Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack

Capitalizing on the popularity of its television series “Battlestar Galactica,” ABC, Glen A. Larson Productions and Universal produced a theatrical release entitled: Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack (MGCA, for short). There was no new footage. The film was an edited compilation of three episodes (more on those below). MGCA was a sort of a sequel to the pilot for the TV series, which had a very limited theatrical release.

Quick Plot Synopsis

After a quick recap of the backstory (via voiceover), the story opens with a mystery of why Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck have not returned from their scouting mission. It turned out that they were ‘captured’ by other Viper pilots from the Battlestar Pegasus. That ship was thought lost in the big Cylon attack that predates the story, but it, and it’s over-confident leader, Commander Cain, somehow survived. Cain is excited to have a second battlestar to attack a Cylon base. Commander Adama of the Galactica only wants fuel. His fleet of civilian ships is nearly out of fuel. Cain only wants to attack. There is much tension between the two commanders and their crews. Via deception and intrigue, Cain maneuvers Adama into helping him attack the base in order to get more fuel. The attack on the base succeeds. The fleet gets its fuel, but the sinister Count Baltar uses Galactia’s preoccupation with the base attack and fuel to press his own attack on Galactica. Suicide Cylon fighters ram Galactica, causing massive damage and out-of-control fires. Meanwhile, Cain uses Baltar’s preoccupation with Galactica to press his own surprise attack. Apparently, this succeeds. Surgery on the wounded Adama is successful and the fires are put out. The fleet has enough fuel to flee the scene. The End.

Why is this movie fun?

Obviously, fans of the original series would enjoy the mashup of several episodes. There is sufficient action and simple drama. Seeing the older, low-tech special effects has a nostalgia quality. Loren Green and Lloyd Bridges give the production some star power. The lovely Laurette Sprang offers fine late-70s eye candy.

Notes

Mashup — MGCA was cobbled together, primarily out of the two-part episodes 12 and 13: “The Living Legend”. These aired in late November and early December of 1978. Lloyd Bridges plays the Cain character well, riding the line between devious-treacherous and courageous-brilliant. The third episode in the mashup was #14, “Fire in Space.” This episode had nothing to do with Cain, but was well cut into the final battle sequences of “Living Legend” that it did not seem out of place. Much of episode #14 was omitted as tangental (or distracting) to the “Living Legend” story arc.

Star Boost — Larson was said to have the concept for his Battlestar Galactica story, developed in the late 1960s. It failed to arouse enough interest until after Star Wars blew open the sci-fi / western sub-genre. Borrowing heavily for sets, costumes and action from Star Wars, BG had a ready audience. Many of the visuals, such as the Big Ship Flyby are obviously parroting George Lucas’s work. The dogfights between Cylon fighters and Vipers are obvious copies too. Since Lucas was as successful as he was, Larson’s BG got a chance at life.

Short Life — Larson got his epic produced, but it did not last. Despite being popular and developing a cult following, ABC cancelled the show after it’s first season. Even though BG was lauded as “Best New TV Drama Series” in the People’s Choice Awards (Feb. 1979), ABC cited declining ratings and too-expensive production in their decision to kill the show. Ironically, MGCA was release a month after the last television episode aired. The handwriting was probably on the wall while MGCA was in post-production, but must have been too far along to be practical to scrap it.

Era of the Soft Hair — The late 1970s was an interesting period in personal fashion. Part of that fashion is captured in MGCA. Almost everyone has soft, fluffy hair. The hunky guys have long, fluffy hair. The hottie women have long, fluffy hair. The women’s hairstyles aren’t as flagrant as they would become in the 80s era of Big Hair, but you can see how it was getting started.

Corny Evil — It is interesting to see how obviously director Vince Edwards handled the sinister Count Baltar. In almost every scene with Baltar, he is set in strong up-light and told to wear a sinister grin. It’s the old flashlight-under-the-chin effect. Once or twice might have sufficed to assure the visual signal of Baltar’s evil-ness. But, Edwards does it every time. It’s hammy and amusing, though that’s probably not the effect Edwards was after.

Bottom line — MGCA does not age well, given modern CGI effects. There is much repetition of visuals, such as launching of fighters, and dogfight scenes. This is common enough in television, but in films, it looks more obvious and cheap. However, if the viewer can set aside modern standards for effects, and depth-of-plot, MGCA provides some simple entertainment, with plenty of action. It won’t impress anyone under the age of 30, but folks who lived TV in the 70s may have a more forgiving heart.

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Star Wars

This is THE watershed sci-fi film. It is the beginning of the end of the old era of sci-fi start of the “modern” sci-fi era. While many debate the quality of story, the writing, etc. few can argue against the cultural significance of Star Wars. The 50s had Forbidden Planet (’56). The 60s had 2001 (’68). The 70s had Star Wars: A New Hope. George Lucas wrote and directed a film that was both a product of its times and such a radical departure from its times that it took audiences by surprise. Star Wars catapulted the careers of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. Alec Guiness, Peter Cushing and James Earl Jones were already established actors, whose stature helped the film. So very much has already been written about Star Wars already — indeed, a whole subculture exists around the film and its characters. This review cannot cover all the points there are to make. Instead, the focus will be on Star Wars in light of the continuum of sci-fi that went before it.

Quick Movie Synopsis
A small space ship flees from a giant imperial cruiser, but cannot escape. Aboard the small ship is Princess Leia on a mission to deliver stolen plans to the Empire’s new battle station, The Death Star. Before her ship is boarded and she is captured, she puts the plans inside a small droid, R2D2. He and his droid companion C-3PO escape to the planet below. There, both droids are captured by Jawa junk dealers and eventually sold to Luke Skywalker’s uncle Owen. R2 escapes, looking Obiwan Kenobi. Luke finds R2 and meets “Old Ben” and thus escapes Imperial troops killing his uncle and aunt while looking for the droids. Obiwan, and Luke hire Han Solo to fly them to the planet Alderon. They just barely escape imperial troops and ships, but the Death Star has turned Alderon to rubble before they can get there. Solo’s ship is captured by the Death Star. Luke, Han, Chewy and the two droids locate Leia in a detention cell. Through many turns of fate and laser-blaster battles, everyone makes it back to the ship. Everyone but Obiwan. He and Darth Vader engage in a light saber battle, which Obiwan voluntarily loses to aid the group’s escape. Solo does fly them away from the Death Star, but they were tracked. When Solo’s ship lands on the rebel base moon, the Death Star is not far behind. With the stolen plans, the rebel leaders think the Death Star can be defeated by small fighters precision-dropping a nuke down a ventilator shaft. The rebel squadrons form up and fly to the Death Star. Solo, takes his reward money and leaves. Imperial tie-fighters harass the rebel X-wing fighters. Two rebel groups make passes at the vent shaft, but fail. Luke, in the last group, fly in. Solo swoops in to save Luke from Darth Vader’s tie-fighters. Luke uses The Force instead of technology and gets his bomb down the shaft. The Death Star blows up. Darth Vadar escapes, however. Luke and Han are applauded as heroes and awarded medals by the beautiful princess. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Star Wars is an action-packed comic book adventure. Archetypal good and evil do battle free from the subtle entanglements of deep character development. The lavish sets, the intricate models, the sheer variety of bizarre aliens, all create a fascinating “other” universe. Later sequels would get mixed reviews for being either too shallow, or too complex or too absurd, but the original film was fast-paced simple fun.

Cultural Connection
Malaise Antidote — The 24/7 atomic angst of the Cold War era was draining enough on the cultural psyche. The silly 60s gave some respite, but the Eco Doom of the 70s struck before the culture had regained its strength. Perhaps the world would not incinerate itself with nukes, but it was (the pundits predicted) going to shrivel, stink and starve us to death in just a few years — if the computers or rampant viruses don’t kill us all first. Where the Cold War was like being stalked by a serial killer, Eco Doom was like being told you had cancer. There was no hiding, no escape. Films of the 70s reflected that dark and dower view. Things were bad, and only going to get worse. This is the cultural undertow which President Carter tried to expose in his ill-fated “Malaise speech” in 1979. Carter chided America for — materialism, apathy and a ‘crisis of confidence.’ Carter did not point to a source, but part of that malaise was because the preachers of environmentalist hellfire had browbeaten America into a deep funk. The earth was going to hell in a hand basket because mankind was eco-evil. About all there was left for people to do was to ‘eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.’ Star Wars was a shot of adrenaline to an exhausted America — a hot meal in the belly of a culture starving for hope.

Notes
Not Out of Thin Air — As much as Star Wars was a radical departure from customary sci-fi films, it was not totally new. In fact, if Lucas had not drawn upon a deep reservoir of preexisting cultural elements and instead made things up out of whole cloth, the film would have failed. Lucas did say that Kurosawa’s 1958 film Hidden Fortress was one source of inspiration, Star Wars is not a remake of HF, set in space. Lucas’s notions of a “Used Future” meshed with others’ prior works. Moon Zero Two, for instance, had a cocky space pilot and his patched-together old ship doing some salvage and trading. Many prior films featured weird aliens. Many prior films had robots — both anthropomorphic (like C-3PO) and mechanical like R2D2. Other films had giant ships and laser battles. Loads of prior movies had shootouts — even with lasers. The light-saber duel stood on the shoulders of The Three Musketeers, Zorro, pirate movies and countless sword & sandal matinees. What Lucas managed to do, was overwhelm his audiences with the sheer quantity of everything. They were all things that had been on the screen before, just never so much at once.

