New ‘Gordon’ series flashes forward

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LOS ANGELES - The Sci Fi Channel’s new take on “Flash Gordon” is not your father’s “Flash Gordon.” Heck, it isn’t even your grandfather’s “Flash Gordon.”

The series, launching Friday night, makes Flash less of a muscle-bound champion. Dale Arden doesn’t come across as a distant cousin of always-needing-rescue Lois Lane, and there is no spaceship.

“That was the biggest thing about the new incarnation of the story. It is updated. It is contemporary. The leading man is not just the brawn that goes in and knocks out the bad guy and saves the girl. In this series, it is far more likely to be the reverse,” says Eric Johnson, the Canadian actor tapped to play Flash Gordon.

Johnson follows in the footsteps of Buster Crabbe, who played the hero in the mid-1930s; Steve Holland, who starred in the 1954 television series; and Sam Jones, who took on the role in a campy version of the “Flash Gordon” saga in the 1980 feature film.

The Flash Gordon that Johnson plays is not a space traveler like Crabbe’s version.

He’s not nearly as mentally dense as Jones’ version. This Flash Gordon is more of an all-American guy who gets transported to the planet Mongo through an interdimensional rift.

Unlike the Dale Arden of old, Gina Holden plays Dale as a tough, smart and capable woman.

“That was what attracted me to this role. She’s not just a damsel in distress,” Holden says. “She’s smart, she’s focused, she’s adventurous, and she’s strong. That made this an exciting role to tackle.”

Johnson says that while the stereotypes of the characters from past “Flash Gordon” incarnations have been broken, the essence of the story has not changed. Flash and Dale still have to save the world from the evil plans of Ming (John Ralston) with some help from Hans Zarkov (Jody Racicot).

Executive producer Peter Hume describes the series as being “a little more grounded and a little more contemporary.” His plan was to capture the spirit of the original stories by “Flash Gordon” author Alex Raymond.

Johnson can call on some past work if he needs any help playing a reluctant hero. He spent three years on the series “Smallville” as Whitney Fordman. That allowed him to watch how Tom Welling handled the role of a young Superman. Johnson’s other credits include “Legends of the Fall” and “Stealing Sinatra.”

“Flash Gordon” was a project Johnson wanted to do from the moment he read the script.

“The last show that I said, `I want to do this show,’ was `Smallville.’ Thankfully that worked out. This is just, on the whole, something like I’ve never read before,” Johnson says.

Holden, another Canadian import, most recently appeared on The CW network’s “Supernatural” and on Lifetime’s “Blood Ties.”

Other credits include “Final Destination 3” and “Butterfly Effect 2.”

It is now the task of the actors and producers to make this “Flash Gordon” different than those that have gone before them.