Currently being developed by SciFi Channel under a cloak of secrecy is a new television series based on the classic comic book character created by Alex Raymond, Flash Gordon. Despite critical acclaim, SciFi’s stellar Battlestar Galactica re-imagination has had continued ratings erosion which network honchos believe may be attributable to the show’s dark tone. It has been known for awhile that SciFi has been looking to develop “lighter” properties in the vein of their Stargate series, although it is expected that Flash Gordon will have a far more serious tone than the campy 1980 film starring Sam Jones, Melody Anderson, Timothy Dalton, Max Van Sydow and Topol.
The original comic adventures followed the adventures of Flash along with his companions Dr. Hans Zarkov and Dale Arden who find themselves on the planet Mongo after traveling on Zarkov’s rocket ship and interceding in the politics of the planet Mongo ruled by an iron fist by the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless.nOriginally adapted as a series of serials starring Buster Crabbe (who also played Buck Rogers), Flash Gordon was previously a short-lived TV series in 1954 starring Steve Holland. The film was subsequently adapted as a critically reviled 1980 feature film, incomprehensibly directed by Get Carter’s Mike Hodges, as well as a surprisingly well-done serialized animated series by Filmation in 1979 (currently available on BCI/Eclipse DVD). Van Helsing’s Steven Sommers was attached to a big-budget feature version of the property, but after the failure of Van Helsing, little more was ever heard about that project.While there is no firm commitment to move forward, SciFI is currently meeting with showrunners (these are the veteran talent in the TV trade that oversee the writing staff and develop the property for television) to create a series bible for the show and write the pilot script. Contingent upon the pilot, SciFi would then greenlight 13 episodes. It is not expected that the series would air until at least January 2008 at the earliest.
1 comment:
There's always a green chick.
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