'Flash Gordon' Missing The Flash

But when fans tune in to see the first episode of the new series this week, they may instead be reaching for their DVD copy of the 1980 movie.

It's not that "Flash Gordon" is terrible. I mean, nothing can be worse than "Painkiller Jane" -- or as they call it in my house "Painful Jane" -- but the new "Flash Gordon" seems to be more comparable to the many B-movies SciFi Channel produces than some of the network's better series, like "Farscape" and "Battlestar Galactica."

I really can't put my finger on what might have caused SciFi to stumble so badly in a remake from a network and production company known for good remakes like BSG and NBC's upcoming "Bionic Woman." I want to say that the producers just tried too hard, and in the process missed their mark. Instead, however, it may be that the producers didn't try hard enough, and instead of bringing viewers a smart remake, they simply delivered "Cleopatra 2525."

Last June, SciFi Channel gave myself and other online journalists a tour of the "Flash Gordon" sets south of Vancouver, B.C., near the American border. I had some high expectations since the day before we were given a look of the massive and intricate sets of shows like "Eureka," "Battlestar Galactica" and "Stargate: Atlantis." But when the bus finally arrived at the former horse stables that serves as the home of Mongo and other locales for "Flash Gordon," I know I for one was sorely disappointed. While it seemed that the crew was working hard getting the look down, there was really nothing to write home about in the look. It was kind of bland, it lacked character ... it just was missing everything that we saw in the sets of the other shows.

I can tell that the actors are real excited about the show, and it meant a lot that they all showed up for the panel with reporters when we got a smattering of actors from the other shows (with the lone exception of "Eureka.") And Johnson definitely looks like he would be Flash Gordon, a marathon runner who somehow gets sucked into an alternate universe led by the evil Emperor Ming, played by the stale John Ralston. But either Johnson doesn't understand who Flash Gordon is, or his casting was more about looks. Ming, of course, is always in control, especially on Mongo. And this time, he's controlling the water -- the lifeblood of any civilization.

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