The series, based on the comic strip of the same name and its adaptations, follows the adventures of Steven "Flash" Gordon (the nickname referring to his running ability), who lives with his mother in Maryland and whose scientist father was apparently lost in a mysterious accident when Flash (Eric Johnson) was 13 years old. Flash's former girlfriend, Dale Arden (Gina Holden), is a television news reporter and is engaged to police detective Joe Wylee. They meet the elder Gordon's eccentric former assistant, Hans Zarkov (Jody Racicot), when rifts in space appear, allowing travel between Earth and the planet Mongo.
Mongo is ruled by the ruthless dictator Ming (John Ralston), who provides the only safe drinking water in Mongo (Source Water). Unlike the previous adaptations, he is not normally called "the Merciless" (in this version, it serves as more of a seldom-used nickname) and is instead called "Benevolent Father". He also exhibits the traits of modern, media-savvy dictators, rather than the more simplistic, stereotypically evil characterization of earlier incarnations.[1]. Once again, Ming has a daughter, Princess Aura (Anna van Hooft), who is disturbed by her father's brutality. The series adds a new non-Terran character, Baylin (Karen Cliche), a bounty hunter from Mongo. She finds herself trapped on Earth and becomes a comrade of Flash, Dale and Zarkov.
The peoples of Mongo live in "cantons", tribal groups that echo the outlandish animal-human hybrids of the original comic strip. The cantons include the Verdan (based on Prince Barin's forest-dwelling people from the strip), the Turin (based on the strip Lion Men), the Dactyls (the series' version of the strip Hawkmen), the Omadrians (women who create powerful medicines), the Frigians (who live in the frozen wastelands), the Tritons (who live beneath the ocean), and the Zurn (painted blue "Magic Men" lead by Queen Azura). There is also another group known as the Deviates, mutants whose ancestors drank Grey Water (toxic water) to survive. The Deviates are led by Terek, their unofficial king (and Aura's brother) and are mistrusted by almost everyone and not recognized as a true canton.
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