Book, Magazine, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Serial

[May 6, 1967] Stirred? Shaken? (June 1967 Amazing)

May 6, 2022 John Boston 4 Comments

by John Boston

Is something stirring at Amazing? After several issues devoid of non-fiction features, this one starts a book review column by Harry Harrison, whose brief stint as nominal editor of the British magazine SF Impulse ended a few months ago. Is a remake in order? A change of guard in the wind? There’s no hint.

by Johnny Bruck

The cover itself is also a change, not having been looted from the back files of Amazing or Fantastic Adventures. The pleasantly lurid image of space-suited men watching or fleeing a battle of spacecraft is not credited, but other sources attribute it to a 1964 issue of Perry Rhodan, Germany’s long-running weekly paperback novella series, artist’s name Johnny Bruck. I wonder if the publisher is paying him, or anyone.

Also perplexing is the shift in presentation on the cover. Last issue, the display of big names was ostentatious. Here, the only thing prominently displayed is “Winston K. Marks Outstanding New Story Cold Comfort,” sic without apostrophe. Marks is one of the legion who filled the mid-1950s’ proliferation of SF magazines with competent and forgettable copy. After a couple of stories in the early ‘40s, he reappeared with a few in 1953, contributed a staggering 25 stories in 1954 and 20 in 1955, and trailed off thereafter; he hasn’t been seen in these parts since mid-1959. But here he is, name in lights, while Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Philip K. Dick are relegated to small type over the title. Odd, and probably counter-productive, to say the least.

The Heaven Makers (Part 2 of 2), by Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert’s serial The Heaven Makers concludes in this issue. Imagine an SF novel oriented to the reference points of Charles Fort, Richard Shaver, and soap opera. And then imagine—this is the hard part—that it’s nonetheless pretty readable.

First, we are property! Just like Charles Fort said. You may think you understand human history, but everything you know is wrong! Earth is secretly dominated by the Chem, a species of very short, bandy-legged, silver-skinned alien humanoids who have been made immortal, and also connected tele-empathically, by a discovery of one of their ancient savants—Tiggywaugh’s web (definitely sic). Only problem is . . . they’re bored. Eternity weighs heavily on them. They must be entertained and distracted!

So, the Chem send Storyships around the galaxy, though Earth’s is the only one we see. This ship rests on the bottom of the ocean, from which vantage the Chem shape history in large and small ways both by direct intervention and by remote manipulation and heightening of human emotional states. The result: wars that might be settled quickly at the conference table can be prolonged and intensified, and susceptible individuals can be driven as far as murder. These events are recorded, processed, spiced up with their own emotional track, and broadcast to pique the jaded souls of the Chem.

One of the stars of this industry is Fraffin, proprietor of Earth’s Storyship, but he’s suspected of letting hints drop to Earthfolk about what’s going on, a major crime among the Chem. Kelexel, posing as a visitor, has been sent by the authorities to get to the bottom of things, after four previous investigators have found nothing and, suspiciously, resigned. But Kelexel is quickly corrupted himself. Fraffin shows him a “pantovive” of a man manipulated by the Chem into murdering his wife, which Kelexel finds quite gripping. He also becomes obsessed with the woman’s daughter, Ruth (the Chem are quite captivated by the physiques of humans, and can interbreed with them). Fraffin, having found Kelexel’s vulnerability, sets out to procure her for him. So three dwarfish figures show up at her back door, immobilize her with some sort of ray, and carry her away to be mind-controlled and ravished by Kelexel.

At this point, the nagging sense of familiarity I was feeling came into focus. Herbert has reinvented Richard Shaver’s Deros! Shaver, a former psychiatric patient, wrote up his delusions of sadistic cave-dwelling degenerates tormenting normal people, which (with much reworking by editor Ray Palmer) boosted Amazing’s mid-1940s circulation to unheard-of levels, until the publisher put an end to the disreputable spectacle a few years later. Now Herbert has gussied up the “Shaver Mystery” for prime time! The distorted physical appearance . . . check. The mind control rays . . . check. The underground caverns . . . not exactly, these characters are underwater instead. But that’s a minor detail.

by Gray Morrow

Oh, yes, the soap opera part. Up on dry land, Andy Thurlow, a court psychologist, is Ruth’s old boyfriend; she threw him over for someone else, who turned out to be a low-life. Andy’s never gotten over it. Her father, holed up after his Chem-driven murder of her mother, won’t surrender to anybody but Andy. Meanwhile, Andy, who is wearing polarized glasses as a result of an eye injury, has started to see what prove to be manifestations of Chem activity, invisible to anyone else. Andy also gets back with Ruth, who has moved out on her husband; he takes her back to the marital house and waits so she can pick up some possessions. But the Chem snatch her as described, and her husband falls through a glass door and dies.

Back at the Chems’ submarine hideout, Kelexel is having his way with the pacified Ruth, who, when he’s not using her, studies the Chem via the pantovive machine, learning more and more, while Kelexel harbors growing misgivings about the whole Chem enterprise. Andy, up on land, is trying to persuade Ruth’s father the murderer to cooperate with an insanity defense while wondering if the strange manifestations he has seen account for Ruth’s disappearance. The plot lines are eventually resolved in confrontations among Kelexel, Fraffin, Ruth, and Andy with dialogue that is more reminiscent of daytime TV than Herbert’s turgid usual. In the end, Herbert actually makes a readable story out of this sensational and largely ridiculous material. Three stars.

Cold Comfort, by Winston K. Marks

by Gray Morrow

Winston Marks’s "Outstanding New Story" Cold Comfort is an amusing first-person rant by the first man to be cryogenically frozen for medical reasons and revived when his problem can be cured. He’s pleased enough with his new kidneys, but isn’t impressed by this brave new world in which corporations now overtly dominate the world, there’s a nine-million-soldier garrison in East Asia, etc. etc. E.g. , “I am only now recovering from my first exposure to your local art gallery. Who the hell invented quivering pigments?” It’s at best a black-humorous comedy routine, but well enough done. Three stars.

The Mad Scientist, by Robert Bloch

by Virgil Finlay

After Marks it is downhill, or over a cliff. The Mad Scientist by Robert Bloch, from Fantastic Adventures, September 1947, is a deeply unfunny farce about an over-the-hill scientist who works with fungi, who has a young and beautiful wife with whom the protagonist is having an affair. They want to get rid of the scientist with an extract of poisonous mushrooms, but he outsmarts them, and what a silly bore. The fact that the protagonist is a science fiction writer and the story begins with some blather about how dangerous such people are does not enhance its interest at all. One star.

Atomic Fire, by Raymond Z. Gallun

by Leo Morey

Raymond Z. Gallun’s Atomic Fire (Amazing, April 1931) is a period piece, Gallun’s third published story, in which far-future scientists Aggar Ho and Sark Ahar (with huge chests to breathe the thin atmosphere, spindly and attenuated limbs, large ears, a coat of polar fur—evolution!) have discovered that the Black Nebula is about to swallow up the sun and kill all life on Earth. The solution? Atomic power, obviously, to be tested off Earth for safety (the spaceship has just been delivered). Unfortunately, their experiments first fail, then succeed all too well; but Sark Ahar’s quick thinking turns disaster into salvation! As the blurb might have read. Gallun had an imagination from the beginning, but the stilted writing makes this one hard to appreciate in these modern days of the 1960s. Two stars.

Project Nightmare, by Robert Heinlein

by William Ashman

In Robert Heinlein’s Project Nightmare, from the April/May 1953 Amazing, the Russians deliver an ultimatum demanding surrender, since they’ve mined American cities with nuclear bombs. The only hope is a colorful and miscellaneous bunch of clairvoyants to locate the bombs before they go off. It’s a fast-moving but superficial, wisecracking story, a considerable regression for the author. Some years ago he published an essay titled On the Writing of Speculative Fiction, and presented five rules for the aspiring writer. I think this story must illustrate the last two: “4. You must put it on the market. 5. You must keep it on the market until sold.” I suspect Heinlein intended this one for the slicks, and when none of them would have it, started down the ranks of the SF mags until it finally came to rest in Amazing, which, compounding the indignity, managed to lose his customary middle initial. Two stars.

The Builder, by Philip K. Dick

by Ed Emshwiller

Philip K. Dick’s The Builder (Amazing, December 1953/January 1954) is from his early Prolific Period—he published 31 stories in the SF magazines in 1953 and 28 in 1954, handily beating Winston K. Marks’s peak. How? With a certain number of tossed-off ephemerae like this one, in which an ordinary guy is obsessed for no reason he can articulate with building a giant boat in his backyard. A rather peculiar boat too, with no sails or motor or oars. And then: “It was not until the first great black drops of rain began to splash about him that he understood.” That’s it. Two stars for this shaggy-God story which is unfortunately not shaggy enough.

Summing Up

Well, that was pretty dreary. The issue’s only distinction is the unexpected readability of Herbert’s novel, which is the best, or least bad, of the serials this publisher has run. The most one can say about the reprint policy is that it has its ups and downs, and this issue is definitely the latter.

[Come join us at Portal 55, Galactic Journey's real-time lounge! Talk about your favorite SFF, chat with the Traveler and co., relax, sit a spell…]

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Comics

[May 4, 1967] The Marvel Superheroes Have Arrived! (Marvel Comics in the UK)

May 4, 2022 Kris Vyas-Myall 1 Comment

by Mx. Kris Vyas-Myall

Last Weekend in London, the most happening party of the year took place, The 14 Hour Technicolour Dream.

