Wednesday, March 27, 2024

My Father's Journal, Epilogue: "My Cancer"

My friends, we have reached the final entry in my father’s journal of his battle with cancer.  

 

I want to thank all the readers who have commented and read his thoughts these last few weeks. 

 

I have shown my dad all your responses, and words, and they have meant the world to him. 

 

To know that his thoughts have meaning, and are valued by others, has been a real lift for him during this terrible fight.  

 

We both, humbly, thank you all. He wishes you all well!

 

 

My Cancer

 

By Ken Muir

 

I have long watched this train wend its way across the prairie. At times only the engine’s curling smoke is visible, as the train dives out of view into a valley or ravine. At other times the entire conveyance is visible above ground, working its way toward me as I stand on the platform of this small, lonely station.

 

Moments ago the locomotive rounded a final bend, its great yellow headlamp glaring. It surges into the station, dwarfing me with its bulk and noise. The engineer leans forward, pulls a lever, and vents steam all around with a hideous shriek.

 

Flinty-eyed, he looks down at me….”Your ride is here…”

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Lagoon of Peril" (1975)




In this week’s episode of the Saturday morning animated series Return to the Planet of the Apes, the Ape war machine (under Urko’s command), ramps-up for the “all-out” destruction of the humanoids.  

The ape media doesn’t help quell this strategy for genocide, and reports an invasion of the planet of the apes by intelligent “aliens” -- really the human astronauts, Bill and Jeff. A kind of mass panic spreads through the simian capital, and now Zaius must agree to go with Urko to the Forbidden Zone to discern the truth.  He’s not very happy about that. And yes, this aspect of the story very much mirrors events depicted in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970).

The astronauts, meanwhile, return to the lagoon in the Forbidden Zone where their capsule originally went down. They attempt to dive to the bottom of the body of water, and salvage the equipment they need, including their laser drill. Unfortunately, their time is short. Urko’s army is on the march, and if his soldiers see the astronaut’s spaceship, the apes will commit genocide for certain. The astronauts must self-destruct their ship and let no sign remain, lest the apes learn the truth.

There’s a bit of narrative muddle in “Lagoon of Peril” that deserves mentioning.

The Ape City prepares to go to all-out war to eliminate any intelligent humanoids. Yet when the Ape army is confronted with the illusions of the Under Dwellers in the Forbidden Zone – including a floating skull that belches fire -- they dismiss these phantasms as being the work of the Under Dwellers.  So the apes accept the presence of Under Dwellers nearby, but not the possibility of intelligent humans?  They’ll settle for having illusion-creating mutants as neighbors, but not one or two normal humans?

I don’t really understand the thinking there, I confess.  It seems to me that the Under Dwellers provide the very proof the Apes seek of an intelligent (and hostile) “humanoid” country near their borders.  They should be Urko’s target.


Like last week’s show, there is an outbreak of out-and-out fantasy here, in “Lagoon of Peril,” as Bill and Jeff’s attempt to retrieve the laser drill is impeded by a giant, squawking sea dragon.  

Nova calls the beast “Ohoya,” but any way you slice it, the monster is a fanciful creation, and one that doesn’t seem entirely at home (like the giant sewer spider last week) in the hard science-fiction Apes saga.  Both the spider and the sea monster seem like flagrant instances of hedging bets on the part of the producer, to make certain that their series appeals to younger children.  Talking apes and discussions of morality are nice, but there’s nothing like squawking sea monster to hold the attention, right?




“Lagoon of Peril” ends with the apes convinced that their borders are safe, though again, how the apes came to this conclusion – especially after enduring the hostile visions of the Under Dwellers – is a bit of a mystery. 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

50 Years Ago: Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974)


Released briefly in the United States as Godzilla vs. The Bionic Monster before changing its title to Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster after the rights-holders of the Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman franchise complained, this film is more widely known by the title Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla.

