Note: This thread is for posting alternate TV shows, movies, books, music, etc. I've got quite a few ideas down and I'm looking to see what people think of them. Feel free to contribute your own stories.
So far I got 1 alt. show complete, but I'll list some of the others I am working on. These will all take place in the same ATL to prevent confusion. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.
Update - 1/27/12: Star Wars update. Well, more like how Lucas failed then redeemed himself. Either way. Also, going to expand list of planned stories into Major and Minor (i.e. minor will be done if I got spare time, will include OTL parallel/similarities in brackets [])
Major:
1) Flash Gordon - Complete
2) Star Wars and Lucas - Complete
3) Star Trek and Roddenberry - NC
4) Stargate - NC
Minor:
1) APO 923 [MASH]
2) Francais Ford Coppola's The Heart of Darkness [Apocalypse Now]
3) Delta Green [The X-Files]
So far I got 1 alt. show complete, but I'll list some of the others I am working on. These will all take place in the same ATL to prevent confusion. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.
Update - 1/27/12: Star Wars update. Well, more like how Lucas failed then redeemed himself. Either way. Also, going to expand list of planned stories into Major and Minor (i.e. minor will be done if I got spare time, will include OTL parallel/similarities in brackets [])
Major:
1) Flash Gordon - Complete
2) Star Wars and Lucas - Complete
3) Star Trek and Roddenberry - NC
4) Stargate - NC
Minor:
1) APO 923 [MASH]
2) Francais Ford Coppola's The Heart of Darkness [Apocalypse Now]
3) Delta Green [The X-Files]
Flash Gordon: the Comic, the Series, the Legacy
A Special DuMont Broadcasting Company Documentary
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]
[/FONT]
A Special DuMont Broadcasting Company Documentary
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Many of us remember the heroic Flash with his fellow adventurers traveling through the universe of Mongo, solving mysteries and going where no Earthman has gone before. But few remember the humble beginning this of this epic cultural giant.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Starting as a small comic strip in 1934 by Alex Raymond, this simple comic followed the adventures of Steven “Flash” Gordon, a handsome and likeable polo player and Yale graduate who adventures with his companions Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov as they travel to the planet Mongo to stop the Emperor Ming the Merciless from destroying Earth. The story began as a simple science fiction strip which quickly grew in popularity by the early 1940s, eventually causing it to be printed daily and even score several film serials. Despite the Second World War going on, the British and American governments decided that morale was more important than paper rations and allowed publication to continue. Many families would send their family members fighting against the Axis little homemade collections, which would be read around the campfire. Soldiers, American and British, eagerly ate up each new adventure. However, with competing with such giants as Detective Comics, Flash faded into the background after the war’s end. But all hope was not lost, for in the making was a television series that would change the face of science fiction everywhere.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Universal Studios had held the production rights to Flash Gordon but allowed them to lapse. Former Universal executives Edward Gruskin and Matty Fox struck a deal with Flash Gordon owners King Features Syndicate to produce the first 26 episodes of the series. While the writers wanted to edit some of the story line, Alex Raymond was called in by the executives to provide a helping hand. Producing the series in West Germany, it is considered a well done adaptation that did not stray far from the original comic, thanks in part to Raymond’s intervention. The series quickly attracted the attention of many investors, who liked Raymond’s interesting story and the resourcefulness that the show could run on a 15,000 dollar budget per episode, and proceeded to fund it. This boost of funding provided all the support the DuMont Television Network needed to assimilate its long time rival NBC, becoming DMBC and dominating the network. The show ran originally for 7 seasons, overshadowing almost every other series on DMBC and gaining much support for its pro-science and capitalism ideals and the intrigue of Alex Raymond. However, it ended in 1961 after the stunning conclusion of the Skorpii War storyline ended with a cliffhanger that left many fans hungry for more. A 9th season was in production when Steve Holland was killed in an automobile accident and DMBC had no choice but to leave it at that. Raymond, in a retrospectively bad choice, left to work on his autobiography and disappeared from the front pages soon after. Many thought the series would not be resurrected and quickly turned to other ventures as the great hero Flash left their minds. Perhaps is would have stayed dead if not for a man named William Shatter.