Sci-Fi – Prattling before the Pratfall

Getting an Earful

Rod Serling introducing the *Night Gallery* episode, “The Caterpillar”

For the past several months, before going to bed I have been watching my way through the DVD set, Night Gallery: The Complete Series.

https://www.amazon.com/Night-Gallery-Complete-Rod-Serling/dp/B073CY8HYG/

One of the two stories that I remember best from the series when it originally aired is “The Caterpillar.” (The other is “The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes,” available here.)

The DVD includes several commentaries by Guillermo del Toro. It seems that I am far from the only one who remembers seeing “The Caterpillar.”

Calling All Operating Thetans!

Yesterday’s mention of the Jive Aces’ Scientology connection rates a return to this post from six months ago.

The Hubbard Space Telescope

A soundtrack album was released for Hubbard’s book, Battlefield Earth. My immediate impression was, “What video game is this from?”

Participants in this curious project included Return to Forever ex-pats Chick Corea and Stanley Clark. If you’re familiar with Nicky Hopkins, it will be obvious when his piano playing pops up.

Hubbard’s sci-fi roots are acknowledged at the opening, with tributes to Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Superman. George Lucas similarly gave a nod to Buck Rogers in the opening of THX-1138.

Kirby Before Sinnott

The Kirby Museum’s first publishing project is here and I’m impressed. My copy of Sky Masters of the Space Force: The Complete Sunday Strips in Color came with a print and t-shirt.

Copies of the book should become available in comics shops. Publication was crowd-funded on ZOOP, with much of the interest coming from Wally Wood’s ink finishes over Jack Kirby’s pencils. Wood’s run on the comic strip was actually somewhat sporadic, until he eventually dropped out altogether.

Woody never stuck with any one thing for very long, especially after Bill Gaines limited EC to publishing MAD and nothing else. But the work Wally did on Sky Masters is outstanding and wouldn’t be equaled until Joe Sinnott’s run inking Kirby on the Fantastic Four.