In order to help raise funds for International Times legal defence fund, Alexandra Palace was hired out for an extravaganza of the most “out there” artists around. Throughout the whole of Saturday Night there were a wide array of different entertainments to enjoy.

The 14 Hour Technicolour Dream crowds at Alexandra Palace — The crowds at Ally Pally

Whether that be the psychedelic music of Pink Floyd, the films of Kenneth Anger, the auto-destructive art of Yoko Ono or just Beatniks throwing flour bombs, it was an experience that London has never quite seen before. Quite a long way from the extended poetry reading at the Albert Hall less than 2 years ago.

With ads everywhere, from the underground papers to the up-market boutiques of Chelsea, it became the place to be seen with everyone from members of The Beatles to Warhol. From Dick Gregory to the near mythical Suzy Creemcheese.

The Exploding Galaxy Dance Troupe perform ‘Fuzzdeath’

Whilst some of the mods in attendance didn’t really dig the young men in long scruffy hair wearing cowbells or some of the interactive art, it has been hugely popular with an estimated 7000 attendees. There have been discussions of what to do with all the money, although a hitch that some of the tickets appear to have been stolen, so proceeds may come up short of what is expected.

A person Preparing to make another cut as part of Yoko Ono’s ‘Cut Piece’ — Preparing to make another cut as part of Yoko Ono’s ‘Cut Piece’

With this new generation of flower loving beatniks (or ‘hippys’ according to the American press) coming up there is definitely a change in the kind of artistic expression they like. And one surprising thing they seem to enjoy is Marvel Superhero comics:

Getting Here From There

When Marvel’s superhero line began a few years ago there were two main ways to read them in the UK, neither of which were easy.

The first was via reprints from Alan Class. This company has several titles devoted to reprinting American comic strips. The problem with these is they would often be a pretty random selection of titles, considering these superheroes not really as ongoing stories, just the same as one-off horror and SF tales to sprinkle occasionally through issues. Also, at a shilling these are at the more expensive end of the comic book market, where around sixpence is the usual price.

Marvel Edition of Spider-Man with UK Price Stamp on it — Spidey reminding you to pay 10 pence, not 12 cents!

The other was through direct import, predominantly via Thorpe & Porter. These, however, did not have wide distribution compared with British comics and, when the company went bankrupt last year, it was purchased by IND, National’s (AKA DC) distributor and the flow of Marvel imports slowed to a trickle.

So, acquiring these stories was a real challenge for UK readers. That is until another surprising source came through. One due to the success of British Comics superstar, Leo Baxendale.

A Non-Cowardly Lion

Starting in the early 50s Leo Baxendale began working for DC Thompson on The Beano, Britain’s top selling comic book (over a million issues a week, about the same as national newspapers like the Daily Telegraph). For it he created some of their best loved strips, such as Minnie The Minx, When The Bell Rings and Little Plum.

When The Bell Rings and The Tiddlers Panel Comparison — Spot the difference, When The Bell Rings and The Tiddlers

After leaving DC Thompson, Odhams hired him to create a new humour comic for them, the result was Wham! launching in 1964. Whilst containing some new ideas, it contained a number of very similar ideas from DC Thompson titles (e.g. The Beezer has The Numskulls, about the inner life of a child’s senses, Wham! has Georgie’s Germs, about the lives of germs on a dirty child).

However, it was successful enough for Odhams to want a second title in the same style. This was Smash! which followed in early 1966 in much the same style, with the Minnie-esque Bad Penny and another microscopic strip The Nervs, along with parodies, such as The Man From BUNGLE.

House Ad for Hulk’s arrival — House Ad for The Hulk’s arrival

A few months in they began to import two American strips. The Newspaper version of Batman and Marvel’s The Hulk.

Hulk Smashes On To The Scene

Smash! Hulk Cover — A much older Banner and a flesh toned Incredible Hulk make their first appearance in Smash!

I think it is important to start with the differences in the importation of these strips. The first, and most obvious point, is that British comics do not have many colour pages. Smash! itself only has them on the front cover (used for the first half of the Batman strip) and the back (currently occupied by surreal humour strip Grimly Feendish), and, even then, in a limited number of tones. As such all of the Hulk’s exploits are in black and white.

Comparison of Marvel and Odhams hulk Pages — How a page break becomes an issue break for Smash! (Notice the slight difference between bottom left and bottom right panel).

Secondly, as this is in the standard British weekly anthology style of comic book, it does not often have the space to reprint an entire story. As such they have to be broken up into multiple issues. At the same time, British comic dimensions are slightly different, so some panels have to be either rearranged or modified to fit.

Two Letter to Smash! — Contrasting views on the changes from David and Nicholas

Whilst some readers did not appreciate their Baxendale style comedy being interrupted by superhero antics, in general the changes have been well received and Hulk continues to lumber on. Which leads to third difference: Odhams made the choice to follow the characters through their appearances as best as they can, regardless of what book they were originally published in. Which leads us to the arrival of The Fantastic Four.

(Flower) Power Comics

Fantastic Four Ad in Wham! — A reminder in Smash! of where to read The Fantastic Four

As Marvel readers in the US will probably recall, there was a period between the ending of Hulk’s own series and his continued strip in Tales to Astonish. Rather than simply stopping one and starting the other, they follow his continued exploits. Next is his encounter with the Fantastic Four, so they are the next to be imported. After an introductory story, the tales of them facing each other begin in Smash!, followed by The Fantastic Four appearing regularly in big-sister title Wham!.

Next, he is on to The Avengers where things get particularly interesting. First off, these are rebilled as The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers (later V. The Avengers), to reflect the continuing adventures of Bruce Banner’s alter ego. However, what it also did was introduce readers to a whole range of characters they wanted to see more of.

The Incredible Hulk: The Monster and the Matador — The story you always wanted, what happens when The Hulk becomes a bullfighter!

Secondly, there are gaps in the Hulk’s story between issues, so they have their own strips drawn to fill them in. the first of which explaining what happened to him after he goes into the sea near Gibraltar.

Power Comics Christmas Message — Christmas wishes from Power Comics (which Tony Stark seems to take as a sales pitch)

This combination of showing off the range of heroes available and willingness to play with exclusive material opened the floodgates, leading to new branding of them as Power Comics and the launching of three primarily superhero titles.

First, is Pow!. In this are two reprints, Spider-Man and Nick Fury (originally Agent of SHIELD but since replaced by Howling Commandos era). In between are a few forgettable humour strips and two new adventure strips, Jack Magic, about a magician’s assistant who is transported to the present day, and The Python, where two adventures fight snake men and their giant mechanical reptile.

Then came Fantastic, this time containing three Marvel titles, Thor, Iron Man and The X-Men. In addition, they have their own superhero series, The Missing Link. Originally a Hulk like character menacing London King-Kong Style, he has recently got into a nuclear reactor accident which has given him super-intelligence and a normal appearance, whilst keeping his superhuman strength.

The most recent to debut is Terrific, which is entirely reprints, giving us the adventures of The Submariner, Dr. Strange and The (now Hulkless) Avengers. Plus occasional horror shorts from Marvel’s back catalogue in order to fill the space if the main stories run short.

All of this means the majority of Marvel’s superhero line is now being reprinted in these “Power Comics”. With a recent announcement that Daredevil is in negotiation, this just leaves Giant Man, who I don’t see anyone crying out for, and Captain America, who might need some localization to work. Maybe he could follow GI Joe’s lead and become “Captain Action”?

The Power-House Period

Now, going back to my introduction, what we are seeing is the new generation of beatniks seem to love them. Reportedly a recent poll of Berkley students placed The Hulk as the 6th greatest man in the world (Dylan won, obviously) and I regularly see ads in British fanzines and underground presses for people seeking out copies of the American originals.

Doom Patrol and TV Century 21 — Why does free love not extend to the soapy antics of Doom Patrol or the TV Century 21 crossovers?

What is the reason for this? Some have cited some of the technical innovations with more serialization, crossovers and soap opera dynamics. However, many of these are elements already present in many British comics and certainly seen in more recent DC titles like Doom Patrol and The Legion of Superheroes.

Dr. Strange and Fantastic Four Panels — Psychedelia and Progressive Politics? A Power-House indeed!
(from Dr. Strange and Fantastic Four respectively

I think the answer lies in the characters they are creating. The Hulk and the Thing are figures of great angst. Peter Parker and Johnny Storm are much more relatable teenagers than the richer but flatter Teen Titans. Nick Fury appeals to the Bond fans, whilst Dr. Strange is pure psychedelia. There are also regular smart uses of progressive politics, such as dealing with hate organizations or the existence of an advanced African society. A stark contrast of the excruciating message issues we get from other companies.

“It's a sign of the times, and a year ago I never could have seen it”

Until recently both Odhams and the British youth scene seemed mired in the past, with Eagle being a shadow of itself and extremely high-priced boutiques churning out the same modish styles for rich kids to dance to the same beat sounds since ’63.

Over the last year we have seen fascinating new life emerging, with the Americans trying to teach us Brits a thing or two. Let’s see if we can learn the lessons.

Elektra Ad for Doors and Love Albums — The latest exciting American bands coming out from Elektra

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Magazine, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Serial

[May 2, 1967] The Call of Duty (June 1967 IF)

May 2, 2022 David Levinson 3 Comments

by David Levinson

[L]et us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it.
– Abraham Lincoln, Address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society

A duty to a higher power

On April 28th, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali (whom many papers insist on calling by his former name, Cassius Clay) refused induction into the United States Army. In a matter of hours, the New York State Athletic Commission revoked his boxing license, and the World Boxing Association stripped him of his title. For those paying attention, Ali’s refusal came as no surprise. He had been classified as 1-Y (fit for service only in times of national emergency) due to his poor performance on the qualifying test, but when the army lowered its standards last year, he became subject to reclassification as 1-A. The draft board in Louisville Kentucky did so, and he appealed, seeking exemption as a Muslim minister (often incorrectly reported as conscientious objector status). The board denied the appeal in January, and Ali vowed to go to court. After moving to Houston, Texas, the champ again sought reclassification and was again denied.