Here, there’s a significant air of mystery as the kaiju action commences. Godzilla begins acting in uncharacteristically destructive, violent and evil fashion, even attacking a friend from Monster Island, the spiky Anguirus.

But it is soon revealed that evil aliens who appear human but are really simian in nature (think Planet of the Apes…) are behind the attack, using an impostor Godzilla -- the robotic MechaGodzilla -- and hoping to conquer the Earth.  

In this case, Godzilla requires the assistance of King Caesar -- a kind of glowing dog/bat kaiju who has slumbered for generations inside a mountain cave on Okinawa -- to defeat the aliens’ “ultimate weapon!”


Okinawan prophecy, re-counted by the descendants of the royal family of Azumi Castle, foretells of a day when a black mountain will appear, the sun shall rise in the west, and two monsters will rise to defeat a grave threat to humanity. 

The symbols of this prophecy begin to come true in the late 20th century when aliens “from the third planet of the black hole, outer space” land on Earth, and launch their cyborg, Mecha-Godzilla from their underground base.  

Godzilla rises from the sea to stop his merciless and malevolent duplicate, but fails on the first attempt.  

Now, Princess Nami (Lin) must sing a song from ancient Azumi history to wake the great King Caesar from his longer slumber, to join forces with Godzilla and save the world.


Although King Caesar looks a bit like a Muppet gone mad, Godzilla vs. The Bionic Monster introduces one of the great villains of the Godzilla canon: the giant robot, Mecha-Godzilla.  This silver titan can shoot missiles from its finger tips, and fire beams of energy that ravage Godzilla.

Given the robot’s impressive arsenal, perhaps it is not surprising that this is an especially gory installment of the long-lived saga.  

For example, in one scene red blood veritably fountains out of Godzilla’s neck as Mecha-Godzilla attacks.  

In another scene, two aliens take bullets to the head, and greed fluid bursts out of their wounds.  In keeping with this more savage tone, the evil alien leader is absolutely merciless in nature, ordering his giant cyborg, at one point, to “beat Godzilla to death!” rather than merely destroy him. 

So the stakes are pretty high in the film, and again, one feels while watching it that -- again, it’s almost like a 1970s James Bond film. It comes replete with an evil-talking villain who loquaciously shares his plans, and reveals his secret subterranean headquarters.  There are also the requisite action sequences. In this case, Godzilla somehow transforms himself into a “magnetic pole” during battle, and attracts Mecha-Godzilla to his scales.  That’s a new one.  

Similarly, there’s an “imposter” Godzilla in the film’s opening, a reflection of certain Bond tropes seen in series entries such as From Russia with Love (1963) and The Man with The Golden Gun (1974).


Although this film is not as strong as Godzilla vs. Hedorah since it lacks the social context of that film and the 1954 original, it certainly features a great villain and a unique guest-star in King Caesar. It’s always nice to see Anguirus, as well.

One logical question does arise, however: how did the Azumi family know this threat from space would come?   What forces gave rise to the ancient prophecy? Just think of the “second sight” necessary, in ancient days, to imagine aliens from space, Godzilla, Anguirus, Mecha-Godzilla and aliens from space.  

Otherwise, Godzilla vs. The Bionic Monster is good fun, if occasionally absurd.  The moment when the alien leader spits out his home address (“the third planet of the black hole, outer space,”) is one example of the latter.  And you just have to love the fact that the villain is such a trash-talker, always boasting about his robot and seeking to diminish Godzilla’s chances.

Finally, it is also never explained why the same supreme leader is always smoking a cigar and drinking liquor.  

Aren’t smoking and drinking human vices?  

And simple human vices don’t seem likely from an outer-space ape man who cackles his way through lines of dialogue like “Goodbye, Stupid Earthlings...

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

My Father's Journal: "Laurel Love"

Laurel Love

 

By Ken Muir

 

For more than fifteen years I avidly chased pieces in the Roseville “Laurel” line.  Some explanation is needed.

