Flash Gordon

1979 - 1982

Chapter One: A Planet In Peril

8th September 1979

Episode 1

To save the planet Earth from complete destruction, Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov fly into outer space where they crashland on the strange and mysterious planet of Mongo. As the three are taken prisoner by the Gillmen they meet other captives: Prince Barin of Arboria and Thun the Lion Man. Escaping their captors Flash and his friends find themselves hunted by the cruel Princess Aura and her women warriors across dangerous swamps. The heroes soon come face-to-face with the evil Ming the Merciless...

Chapter Two: The Monsters Of Mongo

15th September 1979

Episode 2

SynopsisEditHistoryDiscussWatch Their underground escape from Emperor Ming is interrupted by giant reptiles and Flash's battle with a reptilian monster to free Dale from its huge claw. Captured by Princess Aura and her witch women warriors, Flash, Dale and Thun are flown back to Mingo City where Flash and Thun are forced into mining deadly radiation active gridium ore by the lizard woman and Dale is consigned to Ming's harem. Later Princess Aura helps them flee the mines by a secret passage which leads them into the forest kingdom of Arboria. There Prince Barin's men and their deadly ice arrows keep Flash and his group on the run. The chapter ends with Flash and his friends trapped on a mountainous precipice and from on high the dreaded hawkmen descend upon them.

Chapter Three: Vultan, King Of The Hawkmen

22nd September 1979

Episode 3

The hawkmen capture Flash, Thun, Barin and Aura and fly them to King Vultan's mile-high, suspended sky city where the winged monarch announces he will marry Aura and sends Flash and his friends to slave in his atomic furnaces. Back at the palace Emperor Ming commands Dale to marry him and advises Dr. Zarkov that earth's days are numbered. In a spectacular sky battle Vultan's hawkmen are no match for Ming's rocket forces, who blast the hawkmen's sky city into rubble. Ming rescues his daughter Aura as his metalmen capture the city. This chapter ends with sky city in ruins and Vultan, Barin, Thun and Flash departing for Arboria where they will map their revenge on Ming the merciless.

Chapter Four: To Save Earth

29th September 1979

Episode 4

From Ming's palace, Dr. Zarkov uses an astral projector to warn Flash in Arboria of the impending collision danger to earth and of Ming's planned metalmen's attack on Arboria. Even as Prince Barin's forest fighters rout the metalmen, Arboria is attacked on a second front by the molemen who burrow their way into the tree kingdom. Barin's men defeat this underground challenge and Flash and his friends commandeer the molemen's giant mole machine for a last ditch effort to save earth. Churning through molten lava, Flash guides the whirling mole machine into Ming's palace where he successfully wrests the planetary drive controls from Ming and guides Mongo away from earth. The chapter concludes as Flash and his friends on Mongo speed away from earth into unknown regions of outer space.

Chapter Five: The Beast Men's Prey

13th October 1979

Episode 5

No overview available.

Chapter Six: Into the Water World

27th October 1979

Episode 6

Fleeing from Princess Aura's robot rocket attack, Flash Gordon and his friends are attacked by a mysterious magnetic ray as they fly over the sea of mystery. Flash's rocket ship crashes and he, Dale and Dr. Zarkov are pulled beneath the sea into the multi-spired undersea city of Coralia. There Queen Undina has special machine altering techniques applied to Flash and his friends so they can breathe water as easily as they did air. Flash and Dr. Zarkov help Coralia Queen Undina defeat Ming's underwater laser firing submarine attack. Queen Undina rewards them with restoration of their air breathing ability and freedom, and as the chapter ends the group heads for Arboria.

Chapter Seven: Adventure In Arboria

20th October 1979

Episode 7

Flash and his friends arrive in Arboria and are greeted by a huge swarm of flying, poisonous squirlons. Dr. Zarkov is bitten by a squirlon as the party swings through the tree forests in an attempt to escape the airborne rodents. Prince Barin, Thun and Vultan are reunited with Flash and his friends and all undergo the unknown dangers of the deep caverns, the river dragons and Ming's metalmen's attack before they finally find the rare antidote that saves Dr. Zarkov from the near-fatal squirlon wound.

