The New Adventures of Flash Gordon

Did You Know?

• The opening narration states: 'Blasting off on a desperate mission to save Earth from the evil plottings of the tyrannical space lord Ming the Merciless. Dr.
• For the second season, NBC insisted on episodic stories, leading to the addition of a pet dragon named Gremlin who created art with mouth-blown smoke.
• The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel's Cartoon Quest.

Description

The first season follows the traditional Flash Gordon mythos, opening with the launch of a rocketship carrying Flash, Dale Arden, and Dr. Zarkov from somewhere in the Eastern Hemisphere. The series actually begins with the ship crashing into an ocean on Mongo after being attacked during final approach. After capture by Ming's Gill Men, the protagonists meet King Thun the Lion-man and Prince Barin of Arboria. It is later revealed that an earlier king of all Mongo named Gor-dan strongly resembled Flash. The remainder of the first season consists of adventures across Mongo in traditional pulp style, with Flash gaining aid from King Vultan of the Hawkmen and the bandit chieftain Gundar. Flash attracts the attention of several female monarchs, including Queen Undina, Queen Fria, Azura the Witch-Queen, Queen Desira, and Princess Aura. Violence is limited: Flash carries a ray pistol after the fifth episode but uses it only occasionally to stun or attract attention. Prince Barin's men use ice arrows that freeze targets, while most other forces use ray weapons that disintegrate. Ship-to-ship combat results in fighters being shot down, and there is limited hand-to-hand fighting.

Mongo the Planet

Mongo is Earth-like, with biomes ranging from polar ice in Frigia to lush jungle and hot desert in Tropica. Vast forests cover Arboria, and there are deep and shallow oceans. Temperature and weather extremes are comparable to Earth's, and Mongo's biochemistry appears similar, as Terrans ingest food with no ill effects. Surface gravity seems slightly less than Earth's, as Terrans are noted to be stronger on Mongo, though not superhuman. Mongo's crust contains extensive tunnels and chambers, including the underground realm of Syk.

Peoples of Mongo

Mongo hosts a variety of sapient races, with classic Homo sapiens being the most common. Other races include Lion-men (humanoid cat-creatures), Hawk-men (winged aerial fliers), the water-breathing people of Coralia (descended from air-breathing humans), giants found in Frigia, Lizard-men and Lizard-women (reptilian humanoids loyal to Ming), Beast-men (kept artificially primitive), and Gill-men (water-breathers enemies of Coralia). The witch-men of Syk are gray-skinned with fewer than five fingers per hand, their bodies concealed by robes. This diversity seems improbable from Darwinian evolution alone; the Coralian people adapted artificially to underwater existence and retain technology to transform air-breathers into water-breathers and back. In the final episode, Undina and Coralian warriors advance onto land, suggesting the transformation limitation is discarded.

Ming the Merciless

Ming the Merciless is the chief villain, portrayed as cruel, cold, arrogant, avaricious, ruthless, and Machiavellian. He is brilliant, called by some the greatest scientist in the universe, and skilled in personal combat though he prefers misdirection. His personal race is unclear: he has pointed ears, fanged teeth, an oddly thin yet strong frame, and claims immortality with some supporting evidence. He appears to have some Asian features, contrasting with his daughter Princess Aura. His harem includes various female types, and he finds Dale Arden particularly attractive. A legend ties him to King Gor-dan of Syk, to whom Ming served as High Priest. Ming commands immense resources: armies of robots, humans, and other species, a fleet of spacecraft, and advanced technologies. He works to keep Mongo's races at odds to prevent a united rebellion.