Muhammad Ali is escorted from the induction center in Houston, Texas.

When called up, Ali appeared as ordered at the Houston induction center and participated in all the pre-induction activities. But when called to step forward for induction, he refused. He was taken aside and the consequences were explained, but he once again refused. After that, he signed a statement indicating his refusal and was escorted outside. He didn’t address the reporters and television cameras waiting for him, but handed out copies of a four-page statement indicating that he is aware of the penalties he faces, but that accepting induction is inconsistent with his “consciousness as a Muslim minister and [his] own personal convictions.” The case has been referred to the U. S. Attorney. If convicted, Mr. Ali faces a maximum of 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

A sense of duty

Like Muhammad Ali, almost everyone in this month’s IF is motivated by strong beliefs: their duty to king and country, humanity at large, or their own personal beliefs and obligations.

Uncle Martin and Tim (from My Favorite Martian) seem to have had a falling out. Actually, this is supposedly from Spaceman!
Art by Wenzel.

Wizard’s World, by Andre Norton

Hunted for being an Esper, Craike decides death is preferable to capture and hurls himself from a cliff. And finds himself in another world, one where people like him are seen as wizards who maintain order for the feudal lords and will not tolerate unregulated Espers. He soon falls afoul of these Black Hoods by rescuing an attractive young woman who was being punished for being outside of the established system.

Takya and Craike set a trap for the Black Hoods. Art by Gray Morrow

We’ve all read this story a hundred times. Man from our world or one reasonably close finds himself mysteriously transported to another world, where he uses his knowledge and different way of thinking to upset the bad social order and get the girl. From John Carter to Lord Kalvan, the template has few variations. Norton’s typical strong writing lifts this above the usual fare, but she offers us nothing new. And there are bits that bother me. For all her power and maturity, Takya is clearly meant to be a young teen, who spends the whole story clad only in her hair. Then at the end, the wooing she expects from Craike borders on rape, however consensual it may be.

Three stars, strictly for being well-written.

Berserker’s Prey, by Fred Saberhagen

Gilberto Klee was working on a youth farm when he was captured in a berserker raid. Now aboard a human ship converted to berserker use, he meets other prisoners, one of whom is sure he can fly the ship if only they can destroy the berserker brain piloting it. Because human captives are suffering from dietary deficiencies, the berserkers order Gil to grow something to end the problem. He suggests a fast-growing squash, though the others disdain him for aiding their captors. Is Gil trying to be viewed as “goodlife” or is there something else going on?

As fellow Journey writer Victoria Silverwolf recently noted, Saberhagen is able to return to this setting over and over again without repeating himself. Perhaps that’s because most of these stories, like this one, tend to be character pieces with the action secondary to the plot. The tight focus on Gil’s internal thoughts without giving away the ending is extremely well done. The ending is also quite symbolic for the overall struggle against the great killing machines.

A very high three stars.

All True Believers, by Howard L. Morris

Not quite two years after thwarting the invasion of Briden by the Freunch under Naflon (see Not by Sea), Sir Hubert Wulf-Leigh (Wilfly) stumbles upon a new Freunch plot: a simultaneous rising in Cullenland and a landing by the Pantlerist pretender in Celtland. Once again, his brilliant mind – aided by a regrettable lack of wine – is up to the challenge.

A strand-gleaner makes an important discovery. Art by Virgil Finlay

The previous story by this author, though readable, was a little too long and tried much too hard to be funny. Morris has largely corrected those problems, though he’s stuck with the ridiculous place names. This piece is clearly based on British fears during the Napoleonic Wars of an Irish rebellion and an attempt by the Stewart pretender to claim the throne and is really no more plausible here than it was in reality. Also the Finlay art seems to be repurposed from Treasure Island or something and doesn’t fit at all. Still, it's all an improvement.

Three stars.

The N3F and Others, by Lin Carter

After looking at a number of less successful attempts at creating national fan clubs last month, Carter looks first at the strange story of the Cosmic Circle and then the more successful National Fantasy Fan Federation. The N3F has lasted a quarter century at this point, but Carter seems ambivalent. In his opinion, it and its extensive membership list offer a reasonable first step and a way to meet fans near you and around the country, but he feels that the organization doesn’t really do anything in fandom. Nevertheless, it seems to be a good introduction for those without a local club in their vicinity.

Three stars.

The Castaways, by Jack B. Lawson

A handful of people are on their way to Smith’s World in suspended animation aboard an automated spaceship when an unexpected nova sends the ship off course. They’re able to find a habitable world, but it’s one without any other people. Can the end products of 6,000 years of civilization survive in a primitive setting?

While the writing is strong on a line-by-line basis, the story itself is so bleak and pessimistic I can’t bring myself to like it.

A very well-written two stars.

Spaceman! (Part 2 of 3), by Keith Laumer

Seeking shelter from a blizzard, Billy Danger accidentally stowed away on a spaceship, ultimately finding himself marooned with the beautiful Lady Raire and a collie-sized cat named Eureka. Raire was taken away by strange, dwarfish aliens, and Billy had to wait for rescue. Billy then spends a few years working his way up the ladder to Chief Power Engineer and also working his way towards Raire’s home planet near the galactic core. He learns that the aliens who took Raire are known as the H’eeaq. After several (mis)adventures, he finds himself in possession of a stolen spaceship and the assistance of a H’eeaq named Srat.

They begin scouring the scattered worlds of the Galactic Zenith, looking for those who took Raire. On the verge of giving up, he finds Raire enslaved and buys both her and another human. Staggering drunkenly back to his ship after finalizing his purchases, Billy watches as the ship takes off with Raire aboard and then finds himself arrested for illegally manumitting a slave. When he wakes up, he discovers that he has been implanted with a control device. Billy is now a slave. To be concluded.

Billy meets Srat for the first time. Poor Srat. Art by Castellon

This installment reminded me a lot of Earthblood, especially the protagonist rising through the ranks as he travels and moves ever closer to a seemingly impossible goal. While Rosel George Brown’s steadying influence there gave us moments of introspection, Laumer alone is free to indulge in wild adventure and action. He also has a tendency to rely too much on coincidence to move the plot along. It’s still an enjoyable read, though.

Three stars.

Family Loyalty, by Stan Elliott

A series of letters between Joe Seaworthy, who is emigrating off-world, and his cousin and former employee Harry Aimes, who senses a chance to get himself out of a bind.

Here is this month’s new author. The first letter feels very unnatural, although there are reasons for that. Things improve after that, and Elliott does a pretty good job of telling us a lot about the world without direct exposition.

A low three stars.

Driftglass, by Samuel R. Delany

Cal Svenson is an amphiman, someone who has been surgically altered so that they can live and breathe underwater. Eighteen years ago, he was severely injured while trying to lay a power cable in an oceanic trench known as the Slash. Unable to work due to a paralyzed leg and torn swim membranes, he has a pension and a house on the Brazilian coast provided by the company he worked for. He spends his days searching for driftglass (also called sea glass) and chatting with his friend Juao, a local fisherman. Encountering a young amphiman woman, Cal learns that the company is planning to try laying a cable in the Slash again the next day. Juao’s two children, Cal’s godchildren, have been accepted into the amphiman program and must leave for Brasilia the next day as well. Cal has to sort out his feelings about both of these things and their consequences.

Cal is injured. Art by Gaughan

Simple. Beautiful. Subtle. Delany writes with a maturity far beyond his 25 years. This story alone is worth your 50¢.

Five stars.

An example of some sea glass

Summing up

That’s another month in the books. Mostly fair to middlin’, but two of the shorter works stand out. The Saberhagen is very good, even if it doesn’t quite deserve a fourth star, and Driftglass is amazing. I expect to see it on all the awards lists. I’m nominating it for a Galactic Star right now, with not even half the year gone.

This is presumably the Riverworld story promised for Worlds of Tomorrow. The lack of other information suggests that Fred is scrambling to deal with the loss of a magazine.

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Magazine, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Serial

[April 30, 1967] Strange New Worlds and Staid Old Ones (May 1967 Analog)

April 30, 2022 Gideon Marcus 8 Comments

by Gideon Marcus

To Boldly Go

In the days of the Gold Rush, the Forty-Niners staked out the most promising spots in the hopes of striking it rich. They set out across thousands of miles, making harrowing overland or overseas trips to California, setting wobbly feet in the land that would soon be The Golden State, hoping that a survey of their claimed land would be a promising one.

Two Surveyors have made their way to the Moon, the second of which (Surveyor 3–Surveyor 2 didn't make it) has just broken ground on our celestial neighbor.

While we can't pan for gold on the Moon (and, indeed, if there is a precious resource we're hoping to find there, it's water), Surveyor did spread lunar soil on a white surfaced background. This has allowed geologists…well, selenologists now…to make tentative guesses as to the composition of the Moon. More importantly, it has been categorically shown that the lunar surface is solid and can be landed upon by Apollo astronauts! Together with the photos from the several Lunar Orbiter spacecraft, the Sixty-Niners will have a good lay of the lunar land they'll be exploring.

