The Wax Robot Drum of Evil Jade Experiment

January, 1953, starts strong with five new episodes. For those still wondering why I'm only concerning myself with The Adventures of Superman, that is because it is the only full show from this time I can get my hands on. Captain Video and Captain Z-RO are mostly lost to time, with a smattering of episodes to prove they once existed. But records of their broadcast dates are so spotty I couldn't put an episode guide together, so I'm pretending my Temporal DVR just isn't recording them. At least Rocky Jones, Space Ranger and Science Fiction Theater were saved and if I can find them I will add them in where appropriate. More on that to come. In the mean time to simulate the coming summer months of 1953 when there were no episodes to watch I will review a Sci-Fi movie from the time period.

Mystery in Wax- The first over-acting villain in the series. She's insane and her plot makes no sense. I should accept that, but to have to watch her maniacal moments is just painful. Selena and her husband run a wax museum where she predicts people's death, then 6 months later they commit suicide. In reality she is kidnapping them, making her husband wear a wax mask of said person, who then jumps off a pier, making headlines. Selena thinks she can get all the power and money she wants if she can convince the citizens of Metropolis that she has the power over everyone's death. Clark figured most of this out early, but no one will listen to him. The whole plot just doesn't work because she kidnaps the victims and leaves them locked-up in her basement. Does she intend to leave them alive forever? They never approach the question at all, and Selena is played so over the top it's hard to get into this episode.

The Runaway Robot- Finally, a more science-fiction based threat for Superman, and it looks like Tinman made by 5th Graders. The episode starts out promising, but by the end a number of stupid character decisions make it nearly impossible for Clark to figure anything out. A jewelry store robbery is stopped by a remote control robot. The thieves get away but the robot malfunctions. When the police arrive they assume the robot's maker, Horatio, is the one behind the robbery, mainly because the real thieves got away with thousands of dollars in diamonds. Now, this is some terrible police work. They never ask the proprietor who did it. When they eventually bring him in to the police station to look at mug shots, they still hold Horatio responsible. The cops didn't even finger-print the place. When Lois, Clark, and Jimmy head to the police station to get Horatio released into their custody, someone steals the robot out of lock-up. These are the worst cops ever. The only big surprise in the episode is Russel Johnson (The Professor from Gilligan's Island) as the ring-leader of the thieves. He manages to kidnap Horatio so he can use the robot to do more bank robberies. Clark is never around to see what's happening because he's busy doing actual police work. Horatio, more clever than he deserves to be, radios for help. Lois Lane gets the message but leaves a vague note for Clark that she's going somewhere. A note that Clark never sees. By the end Superman breaks the robot into pieces and stops the thieves. It's a wonder he could even find their hide-out with the badly designed plot in the way. To save money in this series there is extensive use of stock footage, and in this case they use footage of fire trucks from the '30s (which seem a little out of place). Sadly, the episode is kind of fun, but infuriating.

Drums of Death- It should have been called Drums of Current Events. Nobody died from them. They were just like that guy in the parking lot playing his bass really loud. This may be set in Haiti, but I don't think there was any research put into making it culturally accurate. Perry White's sister Kate and Jimmy Olsen, go to Haiti to take pictures of ruins or something. They are captured by a Voodoo Priest wearing buffalo horns and not at all authentic. This episode is just ignorant, and was meant to appeal to children who wouldn't know the difference. Maybe today's viewers are much more shrewd, and, I'm guessing, '50s adults couldn't be bothered. This gets in the way of a story that's mediocre at best, but the end with Superman saving everyone from being crushed into paste is pretty good. I really don't believe there are voodoo drummers set up in Port Haiti (I think that's what he called it) banging out the news so jungle dwellers can hatch schemes. This all had something to do with finding a hidden crystal treasure that was never located. Not that it helps the episode but Clark breaks the fourth wall when he is told he should learn to fly and he winks at the audience. Perry White and Jimmy have been completely duped by Clark throughout the series into believing he isn't Superman, so they have no hope of realizing that the Voodoo Priest is actually a white guy they met before, but in black-face. Terrible.

The Evil Three- This is the strongest story of January. I like these episodes that have the supporting cast out on their own doing something other than reporting. Perry White and Jimmy Olsen are on vacation fishing when they get a room at the Hotel Bayou. Macy, who owns the hotel and Perry remembers from years ago, tells them the place is haunted and they shouldn't stay. Perry knows something is wrong so they get a couple rooms and the weirdness begins. This is a Scooby-doo mystery episode. The title, which doesn't make much sense by the end because they're insane (not evil), refers to the three people that have lived there for years since Macy killed the original proprietor for his money, that's hidden somewhere. The other two people are a Civil War Colonel-looking dude and a crazy old lady in a wheel chair. The latter two have been protecting the money. Look, this episode is mental and doesn't make much sense, but the moments are great and Jimmy hasn't been as believable in his role since The Haunted Lighthouse. The commentary on the episode is pretty good, too. At one point Superman flies to the Hotel Bayou and lands in front of the Colonel who neither knows who he is or comments in his ability to fly. Of note is Perry White's car with a car-phone. For those wanting details his number is MX39162. I would like to learn more about the technology of early phone system's and how you can have one in a car. It's an odd episode but I like it a lot.

Riddle of the Chinese Jade- Not much of a riddle, really. The bad guy wanted to sell it in London, but first he had to steal it from a Chinese antiques dealer. Too bad for him Lois and Clark were on scene interviewing the owner. The plan is simple: throw a grenade through the ground floor of the shop, use an underground tunnel to enter and go straight to the second floor, steal jade statue, make money. It all went wrong when a hostage had to be taken and Clark quickly realizes the manager of the store, who lives across the street, helped in the crime. He was apparently coerced. When all is brought to light, the bad guy kidnaps Lois, which is immediately ended when Superman beats the crap out of him. Police Inspector Henderson, a regular background character (who moves between worthless cop to the strong-arm-of-the-law when the script dictates), decides to let the manager go, because it was the right thing to do. I don't know who has worse cops, Metropolis or Gotham. And once again Clark winks at the audience after making a Superman joke. Please, stop. I know who you are even if your best friends are blind. The cave set gets used again. There is an interesting reference in here to the Tong wars. Metropolis has a China Town and the buildings are all connected underground because of this war. They probably predate Clark's move to the city, or he would have known about it.

Prior to the beginning of The Adventures of Superman the movies you could have seen would've been: 1950's Rocketship X-M and Destination Moon; 1951's The Thing from Another World, When Worlds Collide, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Superman and the Mole Men. The 1950's movies were about leaving the Earth and all four 1951 movies were about bad things happening to us. I can't recommend these movies enough for those that like classic science fiction. The science is a bit wrong, but look how far we've come as the average person can recognize bad science vs. movie goers 60 years ago. Heck, 60 years ago we still thought Mars had intelligent life, and it was a threat to us.