Atragon: One That Grew On Me

                                          Atragon: One That Grew On Me

                                                                  by

                                                                     Jay Agan

      In my younger days, I really got to hate this one.

      The early 70s were a time when Screen Gems' Shock Theater package was pretty much played out as TV stations had their pick of other horror/sci-fi selections. For some reason (cheep?) Channel 10 (WBNS Columbus, Ohio) got one or more crammed with these (then) execrable Italian, Spanish, & Japanese flicks. We could only get four stations (Cable wouldn't come out our way.) so I had to make do with 10s' Chiller Theater for my diet of the fantastic.

      Because of the above situation the 30s, 40s & 50s classics Famous Monsters of Filmland had me so hyped up over were few & far between. When one was on, it was usually as the second feature on Chillers' double bill for Friday night. I wasn't allowed to stay up late except on Friday/Saturday & only then for the first movie. The "good" folks at 10 had a nasty habit of putting the crappy one of the two on first thus the "classic" was out of reach (Today, a lot of these clinkers are considered classics & must sees!). I really got to hate Dan Imel & later Fritz the Nite Owl for that.

      One of these "cheezits" was Atragon. It was to Chiller Theater what Trouble With Tribbles was to channel 4s' (WLWC/WCMH Columbus, Ohio) Star Trek scheduling. PLAYED TO DEATH! I was something of a media snob & wanted only stuff from 30s to 50s. Foriegn films, especially Tohos' unbearable cheesiness of being, were too much for me. Atragon came to symbolize all that I then disliked in Japanese movies. The flick itself is draggy at times & the commercials certainly didn't help it any.

      Synopsis: Before the Mu Empire makes its' moves on Japan & the rest of the earth, it tries through covert means, to destroy its' only real opposition: Captain Jingujis' super submarine, Atragon. The captain is more interested in securing the glory of Japan until the bad guys snatch his daughter. Then it's a harrowing escape & a battle royal against Mu & their serpent/dragon god Manda. You know the Mu Empire is mean as the empress has a head of Chernobyl red hair to rival anything in anime.
     
      In 2005, I attended the Ohayocon anime convention at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus (I prepped myself the night before by watching Frank Capras' Know Your Enemy: Japan.). There, while fishing around for goodies in the dealers room, I came across a table selling live action films (There was a table next to it with a young lady YELLING out "We got yaoi!" every so often. Sheesh!). Scrabbling through a stack, I found Atragon. Not having seen it in over 20 years, I thought, "why not?" The price was right so I snapped it up.

      Big difference. Seeing something in color, widescreen, & NO commercials I actually got to liking it. Tsuburayas' spfx don't look so cheezy when viewed properly. From hated film to one liked. It's not a bad little time waster.

Article copyright © 9-17-2011 Jay Agan

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William Campbell: The Squire of Gothos

No! It ain't Liberace! It's worse!
Credit: Paramount Pictures

                                     
                                 
William Campbell: The Squire of Gothos

    by
                                                                            
    Jay Agan


"The Squire of Gothos". A Star Trek (tos) episode some don't like, but for some strange reason, I do. It has some elements I would usually dislike in other shows. A quirky, plummy character, acting more like comic relief than serious. (General Trelane,ret.) A fantasy setting with a fairy tale feel, it borders on a Lost In Space episode. (A show I detest.)

Yet, everyone else plays it straight, taking the situation seriously in regard to Gen. Trelane being the real threat he is.

I guess that's why I like this one. In spite of the general coming accross as such a goofy ham, what with his silly grin, exagerated mannerisms, and over the top theatrics, at the same time........you KNOW this guy is dangerous. Yes, it turns out in the end he's really just a kid with a lot of growing up to do. But what a deadly, calculating one.

William Campbell did a great job portraying this character. It would have been cool to have seen Trelane in other episodes. (Instead, Campbell was wasted as another character in that one very execrable episode.) Were they thinking of Trelaine when they came up with Q in Next Generation?

Kind of makes me wonder how Vincent Price would have handled this role. Now THERE is someone I would like to have seen in Trek!

                                                    
Article copyright © Jay Agan


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Darn Tribbles, Darn Troubles

Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures

Darn Tribbles, Darn Troubles

by

Jay Agan

    
School days. Ah memories. I'll treasure them always. Not! Only the overachievers, jocks, and social butterflies will ever be fond of the high school pressure cooker. Any good memories of that time was from not being there.