Classic Villains — An example of how Lucas tapped into preexisting cultural icons was how he made the Empire a very thinly disguised remake of the Nazi Reich. The stormtroopers, by their very name, were retread-nazis. Their helmets and militarism could activate all those prior movies in which Nazi troops were the vile bad guys. Darth Vader’s costume has roots as old as Ming The Merciless from Flash Gordon days, but mostly, Darth is the ultimate SS trooper. His helmet evokes the WWII German stahlhelm. He is all in black (whereas Leia is in pure-goodness white). Films with actual nazi costumes were getting somewhat old by the late 70s. It was, after all, thirty years since the Nazis lost the war. How long could a culture keep beating that dead horse? Lucas refreshed the horse so it could get beaten again. Through Luke, Han and the rebels, America could once again whoop the Nazis -- sort of. John Williams’ triumphal score celebrated victory like it used to be in the old movies.

Galactica In Situ — One of the enchanting things about Star Wars was that it did not deign to explain itself to viewers. The norm for sci-fi since the 30s, or even as far back as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, was to explain to audiences just what the strange things were. In lesser movies, long stretches of exposition were dedicated to explaining how the aliens came from this planet or that, and had to breathe air or water, or ate rocks or whatever. Time travel, or alien technology got explained as did the aliens’ ultimate motives (which usually turned out to be that they wanted our women!) In Star Wars Lucas just put his galaxy out there without all the exposition. Jawas were junk merchants. No reason why. Owen and Beru had a dirt-scrabble farm, despite all the technology. Just cuz. Speeders floated. No idea why. The Death Star had big trash compactors. Why? It didn’t matter. Lucas’s galaxy had the charming effrontery to exist without justifying or explaining itself.

Bottom line? Star Wars is a must-see. Love it, or loathe it, the film cast a long shadow over future sci-fi movie-making. It would become the yardstick by which others were measured. It would have many lame low-budget imitators. It put back the triumphalism which sci-fi had in the 50s, which became politically un-correct in the post-Vietnam world. The depressing gray shadows of that old world would not vanish overnight, but the new dawn had just broken over the horizon.

Futureworld

The sequel to Westworld (’73), Futureworld (FW) tried to be more ambitious in scope. FW is somewhere between a Type 1 and Type 2 Sequel, in that it continues the timeline from the first film, but almost amounts to a remake of the original concept. Almost, but not quite. Michael Crichton, writer of the first film, did not create the screenplay for FW. It was written by Mayo Simon and George Schenck. The only character to continue the story is Yul Brynner’s Gunslinger, but this is only in a dream sequence. In reality, it’s an all-new cast. Peter Fonda stars as Chuck Browning, newspaper reporter. He wasn’t in the first film, but is said to be the reporter that broke the WW story. Blythe Danner co-stars as a television reporter and former fling of Chuck’s. Samuel Z. Arkoff is more known for his low-budget work, but FW is a fairly lavish production for an AIP film.

Quick Movie Synopsis
A man named Ron wins a vacation at Delos on a game show. Newspaper reporter Chuck Browning (Fonda) and television reporter Tracy Ballard (Danner) are invited by Delos management to thoroughly check out Delos to prove that all is well. Chuck, however, gets an anonymous tip that something is wrong. They arrive at Delos, with the insufferable hick, Ron (who is obsessed with having sex with robots). Chuck notices that many of the guests are important people in the world. Chuck, Tracy and the insufferable Ron all go to Futureworld. Through various views, it is hinted that the Delos staff are collecting data on the various notables. Chuck and Tracy sneak out at night to snoop. They inadvertently activate a materializer (?) that creates four samurai. These chase Chuck and Terry, but eventually, all four are “killed”. They find Harry (Stuart Margolin) in the wet basements where robots are not allowed. They ask Harry about Frenchy and the secrets, but Dr. Schneider (head Delos scientist) and a security team interrupt. The next day, Duffy (Arthur Hill) shows Chuck and Terry the Delos mind reader/recorder device. They hook up Tracy. She dreams about the Gunslinger pursuing her, saving her from a sinister surgical crew, then much kissing. Later than night, Chuck and Tracy sneak back to Harry, who offers to take them to a secret lab. In that lab, they see their own clones being uploaded all their mental content. The three agree to flee Delos immediately. Duffy tries to stop Chuck, but Tracy shoots him. Duffy was a robot. Harry is killed by Chuck’s clone. Tracy comes face to face with her own clone. One of them is killed. Chuck is chased by his clone. After a protracted struggle, one of the Chuck’s falls from a high catwalk. The two meet later, embrace and kiss. Crossfade to the departure concourse. Chuck and Tracy are asked by a skeptical Dr. Schneider if they had a good visit. Both talk flatteringly of Delos, so are allowed to leave. Just as they get to the doors, the evil clone Tracy drags her bloody self up to Dr. Schneider. Chuck flips off the doctor and the two get happily aboard their plane to freedom. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The trope of takeovers is a classic in sci-fi, so it is fun to see it in action again. The plot has less fast-action than WW, but it has more subtexts to muse over.

Cultural Connection
70s Angst Soup — The 70s were rife with technophobia. The 70s were also a time of rising distrust in authority. Technophobia is as old as the Luddites, of course, but the rise of massive computers tended to strike the public (generally) and maybe not such a good thing. Kubrick’s Hal 9000 and Forbin’s Colossus are prime examples of worries about too-smart machines taking over (or at least trying to). The public was coming to see their government as perhaps more villain than savior. Films like Andromeda Strain (’71) and Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler (’71) and others, catered to that angst that freedom was illusory, as actual control is by some sinister powerful group (government if you’re on the right, big corporations, if you’re on the left). FW combines these very-70s angsts.

Notes
Technophobia -- FW continued the technophobic theme of the first film, complete with foolishly-trusting public who are too eager to embrace (literally) the technology. There is a social commentary in this. The ignorant public can be too willing to accept a massive technology if it promises them something they want. Nevermind anything noble like food to feed the poor, or robots to take over the menial work. Sex. That's what the public want. With that bait on the hook, the public willingly bite. The robots (in this case, the staff of Delos) go about replacing humans.

Dangers of Cloning -- Where even the advanced model robots, "the 700s" were still electro-mechanical, the real breakthrough was bio-engineering. The duplicates were crafted from biological material, fashioned to look and sound just like their human model. They even got their human model's mind contents uploaded via the brain scanner (dream machine). They are identical, except for the independent free will (to rebel against their master, Dr. Schneider.) This subtext is closely akin to the classic angst in Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('56) -- personable free humans being replaced by look-alike drones.

R.U.R. Revisited -- The biologically manufactured humans is a trope that goes back to 1920. That was when Karel Capek wrote his play: "R.U.R. Rossum's Universal Robots". This, by the way, is where the world got the word "robot." Capek's manufactured worker drones were made of synthetic organic material -- not electro-mechanical men. With the Delos plan to replace humans with the bio-copies, there is even a bit of Capek's story thread -- that humans eventually dwindle away, replaced with the bio-bots.

Pointless Materializing? -- There is an odd plot jump half way through the film. When Chuck and Tracy are snooping around, they manage to turn on a machine which makes four samurai robots (the mechanical kind) materialize inside a chamber. This was all very Star Trek-like, but a strange non sequetur. Everywhere else, the robots are being assembled and/or repaired by hand. Wires, transistors, screws, panels. Why bother, if the robots can just be "beamed" into existence so quickly? Perhaps the instant 3D printing method was still in R&D and did not have the kinks worked out yet. After all, the samurai were mindless killing machines. Not good for the guests.

Love Knows -- As with so many humans-being-replaced movies, it is assumed that only the REAL human can show love. This, the writers and audiences like to think, is the one essence of real humanity that cannot be replicated. Somehow, with their big kiss after disptaching their clones, Chuck and Tracy were able to "feel" whatever spark of love from the other as visceral proof that the other was not their clone.

TechnoLonely -- In the Harry Croft character, there is a glimpse of the future of mankind under the reign of the robots. He is a model of the "last man on earth" trope. The world above belongs to the robots. His only companion is a mute 400 Series robot Harry named Clark, which he only has because he salvaged him from a scrap bin and fixed him up -- most of the way. Harry talks to Clark just like he was a human companion, and even feels sad leaving him -- a bit like Tom Hanks lamenting the loss of Wilson.

Bottom line? FW is an "okay" sequel. It is not as simple and action-based as Crichton's original story. The additional subtexts (while interesting), tend to dilute the experience into more of a muddle. There is also very little tension or surprise (we all know the Delos experience will go bad). Only the twist at the end has some power. Who died, the clones or the humans? FW is a passable enough film on its own. It just had a hard time living up to the first film.

