CULT TV BLOGGING: Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Flames of Doom"

Some of my less-than-positive comments about the re-imagination process in modern Hollywood (particularly as it applies to the new Battlestar Galactica...) have made the rounds on other blogs and I guess I may be getting a reputation as an anti re-imagination guy. That's okay with me, I suppose, but it's not always true.

Exhibit A in my defense just may be the 1975 animated series Return to the Planet of the Apes, a re-imagination of the first order. It's a program developed for television by David De Patrie-Fritz Freleng, which assimilates and re-invents characters, plotlines, devices and technology from all previous incarnations of the once-popular franchise, including the Pierre Boulle novel, the 1968 film and sequels (Beneath, in particular...), and even the 1974 live-action TV series. The result is nothing less than an invigorating shot in the arm for the franchise. I hadn't watched these half-hour episodes for something like thirty-one years, but re-discovering them today on DVD, I was shocked and pleased at just how attentive and committed to details (and an overall story arc) this animated series remains.

Because frankly the buzz from the old genre press wasn't good. Going back to Fantastic Television a reference book from 1977, the author writes in a summary review of the NBC series that it "was a not very exciting animated version of the short-lived CBS live-action series," and that the artwork and plots were "simplistic." (page 177). Frankly, I don't see how anyone with a pulse, anyone with an intellect, anyone who actually watched the animated series, could honestly make such an assessment.

The premiere episode of Return to the Planet of the Apes, "Flames of Doom," (by Larry Spiegel), finds a NASA space capsule called the "Venture" traveling on a routine deep space mission on August 6, 1976. Aboard are three diverse astronauts: Bill Hudson (a white man), Jeff Allen (an African-American) and Judy Franklin (a woman). Bill narrates the captain's log and confirms Dr. Stanton's theory of "time thrust;" that man can utilize faster-than-light speeds to propel himself into the future. Admirers of the 1968 film will recognize this comment as a reflection of Chuck Heston's opening narration, and Dr. Hasslein's theory named there. It's been simplified for children in this cartoon, but the idea is the same.

No sooner has Hudson informed us about this theory than the ship's chronometer goes wild and the Venture plunges into some kind of time warp. The "Earth Clock" goes crazy, and the Venture arrives battered in the year 3979, where it crashes on a strange planet in a dead lake.

Meanwhile, on the planet below - a planet ruled by intelligent apes - General Urko, a gorilla power-monger, addresses the Supreme Council of Ape City and demands genocide for all humans. Arguing the opposite case is the kindly chimpanzee Cornelius, who pleads for a "different course." He and his wife, a behavioral scientist named Zira, wish to study humans as the key to "simian origins." Arbitrating this dispute of national importance is the ruler of the apes, an orangutan named Dr. Zaius. I must note, the level of attention to detail in this scene is remarkable, for as Zaius issues his decision on the matter at hand, a stone relief on the wall behind him reveals the long history of ape-human relations. There are images of apes hunting humans, and domesticating them. Nice.

Humans may be hunted as legitimate sport, Zaius concludes, or brought into the city to perform "menial tasks." They may even serve as domestic pets, but Zaius will not demand their total destruction. However, on an ominous note, he warns that Article 18 of the "Book of Simian Prophecy" demands that man must be destroyed at any cost if he develops the power of speech. In other words, this is a temporary victory for Cornelius's cause, and for the primitive, mute, stone-age humans who populate caves outside the technologically advanced ape-city.

Watching this portion of the episode, a few things become plain. First and foremost, the franchise has returned to the ape society as depicted in Boulle's novel. In other words, the apes dwell in a twentieth century city with television, radio, automobiles and the like. Their city is not a rock-outcropping like in the popular movie, but rather a contemporary metropolis with buildings that resemble those from human history (in a wonderful nod to the adage "monkey see, monkey do.") The ape culture of the original film was almost medieval, despite the presence of guns and such things as brain surgery. Not so here.