One set of good times involved Star Trek (tos). I'd become aquainted with it during its initial network run in the late 60s. In military school, the nuns would (grudgingly) let us watch it ("Cadets don't whistle, chew gum, read comic books, watch cool stuff on tv, have fun, etc.").

I recall the "ruckus" that came up when it got cancelled. Not having been a full bore Trek weenie, I didn't experience the crippling depression afflicting believers. Some disappointment, yes, as it was (then) novel and different. There was so little intelligent sci-fi on tv, (still that way), and if the nuns didn't like it, it had to be good.

Thanks to the zeal and enthusiasm of the fans, stations across the country aired it a lot through syndication in the 70s. WLWC (now WCMH) ch. 4 was the central Ohio Trek pioneer. The time slot was (I think.) 5-6 PM. It didn't matter if it was a school night, (We weren't allowed to watch tv mon-thur.), I'd sneak down the celler and tune in on our older set. I'll always be grateful to the staff of 4 for including Trek in their programming (well into the 80s). A good daily dose of Trek helped in recovery from the indoctrination of several hours before. Usually but not always.

There was, however, an annoying glitch in 4s' Trek scheduling. A glaring defect, sharply curtailing my enjoyment of the show. A nuisance, so vexing, it drove me to obsessive distraction: The Trouble With Tribbles.

On first seeing it in the late 60s, I sorta' liked it. Cutsey, funny, not all that great though. Little was I to know TWT would later become the very fuel powering the ch. 4 Star Trek machine. I understand the station showing the more popular eps more often. Ad revenue and all. But ..... The Trouble with Tribbles? Every other day? Yeah, I exaggerate. It only seemed that way. It could have been once a week, or at least twice a month. Aw what the heck! It was on too dang often!

There I'd be on the bus home. Mixed feelings at conflict in my brain."Star Trek! Oh boy! Oh boy! Yeah! Trek! Please no TWT! Oh golly! Oh yeah! No TWT! Please! Please! PLEASE!"

And seemingly, more often than not. After a particularly depressing day of scholastic brainwashing, there it was, in all its fuzzy non-glory, The Trouble With Tribbles. (Aghh! That's it! I'm doing my homework!)

Why? Why this one? "All the time?" They played the other "top 20" to death too, but not seemingly every time I turned around. Arena, The Changeling, The Doomsday Machine, etc. These I could understand. They were great. But TWT? What a nauseatingly, sickeningly saccharine, piece of crud! It got to the point where I'd be ecstatic to see Miri, Turnabout Intruder, The Empath, or any of the other of the least popular ones.

I've no proof but I suspect there was a group of 5 or 6 Trek weenies in Columbus, constantly calling the station & urging them on (Ooo! Ooo! Can we see TWT again?! Huh? Please?! TWT! Ooo! Ooo!"). I recall a particularly annoying one (who shall remain nameless) showing up at wargame gatherings bugging the crap out of everyone over Trek. (Claimed he was a rear admiral in Starfleet in charge of research.) He had to have been the ringleader.

At a place I worked at in the 90s, we had a tv. 4 had a Trek marathon one Sunday, 8AM-8PM. The top 12 of all time. Naturally, we enjoyed ourselves as we went about our tasks. An older fellow I worked with (left the scene due to cancer) was a sci-fi fan as well. I was pretty much down on Trek weenies and he would kid me a lot about me being a "trekkie" as I knew more about the show than I cared to. (I like the show a lot. It's not my reason for being, however.) I found his word for word co-recital of Celia Lovskys' lines from the duel in the Amok Time episode to be quite amusing.

Things got a little tense as the marathon wore on. We knew TWT was in there somewhere. (He hated it too.) We KNEW an hour long bout of hypoglycemic, pseudo-cuteness was approaching .There were a few tense moments during the "A Piece of the Action" ep. (He didn't like that one either. I always did. Criminals as politicians? Never happen!)

As it turned out, TWT was the last one, thus the best "voted". As we were prepping to close that hour, we didn't care. Still don't.

I'll always have a place in my heart for Star Trek (tos), but not for "The Trouble With Tribbles". Those in love with TWT are TWiTs!

                                                 
Article copyright © Jay Agan


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