By the way, the first Apollo crew has been chosen. These are the folks originally slated for Apollo 2, an orbital flight that would have flown a few months after the tragically lost mission of Apollo 1.

They are Walter M. Schirra, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham. The first name should be a well known to readers; the other two are rookies from the third group of astronauts, folks recruited specifically for Apollo. It is unlikely that their flight will take place before 1968, and there will be at least one more manned test before the big jump to the Moon. There's currently even talk of a trip around the Moon before a landing attempt.

To Timidly Creep

The latest issue of Analog isn't bad, per se. It's just more of the same. I suppose it's a winning formula to keep doing what works, but I expect a little more innovation from my scientifiction.

by Kelly Freas

Of Terrans Bearing Gifts, by Richard Grey Sipes

Things don't start promisingly. We last saw Mr. Sipes in a truly awful epistolary piece a couple of years back. In his sophomore work, a smug Terran trader, name of Winslow, arrives at planet Nr. 126-24 Wilson Two, UTCC, and proceeds to turn things upside down. His store for sale includes a teleporter, an instant translator, a nuclear nullifier, a matter duplicator, and much more.

It's all really smug, which I suppose it's possible to be when you're wielding Godlike power. Winslow justifies his toppling of Wilson Two's society by noting less scrupulous folks will show up sooner or later and do the same thing. It still doesn't make the story fun reading.

Two stars.

Experts in the Field, by Christopher Anvil

by Kelly Freas

Terran linguists assigned to the planet Marshak III are convinced that the indigenous apex animals are sapient, language-using beings. But since they can't decipher the language they use, an interstellar rest stop construction concern is going to come in, claim the planet, and pave over the preferred lands of the aborigines.

It's up to Lieutenant Commander Andrew Doyle to solve the linguist riddle and save the day.

For a Chris Anvil story, particularly one appearing in Analog, it's not bad. Sure, it begins with "[Rank] [Man Name] strode onto the scene…" like virtually every other Anvil story. Yes, the ending paragraphs seem custom made to tickle editor Campbell's fancy (and guarantee a sale). But I liked the puzzle, and it was reasonably well written.

Three stars.

Burden of Proof, by Bob Shaw

by Kelly Freas

There's one ray of bright light in this issue, if I may be indulged the pun. Scottish author Bob Shaw offers up a sequel of sorts to his promising story, Light of Other Days. In this one, he explores the criminological effects of his "slow glass", a substance that rebroadcasts all of the light received from a certain time over that length of time. It is the perfect impartial eyewitness to any crime–provided one is willing to wait long enough to get it (a "ten year" pane might well not disgorge its evidence for a decade, and no speed-ups possible).

This particular tale is told from the viewpoint of a judge, who sent a man to the chair for murder…on circumstantial evidence. What if the eyewitness pane of slowglass, due to show the actual scene ten years after, says something contrary? Is it a miscarriage of justice? Can justice wait a decade?

I particularly liked this tale for questions it raises. It might not be slow glass, but certainly some other technology will arise in the future, like a perfect polygraph or enhancements in fingerprinting, may cause old evidence to be superseded. Does justice wait for these improvements? Can it? And how irrevocable is a decision made on an imperfect data set?

Shaw still is a little clunky in incorporating the explanations of his technologies. Nevertheless, he has a deft, romantic touch to his writing, sorely needed in his magazine. I'm glad Campbell found him. Four stars.

Target: Language, by Lawrence A. Perkins

Mr. Perkins discusses the differences between a variety of languages, and the commonality that may underlie them all. I don't buy his idea that humans develop an internal language that they then translate/adapt to the local vernacular, but it is clear that our species instinctively picks up language at an early age, and what it doesn't learn, it creates on the fly.

If nothing else, it's one of the most readable pieces I've yet encountered in Analog, and on a subject quite interesting to me (and I can verify much of what he says, having studied Russian, Spanish, Japanese, and Hebrew).

Four stars.

Dead End, by Mike Hodous

by Kelly Freas

Did you ever read The Man Who Never Was? It's the engaging true tale of how the British hoodwinked the Nazis into thinking the Allied invasion would go through Sardinia rather than Sicily. It involved seeding a corpse, dressed in a Major's uniform and handcuffed to a briefcase full of forged documents, off the coast of Spain. He was picked up, turned over to German agents, and the story was swallowed, hook, line, and sinker.

Dead End involves a Terran spaceship disabled by belligerent aliens, the capture and investigation of which is certain to give them the secret to our faster-than-light. Or lead them down a blind technological alley…

It's an eminently forgettable story, not helped by the aliens being human in all but name (and extra pair of legs), and the humans being smug in the Campbellian tradition.

Two stars.

The Time-Machined Saga (Part 3 of 3), by Harry Harrison

by Kelly Freas

At last, the exploits of Barney Henderson, movie producer extraordinaire, come to a close. As expected, the only reason there is archaeological evidence of a Viking settlement in Vinland is because Climax Productions made a movie starring Vikings in Vinland. The whole thing is a circle with no beginning and no end.

It's a compelling thought, further exemplified by a piece of paper that switches hands endlessly between two iterations of Barney. When did it start? Who initially drew the diagram on the paper? Of course, unsaid is the fact that, after endless passings back and forth, the paper should disintegrate…

If the first installment was a bit too silly and the second rather engaging, this third one feels perfunctory. Harrison tells us how the film got done, but the whole thing is workmanlike. Not bad, just a bit sterile. Also, given then carnage involved in the making of the film, I would have preferred a more farcical tone or a more serious one. The middle-of-the-road path makes light of the horror of first contact and the bloodshed that stemmed therefrom, and it taints the whole story.

So, three stars for this segment and three and a half for the book as a whole.

Summing Up

What a lackluster month this was! The outstanding stuff would barely fit a slim volume of a single digest. Analog garnered a sad (2.9) stars. It is only beaten by Fantasy and Science Fiction (3), and it very slightly edges out IF (2.9) and Fantastic (2.9)–they rounded up to 2.9, while Analog rounded down. The last issue of Worlds of Tomorrow (2.4) is left in the dust. We won't have WoT to kick around anymore…

Women wrote 7.41% of the new fiction this month–dismal, but par for the course. On the other hand, we've got a new star in the screenwriting heavens in the form of Star Trek's D.C. Fontana. Perhaps TV is where the new crop of STF women will grow.

In any event, I've already gotten a sneak preview of next month's IF. We have a stunning new Delany to look forward to. Stay tuned!

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Movies, Science / Space Race, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[April 28, 1967] Tempest in a Teacup (The Terrornauts)

April 28, 2022 Kris Vyas-Myall 1 Comment

by Mx. Kris Vyas-Myall

Next week will see the launch of third satellite in the British Ariel programme. Assuming this is successful, it will be significant for a couple of reasons.

UK3 Satellite, hoping to become Ariel 3 if it gets in orbit

Firstly, whilst it is being launched in partnership with NASA in California, it will be the first satellite to be entirely made and tested in Britain, whereas the first two were made in the US. In cooperation between the Royal Airforce, British Aircraft Corporation and General Electric Company, its success would help show that Britain can, if not exactly compete in the space race, at least get a nice chance at a bronze medal.

Secondly, it is carrying five different experiments for UK research facilities, from measuring electron density to atmospheric noise, all of which are going to be important for a more detailed understanding of our world.

One of the most interesting experiments to me is that Jodrell Bank is using it to study medium frequency waves that occur in space. As well as helping understand radio transmissions better this may also help better detect signals coming from extra-terrestrial intelligences. Which is what The Terrornauts is concerned with.

Mr. Brunner…We’re Needed!

Back in the ancient days of 1960 our esteemed editor gave a rather damning review of the original novel. However, largely this was due to the prose and the story being dragged out and it was noted that “the premise is excellent”. As such, if a good team was assembled it might well make a good motion picture.

Step forward the first member of this team, John Brunner. One of Britain’s brightest SF authors. Whilst, to the best of my knowledge, he has not written a film script before, he is adept at producing both readable space operas and extremely literary works. He reportedly wanted to remove all the dated pulp era material to concentrate on core science fiction ideas and character work.

Next up, a steady experienced hand of a director is needed, enter Montgomery Tully. Director of over 60 films across 4 decades, including last year’s excellent horror thriller Who Killed The Cat? Although not experienced in SF, many of the best productions of recent years have come from experienced directors outside the field. I will take a Godard or Kubrick experiments over another Irwin Allen or Ed Wood picture.

This production is from Amicus studios, the main rival to Hammer studios, with the enjoyable horror anthology Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, the middling Dalek films and…. whatever The Deadly Bees was. Whilst they do not have the budget of their competitor, they have had ambition to try to do interesting films. Could this be their next success?

Added to this an array of talented actors listed on the cast sheet and things seem setup for a great cinematic experience.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

As it turns out, a lot!

Let us start with the plot itself. It begins with people working in a field of current interest to many SF fans, attempting to use high powered radio telescopes in order to attempt to find intelligence life outside of our solar system. Dr. Burke’s team have been working on the project for 4 years but failed to produce any results, to the frustration of Dr. Shore, who is annoyed they are using the equipment on the project. Having just 3 months left to discover a sign of life, they receive a repeating signal from an asteroid.

What is particularly surprising is it is the same signal Dr. Burke heard as a child. At an excavation with an archaeologist uncle, a mysterious black cube was uncovered. He was given it as present and inside he found strange black crystals that hummed. Falling asleep holding one, he had a dream of an alien world. On that world he heard the same sound. As you can probably tell, this is going to require you to accept a lot of coincidences.