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]In 1967, Shatter was currently looking for work and was surprised by who arrived on his doorstep. Alex Raymond had watched Shatter's performance in the “Twilight Zone” and the “Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and thought him perfect for the role of Flash. Meeting with the remaining members of the original series, Raymond had been spending the past 5 years working on a new Flash series, hoping to outdo his original. He quickly visited many other actors including Leonard Nimoy, Vincent Price, Adam West, Paul Newman, and Rod Sterling for various roles. While Sterling, flattered by the proposal, turned down the offer, Adam West took time off working on Batman to guest star as various people on the show. Leonard Nimoy accepted the contract as Ming, while Price was cast as the slightly off Professor Zarkov. Irene Champlin returned as Dale, and Paul Newman served as the new Prince Barin. Brian Blessed, fresh off “The Avengers”, impressed Raymond with his bombastic performance in the audition and was offered the role as Prince Vultan. DMBC was quick to throw money into the show, making a great publicizing act that caused many a dormant fan to reawaken. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The new series, dubbed “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe”, began with a recap of the old series along with a boost into the new storyline. While many of the previous series writers returned to the show, several new additions to the team were brought on, including a former LAPD police officer named Gene Roddenberry. The show was a ground-breaker, and somewhat controversial, for it's philosophical depictions war and peace, the value of personal loyalty, authoritarianism, imperialism, class warfare, economics, racism, religion, human rights, sexism and feminism, and the role of technology. Critics raved over the excellent writing, praising it as the best science fiction series created. Many fans and critics alike saw it as a return to the old series they knew and loved, citing that the complete overhaul by Raymond made it extremely better. The running lasted over 10 seasons; almost double that of its predecessor and twice as good. In 1978 the series ended on an upbeat note, leaving many satisfied with the conclusion.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]In the middle of the 6th season, the producers decided to try and create a movie out of it, which became known as “Flash Gordon: The Motion Picture”. Roddenberry, having worked his way to a major writer on the show, was put in charge of the directing the movie. However, many critics were disappointed with the movie; a 2001 retrospective by DMBC described the film as a critical failure. Gary Arnold and Judith Martin of The Washington Post felt that the plot was too thin to support the length of the film, although Martin felt that compared to similar films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek, and Alien, The Motion Picture's pretense was "slightly cleverer”. Following this lukewarm reception, Roddenberry left to work with DMBC on his new series, APO 923.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Around 1981, Raymond was struck by inspiration to make a second movie that recapped the original film serials. Director George Lucas, infamous for the box office failure “Star Wars”, offered to redo the whole original film serial as an update for fans everywhere. Despite the notoriety surrounding Lucas's bomb, Raymond persuaded DMBC to give him a shot. Given an extremely liberal budget, Lucas set about creating what is considered to be the best Flash film ever: Flash Gordon: Saviour of the Universe, starring Mark Hamilton as Flash Gordon, Carrie Fisher as Dale, Chaim Topal as Dr. Zarkov, Leonard Nimoy recast as Ming, Timothy Dalton as Prince Barin, and Brian Blessed returning as his beloved character Prince Vultan. The movie was a box office hit, grossing over $2,151,105,836 worldwide and redeeming George Lucas for his previous science fiction bomb. Critics raved over the well developed story, bringing back to the traditional comic look while updating it with advanced special effects and some truly great writing. In his 1978 review, Roger Ebert called the film "an out-of-body experience," compared its special effects to those of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and opined that the true strength of the film was its "pure narrative." Vincent Canby called the film "the movie that's going to entertain a lot of contemporary folk who have a soft spot for the comic-book and television adventures." [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]But Raymond was not finished with his work. He reunited the cast and did five more movies during the production of the show, all that related to the death of Dale in the third movie “Flash Gordon III: The Prince’s War” and her eventual resurrection. While none of these were the giant blockbuster that the Lucas film was, the hype behind Flash Gordon cemented their place in history. By the time of the 1990s, the Flash Gordon franchised expand into the realm of comics, toys fan productions, and more. Around 1991 Raymond approaches DMBC and proposed a final series to give fans a close up look at the Skorpii War. Bringing in a almost entirely new cast of characters including the unknown actor Matt Damon as the new Flash, Patrick Stewart as Ming, Ian McKellen plays Zarkov, Rachel Weisz as Dale, Peirce Brosnan as Barin, and Brian Blessed still playing Vultan. The series ran for only 4 seasons until the unfortunate death of Raymond in early 1995. His death led to Paramount to to cancel the show due to falling ratings.