Standing Tall in the Face of Disaster

This is my entry in the Disaster Blogathon hosted by Dubsism and Me

Stephen King has been off and on one of my favorite authors.  (I published a blog piece last year on how he influenced me, which you can read here.)  One of my favorite novels of his is The Stand, which was published way back in 1978.  In the summer of 1984 I had a job as a security guard in a manufacturing plant.  Since my main duties were to watch out for the computer room (this being back in the days when computers took up whole rooms and probably had less processing power than your current smart phone, but were extremely valuable), I had a lot of free time.  One of the books I read that summer was the original publication of The Stand.

In 1990, twelve years after the publication of the original, King brought out the "Complete and Uncut" edition of the book, in which he included much of the stuff that his publishers had forced him to leave out.  (Apparently, according to his preface, the publishers balked at releasing a 1200 page manuscript by a relatively new author and forced him to reduce it to a more manageable 800 page book, still a big book for a fledgling author, but compare that to the average book King puts out today.)

Was King a psychic?  The current spread of the Coronavirus is not near as devastating a disaster as the one described in the book, but one can't help but think of the current situation in the world today if one reads the book's first part (or watches part one of this miniseries).  Note: I would be less than honest if I did not tell you that King himself has recently tried to distance himself from comparisons of the "Super Flu" or "Captain Trips" described in The Stand from the current virus.  But when this blogathon idea first came to my attention back in November, it was the first film I thought of, and now it seems almost prescient that I chose it.

The book and film are both, by necessity, America-centric.  King himself, in the novel, never really delved into what happened in the rest of the world after he outbreak of the "Super-Flu".  Maybe the same thing happens in Russia and China and the rest of the world in some fashion. To be sure it's hard to imagine that some people didn't take the Super-flu with them outside of the continental United States.  That is the only flaw I see in the story however. 

The Stand (1994):

The whole thing starts with a mistake.  OK, so its not really all that much of a mistake.  The US military and the government have been working to create a lethal virus, ostensibly to be used in warfare.  But it is a series of mistakes and mishaps that gets it out into the open.  A mishap inside the military compound releases the virus and a security guard at the gate is told to shut down the complex.  But instead he panics and goes back to his home and gathers up his wfe and baby and hightails it before the override security can shut the gates.

Thus the beginning starts not with a bang but a whimper.   The next time we see the guard is when he crashes his car into a gas station in a podunk town in Texas, where Stu Redman (Gary Sinise) and some assorted friends hang out.  The guard's wife and baby are already dead from the virus and the guard himself is not long for this world.  But he has been spreading the virus everywhere, including Hap's Gas Station where Stu and friends are hanging out.  Eventually Stu and the entire town are packed up and taken to a government facility, not necessarily with their consent.

Not long afterward the virus is everywhere.  In Manhattan, Larry Underwood (Adam Storke) arrives to visit his mother.  He recently left home to become a singer in Los Angeles, but he has overspent his advancement and has gone home to escape  his creditors.  And in rural Maine Frannie Goldsmith (Molly Ringwald)is helping her father who has come down with the disease.  Eventually only she and her nebbish admirer Harold Lauder (Corin Nemec) are survivors in the town.  Into this cast of characters is also cast Nick Andros (Rob Lowe), a deaf mute who is stuck in rural Arkansas after being attacked by a gang of hoodlums.

On the other side, there is a malcontent named Lloyd Henreid (Miguel Ferrer) who has been jailed after a foiled holdup in which his partner killed the store owner.  Lloyd's partner is killed, but Lloyd ends up in prison as an accessory.  There is also a character known only as Trashcan Man (Matt Frewer), an arsonist who likes setting fires to things.

With 98% of the population dead from the virus, the survivors are called by superior powers (God and the Devil, or what have you).  The good guys feel themselves being called to rural Nebraska where an elderly black lady, Abigail Freemantle (Ruby Dee) is the instrument of good calling them to her.

On the opposite side is Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan) (who may or may not be the embodiment of the Biblical Antichrist, calling the not so good guys to Sin City, Las Vegas.