After sending a signal back, a spaceship comes and takes the lab away (although not the control room or telescope it was sent from), along with Dr. Burke, his assistants Lund and Keller, and two comedy characters, the accountant Yellowlees and the tea lady Mrs. Jones.

We do have to talk about the odd comic turns. There's no problem with having some light comedy to emphasise the drama and the use of ordinary characters out of their depth is a common charming feature of Nigel Kneale’s SF plays or Hammer Horror films. The issue here is that it is played so broadly in contrast to the po-faced stance of the rest of the cast it sticks out. Charles Hawtrey is a regular member of the Carry-On cast and Patricia Hayes is probably best known for her regular appearances on the Benny Hill Show. I could not help but wonder at times if they had just walked off of those sets temporarily. Just toning down their performances and lightening the others would have done wonders.

ultrasonic hallucination monster — A terrifying ultrasonic hallucination as part of the tests.

Our five space farers find themselves in a structure on the asteroid and spend a lot of time wandering about and solving a series of logic puzzles to prove intelligence (likely inspired by a similar sequence in The Dalek Invasion of Earth), they are given a cube like Dr. Burke received as a child. It turns out to be a store of information on their mission. An ancient race explored the stars and encountered a race only known as “The Enemy” that want to eliminate other intelligent life by using rays that reduce intelligence. The signal from the base indicates The Enemy’s signals are approaching Earth and it is up to these five to use the base to defend humanity.

There is also a brief side trip where Lund trips on to a ‘Matter Transmitter’ and gets sent down to a planet full of green people in togas and shower caps who want to sacrifice her, but this seems largely to be a way to have a traditional pulp action sequence more than anything else. In fact, for such a short film, there is enormous amount of time being wasted. Most egregious is a sequence where they are trying to find a cube to help them and spend ages sampling them all, only to have the real cube presented to them by the unconvincing robot of the base.

Wobbly robots and very unconvincing moons

Although looks are not everything it has to be said this film looks cheap. Yes, the budget was smaller than Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. or Thunderbirds Are Go, but it is at a comparable level to Island of Terror and The Projected Man, neither of which look as bad as this (despite their many other faults). Even BBC episodes of Doctor Who or Out of the Unknown, which work on less than 10% of the budget for similar runtimes, rarely resemble this level of shoddiness.

At the end it looked like we could have a tense and exciting space battle, but instead we have the attacking ship opening to reveal a red torch light and the fortress flailing about like a drunken Octopus.

Finally, the attacking fleet is destroyed but not before the final ship comes to crash into the base. The team manage to use the Matter Transmitter to escape and land in the same archaeological dig the black cube was found by Burke’s uncle. However, not having passports, they are arrested by a local police officer. Given how much The Terrornauts tends towards terrible cliché, it, of course, ends on a bad joke from Mrs. Jones:

I never did much like foreign parts

Hilarious…

Naut The Best Film

Mrs. Jones brings lab techs tea — Why not have a cup of tea and read a magazine instead?

As you can probably tell, this is a poor picture. Logic is consistently tenuous. There is barely enough plot to fill a Ferman vignette, instead being reduced to run-arounds. If I didn’t know its origins, I would have assumed this was a fan’s attempt at a Doctor Who script that was rejected by the production team.

But I think its worst sin is it is just incredibly dull. I don’t think this is due to lack of incident, but it is not about anything. There are no themes or interesting ideas I can tease out, it is just some people from Earth put into space to fight invaders, which they do via following recorded instructions.

Even this might have been salvaged if we had good character work but they all as thin as cigarette cards. Burke is the hero who is always right and can apparently do anything. Lund is his assistant who does whatever he says or randomly gets into trouble so she can be rescued. Keller is there for Burke to talk to. Yellowlees is the fussy and cowardly comic relief. And Jones is the ordinary person who does not quite understand what is going on, also for humour value.

They do not have any growth or go on a real quest. There is no significant difference I can see between the people when they leave Earth and arrive back.

In the end I cannot give this production more than one star.

Future Terrors

2001 Set photo — Kubrick and Clarke, on the set of what we all hope is not *The Terrornauts Raid Again*

Coming out very soon (we are continually promised) is 2001, the collaboration between another British SF author and experienced British director. Will this end up meeting the same fate? We shall see…

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Science / Space Race

[April 26, 1967] Fallen Cosmonaut ( The Loss of Soyuz 1)

April 26, 2022 Kaye Dee Leave a comment

by Kaye Dee

Back in November last year, while writing about Gemini 12, I asked “where are the Russians?”, since there had not been a manned Soviet space mission since Voskhod 2, in March 1965. I didn't expect that when I finally came to write about the next Soviet space flight, it would be to report the first death to occur during a space mission: an incident as deeply shocking as the Apollo 1 fire just three months ago. Sadly, the return of Soviet manned spaceflight and the introduction of its new Soyuz spacecraft (the name means “Union” in Russian) has been mared by the death of its crew and the destruction of the spacecraft itself.

Re-entry Mishap
Early yesterday (25 April Australian time), after more than twelve hours of silence about the mission, the official Soviet newsagency TASS announced that Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov had been killed after the failure of the parachute on his Soyuz 1 spacecraft, following re-entry. As I write this, little is known about what actually happened, but it appears that the parachute lines became tangled in some way, preventing the chute from fully opening, so that the spacecraft smashed into the ground at high velocity. However, it is not clear whether Cosmonaut Komarov died before the spacecraft hit the ground, or whether he was killed on impact.

Newspaper article from the 25 April edition of The Canberra Times announcing the loss of Soyuz-1

New Spacecraft, Ambitious Mission
As is always the case with the USSR’s space programme, nothing was known about the Soviet Union’s latest space mission until it was safely in orbit. We now know that Soyuz 1 was the first flight of a new spacecraft, believed to be even bigger than the Voskhod, which, as we saw, could carry a crew of three. Moscow television has supposedly described the Soyuz as “huge”. Just as Mercury and Vostok, and Gemini and Voskhod, could be considered parallel programs, Soyuz is assumed to be the equivalent of Apollo, and part of the USSR’s Moon landing programme about which we know so little. Could the Soyuz be capable of carrying a crew of four, or even five cosmonauts?

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Soyuz 1 was intended to undertake a surprisingly ambitious mission for the shakedown flight of a new vehicle. The craft was apparently planned to rendezvous in orbit with at least one, and possibly two, other spacecraft, with between six and nine cosmonauts joining Komarov in space before the end of the mission. The low altitude of Komarov's orbits (the lowest to date in the Soviet manned programme), only 138 miles above the Earth, certainly hint that rendezvous and docking operations were included in the flight programme, as a low orbit conserves power resources. This would have been a significant spaceflight first indeed, especially if – as has also been rumoured – there were plans for a crew transfer between one of these other spacecraft and Soyuz 1.

Crew Transfers Planned?
The fact that Komarov was the only cosmonaut on board Soyuz 1 certainly gives the crew trasnfer rumour some credence, as cosmonauts from one or two other spacecraft could have transferred to Soyuz 1 to fill its empty crew couches. Of course, we have no idea whether this transfer would have taken place through a docking tunnel between two spacecraft, or via a spacewalk, since we know nothing about the Soyuz vehicle itself. However, unless the Soviet manned space programme has been conducting an equivalent to the Gemini programme in secret over the past two years, its cosmonauts have little rendezvous experience (apart from Vostok 3-4 and 5-6), no docking experience, and have conducted only one spacewalk, whereas NASA has firmly mastered these critical techniques needed for the Apollo Moon programme. Perhaps the USSR intended to start catching up by carrying out extensive practice of these techniques during this first Soyuz mission? Or perhaps they have largely ignored them because they are planning a completely different approach to their manned lunar programme?

The official photo of Cosmonaut Komarov, released when the Soyuz 1 mission was announced, shows him wearing a spacesuit similar to that worn by Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov when he made the world’s first spacewalk. This photo can be seen in the reproduction of the article from The Canberra Times, above. It offers an intriguing hint that Komarov himself was possibly intended to make a spacewalk, or swap into another spacecraft for his return to Earth. However, confusing the issue is the picture below, which shows Komarov walking to board Soyuz 1 wearing a flight suit (similar to the one he wore as commander of Voskhod 1) rather than a spacesuit.

Problems with the Soyuz Spacecraft?
So why didn’t this rumoured space feat take place? Soyuz 1 was launched on 23 April. No problems were publicly reported during the early orbits of the mission, and Cosmonaut Komarov sent greetings from space “to the hardworking Australian people”. In another message, he also slammed the Vietnam War, in which Australia is fighting alongside the United States and other allies, sending a propaganda broadcast from orbit: "My warm greetings to the courageous Vietnamese people, fighting with dedication against the bandit aggression of American imperialism for freedom and independence", he said.

Soyuz 1 returned from space on its 19th orbit, after just 27 hours in space. It seems unlikely that this was the intended mission duration if rendezvous/docking and spacewalks with multiple spacecraft were really planned. The shortness of the flight may therefore be an indication that there were problems with the spacecraft, which is not necessarily unexpected with the first flight of a new vehicle. No other spacecraft launched to rendezvous with Soyuz 1, so perhaps this aspect of the mission was abandoned when problems arose.

Reports from amateur space-trackers in Italy also claim that they picked up messages in which Komarov complained to the Soviet Mission Control that they were “guiding [him] wrongly” during re-entry. Whether problems with the Soyuz spacecraft in orbit were responsible for the parachute failure that caused Soyuz 1 to plummet to Earth is perhaps something that we may not know for decades, if ever, given the habitual secrecy of the Soviet space programme.

