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Watching Any Good Serials?
Topic Started: Apr 12 2006, 09:28 AM (88,393 Views)
Barcroft
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Andy Fish:
I got the biggest kick out of this serial. I was trying to figure out why all of a sudden Bud Osborne's hair is now jet black considering at this time he was over 70 when all of a sudden they use stock footage of Frank Buck from Jungle Menace. Gotta love Jungle Sam Katzman. LOL
Barcroft
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Laughing Gravy
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It took 12 episodes, but I'm officially bored with Tex Granger. I love the dog, though. And I appreciate that there's an attempt to do something different with this one; the villains don't get along very well, and they only work together for convenience sake. In the grand scheme of things, this serial isn't good enough to be enjoyable and isn't bad enough to be enjoyable. It's just okay. I hate spending 15 weeks watching something that's just okay.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Don Daredevil
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Jan 9 2008, 09:48 AM
I hate spending 15 weeks watching something that's just okay.

If you hate it that much, shorten the duration to 4 weeks or so ... that way you won't feel that you've wasted so much of your time on just an 'OK' serial. :P :lol: :D ;)
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Laughing Gravy
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*pondering that suggestion*

Wouldn't it make more sense just to not watch the darn thing at all? To take an 18 min. walk in the warm California rain? See, THAT'S my problem. Being a completist!

Ah, well... Only 3 more weeks to go. And suffering builds character. I suffered a catastrophic accident when I was in fifth grade, and after that, whenever the going got tough physically, I'd tell myself, "Well, THIS doesn't hurt as much as THAT did." So I can surely make it through Tex Granger, which doesn't hurt as much as Son of Zorro, Return of Chandu, New Adventures of Tarzan, or slicing your arm open nearly to the bone.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Laughing Gravy
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The current lineup...

Battling with Buffalo Bill (4 chapters down, 8 to go): A fine, fun serial and the VCI DVD looks terrific. I like the guy who introduces each episode as if he's tellin' an Old West Yarn to a group around the campfire. I watch this one on Saturday afternoons with a cartoon and a Western.

Radio Patrol (1/12) Just started this one, but the first episode was daffy fun. A pretty good print from the Serial Squadron.

The Red Rider (13/15) This has been very enjoyable; Buck Jones, Grant Withers and Ed Cobb practically make this a "trigger trio" serial, and the humor is fun. My highest serial praise: I'm gonna miss it when it's over. An okay print from Trevor down under.

The Vanishing Shadow (1/12) Another one I've just started. That is one kooky robot. Somebody should make a serial with this robot, the one from The Phantom Creeps, the Republic "water heater" man, and a robot with a cowboy hat. Bela Lugosi should play the creator, too.

Tex Granger, Midnight Rider of the Plains (12/15) "Duke, the Wonder Dog" continues to impress. I may always recall this serial has being a "real dog". A good print from Rodney.

Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion (11/12) Cookie-cutter Republic; the hero seems to go over a cliff in his car in 10 of the 12 episodes, only to leap out in the next one. I feel like screaming, "He never got out of the cockadoodie car!" and in fact I might. Word to the wise, Republic serial heroes: never get into that woody. It's cursed. Word to the wise, Republic serial villains: at some point, the hero is going to find out where you are by "triangulating" a radio message. A terrific print from AC Comics.

Flash Gordon (0/13) FNF kicks this one off tonight! Go, Flash, Go! The Image disc, of course.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Grampy
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Just starting Tex Granger myself-One thing I noticed in chapter 1.

The inimitable Stanley Blystone (my favorite Stooge foil) gets into a bar fight with Smith Ballew. Whenever Ballew lands a haymaker, Blystone straightens up, hesitates for about a half second, and then keels over or falls back. Beautiful!

Going to try to get the granddaughter into Flash Gordon this weekend. I figure all I have to do is mention "princess" and she'll at least sit for a few minutes. The hard part is going to be explaining the serial concept to a 3 year old. If she gets into it, I'll run 2-3 chapters and then save more for the next visit.
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Million-dollar dialog from episode 3 of Radio Patrol...