The second part of the movie involves the gathering of these assorted characters.  Nick meets up with a good but retarded man named Tom Cullen (Bill Fagerbakke).  Frannie and Harold eventuall hook up with Stu and an older man Stu encountered, Glen Bateman (Ray Walston).  All are being haunted by dreams of both Abigail who is calling to them and Randall who scares the shit out of them.

Eventually the good guys end up having to move to classier digs, since after all there's not much room for them all at Abigail's home/farm, and they pack up to move to Denver, where the rest of whats left of the good guys end up meeting them.

While both sides try to recreate society in their own way, the good guys eventually have to come to the conclusion that the Las Vegas contingent isn't going to sit on their haunches and expect a mutual piece.  What happens next constitutes the second two parts of the movie. Even though the good guys would like to coexist with the bad guys and have it be let each other alone, they know the truth that Flagg and Co. are not going to let it be such a mutual co-existence.

There are some traitors among the good guys, as to be expected.  And eventually the Denver group decides to send spies to see what's going on.  But Flagg is a bit more cognizant of their intentions than they would like to believe.

The movie as made takes a few liberties with the text.  After all, even at a 6 hour running time (it was made into a 4 part serial), some stuff had to be condensed to make it manageable.  And it should be noted that there is not much from the "unexpurgated" version that made it to the film; it's primary source is the original 800 page version.  The good thing is Stephen King had a hand in writing the script, so it stays pretty true to the book (unlike some other films I could name... Lawnmower Man anyone...?)

The cast includes a lot of familiar faces.  Even the author gets a brief cameo.

Watching The Stand may be hard on anyone who has lost friends or loved ones during the current situation.  At least the first act.  But the story is rather intriguing.  And it may or may not encourage conspiracy theorists on their views of the government,  (Again, especially in the first act).  One thing.  I rarely cry when watching movies, but if you watch it I will tell you that the scene in which Kathy Bates makes a cameo caused me to well up immensely.And not necessarily because she dies.  It's more of the circumstances surrounding her death.  You have to watch the scene to relate.  It has to do with my being such a strong advocate of free speech.

Time to head home, folks.  Drive safely.

Quiggy

The Promise of The Chosen One

The mantle of "hero" is never an easy one to bear.  People look to you to rescue them from every plight that befalls them.  Not an easy job.  Even if you are faster than a speeding bullet, or have every gadget known to man in the pockets of your tool belt, or even if you can manipulate time and space to make the bad guys just disappear into another dimension.

But what if, just what if, you are just an ordinary guy who has less power and intelligence in your entire body than Superman or Batman or Dr. Strange has in their pinky finger?  What if you are just some shmo who everyone thinks in the promised savior but you know yourself to be just some guy who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

That's exactly what happened to Ty Farrell.  He's just a struggling actor trying to make a paycheck on a cheesy 50's sci-fi superhero series as "Captain Zoom". But far far away in another galaxy, the planet of Pangea is on it's last legs fighting off the evil overlord Lord Vox.  And the little electronics wizard brother of the leader of the resistance is searching for a champion to help them in their endeavor.

And he thinks he's found it when he stumbles across a broadcast of "The Adventures of Captain Zoom", a kiddie sci-fi show originating on Earth.

The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space (1995):

In a galaxy far, far away, the residents of the planet Pangea are in a desperate struggle to avoid the taking over of their planet by Lord Vox of Vestron (Ron Perlman)

In the struggle a young warrior, Tyra (Liz Vassey) leads the people to thwart the evil machinations of Vox.  But in a raid on the base of operations Tyra is captured.

Back at home base, things are looking bleak, despite the promise of their spiritual leader, Sagan (Nichelle Nichols) that "it is written" that a promised one will appear.  

 Most of the people accept her predictions, but young Baley (Gregory Smith), the young brother of Tyra has become exasperated with Sagan's platitudes.  Instead, being the electronics genius of the clan, he uses his knowledge and equipment to search for a hero on his own.

And he thinks he finds it in the person of Ty Farrell ( Daniel Riordan). 

Farrell is the star of a TV show on a planet far away, "Captain Zoom".  But young Baley thinks his exploits are real and thinks that Captain Zoom is just the hero the people need to defeat Lord Vox.  So he uses his equipment to bring Zoom to the planet of Pangea.