One of the few photos available showing what remained of Soyuz-1 after its imapct with the ground

Lost Cosmonaut
As commander of the earlier Voskhod 1 mission, Colonel Vladimir Komarov was one of the handful of Soviet cosmonauts already known to us in the West. At 40, he was the second oldest of the cosmonauts (after Voskhod 2 mission commander Pavel Belyayev) and the first cosmonaut to make two spaceflights. Said to be highly respected by his cosmonaut colleagues, Komarov overcame a heart murmur, similar to that which grounded Astronaut Donald K. "Deke" Slayton durng the Mercury programmme, and other medical issues to retain his place in the Soviet comsonaut team. He was
married with a 15-year old son and 9-year old daughter. Komarov's 38-year old wife wife, Valentina, has been quoted as saying that she did not even know her husband had been assigned to the Soyuz 1 flight until it was publicly announced after launch. The identity of the cosmonauts slated to fly the other other spacecraft due to be launched as part of Soyuz-1's mission is completeley unknown at this point.

Cosmoanut Komarov with his wife Valentina and daughter Irina

Accident or Incompetence?
Was the loss of Soyuz 1 and Cosmonaut Komarov’s death just a tragic accident? There are persistent rumours that the spacecraft was not actually ready to be flight tested, and that political pressure was brought to bear on the space programme to produce another significant achievement in advance of a major conference marking 50 years since the October Revolution. Another question that arises is whether or not the unexpected death in January 1966 of Chief Designer Sergei Korolev (whose identity was only revealed after he passed away), could have had any impact on the development of the Soyuz and its subsequent fatal first flight?

Professor Sergei Korolev, the formerly anonymous Chief Designer of the Soviet space programme

An Honoured Hero
Like the lost crew of Apollo 1, Col. Komarov is a hero of the quest to explore space and has been posthumously awarded his second Hero of the Soviet Union medal and Order of Lenin. A Kremlin statement expressed the "profound grief" of the Soviet leadership at Komarov's death, and was signed by the Communist Party Central Committee, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the
Council of Ministers. A ten-minute public announcement of Komarov's loss on Moscow television showed the Soviet space monument and a black-bordered version of the official photo of Komarov wearing his spacesuit, while Moscow radio is said to have played sombre music. Komarov’s funeral will be held today, after which his ashes will be interred in the Kremlin Wall. The United States requested permission from the Soviet authorities for two astronauts to attend the funeral as a mark of respect, but disappointingly this was turned down.

Presumably the USSR will now launch an accident investigation similar to that being conducted by NASA to find the causes of the Apollo 1 fire, and will place the Soyuz programme into a hiatus until the invetsigation is complete. With both participants in the Moon race now investigating tragic accidents that have led to the loss of astronaut and cosmonaut lives, will the Moon race ever resume? Or will both programmes instead return to spaceflight with different goals? Only time will tell….

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Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV

[April 24, 1967] You Look Familiar (Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones, Part One)

April 24, 2022 Jessica Holmes 1 Comment

By Jessica Holmes

Another month of Doctor Who, and this time we’ve got the first half of a rather good little mystery thriller. This is part one of The Faceless Ones, by David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke.

EPISODE ONE

Materialising on the runway of Gatwick Airport in modern-day London, it’s not long before the Doctor and company get themselves into trouble. For once, it’s not bug-eyed space monsters that pose the immediate threat– it’s the coppers! The group split up and hide, and that’s when things take a turn for the deadly. In the hangar for a company called Chameleon Tours (this will later prove to be quite fitting) Polly witnesses the murder of a policeman by an airline pilot!

She flees to tell the Doctor and Jamie what she’s seen. Meanwhile the killer, Spencer (Victor Winding) confers with an accomplice, Captain Blade (Donald Pickering). Upon investigating the body, the Doctor discovers that the man was electrocuted, inferring that the murder weapon, and therefore the murderer, was not from our world. There’s something very dodgy going on at this airport, that’s for sure.

On their way to report the crime, the Doctor and Jamie prove to be extremely observant (not) when they fail to notice Blade kidnapping Polly from right behind them. When they eventually realise she’s missing, they don’t search long enough to find her. A bit blase, don’t you think? There’s a murderer on the loose! It does annoy me a bit when characters have to leave their brains behind to allow the plot to progress.

Giving up, they try to report the killing to the airport authorities, but they can’t even get inside the terminal from where they are without a passport. That’s bureaucracy for you. However, airport security would very much like to talk to them about the police box that just turned up on the runway. Priorities!

I don't think I've ever seen someone look so infuriatingly smug.

And what of Ben? Honestly, not much. He’s just sort of lagging behind everyone else, none the wiser as to what’s going on. We'll ignore him until he does something interesting.

Following a lengthy interrogation, the Doctor manages to persuade the airport Commandant (Colin Gordon) to come and see the dead body for himself. By the time they reach the hangar however it seems that Blade and Spencer have cleaned up after themselves.

After they’re gone, the pilots bring someone out of the hangar. Whoever they are, they don’t seem very well, and it looks like they’ve got quite a painful skin condition.

In case you’re wondering, it’s not Polly. No, she’s just arrived at the gate, fresh off the plane from Zurich. And her name’s Michelle now. And she’s Swiss.

Oh, and she hasn’t the faintest idea who the Doctor is.

Meanwhile the pilots bring their afflicted friend to the airport medical bay…and it doesn’t look like the poor fellow has a skin condition, after all.

Whatever he is… he’s not human. Generally speaking, humans have faces.

The first episode kicks off a rather intriguing little mystery. By the end I still had no idea what was going on, but I was enjoying the ride all the same.

I suddenly have a craving for pizza.

EPISODE TWO

Now that they look like total liars, the Doctor and Jamie make a run for it when the Commandant calls the police.

While they’re on the run from the law, the pilots and a nurse attend to the faceless alien. They’ve apparently also kidnapped a gentleman from the airport staff, Meadows (George Selway), and have him tied down to a bed. They need him. Rather, they need his face. The nurse attaches a bunch of equipment to the pair of them, and the alien transforms, becoming a perfect copy of Meadows—even sharing his memories. The effect is similar to the one used to transform Hartnell into Troughton, though without the flash of light to mask the transition.

This is why I make exfoliation a regular part of my skincare routine.

Ben catches up to the Doctor and Jamie as the Doctor begins to wonder if Polly is really Polly. ‘Michelle’ as she now calls herself is working for Chameleon Tours. She adamantly denies remembering anything about the hangar, or anyone being killed there. However, the Doctor hadn’t even mentioned the murder. She knows more than she’s letting on.

The men confer, and the Doctor decides to try again to get the Commandant to listen to him, while Ben investigates the hangar and Jamie keeps an eye on Polly. I wouldn’t send a friend of mine to poke around a murder scene with the killer still at large, but what do I know?

Samantha's a smart lass, but she has dreadful taste in hats.

While Jamie’s hanging around the airport terminal being generally stunned by the modern world, a young woman comes to the Chameleon Tours desk. The woman, Samantha (Pauline Collins) is worried about her brother, who went on a Chameleon Tours holiday and never came back. Overhearing this, Jamie offers to help her.

Ben finds the real Polly inside a packing case, apparently catatonic. He immediately calls the commandant on a conveniently located telephone, hoping to be able to contact the Doctor.

Unfortunately the Doctor has already left the Commandant’s office, after the Commandant called the police on him. Who’d have ever seen that coming?

He meets back up with Jamie, and finds that ‘Polly’ left a short time ago. Inside her office, they find a monitor connected to a camera in the hangar, showing Ben—and someone sneaking up behind him. Unable to alert Ben to the danger, the Doctor can only watch as some sort of device freezes him.

Rushing to the hangar, the Doctor finds no sign of Ben, but he does find the strange weapon. There’s no sign of Polly, either. See, this is why you don’t send people to investigate crime scenes alone.

He finds the real Meadows, but before he can let him out of the crate, a voice calls from the other room, pleading for help. The Doctor naturally rushes in, only for the doors and windows to seal shut. The air vents begin to belch some sort of freezing gas…

The plot thickens, and things are getting a bit clearer– and more sinister. I’m starting to really like this story. It’s not over-reliant on flashy sets or effects, mostly playing out like a mystery. This episode also introduces Inspector Crossland (Bernard Kay, who has popped up in a few serials thus far), who has come looking for his murdered colleague. He doesn’t have much to do yet. Well, other than walk around and ask for information the audience already knows, but I’m sure he’ll become more important later.

EPISODE THREE

The Doctor pretends to collapse, tricking Spencer into emerging from a hidden room to check on him, at which point the Doctor zaps him with the freezing device and makes good his escape. Later, Blade orders Spencer to kill the Doctor to atone for his incompetence.

The Doctor meets back up with Jamie, who has made the acquaintance of the Inspector, who is very interested in what the Doctor has to say. The pair return to the Commandant, and the Doctor lays out his theory of what’s going on: Chameleon Tours is a front for a kidnapping operation, and people are being abducted and replaced by doppelgangers from another world. To be fair, I wouldn’t believe him, either.

However, the Doctor now has the freezing device, which he tries to use on the fake-Meadows in air traffic control. The impostor runs for it, but not before the Doctor succeeds in turning his teacup to ice. Now nobody can deny that this weapon isn't like any we have on Earth.

Samantha and Jamie, meanwhile, have been told to stay put. As you might expect, they disobey the moment the Doctor turns his back. Samantha talks Jamie into snooping around the hangar with her, and they soon find a stack of pre-written and stamped postcards, realising that Chameleon Tours are forging postcards from their passengers to disguise the fact that they’ve vanished into the ether.

