Flash Gordon Pilot 8/11/2007

[cheesesteak]

I watched this today. Immediately afterwards, my TiVo jumped off the tv stand, ran across the living room and punched me in the face 4 or 5 times.

Ugh.

[MickeS]

I am about to watch it right now. After reading your post, I wish I would have recorded it on my Series 2 instead of my Series 3 - my Series 2 is on the bottom of the pile of electronics, the Series 3 is on the top. :/

[flyers088]

That was one big bag of suck.

[Idearat]

I think they blew their budget buying the rights to use the Queen music in the promos.

Yeah, sucked bad.

[MickeS]

I didn't think it was so bad. It was reasonably entertaining, had some pretty girls (especially the one who plays Aura) and a good enough storyline. Yeah, I had low expectations, but at least they were met. SP stays. :)

The only thing I really disliked was that Ming was so bland.

[flyers088]

-I'm not liking the whole back and forth between Earth and Mongo.
-I didn't think Whitney could be any worse than he was in Smallville, but I was wrong.
-Using an RV for surveillance???
-IMEX? Come on hold out the clues a little longer!!
-Why does he even have a mom in the show, she is worthless and he wooden acting only got better when being controlled by the alien.
-Where are they going to take this show?? Search for father will get boring quickly.
-Ming the Merciless??? Are you kidding me!!!
-Alien bounty hunter who will probably become his ally? Haven't seen that before!!

I know there is plenty more, but why waste time with a show that will not be on long enough to care about it. They could throw on reruns of SG-1 and I would watch before this waste of time.

[Schmye Bubbula]

I read somewhere today that Sci-Fi chose this drek over Caprica.

[pkscout]

I guess I set my expectations so low that I actually kind of liked it. Not in a "I'll be sorry if it gets canceled" way, but in a "there isn't much on anyway" kind of way.

[DLL66]

I watched this today. Immediately afterwards, my TiVo jumped off the tv stand, ran across the living room and punched me in the face 4 or 5 times.

Ugh.


LMAO!!!! :up: :D

+1

[MickeS]

I guess I set my expectations so low that I actually kind of liked it. Not in a "I'll be sorry if it gets canceled" way, but in a "there isn't much on anyway" kind of way.
That's about the level of commitment/interest that I have too after seeing it. :)

And I agree that the jumping between earth and Mongo is an annoying cop-out.

[weymo]

Okay.
Um...pretty damn bad. At an hour and a half, I think I would have rather rewatched the 80's movie.
A pilot should hook us...but this...this was wooden, stilted, and well...a bit boring. I haven't watched the old serials or read the comics so I don't know if this storyline goes back to something original or if this is all new revision for the characters. If it is, the update is rough. I get the feeling that this pilot was never meant to air. The actors seem motivation-free.
And yes, what the heck did they do to Ming. He's some minor despot instead of a bigger than life devil. Where are the spaceship and the conquered worlds?
Way disappointed.
I'm afraid this is fated for canceldom...but I will give it another episode before fully canceling on this timewaster.
This had potential...like Battlestar Galactica...to be a wholly new and updated idea of the classic...but instead we got Sliders without Jerry O'Connell.

[Apulo]

I was wondering if the producers put out a worldwide casting call for cute girls that can't act because that seems to be what they ended up with.

[minckster]

If your TiVo refused to record this mess, the pilot is free on iTunes or $1.99 on Unbox.

[atrac]

Thanks for the iTunes tip!

I just watched it. OK, I'll join the minority and say it wasn't THAT bad. It's certainly the weakest "Flash Gordon" ever made though. The 1980 movie was A LOT more enjoyable.

Here's what I didn't like about it:

1) YES, the guy that plays Ming is HORRIBLY miscast. He should have been older and BALD. Max Von Sydow was the quintessential Ming. This guy isn't even close. He kept reminding me of "Joachim" from "The Wrath of Khan."