Logan's Run

MGM released in the summer of 1976, a major sci-fi film: Logan’s Run (LR). It was an A-grade effort and might have been seen as the landmark film for the 70s, had not Star Wars eclipsed it. LR is dystopia and youth-centrism and mod sets/locations, long hair for guys, feathery big hair for the girls. LR is still the pinnacle of 70s sci-fi in many ways that a galaxy far far away is not. Michael York stars as Logan 5. Jennifer Agutter stars as Jessica 6. Peter Ustinov stars as The Old Man. Watch for Farrah Fawcett in a minor role as the lovely medical assistant.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Text on screen sets up the story. “Sometime in the 23rd century, the survivors of war, overpopulation and pollution are living in a great domed city, sealed away from the forgotten world outside. Here, in an ecologically balanced world, mankind lives only for pleasure, freed by the servo-mechanisms which provide everything. There’s just one catch: Life must end at thirty unless reborn in the fiery ritual of carrousel.” Logan 5 is a Sandman. His job is to track down “runners” — people who turned 30, but do not report for fiery death in the carrousel ritual. He and his co-worker, Francis 7, run down and kill a man who skipped the last ritual. Logan meets Jessica 6, who refuses his advances. Later at Sandman HQ, Logan turns in the personal effects of the runner they terminated. This includes a metal Ankh. The computer (that runs the city) gives Logan a special assignment, to find Sanctuary (where the thousand or so escaped runners are supposed to have gotten to.) By avoiding Logan’s questions about carrousel, he figures out that no one gets “renewed”. Everyone dies at 30. The computer advances his LifeClock (crystal in his left palm) such that it’s now Logan’s LastDay. He must become a runner. Logan seeks out Jessica (since she wears an Ankh). She and her underground railroad friends do not trust Logan and plan to kill him. Logan spares a runner, which wins over Jessica. They continue to escape the city, but are pursued by Francis 7, who thinks Logan is a real runner. Logan and Jessica get out of the city via an elevator to a frozen series of tunnels and chambers. There they meet Box, a robot whose job was to freeze-preserve food. Box has suffered a programming error and frozen/preserved those 1059 runners. None had really escaped. Logan fights Box and wins. He and Jessica escape amid mild cave-ins. They emerge outdoors to see a sunrise, but have no idea what the sun is. They follow a ruined highway to a forest-overgrown Washington DC. In the vine-entangled Senate chamber, they meet The Old Man. He is a kindly, but dottery old man who doesn’t know much. He’s seen no other people for many years, and knows nothing of Sanctuary. Francis followed them there. He and Logan fight to the death, which means Francis’. Logan decides that since there is no Sanctuary, they must return to the domed city and liberate everyone from the fiery doom. They take The Old Man with them, but he can’t swim through the seawater intake ports, so just waits. Inside the city, the people won’t listen to Logan or Jessica. They are captured by Sandmen. The computer interrogates Logan. When his holographic ‘surrogate’ (truth serum-ish) says there is no Sanctuary, the computer suffers a system collapse. In the mayhem of sparks, Logan and Jessica escape. The city starts to explode and burn. People scream and flee. Finally, a wave of young refugees come across The Old Man, fascinated by his white hair and beard. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
LR is fun on a few different levels. For one, the look and feel as so totally 70s. Even the themes are clearly the spawn of 70s points-of-view. Then too, there are many metaphors and analogies which give the story much depth as a social commentary. Add to all that, the performances of York and Agutter are fine. Agutter is particularly easy on the eyes. Ustinov is amusing.

Cultural Connection
The Cult of Youth — Nolan’s story was written back in the mid 60s when America was experiencing a massive shift into the worship of youth. “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” Films like Wild in the Streets (’68) and Gassss (’70) were based on the same premise that only the young would somehow be left to rule the world. Old people would be banished or eliminated. Thus was the arrogance of youth given expression in film. If they ruled the world…it wouldn’t actually be any better. Youthful utopia is never attained.

Notes
Based on the Book — William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson wrote the novel “Logan’s Run” in 1967. There were plans to produce a movie shortly afterward, though this ran into delays. They penned a script which followed their book, but the producers balked at the projected expenses. The book’s scenes would have required several expensive sets (such as the colony on Mars segment). David Zelag Goodman's screenplay made several revisions, while maintaining the basic premise. In the book, people were terminated when they turned 21, not 30. They were terminated in a Sleep Room, which makes the job title of Sandman more of logical. Logan 3 (not 5) still escapes with Jessica 6, but they eventually do find Sanctuary. This happens to be a colony on Mars. Francis, in the book, turns out to be a key leader in the Underground. Goodman's story is different in key features, but may actually be a better story.

Carrousel — As mentioned above, the book had people terminated via a lethal injection in the Sleep Rooms. As the production of LR was delayed, MGM’s Soylent Green was released in ’73. One of its key scenes is lethal injection rooms as the euthanasia solution to population control. So, LR could not have them too, even if Nolan’s novel had them before Soylent Green did. Enter the elaborate “carrousel” ceremony in which the participants and audience are led to believe they “ascend” to some high plane of “renewal” to be reborn later. In reality, they merely rise to the ceiling and explode. The city’s computer knows that there is no renewal, just obliteration as population control. When the computer refuses to answer Logan’s questions about the carrousel ceremony and Renewal, he comes to realize the truth. This is a key scene in Goldman’s story. This is the moment when a mortal man realizes his own mortality. This neatly matches that threshold event in everyone’s lives (usually while a youth or young adult), that they will not live forever, but will die someday.

Metaphorical Trap of Youth — Goodman's story creates a neat metaphor for the idealistic island that the narcissism of youth creates. Inside the domed city, the young enjoy their carefree (and meaningless) existence of eating, socializing, sex and little else. Outside of their bubble is a whole wide world, but they are both uninterested in it, and afraid of it. Continuing with the metaphor, after Logan 5 realizes his mortality, he can no longer remain in the bubble of ignorant bliss. For that matter, none of the inhabitants can remain either. Once they come “of age,” they are destroyed. But, they imagine their existence to be perpetual, via Renewal. This cycle of ignorant bliss becomes a deadly trap. Even when Logan returns to tell them the truth, they refuse it. Only when Logan bursts their bubble (makes the city explode) are they forced out into the real world where they encounter “old age”.

Old Age Through Young Eyes — Some viewers find Peter Ustinov’s Old Man character hammy and overplayed. Instead of the wise old man to teach the neophytes (ala Obi wan Kenobi), he is a dottering old fool who recites pointless lines from a T.S. Elliot book about cats. Apparently, he cannot read (or is selectively ignorant), because despite being surrounded with books, he seems to know almost nothing about the world or place he lives in. He’s kindly, benign but simple and pretty much useless. This would be the youthful view of what old people are like. They’re all dottering old fools, prattling on and on about nothing of importance (to the teen mind). In this, the subtle Youth Rules message is upheld.

Sanctuary Lost — A rather nice double twist in LR is the legendary Sanctuary. The disaffected within the city spread word of its existence, even though no one has seen it. Viewers find out that all of the 1056 runners which had escaped the city, were actually still within it — frozen by malfunctioning Box, the food storage robot. Logan and Jessica were actually the first city people to ever make it out. Logan is disappointed to learn from Old Man, that there is no Sanctuary. That is, in the mystical, magical way he had been imagining it. He sees it as Sanctuary Lost. Unrealized by Logan, he was standing in it. He and Jessica were like a new Adam and Eve, “beloved husband” and “beloved wife” in a lush green world all to themselves. When Logan frees the city’s inhabitants, they all end up finding the real Sanctuary — normal mortal lives in the natural world, not the contrived and managed pseudo-childhood existence they had in the city.

City Planning — Reading between the lines, it appears that the city was built by elders long before, with the massive central computer in charge of everything. To balance incoming resources, the computer creates the age limit and termination plans. The computer itself seems to have accepted the existence of Sanctuary as an absolutely necessary component of its city planning program. Discovering that Sanctuary did not exist causes a total system failure. “Input Contrary.” Why? Perhaps having an opponent “outside” was fundamental to the city’s protection plans. Runners had to be terminated, lest they increase the power of the opponent. The city needed to be protected, lest the outsiders jeopardize the city. Tyrants need an “enemy” to justify their tyranny. Another theory is that somehow Logan's having returned from the outside world is a clue to the computer that the outside is habitable again.  With no more need for the protective bubble, the computer self-destructs. The trouble with this theory is how uncontrolled the computer's meltdown was.

Subtle Technophobia — Woven into the background of LR are subtle technophobia themes. Technophobia was a popular theme in the early 70s, less so by the mid to late 70s. (thus pointing to an early 70s writing of Goldman’s screenplay). Note the deadly tyranny of the Computer. The program says everyone must die at 30, so they do. Note too, the Box character — that semi-comic robot in the ice chambers. It appeared to have originally had a job as a food preserver robot. It kept repeating a chant: “Fish, plankton, sea greens and protein from the sea.” But Box noted that at some point, the sea food supply stopped. That is when the people began to try and escape the city. Box, like the stereotypical computer gone amok (ala Hal), begins to freeze the escapees as if they were the food he was supposed to preserve. Automated systems become the deadly overlords. Classic technophobia.

Early 70s Demons — Another hint that Goldman’s screenplay hails from the early 70s, is the triple bogeymen of Overpopulation, Pollution and War. Somewhat undermining those traditional demons is that the outside world is not toxic. Logan and Jessica frolic in Eden-like forests. The pollution problem was, apparently, not so terrible after all.

Iconic Ruins Trope — Several films play with favorite cultural landmarks in ruins as a commentary on the mortality of even a great nation. Planet of the Apes (’68) was an early major landmark in this trope, with the partially buried Statue of Liberty as the surprise ending. Later films, such as Independence Day (’96) and others, would almost gleefully go around blowing up cherished American landmarks. LR’s portrayal of Washington DC as more-or-less intact but abandoned, is a subtle twist on this trope. It’s not so much that America as “destroyed” as that Americans got lost. Their populist capital was still there “for the people” — the books, the paintings, the governmental chambers — but the culture itself had been destroyed.