 

Laurel pots, the group of eleven pots which once sat on shelves in our house, originated in 1934 during the depths of the Great Depression.  Since money was scarce for most Americans, the line is a small one, comprising only thirteen pieces that first year.  It occurred to me at some point that I might eventually seek out the entire line.  But some pieces remained very hard to find and I eventually gave up that quest. At the end our collection came to represent about $6,000 in retail value during the height of the market years, around 2005.  Fortunately we did not have to invest that much.

 

This aesthetic passion of mine was kicked off by finding a six-inch vase at the Metrolina Antique Show being sold for $100 by an elderly dealer from South Carolina. This was in about 1998, and the quest for additional pieces soon began.

 

What drew me to this particular pattern?  Well, it just “checked all my boxes.” Ever since the 1980s, green pottery had held a special appeal for me, and Laurel’s earthy green tones called out.  Its other earth tones, brown and berry red, also appealed.  The pieces went well with the brown vintage furniture that we loved, and especially with oak, my personal favorite.  Also, its low-sheen glaze was eye-catching.

 

Historically, Laurel fits into an interesting niche in American aesthetics. Its leafy green over-all appearance, highlighted by brown twigs and red berries, recalled strongly the Arts and Crafts Movement earlier in the century. But its molded-in straight lines and “shouldered” handles were a strong connection to the Art Deco Movement, all the rage in America at the time of its manufacture. Thus, the line connected two of my favorite eras in American art history.

 

While we were lucky enough to find most pieces on eBay, a few had to be chased down across the Eastern Seaboard. My first large piece, the ten-inch vase at lower left of group, required a drive through the bowels of the York-Reading area of Pennsylvania to an antique store on Route 9 in the Jersey Shore region. The six-inch rounded vase, (right side, three shelves up) was found at the Hillsville, VA antique market. None were found at private estate sales, as Laurel has always been a relatively rare pattern. It is ranked in the upper mid-range of Roseville patterns by price, and comes in three color waves: green, yellow, and black, and dusty pink.  The green is by far the prettiest and the most sought after.

 

My “Laurel whopper story” is recalling an eBay auction, in 2005, of the largest piece in the line, the 14” vase that we have on the bottom row, center.  In frenzied bidding it went for $2700 that day. Ours, a Christmas present to myself a couple years after the “great recession,” cost less than half that amount.  It is identical to that one,  a perfect piece.

 

So, that’s my story of the “love of Laurel.” 

 

In the panoply of life’s sins, this lust of mine is not among the great evils.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

My Father's Journal: "Apologia"

Apologia

By Ken Muir

 

I am a person of my age, of my time in history. 

 

Born into an America that was on the verge of winning the greatest war in history, I and my generation were to be the beneficiaries of that great victory.

 

The material fruits of that triumph were not evident to all Americans immediately, even though they were there from the outset.  After all, we had not been pounded into rubble, burnt to a cinder, like so many of our erstwhile enemies.  

 

But over a few decades those material advantages became increasingly apparent. Commodious housing, excellent transportation, abundant food,  ample heat for homes and workplaces and, increasingly, air-conditioned spaces-—these and many other advantages supporting a pleasant lifestyle came to be viewed as an American birthright.

 

Timber, steel, cement, coal, oil, aluminum, food grains, natural resources and durable goods of great value underlay this huge flowering of American middle-class life.

 

And the common element which drove them all forward, made their fabrication and exploitation possible, was the use of fossil fuels.

 

Today we realize that this profligate use of fossil fuels, going back to the 18th century with the advent of the Industrial Revolution in England and France, has placed us on the precipice of a world-shattering climate crisis. 

 

The evidence of this sweeping change has already made itself apparent, and volumes of insight much greater than mine flow at us very day.

 

Environmentalism is as close to a religion for me as anything is. My issuing a warning here can only be termed trite. But I can look back over my adult life and assess it, critique it, and, hopefully, see in it some positive steps to use as models.

