| | The Animated Adventures of Flash Gordon (1979)The animated series first season follows, more or less, the traditional FG mythos, opening with the launch of the rocketship carrying Flash, Dale Arden, and Dr. Zarkov from somewhere in the Eastern Hemisphere (or at least the opening scene shows the ship clearing Earth's atmosphere above Europe and the Middle East). The series actually opens with the crash of the Terran ship into an ocean on Mongo after being attacked during the final approach to the planet. In the opening scenes, after being captured by Ming's Gill Men, Gordon, Arden, and Zarkov meet King Thun the Lion-man and Prince Barin of the forest-kingdom of Arboria. This coincidence (meeting reigning royalty of two different realms by apparent chance) sets much of the tone of the series, in which it must be concluded either that logic is irrelevant, or that Destiny is at work in the arrival of Flash Gordon on Mongo. The remainder of the first season consists of pulpish adventures of Gordon and Co. across the face of Mongo, in traditional pulp style passing from one near-death situation to another with a cheery disregard for probability or logic, and a definite sense of fun. The protagonists meet Emperor Ming almost immediately, and Ming is revealed as being the classic archetype of the Evil Overlord. Flash later gains the aid of King Vultan, ruler of the Hawk-Men as a friend and ally, and also gains the attention of many of Mongo's female monarchs, such as Queen Undina of Coralia, Queen Freya of Frigia, Azura, the Witch-Queen of Syk, and Queen Desira of Tropica. But the most notable of these admirers was, of course, Princess Aura.
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