Bottom line? LR is one of the big sci-fi films of the 70s. It is a more cerebral film, with many thoughtful tangents to muse over. It should be on the viewing list of any serious sci-fi fan. Younger viewers (born after 1970) need to cut the film some slack for being very 70s in style. Don’t kvetch over hair styles or fashions, or the non-CGI special effects. Get over it and get into the story instead. It’s worth it.

Who? (aka RoboMan)

This British production was released in the UK in late 1973 with the title, Who?. The German release has the title Der Mann Aus Metall. It was released in the US in August of 1975 with the title Roboman. The story is nominally a sci-fi, but largely a Cold War spy drama. Elliot Gould stars as the skeptical FBI man. Joseph Bova stars as the metal man who may or may not be the brilliant scientist. Trevor Howard stars as the devious soviet spy-master. The screenplay is based on the 1958 novel “Who?” by Algis Budrys, following it fairly closely. Roboman is sometimes compared to RoboCop, but it predates the more familiar RoboCop by over ten years. There are affinities to the more familiar Six Million Dollar Man, though both were made in the same year, (’73) so Roboman is not a plagiarism of 6M$M either. Besides,  the source novel was 1958.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Along the border West German border with East Germany, there is a fiery car crash. Soviet doctors saved Martino’s life, but to do so had to replace much of his body with robotic substitutes. After several months, the soviets send Martino back. He is picked up by American agents. Shawn Rogers of the FBI does not believe Martino’s story, suspecting he is a soviet spy pretending to be Martino. With the cloud of suspicion, Martino is not allowed to return to his super-secret work on Project Neptune. Instead, he goes through much interrogation. Flashbacks show how Martino underwent similar interrogation by soviet colonel Azarin — who wanted to break Martino (Manchuran Candidate style) and make him a spy so the soviets could learn about Neptune. Other flashbacks show Martino’s early career as a work-obsessed young man (squandering potential romances). These old flames become potential corroboration that Martion says who he says he is, though this proves to be unconvincing. A pair of gunmen try to shoot Martino while he’s boarding a plane. Even this proves nothing. Azarin could have staged a fake assassination attempt. The only other person who might know if he is the real Martino, was his Neptune colleague, Frank. But, he died in a crash a few months ago. Via flashback, we learn that Frank’s death was staged, that he is really in the Soviet Union. Azarin wants Frank to undergo the Robo-man implants/substitutions, and pretend to be Martino. Frank agrees. Back in the USA, Martino has given up trying to get his former life (and work) back. He takes up farming on the abandoned family farm. Flashback to Russia, reveals that Frank died. He was not mentally strong enough to accept his cyborg-ness. Since the time is up, the soviets must release the real Martino. Back in the USA, Rogers visits Martino on his farm. Rogers is convinced that Martino is the real Martino and he can have his Neptune job back. Martino declines. His post-release experiences have proven that he cannot resume that part of his life either. Instead, he will contribute to mankind by tilling the earth. Long zoom out. Cut to credits. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
There is the more cerebral aspect: questions about identity and just what, actually, defines who someone is. Lucas amounts to a cyborg — part human, part machine — though not much is made of this.

Cultural Connection
Durable Cold War — Budrys’ novel was written during the height of the Cold War. His novel predicted that the two supra-national sides would still be locked in Cold War games of cat and mouse into the mid 70s — the timeframe the novel is set in. Budrys was right. However, by the mid 70s, the Cold War had subsumed into more of a background constant than the anxious twitch that it was in the late 50s. The culture in general had become acculturated to the East vs. West status quo and begun to find new reasons for anxious twitches — environmentalism, pollution, overpopulation, etc. Yet, the old bogey man still had some life in him. The stalemate had become the status quo.

Notes
Dumas Meets the Manchurian — The fact that the lead character, Lucas, is always behind a metal mask, Roboman invites comparison to Alexandre Dumas’ “Man in the Iron Mask”. Where Dumas’ masked man was a twin of the king, Roboman could be Lucas, or his professional “twin” Frank. Mix into that a strong dash of The Manchurian Candidate — a westerner brainwashed and trained by the commies to infiltrate -- and you’ve got the gist of Roboman. The puzzle is to discover if he is a communist spy.

Who Is The REAL Mechanical Man? — An artful theme beneath the slow and talky story is one of humanity (freedom, etc.) vs.mechanical men. Yes, Lucas is the obvious mechanical man with his nuclear-powered heart pump and metal parts, but note how rather “mechanical” Lucas was before the accident. He was too obsessed with his work to have a real relationship with either of the pretty women who liked him (but sakes only knows what they saw in him). He was too work-obsessed to have any friends. Note, too, how rather mechanical Gould is as Rogers, the FBI man. He relentlessly refuses to accept that Lucas might be who he says he is. Rogers is equally obsessed with HIS job, and proving that Lucas is a spy. Ironically, it is Lucas as the metal man, who softens into a human. He resigns to his fate and solemnly embraces his new life as a bachelor farmer. Getting “back to the land” was a very noble thing in the mid 70s.

What’s In A Brain? — Like several prior sci-fi films, Roboman explores the line between natural humanity and artificial being. This goes back to Frankenstein, of course, and Lucas is a sort of cyborg Franken-thing. The film is also similar to 1959’s Colossus of New York in which a brilliant scientist is fatally injured in a car accident and his brain put into a robot body. This trope survives today too, showing up rather obviously in the sub-plot in “Star Trek, the Next Generation,” and Data’s regular quest of “be” human.

Bad Russian — While most of the film is marked with television-grade acting, a real stand out (and not in a good way) is Trevor Howard as the Russian Colonel Azarin. Howard was thoroughly British. Born in England, and almost always playing a stereotypic Englishman: Sir This, Lord That, or Colonel Something. For all his abilities as an actor, however, Howard could not produce a Russian accent. At times, he sounded somewhat less British (though clearly not Russian), but at other times, his native accent was quite obvious. This undercut the intended sinister angle, as a British accent just carries little malice in it.

Weak Directing? — A criticism Roboman gets as a film, is that it was poorly directed. Granted, Jack Gold’s directing was often tame — many times relying on a single-point fixed camera. This gives the film more of a made-for-TV feel. Gold had done quite a bit of directing for TV productions prior to this, so this look-and-feel may be understandable. TV producers have little interest in artistic views. Just get the thing shot and in the can. Yet, Gold went to some directorial lengths in Roboman. Note how in the flashbacks of Lucas’ life, he only shown in a first-person POV. The camera IS Lucas. We never see his pre-Roboman face. There are some other near-far depth shots which read well.

Fingerprints? — Some wonder why the FBI doesn’t just check Lucas’s fingerprints instead of all the machinations and guessing. Lucas himself offers this. Rogers said they already did. “The Arm is Lucas Martino’s. The arm can go anywhere it wants. It’s the rest of you we’re not sure about.”

Bottom line? Roboman is more of a thinking film. It is not an action film in any real way. A couple of lame car chases and crashes are about it, and they’re mild. The acting is flat and the cinematography somewhat flat too. This won’t be a film that gets recommended to friends: “Oh, you gotta see this movie…” But, for people who like to explore the more philosophical threads, there are a few for the musing.

The Stepford Wives

The first theatrical release sci-fi movie of 1975 was The Stepford Wives (TSW). It is one of the landmark films of the 70s. William Golden developed the screenplay from Ira Levin’s 1972 novel of the same name. Bryan Forbes directed. Katherine Ross and Paula Prentiss starred. Many in the rest of the cast were familiar faces too. Tina Louise has a small but important role as the first woman to change.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The Eberhardt family move from an apartment in downtown New York City, to an upscale suburb in Stepford, Connecticut. The move is entirely Walter’s idea. Joanna reluctantly goes along with the disruption. She notices that the women of Stepford are nice, but shallow. Joanna meets another newcomer to Stepford, Bobbi. (Paula Prentiss) Happy to find another “normal” person, they become friends. Walter is invited to join the locally prestigious Men’s Association. This flares up some lingering squabbles over male chauvinism vs. feminism between Walter and Joanna. Odd little events start to worry Joanna. Joanna and Bobbi notice that the Stepford husbands are bland milk-toasts of men, but all have adoring trophy wives. Joanna and Bobbi do meet Charmaine, (Tina Louise) another newcomer and avid amateur tennis fan with her own court. Joanna sits in on a Men’s Association meeting at the Eberhardt home, One man (a sort of Vargas parallel) sketches Joanna while the others banter fundraising ideas. The meeting leader, (Patrick O’Neal) is called “Diz” because he was once an engineer at Disneyland. Charmaine goes away for a weekend with her husband and returns a Stepford wife. Bobbi and Joanna are convinced that all the high-tech firms in Stepford must be polluting the water. They get a sample analyzed, but there’s nothing odd in the water. Bobbi goes away for a weekend with her husband, and returns a Stepford wife. In a moment of frustration, Joanna stabs Bobbi. There is no blood. Bobbi goes into repeated motions (dropping coffee cups) and repeating phrases. Joanna runs home to find that her two kids are gone. She comes the Men’s Association mansion on a suitably dark and stormy night. Diz is there and tells her it is her time. Joanna runs from dark spooky room to dark spooky room, stopping in what looks like a partial recreation of her bedroom. In it, is a copy of herself, brushing her long hair. The copy, however, has only incomplete black spheres for eyes (Eyes as windows of the soul, therefore Robo-Joanna has no soul, get it?). Joanna 2.0 looks the same, but is now a 36 DD where Real-Joanna was a 34 AAA at best. Robo-Joanna smiles a menacing smile, secures a strangling cord in both hands and walks towards Joanna. Fade to black. Fade back in to the Stepford supermarket. Tepid muzak plays while Stepford wives float along behind their shopping carts. They are all dressed in long, frilly sun dresses and wide-brimmed hats. Joanna is there too, in similar frilly attire. Zoom in on her now complete, but expressionless eyes. Freeze frame. Roll Credits. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Fans of the paranoia sub-genre of 50s sci-fi, can appreciate this mid 70s refresh of the trope. There are a lot of tangent topics raised by the script.

