Commando Cody and Things
Still not 100% -. getting tired of soup folks.
I notice that the Senate has passed a military approbations bill with a time limit on our deployment in Iraq. The bill passed by a narrow margin and W has announced with some hysteria that he will veto any bill with a time limit and the Senate passed it anyway. It’s not biding like the House’s bill is but there’s that date in there.
We’ll see what happens now – W has talked tough in the past but when confronted has folded like a cheap suit – with one exception – Iraq so I’m not sure what he will do other than stage another pout fest on TV. He’s predictable that way.
Iran is changing their story about where and how the British Sailors were taken. Which figures – we don’t have the monopoly on self deceiving lying scumbags. The radicals there has used W’s hostility to strengthen their hold on power in the Iranian government and I suspect this part of that effort– they may have miscalculated – simply because W is stupid enough to push the button.
Anyway spent yesterday watching Radar Men from the Moon – one of the last Republic Serials (1952 for Pete’s sake) which featured Commando Cody in his flying suit - which I have to admit I think looks cool. It was great fun, the special effects were, considering the time and the fact Republic had a budget of about 11 cents for this picture, pretty good – heck of a lot better than the TV Superman of the same era for one thing, and it just ambled along at a nice clip – Commando Cody although brave wasn’t much for thinking things through so he kept getting himself in bad scrapes – which of course is what you want from a serial hero. The story such as such things are is that the men on the moon are trying to take over the earth and as a first step weakening our defenses via a campaign of sabotage. Mindless and all in good fun.
Still a few things:
Cody’s ‘flight suit’ was the helmet and a leather jacket with a jet back strapped to his back – how he was able to traipse around the moon (which looked a lot like the desert east of Hollywood by the way) without oxygen and a real space suit isn’t explained. Also one hopes that he had some kind of protection in his pants other wise his butt was going to get charbroiled every time he flew from the jet exhaust.
Speaking of which the controls (located on his chest) simply have on/off fast/slow and up/down. How he could go left or right was never explained.
Also – since Commando was a big time government op or some such, would it be too much to add a holster to the damn suit? Every time he went out to fight the baddies (of which there were exactly three – some guy from the moon and two thugs – the budget as tiny here) he sticks his pistol in the suit’s belt – what is with that? You got a guy in space age rocket suit for Pete’s sake.
And how about some security? The bad guys were able to walk in on Cody and his crew several times – at least put a lock on the door or hire a security guard.
The low budget shows mostly in that there are only about 4 bad guys – two thugs (one played by Clayton Moore – yes the lone ranger and you have no idea how weird it is to hear him say things like “stick em up” or “you should’ve plugged the driver” or “there’s a man in flying suit chasing up – step on it” in that voice. You kept waiting for ‘High Ho Silver away!” or “Tonto I need you to go into town”.) The moon man head of earth operations and the head of the moon men (with some other folks in space suits which were probably the same two guys over and over again). Which leads to another problem – Cody, while brave, needs to learn how to fight – he and Ted (his assistant) kept getting the shit kicked out of them by Clayton and the other thug during the fight scenes. Cody – Martial arts – it helps.
Watching the episodes back to back you saw how the serial makers would just utterly and absolutely cheat on the cliff hanger endings – my favorite one was where Cody and Ted were trapped on the moon in a cave and are menaced by lava flood – they reach the end of the cave – Dead end! However next episode Cody says to Ted “Let’s take that branch of the cave over there” and Ted says “No! Since we can’t live together, I want to die here with you now! Take me! I’ve always loved you!”
No, of course he doesn’t say, that he just follows Cody out the cave.
The other one is where the bad guy leaves Cody’s Female (Joan) assistant in a plane – it looks like the plane will crash – both her and Cody (who flies in) realize the controls have been jammed – horrors. Then next week Cody says “here put on this parachute” and Joan says “No! Take me now! Let us die together in ecstasy! I’ve always loved you!”
No she doesn’t do that – she puts on the parachute – and you have to figure the evil thug – who also had a parachute – at some point went “D’oh! I left the other parachute in the plane!”.
And the end was just the end. The bad guys – who had been as resilient as cockroaches until now – drop like flies. The threat is averted and Cody doesn’t have to go back to the Moon – which doesn’t make a lot of sense since the reason the Moon Men wanted to attack the earth hasn’t changed.
Anyway more later – it’s a busy week. We are coming up on my 200th post (sweet Jesus - like the next one) on Blogspot and I figure I should do something special for that – and I’m torn between Manos the hands of fate or Plan Nine from Outer space – so to my readers – the pair of you – which one? please let me know.
