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I am sure that I am probably one of only a dozen people mildly saddened to see "Flash Gordon" canceled. Undoubtedly, the show lacked quality and didn?t follow in the tradition of the classic "Flash Gordon" serials. This iteration was not very well conceived, and as a result, viewers just didn?t buy into it.

Still, I enjoyed watching it every week. The acting was marginal if not downright bad at times. The setting and costumes were garish. The plots were predictable. The villains somehow managed to be portrayed in an over-the-top fashion, yet still seem dull. It was void of any lofty ideals or hidden political agendas. And that is precisely why I watched it.

It makes me wonder, when did we get to be so serious? Growing up, I watched reruns of "Lost in Space." This show started off as a serious drama, but quickly devolved into a mindless exercise. Who can forget the robot getting drunk and putting an ice pack on his bubble? Even worse was the episode in which Dr. Smith turned into a vegetable monster and repeatedly yelled, "I need moisture"? It was terrible quality, but fun nonetheless.

When I was a child, "Star Wars" hit the theaters and brought fun to the genre. A number of imitators followed, but none could match the mastery of George Lucas? classic franchise. Somehow, Lucas turned a girl with a Cinnabon hairstyle into a sex symbol ? a feat possible only if people are willing to accept some levity in their lives.

The Star Wars prequels are so dark compared to the original trilogy. While I like the new trilogy, it simply doesn?t hold the same place in my heart as the originals. It simply isn?t as fun.

Many of Star Wars' imitators were so bad in their execution that they have found their own cult followings. The absolutely abysmal series "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," the original "Battlestar Galactica," and the campy classic 1980 movie version of "Flash Gordon" proved that science-fiction could still lack quality, but somehow be fun. Fans revel in the badness of these films and series; they enjoy life on DVD more than 20 years after their original runs.

This is not to say that a film has to be of poor quality to be fun. "Ghostbusters" treated audiences to a villain that was a giant, smiling marshmallow man. To this day, in the realm of paranormal fun, "Ghostbusters" still stands alone. Sure, "House II" and "Casper" tried, but failed for different reasons. "The Frighteners" did incorporate some comedy, but only alongside a dark, serial murder storyline.

In the Back to the Future series, Marty McFly?s human villain was the blobby teen bully Biff. Marty never even dreamed of doing anything socially meaningful with his time travel abilities, but nobody cared. Marty was simply concerned with getting himself back where he belonged and curing his parents of terminal nerdiness. And have we seen a time machine since that was as cool as that silver DeLorean?

"Weird Science" in 1985 was another film that showed what all male teenagers would do if they had the ability; create an awesomely hot, beautiful woman. The cult film "Night of the Comet" in 1984 is the only zombie film I know of to include Cyndi Lauper?s "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in its soundtrack.

"Army of Darkness" in 1992 integrated Three Stooges style slapstick and paid homage to the ultra-serious, socially meaningful classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still" from 1951. For some reason, Ash could not properly utter the words, "Klaatu Verata Nictu."

And let?s not forget 1987's "Spaceballs" with John Candy as a half-man half-dog who is his own best friend. John Hurt steals the show in his cameo though, with a humorous encore of his scene in "Alien," when the monster popped out of his chest. This time, the creature dons a top hat and cane, singing "Hello My Baby" while dancing across the lunch counter. Incredible.

But these films were intentionally funny. What about the films that tried to be serious, but we can?t help but laugh at? David Lynch?s "Dune" in 1984 tries hard to be serious, but I sit back now, stunned at how awful it is. I actually laugh out loud when Sting comes out in his blue leather yelling "I will kill him." Still, I must admit, I get a sense of nostalgia and enjoyment every time I experience it, even though I know it?s bad. "Logan?s Run" produces much the same effect.

Somewhere along the way, we have grown less tolerant of low quality films and television and we have lost our sense of fun. I am not saying that "Flash Gordon" was the answer, because it wasn?t. It was lacking in too many ways to be saved. But we seem to feel that if a program doesn?t have a clear theme or message, something must be wrong. Ironically, one of the worst episodes of "Flash Gordon" was "Sorrow," which tried to hard carry out a meaningful environmental message that was lost in the stupidity of the whole concept.

Science-fiction doesn?t always have to have deep meaning. Sometimes it is OK just to have fun.

Homework

Watch any bad sci-fi movie and laugh a little.

Dan Compora is an associate professor at the University of Toledo, and contributes SciFi 101 twice monthly for Airlock Alpha. He can be reached at drdan@airlockalpha.com.