Cultural Connection
The term “Stepford wife” entered into the general cultural language. Even forty years after the movie, it is still understood. The word “Stepford” has gotten into dictionaries, meaning someone that is bland and submissive. A “Stepford wife” being  “a married woman who submits to her husband's will and is preoccupied by domestic concerns and her own personal appearance.” In 2011, Cindy McCain (wife of Senator John McCain) said, “I've seen things written about me that said "she's cold," or "she is a Stepford wife." Really, I'm just very shy.” Levin’s novel, and Forbes’ movie, made a lasting impression on the culture, even spawning

Notes
Based on the Book — The movie follows the story line of Ira Levin’s 1972 novel very closely. There are always ways in which movies cannot capture what the written word can, but in this case, the movie almost did a better job. For instance, in the book, the robotic nature of the duplicates is not made as clear. Levin may have preferred the ambiguity. Were they biological clones? Petty zombies? Forbes makes it clear that the Stepford wives are robot duplicates. The real wives were killed. This point too, is not as clear in the book. Forbes' scene with Robo-Joanna and her strangling cord make the fates of the real women terribly clear. Both the book and the movie indulge in vulgarity like a college freshman away from home for the first time. Both Levin and Forbes may have sought to use vulgarity as a marker for “real” people, but what does that say about the culture?

Better Without Bimbos — William Goldman had originally envisioned the Stepford wives to be dressed provocatively. They would be trophy bimbos. Bryan Forbes’ wife, Nanette Newman, was cast as Carol Van Sant. Newman was an accomplished actress in her own right and attractive, but at 40 years old, did not look good in Goldman’s bimbo-wear. So, the costuming took a more conservative tack. Barbie gave way to Betty Crocker. This actually saved the film from becoming kitsch — a slightly darker version of Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (’65) in which the robots are primarily eye candy. Middle-aged men making bikini-babes would have been shallow and juvenile. Them making “nice” mild suburban homemakers has more complexity.

The Dark Side of Disney — Apparently, the animatronics at Disneyland creeped some people out. Disney’s robo-entertainment was also the inspiration for Westworld (’73). Forbes’ robots don’t go bad as overtly as the Gunslinger, but the scene in which Robo-Joanna is implied to kill the real Joanna shows the same technophobia. The Disney connection is made abundantly clear in the “Diz” character, who worked for Disney. When Joanna is talking with the therapist she says she knows she is due to be replaced. It will look like her, “but it won’t be me. She’ll be one of those robots at Disneyland.” Some people saw a dark side to the magic kingdom.

Pods For A New Age — The Stepford wives are the pod people for a new generation. There is much similarity between TSW and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (’56). Both are classics of the people-being-replaced conspiracy trope. In both stories, the “normal” people exhibit several human imperfections, and they are slowly and systematically replaced by bland, emotionless duplicates. Where Body Snatchers was responding to the insidious creeping in of communism (or McCarthyism, if you prefer), the Stepford wives represent a very common 70s anxiety about technology dehumanizing us.

Feminist Film? — On a shallow level, TSW serves as a feminist indictment of male-dominated society. There is talk of male chauvinism, burning bras, equality and mean-old-men forcing women into domestic roles. Yet these are more of a red herring. Beneath that veneer lurks the darker story of men willing to live a lie. Diz rationalizes the scheme to Joanna. “Wouldn’t you do the same thing? Wouldn’t you like some perfect stud waiting on you around the house? Praising you. Servicing you. Whispering that your sagging flesh was beautiful, no matter how you looked?” That was, after all, what the men of Stepford were doing. They wanted trophy wives, or at least the appearance of them, to lie to them, even though they knew it was pre-programmed lies. Why would a tape recording of a woman saying "You're the best!" have any value to the man? In this, Levin and Forbes make a commentary about that darker side of mankind’s heart. To paraphrase the bible verses, They refused to accept the truth, instead believing the lie. TSW is also about there being something wrong with the men.

Bottom line? TSW is not to be missed. One need not be a fan of sci-fi to benefit from watching it. TSW is a cultural touchstone. There is the usual 70s technophobia, but there are some many tangental social commentaries to muse over too. The banality of suburban life. An urban-dweller’s fears of un-hip suburbia. The subtle Frankenstein: Adam trying to fabricate his own idealized Eve. Science and technology doing the immoral “Because we can.” There are more than a few cup-of-coffee conversations to be mined from TSW. The film spawned several sequels and an unfortunate remake in 2004. The original is best. Watch it.

The Questor Tapes

In late 1973, Gene Roddenberry tried again to get a sci-fi series on network television. The Questor Tapes (TQT) was the movie pilot for the proposed series. Like other of Roddenberry's productions, there is a Star Trek feel, even though all of the adventure remains earthbound. Robert Foxworth stars as the android Questor. Mike Farrell (of M.A.S.H. fame) co-stars as Dr. Jerry Robinson. Trek fans will spot Majel Barrett in a small role too, as well as Walter Koenig in an even smaller supporting role. Since TQT was a made-for-television movie, there was no theatrical release poster. What is shown at left is a book cover from the short novel based on TQT. It was written by D.C. Fontana, who was a writer of ten of the original series Star Trek episodes.

Quick Plot Synopsis
In a high-tech lab, a team of scientists perform final assembly of a humanoid robot. The technology was the work of a Dr. Vaslovik, but he has been missing for three years. Dr. Robinson (Farrell), who studied under Vaslovik, oversees the assembly. The administrators admit to damaging Vaslovik's tapes trying to decode them, so attempt to download their own content into the android. It fails. They use Vaslovik's damaged tapes. It apparently fails too, but while they're all off moping, the android comes to life. It gives itself human features, gets some clothes and walks out.. The android goes to a Vaslovik Archives to speed-read more content, attempting to fill in some holes in the damaged memories. He recalls something about a big boat, and someone in London named "C". He sort-of kidnaps Robinson to go with him to London. They are detained, but escape. They find "C" who has a basement data repository of Vaslovik's. The android, who now calls himself Questor, learns that if he doesn't find Vaslovik in three day's he'll explode. While at a playground, he realizes that Noah's Ark is the big boat of his memory. Vaslovik is in Mount Ararat in Turkey. The admins have the police out looking for Questor and Robinson. They find and shoot Questor. The team of techs repair him eventually. The cantankerous director, Mr. Darro, wants a radio tracker inserted into Questor so he can't escape again. Robinson reluctantly agrees. They fly off to Turkey and Mt. Ararat. Darro follows with UN troops. Questor opens a hidden tunnel into the mountain. Inside, Questor meets Vaslovik, laying on a slab, one of an apparently infinite line of slabs. He tells Questor that he is the next guardian, after Vaslovik, put there millennia ago by their creators, to protect and guide mankind. Darro, who followed them in, notes there's only one slab left. If mankind survives to the end of Questor's service life, they'll be okay. If not, then never mind. Darro has a change of heart and takes the radio tracker thing. He pretends that Questor has escaped, but takes the tracker up in the private jet with him. When the troops lock on to the signal, the jet is destroyed and everyone thinks Questor is destroyed, but no. He and Robinson plan to go on protecting mankind. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Roddenberry had some intriguing ideas for story lines. Robert Foxworth does a good job of playing the man-machine. Not too much machine, and not too hammy human.

Cultural Connection
Rise of the Machines -- A parallel theme to technophobia, Technophilia (?) has been running through sci-fi ever since the early days. Robots, in particular, have been both bad and good. The 70s had a strong streak of technophobia, but the Good Robot trope was too strong to take it lying down. Good machines rise to show that not all technology is bad. While Lee Majors' "Six Million Dollar Man" was a human-robot hybrid, he was the good tech. Later, TV viewers would get KITT, the Knight Rider robo-car. Roddenberry was much more of a techno-optimist.

Notes
Failed Series II -- TQT was the second attempt by Gene Roddenberry to get a sci-fi series on television in the 70s. His first attempt was Genesis II. TQT got preliminary approval from NBC such that 13 episodes were planned and (obviously) a pilot produced. Given the ending of TQT, the series would be the ongoing adventures of Questor trying to thwart evil and benefit mankind -- all the while with Robinson along to continue Questor's humanity training. One can just imagine the comic moments. However, Roddenberry and NBC had a falling out -- perhaps over changes NBC wanted and Roddenberry did not like. As such, this second would-be sci-fi series never materialized.

Data's Dad -- Anyone familiar with the series Star Trek: The Next Generation will recognize Questor as a prototype of Data. He's all android (not cyborg), but longs to be human: to feel, to laugh, etc. He's driven to find out about his creator. He has a penchant for using long or technical terms for everyday things. He needs coaching by humans on the subtle fine points of acting human. Some lines used by Data were recycled from those said by Questor. At one point, when Questor is asking Lady Helena if he needs to make love to her to get the info he seeks, he says, "I -am- fully functional." Then, there is the gambling scene and the loaded dice repeat too. Clearly, Roddenberry liked his Questor character and gave him a new life.