2) The whole rift idea is HORRIBLE. That's all I say because I know everyone agrees on this point. ;)

3) What city is this supposed to be in? Is it *supposed* to be Canada? If not, is it too much to ask to have the actors pronounce "out" instead of "oat" and "about" instead of "aboat?" I'm really tired of producers or whomever tells the actors to NOT worry about it thinking that we "Yanks" don't notice. I do. It's an ear sore!

4) Some of the effects were actually pretty good. Some (such as the matte composites of the city during "crowd" scenes) were horrible.

5) Speaking of crowd scenes, every scene that didn't involve solely the main cast looked terribly amateur. In other words, they didn't wrangle extras very well at all.

6) Does anyone care about marathons anymore?

7) My biggest beef is this seems to be a remake of the movie version of "Masters of the Universe." Instead of looking for the cosmic key, they're looking for the "Imex." Where's the sense of danger?? Come on, take over the Earth or something!!!

Other than those things (some of them splitting hairs, I'll admit), it was a modest diversion from reality on a Sunday afternoon and I'll keep watching for a few more episodes.

On the positive side, I think they cast it pretty well....in terms of people "looking" the part. Although Eric Johnson isn't the greatest actor, he definitely looks like a Flash Gordon. And hey, he DOES act better than Sam J. Jones in my opinion. ;)

Question: is Dale Arden's co-worker related to Lexa Doig?

Anyway, it'll get better if they at least shave Ming and drop the rift idea.

BONUS: Aura is INDEED quite attractive! She was my favorite character actually. I liked her acting style. She was fun to watch.

[Krosis]

Being a SciFi channel production I had very low expectations and as such was actually pleasantly surprised. It was actually watchable. I don't like the wormhole idea, and all in all the show was pretty mediocre, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected :D

[vertigo235]

Well it wasn't that bad, but not great either.

[Bierboy]

....-Using an RV for surveillance???...Hey, the guy wasn't a spy and he was weird....what do you expect.

I kinda liked this in a campy sorta way.

[cheesesteak]

I think the casting couch got a serious workout for this show.

[TAsunder]

My expectations were pretty low, and I didn't think it was that bad. Much better than painkiller jane, not as good as dresden files, slightly better than stargate: atcrapis. Put me squarely in the "will probably continue to watch it if I have nothing better to do" column.

[Sadara]

All I can say is this...... *puke*

Awful, won't watch again!

[Sirius Black]

-Using an RV for surveillance???

It worked in Stripes. :)

[dswallow]

If your TiVo refused to record this mess, the pilot is free on iTunes or $1.99 on Unbox.
It's not like it isn't being rerun mercilessly on almost every Universal-owned channel.

[dswallow]

I'm glad Eric Johnson is cute, as I don't feel I completely wasted 90 minutes of my life watching this.

Unfortunately Eric Johnson is cute, so I'm stuck watching the rest of the series, at least until it gets canceled.

:p

I just am repeatedly flabbergasted by how easily the studios can throw money into the trash can producing dreck when even a 8-year-old has a better imagination and could come up with more interesting and believable stories. What a waste.

[needo]

I have never seen the original Flash Gordon. I did not think the Pilot was bad. The upcoming weeks will tell.

[danterner]

Sigh... I have a finite pool of "okay, I'll sit through this" television goodwill from my wife - so sorry I wasted some of it with this. I had mediocre hopes, which were met. In the last ten minutes, she said "wait - so this is not the guy who runs super-quick?"

I think the show would be better if it was full-on campy. Instead, it had moments where it looked like it was thinking about taking itself seriously. It was weakest in those moments.

I laughed at the scenes with the advisor/torturer - was he just wearing a long cloak, covering his Segway? Sure seemed like it.

IMEX = V'ger

[MickeS]

It's not like it isn't being rerun mercilessly on almost every Universal-owned channel.
Yeha, that cracked me up. When I searched for "Flash Gordon" on my TiVo it showed 4 original airings of the pilot, on 4 channels, and that was only over the weekend!

[anom]

You know, I think the reason the 90% of the science fiction on television is just crap is because fans are willing to shrug their shoulders, lower their expectations and just swallow whatever is shoveled in their direction.