 

Where did Ken Muir the “water miser” come from? 

 

He originated with studies published by the U S Department of the Interior in the late 1960s and available (cheaply) from the U S Superintendent of Documents.  Along with ballooning world population growth, the shrinking supplies of fresh water globally portended a troubled future.

 

We took our first small steps at water conservation while living in Glen Ridge. Using flow-restricter shower heads, re-using sink water to nourish our few plants and shrubs during times of sparse rainfall, avoiding the use of lawn sprinklers and industrial car washes—- these were our first small steps.

 

It was at the house in Charlotte NC that I really began to focus on water issues and energy use. While the house itself was a major “transgression,” given its size, none of that ever occurred to us in 1987 when we first committed to a spacious home.

 

However, once we were settled there and began to watch climate trends unfold, our attention became focused on minimizing our carbon footprint.  We saved trees wherever possible and extended the life of perhaps 150 trees by twenty-five years.  We culled the sick and dying but preserved almost all the healthy trees. On the two main lots most of those trees still survive now, thirty-six years after we became owners.

 

Our rain barrel operation was a major contribution.  We had at least a hundred and fifty shrubs on the property, and all were watered and sustained by roof run-off for our last eight years. Adding in our supplemental (twenty 7 gal. spackle buckets) storage we most always had 300 gallons of reserve for dry spells. This water was hand-carried to the plants all around the property throughout the warm weather seasons. After 2005, the year we put in the grassed “lower forty” area, we almost never used sprinklers down there. Our original 1997 irrigation system used trickle-feed distribution in large part.

 

Of course, automotive emissions are a major part of the global warming issue.  Starting in 1977 with our first Honda Civic (36 mpg) we focused on fuel efficient vehicles.  In 1978 we purchased our Ford Econoline van as a six-cylinder vehicle in order to save fuel.  Both of our later Honda CRVs are highly efficient vehicles when driven properly.  Both are capable of well over 30 mpg on trips.  Loretta’s Lexus hybrid routinely gets 32 mpg in our driving mix, and more on a trip.

 

The chief offenders are the two pick-up trucks we purchased.  While both were fuel efficient “in their class” they did consume more fuel than I would have liked.  I broke my own rules because we needed each to perform some serious carrying and towing chores.

 

A last category for consideration, and a very important one, is home heating/air conditioning usage  In addition to keeping the house(s) very near the “not comfortable” level in hot and cold seasons, we became early adopters of heat pump technology. The use of heat pumps and the maintenance of interior temperatures at “barely comfortable” levels seems to be the best we can do for now.

 

Solar panels, which we first explored as an option at Clinton Rd. in the ‘70s, were not affordable for us then and cannot be used here because of HOA codes.  Clearly they are the wave of the future.  At Clinton Rd. we took a first step in this direction by converting the home furnace from oil to gas in 1978, both a cheaper and more environmentally friendly solution.

 

The steps listed above along with vigorous recycling constitute the measures we have taken across fifty years to be good stewards of the earth’s gifts. 

 

I know that it is a mixed record.

 

Outside our personal life, school settings often gave me the chance to affirm these values.  As “Mr. Earth Day” at MLHS I spearheaded very ambitious April clean-ups on both high school grounds, nearby woods, and the town as a whole.  I also ran the HS paper recycling operation.  Paterson Connection gave us a great opportunity to clean the canals below the Great Falls in the historic Alexander Hamilton “Society for Useful Manufactures” district.  We worked hard and fruitfully.

 

My first Earth Day clean-up was in a patch of woods just below and east of Verona HS.  I had to overcome significant resistance from our new asshole principal, who required a lengthy curriculum-based rationale as to why I should be permitted to take a group of my world history students out to do this work for forty-five minutes.

 

And the school circle was completed when I convinced the administration at Garinger HS, in about 1998, to allow me and a couple of fellow teachers to take students into an enclosed courtyard at GHS to clean up and thin out the jungle-like growth there which had accumulated during decades of neglect.

