The one season series follows the adventures of "Flash" Gordon (his name is "Steve"?! How did I miss that while watching?!) whose scientist father was lost in a mysterious accident when he was 13 years old. Flash's ex-girlfriend, Dale Arden, is a television news reporter and engaged to police detective Joe Wylee. They meet Professor Gordon's eccentric former assistant, Hans Zarkov, when rifts in space appear, allowing travel between Earth and the planet Mongo. This is where adventures begin!

Mongo is ruled by the ruthless dictator Ming, who controls "Source Water", the only source of safe drinking water on Mongo. I remember him being called "the Merciless" in other adaptions (I do know a little bit of pop culture 😅), in this he is only referred to as that in closed circles and is publicly called "Benevolent Father".  Ming's daughter, Princess Aura, is disturbed by her father's brutality. There is also a bounty hunter from Mongo called Baylin that finds herself trapped on Earth and becomes an ally to Flash, Dale, and Zarkov and their becomes their guide to Mongo and its inhabitants. 

The peoples of Mongo live in "cantons", tribal groups that echo the animal-human hybrids (which are never really explained). In the series there is a prophecy that someone will unify the Cantons and overthrow Ming. Presumably that's Flash.  The bummer is that this series ends in a bit of a cliffhanger since it was cancelled after its first season, but it is still an enjoyable watch IMO. Check it out for free on Plex, Crackle, and the CW.