It's easy to point and guffaw at the Flash Gordon serials. In fact, in this day and age it's hard to believe that audiences of any era were ever expected to accept bulbous rocket ships that flatulently trail sparks and smoke; preposterous, shambling space creatures; and spaceship interiors that look as though they were assembled from a plumbing warehouse. Despite the primitive sets and effects, Flash Gordon serials are as much a part of the roots of modern sci-fi as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, or Ray Bradbury. This collection from Image Entertainment finds Flash battling a fiendish plot staged by Queen Azura of Mars, stealing the Earth's nitrogen to aid in the ongoing war against the Clay People. Flash soon discovers that Azura is in line with his mortal enemy, Ming the Merciless, who secretly is plotting to overthrow her and take over Mars himself. As usual, the hapless Professor Zarkov gets in predicaments from which Flash must rescue him, and Dale Arden is by Flash's side through all of it. Loaded with fisticuffs, sputtering, wobbly rocket ships, lasers, and, of course, the remarkable Clay People (Martians turned into animated mud), this is fast-paced sci-fi entertainment that was state of the art for 1938. The energy and raw enthusiasm of these serials are what make them so fun to watch, not to mention providing a downright quaint time-capsule look at what Depression-era audiences thought of as the future. --Jerry Renshaw
Complete and uncut: 15 episodes starring "Buster" Crabbe. Life on Earth is about to be destroyed! A mysterious beam of light emanating from Mars is sucking the nitrogen from the planet's atmosphere, and only Flash Gordon ("Buster" Crabbe) can stop it. Blasting off with Dale Arden (Jean Rogers) and Dr. Hans Zarkov (Frank Shannon), Flash and his intrepid band of adventurers quickly learn that Queen Azura (Beatrice Roberts), ruler of Mars, is stealing Earth's nitrogen to aid in her ongoing war with the Clay People, Martians whom Azura magically turned into living mud. A bigger surprise, however, is yet to come; working closely with the Queen is Flash's mortal enemy, Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton), who--while posing as Azura's ally--is secretly plotting to overthrow the Queen and seize Mars for himself! Can Flash save the Earth, rescue the Clay People, bring Azura to her senses, and stop Ming's heinous scheme? The answers lie in "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars"--15 thrilling episodes of sci-fi adventure at its very best.
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