 

That’s all that comes to mind as I reflect on this vital concern.  

 

It is not enough but it is something.  

 

I hope that it will serve as a directional sign as we move into the coming turbulent years of climate dislocation.

 

Saturday, March 09, 2024

Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Tunnel of Fear" (1975)


In “Tunnel of Fear,” this week’s episode of the animated series Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975), General Urko plans a new hunt that will eliminate the humanoid threat forever. 

Jeff (Austin Stoker), meanwhile, wants to move the jeopardized and primitive humanoids to a new location where they can be protected from this and all future ape aggression.

Accordingly, Jeff and Bill seek assistance from Cornelius and Zira in Ape City.  The astronauts from Earth’s past return to the city they recently escaped from and encounter a giant spider in the sewer system. 

After they reach the chimpanzee’s lab, the astronauts ask for help, and Cornelius, after grappling with his conscience, realizes he can help the astronauts get the humanoids to a new home. He knows just the place too. His archaeological dig in the Forbidden Zone runs near an underground river, and leads into a serene, hidden valley.  It would be the perfect home for the humanoids.


“Tunnel of Fear” opens with two gorilla sentries talking about General Urko and his plans for total ape domination of the planet, while they sip hot coffee by chilly moonlight.  This scene is one of the (many) reasons I appreciate this particular Saturday morning series.  It would have been just as easy to create a scene with Urko himself making his plans (before the council, or his troops, perhaps), but instead we get this boots-on-the-ground discussion of strategy between “grunts” and it seems more like a scene from Shakespeare’s Henry V than a moment on a 1970s cartoon.  Urko’s efforts, after all, impact the men -- er apes -- he leads into battle.

The episode also presents a nice moral dilemma for Cornelius and Zira.  Dr. Zaius trusts the pacifist chimps, and solicits their help in capturing Blue Eyes and the humanoids. 

Meanwhile, Bill and Jeff want the same individuals to help them get the humanoids to safety. 

Thus Cornelius and Zira need to determine the “higher” morality in this case, and must grapple with feelings that they are betraying Zaius, and therefore their own people.   The scene wherein Cornelius sort of “waffles” -- going back-and-forth from side-to-side -- is especially well-presented t and showcases both perspectives ably.  This scene is especially good for children to watch, as it involves decision-making, and ways to choose when both options might rightly cause harm to some party.  In this case, Cornelius realizes it is better to betray Zaius than to let the innocent humanoids die, and he speculates that someday Zaius and the Planet of the Apes might even be happy that he chose this way.


“Tunnel of Fear” features only one overtly juvenile moment. In the sewers, Bill and Jeff encounter the aforementioned giant spider and get trapped in its web, before breaking free.  This is the first outbreak of pulp childishness on a TV series that otherwise avoids such clichés.  The whole idea of a giant spider in the sewers is a silly one. If there were really spiders of this size in Ape City’s sewers, certainly it would be a public health crisis.  And besides, the encounter with the giant arachnid adds nothing to the overall story.  It’s just a “danger” for the kiddies to enjoy between scenes of dialogue.



Next week, Bill and Jeff go off in pursuit of the laser drill in “Lagoon of Peril.”

Thursday, March 07, 2024

Guest Post: Mean Girls (2024)

 

The Mean Girls Musical Can’t Find Its Note

 

By Jonas Schwartz-Owens

 

Remakes have enough trouble competing with the original, especially when it’s a classic. Mean Girls (2024) was not only blinded by the shadow of the treasured 2004 comedy with Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, but also the 2018 Broadway musical that adapted the story with clever songs and striking choreography by Casey Nicholow. This movie remake adda nothing of value to the first film and cannot convey the excitement and freshness of the Broadway show, leaving it redundant.