Of course, you and I know Farrell is just an actor, although no one on Pangea knows what that is...

Farrell:  I'm not a hero.  I'm just an actor.
Simulus: What's an 'actor'?
Farrel: I pretend I'm somebody else, for money.
Simulus: Oh, a spy... kill him.

Vox has plans to subjugate Pangea and discover the ancient wisdom hidden somewhere on the planet.  He also wants Tyra to marry him and become his queen (because he is, after all, just a horny man who has needs other than the desire to become king of the known universe...)

Meanwhile, back at home base, Farrell is having trouble coping with his new situation.  For one thing, everyone thinks he really is Captain Zoom, despite his efforts to dissuade them.  And they think he is the chosen one come to deliver them just as Sagan's prophecies have foretold.

Of course, due to his ineptitude, while actually trying to rescue Tyra, he too is captured, mainly because Vesper (Gia Carides) i, Vox's high priestess, has clairvoyant psychic powers.  But she only has these powers as long as she remains a virgin.  (Don't get ahead of me here...)

Vesper has the hots for Zoom, and she tries to work her powers on him.  But Tyra and the captain escape from Vox's fortress spaceship.  Unfortunately for Vox, this is a surprise because Vesper failed to foretell of the escape.  (OK, now you can catch up...)

Eventually Farrell is informed of the sad fact that Baley used all of his available isotopes in brining Zoom to Pangea and the bad news is it will take thousands of years before more can be made.  But Tyra tells him that the quest for ancient wisdom in the hidden cavern that both she and Vox are searching for may also contain information that could restore him back on Earth.  So he reluctantly joins the quest.

Farrell is essentially the essence of The Peter Principle (a theory that eventually a person rises to a position of which he is too incompetent  to perform the duties to which he is assigned... sound familiar?)  Farrell is far from the hero that the people of Pangea think he is, but he has an ego to match just about anyone in Hollywood so he thinks he can be whatever they want (as long as it isn't too strenuous...)

The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space is a real hoot.  Unfortunately I don't think it's ever been released on DVD.  However, there is a poor quality recording of it on you tube (in three parts, but not to worry it's only about an hour and a half long in toto).  I had the fortune of seeing this when it was first broadcast on Starz back in 1995.  It's a made for TV film, and the special effects are negligible, but don't go into it expecting a Star Wars knockoff.  Go into it for the comic performance of Zoom and his would-be worshipers.

Quiggy

Aliens in the Old West

This is my entry in the Harrison Ford Blogathon hosted by Sat in Your Lap

Two of my favorite types of movies are westerns and sci-fi.  The two subjects are pretty disparate. Although, truth be told, a lot of sci-fi movies are just westerns set in an alien world.  (Star Wars, for instance could be a western if you substitute horses for the spaceships and a wooden fortress for the Death Star, in my opinion...)

But pitting aliens against a background of the old west is something that is pretty rare.  Howard Waldrop, a sci-fi author, once wrote a parody of War of the Worlds as experienced in an old west setting, but it usually is not something that would mesh.

Cowboys and Aliens started out life, as you would expect, as a comic book.  The graphic novel, created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, made its way into the comic book stores in 2006.  But its genesis began 10 years earlier when Rosenberg pitched the idea to Universal Pictures.   They bought the rights to the idea, but it bounced around for years.  By 2004, Columbia Pictures had acquired the rights but it was still going nowhere.

So Rosenber published the idea as a graphic novel.  That apparently was the needed factor.  Now, with a concept that was visually on paper, Universal once again acquired the rights and it was put into the process of bringing it to the big screen.  It took another 5 years to get it done, but we finally got a concept that was unique to Hollywood.

Cowboys and Aliens is actually two movies welded into one.  You could take out the aliens and still have a pretty decent western.  And you could transfer the western setting to a modern setting and have a damn good alien invasion film.  But together, the concept makes for a pretty entertaining mash-up of the two genres.

Cowboys and Aliens (2011):

A cowboy (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the middle of the desert.  He has no idea of where he is, how he got there, or what this peculiar bracelet is that is attached to his arm.  He also has an odd wound on his stomach.  He stumbles into the town of Absolution where the local preacher, Meacham (Clancy Brown) performs some rudimentary work on his wound.