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The seventh film in the series, "Flash Gordon VII: The Revenge of Ming", was released in the summer of 1994. The film was met with critical response. Although, the Box office performance wasn't the highest in the series, fans still accepted the film. Years later, Paramount released a press statement saying they thought the film under performed in theaters. Although the seventh film concluded the overall series up to that point, Raymond was hard at work on another squeal which he said "it would bring closure to the characters I've created". In early 1995 Raymond, finished his first draft of the eight films. However, days after finishing the first draft, Raymond, at 86 years old, died peacefully in his home from a heart attack during his sleep. Pre-Production on the untitled eighth film stopped for a hiatus of six weeks in order to reassign the role of head writer to someone else. The DuMont Television Network, which still continued to air various re-runs of the original "Flash Gordon" 50s serials and the TV series, found themselves in hard financial difficulties. Funding for the station ended abruptly in the spring of 1995. The Paramount Pictures Corporation took full right of the franchise and, with major fan disapproval, stopped the production of the eighth film entirely. Following the cancellation of the eight film, Raymond's death, and DuMont ending their broadcast, the Flash Gordon franchise seemed to be all but dead. There wouldn't be one single re-run of the two Flash Gordon TV series for almost five years. Until, in early 2000, the original and squeal TV series began to air once more on its new home of UPN on Saturday evenings. During the late 1990s, there were rumors about Paramount Pictures continuing production on the eighth film; however this never came to happen. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] The ratings for the re-runs continued to be strong for such an old show that UPN deiced to start airing back-to-back episodes of both the original and new shows. In late 2001/ early 2002, Paramount Pictures thought it was time to bring back Flash Gordon to television. However, Paramount wanted to do things differently. First off, they wanted an all new young cast for the new TV series. Also, to make the show fit in with the current times and have a much more 21st century feel to it, Paramount did the unthinkable. When the show was officially announced at the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con International, Paramount said the new TV series would be a complete reboot, discarding of all previous continuity in the franchise. Paramount was expecting a fan out rage; however, even the most diehard fans saw the aging of the actors from the film series and welcomed the change. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] All seemed well and the show was on track until the main male lead who was supposed to play the new Steven "Flash" Gordon opted out. Ben Affleck, who was going to be the new Flash on-board until his agents connived him to pull out and do the 2003 film "Batman: the Caped Crusader". Rumors were spreading that Affleck would come back to the series after he finished up on "Batman". The series was put on hold for almost ten months. By that time, Paramount did not want to wait any longer as they were "simply wasting time on waiting for Affleck's return to the show". So, Paramount went back in production with casting and writing. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] Another hitch up came up in late 2003, when head writers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper left the show. The reason for their unexpected leaving was that they felt "their creative ideas were being constantly being shot down by the execs from Paramount." Paramount then had to put the hold on the series for a second time with time for find new writers. Paramount then turned to up and coming writer/ director J. J. Abrams. Abrams, who was known for the successful prime-time TV drama Felicity on The WB Network, came on board with great enthusiasm. Abrams also agreed to direct the first three episodes of the first season to give the show a boost. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] Like Abrams, Paramount wanted to find unknowns or relatively not so famous actors and actress for the new series. J. J. Abrams came across unknown actor Chris Pine, to up to that point only had cameos in "ER" and "CSI: Miami". Abrams was very impressed with Pine and got him on-board with the project to play Flash Gordon. For the role of Ming the Merciless, Abrams thought it would be "a cool idea" to bring back Leonard Nimoy as the arch enemy. The role of Dr. Hans Zarkov went to Jack Coleman, known for the 1980s soap opera "Dynasty". He was the first actor to not portray Dr. Zarkov as a Russian and as an American. The main female lead of Dale Arden went to first time actress Gina Holden. Ming's daughter, Princess Aura, went to Mila Kunis. For the Princes, the role of Prince Barin went to Daniel Craig. Prince Vultan went to Steve Bacic. Several other veterans of the old Flash series returned for cameo and limited roles, such as Brian Blessed returning for a time travel episode and Chaim Topal recast as one of Ming’s advisers. There was originally going to be a Prince Thun character, however, Paramount felt they already had a good cast of characters. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] By the end of 2004, the first three episodes were completed and Paramount finally, after almost three years of production, aired "Flash Gordon: Uprising" on Thursday, March 10, 2005 at 9 pm as a mid-season replacement on UPN. The two hour series premiere was met with high praise and the ratings were so excellent that Paramount ordered a full 22 episode season with pre-production of a second season to begin soon. Since there hadn't been a new Flash Gordon series since 1978 and a new film since 1994, the new series was favored by old and new fans alike. The viewership was incredible for the show. The first season served as a sort of prequel to the story and introduced many of its main characters later on in the season. Dale was introduced in the middle of the season, Ming the Merciless in the second to last episode of the season, and Barin and Vultan came into the series during the last episode. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] The second season, which consisted of 20 episodes, finally introduced the planets of Mongo, Arboria, and the Sky City of the Hawkmen. The second season was transferred to it's new home and time. It moved to the new CW Television Network, a combination of both the UPN and WB networks, on October 5, 2006 at 8 pm. The second season also introduced the Skorpii War, which was a previously done story arc in the original Flash Gordon TV series. Paramount and The CW renewed the series for a third season. The third season focused on the Aftermath of Ming's death and how Princess Aura became the new ruler of Mongo. Writer J. J. Abrams temporary left the show to direct "Mission: Impossible: The Quantum Solace". After the show's third season ended on May 2, 2008 with the death of Prince Barin, Paramount wanted the end the show. They were not done, however, with the series. Paramount wanted Abrams to write and direct a new Flash Gordon film with the same cast as the current TV series. Abrams agreed and began production immediately. The title was simply named "Flash Gordon" to appeal to new and old fans alike. The film was released on May 8, 2009. The film was went on to make $584,953,671 dollars at the box office. It was highly praised for its special effects and great story telling. With the film completed, The CW wanted to continue with the series and went on to make a fourth season, which took place after the events of the film. The fourth season premiered on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 8 pm. The premiere had the highest ratings for The CW Network's broadcast history. Although, J. J. Abrams has stated that the fourth season may be the last season, he has reported that Paramount Pictures is currently on production of another Flash Gordon film, under the title of "Flash Gordon: Universe", and is set to be released in the Summer of 2011.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Starting as a small comic strip in 1934 by Alex Raymond, this simple comic followed the adventures of Steven “Flash” Gordon, a handsome and likeable polo player and Yale graduate who adventures with his companions Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov as they travel to the planet Mongo to stop the Emperor Ming the Merciless from destroying Earth. The story began as a simple science fiction strip which quickly grew in popularity by the early 1940s, eventually causing it to be printed daily and even score several film serials. Despite the Second World War going on, the British and American governments decided that morale was more important than paper rations and allowed publication to continue. Many families would send their family members fighting against the Axis little homemade collections, which would be read around the campfire. Soldiers, American and British, eagerly ate up each new adventure. However, with competing with such giants as Detective Comics, Flash faded into the background after the war’s end. But all hope was not lost, for in the making was a television series that would change the face of science fiction everywhere.