Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers

Listen to “Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers Radio Adventurers” on Spreaker.

In 1929 and in 1934, America was introduced to two newspaper comic heroes who would popularize science fiction in a way that would set the stage for our current fictional landscape and its plethora of space operas and space heroes.

In 1929, the first newspaper strip in the series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century by Philip Francis Nowlan was published. The titular charter was a World War I veteran who had been buried in a mine accident in the 1920s. A mysterious gas has preserved him in a state of suspended animation. He wakes up 500 years in the future to find the world in the midst of another war, and he joins forces with the Freedom Fighters. Once successful, Buck begins fighting for law and order, eventually progressing from Future America to Space.

The strip was a success and in 1934, Rogers’s most powerful imitator arrived in the form of Flash Gordon, created by Alex Raymond. In it, the planet Mongo is about to collide with Earth. In an attempt to stop it, the titular Gordon is marched onto a rocket, along with his friend Dale Arden, and the creator of the rocket ship, Dr. Zarkov. The attempt is successful, but Gordon, Arden, and Dr. Zarbov find themselves on the fantasy spacescape planet Mongo, inhabited by unusual creatures and ruled over by the aptly named Ming the Merciless.

Despite the differences in their story, both Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon were financial successes with a variety of spin-offs, comic books, novels, toys, and other merchandise. Both were the subject of film serials and 1950s television programs. Both enjoyed live action revivals, with Buck Rogers being the subject of a movie that led to a TV series that aired for two seasons from 1979-81, and Flash Gordon being the subject of a 1980 film.

Flash Gordon has had a more enduring legacy in many ways. While the strip Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was cancelled in 1967, Flash Gordon continued until 2003. It was bolstered by many animated series which introduced the character to younger audiences, including the 1986-1991 Defenders of the Earth series, in which he appeared with two fellow heroes from the Kings Features universe – The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. Flash Gordon also boasted a comic book series, and even a SyFy Chanel series in the late 2000s.

However, one area where Buck Rogers outpaced Flash Gordon was over radio. The character came to radio in 1932 and stayed on the air until 1936, with shorter revival series airing in 1939, 1940, and 1946-47. Flash Gordon had a weekly half-hour serial from April-October in 1935, followed by a fifteen week daily serial, and then he disappeared from radio. However, the entirety of Gordon’s serialized story, starring radio legend Gale Gordon (no relation), survives, while only scattered episodes from Buck Rogers’s radio run are circulating today.

Both heroes left a lasting mark on pop culture and were pioneers in sparking the human imagination and popularizing science fiction. Every franchise that follows owes something to them. Their radio adventures played in the only medium of the day that could outdo the vivid comic art for bringing strange worlds to life … the human imagination.

Abour our stars

Gale GordonGale Gordon (1906-95):  For fans of classic television, Gale Gordon earned a reputation for playing crochety authority figures. He was the second Mr. Wilson on the classic Dennis the Menace series and is also known for his association with Lucille Ball, with whom he played Theodore Mooney in The Lucy Show and Harrison Carter in Here’s Lucy.

Some of his fame began over radio, with his role of Osgood Conklin in Our Miss Brooks, and in My Favorite Husband as Rudolph Atterbury, the titular husband’s boss. However, as memorable as these roles were (particularly Conklin), Gordon’s repertoire was more multi-faceted than that. He was the first actor to play Flash Gordon over the radio. He played Mayor La Trivia on Fibber McGee and Molly. He also was chosen to play the suave amateur detective Gregory Hood in 1946 in The Casebook of Gregory Hood, put on by Petri Wine and Mutual. There were countless other appearances in a wide variety of character roles that established Gordon as equally talented as a dramatic and comedic actor on programs ranging from Tarzan to Burns and Allen to Suspense.

Episode Log:

Flash Gordon:

Buck Rogers:

The first episode of Flash Gordon releases on July 13, and then the next episode on July 22nd and follows every Tuesday