Don't keep a season pass for a lousy show just because it's sci-fi and has some pretty girls! Life is too short! If they can make a good show out of the Battlestar Galactica franchise, surely they can do something worthwhile with Flash Gordon if they try. Stop making it so easy on them.

[Magister]

I have never seen the original Flash Gordon. I did not think the Pilot was bad. The upcoming weeks will tell.

Find it, it was a pretty cool 80's flick. Great music. Ming's daughter was pretty hawt. And you have the sissy James Bond in Robin Hood tights.

[tgmii]

Sci-fi on the Sci-fi channel is a good thing.

I still just shake my head when a flip through and wrestling is on. :(

I cracked up when Ming's torturer-guy was on a segway!

Tom

[dswallow]

I have never seen the original Flash Gordon. I did not think the Pilot was bad. The upcoming weeks will tell.
The original three Flash Gordon serials: http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Gordon-Soldiers-Conquers-Universe/dp/B00004Y2QO

The Flesh Gordon cult film with Howard Alexander: http://www.amazon.com/Flesh-Gordon-Howard-Alexander/dp/6305641587

The original Flash Gordon movie with Playgirl centerfold Sam Jones: http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Gordon-Saviour-Universe-Jones/dp/B000PMGS8G

The inevitable bad sequel to a cult classic: http://www.amazon.com/Flesh-Gordon-Meets-Cosmic-Cheerleaders/dp/B000055ZF0

[BuckAv]

I can't explain how much I wish Sci-fi would not spend their time on this and instead do a second season of The Dresden Files.

[MickeS]

You know, I think the reason the 90% of the science fiction on television is just crap is because fans are willing to shrug their shoulders, lower their expectations and just swallow whatever is shoveled in their direction.

Don't keep a season pass for a lousy show just because it's sci-fi and has some pretty girls! Life is too short! If they can make a good show out of the Battlestar Galactica franchise, surely they can do something worthwhile with Flash Gordon if they try. Stop making it so easy on them.

Sci-fi and pretty girls is enough for me. :(

[whitson77]

Dresden was a million times better.

[Bierboy]

Find it, it was a pretty cool 80's flick. Great music. Ming's daughter was pretty hawt. And you have the sissy James Bond in Robin Hood tights.That is NOT the original Flash Gordon. Go back to the late 1930s for the original. It was classic.

[pkscout]

Dresden was a million times better.

+1

I guess there weren't enough opportunities in Dresden to put young women in tight clothes. We wouldn't want good story lines to get in the way of teenage hormones.

[windracer]

Ok, I'm 36 minutes in and based on this thread I shouldn't bother going any further. :eek:

Was that tall guy (Rankle?) riding a Segway under his robes?? :D

[jones07]

Watchable.
I'll be tuning in for the next few weeks at least. Looks pretty good in HD btw.

[dswallow]

Obligatory visual explanation of the only reason the show is worth watching... :)

http://iserv.2150.com/actors/eric_johnson/eric_johnson_01.jpg

[dianebrat]

Find it, it was a pretty cool 80's flick. Great music. Ming's daughter was pretty hawt. And you have the sissy James Bond in Robin Hood tights.

*just* rereleased on DVD last week in the "Flash Gordon, Saviour of the Universe Edition" very nice restored version. So far, better than this dreadful series.

All I can do is shake my head and think "they thought this was a better bet then the Dresden Files?" I loved Dresden.. it had the right attitude and everything, and SciFi drops it, yet this shows up. If they kept this quality level up, they should have kept 'The Chronicle' (pretty sure that was its name) I won't say ECW is better, but they're tempting me.. at least there's no chance ECW will waste an hour or so of my time.

Diane

[jones07]

Obligatory visual explanation of the only reason the show is worth watching... :)

http://iserv.2150.com/actors/eric_johnson/eric_johnson_01.jpg


woo, was Eric doing gay porn in a past life? :o

:p

[Figaro]

Total crap. Somebody get Dale a sammich stat!

[tivogurl]

Dresden Files was cancelled?

[dianebrat]

Dresden Files was cancelled?
:mad:

yes, they let it out of the bag a bit more then a week ago that they chose not to have a second season, this was pretty obvious because during all the summer SciFi "meet and greet" panel events, no one from Dresden was there, and they refused to answer questions.

