Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is still getting over his disappointment. He isn’t sure why he didn’t expect to be disappointed, afterall all signs pointed towards the prospect of little or no gratification. But he was nonetheless.

Of course, he is speaking about SciFi channel’s “Flash Gordon” which he saw last Friday night…

It was supposed to be a “dramedy.” Alas, it was lacking in drama and comedy. The acting was neither campy nor comedic. The actors played it straight. It was like they were trying to be dramatic and serious, only without having the skills required to do so. The whole show was flat. Your Maximum Leader was contemplating a more lengthy review, but honestly remembering the salient points of the story just bore him too much. The project doesn’t seem to have a focus. Given the subject matter and previous treatments of the characters, the director/producers should have either chosen to go with a “serious science fiction/action” theme, or go for “camp.” Apparently they tried for neither.

Of course, your Maximum Leader was so disappointed with the treatment that he decided to go out and get the definative “Flash Gordon” of his life. Yes… The 1980 movie (with soundtrack by Queen). Your Maximum Leader had some money left on a Best Buy gift card (that he won at some charity event). The DVD was on sale too boot. So when all was said and done the “Flash Gordon - Saviour of the Universe Edition” only put him out $4.91 with tax. No bad.

Your Maximum Leader remembers seeing the film in the theatres in 1980. He remembers that he liked it more than Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but not as much as Star Wars. Over time, “Flash Gordon” has held up in his esteem — and perhaps grown in esteeem, and “Star Wars” has diminished. “Flash Gordon” is just over the top. It has glitz. It has camp. It has psychedelic colors. It has a rockin’ score. It has Ornella Muti in skimpy outfits. It has Max Von Sydow as the Emperor Ming (NB to Mrs P and Sir Basil: your Maximum Leader is keeping the goatee a little bit long in hopes of making himself look more “merciless.”) And, of course, Brian Blessed with wings.

Sadly, there is no commentary track on the “Flash Gordon” DVD. Please know that this is a shocking admission from your Maximum Leader. On most DVDs he buys, your Maximum Leader isn’t interested in the commentary tracks. In the majority of cases they are boring and don’t add in any way to his enjoyment of the film. (Excursus: There are exceptions to this of course. Noteworthy commentaries are found on: The English Patient, Conan the Barbarian, Starship Troopers — if only for the revelation that director Paul Verhoven never read the book, and Lawrence of Arabia. The commentary by Bruce Campbell on the “Boomstick Edition” of “Army of Darkness” awaits a visit from Smallholder — so we can watch it together with some brews.) But your Maximum Leader thinks that this move lends itself to a witty commentary track. There were two bonus features on the DVD that were quite entertaining. The first is from Lorenzo Sempel - the screenwriter for the movie. In it he admits that he wrote the story quickly, and that it went from writing to screen with no editing or reivision by others. (A move that he admits has more disadvantages than benefits.) Semple also shares some wonderful anecdotes about working with Dino De Laurentiis and the set designer Danilo Donati. Apparently De Laurentiis had the script translated into Italian for him by a woman who barely spoke English; and Donati designed all the sets without ever reading the script (hence why the lush forests of Arborea on Mongo are actually dense swamps). That was good stuff. The other bonus feature was a short interview with comic book author Alex Ross. Now… Your Maximum Leader didn’t know Ross from Adam, but apparently he is a big-wig guy in the world of comics. He waxed poetic about the film. It was sort of inspiring actually.

So, after the disappointing SciFi show, the 1980 film was a bit uplifting.

Anyhoo… Your Maximum Leader hopes to write some decent posts this week. He is a bachelor for the week (as Mrs Villain, the Villainettes, and the Wee Villain are gone to the beach). So, that might crimp his writing style a little…

Stay tuned…

Carry on.