Police detective: "Y'know, these crossword puzzles sure improve the brain. I just found out there ain't no "H" in "Sugar"."

"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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igsjr
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Laughing Gravy
Jan 12 2008, 08:03 AM
Million-dollar dialog from episode 3 of Radio Patrol...

Police detective: "Y'know, these crossword puzzles sure improve the brain. I just found out there ain't no "H" in "Sugar"."

Ah, you must be talking about Pidge...the homeless man's Smiley Burnette.

Have you caught any of Winters' fighting scenes yet? The ones that always use the same darkened studio with the ladder in the background?
"Life is in color--but black-and-white is more realistic..." -- Samuel Fuller, director

So many DVDs...so little time...
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Pa Stark
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Have you caught any of Winters' fighting scenes yet? The ones that always use the same darkened studio with the ladder in the background. Yeah, how can you miss those scenes. No matter where they are fighting they show up. There are a lot of fights here for a Universal serial, and I was surprised that it is Tom Steele who is doing the stunts for Grant Withers.
Honest and Lovable Pa Stark
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What strikes me as even odder about this serial... they're all "patrolmen". They all dress like patrolmen, even the detectives. I mean, the uniforms are nice and all, I guess, but with the work they're performing, shouldn't there be a plainclothesman somewhere on staff? With those dark uniforms and the leather sashes, they remind me of... well, I hate to say this, but they look like the U.S. equivalent of some sort of fascist state police! And the latest episode features more fun in the "Egyptian quarter" of town, and... well, is there an Egyptian quarter of any city? Why are the villains Egyptian anyway? Even in Mummy pictures, it wasn't the Egyptians who were villains, it was those High Priests of Karnak or Arkham or wherever the hell the High Priests were from, right?

Will all my questions be answered in a future chapter? I dunno... from what I've seen so far, this is just a VERY bizarre serial. It's got a good dog in it, though.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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riddlerider
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Laughing Gravy
Jan 12 2008, 09:47 PM
What strikes me as even odder about this serial... they're all "patrolmen". They all dress like patrolmen, even the detectives.

Because that's what they were in the comic strip from which the serial was adapted.

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Laughing Gravy
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Well, yeah, I figured that. (We do see the comic strip, or a facsimile of it, at the beginning of each episode.) It still looks odd, kinda like the American equivalent of dressing Canadian Mounties in the dress reds for everyday duty.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Laughing Gravy
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From the first episode of Flash Gordon... Flash and Dale are aboard Zarkov's experimental rocket to Mongo, leading to the following deadpanned exchange.

Flash: "Sure this thing will work?"
Zarkov: "I’ve experimented with models."
Flash: "Ah. They ever come back?"
Zarkov: "They weren’t supposed to."
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Grampy
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I put on Flash Gordon for Laney. I explained the concept of Saturday matinees and then told her that at the end Flash would be in trouble and you have to wait for the next one to see what happened. As best as I could with a 3 year old anyway.
At the end of chapter 1, Flash falls into the pit (with a princess, a definite plus for my Disney raised granddaughter), the credits start and I stopped it.
"What happened Grampa? How do they get out?"
So I played Episode 2 and explained that at the end of this chapter was a dragon. We spent a lot of "who's that? Is he the Bad Guy?" "Is he the bad guy's helper?"
"will Flash's girlfriend marry the bad guy?" "Why is Mr Zarkoff helping the bad guy?" and then Flash enters the Tunnel of Terror. At the end, he's in the grasp of the monster and I stopped the tape. I ended up having to show her the first couple of minutes of chapter 3 to assure that Flash was indeed okay.
Then it was "Grampa, can we watch Wizard of Oz now?"

We'll start at the beginning of chapter 3 next time.
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Sgt Saturn
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With those dark uniforms and the leather sashes, ...

Those 'leather sashes' are called Sam Browne belts. They have gone in and out of fashion several times in military/police uniforms. They are currently out of fashion, but who knows when/if they will come back...
The Ol' Sarge
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