"Flash Gordon" (1979) TV series 1979-1980

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Hal Sutherland
Don Towsley
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

8 September 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Animation | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The adventures of the comic strip space hero and his friends as they battle the tyranny of Ming the Merciless on the planet Mongo.

Plot Keywords:

Flash Gordon | Based On Comic Strip | Based On Comic | Character Name In Title

Cast

Robert Ridgely

...

Flash Gordon / ... (unknown episodes)

(more)

Series Directed by
Hal Sutherland		(unknown episodes)
Don Towsley		(unknown episodes)
Lou Zukor		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Ted Pedersen		(9 episodes, 1979-1980)
Samuel A. Peeples		(7 episodes, 1979)
Paul Dini		(4 episodes, 1982)
Dan DiStefano		(4 episodes, 1982)
Michael Reaves		(3 episodes, 1982)
Tom Ruegger		(2 episodes, 1982)

Series Produced by
Don Christensen	....	producer (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Norm Prescott	....	executive producer (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Lou Scheimer	....	executive producer (16 episodes, 1979-1980)

Series Original Music by
Ray Ellis		(16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Norm Prescott		(16 episodes, 1979-1980)

Series Cinematography by
R.W. Pope		(16 episodes, 1979-1980)

Series Film Editing by
Earl Biddle		(16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Jim Blodgett		(16 episodes, 1979-1980)

Series Art Direction by
Herb Hazelton		(16 episodes, 1979-1980)

Series Art Department
Kurt Conner	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
John Dorman	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Paul Fennell	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Eddie Fitzgerald	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Rich Fogel	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Karl Geurs	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Mike Joens	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Bob Kline	....	storyboard supervisor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
John Kricfalusi	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Lonnie Lloyd	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Tom Minton	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Mitch Schauer	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Wendell Washer	....	storyboard artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
John Grusd	....	storyboard artist (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
George Mahana	....	sound effects supervisor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Robert Waxman	....	sound effects editor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Patty Burns	....	camera operator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Don Dinehart	....	camera operator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Roncie Hantke	....	camera operator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Dan Larsen	....	camera operator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
David J. Link	....	camera operator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Dean G. Teves	....	camera operator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
David Valentine	....	camera operator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
F.T. Ziegler	....	camera operator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)

Series Animation Department
Bob Arkwright	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
John Allan Armstrong	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Tom Baron	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Barbara Benedetto	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Alan Bodner	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Sheila Brown	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
James Brummett	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Kent Butterworth	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Bill Carney	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
John Conning	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Franco Cristofani	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
James A. Davis	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Zeon Davush	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Ed DeMattia	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Jaime Diaz	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Dianne Erenberg	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Jeff Etter	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Chuck Eyler	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Sharon Forward	....	layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Francesca Freeman	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Ed Friedman	....	animation director (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Kennetha Gaebler	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Sergio Garcia	....	layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
John Garling	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Milton Gray	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Ed Haney	....	layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Karen Haus	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Mike Hazy	....	layout key assistant (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Barry Helmer	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
David Hoover	....	layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Richard Hoover	....	layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Mary Jorgensen	....	layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Vern Jorgensen	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Lou Kachivas	....	animation director (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Ervin L. Kaplan	....	color director (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Ellen Kashan	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Pat Keppler	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
John Koch	....	layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Marsh Lamore	....	animation director (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Carol Lundberg	....	key layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Alla Marshall	....	paint supervisor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Marlene Robinson May	....	assistant animation supervisor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Larry Miller	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Michael Mitchell	....	layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Emory Myrick	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Greg Nocon	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Phillip Norwood	....	layout artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Bill Nunes	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Tom O'Loughlin	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Frank Onaitis	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Jack Ozark	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Norly Paat	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Tony Pabian	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Curt Perkins	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Don Peters	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Karen Peterson	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Tom Ray	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
William Recinos	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
John Remmel	....	xerography supervisor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Virgil Ross	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Don Ruch	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Sonja Ruta	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Ernie Schmidt	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Don Schweikert	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Larry Silverman	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Nick Stern	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Leo Sullivan	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Reuben Timmins	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Bob Trochim	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Linn Trochim	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Richard Trueblood	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Marion Turk	....	checking supervisor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Bob Tyler	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Dardo Velez	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Val Vreeland	....	paint supervisor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
James T. Walker	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Don Watson	....	background artist (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Gwen Wetzler	....	animation director (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Barry Whitebook	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Larry White	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Kay Wright	....	animation director (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Woody Yocum	....	animator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Lou Zukor	....	animation director (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Daryl Carstensen	....	cel painter / xerox checker (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Marc Ellis	....	composer: theme music (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
George Mahana	....	music supervisor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Norm Prescott	....	composer: theme music (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Robert Waxman	....	music editor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)