Shadow of Gary Seven -- Note the similarity in the premise between TQT and the ST:TOS episode "Assignment: Earth" (second season). Both featured secret "guardian angel" characters, left (or sent) by some unspecified benevolent advanced race, to help mankind through the difficult years of the 60s (or 70s). Both had extra powers. Gary Seven was even in line for a television series of his own, which would have been very much like what TQT as a series would have been. But the Gary Seven series did not get as far as TQT did.

Bottom line? TQT is reasonable sci-fi entertainment. It has enough sci-fi to keep from being "The Fugitive" but with an android. It has it's Trek roots for fans of Trek. Foxworth does a good job of playing the Pinocchio android. It TQT shows up on TV some late night, it's worth a bowl of popcorn and staying up.

The Phantom Creeps

In 1939, Universal put out another serial with a sci-fi spin. In some ways, The Phantom Creeps (TPC) was a recast of the earlier serial, The Vanishing Shadow. Both featured an invisibility belt. Both had scientist labs with sparky things. Both had "amazing" techno-gadgets. Both had a super robot. But TPC was the "dark side." version. Instead of the hero (or heroes) using the gadgets to thwart crime, they were used by the evil scientist -- Bela Lugosi, a.k.a. The Phantom -- to commit crimes. TPC ran as a serial, in twelve chapters. But post-Laemmle Universal was struggling for money. To maximize income on their investment (which was not high), they also released a feature-film version of TPC with all the overlap and redundancy cut out.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Dr. Zorka (Lugosi) works in his lab. His servile assistant, Monk, is an escaped convict. Zorka's estranged wife Ann tries to talk him out of being a recluse, but he scoffs. Ann's friend, Dr. Mallory, worries that Zorka's amazing inventions may fall into the wrong hands, so alerts federal agent Bob West. He flies to Zorka's house, but finds the lab empty. Zorka is using his alternate basement/cave lab. West also encounters the pesky reporter, Jean Drew. Zorka shaves his beard and escapes. He picks up a hitchhiker who looks vaguely like him. There is a car crash and the hitchhiker dies. Zorka plants his ID on him so people think Zorka died. Actually, he sets up a downtown lab near a nest of international spies. He has to use one of his stun-disks and spiders to silence Ann, lest she identify the body as not him, but the plan goes awry. The plane crashes as Ann is killed. The source of Zorka's power is a rare and glowing meteorite fragment he found in Africa. It has the power to destroy the world. Zorka uses his invisibility-belt to learn what the foreign agents are up to. The agents get Zorka's meteorite-in-a-box due to Monk's sagging loyalty. Zorka steals it back via his inviso-belt. Zorka also has a gas which renders people vulnerable to his Z-ray gun. With that and his robot, he plans to fend off all comers. Zorka sends his robot to crush Bob. Monk thinks to betray Zorka and escape, but fails. The both escape. Now a car load of spies are after Zorka too. Back at the basement lab, Zorka plots his defense. Monk sabotages the robot. This turns out to be a platoon of doughboy soldiers who surround the house and go in wearing gas masks. The robot attacks, but is blown up. Zorka uses the inviso-belt to escape the cordon of troops. He and Monk flee to the airport and steal a biplane. Several squadrons of Army Air Corps biplanes scramble to chase him. Monk wants to give himself up. He and Zorka struggle (in a biplane), so not too surprisingly, they crash and Zorka's meteorite fragment blows up. Bob and Jim are given medals, but both fawn over Jean as the real hero. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Bela Lugosi. He breathes life into the otherwise pedestrian script. He makes the consummate evil scientist villain. TPC has the usual 30s sci-fi gizmos, which are fun. The invisibility effects, though less frequent, are still fun too.

Cultural Connection
Things were not going well in Europe in 1939. The Nazis were ascendant and flexing their muscles, making everyone (rightfully) nervous. The threat from "international" (meaning European) spies was an easy sell. The trope of the spies using a language school as a front, harkens back to the days of World War One, when America was paranoid that the Kaiser had legions of spies in America. They were imagined to be hiding wherever the German language was spoken: bakeries, beer halls, ethnic neighborhoods, sections of states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And of course, language schools. "If they have nothing to hide, why don't they just speak English!" -- so ran the logic of the day.

Notes
Nuclear Prototype -- Even though the atom had not yet been split, the mindset was already in place for nuclear weapons. Dr. Zorka's meteorite contained some rare and exotic power source which could also "destroy the world." The script writers were ahead of their time.

Almost Invisible -- TPC borrowed its style of invisibility from The Vanishing Shadow ('34), in that sometimes the invisible person cast a shadow. At other times, the invisible person still left a faint glowing smudge, which the other characters seemed to see. In this effect, Universal was not re-inventing any wheels, but going with a proven formula.

Recycled Footage -- Serials, as a marketing gimmick, were more profitable in the days of silent films. The advent of 'talkies' increased production costs to the point that serials were more of a break-even proposition. As long as they boosted feature film sales, that was fine. To help reduce costs, studios recycled expensive action footage. In TPC, watch for a repeat of the scene where the hero and heroine drive through the blasting zone. This was borrowed from The Vanishing Shadow. Several chase scenes were recycled too, which explains why the 1939 characters get into rather old cars, not new late-30s models. They needed to match the recycled footage. Note the recycled burning-Hindenburg footage. Watch the aerial footage scenes and note how many different makes of biplane appear.as Zorka's stolen plane. Continuity took a back seat to savings.

Mad Scientist -- Bela Lugosi's Dr. Zorka is the stereotypic mad scientist. He is a technical genius, but is the outcast recluse (with a basement lab!). He has a minion-helper whom he treats badly -- thus establishing his inner badness. He talks of ruling the world. Some Zorka quotes along these lines: "With science and genius combined. Nothing can withstand its power." -- "You are attempting to destroy the greatest genius the world has ever known -- now let the world beware my vengeance." -- "One by one, my enemies will be disposed of, until I am the master of the universe!" No lack of self-esteem among mad scientists.

Angry Robot -- Almost standard equipment for serial mad scientists is their huge, unstoppable robot. Dr. Zorka's was given a large humanoid head with a very angry expression -- for no practical reason. When it walked, it had the usual mechanical whirrs and grinding sounds.

Faux Equality -- At the end of the film, when the two G-men are being awarded their medals, the screen writers insert a bit of feigned feminine equality. Both heros, who did all the punching, shooting and being beaten up by a robot, say they think Jean deserves their medals as the "real" hero. All Jean did aside from drive the car at one point, was whine, be annoying and intrude.

Bottom line? TPC is great nostalgic fun, as long as viewers are willing to accept B-level production values. Bela Lugosi's flamboyant performance is, alone, worth watching TPC for.

The Vanishing Shadow

On the heels of its success with The Invisible Man ('33), Carl Laemmle's Universal Pictures created a serial in early 1934, with an invisible man as the primary gimmick. Actually, it was an invisibility device, so several people were able to be invisible at various points in the story. The Vanishing Shadow (TVS) was a very early (if not the first) science fiction serial. TVS was full of amazing electronic gadgets, ray guns and even a giant unstoppable robot!