 

Following the original story to a tee, Mean Girls (2024) explores young, home-schooled Kady (Angourie Rice) as she leaves Kenya for the jungles of the modern American school system, with dangerous turns – of phrases from two-faced friends – and master predators, The Plastics, led by the alpha herself, Regina George (Reneé Rapp). Kady’s new outcast friends, Janis (AuliÊ»i Cravalho, the voice of Moana) and  Damien (Jaquel Spivey), convince Kady to snuggle up to the Plastics and bring them down from the inside. But as often happens, some of the contagion contaminates Kady, and her own plasticity begins to shine through as well.




 

There is consistency in that Tina Fey (30 Rock) wrote the screenplay for the original, the Broadway Musical, and this latest version.  In both movies, she plays the same role, Kady’s teacher, and brings the same everyman delivery that makes Fey ever-endearing. The script feels rushed in this version, with the shortlist songs (abbreviated from the Broadway score) limiting the audience’s understanding and connection to the characters.

 

Rice captures none of the endearing traits that made Lindsay Lohan so good in the role. She has a wispy singing voice, and never becomes the lead in her own movie. Spivey is very funny as the audience’s inlet Damien, peppering his performance with clever asides. Rapp, who played Regina on Broadway for a period, conveys that ethereal, bitchy allure that makes a prom queen so tantalizing.  Unfortunately, no one can make you forget the 2004 originals. Lohan, McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Daniel Franzese and Lizzy Caplan are indelibly iconic. Although it was fun to see Tim Meadows repeating his role as the put-upon principal and Lohan as a mathlete judge. 

 

Relative newcomer directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. bring a lackadaisical approach to the visuals. Cell phone social media is used throughout to check in on characters, but even when not inside the phone, the movie looks like it was shot on a handheld. The camera overutilizes zooms, the tone is haphazard, and the whole project appears to be made with no understanding of movie musical mechanics. Most sequences were (perhaps intentionally) shot like TikTok videos.

 

The score, when on Broadway, was inventive and intoxicating. In a musical comedy, the songs should be infectious, people should want to join in. Here, the numbers are shot so statically that it distances the audience. All the songs are whispered like the characters are afraid to wake someone — the audience, perhaps?—up.

 

When I first saw the reviews coming out about the recent movie (whose advertising campaign wallpapered over the fact that it’s a musical), I assumed that critics may not have seen or appreciated the Broadway production. I saw the show in Los Angeles last year and it was a highlight. After catching Mean Girls (2024), it’s not the newness that catches people off guard, it’s the slipshoddiness. 

Wednesday, March 06, 2024

My Father's Journal: "The Future"

The Future

By Ken Muir

 

Always, when I was a younger man, “the future” was an amorphous notion for me, something I had, but could not get a firm grip on.  

 

It was assumed to be large, commodious, full of promise...but who really knew how large?  

 

It was a question mark, but it held comfort, nonetheless.

 

Today, “the future” is waking up and looking across into my wife’s eyes…….one more day together.  

 

It is walking into the kitchen and starting a pot of coffee.  

 

It is running over in my mind the (now rather short...) list of things we have planned for this day. 

 

It is putting in place the list of activities we will engage in, knowing that I am able accomplish them and that they will round out another day. 

 

It is near term —very near term—plans to see loved ones.

 

Each day is now a small bet on something more to come. 


Each awakening is a hopeful down payment toward a tightly circumscribed future.

 

I’m game.

Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Guest Post: The Iron Claw (2024)



The Iron Claw Comes At A Cost For One Family.

 

By Jonas Schwartz-Owen

 

The Iron Claw, Sean Durkin’s biography of legendary wrestling family The Von Erichs, is a refreshingly methodical film with many quiet moments, harkening back to the New Hollywood films of the 1970s. 

 

The Von Erich patriarch (Holt McCallany from Netflix’s Mindhunter) owns the World Class Championship Wrestling company. A former wrestler himself, where he utilized the Iron Claw move, he has passed his compulsion about wrestling onto his boys. The adult sons do not even have time to form their own passions before they dive headfirst into the ring. His most successful, Kevin (Zac Efron), takes on the family burdens and everything comes at a cost. The tragic tale of the family is part superstition, part the brutality of the sport. 

