We left Flash and Team Flash being burned alive by the Tree Men of Mars after an unfortunate incident with a collapsing religious icon and the magical intervention of the Queen. The team have a group hug as they await their toasting.

Luckily, Flash has acquired Ming’s ability to walk through flames as, unlike last week when he collapsed with heat exhaustion, he’s able to carry his friends through the ring of fire to safety.

They regroup in the hollow of a nearby tree.

But Dale isn’t where Flash left her and, being a woman, she would be unable to go anywhere without someone having kidnapped her. The men go off down a passage way to look for her.

A fight breaks out.

There are an awful lot of these funny little people and they are all keen to join in and jump on our heroes.

Dale is brought before the King of the Tree Men. She is delighted to see that Flash Gordon has also been captured.

The King quizzes Flash Gordon about who they are and why they destroyed the icon.

Happy explains about cameras.

But the King isn’t impressed – his idiot sidekick spread paranoia about dwarf people being trapped inside Happy’s magic box and the King ordered Flash and co to be executed.

Another wacky alien salute for our collection – down on one knee with both hands thrown back over the shoulders as if about to launch into the YMCA dance.

The King tells his idiot sidekick to send a message to their master. Who is their master? Tension follows.

For eight seconds. Then we find out that their master is Ming.

The Treee Man sends his message and this man – relaxing – receives it with very little interest. He was hoping for a plasma screen but got a shiny bit of cave wall and no surround sound.

The lacky then relays the message to Ming’s laboratory. I know I’m being picky but this does not seem like an efficient form of communication. The Tree Man goes up a tree and flashes a message. Ming’s boy sees what can only be a video image of the Tree Man flashing his message (instead of, I don’t know, just seeing the flashes from a distance). Ming’s boy then activates a communicator which is totally separate from the camera and tells someone at Ming’s place what the message was. Despite the screen which shows Ming’s boy the Tree Man clearly being in shot. And so on. Life would be so much simpler if paranoid@tree.mars simply emailed ming@palace.mars with the news and cut out relaxedboy@cave.mars and extra@laboratory.mars all together.

Ming and Azura have a chat – Azura wants the Earth men dead. What Azura doesn’t know is that the Earth men have already been captured. Methinks Ming is playing his own games behind Azura’s back.

Meanwhile, in the Tree Men’s death cell, Zarkov is feeling depressed.

But wait! They hear a noise.

One of the walls is red hot and smoking.

It might be acid, it might be poisoned gas – everyone down on the ground just in case.

Oh my lord! Someone has just fallen through the wall.

Fuck me – Prince Barin!.

Homoeroticism, 1930s style.

Zarkov is simply unable to hide his excitement at being reunited with an old ally.

Import information is divulged. Barin is trying to make an alliance with the Tree Men but they betrayed him. The Tree Men are the only race on Mars immune to Azura’s magic because she uses the white sapphire and they have the corresponding black sapphire in their temple. Possessing the black sapphire is the key to defeating Azura, Queen of Magic.

They set a trap for the Tree Men and a fight breaks out.

They escape up Barin’s secret passage.

Behold – the Tree Men’s sacred temple.

Meanwhile, Ming has sent a rocket ship to collect the Earth men from the Tree People.

The Tree Men report the loss of their prisoners in a scene which is stilted and wooden even by this serial’s standards.

Happy goes off to warn Flash leaving Dale behind. That always turns out well.

Midgets with firearms! That’ll get us some pervy Google hits.

Flash attacks a guard and knocks him out.

He makes his way up an unconvincing tree.

He’s spotted and a Tree Man blows the hell out of his horn.

A fight breaks out.

As a massive anti-climax, Flash swings away but his rope breaks and he falls back to earth. Or Mars. Whatever.

Where he is zapped by a Tree Man.

Flash’s body starts smoking under the intense beam…

…from a wooden TV camera.

Booo – what a swizz – my DVD has cut off the final slide as this is the last part on disc 1. Or is it? There might not be a disc 2. Now that’s what I call a cliff hanger.