For instance, the imposing ape council building resembles nothing so much as our own Capitol Building, where Congress deliberates.. Since this is a re-imagination and updating of Planet of the Apes for the mid-1970s, not only is there the burgeoning notion of diversity (this was the era of the equal rights amendment, we must not forget...) on hand in the make-up of the astronauts, but the focus on the Council and its proceedings reveals a more bureaucratic bent to the apes. Instead of ape culture being essentially of one mind (as in the see-no-evil/hear-no-evil/speak-no-evil triumvirate of the Schaffner film showcases), here Ape society is bedeviled by partisan politics, with chimpanzees representing the pacifist left, gorillas the militant right, and orangutans the sensible center. This is especially important considering the context of Return to the Planet of the Apes: immediately post-Watergate (and the congressional hearings would have been seen by Americans on TV), and soon after the Vietnam conflict. Again, this is an example of updating and changing a franchise, but not throwing out the baby with the bath water.

Continuing with the story, Bill, Jeff (voiced by the amazing Austin Stoker of Battle for the Planet of the Apes and Assault on Precinct 13), and Judy abandon their sinking spaceship and flee into the Forbidden Zone. Recalling the portions of the original film shot in Death Valley, the series here offers a brilliant and artistic montage as the three astronauts search for water and food under the glaring sun of what they believe is an alien world.

Here, the animated frames turn a bright scarlet hue to represent the heat of the desert and there are close-ups of human faces caked in sweat. Close-ups of tired feet marching in the sand also appear. This montage doesn't rely on dialogue but rather clever images. There is a lengthy interlude wherein we pan across (again, animated...) desert images to carry the mood and atmosphere of the story. The animation is limited perhaps, but these limitations are marshaled as a strength on the program. Overlapping views, double exposes, intense close-ups, insert shots and first person subjective point-of-view shots all provide a texture to the desperate march through the wasteland. This march ends, appropriately, with the sighting of an Ape Mount Rushmore. Another new touch, but again one that (along with the city), reveals the ape talent for mimicry (monkey see, monkey do) and is therefore thematically valuable; a subconscious reminder that all of the simian accomplishments are built on "aping" human society.

In the desert, Jeff and Bill lose Judy when fires spontaneously erupts in front of them and an earthquake splits the ground in a series of lovely frames that reveal a high degree of fidelity to images from Beneath the Planet of the Apes (particularly Taylor's abduction by the underground mutants). The astronauts have little time to ponder the loss of their companion, however, as Bill and Jeff encounter a tribe of stone age humans, including the beautiful Nova.

Suggesting an interesting mystery, Nova wears the dog tags of another astronaut, someone named Brent (again, a reference seemingly to Beneath the Planet of the Apes). His birthdate was May 2, 2079, so Jeff and Bill are forced to ponder the notion that an astronaut who was born after them arrived on the planet of the apes before they did. Boggles the mind, no? This is a pretty advanced concept for a kid's show, and it also provides an underlying mystery for adults to enjoy. Where is Brent? What happened to him? I suspect the series will explore that further...

Before long, the apes arrive - on the hunt - in tanks, jeeps and with heavy artillery. The gorillas even lob gas grenades at the primitive humans. Here, the series uses zooms inside individual frames (not actual motion, but rather camera motion...) to suggest the frenetic pace of the hunt. Jeff and Bill are separated, and Bill is captured and taken to ape city.

That's where the first episode ends, but already, the attentive viewer can detect how this canny re-imagination assimilates the important aspects of the Planet of the Apes mythos with something akin to 20/20 hindsight. Instead of making up the saga as it goes (a deficit of the otherwise outstanding motion picture series...), Return to the Planet of the Apes accounts for - from the beginning - the mutants in the Forbidden Zone (here termed "The Underdwellers.") It also employs old characters in new ways and new situations, and even incorporates movie imagery to vet the story.

In terms of characters, Urko comes from Mark Lenard's character on the 1974 TV series. In Beneath, the same character was known as "Ursus." He is essentially the same here, as are Zira and Cornelius, but Dr. Zaius has changed the most. He is no longer a hypocritical religious zealot, but rather an equalizing force of moderation in Ape Society...almost heroic! "The free ape is he who does not fear to go to the end of his thought," he even states; an ideal that the movie's "chief defender of the faith" could never get behind. This is actually an intelligent structural change as well as a symbolic representation of the left/right divide in our culture. Why? Because with Zaius moderating pacifists and war-mongers, we can more logically believe that humans (particularly the astronauts) can continue to escape and outmaneuver a technologically advanced simian culture. The whole planet isn't out to kill them; they have allies.

