The
third Herculoids story, “The Pod Creatures” dramatizes the story of strange
alien capsules that land in the Azmot jungle and proceed to attack Zandor and
his family.
The
plain-looking metal capsules open up to reveal evil-looking robots that are
bent on ensnaring the primate-like Igoo in restraining nets. For his part, Igoo uses karate chops to
destroy the restraints.
At
the end of the story, the Herculoids defeat the Pod Creatures, and the alien
spaceship -- a flying saucer --
leaves Azmot for good.
is the simplest (or most simple-minded….) so far of the Herculoids (1967)
adventures. There’s no stated reason for
the attack of the “pod creatures,” and more so, no revelation regarding the
source of the attack. The alien saucer
merely shows up, drops the capsules and attacks. When the invasion fails…the saucer leaves.
Who
are these guys? What do they want? Why
did they choose Azmot? I always
appreciate a good mystery, but this episode is set up almost purely as an
action vehicle.
I’ve
been cataloguing The Herculoids’ Edgar Rice Burroughs or Tarzan-like touches in
previous posts, and there are fewer of them in this abundantly-direct installment. About the only element that touches on this comparison
is a visualization of Zandor’s family
home, a weird alien tree/mushroom plant.
It indeed looks like the equivalent of Tarzan’s tree house in the
African jungle, only transposed to an alien environment.
The
paucity of new ideas or developed plot-line in “The Pod Creatures” suggests
that The
Herculoids works better as a concept -- Tarzan in an alien jungle
-- that it does as a week-by-week, story-by-story enterprise. I felt there was a lot to mull over while
watching “The Pirates” and “Sarko the Arkman,” and, contrarily, almost nothing
at all to discuss here.
We’ll
see what the next episode brings…
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