Meanwhile, Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano), the malcontent son of a local cattle baron, Col. Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), roughs up the town and shoots one of the deputies.

Sheriff Taggart (Keith Carradine) arrests him and prepares to ship him off to the county seat for trial.  In the process he recognizes the stranger as Jake Lonergan, a wanted man, who has also coincidentally robbed Col. Dolarhyde of some gold.

But before the stage can take off, aliens invade the town and take some of its citizens hostage.  The true nature of the bracelet that Jake has on his arm comes to the fore as he uses it to take out one of the alien ships.

But Jake still has no idea how he got the bracelet or what its nature is.  With some misgivings at being roped into a posse to chase down the aliens he joins forces with Dolarhyde and Taggart.  Dolarhyde's main focus is to rescue his son who was one of the captives, but the rest of the posse has a goal to save members of the town, some of whom where related to the posse members.  (One of them is the wife of the town's saloon operator/doctor).

In the process, more of Jake's background is revealed.  It seems he ditched the rest of his gang and took off with all the gold from a robbery.  But when he and his wife were in their cabin, the aliens came by.  They are not just interested in captives, they are also trying to harvest the Earth's gold (for which purpose is never really fully explained).  Jake's wife was killed during an experiment on the alien ship, but Jake managed to escape, with the strange bracelet attached to his arm.

Much of the story comes to the fore when Ella (Olivia Wilde), a woman with a strange past reveals she knows quite a bit more about the aliens than any Earthling should know.  Of course, the reason she turns out to know all of this is because she herself is not really an Earthling, but an alien from another world that our enemy aliens ravaged.

That's enough to get you involved in the story.  Its a typical shoot-em-up western, but the added twist of aliens makes it pretty intriguing.

Time to fire up the engines on this Plymouth. Drive home safely folks.

Quiggy

Never Trust a Martian

This is my first entry in the Beyond Star Trek blogathon hosted by Hamlette's Soliloquy and Me

So is it kismet that one of Leonard Nimoy's first appearances on the screen was as an alien?  No, not as Spock.  15 years before that iconic role Nimoy played a Martian (zombie) in the 12 part serial Zombies of the Stratosphere.

Nimoy had a rocky start to his career before Star Trek.  He got the title role in Kid Monk Baroni, but that film failed at the box office, so Nimoy made a decision to just take whatever he could get, which usually resulted in his being an "also-ran" in the credits.  Of course, when Star Trek went into production he was in the title credits, albeit behind William Shatner, but before that you would have been hard pressed to notice his name in the credits.

In particular with Zombies, Nimoy's name only appears third in the list of the secondary characters, behind the 5 primary stars that appear in the first on screen credits.  And Nimoy (as Narab) is basically just a gofer in the film.  For most of the 12 part serial his sole line is usually just "Yes, sir" to the orders of Marex, the leader of the Martian entourage.  But even with that secondary status you can't miss Nimoy's face, and voice.

"Zombies" by the way, is a misnomer.  There are no real zombies, not ones you would think of anyway.  Even the 50's version of zombies.  In fact, you never even hear the Martians referred to as "zombies" until the final reel. But then, as we will see, the Martians are a sci-fi substitute for a much closer "alien" force which many in the West probably considered "zombies" in the 50's.

Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952):

As a group of government agents (Inter-Planetary Patrol) watch, an alien spaceship enters Earth's atmosphere.

Since they don't have any idea of it's intentions Larry Martin ( Judd Holdren) is dispatched to check it out.  Why Larry?  Because he has a spacesuit with rockets attached to his back.  (Note:  Although he is never called Commander Cody in this film, the outfit is almost an exact replica of the one used by that character in other films.  In fact, this was supposed to be a sequel to Radar Men from the Moon, but apparently some snafu involving a projected TV series starring Commander Cody caused the people in charge to have to change the name).

Before Larry can get to the ship though, Marex (Lane  Bradford) and his assistant Narab (Leonard Nimoy) have unloaded some supplies and take off with a couple of nefarious goons who met them at the landing site.  Marex and Narab go to a local (mad) scientist's lab/house where Dr.Harding (Stanley Waxman) is the go-to contact.

