This one , put out by Filmation; a fan-site is here with some photo captures . I loved it when I was kid for several reasons:
*It had continuing story threads
*Sometimes the bad guys won
*The battle scenes were great (as I remember), featuring Ming’s forces destroying whole cities, refugee trains, etc.
*The “Allies” against Ming were a great touch (Hawkmen, lionmen, humans, etc.) that seemed a cross between WW2 and LOTR
*Ming spoke of ancient prophecies and religions that were interesting
*Characters could have surprising dimensions (some of Ming’s men defected, for example)
*People actually died (usually a disintegration), a rarity on Saturday morning kid shows
*Great animation extras (one scene featured Flash wandering into the ancient 3rd world like foundations in Ming’s beautiful imperial city, a place with no technology or shining towers)
Has anybody seen this lately? Does it still air anywhere? I was wondering if I saw it at 37 if it’d still seem anywhere near as good as it did when I was 13.
Don’t remember flash directly, but your OP reminded me of Defenders of the Earth, an 80s cartoon revival that united Flash Gordon with the Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, Lothar, and their kids against Ming.
I loved that show! I thought I was the only fan. I wish it were still showing somewhere so I could see if it still holds up. Maybe the Cartoon Network would pick it up.
I know I’ve mentioned this show in a few other threads. Most likely ones on the much beloved live action film.
I don’t remember the show all that well. I liked the sound effects, the locations and creatures (I remember one episode with an idol several stories tall and hordes of apemen making sacrfices to it), and the retro feel it had even then.
You failed to mention the pink dragon mascot/sidekick. His name escapes me at the moment.
Action figures were made from the Filmation show-OTTOM Flash, Ming, Dale, Dr Zarkoff, Lizard Woman, and Lion Man.
I recall Defenders Of The Earth fondly, and it did have some great moments( “I am Andama, the weather demon!”) but I prefer the Filmation series.
In the late 90’s, there was a new Flash Gordon cartoon. They changed Ming from Fu Man Chu Asian Villian to some kind of lizard man. I can understand this. They also changed Flash and Dale into teenagers with attitudes. Flash would traverse the skies in a flying surfboard and speak in hip slang. His new catchphrase was “Back In A Flash!”. This show defiled not only Flash Gordon, but the world in general.
Filmation also did a Tarzan cartoon which had a very similar look, shared the sound effects library, and was also a lot of fun.
I vaguely remeber it. I was probably about 7 or 8. The only thing I really remember was some Ming robots that vaguely looked llike Federation droids from the new Star Wars movies and Flash’s Baron pal who looked like a Errol Flynn Robin Hood.
When I saw this thread title I at first thought you were discussing cartoons made with Macromedia Flash about some guy named Gordon. That pretty much tells you that show was before my time.
Yes! I have fond memories of it, and would seriously consider buying it on DVD (no, it isn’t available).
I remember the diffrent realms (arboria, underwater, sky city, etc). I remeber a lot of Flash saying “you know, if you guys stopped fighting each other your combined forces could easily defeat Ming”
I loved that show! Man, I wish they would put it out on DVD!
DocCathode: The retro look and feel were part of the charm. Many of the monsters were straight out of the original Alex Raymond comic strips from the 1940s. Likewise many of the costume and set designs.
I don’t remember a pink dragon.
I wish some enterprising CGI artist would try to put Alex Raymond’s visions onto the big screen. Preferably in Imax 3D.