Chapter Eight: The Frozen World

27th October 1979

Episode 8

In Prince Barin's tree palace, Flash and his friends map plans to mount their fight against Ming the Merciless. Needing a scarce ore to power the machines to fight Ming, Flash flies to Queen Fria's province of ice and snow to search for the vital orium rocket fuel. Narrowly escaping injury from an enormous snow-dragon Flash and his party are welcomed to Frigia at gala ceremonies in the queen's glittering ice palace. Later Flash makes a friend of his enemy, Count Malo, as he saves Malo from the jaws of the giant ice worm. The chapter concludes with Flash and Queen Fria examining ways to save Dale Arden, Thun and Dr. Zarkov who have been captured by the gargantuan eight-foot giants that live in Frigia's underground caverns.

Chapter Nine: Monster Of Glacier

3rd November 1979

Episode 9

Flash and Queen Fria cleverly gain entry in the lair of the eight-foot giants who have captured Dale and Dr. Zarkov. As Flash engages Brukka, Chief of the Giants, in a fight, Queen Fria frees the others from their ice pit prison cells. Flash and friends flee the caverns of the giants and gain their freedom by leaping to a swift river far below the giant stronghold. As the party rafts down the unknown river they encounter the horrifying spectacle of the glacier monster, a huge three-tentacled electrified river eel. Flash eventually short-circuits and destroys the glacier monster, gaining freedom at last. The party concludes its visit to Frigia as it boards a rocket railroad for the trip back to Arboria.

Chapter Ten: Blue Magic

10th November 1979

Episode 10

As Flash and his party rocket through the Mongo countryside enroute to Arboria, they see that Ming's metalmen are following in a ray-emitting rocket train. Flash avoids capture by detouring his rocket train into the forbidden country of Syk. There, Azura, Witch Queen of Syk, saves Flash's party from the dreaded blue fire worm as she believes Flash is Gor Daahn, former Lord of Syk. The high wizard of Syk, Tahl, takes the intruders aboard his flying carpet to the throne of Queen Azura, who erases Flash's memory and installs in flash the memory of Syk's long-departed former ruler, Gor Daahn, who Flash resembles. This chapter ends with battle preparations of Syk's warriors and the smaller forces of Prince Barin and Vultan who are trying to rescue Flash and his party from Azura, the WitchQueen of Syk.

Chapter Eleven: King Flash!

17th November 1979

Episode 11

Flash, his memory erased, and Queen Azura board a great war chariot, drawn by two fierce dragon-like creatures, to lead the army of three-taloned, purple robed witch men into battle against Prince Barin's green-clad forest hunters and King Vultan's winged hawkmen. The witchmen crush the opposing forces and take Prince Barin and Vultan prisoner. Zarkov's scientific wizardry frustrates Queen Azura's plan to keep Flash under her spell as Gor Daahn as he restores Flash's memory. Azura's anger knows no bounds as she unleashes the monstrous fire king, talors, to stop Flash from fleeing her kingdom. With the help of one of Zarkov's wondrous ray weapons, Flash overpowers talors and escapes. As he departs Syk he is surrounded once again by Ming's forces and as the chapter closes Flash hears Ming warn him of this being their last meeting.

Chapter Twelve: Ming's Tournament Of Death

24th November 1979

Episode 12

Recaptured by Ming's evil forces, Flash and his friends are chained to the combat arena in preparation for Emperor Ming's tournament of death games from which there will be but one winner. The winner will be given his freedom and the choice of any woman in Ming's kingdom. Feigning illness, Flash gains his and his party's freedom and they flee through a secret palace tunnel. Outwitting the tunnel's three giant drok dragons, Flash, Dale and Zarkov's dash for freedom is shortlived as they crash crossing the cavern of fire. They are captured by the metalmen and returned to the palace where Flash, together with lion men, hawkmen, lizardmen and iceland giants are pitted against Mongo's most horrible monsters. Flash's strength and agility overcome the monsters and he and a masked forestman (resembling Prince Barin) are the two survivors of the war games. As the chapter ends Ming announces the one who survives the green flame will be declared winner of the tournament of death.

Chapter Thirteen: Castaways In Tropica

1st December 1979

Episode 13

With flashing flame swords, Flash and the now-revealed Prince Barin fight one another on a suspended high wire over the blazing green fire in the final game of Ming's tournament of death. Princess Aura saves the two fighters and they escape with Dr. Zarkov in their newly repaired earth rocket ship. Enroute to Arboria, Ming's space patrol hits Flash's rocket ship and he lands in Tropica, a virtual Garden of Eden. Flash saves Tropica's Queen Desira from a tree-dragon attack and he and his friends are invited by the queen to be guests of this lovely, tropical country. Desira's scheming cousin Braznor drugs the queen and prepares to take over the country. Flash and friends rescue the queen and they break for freedom astride giant horse-like gryphs. Flash and his friends escape a giant lizard-like monster and survive an attack by the dreaded rock termites. As the chapter ends we see Flash and party mysteriously suspended in midair and drawn as if by a magnet into the dark depths of the deepening cavern.