Of course lately season 1 DVD sets are released to the build up right before the beginning of the next season, instead we got FG.

Diane

[JoBeth66]

That was one big bag of suck.

I think you owe an apology to all the bags of suck out there for comparing THIS dreck to them.

[weymo]

woo, was Eric doing gay porn in a past life? :o

:p

That might be why the acting was so stiff.

[Cainebj]

Ummm - I kinda liked it. :eek:

[minckster]

It's not like it isn't being rerun mercilessly on almost every Universal-owned channel. It's not available to me. I can't tell you how sorry I am that my post, pointing out that the pilot is free on iTunes, bothered you. Really, I can't.

[BigT4187]

That was one big bag of suck.

You took the words right out of my mouth. :down: :down: :down:

[Bierboy]

Ummm - I kinda liked it. :eek:I did too....I don't quite understand the venom being spewed here. Granted, it's not the greatest, but I certainly don't believe it deserves the hatred being poured out in this thread.

[dswallow]

It's not available to me. I can't tell you how sorry I am that my post, pointing out that the pilot is free on iTunes, bothered you. Really, I can't.
I can't figure out why you think it bothered me. I was just also pointing out its availability on 3 other channels at numerous times for those who might not have a way or want to play an iTunes downloaded video on their television. Really, I can't.

:p

[Magister]

That is NOT the original Flash Gordon. Go back to the late 1930s for the original. It was classic.

Thanks... I really didn't think the 80's Queen themed movie predated the early comics and serials. But I appreciate you thinking I did.

[sieglinde]

I thought it was OK. It is of limited duration, only 11 episodes. I will be patient and see if it gets better.

[JoBeth66]

I thought it was OK. It is of limited duration, only 11 episodes. I will be patient and see if it gets better.

at least you know it can't possibly get worse, right?

:D

[dswallow]

at least you know it can't possibly get worse, right?

:D
Never underestimate the ability of television studios to fail to achieve even your worst expectations. :D

[EvilMidniteBombr]

I have tried to watch this twice now. Fell asleep both times and still haven't made it past the first 30 - 45 minutes. I don't know if I am going to give it a 3rd try or not.

ETA: I was kinda ticked that we didn't get "FLASH! Ahhh aaaaaaaaahhh!

[PJO1966]

Well, we haven't seen the opening credits yet. The song may be there.

[dianebrat]

and they're still using the song in the episode 2 previews they've been showing..

[Talon]

Extremely weak. I'm surprised, I thought it would be better.

[Fl_Gulfer]

At least it's another SciFi show I can watch in HD, I can put up with it for just that reason. Bring Back the Dresden Files.....

[PJO1966]

At least it's another SciFi show I can watch in HD, I can put up with it for just that reason. Bring Back the Dresden Files.....

I checked yesterday and saw no more episodes scheduled for UHD. I think it was just the pilot. I guess we're probably going to have to wait for Sci-Fi HD before we'll get any more episodes in HD.

[jmoak]

The Flesh Gordon cult film with Howard Alexander: http://www.amazon.com/Flesh-Gordon-Howard-Alexander/dp/6305641587Ah! A cinema classic!

Who can forget Dr. Jerkoff declaring:
"I've got the power pasties, and I know how to use 'em!"

:)

[JimSpence]

Just watched the pilot. Heck, Mutant X was a bit better than this.
Even Adventure, Inc.


I'll watch the second ep tomorrow sometime.

[IndyJones1023]

Wow. What a horrible direction for the Flash Gordon vehicle. That was pretty bad. I mean, not only is much of the acting bad, but the direction and editing were even off. This was worse than a "Sci Fi Original" movie (Ice Spiders, anyone?). My idea was so much better than this crap!

But, unfortunately, my kids liked it enough. So, I'll be watching every week. Wish me luck.

[PJO1966]

Gene suggested that we watch it before going to bed, so he could fall asleep during it.

[cheesesteak]

...Dr. Jerkoff...
Made me laugh.