The pair bring this evidence to the Commandant, who finally agrees to allow the Doctor free rein to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, fake-Meadows reports to Spencer that the Doctor is suspicious of him. Spencer provides him with a device to smuggle onto the Doctor’s person, which will take care of him once and for all. For some reason, the Doctor doesn’t recognise him when he returns to the office. Maybe he’s bad with faces. After all, he never noticed that the Inspector is a dead-ringer for a mediaeval Sultan and a future rebel. Fake-Meadows has no trouble sticking the device to the Doctor’s back, like a more deadly version of a ‘kick-me’ note.

Oblivious to the danger, the Doctor and Jamie return to the hangar and begin to search for the hidden room Spencer emerged from earlier.

The Inspector boards the Chameleon Tours aeroplane in order to talk to Captain Blade, following him into the cockpit, where Blade holds him at gunpoint. There also seems to be a lack of the expected equipment within the cockpit, hinting that this aeroplane is not quite what it seems.

The Doctor and Jamie find monitors in the hidden room showing the medical bay. They're about to investigate when Spencer remotely activates the device on the Doctor’s back, causing him to collapse in severe pain.

And on the aeroplane, the situation only gets worse. Once the plane reaches cruising altitude, Blade shows the Inspector the secret of Chameleon Tours; the passengers have all vanished!

Final Thoughts

So far, this is shaping up to be a good story! The twists and turns are building nicely, without throwing too many at the viewer at once.

I like Samantha, and I’m wondering if the writers are lining her up to join the crew of the TARDIS. She’s got a smart head on her shoulders and a bucketload of determination, to boot. The regional dialect (she's from Liverpool, though her accent is quite mild) is a bonus in my book, too. I believe I've mentioned that I appreciate it when the BBC doesn't force all its actors to speak in RP.

Of course, if she joins the crew it might start getting crowded. I wonder if there might be a departure on the cards soon? It would make sense, as we’re back in Ben and Polly’s time, and they have been travelling with the Doctor for a little while now. Oh, but I like Ben and Polly! Perhaps I’m wrong—maybe they’ll stick around for a little while yet. This could be a red herring. We’ll just have to wait and see!

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Comics

[April 22, 1967] Make War Not Love (Comics)

April 22, 2022 Jason Sacks 2 Comments

by Jason Sacks

Hello from sunny Seattle, where spring has sprung, the rain has (mostly) stopped, cherry blossoms are on the trees at the U-Dub, and Don & the Goodtimes are topping our city's pop charts.

My friends and I love hearing that wonderful local pop ditty on Kolorful KOL Radio while driving in his Corvair. Most often we wander down to the Spanish Castle, down in south King County (past my beloved Sicks' Stadium where the Seattle Angels play). At the Spanish Castle we get to watch some amazing pop, funk and jazz musicians deliver performances to warm us up on Seattle's rainy nights. Local standbys The Wailers, The Kingsmen and a very talented young man named Jimmy Hendrix have played there. Remember the name 'Hendrix'. According to rumors, he's keeping busy in England these days and may be working on a full album. My friends and I hope our local boy makes good.

But from one type of entertainment to another… It's been about a year since I talked in Galactic Journey about the state of American comic books. This seems like the perfect opportunity to give you an update on some changes I would never have expected.

In fact, before I dig into super-hero comics, I want to look at two genres of comics the fans seldom seem to notice: war comics and love comics. Yeah, neither genre has costumed heroes, but both are fascinating here in 1967.

Make War (Comics) No More?

National dominates war comics, while its closest competitor, Charlton, is frankly pathetic. Where is Marvel in the list? Well, Marvel still publishes Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, but that comic has much to do with life in the army as Gomer Pyle, USMC does. Fury's style of goofy heroism may be a good read for the kiddies but it's too shallow for anyone over the age of 12. Anyone who is fascinated by the horrors and passions of war should read the good stuff.

Our Army at War is the flagship title of National's war comics line. This series stars Sgt. Rock and the combat-happy Joes of Easy Company. For several years now, writer Robert Kanigher has teamed up with the incredibly talented Joe Kubert to deliver some of the finest continuing-character war comics in my memory. Each story is like an opera of violence and martial situations with tight, terse prose matched by a gorgeously intense, slashy but stolid style by Kubert.

In fact, though I've seen Kubert's work for many years – he drew "Hawkman" in the Golden Age and drew the first Flash feature in Showcase, among hundreds of other stories – Kubert's style is hard to describe. Look at the below original page (from a friend's collection) to see what I'm trying to put into words.

Look at the incredible storytelling by Kubert. The tumbling coins on the left add tension while the top three panels on the right show the misery, fear and determination in the eyes of the soldiers. Note, too, the clever way Kubert both divides and unifies the single image. That's a clever use of paradox to heighten the tension of the page. There's just nobody drawing comics like Kubert these days.

In fact, while many fans criticize DC/National frequently for having a house art style, their costumed hero books employ much more homogenization than their war titles . Perhaps Kubert deserves some of the credit for that, as he edits many of the titles.

To a lesser extent, we see Kubert's artistic approach to the other war comics National releases. For instance, Russ Heath is the main artist on the "Hunter's Hellcats" feature in Our Fighting Forces, and Heath brings a slightly more polished but equally visceral style to its art pages. Even old-timer Irv Novick brings a looser, more unconventional style to bear with his stories of "The Losers" in G.I. Combat.

More than anything, the DC war series feature a dark, despairing tone. Readers get a real sense of the horrors of war. Though Capt. Storm or Sgt. Rock may succeed in their missions, the battles obviously take their toll on the protagonists.

I wish the same could be said for the many war comics which quirky publisher Charlton Comics releases. I should talk more about Charlton in a future column. One thing I have to discuss is how their comics are published alongside song lyric mags, crossword puzzle magazines and cereal boxes, but that's a topic for another week.

Instead, I'm here to bemoan Charlton's seemingly endless line of bland, dull war comics. Whether it's Fightin' Marines, Fightin' Army, Fightin' Navy (see a pattern?), War Heroes or Marine War Heroes, these chest-thumpin' men of action seem to never question their mission and never feel any pain from their incredible struggles. If you've ever wondered how the Pentagon would write comics intended for five-year-olds, read a Charlton war comic. I dare you.

While I'm discussing war comics, I should lament again the abrupt cancelation of Blazing Combat, Warren Publishing's often brilliant contribution to the war comics anthology genre. During its four-issue run last year, BC included sensational artwork by comics stalwarts such as Heath, Alex Toth, Gene Colan and many others. Writer Archie Goodwin told stories of wartime combat without filters, unnecessary heroism or national bias. With its ever-shifting anthology approach, Goodwin and his artists delivered stories which felt as contemporary as the Vietnam War and as timeless as the Peloponnesian War. Look, for instance, at the lovely page below drawn by the inimitable Reed Crandall.

These comics were created in black and white, published magazine sized, and often illustrated with ink wash or pointillistic techniques. For those reasons, the stories in Blazing Combat aimed higher than most comic books. Indeed, their audience was mainly adults. Tragically, that selfsame adult audience spelled doom for Blazing Combat. Reportedly publisher Jim Warren had to pull the plug on BC when PX bases across the world canceled their orders after author Goodwin penned a story critical of the war in Vietnam. Sales were too poor to sustain a money loser for long.

Make Love (Comics) No More?

I wish I could praise the many, many love comics published by National or Charlton but I sadly can't. Hey, I'm a man who likes women, I'm fond of my wife, my sister and my mother, so why can't there be comics for women which don't insult their intelligence? Sadly, neither publisher seems able to pull off that skill. This is one area Marvel hasn't plunged into in 1967; probably good news for them. (Millie the Model is more an Archie-style humor comic than a love comic, by the way.)

Once again, Charlton leads the way with garbage, flooding the newsstand with interchangable junk like Career Girl Romances, I Love You, Just Married, Teen-Age Love, Sweethearts and many more. Like the sweethearts candies you got in your fourth grade class on Valentine's Day, these comics are laced with sweetness and may put you into a coma.

The love comics from National are marginally better, at least boasting work by professional cartoonists. But their attitudes seem stuck in the Eisenhower era.

In fact, a reader should expect out-of-date attitudes. Comics like Girls' Love, Young Love and Falling in Love frequently feature reprints of comics from a decade earlier. Staff artists, modify the art to include modern hairdos or clothes. But their conformist attitudes reflect an earlier era when a girl's greatest goal was to be a housewife. It would be a bold statement for one of these comics to reflect the "free love" or hippie movements. The creators need to change with the time. Their musical beats should be attuned to the Beatles rather than Frank Sinatra.

I'd like to think there's a place for love comics in today's era. Perhaps some of the emerging group of so-called underground cartoonists can revive the genre, maybe with a twist. I know I would chortle to see a comic on the stands called Young Lust instead of Young Love.

Make Steve Ditko Comics at Marvel No More

Perhaps the biggest shock of the last year was the resignation of the brilliant Steve Ditko from Marvel Comics. Ditko, who was the prime force behind Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, apparently was engaged in a long, pitched battle with key Marvel editor/writer Stan Lee over the identity of a villain in the already-classic Master Planner saga. Ditko, who was the main plotter for the series, wanted to follow one direction for a character reveal. Lee disagreed and apparently that latest disagreement was the metaphorical last straw.

It's a shame because Ditko was reaching his apex on both series at the time this incident happened. Spider-Man was achieving new levels of bathos and power and was a solid, constantly interesting series.