Series Other crew
Toni Christiansen	....	film coordinator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
June Gilham	....	film coordinator (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Ted Pedersen	....	story editor (16 episodes, 1979-1980)
Robert W. Wilson	....	production controller (16 episodes, 1979-1980)

Production Companies

• Filmation Associates
• King Features Syndicate

Distributors

• Divisa Home Video (2007) (Spain) (DVD)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Other Companies

• Glen Glenn Sound  sound by
• Technicolor  color by
• Shermley Music Co.  music publisher

Also Known As:

The New Adventures of Flash Gordon (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

30 min | 20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7

Company:

Filmation Associates

Trivia:

Allan Melvin did the voice of Prince Thun after Ted Cassidy, who voiced the character originally, passed away.

Movie Connections:

Version of Flash Gordon (2012)

Rich, rewarding animated version of Flash Gordon

Filmation's Flash Gordon is a richly realized, beautifully animated serial, a highpoint for television animation. Few animated series have even managed to approach its grace. Prior to it, perhaps The New Adventures of Huck Finn comes to mind, and after, IMO, it's only challengers have been Bravestarr (latter-day Filmation work), Don Bluth's The Pirates of Darkwater, and Batman: The Animated Series.

This version of Flash Gordon is unmatched, by either the wonderful 30s serial, or the camped up but fun Dino Delaurentis version, released the same year.

Filmation captured perfectly the splendor and spirit of Alex Raymond's strip, utilizing (for 1979) the best technology could offer: Body rotoscope, fx animation, moiré patterns, rotoscoping over motion control shots of model ships. The end result? A 16 chapter serial, which, while flawed with repetitive (at times) animation, delivered non-stop action, breathtaking animation and artistry with a truly "full" look and feel to it. Filmation managed this with their earlier Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, basing it partly on the work of comics artist Burne Hogarth.

The first 8 chapters are virtually flawless, if you can put aside the repetition. The best among them are: "A Planet in Peril", "The Beast Men's Prey", "Vultan, King of the Hawkemen", and "To Save Earth". The serial blazes away in epic proportions: There are fighter ship battles (Ming's fleet annihilating the Hawkmen and Vultan's city is utterly brutal and has a tragic beauty), gunfights in grand palaces, exotic locations and alien creations. There is a slight, but noticeable dropoff in animation quality in the latter half of the serial (chapters 9-16), but the standards remain high, and ultimately the viewer is rewarded.

This magnificent series, and it's pilot film: Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All deserve to be preserved on DVD. Commentary from Filmation execs Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott and living Raymond relatives would be GREAT extra features.

Additional notes: Sadly, the serial gained a small, but loyal following in it's first season, the bane of many great SF series. NBC decided that, rather than give the show a bit more time to develop a larger following, that a format change was in order. The serial format was scrapped in favor of 12 minute shorts, which have disappointing animation measured against the serial, juvenile stories, and an overly cute pink dragon named Gremlin added to the cast. Gremlin is up there near the top of sickenly over-cute characters, such as Barney, Jar-Jar Binks, Gurgi (from Disney's The Black Cauldron), and Elmo. On several occasions, for instance, he blows smoke hearts.

Lastly, if you think you have seen Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All having seen the serial, better think again. The animation standards are even higher here, and while some of the footage was used in the series, the vast majority of it will be new to you. It is an overwhelming, highly recommended experience which you won't regret seeking out. While it has not been officially released, it is fairly common among video traders.