The Martians have a plan.  You see, the climate on Mars is pretty shabby.  So the Martians want to build an H-bomb which, when strategically planted, will blow the Earth out of it's orbit, thus allowing Mars to take its place in the Earth's orbit.  (And if you have trouble with the logic of that, you are probably in the wrong theater...)  They want Dr. Harding to help them in their construction of the H-bomb.

So why do they think Harding will be a willing participant?  Well, Harding has been selling state secrets to a competing power (Russia?) and the Martians threaten to reveal his shenanigans if he doesn't cooperate.  (See, even on Mars they understand the concept of "blackmail"...)

The Martians and their Earthling cohorts proceed to try various attempts at hijacking shipments of uranium.  One gets the idea that uranium wasn't all that much of a high priority item as these shipments didn't have hordes of armed forces personnel assigned to guard them.  (But then if they did, Larry Martin and his jet suit would have been pretty much an after thought, if not an unwanted presence. )

Over the course of the 12 part serial we get the typical "cliffhanger", scenes where Larry or one of his associates is trapped and apparently rides off to their death, only to have the next episode reveal some incredible luck to have them survive to fight anther day.

The only real question throughout the entire serial is why only two guys and one girl are involved in the desperate struggle to keep the Martians from fulfilling their nefarious plans.  Are we dependent only on one guy in a jet pack and a few pistols to save the Earth?  (And there is another question.  If the Martians are so advanced, why don't they have ray guns?  Even the Martians resort to primitive pistols.  And none of them are good shots.... I think only one person in the entire serial takes a bullet, but there must have been close to a hundred fired over the course of the serial.)

Probably the funniest part of the serial (though it probably wasn't INTENDED to be funny) is the appearance of a robot.  The robot has some laser powered arms, but on several occasions it just fights with its fists like the rest of the cast.

Although the villain in the film are Martians, this film could have easily subsituted Russians for the Martians and not suffered too much.  To be sure, the plot to switch the orbit of Mars with Earth might have had to be altered somewhat, but then again, the underlying plot was not much more  ridiculous than some of the plots to any James Bond film.  So maybe SMERSH (a frequent James Bond nemesis) could have planned it and was going to colonize Mars with its "New Order".

One must take into consideration when watching this or virtually any other serial that the potential audience for them was mostly kids.  You didn't really need a coherent plot, just losts of fist fights and gun play and an eventual triumph by the heroes.

Personally I'm an advocate for the return of the serial.  I think it would be an improvement on the theater experience.

Well, folks time to fire up the jet packs.  Drive safely, folks.

Quiggy

Christmas in Space

This is my entry in the Happy Holidays blogathon hosted by Pure Entertainment Preservation Society

You have no idea to what lengths I will go to subject myself to the most arcane and outre stuff imaginable, just to entertain you.  OK, I admit, most of the time I enjoy it.  But like they used to say in the old Army enlistment commercials, "It's not just a job; it's an adventure".

Case in point is today's entry.  In 1978, with a true sequel to the original Star Wars film still a couple of years away, George Lucas red-lighted a TV special, mostly to keep the film still relevant.  (although in retrospect there wasn't all that much need.  It was and still is one of the highest watched movie franchises in Hollywood history, but this was still early on in it's history).

On Nov 17, 1978, the public at large was subjected to The Star Wars Holiday Special.  The special was a (sort-of) Christmas TV special, even though Christmas was replaced by the fictional Life Day, an event celebrated each year on Chewbacca's home planet. It was aired on CBS in a time slot normally occupied by Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman and the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno show, The Incredible Hulk.

It had some interesting features.  For one it introduced the character of Boba Fett, a later character in the pantheon of films.  And James Earl Jones finally got credit for voicing Darth Vader for the first time.  But it was also a complete disaster.  In more ways than one.