Peace, Love, take me now.
I notice that the Senate has passed a military approbations bill with a time limit on our deployment in Iraq. The bill passed by a narrow margin and W has announced with some hysteria that he will veto any bill with a time limit and the Senate passed it anyway. It’s not biding like the House’s bill is but there’s that date in there.
We’ll see what happens now – W has talked tough in the past but when confronted has folded like a cheap suit – with one exception – Iraq so I’m not sure what he will do other than stage another pout fest on TV. He’s predictable that way.
Iran is changing their story about where and how the British Sailors were taken. Which figures – we don’t have the monopoly on self deceiving lying scumbags. The radicals there has used W’s hostility to strengthen their hold on power in the Iranian government and I suspect this part of that effort– they may have miscalculated – simply because W is stupid enough to push the button.
Anyway spent yesterday watching Radar Men from the Moon – one of the last Republic Serials (1952 for Pete’s sake) which featured Commando Cody in his flying suit - which I have to admit I think looks cool. It was great fun, the special effects were, considering the time and the fact Republic had a budget of about 11 cents for this picture, pretty good – heck of a lot better than the TV Superman of the same era for one thing, and it just ambled along at a nice clip – Commando Cody although brave wasn’t much for thinking things through so he kept getting himself in bad scrapes – which of course is what you want from a serial hero. The story such as such things are is that the men on the moon are trying to take over the earth and as a first step weakening our defenses via a campaign of sabotage. Mindless and all in good fun.
Still a few things:
Cody’s ‘flight suit’ was the helmet and a leather jacket with a jet back strapped to his back – how he was able to traipse around the moon (which looked a lot like the desert east of Hollywood by the way) without oxygen and a real space suit isn’t explained. Also one hopes that he had some kind of protection in his pants other wise his butt was going to get charbroiled every time he flew from the jet exhaust.
Speaking of which the controls (located on his chest) simply have on/off fast/slow and up/down. How he could go left or right was never explained.
Also – since Commando was a big time government op or some such, would it be too much to add a holster to the damn suit? Every time he went out to fight the baddies (of which there were exactly three – some guy from the moon and two thugs – the budget as tiny here) he sticks his pistol in the suit’s belt – what is with that? You got a guy in space age rocket suit for Pete’s sake.
And how about some security? The bad guys were able to walk in on Cody and his crew several times – at least put a lock on the door or hire a security guard.
The low budget shows mostly in that there are only about 4 bad guys – two thugs (one played by Clayton Moore – yes the lone ranger and you have no idea how weird it is to hear him say things like “stick em up” or “you should’ve plugged the driver” or “there’s a man in flying suit chasing up – step on it” in that voice. You kept waiting for ‘High Ho Silver away!” or “Tonto I need you to go into town”.) The moon man head of earth operations and the head of the moon men (with some other folks in space suits which were probably the same two guys over and over again). Which leads to another problem – Cody, while brave, needs to learn how to fight – he and Ted (his assistant) kept getting the shit kicked out of them by Clayton and the other thug during the fight scenes. Cody – Martial arts – it helps.
Watching the episodes back to back you saw how the serial makers would just utterly and absolutely cheat on the cliff hanger endings – my favorite one was where Cody and Ted were trapped on the moon in a cave and are menaced by lava flood – they reach the end of the cave – Dead end! However next episode Cody says to Ted “Let’s take that branch of the cave over there” and Ted says “No! Since we can’t live together, I want to die here with you now! Take me! I’ve always loved you!”
No, of course he doesn’t say, that he just follows Cody out the cave.
The other one is where the bad guy leaves Cody’s Female (Joan) assistant in a plane – it looks like the plane will crash – both her and Cody (who flies in) realize the controls have been jammed – horrors. Then next week Cody says “here put on this parachute” and Joan says “No! Take me now! Let us die together in ecstasy! I’ve always loved you!”
No she doesn’t do that – she puts on the parachute – and you have to figure the evil thug – who also had a parachute – at some point went “D’oh! I left the other parachute in the plane!”.
And the end was just the end. The bad guys – who had been as resilient as cockroaches until now – drop like flies. The threat is averted and Cody doesn’t have to go back to the Moon – which doesn’t make a lot of sense since the reason the Moon Men wanted to attack the earth hasn’t changed.
Anyway more later – it’s a busy week. We are coming up on my 200th post (sweet Jesus - like the next one) on Blogspot and I figure I should do something special for that – and I’m torn between Manos the hands of fate or Plan Nine from Outer space – so to my readers – the pair of you – which one? please let me know.
Peace, Love, take me now.
posted by Unknown at 9:21 AM
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