SERENDIPITY CINEMA

Forget science.
Lots of fiction.
Forget movie, serial!

Since it is in the public domain, this one is readily available on  DVD

(the perfect format to watch serials, since you don’t have to
wind tapes to the next chapter and such)

and if you have not done the serial thing, this is a wonderful place to start.

Most people will say that
the "Flash Gordon" serials

or "Adventures of Captain Marvel"
are the best ones

for your first introduction to the form,

but they always preceded that with
“These are the best ever made.”

No pressure there.

This is not the best serial ever made,
but it is a lot of fun.

The plots are pretty easy to follow and all the perfect elements are there.

Space ships, guns and a fight every 6.5 minutes are those elements.

The story was the one that inspired "The Rocketeer."

 A man has a back pack
that allows him to fly!

He had two dials on his chest,
one marked "Up"

 and the other marked “Down!”
Ah, the space age!

One of the villains’ henchmen would later

become known as the Lone Ranger,

but here he was just Clayton Moore.

It is silly in this day, but with some imagination

you can understand why this was slam-bang entertainment in its day.

This was the "24" of that time.

Then there are three more serials
from this character,

all fun and all more than engaging.

One more proviso! For this to be at all effective,

you should not watch more than
one episode a day.

Put in as the appetizer before something else,

and make yourself wait to see "how they get out of this one."

Sure, you can figure it out but the anticipation is part of the fun.

Now, get your popcorn and milk duds.

Pretend you are a kid again and slowly turn down the lights.

Now, Commando Cody, take to the air!