space appear, allowing travel between Earth and the planet Mongo..

Mongo is ruled by the ruthless dictator Ming ( John Ralston ) who is NOT called “ the Merciless,” as he was in previous adaptations of the strip.. He also exhibits the traits of modern, media - savvy dictators, rather than the more simplistic, stereotypically evil characterization of earlier incarnations.. Once again, Ming has a daughter, Princess Aura ( Anna van Hooft ), who is disturbed by her father’s brutality.. The series adds a new non - human character, Baylin ( Karen Cliche ), a bounty hunter from Mongo.. She finds herself trapped on Earth and becomes a comrade of Flash, Dale and Zarkov..

The peoples of Mongo live in ” cantons,” tribal groups that echo the outlandish animal - human hybrids of the original comic strip.. The cantons include the Omadrians ( Women who create powerful medicines ), the Verden ( Based on Prince Barin’s forest - dwelling people from the strip ), Turin ( Based on the strip’s Lion Men ), and the Dactyls ( The series’ version of the Hawkmen )..

The thing that stands out after screening the first three episodes of Flash Gordon is that the show’s creative team seems to have to discarded everything about the popular comic strip except for the names of the characters and places.. That strategy worked to telling effect on Battlestar Galactica and looks to have a lot of potential on NBC’s re - imagining of Bionic Woman.. With Flash Gordon, it seems that it might not be the best of all possible space operas.. Most people have been giving Flash Gordon bad reviews..