Since an alien race called the Ebons wants to invade earth, Doctor
Zarkoff (Joseph Nash) wants to test a new superweapon on the planet Tarsit
- when professor Jarvis returns from the planet claiming it is cursed, as
an idol of the god Belfegor killed three of his crewmates when they were
on a mission on Tarsit. Still, Jarvis agrees to accompany Zarkoff, Flash
Gordon (Steve Holland) and Dale Arden (Irene Champlin) back to Tarsit to
show them around a bit - when Flash finds out that several aspects of the
professor's story just don't add up ... but before he can put two and two
together, they too are attacked by the idol, which shoots paralyzing rays
from its eye, and the professor and Flash get caught in a room with moving
walls - when the professor loses all his cool and screams for help,
revealing himelf to be in the employ of Mason, an agent from Ebon. Thank
god Flash manages to break down a wall and free himself and the professor
just in time.
Meanwhile, Zarkoff and Dale have run into Ebon agent Mason, who wants
to get military secrets out of Zarkoff by torturing Dale with the
paralyzing ray. But Flash has since made it to the idol and put the ray
out of action, then he takes on Mason and his minions, soon having
defeated them all - when Draco, the leadere of Ebon, arives on the scene
and shifts powers once again to Ebon's advantage. However, Professor
Jarvis' conscience has since gotten the better of him, and he crashes the
idol on the invaders from Ebon, even if that means his own death - but at
least it is a hero's death.
One of the better episodes of the decidedly less than great Flash
Gordon-TV-series: The Tarsit sets, while cheap, are actually pretty
effective, and some of the scenes on the planet, especially those when
HJarvis loses his crewmates in a flashback-sequence (which is later
revealed to be a lie) are even moody.
Not great, but watchable.
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