From the original Planet of the Apes movie, "Flames of Doom" also incorporates other powerful visuals. We see the ape scarecrows on the border of the Forbidden Zone again (and, on a connected note, hear the same gorilla "hunt" horn on the soundtrack...). We see a small, yellow rubber raft and a U.S. flag planted in the Forbidden Zone too, as well as the discovery of a first green plant indicating life on the fringe of the desert.

Again, the approach here seems to be to this: take what worked in the apes movie, book and TV series, and then put them all together in a more coherent, cohesive story, smoothing out the bumps and making everything jibe. That's important, because long time Planet of the Apes fans will remember some of the more dramatic gaps fouling continuity in the film series. In Planet of the Apes, for instance, it is the year 3978 when Taylor arrives, but when Brent arrives on his heels in the follow-up, Beneath, it is magically 3958. Similarly, there are discrepancies between Escape and Conquest in the story of how the apes ascended to superiority in man's world. Cornelius's story involves an ape named Aldo (whom we meet in Battle), but does not take into account the true ape revolutionary, Caesar. Return to the Planet of the Apes - coming at essentially the end of the apes cycle - benefits from knowing everything that came before.

Indeed, this is the true reason for a re-imagination. Taking what worked ine one production and maintaining it; and taking what didn't work and improving it. Notice that there is not merely change for the sake of change here; that characters have not miraculously switched sexes, and whole swaths of mythology have not been removed or altered. What I'm saying is that fundamentally there is a respect in evidence here for the the productions that came before, for the apes mythos. So yes, Virginia, a re-imagination CAN work, and this dedicated animated series is one example where it did so. Splendidly.

TV REVIEW: 3 Lbs: "Lost for Words"

CBS has a new medical series airing Tuesday night, called "3 Lbs" (a nod to the brain's weight...). The more cynical critical elite may note that series lead Stanley Tucci, playing Dr. Doug Hanson, is yet another version of Dr. House M.D. (a colleague on Fox...) solving medical mysteries and so forth. Or that the series is really another Grey's Anatomy, only featuring horny neuro surgeons instead of horny residents.

But - thankfully - this assessment would be entirely wrong. "Lost for Words," the revised 3 Lbs. pilot that I screened last night in advance of the series premiere tomorrow, is it's own dramatic animal; both energetic and remarkably thoughtful. It is (thankfully) lacking the pretentious, self-satisfied air and Ally McBeal-type humor that ruins Grey's Anatomy. As for Hanson being a character like House, well, TV these days is packed to the gills with anti-heroes as central protagonists (James Woods on Shark; Victor Garber on Justice, and on and on...), and besides the idea of an arrogant M.D. is hardly the bailiwick of one series alone.

But enough with drawing comparisons to other series. "Lost for Words" finds young, handsome Dr. Singer (Mark Feuerstein) moving to New York to join the Hanson Neurology Clinic, "the most competitive surgical fellowship in the country." Singer is a sensitive and touchy-feely guy. He likes to meditate (and at this point in the episode, my wife Kathryn began drooling...). Singer feels that the brain is a mystery and that he can't operate on tumor patients without first knowing whose soul he is "bumping up against." A pumped-up Tucci (who shows off his new buff physique in a locker room scene...) plays Hanson, Singer's spiritual opposite.

Hanson's philosophy is that the brain is just "wires in a box." As Indira Varma, (Kama Sutra, Rome) - playing another doctor at the clinic - informs Singer, Hanson regards brain surgery as "a purely logical" enterprise with "no gray area." To my delight, she further notes, "He's like Spock, you know," making 3 Lbs. yet another new show this season (after Heroes) that makes a point of referencing the original Star Trek in a positive way.

Speaking of Star Trek, Singer also considers the brain is "the undiscovered country." Of course, to get whoopy-frigging technical about it, both Star Trek and 3 Lbs. get this Shakespeare reference wrong. On Trek, the undiscovered country was "the future," and here it's a metaphor for a medical frontier. However, the Bard had a much simpler metaphor in mind. To him, the undiscovered country was purely and simply...death. Still, this is a nice reference, and in the deluge of cop, lawyer and doctor shows on the air today, I can't think of another mainstream endeavor that would reference Shakespeare.