Quick Plot Synopsis
Chapter One: Accused of Murder -- Stanley Stanfield and Professor Van Dorn team up to create an invisibility device. Stanley "rescues" a pretty woman from traffic. He and Gloria become immediate friends. Stanley confronts Wade Barnett, a crossover evil-industrialist and mobster, over sale of Stanley's stock in The Tribune. In the scuffle, Barnett's gun goes off, shooting his accountant. Stanley flees, thinking he's killed Cadwell. Barnett's thugs pursue Stanley, but he escapes with the Invisible Ray Device (IRD). Again they chase him in cars. Stanley tries to beat a speeding freight train to a crossing, but fails. Crash!
Chaper Two: The Destroying Ray -- Stanley jumped out of the car just before the crash. Van Dorn brings Stanley back to his hideaway lab in the country. Gloria (who turns out is Barnett's estranged daughter) reports Cadwell is not dead. Van Dorn demonstrates a new hand-held device: The Destroying Ray. The thugs stake out Gloria's house. When Stanley and Van Dorn arrive, a fight ensues. Stanley is in danger of being zapped with the deadly ray.
Chaper Three: The Avalanche -- Stanley escapes the ray, but the thugs escape with Gloria as hostage. Stanley uses the IRD to listen in at Barnett's office and finds out where Gloria is being held. Stanley uses the IRD to get into the mansion and free Gloria. The thugs are confounded, but recover and give chase. Stanley and Gloria drive right through a construction blasting zone as the charge goes off. Boom!
Chapter Four: Trapped -- Gloria and Stanley are showered with dirt and rocks, but made it through the blast. They get to Van Dorn's hideaway lab. He shows off another invention, a Heat Ray (which acts like a cutting torch) Van Dorn puts Stanley's Tribune stock (which Barnett wants) in his super safe. The thugs followed them, so a fight breaks out again. Stanley gets locked in the safe which has an anti-oxygen gas defense. Stanley gasps for air.
Chapter Five: Hurled From The Sky -- The thugs leave, and Gloria uses the heat ray to cut the safe lock and free Stanley in time. Barnett kidnaps the Tribune's editor (and other majority stock holder). Stanley learns that he's being held on an island. He and Gloria, chased yet again by the thugs, get to the airfield and steal Barnett's plane. While they fly away, one of the thug's shots hits an aileron cable. The plane crashes into the sea.
Chapter Six: Chain Lightning -- It turns out that Gloria jumped with the only parachute. Stanley made a controlled ditch in the sea, so is fine. He and Gloria are rescued men in a speedboat. McDonald, freed from the island, meets with Stanley and Gloria. They resolve to never sell out to Barnett. Meanwhile Van Dorn has upgraded his super safe to include paralyzer lightning at the door. Gloria inadvertently gets trapped by it.
Chapter Seven: The Tragic Crash -- Stanley rescues Gloria from the lightning. Barnett's thugs now have Van Dorn prisoner at The Pines. Stanley rescues him with the IRD. As they flee in another chase scene, Gloria swerves to avoid another car, sending theirs careening off a cliff.
Chapter Eight: The Shadow of Death -- Turns out they all survived the crash (?) The thugs capture Stanley and Gloria, but Van Dorn escapes via the IRD. Dorgan (chief thug) ties up Van Dorn and steals the IRD. He uses it to get the jump on Stanley and McDonald and steals all their stocks.
Chapter Nine: Blazing Bulkheads -- It turns out Dorgan stole the wrong stocks. Oops. Van Dorn has worked up a counter weapon to the IRD. It shocks and paralyzes Dorgan. Gloria uses the IRD to overhear that Stanley is captive aboard a ship. Carless thugs cause a fire aboard, where Stanley is tied up.
Chapter Ten: The Iron Death -- Gloria and Van Dorn rescue Stanley. Gloria learns where her father has hidden Stanley's stolen stocks. Van Dorn shows off his remote controlled robot. The thugs burst into the lab, but Van Dorn's robot chases them out.
Chapter Eleven: The Juggernaut -- Van Dorn's robot chases the thugs away. Van Dorn becomes maniacal about getting Barnett. Stanley uses the IRD and the heat ray to cut his stocks out of Barnett's safe. Stanley and Gloria are recaptured and taken to The Pines. Van Dorn has his robot attack. It grabs Stanley in a death grip.
Chapter Twelve: Retribution -- Dorgan tries to extort Barnett. When he brings the $50,000 to The Pines to get Gloria, things go bad. Barnett called the police. When they appear, Dorgan shoots Barnett. The police shoot Dorgan. Barnett apologizes to Gloria for being a bad father. He dies. Stanley and Gloria get married. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
TVS is full of fun 1930s-style gizmos and gadgets that appeal to one's inner 8-year-old. The visual trick of the invisible person still casting a shadow allows for some fun visual effects. (How do you suggest movement of an invisible person?) Cliff hanger serials are, by nature, fun viewing. A sci-fi serial is even more so.

Cultural Connection
Prohibition -- A quiet subtext within TVS is that period in American history when liquor was illegal: "The Great Experiment." While Prohibition does not play a significant role in the plot, it shows up on the edges. For one, Barnett turns out to be a rum runner as well as a corporate mobster. Dorgan tells his fellow thugs that the ship (on which they imprison Stanley) is where Barnett keeps his bootleg liquor. This would have meant more to 1930s audiences than it does today. Note too, the shifty, but undefined, business of the speedboat that picks up Stanley and Gloria from the ditched plane. "Forget you ever saw us," they say. Stanley gives a knowing wink and smile. More run runners. The law was so unpopular that breakers of it had little criminal stigma. Actually, Prohibition may have been repealed as TVS was being written. The 21st Amendment (repealing the 18th) became effective in December of 1933.

Notes
Faint Stars -- TVS did not feature notable stars. Onslow Stevens, who played Stanley, had a long film career, but was usually in westerns. Ada Ince, who played Gloria was the usual "looker", but not strong on acting talent. She only did a few films. James Dinkens, who played Van Dorn, was a stage actor since the turn of the century. This was actually his second to last film. He died later in '34. Many of the cast had careers of "uncredited" and bit parts.

Sparkmaster -- Carl Laemmle knew how to work successes into more. TVS combined the visual effects gimmicks of The Invisible Man, but Laemmle also pulled in the popular trappings of the mad scientist -- his lab full of sparky things. Ken Strickfaden was the uncredited hand behind those gizmos in the lab that sparked and spun in Frankenstein's lab (1931). Viewers can see the similarities between the two labs. Van Dorn's sparky things don't actually appear to DO anything. They just spark and whir and hum awesomely. Strickfaden would go on to provide more sparky things for Bride of Frankenstein ('35) and another sci-fi serial, The Lost City ('35)

Robot As Pre-Nuke -- Mechanical men had appeared in silent films, but Van Dorn's robot may be the first sci-fi robot of the Talkies era. The robot has an odd beak nose, and clanks and whirrs as he moves. His workings were presumed to be very mechanical. When Van Dorn works on him, viewers see rotating cams and push-rods inside the access panel. Stanley asks Van Dorn why he keeps inventing things that are so destructive (Destroyer Ray, Heat Ray, killer robot, etc.), Van Dorn says they have peaceful uses too. Even before the atomic age, we can see the roots of the nuclear dilemma. Nuclear energy might have peaceful uses, but it's destructive power is the unsolvable problem.

Mad Scientist -- Akin to H.G. Wells' invisible man, the huge advantage that Van Dorn's inventions bestow, shows the seeds of corruption. He easily imagines the power his gizmos have to dominate. When temporarily crazed by a glancing head wound, be becomes the stereotypic mad scientist, complete with maniacal laugh, and bent on revenge. Overall, Van Dorn is rather like Ian Flemming's "Q", but taking a more active role in the adventures.

Do No Harm -- Notable in TVS is the lack of actual violence. It gets threatened a lot, and the thugs fire their revolvers a lot, but no one is actually killed until the last of Chapter 12. Even then, it's the double-crossing Dorgan who is killed by the police, for shooting Barnett. Stanley, like many serial heros, doesn't use a gun, but relies on his wits and his fists. Even Van Dorn's powerful Destroyer Ray only manages to wither a couple of houseplants. There are many fist fights, but like childhood game fights, everyone comes away okay.

Bottom line? TVS is old fashioned movie serial fun. Several viewing sessions are better than one. Twelve episodes of 20 minutes each makes for four hours of viewing. The pace is brisk enough and the action plentiful enough, there's just a lot of it. The sci-fi gadgets and labs full of sparky things, are fun for fans of 30's sci-fi. Don't expect a deep or cerebral plot. This was matinee fodder for the youngsters.

Westworld

MGM put out a modest sci-fi film in late 1973. Westworld (WW) turned out to be more influential than it seemed at its release. MGM allowed the production a pretty modest budget, so the results were greater than they seemed. WW was written and directed by Michael Crichton when he was only 30 (of later fame with Jurassic Park, but more on that below). WW starred Yul Bryner as the robot gone bad. Richard Benjamin stars as the hunted human. a bevy of other stars familiar to television productions lend WW an air of a made-for-tv movie. Dick Van Patten, James Brolin, Majel Barrett, etc. Crichton wrote The Andromeda Strain in '69 (film in '71). This time, instead of a space virus killing people, it will be a computer virus.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Delos is a luxury vacation destination for the wealthy. Three simulated "worlds" provide themed escapism. Roman World is apparently built around the orgy and not much else. Medieval World is a castle realm of knights and ladies. West World is a live-in western movie. John is showing his friend Peter around. Most of the "people" in Westworld are actually robots. Human guests can shoot and "kill" the bots (who are retrieved each night for repair and return to service) Robots cannot harm a guest. The staff of Delos, however, notice recurring flaws in the robots' programming. Thinking that they can manage the errors, they do not shut things down. Peter shoots a robot gunslinger (Bryner) per the theming, but the repaired Gunslinger remembers Peter and seeks revenge. Peter shoots the Gunslinger again. The technicians repair him, but upgrade his vision and audio equipment. Gunslinger 2.0 seeks out Peter again. This time, he kills Peter's friend John. The technicians cannot shut things down. In fact, they're trapped inside the control room without air. (they all die). The robots run amok in all three worlds, killing guests and each other. Peter flees the Gunslinger. Out in the desert, a hapless technician tells Peter he can't outperform the robots. His only hope is acid in the eyes or something to reduce the robot's performance. Gunslinger kills the tech. Peter flees further, eventually passing through Roman World (and all the dead bodies). He finds a manhole down to the tech level. Gunslinger follows him. Peter finds a bottle of acid in the repair room. He pretends to be a bot awaiting repair, then throws the acid in Gunslinger's face. Sizzle and smoke. Peter leaves to find Medieval World and more dead people. Acid-burned Gunslinger follows Peter there, but his acid-damaged eyes are befuddled by the fire-torches. Peter sets Gunslinger on fire. Peter thinks he's rescuing a pretty woman chained in a dungeon, but she was a bot too. Spark smoke fizz. The charred Gunslinger again goes for Peter, but falls off the stairs. He finally smokes, sparks and burns. Peter looks on, pensively, recalling the sales hype about the vacation of his dreams. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Yul Bryner steals the show. His portrayal of the obsessed robot is the highlight of the film. The fact that he is reprising (in a way) his character of Chris Adams from The Magnificent Seven ('60) is fun for Westerns fans. There are many tangents and food-for-thought woven into WW.