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Universal Studios had held the production rights to Flash Gordon but allowed them to lapse. Former Universal executives Edward Gruskin and Matty Fox struck a deal with Flash Gordon owners King Features Syndicate to produce the first 26 episodes of the series. While the writers wanted to edit some of the story line, Alex Raymond was called in by the executives to provide a helping hand. Producing the series in West Germany, it is considered a well done adaptation that did not stray far from the original comic, thanks in part to Raymond’s intervention. The series quickly attracted the attention of many investors, who liked Raymond’s interesting story and the resourcefulness that the show could run on a 15,000 dollar budget per episode, and proceeded to fund it. This boost of funding provided all the support the DuMont Television Network needed to assimilate its long time rival NBC, becoming DMBC and dominating the network. The show ran originally for 7 seasons, overshadowing almost every other series on DMBC and gaining much support for its pro-science and capitalism ideals and the intrigue of Alex Raymond. However, it ended in 1961 after the stunning conclusion of the Skorpii War storyline ended with a cliffhanger that left many fans hungry for more. A 9th season was in production when Steve Holland was killed in an automobile accident and DMBC had no choice but to leave it at that. Raymond, in a retrospectively bad choice, left to work on his autobiography and disappeared from the front pages soon after. Many thought the series would not be resurrected and quickly turned to other ventures as the great hero Flash left their minds. Perhaps is would have stayed dead if not for a man named William Shatter.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]In 1967, Shatter was currently looking for work and was surprised by who arrived on his doorstep. Alex Raymond had watched Shatter's performance in the “Twilight Zone” and the “Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and thought him perfect for the role of Flash. Meeting with the remaining members of the original series, Raymond had been spending the past 5 years working on a new Flash series, hoping to outdo his original. He quickly visited many other actors including Leonard Nimoy, Vincent Price, Adam West, Paul Newman, and Rod Sterling for various roles. While Sterling, flattered by the proposal, turned down the offer, Adam West took time off working on Batman to guest star as various people on the show. Leonard Nimoy accepted the contract as Ming, while Price was cast as the slightly off Professor Zarkov. Irene Champlin returned as Dale, and Paul Newman served as the new Prince Barin. Brian Blessed, fresh off “The Avengers”, impressed Raymond with his bombastic performance in the audition and was offered the role as Prince Vultan. DMBC was quick to throw money into the show, making a great publicizing act that caused many a dormant fan to reawaken. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The new series, dubbed “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe”, began with a recap of the old series along with a boost into the new storyline. While many of the previous series writers returned to the show, several new additions to the team were brought on, including a former LAPD police officer named Gene Roddenberry. The show was a ground-breaker, and somewhat controversial, for it's philosophical depictions war and peace, the value of personal loyalty, authoritarianism, imperialism, class warfare, economics, racism, religion, human rights, sexism and feminism, and the role of technology. Critics raved over the excellent writing, praising it as the best science fiction series created. Many fans and critics alike saw it as a return to the old series they knew and loved, citing that the complete overhaul by Raymond made it extremely better. The running lasted over 10 seasons; almost double that of its predecessor and twice as good. In 1978 the series ended on an upbeat note, leaving many satisfied with the conclusion.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]In the middle of the 6th season, the producers decided to try and create a movie out of it, which became known as “Flash Gordon: The Motion Picture”. Roddenberry, having worked his way to a major writer on the show, was put in charge of the directing the movie. However, many critics were disappointed with the movie; a 2001 retrospective by DMBC described the film as a critical failure. Gary Arnold and Judith Martin of The Washington Post felt that the plot was too thin to support the length of the film, although Martin felt that compared to similar films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek, and Alien, The Motion Picture's pretense was "slightly cleverer”. Following this lukewarm reception, Roddenberry left to work with DMBC on his new series, APO 923.