Anyway, Singer becomes Hanson's "shadow" (or "sorcerer's apprentice," as another character describes the job) on a difficult case involving a young violinist, Cassie Mack, who has developed a brain tumor and has arrived in the clinic for surgery. Cassie has lost the ability to play the violin, and worse is losing her facility for language...for words themselves. This dramatic and frightening loss is played out in a weird but strangely lyrical dream sequence. We see Cassie playing her instrument in a recital when her new inability to connect with words results in something strange. Cards with words written on them (like "sister" and "grace") fall from the ceiling like snowflakes. She stands tip-toed on a chair trying to catch the words...and fails. This is a poetic, expressive and non-linear way to express the horror of aphasia. I don't think you can have a series about a concrete thinker (Hanson) and a spiritual thinker (Singer) and not be willing to go into interludes that dramatize for the viewer the wonders and mysteries of the human brain. Yet dramatic television is too often a safe medium stylistically; a catalog of familiar "safe" shots that we've seen a hundred times before. 3 Lbs bucks that trend and is willing to harness fascinating and unconventional imagery to tell its story. I like that. I like that the show doesn't stop to explain everything, like what the dream "means." Viewers are left to interpret it for themselves.

While Hanson and Singer quibble over how to treat Cassie, and a publicity-seeking co-worker, Dr. Cole, inserts himself into the case, Varma's character also gets a subplot about a man named James Will, who is surprised to find himself confused and losing his way a lot. Turns out he has an AVM (which is what Nate in Six Feet Under had...), another condition requiring surgery. This "B" plot raises many questions about the way the human mind is unique; proving itself the only one in the animal kingdom to anticipate and obsess on fear. "We think too much," Varma notes, while also suggesting that "fear is the brain's magic trick." If not overtly deep, this is more than enough philosophical material to fill the hour, and keep the show moving at a good clip.

Other issues on the show: Dr. Doug Hanson is a brain doctor with a brain abnormality himself. To wit, he keeps hallucinating the appearance of a small, mysterious girl...a strange siren from "the other side," perhaps. The series also looks poised to dive full-bore into the personal lives of the doctors, as audiences meet Hanson's teenage daughter, and watch him attempt to seduce Cole's wife. Personally, I found all this "relationship" material a lot less interesting than the philosophical, medical stuff. For instance, I particularly enjoyed a shot near the beginning of the show: we get a CGI tour of the violinist's innards, watching as impulses race up her arm into her brain; her skin transparent. It's as if we're riding a roller coaster to the central nervous system itself.

Another moment I enjoyed involves the description likening sex to gravity (!), and overall I found the structure of the show solid. Generally, I like a series in which two world views are vetted and compared, Mulder/Scully or Spock/Bones style, and 3 Lbs looks poised to do so, gazing at the inner workings of the human brain with both cold detachment and spiritual insight. Plus, let's face it, Indira Varma is a gorgeous and more-than-welcome presence here.

What didn't I like? Well, Coldplay is on the soundtrack, and though I like Coldplay, their sound is apparently de rigueur now on dramatic TV shows, and is already getting old. Do we really need any more musical montages on purportedly dramatic series? I don't think so. Also, I approve of the fact that 3 Lbs. is clinical and mostly non-sentimental, but found a last minute line about Cassie receiving a message from her dead sister to be wholly unnecessary and cheesy. In an otherwise restrained, tasteful hour, this Ghost Whisperer moment sticks out like a sore thumb.

On the other hand, however, I found myself unexpectedly affected by the moment in 3 Lbs. (during exploratory surgery...) when Hanson's' probe triggers a sense memory in Cassie. For the briefest of instants, the patient smells lilacs...and is carried away (from the surgical theatre...) to a memory of a beloved one who has passed on. There's something in Cassie's close-up - in the way she asks to experience it again - that perfectly captures the mystery of the human experience. If 3 Lbs. continues to get moments like that just right, it's going to be appointment television.