Cultural Connection
Technophobia: Since the Cold War was no longer the boogey man that it once was, cultural angst in the early 70s promoted a few other boogey men. Computers were becoming more and more a part of the culture. In the Cold War era, we had Gog ('54) with an enemy taking over our complex technology. The Last War ('60) and Fail Safe ('64) in which flawed systems destroy the world, or almost. For super computers running going rogue, we had The Invisible Boy ('57), then the HAL 9000 in 2001 ('68), then Colossus: The Forbin Project ('70), now Westworld. People were fascinated with technology, but beginning to see it as a subtle version of Frankenstein's monster -- created with good intentions (and hubris), but a penchant for turning on their creators.

Notes
Disney's Dark Side -- Author Michael Crichton visited Disneyland and was particularly impressed with Disney's animatronic Abraham Lincoln. He took the theme park idea, with simulated humans, to a natural extension. Crichton was fond of weaving cautionary tales about technology getting too complex for man to really keep tabs on it. The Delos resort is also a quietly biting commentary on the culture that seeks such themed escapism. Delos is the dark side of Disney.

Beyond Dodgeball -- The school board of Windham, NH, prohibited Dodgeball from being part of the physical education program. Why? Because they disapproved of games which made humans the targets. This is post-Columbine, et al, and certainly WW was very much PRE-Columbine, but how strange (nowadays) for a resort theme park's premise being that it was okay (even encouraged) to kill the almost-human robots. If playing violent video games is thought to cheapen life and train today's youth to be cold-hearted killers, what would a resort like that have done?

Precursor -- WW was Crichton's first theme-park-gone-wrong story. His more famous one will be Jurassic Park and its many sequels. The message is much the same. Man, in his hubris, tries to recreate another time or place for the amusement of "modern" man. This other place is dangerous, but in that hubris, men think they have everything under control. They do not, and the creation becomes their hunter. In Bryner's Gunslinger character can be seen the roots of Arnold's Terminator bot. The prostitute bots -- "sex units" -- are a precursor to the artificial wives in Stepford Wives. WW was a trend harbinger.

Virus Debut -- WW may be the first screen portrayal of a computer virus. Since, in 1973, the only computers were massive room-filling machines -- not desktop PCs -- the public had no experience with them. Yet, WW shows a very modern view of a computer virus. The systems were so complex that even their makers and handlers really did not fully understand them. The Chief Supervisor describes to his board how "something" infects systems in one area, and they can see the "infection" spreading. The Delos virus altered the Thou Shalt Not Kill program in the robots. Crichton was ahead of his time.

Computer Graphics -- Some hoopla was made at the release of WW about how it used digital technology. This was confined to the pixelated images that were the Gunslinger's point of view. In the era of digital cameras on almost everyone's phone, pixelated images have to "gee whiz" factor anymore. But in 1973, it was very cool.

Plot Holes? -- WW is not a perfectly told story. Some incongruities may be chocked up to the limitations of a feature-length film. Books get the luxury of omniscient narrators to explain things. Some plot holes mentioned by others include: If the robots are cold, so the heat-sensor guns will shoot them, the sex models would be discouragingly cold too. Not necessarily. The sex bots could be warm. No need to shoot them anyhow. Guns can be rigged to not shoot warm blooded guests, but swords? The "safety" there, would appear to be giving the knight-bot slower reflexes or making more mistakes so the human can win. The black knight was not making the programmed mistakes. The bots drank whiskey just fine, why did the girl bot spark and smoke when given water to drink? She could have been damaged (beaten?) such that the usual liquid containment was broken. Why would they build a sealed control room with no emergency escape door? Delos built the whole place on the hubris of relying on their technology. Electronic doors and ventilation? What could go wrong? The control room is a parallel set piece to the robots going wrong. If the Gunslinger can see heat, why didn't he spot Peter on the lab table right away? This actually seems to be a plot problem. Any reader input on why he might have not noticed him?

Bottom line? Westworld is a 70s classic. It's not perfect, but it raises many topics for conversation. As a technology cautionary tale, it is still relevant today. WW is also a forerunner to many other rogue-bots films. Viewers disturbed by on-screen gun violence should be warned. Beyond that, the pacing is very brisk once the Gunslinger is hunting Peter. WW is one of the must-see sci-fi of the 70s.

Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine

We continue Digression Week with more comedy from the mid-60s with a nominal claim to being sci-fi. American International Pictures' Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (DGBM) is a spoof on the Bond film, beach films and even AIP's own Poe films. The sci-fi component is secondary, consisting mostly of gizmos used by Goldfoot. DGBM stars Vincent Price and Frankie Avalon, and features a dozen or so 20-somethings in gold bikinis. As odd as DGBM might seem to modern audiences, it was successful enough in its day to spawn a sequel.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Diane (Susan Hart) is a robot, sent to schmooze rich-guy Todd Anderson. But, she mistakes Craig (Frankie Avalon) for Todd and charms him. Dr. Goldfoot (Vincent Price) corrects the programming error, so Diane abruptly leaves. This sets Craig onto a quest to find her. He is a lowly agent (double-o and a half) with the Security Intelligence Command. Diane finds Todd and flirts him into agreeing to marry her. After an uneventful wedding night, she convinces Todd to sign over his stocks and bonds. She goes shopping. Craig sees her, but she doesn't remember him. Goldfoot arrives to extract Diane, but in the tug-o-war, her hand comes off. She's a robot! Craig's boss (and uncle) does not believe the robot story. Goldfoot's plan is to manufacture the babe robots (in gold bikinis) and program them to marry rich men who will sign over their wealth to Goldfoot. Craig sneaks into Goldfoot's lab and hears all this. His uncle still does not believe him. Goldfoot's assistant, Igor, is a comic bungler. Craig tells Todd all about it. The two hatch a plot to catch Diane and/or Goldfoot. This plot is undone by the two of them drinking too much. They sneak back into Goldfoot's lab, but are captured. Todd is put in a pit-and-the-pendulum ordeal. Through Igor's bungling, Craig and Todd escape. An elaborate comic chase scene ensues with Goldfoot and Igor pursuing Todd and Craig. This is first in a motorcycle and sidecar chasing a '54 Cadillac, then two sports cars. Then two street cars, a minibike, a boat on a trailer and a jeep. Todd and Craig trick Igor into driving off a cliff, so the boys think they've won. They treat themselves to a vacation in Paris. En route, Diane is the stewardess. Goldfoot and Igor laugh from the cockpit. The End. (Amid the end credits, you get several of the girls dancing 60s style to the theme song by The Supremes.)

Why is this movie fun?
Most of the jokes are sophomoric, but some are mildly amusing. For instance, Craig ( who works for the Strategic Intelligence Command, S.I.C.) is trying to convince Todd that Diane is a robot. To sound official. Craig says, "You have to believe me, I'm a SIC man." Todd. "You don't got to tell ME.". (bar-um-tish) Vincent Price is the real star, overacting his character in campy style. After all his serious horror roles, he seems to be having fun.

Cultural Connection
DGBM is a multi-target spoof, but its spoof value relied heavily on its contemporary context. The Bond film, Goldfinger had been out only a year earlier and was a blockbuster hit, so a prime candidate for a spoof. The beach party movies were a cultural phenomenon of the mid-60s. (more on that below) so easy spoof targets. There was even spoof of AIP's own Poe Cycle of horror films. Since AIP's horror and beach movies have since faded from cultural memory, and Goldfinger a mild ancestor of later "Spectacular" Bond films, DGBM's spoofery will have lost most of it's punch for 21st century viewers.

Notes
Spoof of Bond -- The third film in the Bond series, Goldfinger, was very successful at the box-office. This was also the Bond film that popularized the many gadgets. Both Bond and the gadgets get spoofed. Craig's agent number is, "double-O, and a half." Goldfoot has many little remote controls that do whatever the plot required, with no real logic or explanation. And, of course, there are all the beautiful girls in gold.

Spoof of Beaches -- AIP popularized the beach party genre (even if they didn't exactly invent it), with several formula films from 1963 to '66. Many of the girl-bots had played background beach girls in the films. Of course, DGBM co-starred Frankie Avalon, a beach movie standard. In the torture chamber, there is brief cameo for Eric Von Zipper -- the recurring comic relief biker in AIP's beach films -- and a glimpse of Annette Funicello (frequent co-star with Avalon) in the stocks. AIP's each movies appealed to the juvenile male, but in the context of the last vestiges of 50's social decorum. The dawning of the hippy era of sex, drugs and rock n' roll, and "free love" supplanted the old ways. The modest swimwear and mild social mores of DGBM would seem stodgy in just a couple years.

Spoof of Poe -- AIP had great success with their Roger Corman "Poe Cycle" of horror films based on Poe stories. These were an early 60s phenomenon. Vincent Price starred in their 1961 film, The Pit and the Pendulum. This would hardly have been lost on the audiences of 1965. The props used in DGBM may even have been the same.

Simple Humor -- Most of the jokes in the script seem to have been aimed at the juvenile male -- the demographic drawn to movies promising lots of young women in bikinis. For example: when Diane has arranged a flat tire to get Todd to stop and help, she says, "Oh dear, I seem to have gone completely flat." Todd glances at her ample chest and says, "I wouldn't say that." (barr-um-tish).

Bottom line? DGBM has very little sci-fi to it, beyond a machine that "produces" sexy "robots" and Goldfoot's many remote control gadgets. The humor is slapstick and basic. As long as you go into it thinking Three Stooges, it is easier to take. For fans of serious sci-fi, there is almost nothing of interest. Fans of the beach movie genre can have a nostalgic smile.