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Around 1981, Raymond was struck by inspiration to make a second movie that recapped the original film serials. Director George Lucas, infamous for the box office failure “Star Wars”, offered to redo the whole original film serial as an update for fans everywhere. Despite the notoriety surrounding Lucas's bomb, Raymond persuaded DMBC to give him a shot. Given an extremely liberal budget, Lucas set about creating what is considered to be the best Flash film ever: Flash Gordon: Saviour of the Universe, starring Mark Hamilton as Flash Gordon, Carrie Fisher as Dale, Chaim Topal as Dr. Zarkov, Leonard Nimoy recast as Ming, Timothy Dalton as Prince Barin, and Brian Blessed returning as his beloved character Prince Vultan. The movie was a box office hit, grossing over $2,151,105,836 worldwide and redeeming George Lucas for his previous science fiction bomb. Critics raved over the well developed story, bringing back to the traditional comic look while updating it with advanced special effects and some truly great writing. In his 1978 review, Roger Ebert called the film "an out-of-body experience," compared its special effects to those of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and opined that the true strength of the film was its "pure narrative." Vincent Canby called the film "the movie that's going to entertain a lot of contemporary folk who have a soft spot for the comic-book and television adventures." [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]But Raymond was not finished with his work. He reunited the cast and did five more movies during the production of the show, all that related to the death of Dale in the third movie “Flash Gordon III: The Prince’s War” and her eventual resurrection. While none of these were the giant blockbuster that the Lucas film was, the hype behind Flash Gordon cemented their place in history. By the time of the 1990s, the Flash Gordon franchised expand into the realm of comics, toys fan productions, and more. Around 1991 Raymond approaches DMBC and proposed a final series to give fans a close up look at the Skorpii War. Bringing in a almost entirely new cast of characters including the unknown actor Matt Damon as the new Flash, Patrick Stewart as Ming, Ian McKellen plays Zarkov, Rachel Weisz as Dale, Peirce Brosnan as Barin, and Brian Blessed still playing Vultan. The series ran for only 4 seasons until the unfortunate death of Raymond in early 1995. His death led to Paramount to to cancel the show due to falling ratings.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The seventh film in the series, "Flash Gordon VII: The Revenge of Ming", was released in the summer of 1994. The film was met with critical response. Although, the Box office performance wasn't the highest in the series, fans still accepted the film. Years later, Paramount released a press statement saying they thought the film under performed in theaters. Although the seventh film concluded the overall series up to that point, Raymond was hard at work on another squeal which he said "it would bring closure to the characters I've created". In early 1995 Raymond, finished his first draft of the eight films. However, days after finishing the first draft, Raymond, at 86 years old, died peacefully in his home from a heart attack during his sleep. Pre-Production on the untitled eighth film stopped for a hiatus of six weeks in order to reassign the role of head writer to someone else. The DuMont Television Network, which still continued to air various re-runs of the original "Flash Gordon" 50s serials and the TV series, found themselves in hard financial difficulties. Funding for the station ended abruptly in the spring of 1995. The Paramount Pictures Corporation took full right of the franchise and, with major fan disapproval, stopped the production of the eighth film entirely. Following the cancellation of the eight film, Raymond's death, and DuMont ending their broadcast, the Flash Gordon franchise seemed to be all but dead. There wouldn't be one single re-run of the two Flash Gordon TV series for almost five years. Until, in early 2000, the original and squeal TV series began to air once more on its new home of UPN on Saturday evenings. During the late 1990s, there were rumors about Paramount Pictures continuing production on the eighth film; however this never came to happen. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] The ratings for the re-runs continued to be strong for such an old show that UPN deiced to start airing back-to-back episodes of both the original and new shows. In late 2001/ early 2002, Paramount Pictures thought it was time to bring back Flash Gordon to television. However, Paramount wanted to do things differently. First off, they wanted an all new young cast for the new TV series. Also, to make the show fit in with the current times and have a much more 21st century feel to it, Paramount did the unthinkable. When the show was officially announced at the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con International, Paramount said the new TV series would be a complete reboot, discarding of all previous continuity in the franchise. Paramount was expecting a fan out rage; however, even the most diehard fans saw the aging of the actors from the film series and welcomed the change. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] All seemed well and the show was on track until the main male lead who was supposed to play the new Steven "Flash" Gordon opted out. Ben Affleck, who was going to be the new Flash on-board until his agents connived him to pull out and do the 2003 film "Batman: the Caped Crusader". Rumors were spreading that Affleck would come back to the series after he finished up on "Batman". The series was put on hold for almost ten months. By that time, Paramount did not want to wait any longer as they were "simply wasting time on waiting for Affleck's return to the show". So, Paramount went back in production with casting and writing. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] Another hitch up came up in late 2003, when head writers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper left the show. The reason for their unexpected leaving was that they felt "their creative ideas were being constantly being shot down by the execs from Paramount." Paramount then had to put the hold on the series for a second time with time for find new writers. Paramount then turned to up and coming writer/ director J. J. Abrams. Abrams, who was known for the successful prime-time TV drama Felicity on The WB Network, came on board with great enthusiasm. Abrams also agreed to direct the first three episodes of the first season to give the show a boost. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] Like Abrams, Paramount wanted to find unknowns or relatively not so famous actors and actress for the new series. J. J. Abrams came across unknown actor Chris Pine, to up to that point only had cameos in "ER" and "CSI: Miami". Abrams was very impressed with Pine and got him on-board with the project to play Flash Gordon. For the role of Ming the Merciless, Abrams thought it would be "a cool idea" to bring back Leonard Nimoy as the arch enemy. The role of Dr. Hans Zarkov went to Jack Coleman, known for the 1980s soap opera "Dynasty". He was the first actor to not portray Dr. Zarkov as a Russian and as an American. The main female lead of Dale Arden went to first time actress Gina Holden. Ming's daughter, Princess Aura, went to Mila Kunis. For the Princes, the role of Prince Barin went to Daniel Craig. Prince Vultan went to Steve Bacic. Several other veterans of the old Flash series returned for cameo and limited roles, such as Brian Blessed returning for a time travel episode and Chaim Topal recast as one of Ming’s advisers. There was originally going to be a Prince Thun character, however, Paramount felt they already had a good cast of characters. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] By the end of 2004, the first three episodes were completed and Paramount finally, after almost three years of production, aired "Flash Gordon: Uprising" on Thursday, March 10, 2005 at 9 pm as a mid-season replacement on UPN. The two hour series premiere was met with high praise and the ratings were so excellent that Paramount ordered a full 22 episode season with pre-production of a second season to begin soon. Since there hadn't been a new Flash Gordon series since 1978 and a new film since 1994, the new series was favored by old and new fans alike. The viewership was incredible for the show. The first season served as a sort of prequel to the story and introduced many of its main characters later on in the season. Dale was introduced in the middle of the season, Ming the Merciless in the second to last episode of the season, and Barin and Vultan came into the series during the last episode. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] The second season, which consisted of 20 episodes, finally introduced the planets of Mongo, Arboria, and the Sky City of the Hawkmen. The second season was transferred to it's new home and time. It moved to the new CW Television Network, a combination of both the UPN and WB networks, on October 5, 2006 at 8 pm. The second season also introduced the Skorpii War, which was a previously done story arc in the original Flash Gordon TV series. Paramount and The CW renewed the series for a third season. The third season focused on the Aftermath of Ming's death and how Princess Aura became the new ruler of Mongo. Writer J. J. Abrams temporary left the show to direct "Mission: Impossible: The Quantum Solace". After the show's third season ended on May 2, 2008 with the death of Prince Barin, Paramount wanted the end the show. They were not done, however, with the series. Paramount wanted Abrams to write and direct a new Flash Gordon film with the same cast as the current TV series. Abrams agreed and began production immediately. The title was simply named "Flash Gordon" to appeal to new and old fans alike. The film was released on May 8, 2009. The film was went on to make $584,953,671 dollars at the box office. It was highly praised for its special effects and great story telling. With the film completed, The CW wanted to continue with the series and went on to make a fourth season, which took place after the events of the film. The fourth season premiered on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 8 pm. The premiere had the highest ratings for The CW Network's broadcast history. Although, J. J. Abrams has stated that the fourth season may be the last season, he has reported that Paramount Pictures is currently on production of another Flash Gordon film, under the title of "Flash Gordon: Universe", and is set to be released in the Summer of 2011.[/FONT]
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