I got to preview the pilot episode for this new SCI FI show this week. I was pretty excited about it because this was my first sneak-peek type of work, thanks it part to the digital media press tour back in June. I was a bit saddened to find out that this was a working print of the show. The difficulty in reviewing an episode of a show that isn’t presented in its complete form is that you cannot get a full sense of what has been accomplished by the creative team behind the show. Without the special effects or the sound and Foley effects it is impossible to get the full experience. I have come to understand that this is usual industry practice and we were given the show to review at this stage of post-production, possibly to protect against leaks, so I reserve full judgment against Flash Gordon until it airs, in it mighty [?] fullness, this Friday night. From this preview episode I cannot tell if the shows comparably smaller budget to other SCI FI franchise shows exposes any limitations the creative team had.
How is it? I really want to like this show. If anything, I am ‘in like’ with the idea of doing a sci-fi adventure show. That itself should be a promising notion. But it wasn’t quite there in this first episode. It just wasn’t enough for me to get excited about it. It was big on sci-fi. But it was low on adventure. Flash Gordon had better improve quickly if it wants to keep viewers after its second or third episode. Having established its characters and story line in the opening episode, trying to delicately balance between educating an unfamiliar viewer with Flash Gordon and pleasing the die hard fans, I hope the show moves right into the adventures of Flash, Dale and Dr. Zarkov.
As much as the production team and cast pushed the idea of honoring the camp of the earlier incantations of the Flash Gordon universe I don’t feel it was accomplished in the pilot. It’s not so much camp as it is cheese. The script was pretty basic. The acting was so-so. When your shining light is a supporting character, the eccentric Dr. Zarkov, it says a lot for your lead character chemistry, which was also lacking. I was hoping for better. But hey, this is only the first episode. A lot can change… fingers crossed.
When we were on the press tour in June the show was already six weeks into filming, at an episode per week pace. I also know that there was little time between filming the pilot and moving onto the second episode. The design team was already making changes to the show between those two episodes. What all of those changes were I do not know. Hopefully, the team behind Flash Gordon found its strengths early and built on those. Improvements need to happen if it is to establish an audience and get that coveted second season, and a larger budget.
Good but not great. But call me hopeful that things turn around in the episodes to come.
Mack, congratulations on your working relationship with the SciFi Channel; that's great. Sorry to hear, however, your first go-round is tentative. I very rarely watch the SciFi Channel anymore. I feel most of their original programming lacks punch.
I thought the first episode sucked big time. I was especially disappointed at the portrayal of a blonde, unimposing Ming!