SATURDAY MORNING CULT TV BLOGGING: Flash Gordon: "Tournament of Death"

Our multi-ethnic Mongo/Earth crew is now in the clutches of Ming the Merciless and Princess Aura, as Chapter 12, "Tournament of Death," commences on the Filmation series Flash Gordon. There are some lovely views of Mingo City in this installment as Gordon, Zarkov, Dale, Thun, Barin and Vultan are escorted (in shackles...) into the metropolis to participate in "the great games."

As for Prince Barin, he has a plan. If he wins in the arena, he can marry the woman of his choice; and he wants Princess Aura. Unfortunately, she wants to be the bride of Flash Gordon. Awkward...

Before the games commence, Flash engineers an escape into the caves beneath Mingo City, using Zarkov's inviso-ray to take out several of Ming's metal men. The team subsequently escapes, but Aura sends three dragons - the "Royal Groks" - after them. Flash gets the Groks to fight each other instead of the humans, but then there's another obstacle to face. The group encounters "The Cavern of Fire," and the only way to escape is through a tunnel on the far side of the "flame barrier." A cable car can carry them there, but Aura intercepts the fugitives and re-captures Flash, Dale and Zarkov. Vultan, Thun and Barin are free, but again, Barin has a plan...

While Ming threatens to take Dale to his "apartment" (a funny line...), Flash is led to the arena. "Let the Great Games begin," Ming declares, as Flash the gladiator fights many of the creatures we've seen in previous episodes. There are royal Groks, the lobster-like "Talors" (The Fire King...), and the giant blue magic worm from Azura's kingdom, among others. Flash makes short work of the beasts and other gladiators (including a man with a bull-heat - a minotaur?), but then runs into a tough masked warrior who suspiciously resembles Prince Barin. Hmmm.

At the end, only Flash and the Arborian prince stand, and Ming warns that the gladiators must next face the dreaded "cable of green flame." Whatever that is...

To be continued...

More Muir in the Media...

November is already shaping up to be an interesting month here in Muirville.

While I obsessively edit and re-edit episodes of The House Between, I also have an article appearing in this month's Filmfax Plus (available at newstands now!).

It's a very lengthy and detailed interview with legendary writer Dorothy Fontana, and the piece remembers her work from classic Star Trek episodes like "This Side of Paradise" to all her other 1970s genre efforts (which include - amazingly - Fantastic Journey, Logan's Run, Ghost Story/Circle of Fear, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Sixth Sense, and even Star Trek: The Animated Series).

There's also an article about Filmation's 1970s superhero show, Shazam, an interview with Robert Bloch and Dee Wallace, and other terrific stuff. It's really a great issue...

Also, my friend Fred just pointed this out to me, but BCI - the company officially releasing the 1970s Filmation live series Space Academy on DVD - is mentioning me in their promotional material! How cool is that? Readers of the blog will remember I blogged the entire series (all fifteen episodes...) last year, and put up a page on my site, here, devoted to the show.

Last but certainly not least, the cover for my upcoming book, The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia is now up at Amazon...and is very cool! The book will be published May 2007.

Now...back to editing.

RETRO TOY FLASHBACK # 49: U.S.S. Enterprise Bridge (1980)

It must have been 1980 or 1981, I guess; a bitterly cold winter's day as I recall. I was at Englishtown flea market in New Jersey with my family, searching out toy treasures. At that time in my life, that would have meant Planet of the Apes, Star Wars or Star Trek figures, to put a fine point on the matter.

Bundled in a warm winter jacket and sipping hot chocolate out of a Styrofoam cup, my lips shivering, I soon came across a toy that I had never seen before (and have only rarely seen since). And which today, I prize. It's the Star Trek: The Motion Picture "U.S.S. Enterprise Bridge" from Mego Corporation, released 1980. I found it mint in its box at the flea market that day...selling for one dollar. Needless to say, I bought it. (And I still had allowance to spare...)

I've kept this toy with me ever since - during all my geographical moves from New Jersey to Virginia to North Carolina, though the toy box is long, long gone.

And just recently, I bought a new one (with box...) on E-Bay for significantly more than one dollar. Why? I had always promised myself that if I saw another of these rare toys, and it was under a certain price threshold, I would get it, since I had played mine out and all the decals had basically rubbed off.