Chapter Fourteen: The Desert Hawk

8th December 1979

Episode 14

In Prince Barin's treetop palace in Arboria, he, Princess Aura, Thun and Vultan discuss how to find the missing Flash Gordon. Flash and his party continue to flee from the traitorous Braznor who has seized control of Tropica from Queen Desira. With capture imminent, the party flees into the desert of fire where they are saved from a fire dragon by Gundar the desert hawk, Lord of the Fire Lands. Brazor's laser-firing armored tanks penetrate Gundar's mountain fortress and capture Flash and his friends. Vultan and Prince Barin's forces soundly de-feat Braznor and restore Queen Desira to her throne. The chapter ends with Barin, Vultan, Thun, Desira and Gundar pledging their forces to fight the battle to free Mongo from Ming's tyrannical clutches.

Chapter Fifteen: Revolt Of The Power Men

15th December 1979

Episode 15

At a strategy meeting in Tropica, Flash and his friends plan to recapture Vultan's mile-high Sky City now under control of Ming's robot guards. Flash and Thun return to Mongo City where they team up with Ergon, Leader of the Power. Ming dispatches his trusty aide Urzeen to Tropica to capture Dale and bring her back for his bride. Flash and his party stow away on a supply rocket ship to sky city where they immobilize Ming's energy shield that protects sky city. Vultan and his winged warriors and Prince Barin and his forestmen attack and recapture Sky City. It takes the verve of Flash and the genius of Ergon to re-connect the faulty anti-gravity beams, saving the falling city just before it slams into the ground. With Sky City secure, Flash hastens to Mongo City to free Dale from Ming. As the chapter ends Flash unexpectedly meets Ming, who freezes Flash into a solid mass of ice crystals.

Chapter Sixteen: Ming's Last Battle

5th January 1980

Episode 16

At Mongo City, Emperor Ming shows Dale Arden the frozen form of Flash Gordon and Dale agrees to marry Ming if he will free Flash. In the meantime Zarkov and Ergon work feverishly to repair the energy shield to protect Sky City from an impending attack by Ming's robot sky forces. Princess Aura frees Flash from his ice prison and the two, with the help of Queen Undina of Coralia, blast their way into the central control area of Mingo City's defense system. Vultan and Sarin's men ultimately repel Ming's full-scale rocket attack on sky city and proceed to occupy Mongo City. Flash bursts into the wedding ceremony of Ming and Dale and after an exciting sword fight, Flash gorces Ming to flee in his rocketship. Prince Barin proclaims himself as regent of Mongo and the people rejoice.in their new-found freedom. The chapter ends with Flash and Dale planning exploratory visits to other parts of Mongo and the eerie, sardonic laughter of Ming emanating from out space.

Top Cast

Robert Ridgely•Vic Perrin•Bob Holt

The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, also known as The Adventures of Flash Gordon, is an animated television series. The series is actually called Flash Gordon but the expanded title is used in official records to distinguish it from previous versions. Filmation produced the series in 1979, partly as a reaction to the mammoth success of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1977. The series was a homage to the original Flash Gordon comic strip and featured most of the original characters, including Flash's girlfriend Dale Arden, and the scientist Hans Zarkov. The series is still regarded as one of the most faithful adaptations, and one of Filmation's finest overall efforts. The basic story follows Flash and his companions as they travel to Mongo, where they are forced into battle by its ruler, Ming the Merciless, his daughter Princess Aura, and his army of Metal Men. To help their cause the heroes lead the formation of an alliance beginning with King Thun, leader of the Lion People; Prince Barin, ruler of Arboria; and King Vultan, leader of the Hawkmen. The original project was produced as a made-for-television feature film. When NBC saw the finished work, it was decided to turn the work into an animated TV series. The change in format resulted in the story being significantly expanded with a subplot of Ming secretly giving military technology to Hitler being dropped, as well as being set in the present day rather during World War II. When the series was cancelled after its 2nd season, the original footage was reassembled with the original soundtrack, including the final role of Ted Cassidy, and aired on primetime in 1982 as a TV movie, Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All.

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Alan Oppenheimer

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