Flash Gordon — Season 1, Episode 13: Chapter Thirteen: Castaways In Tropica

Episode synopsis

With flashing flame swords, Flash and the now-revealed Prince Barin fight one another on a suspended high wire over the blazing green fire in the final game of Ming's tournament of death. Princess Aura saves the two fighters and they escape with Dr. Zarkov in their newly repaired earth rocket ship. Enroute to Arboria, Ming's space patrol hits Flash's rocket ship and he lands in Tropica, a virtual Garden of Eden. Flash saves Tropica's Queen Desira from a tree-dragon attack and he and his friends are invited by the queen to be guests of this lovely, tropical country. Desira's scheming cousin Braznor drugs the queen and prepares to take over the country. Flash and friends rescue the queen and they break for freedom astride giant horse-like gryphs. Flash and his friends escape a giant lizard-like monster and survive an attack by the dreaded rock termites. As the chapter ends we see Flash and party mysteriously suspended in midair and drawn as if by a magnet into the dark depths of the deepening cavern.

About Flash Gordon

The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, also known as The Adventures of Flash Gordon, is an animated television series. The series is actually called Flash Gordon but the expanded title is used in official records to distinguish it from previous versions. Filmation produced the series in 1979, partly as a reaction to the mammoth success of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1977. The series was a homage to the original Flash Gordon comic strip and featured most of the original characters, including Flash's girlfriend Dale Arden, and the scientist Hans Zarkov. The series is still regarded as one of the most faithful adaptations, and one of Filmation's finest overall efforts. The basic story follows Flash and his companions as they travel to Mongo, where they are forced into battle by its ruler, Ming the Merciless, his daughter Princess Aura, and his army of Metal Men. To help their cause the heroes lead the formation of an alliance beginning with King Thun, leader of the Lion People; Prince Barin, ruler of Arboria; and King Vultan, leader of the Hawkmen. The original project was produced as a made-for-television feature film. When NBC saw the finished work, it was decided to turn the work into an animated TV series. The change in format resulted in the story being significantly expanded with a subplot of Ming secretly giving military technology to Hitler being dropped, as well as being set in the present day rather during World War II. When the series was cancelled after its 2nd season, the original footage was reassembled with the original soundtrack, including the final role of Ted Cassidy, and aired on primetime in 1982 as a TV movie, Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Chapter One: A Planet In Peril
• E2Chapter Two: The Monsters Of Mongo
• E3Chapter Three: Vultan, King Of The Hawkmen
• E4Chapter Four: To Save Earth
• E5Chapter Five: The Beast Men's Prey
• E6Chapter Six: Into the Water World
• E7Chapter Seven: Adventure In Arboria
• E8Chapter Eight: The Frozen World
• E9Chapter Nine: Monster Of Glacier
• E10Chapter Ten: Blue Magic
• E11Chapter Eleven: King Flash!
• E12Chapter Twelve: Ming's Tournament Of Death