To explain further about this toy, it is not the famous "spinning transporter" Bridge playset from Mego; from the original TV series. No, this is the movie Enterprise bridge from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The box legend says it all, capturing the glory of this toy: "take command of the helm and recreate all the adventure of the crew of the starship Enterprise."

How many of us X'ers, as kids, wanted to do just that? I know I did, and since the movies were from my era growing up, the 1979 -1991 era, this was the bridge I wanted. The bridge V'Ger's probe attacked. The bridge Kirk returned to after a 2.5 year absence after the five year mission; the bridge from which he faced "KHAN!"

"All scaled for Mego 3 3/4 inch Star Trek crew" figures, this bridge "measures over 24 inches long and 12 inches wide and features" the following: "Working Docking Port," "Helm Control Center," "Navigational Station," "Captain's Chair," "Science Center," Communications Console" and "Authentic Decals."

Trademarked 1980 by Mego Corp, to follow the release of the first Star Trek movie, the box also suggested you can dock this bridge "with the Vulcan shuttle (sold separately)," a toy that to my knowledge was never widely released. So how cool is that? What's really awesome is that the you can see the prototype toy in the picture on the side, if you look closely enough at the side of the box, or at least a part of that Vulcan shuttle. Damn, why didn't they ever release this toy? I want one...

I guess there's a certain kind of kid (a geek?) who would rather sit inside and play with action figures than go outside and throw a ball around, and that was certainly me. But what's even funnier is that the bridge isn't exactly a "hub of action." I mean, it's a place with control panels and chairs where the action figures...sit. When I think of the Star Wars toys from Kenner, I remember the Ewok village, the Death Star (with trash compactor!) the Rebel Hoth base and more...places of action and battle! But then Star Trek was (and is...) for a certain kind of kid too. I mean, I don't want to diss Star Wars because I love it, but the thrill of Star Trek is the notion of a team of people exploring the unknown together. The bridge is the gateway to that unknown, that cosmic mystery. Any kind of alien being or space phenomenon or wormhole could appear on our view screen, and off we go into the realm of the undiscovered, the new, the imaginative.

That's why I guess I'll always prefer Star Trek. Swinging light sabers and blasting stormtroopers is really fun for a while, but Trek is ultimately warp speed ahead into universes unseen and unimagined. A planet of gangsters? A living machine? A Klingon battle fleet? A secret mission into the Romulan neutral zone? Pioneering a new world? From this bridge, (and with the right scale figures...), it all seemed within reach.

Truth be told, this toy is made of flimsy plastic and held together only by tiny adhesive stickers. The controls are just decals, flat and uninteresting. There are no lights, no whirring parts. And compared to Kenner's wonderful (and extremely sturdy...) Star Wars toys, this Enterprise bridge pales in comparison. And yet - again - the child who loves Star Trek knows these things don't really matter. It's what we bring to the human adventure, our imagination, that counts, and this bridge - deficits and all - is still the command center that carries our mental starships into new worlds to meet new life forms and new civilizations...

TV REVIEW: Jericho: "Rogue River"

This episode of the promising new CBS series Jericho picks up "one month after the bombs..." as siblings Eric and Jake race to Rogue River - a nearby town - to retrieve Cipro; the medicine they require to save their father's life. Dad (the mayor...) has gone septic and his organs are beginning to shut down...

The early scenes of "Rogue River" feature some really terrible process optical work for the road scenes - as we're in the car with Eric and Jake - and I was surprised to see such fakey special effects for something so simple as a driving scene. The bad fx distracted me from the deep Eric/Jake conversation, but I got the swing of things soon enough.

There was a striking and ominous scene not long after, which found the boys driving into Rogue River and interpreting the markings (left on evacuated houses...) spray-painted by FEMA. For instance, we learn that the town of Rogue River was evacuated on 10/25; and that FEMA noted how many people they rescued in each house...and how many they found dead. This segment brought up memories for me of Hurricane Katrina, the occasion many people first learned what those symbols meant, and I credit Jericho for being dark, realistic and accurate in this regard. I can't imagine that CBS is thrilled with a mainstream series dredging up memories of a real life disaster, but I think the metaphor is apt. This is definitely a post-Katrina show...there's no help coming; and the only representative we have of the Federal government, Hawkins, may be more a bad guy than a good one, though the jury is still out.

