Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/05/02/things-i-miss-early-80s-flash.html
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Definitely one of my favorites too! It’s interesting to see the hallmarks of Filmation’s style (rotoscoping and reuse of scenes) that ended up in Masters of the Universe.
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This turned into “Defenders of the Earth” with the Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, didn’t it?
Can’t say I found it particularly memorable, though I can probably hum at least a few bars of the theme song.
ETA:
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For what it is worth, the complete series is on Amazon Prime currently! Also Defenders of the Earth.
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I would love to see photos of the model ships they rotoscoped. From the way Flash’s ship flickers I suspect these shots weren’t so much rotoscoped as run through a Xerox machine a few times to achieve a high-contrast “cell” look and then dropped in more-or-less as is. It’s a cool look.
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Fun fact: the theme song for this, which has been stuck in my head for thirty years, was written by Stan Lee. Once I learned that, I could see his turns of phrase every other line.
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Not really, Flash was a Filmation production and had it’s own connected storylines over several episodes–pretty risky on a kids program. Defenders was more in the way of a traditional one-and-done episode, produced by Marvel and King Features.
Different studios and different storylines.
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Flash was determined to be insecure.
I prefer the sequel, Java Gordon.
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This was one of my favorites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtijHwELlHU
Java Javascript Gordon
FTFY
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Oh yes. My mistake.
Would HTML5 Gordon be even better?
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Yeah, he’s a badass . . . and so damned efficient.
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Hawk men being vaporized out of the sky. Pretty intense for the Sugar Smacks set.
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I enjoyed watching that series. 
Silverlight Gordon!
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Don’t bother with the episodes - turns out the series was based on a made-for-TV movie. It was broken up into episodes and new, inferior animation, as well as extensive re-using of existing material, was used to beef up the overall length. The film was never released in the US, but it did get a laser disc release in Japan, and you can watch it by googling “Flash Gordon: the Greatest Adventure of All”.
It’s odd that I have NO memory of this show…other than the theme song. Which came back to me as soon as it started playing. __
Which was held back from re-release (and the DVD box set) for many years because it starts off in 1939 Warsaw and the images of swastikas from diving stukas was considered “worrisome”. Although the images of Dale’s clothes being worn down to bare rags while in captivity with The Beast Men didn’t help either.
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Princess Aura, the absolute monarch of cartoon fanservice for adults watching with their kids.
https://www.google.com/search?q=PRINCESS+AURA+FLASH+GORDON+FILMATION&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJodqJkdTTAhXLOiYKHZbnAYgQ_AUICigB&biw=1696&bih=782
[I would attach the picture, but my office internet filter is strict!]
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If this is a porn Rickroll, I’ll be initially upset, and then eventually grateful.
(fun fact: when I misspelled initially, er, initially, spellcheck offered “genitally” as a replacement…)
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