Supercolliders

1. When Worlds Collide is now available at Deep Discount DVD for $21.77 so "Why pay $19.95!?". Why indeed?

This movie remains high quality 1950s cheese. I had not seen this movie since my own youth, but had enough fond memories to rent it via Blockbuster Online to watch with my son. I'll have to say that the memories are fonder than the actuality, although this was not a bad movie at all. It was definitely worth seeing once or twice in my life, but not worth owning.

To be honest, I had a higher opinion of the entire thing until the godawful matte painting at the end of things. For the era, the FX were quite good, although the globe of Bellus hanging in the sky is a bit much. The acting, while mostly wooden (typical in early era SF), does loosen up at some points. The male lead, in particular, has some occasional spurts of humanity. The script is decent, probably reflecting strong source material, although some complexity has clearly been cut in order to fit filmic pacing. I did find the sequence of the last handful of days building the escape rocket, with its frenzied narration by some anonymous announcer as to how far behind schedule they were, to be more humorous than tense. My 10 year old, on the other hand, was more intently focused on that sequence than he was on much of the rest of the movie.

One thing I'm curious about is the timing of the original story. Certain of the conventions of the 'end of the world' scenario I first encountered in SF while reading some of E.E. "Doc" Smith's Skylark series, written just before (or possibly simultaneous with) the source novel. Was this a case of great minds thinking alike? A common theme of fiction in the era? Or did one writer read and incorporate the details from the other? These are small details...in no wise impugning the originality or creativity of any of the authors involved, but I get curious about little things like that. Strangely enough, that's what I'll take away from seeing the movie...

The DVD, by the way, is absolutely devoid of special features. I felt lucky that there was a somewhat scratchy copy of the trailer included...

Hardware Wars!

2. Hardware Wars -rewatch

Yup, you'll laugh...you'll cry...you'll kiss three bucks goodbye.

This is another guilty pleasure from my youth. I clearly remember watching this projected at the town library when I was younger. The jokes have gotten better and better in my memory since that time. While I very much wanted to share this with my son, I was worried that the humor wouldn't hold up (for him or for me...)

I worried needlessly. While this short will never be some kind of worldbeating piece of high art, it is still damned funny. My son and I were laughing out loud through much of it, as much for the sheer exuberance of the ride as for individual jokes. At a grand length of 13 minutes, I'm not sure it is worth buying at anything other than a rock bottom price, but it comes closer than any other short subject for this SF fan. The special features definitely downgraded the DVD for me, though. The director's commentary is stultifyingly dull, as Ernie Fosselius trys to be amusing and fails. The out-take footage is vaguely amusing. The best bits have to do with Artie Deco's inability to follow directions (really, how much CAN you expect from a vacuum cleaner?). The rest of the material is so forgettable that, two days later, I've forgotten what it was.

We did, of course, watch the actual short 2 or 3 times, increasing the value of the rental tremendously. :)

Dragon Knights

15.The Dragon in Lyonesse

Another workmanlike adventure of Sir James Eckert, the Dragon Knight by Gordon R. Dickson. For those left in the dark, this series began with an astoundingly entertaining romp: The Dragon and the George. This featured Jim Eckert, a student and athlete who is projected into the mind of a dragon in a semi-medieval era so that he can attempt to rescue his fiance from the non-corporeal Dark Powers and their minions. Jim encounters many strongly written and fascinating characters during this tale and, at the end, decides to stay there in his own body, maintaining the castle that has been left by one of the defeated minions of evil. Over time he develops as a wizard and adventurer, using his modern perspective to his advantage.

This has led to an increasingly long series of books on Jim's adventures. As he becomes more accustomed to the era, Dickson uses the stories more as an educational vehicle on medieval Europe and the legends thereof. While the bloom is off the rose and none of the adventures reach the same heights of fancy that the original managed, they are still enjoyable reads. The Dragon of Lyonesse takes Jim to the mysterious land of Lyonesse, which was previously visited (briefly) in The Dragon and the Gnarly King. In this land dwell the immortal surviving knights of King Arthur in a land colored by the power of the Old Magic, which is not magick as the wizards of Jim's new home understand it.

The characterization in this particular entry in the series is a bit weaker than I usually expect. Dickson puts a lot of focus into Hob, a hobgoblin companion of Jim's, who really isn't a deep enough character to survive it. Things wrap up slightly too neatly in the end, as well...where I don't feel that Jim really had enough to do with the results on all levels. Still, Dickson's work is always very readable and this is no exception. This was worth reading.

Pulp in the Shadows

16. Eyes of the Shadow

Now I'm sure anyone who actually looked at my userinfo is aware that I'm a big fan of pulp fiction, so it may be kind of startling that I've gone as far as 16 books into the year-ish before encountering my first review of it. I'll try not to leave such a long gap in the future. ;)

This is the second book in the shadow pulps, authored by Walter Gibson as Maxwell Grant. (Gibson wrote 285 of the 325 pulp stories, so that isn't too surprising.) This is a strong and engrossing adventure in the series. While Gibson's writing is not yet as polished as it will be, the pacing is still strong. Ah, and the deathtraps abound.

One of the major recrurring elements of the Shadow series is a fascination with deathtraps. Always the Shadow barely escapes...or rescues others from these fiendish devices. Here we find a sealed room with poison gas, trap doors, moving walls and people being buried alive. A grand collection.

Interestingly, this story is more focused on a throwaway character, Bruce Duncan. Harry Vincent (one of the Shadow's main operatives) is directed to his aid by the Shadow and then the mysterious man himself shows up to assist. He pulls out and uses his famous matching .45s, puts on a disguise and showcases his physical abilities.

As an early story in the series, Gibson is really pulling out the stops to grab the reader. If I recall correctly from the few later books I've read, he is less frenetic in later stories, once the magazine is selling solidly, but at times this story seems a bit desperate for attention. I will admit, though, that it certainly got mine. This is a much more interesting story than the first book "The Living Shadow".

One thing that startles me was the serious injury to the Shadow when he is fooled (somewhat) by a gangland figure. This does serve to show us his amazing powers of recuperation, however, as (even concealing the full extent of his recovery) he highly impresses the doctor who is attending him in his guise as Lamont Cranston.

In my opinion, it is this book, more than "The Living Shadow", which really begins to propel the series to its fame.