Soon after pulling into town, Eric and Jake encounter a soldier who has been fighting mercenaries, (a squad led by actor D.B. Sweeney), and attempt to retrieve the medicine they need from Fillmore County Hospital. After a gunfight and a daring escape, however, Eric realizes that he lost his wallet in the hospital. Oopsy. The episode ends on another scary, ominous note as Sweeney's character finds the wallet and reads Eric's address: "Jericho." Okay, this is a problem, and it's clear from the ending of the episode that the mercenaries are headed to town. It looks like there's gonna be a war next week on the show...

Lawlessness and heavily armed roving gangs (an argument for fewer guns or more guns, you think?) are just two problems Jericho raises this week. Here's another: back home, there's no way for April to make the ice which is necessary to reduce the mayor's fever. His wife complains bitterly about this, "This day and age...how can someone die of a fever?" Good question, I think. The answer in Jericho is that the school teacher remembers a science project from the previous year about how to make ice. Good thing. But I wonder, how many of us could accomplish the same task in a pinch? Without sounding mean or derisive or anything, we're all "moderners," aren't we? I mean, if we had to, could we make ice without help? How about electricity? We've become a country where everything is so easy that we don't question how we receive light, television signals, or frozen foods. I'm glad Jericho is looking at this angle of the post-apocalyptic scenario.

You know, when I was a kid, I was a tremendous fan of the Mad Max/Road Warrior movies and the Planet of the Apes saga. In very different ways, these franchises gazed at post-apocalyptic scenarios. In a way, Jericho is the TV equivalent, and a show I've always wanted to see, ever since I was a thirteen-yea- old laying in my bed at night and fearing nuclear war (especially after President Reagan's joke about outlawing Russia and "the bombing" starting in "five minutes.") This is a series that really honors its dark premise; at least so far. The longer it lasts, the more desperate the characters and situations on Jericho should become, and I hope the producers and writers are up to the task and aren't going to start candy-coating the end of the world.

The House Between Saturday Shooting

Well, Kathryn took care of Joel this Saturday afternoon, while I got down to business shooting some new scenes with actress and buddy Alicia Wood, who plays Theresa in The House Between.

I've got to say, it was weird seeing Alicia in full Theresa regalia again after a five months span, and especially in a different environment (my house, instead of the location where we shot the series). It's funny, but Alicia (much like Jim Blanton - who plays Arlo) - goes through a complete physical transformation to play the TV show character. When she becomes Theresa, Alicia takes on a whole different countenance and it's kind of Twilight Zone-ish to see her morph before our eyes.

We had a fun time, and after we shot some green screen material and two new, freshly written scenes (for episode 7, "Departed,") Alicia sat down with me to drink some red wine and do some dialogue looping at my editing station. This was a lot of fun, and I shouldn't be surprised that Alicia proved a natural at it. We would play her dialogue, watch her mouth moving on the screen, turn the sound down, and she would "synch" her dialogue to the screen.

Then, Alicia previewed the second and third episodes of the series, "Settled" and "Positioned." When we finished, I asked her what she thought of the shows and she looked at me, raised her Vulcan-type eyebrows and said "John, you know I was just watching me the whole time..."

Master Blaster...

My friend (and, according to some - my sidekick!), Lee dubbed the Joel/grown-up combo "Master Blaster" recently, and given this gear, I'm going with that as our nickname.

Notice the radiant light behind us. No, it's not camera flash, it's the glow of ascendent fatherhood and brilliant Joelster! Little Joel's already giving me editing advice...

November Column at Far Sector

My new column at Far Sector this month takes another look at the outstanding Showtime series, Dexter, and asks the question: could sociopath Dexter Morgan be a (*gasp*) superhero?

"...from a certain point of view, Dexter Morgan might be viewed not as a sociopath, but actually—and controversially—as a super hero. In one episode, Dexter talks explicitly of wearing a 'mask,' much like Batman or The Flash. Dexter also boasts a secret identity as an avenger, much like the Caped Crusader; one that he rigorously hides. By day he’s mild-mannered Dexter Morgan, by blackest midnight, he’s a Dark Knight of sorts, cleaning up the city of human refuge. Dexter also incorporates the “outsider” perspective of Superman (existing outside humanity and thus being able to comment on it). Finally, Dexter has dedicated himself to the eradication of evil and the pursuit of justice, the very mission of the super hero archetype.