It was so badly received that most of the people involved in it refuse to this day to acknowledge their part in it.   Many fans disown it, too.  There are probably a number of people out there who may have every movie, toy, book and other assorted tie-ins to the Star Wars franchise, but you can be sure this is not part of their collection, unless they have a bootleg copy that was recorded directly off the TV broadcast.  Lucas himself has distanced himself from it and it has never been released on VHS or DVD by Lucas Films.  (Despite the fact that, if you check Amazon, it lists it, albeit as  a "currently unavailable" listing...)

Being a fan of the first film when it came out, and a sci-fi fan in general at the time, I can't honestly remember if I watched it when it was broadcast.  I do know that years later when I heard about it, I was like, "What?  Really?"  But after having watched it a few years ago, I think I could easily have  watched it and then proceeded to convince myself that I hadn't.

If you haven't seen it, you are lucky.  And if you don't click on the link below, you can still count yourself lucky. Don't say I didn't warn you...

You clicked on the link, didn't you...?  :-D  Well, I warned you, so don't blame me.

The Star Wars Holiday Special (first aired Nov. 17, 1978):

The scene opens with Han and Chebacca trying to escape Empire forces and get Chewie home to celebrate the Wookie holiday of "Life Day".

One of the most astounding faux pas of the show is when the scene shifts back to Chewbacca's home planet,  Kashyyyk,  early in the show, where Chewie's wife Malla, son Lumpy and father-in-law Itchy await his return.  (By the way, in classic retro changing of things to accommodate the more serious feel of the franchise, those ridiculous names were later revealed to have been nicknames.  Lumpy's given name is Lumpawarrump.  Itchy's given name is Attichituk.  And Malla is really Mallatobuk.)

The astounding screwball part is that all of the family on Kashyyyk speak in Wookie.  Without the benefit of any subtitles.  Which leaves the confused viewer scrambling, to try to figure out for his or herself what the hell is actually going on.  Fortunately for us, when any human or human-like characters come on the screen they speak English so we aren't completely lost throughout the film...  But it takes about 9 minutes of this almost slapstick type interaction before we get anybody who speaks something we can understand.  (But we are still stuck with the grunts from the Wookies.)

The first English speaking character turns out to be Luke (Mark Hamill) who, along with R2D2, put in a call to the family to wish them a happy Life Day.  Luke expresses concern for Chewie's absence but tries to encourage Malla that all will be OK.

A bit later Saun (played by Art Carney), a junk dealer calls and tells Malla he is going to be delivering some items to them later.

What these turn out to be are Life Day presents for the family. Malla gets a shaggy carpet weaved by "a little old lady who knitted by hand...solo."  (Groan!)   Lumpy gets a box of stuff which later turns out to help in getting rid of some unwanted Imperial guests.  And Itchy gets a holographic disk, which turns out to be some kind of pseudo-pornographic thing.  (At least that was what it came off looking like to me.  No nudity, however...it was a TV show remember, and a 70's TV show at that...)  This includes a hologram of a woman (played by Diahann Carroll), who serenades Itchy with a song.

Harvey Korman makes several appearances here.  One is as a woman cooking instructor teaching Malla how to make Bantha Surprise (with multiple arms yet.)  Another time he plays a rather inept robot instructor trying to show Lumpy how to create his own robot.  He later shows up as an infatuated lovelorn devotee of Ackmena (played by Bea Arthur), a female bar owner.  Arthur also sings a song, while the alien cantina band (Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes.  Bet you didn't know that band had a name, did you...?) from the movie plays in the background.

This being ostensibly a variety show we also get another song, this one done by a holgraphic band, played by the real band Jefferson Starship (and there's an example of kismet if I ever heard one).  For some reason, during the opening credits, the announcer refers to them as THE Jefferson Starship. 

There is also an animated piece featuring Luke and Han and Chewie and the introduction of the bounty hunter Boba Fett.

And to top off the musical part of this extravaganza Leia (Carrie Fisher) sings a Life Day song (done to the tune of the Star Wars theme, yet.)

All in all, its not entirely bad, but it is cheesy without a doubt.  If you are a full blown Star Wars geek, you may think it almost borders on sacrilege.  All it's missing is a tap dance ensemble with the Wookies in top hats and tails.

Well folks, time to fire up the afterburners and warp speed back to my own planet.  Drive safely, folks.

Quiggy