 




Efron is unrecognizable as the wrestler. Bulked up in both his body and his face, fashioned with a bowl cut, Efron leaves behind any teen idol pretentions for the role. He brings an earnestness and sweetness that hits the heartstrings successfully like Sylvester Stallone’s performance in the inaugural Rocky (1976). 

 

McCallany is intense as the wrestling world version of Gypsy‘s Mama Rose. Single-minded, he treats his boys as an extension of his legacy. They are his second, third, fourth, and fifth chance, and it’s almost a Greek tragedy how he pays (as an original story, it would seem contrived, but this was real life).

 

Huge fans of Jeremy Allen White (from his award winning The Bear) may be disappointed by his minor role in the film. Though he is not featured for much of the two-and-a-quarter hour running time, his determination and frustrations as brother Kerry are well done. 

 

Lily James (Cinderella) is given little to work with in the nominal wife role, but as the matriarch, Maura Tierney (Showtime’s The Affair) is heartbreaking, representing an overly supportive wife who quietly laments her constant loss.

 

Durkin, who made a splash with the contemplative Martha Marcy May Marlene creates a very ‘70s Americana feel: the deliberate, un-splashy pace, the washed-out hues, the deglamorization of a beloved American tradition, that are reminiscent of the films of Academy Award winner Hal Ashby (Bound for Glory)

 

Along with the exciting, well-choreographed wrestling scenes, Durkin has presented a poignant slice of life. The Iron Claw interprets the famed lives of people foreign to many audience members and captures the commonality of their struggles. 

Saturday, March 02, 2024

Return to the Planet of the Apes: "The Unearthly Prophecy" (1975)


The third episode of the Saturday morning series Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975) introduces a critical element to the animated production: the Under Dwellers.

In “The Unearthly Prophecy,” human astronauts Jeff and Bill travel through the arid Forbidden Zone, and spy gorilla soldiers on the march.  Specifically, General Urko’s army is hunting an unknown enemy nearby.  

When a hatch suddenly opens up in the ground, Jeff and Bill travel through it and discover the secret of the apes’ nemesis.  Beneath the planet of the apes live cloaked human mutants, the aforementioned Under Dwellers.


And, making matters worse, these Under Dwellers are holding, Judy -- the third astronaut from the 20th century -- as their captive.   She seems to have amnesia, and the Under Dwellers revere her as some kind of God because she resembles a statue bust found in their subterranean caverns.  In a crazy twist of fate, that is actually a statue of Judy, a 20th century statue honoring one of the missing astronauts. On the bottom of the bust are inscribed the letters “U.S.A,” and the Under Dwellers pronounce it “Oosa.”  They believe “Oosa” is Judy’s name and that she is the answer to a dark prophecy.


This episode -- which creatively re-imagines elements of the saga spearheaded first in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) -- features some fantastic and very memorable post-apocalyptic imagery.  We see the ruins of the New York Library, Wall Street, the subway, and other New York sights, as well as scraps of twisted, half-melted metal.  Again, this kind of post-apocalyptic, post-nuclear war visual is hardly par for the course for a kid’s show, circa 1975, but the art-work is splendid, and wonderfully detailed. It may be true that the animation on this series is limited, but the background paintings and settings are beyond reproach.



When Jeff and Bill discover the Public Library ruins, they also get their Charlton Heston-Statue of Liberty moment.  The astronauts realize that they have returned to Earth, only in their own distant future.  What could have happened?” they wonder, but the ruins surely tell the story.  Man destroyed himself.

“The Unearthly Prophecy” also introduces the leader of the Under Dwellers, Krador, and much detail regarding Under Dweller Technology.  In Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the mutants in New York City had the Alpha-Omega Bomb and the “defensive” weapon of mental telepathy, which could create illusions, but precious little in terms of advanced technology.  