We’ve all heard the proverb that “justice is blind.” To be blind, we must put aside our emotions right? Justice isn’t about passion…that’s just revenge. Dexter is ideally suited to mete out justice because he doesn’t feel love or hate, amity or enmity. No, he is unclouded by such human concerns…and therefore perfectly placed to police us. He is unbiased.

And yet Dexter’s a murderer and a monster. So is he good or evil? He is an evildoer who does good? It’s hard to say, but these are the questions you’ll ask yourself while watching Dexter...."

Check out the rest of the column here.

SATURDAY MORNING CULT TV BLOGGING: Flash Gordon: "King Flash"

More "peril and adventure await us" on this week's Flash Gordon episode, Chapter 11, "King Flash."

When last we left our stalwart hero, he was trapped in the caverns of the Blue Magic witch queen, Azura. She had cast a spell on Gordon making him believe he was "Gor-Don," a conquering King of Mongo from years past...and her lover.

As "King Flash" opens, Gordon and Azura lead their war chariot and magical sorcerer minions in battle against Vultan and Barin. Dr. Zarkov has concluded that Azura's spell is "electrical," but is still unable to free Flash from the clutches of his new queen. Zarkov then determines he must "fight magic with magic."

Gor-don's army is triumphant and Vultan and Barin are captured. But when Barin says "Flash...remember," something comes through Gordon's psyche. Azura attributes this to weariness and sends Flash off to bed. There, Zarkov, Thun and Dale capture him and restore his memory, leaving in his stead a hologram. Unfortunately, Zarkov notes, Flash will retain a double personality for some time, even after he is healed. Another side effect of the restoration: Flash Gordon literally becomes "a shadow," a tool he will use to defeat Queen Azura.

When Azura realizes she can never own Flash Gordon body and soul, she releases the ancient "Fire King" Talors from the cavern to destroy him. But Flash is able to defeat the lobster/dinosaur creature in battle, and thus wins freedom for himself and his friends. Azura is now his new ally in the war to overthrow Mongo's despot, Ming.

Free and triumphant, Flash, Barin, Vultan, Dale, Zarkov and Thun leave the blue magic caverns...only to be captured by Princess Aura and Ming the Merciless...

To be continued...

The House Between update

Hey everybody,

I haven't blogged about my independently-produced web series, The House Between in some time, so I thought I would provide an update on post-production today. In a phrase: all is well.

1). The first episode "Arrived" is now at a final cut stage. I've had good comments from many folks who previewed the show at Fanta Sci back at the end of July, and incorporated changes where it was possible. I've also shot some new footage to better establish some "geography" of the strange house. I am delighted with how this episode looks and feels, and hope wider audiences will feel the same way as the screeners.

2.) I'm happy to report that I have a very talented graphic designer working on some special effects for later episodes. She did a top secret design for me just yesterday, and I must say, I'm blown away by what she created for me. The work is amazing.

3.) My terrific composer out in L.A. has watched a rough cut of the first three episodes ("Arrived," "Settled," and "Positioned"), and is scoring the show. He knows exactly what I want: an intimate, melancholy, mysterious score. His reaction to the first three episodes was also extremely positive. He said that the show was, in a word, "captivating." His feedback was 95% positive, and I'm also incorporating his feedback into my re-edits.

4.) Tomorrow, I'll be looping some hard-to-discern dialogue with one of the series stars, and breaking out the lights and camera equipment (and going out on location...) to shoot some new sequences for a few of the episodes, particularly the finale.

Basically, everything is going well, but as you may (or may not...) know, editing is a bear. It's a hugely time-consuming process and I'm a perfectionist. I want everything to be the best it can be, and alas, this means taking my time.

Bottom line: At least one episode, the premiere, "Arrived," should be up on the web by Christmas, assuming we stay on schedule, with the other six stories to follow on a weekly basis thereafter. (And then pre-production begins on Season Two!!!)

I''ll let you know where to tune in...