Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical movie?

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=47805

Flash Gordon the TV series on Scifi Channel was a huge flop: Scifi Channel seriously thought it would be their next big tent-pole series, but it never found an audience and was really just terrible; ***I seriously think that Scifi attributes the success of Battlestar Galactica to the fact that it is a remake of an old series, rather than due to the great writing of Ron Moore & Co (and the quality actors). Instead, Scifi caught the "lets remake things!" bug, and seriously thinks that there are "vast fan-bases" for old series (even if you like BSG original series, you've got to admit that original series viewers only make up a small fraction of people that watch the re-imagined series)

Anyway, Flash Gordon flopped, so now Columbia Pictures has decided to make a new Flash Gordon remake movie?!

(of no relation to Scifi Channel's failed project) (and why is he described as a polo player?)

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Hmm... maybe a film will do better. Maybe being the key word.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Well, the series wasn't terrible because it was Flash Gordon. It was terrible because of the poor writing, the low production values, the bad acting, etc. Of course, usually studios aren't smart enough to realize something like this (the remake of Battlestar Galactica leading to remakes of Bionic Woman, Flash Gordon, etc. that entirely miss the point being an example of their poor reasoning). We'll see...

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

I'm not sure how much Sci-Fi really considered this a big tent-pole series though that isn't the first time I've read that but I'm skeptical.

I enjoyed the show for what it was but as you said it wasn't very successful and I think its profile and recognition level is low enough that it shouldn't have any impact positive or negative on a film.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

One of it's biggest problems was that it wasn't even Flash Gordon. It was just called that. The producers needed to embrace the established story line not abandon it.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Flash Gordon along with plucky Dale Arden and scientist Hans Zarkov unites the cantons of the Planet Mongo to overthrow the ruthless emperor Ming the Merciless with the help of the Princess Aura.

I think the story line was OK but people have problems with the execution.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

If the film isn't connected to the series at all but is, in fact, just another effort to bring one of the most iconic sci-fi pulp characters into the 21st century... then I don't see a problem.

It's not like Serenity, where a film is directly based on a cancelled TV series. Just because the Sci-Fi Channel series was a failure doesn't mean a successful Flash Gordon project can't be done - no more than the success of Galactica proves, as you say, that remakes are a sure thing.

I don't know the past record of the people involved in this project, but I do hope we get a good movie out of these developments.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

I think there are "vast fan-bases" for old series. That's why the first episode performed so well. That's why I sat through two entire episodes before admitting to myself I just couldn't take it (and I'm not even a FG fan - the name recognition alone was enough to catch my attention).

There are millions of us who grew up on '80s movies & TV, and would at least tune in to the pilot of any remake, if only for nostalgia. That's a good base to build on in an age where 3 million viewers for a cable show means it's a hit. If it had actually been good, they probably would have had a big hit on their hands.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

The new movie better have Queen do their soundtrack.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

But they made Ming into little more than a pathetic bureaucrat and Ming did not seem even the slightest bit exotic. They should have taken their clues from the 1980 film and not tried to rework so much of it.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

The one has nothing to do with the other. Film rights and TV rights are separate. There's no reason there couldn't be a movie and a TV series at the same time. Indeed, that's already happened, with Filmation's 1979-80 Flash Gordon animated series and DeLaurentiis's 1980 flop of a movie.

That's what he was in the original comic strips, of course.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

The 2nd half of the series actually was pretty decent, and I was hoping based on that, we might get a continuation. The producers had seemed to learn their lesson from the 1st half, but unfortunately, it was too late.

Ming's assistant would've made for an interesting Ming...my idea is that Ming was a title, and that the "original" Ming could be knocked off and replaced.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

A zero issue for a Flasgh Gordon Comic book was released limitedly at a convention 6 months back which seemed decent. I haven't seen if the Title has started up yet. Somethign to investigate I think.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

I suppose that it would have been wrong to suspect "Batman Begins' of being awful, in the wake of "Batman and Robin"....but still....why would you think people are "hungry for more Flash?" barely a year after a Flash TV series failed?

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

For the same reason other people enumerated here. For the same reason people looked forward to Casino Royale after Die Another Day, or Batman Begins after Batman and Robin, or even presently with Star Trek XI after Star Trek: Nemesis.

We don't just want Flash Gordon. We want good Flash Gordon. Give me a rip-roaring adventure of sci-fi pulp and I'll be content. Cartoonist had a point: There's an audience for this, but they won't just watch anything with the label slapped on.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Most potential moviegoers didn't watch the SciFi series, if they even knew it existed at all. Heck, that's why it was cancelled -- because few people watched it. And the audience for even a hit basic-cable show is tiny compared to the audience that a feature film needs to break even. Nobody ever makes a feature film with only the pre-existing fanbase for the property in mind, not unless they're trying to go broke. The goal of any big feature film is to appeal to a general audience, including people who have no prior familiarity with the property. They're not trying to satisfy any "hunger" for Flash Gordon, and the TV series had such tiny viewership that it has no bearing on their efforts at all. They just want to make a movie that will fill the seats and sell popcorn, and they think the Flash Gordon concept can do the job.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

I think a movie could do better with a bigger budget and an emphasis on the 1930's serials( like The Rocketeer)

It would be like "Star Wars" oddly enough Flash Gordon being the inspiration for it. The swashbuckling hero, the damsel in distress. Just keep lucas away from this.

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Trek and Batman were bigger...more popular, thus time off needed for interest to build for new versions.
As Christopher pointed out, the Sci Fi series was nowhere on anyone's radar (outside of genre aficionados, and many of them bailed after the first couple of eopisodes..).

 

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

exactly

Who remembers "Flash Gordon" outside of trekbbs and some other forums and fans. To the wider audience its been out of their minds since the 80's. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a comment like

"They had a tv show?"