Here, the Under Dwellers don’t actually create illusions, but can nonetheless move mountains up and down on the surface.  They also boast huge, high-tech, energy generators in their caverns, as well as control panels by the dozen.  The animated series seems to be setting-up the Under Dwellers as a highly technological race then, and a different kind of foe for the apes.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

My Father's Journal: "T N T"

T N T

By Ken Muir

 

[John's Note: My dad, Ken,  a sophomore when this early December, 1963, championship game was played. The participants wore no protective equipment.]


TNT was the name of the social club (fraternity) that I pledged and belonged to during my two years at Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas. (’62-64)

 

A “small club,” we had only twenty-five members. After the rigors of pledge week and initiation we came together primarily for team sports events (flag football, basketball, softball, and track) and for social events, dinners, and outings, which were scripted once or twice in each semester.  We had a club queen and a sorority (Zeta Rho) with whom we were officially linked. We were not pressured to date Zeta Rho girls but there was a friendship bridge there.

 

Being a TNT member was the first time in my life that I had been truly part of something other than my family. And with the later exception of marriage, it would be the only time. It came to be the most meaningful development in my life during those two years other than my close friendship with my roommate, Delmer, for three semesters. And the intensity of that relationship was heightened significantly during my sophomore year when, because of my steadfast commitment to becoming a skilled “rag-tag” (flag football) player, I found myself sometimes included in the inner circle of club leadership….with the president, Eddy, his roommate Dave, and their suite-mate Gary. These three comprised the dynamic heart of the rag-tag squad and I felt privileged to be among them.

 

Our outings and initiation events in the “wilds of Arkansas” (farmlands, woods, etc.) are a story unto themselves, and I will not bore the reader with them here. But the sporting competitions were in a separate world of importance, and I will detail one of them.

 

While I played rag-tag, baseball, and volleyball during the intramural season and ran a leg of the 880-yard relay for TNT during the club season, it was flag football that was my -- and the club’s -- passion. I was a starter at defensive end in our four-man line and, on occasion if someone was injured, I played offensive end as well. Eight young men were on the field for each team.

 

TNT played so well, so dominantly, that it was determined that we couldn’t compete in the small club tournament. We were forced to compete for the school championship in the Big Club league (big clubs had forty or more members) throughout the season. Our opponent in this final game was Mohican, a storied group of guys who included in their rag-tag squad a large handful of varsity athletes who were “out of season,” that is, they were not varsity football players but rather varsity baseball, track, or basketball athletes. They were formidable opponents.

 

We were so sky high before the game that we could barely eat, flooded with adrenalin and noisy team spirit.

 

In a blood-soaked match that put four guys in the hospital, including our quarterback Gary, we prevailed over Mohican by a single touchdown. I defended my patch of corner ground as if my life depended on it, and several times as a play ended I lay on my back looking up at the night sky and the flood lights —having been steamrolled by a pair of Mohican blockers.

 

When Gary was pulled out late in the game to be taken to the hospital —bleeding heavily from the mouth because of a 90% severed tongue— I was called in to take over the offensive end spot. The regular end had moved to quarterback. Lining up opposite me was Larry, a mean and rangy junior who had delivered the chin-slug that put Gary in the hospital. 


On the first play from scrimmage Larry slammed me in the nose with the base of his hand…..all I could feel after that was blood draining across my lips and chin. I spent the remaining offensive plays of the game —fortunately they were few— diving across the line as the ball was snapped, doing my best to tangle him up, slow him down, and keep him out of our backfield.

 

Reading about the game days later (I still have the clipping in my ’64 yearbook) was one of the most exquisite moments of joy I had ever experienced until that time in my life. 

 

Looking back in subsequent years I came to understand full well why the armed forces want young men in the 18-22 years age bracket. 


We would have died for each other that night.

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