Ditko's work on Dr. Strange, meanwhile, existed on a level few other comics have ever reached. In a vast, multi-chapter epic spanning some dozen issues, an increasingly desperate and isolated Strange journeys to lands scarcely imagined by mortal men. There, he encounters beings so unknowable and cosmically powered that their mere existence is beyond our mortal ken. Ditko set Strange as one single solitary man desperately trying to save our entire universe even while the rest of the universe continued on, blissfully unaware of the strange battles happening around them.

As you can see in the above excerpt, characters like Eternity live in great cosmic landscapes, full of bizarre and almost incomprehensible sparks which bespeak our insignficance as humans. And yet Strange, a mere human with expanded consciousness, fights desperately to avoid massive cosmic destruction.

That astounding storyline, a truly cosmic saga, drew the curtain on Ditko's Marvel era with a real sense of majesty.

The "Dr. Strange" strip has been drifting without Ditko's presence, with pointless stories and uninspired artwork. But I'm mention to you that Ditko's other great series, The Amazing Spider-Man, has reached new heights in 1967.

John Romita has stepped in to fill Ditko's shoes. Lo and behold, the impossible seems to have happened: the comic has gotten better. Amazing Spider-Man is now more fun, somehow both lighter and darker than before. More importantly, some charming supporting characters have emerged. I'm keeping my eye on Romita's groovy interpretation of Gwen Stacy. She seems like she could become a compelling love interest for poor ol' Peter Parker.

And the series seems to be finding its level. Amazing Spider-Man #50 was just released two weeks ago, so I don't want to ruin its fascinating twists and turns. But look at that wonderful page above and tell me you're not intrigued. Romits delivers drama Ditko couldn't reproduce in quite the same way and points to an exciting new future for the old web-head.

Jaunty Jim Debuts

Speaking of exciting futures, comic fandom has been buzzing over the last few months about the emergence of a new creator at Marvel who seems to have a unique set of skills. Jim Steranko is in a role unprecedented at Marvel, both writing and drawing the "Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD" strip in Strange Tales. As far as I can remember, no Marvel creator has assumed the duties as writer and artist of an ongoing. His work is intriguing and unprecedented, and so far it's been spectacular.

Steranko displays a dynamism and energy in his panels which rivals his mentor, Jack Kirby. His men seem coiled with power, drawn with dynamic foreshortening that holds tremendous power on the page even while the anatomy makes no sense in real life. In the page above, look at the wild energy of the final panel in the excerpt above, with its massive overwhelming machinery contrasting with the negative space to add power to Nick Fury's battle. Nobody, not even Kirby draws like Steranko. Who knows what the man can achieve in the coming years?

The King Remains and Reminds Us Why He's King

…which doesn't mean the King isn't carrying his own weight. Jack Kirby continues to deliver some ace action yarns in Fantastic Four and Thor. The recent Doctor Doom-Inhumans crossover story had me on the edge of my seat, as Doom schemed to assume the Silver Surfer's Power Cosmic and, with that power, control the world. That storyline was a deeply dynamic drama, definitively delineated by Kirby's crispy lines.

The Black Panther is perhaps the most dynamic character find of the last year. He debuted in the pages of Fantastic Four #52. T'Challa is the king of a futuristic kingdom deep in Africa who dons his ceremonial outfit to battle perfidious villainy, in this case embodied in the nefarious Klaw.

It's thrilling to see a Black hero appear at Marvel, especially one who can defeat our estimable heroes in battle while maintaining his regal presence. I'm so intrigued by this new hero. I hope he returns soon. I can't wait to read more about him. (Seems to me he'd be a great member of the Avengers.)

And as for Thor, if there ever was a case where a picture says a thousand words, the below image does that!

If you don't want to read that issue of Thor, you clearly lack an imagination!

The Debut of Batgirl

Life at National Comics has been a little quieter than life at Marvel these days. Their quietness has started to make National's line of heroes feel a bit stodgy compared with their Marvel counterparts. Lately the Justice League of America has veered a bit into camp, which felt appropriate when the Batman TV series was at the top of the charts. Since people are starting to get bored of Batman's repeating jokes, likely sales of Batman-related comics will begin to sag as well.

For instance, the return of the Penguin to comics in Batman #190 boasts a wonderful cover by Carmine Infantino but… darn, look at the stiff and uninspired artwork inside the issue.

Maybe the introduction of the dynamic new Batgirl will revitalize the Batman comics a bit. College student Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, donned her distaff version of the cape and cowl in Detective Comics #359, late last year. Fan reaction to her appearance has been all over the place. Many have praised the idea that this new Batgirl can actually throw punches and kick some heads in – unlike the more old-fashioned Bat-Girl of the 1950s. Others have complained about the need to tie Commissioner Gordon more closely with our heroes. And some younger fans have complained about Batgirl acting like a big sister to Robin, which embarasses him since a girl can often out-achieve him (of course the female fans love that aspect of the heroine).

Under Infantino's pencils, the new Batgirl is a lilthe, athletic fighting machine. She's also kind of a women's libber, fighting with the ability of a man while maintaining her female identity. She would be a welcome addition to the Batman TV series. I hope she gets added to it soon.

Sadly, unless her series takes a radical turn, I can't imagine Wonder Woman becoming a feminist icon. I dare you to look at the cover below and tell me I'm wrong.

The tremendously prolific Robert Kanigher writes Wonder Woman. He's is one of the key forces behind the war comics I mentioned earlier. Maybe's he's too busy in his mental combat to consider the abuse he's heaping on his heroes.

In fact, of DC's heroes line, only "Legion of Super-Heroes" in Adventure Comics resonantes for me (well, okay, one other series has sparked excitement – see below for the details). My newfound love for the Legion surprises me. I usually yawn at the Superman family of titles (which this is part of). Readers get one variation after another of the same full stories. But new writer Jim Shooter has brought a new energy to the future's finest super-teens. Just this year, "The Doomed Legionnaire" brought an unexpected death to the team (I promise I won't tell you who dies!) This month, we're viewing an incredible flash-forward to a time when the Legionnaires are adults. It's spellbinding stuff, written for teenagers with an energy and freshness which makes me wonder if Shooter himself is a teen.

And finally…

This article has aleady run long, so I'd better add a few final notes before I head down to the Spanish Castle to see Paul Revere and the Raiders…

Doom Patrol continues to be DC's ginchiest comic book – miss it and weep, pals!
Archie's super-hero parodies like Captain Pureheart are a giggle a minute if you're in the right mindset. They are well worth your twelve pennies.
Warren continues to publish the outstanding horror comics Creepy and Eerie, and each feature work by the delightful Mr. Ditko. Miss them at your peril.
Look for copies of King Comics' Flash Gordon on your local stands. If you can find it, you will find some breathtaking comic art by the likes of Al Williamson and Reed Crandall.
And lastly and leastly, a reminder that the weakest and dullest comics in the Marvel line is The X-Men. Save your cents for its much better imitator, Doom Patrol. When will Marvel wise up and give up on this series?

Till next time, sayonara!

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Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV

[April 20, 1967] End of the Road (Star Trek: "Operation: Annihilate!")

April 20, 2022 Gideon Marcus 5 Comments

Operation: Summarize!

by Gideon Marcus

The Enterprise is checking upon the farflung colony of Deneva, which hasn't sent out a message in a year. One million souls are thus feared for. Captain Kirk has a personal reason to be worried–his brother and his family reside on this planet.

Starfleet's finest head for an interview at TRW.

Their fears are soon realized. Beaming down to the planet, Kirk and co. determine that the entire population has been taken over by parasitic pancakes, who use pain to ensure their hosts to their bidding. They have apparently been waiting for the day a starship came a-calling, so that they could continue their rampage through the universe (why they didn't use the ship they came in is never explained…) While investigating the planet's surface (again, only the most expendable personnel are sent, including Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty), Mr. Spock is infected by one of the alien invaders.

"Ooo! That smarts!"

Kirk's brother, Sam, is dead, and his sister-in-law, Aurelian, taken aboard the Enterprise for treatment, soon perishes. But Kirk's nephew, the Denevan populace, and Spock may yet be saved. McCoy and the scientists in the Enterprise's 14 science labs throw the book at a monstrous specimen that Spock secures from the planet. No dice. No amount of radiation, heat, or anything else will destroy these critters (or at least, nothing that will destroy them and not also the host.)

There is a clue, however. One Denevan took a shuttlecraft into the sun. Before he burned up, he announced that he was "free" of the alien. This is the clue Kirk needs (and everyone else misses). Apparently McCoy only thought to use infrared (heat) and very high energy radiation (microwaves and X-Rays) since the captain deduces that visible light is the key to killing the beings.

Spock volunteers to enter a light chamber and be subjected to a zillion candles of light. It kills his parasite, but also leaves him quite blind. Turns out they didn't need to use the whole spectrum of visible light. Only the invisible spectrum of invisible light.

Yes, I was confused, too.

"We've tried everything! Heat! Radiation!" "What about… light?" "Yes, Jim. I said we tried radiation. You think we're stupid?"

Turns out the key wavelength is ultraviolet light. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's generally lumped in with "radiation", but perhaps McCoy was being extremely narrow in his definition. Anyway, Kirk dumps a bunch of "tri-magnesite" ultraviolet beacons in orbit around Deneva and sets them off. The radiation (that isn't radiation) is so intense that it even kills the parasites that are indoors, but doesn't manage to bake the colonists (maybe the only ones who survived were Black…)

Anyway, there is a lot to enjoy about the episode, from Nimoy's performance (see below) to the absolutely stunning setting (the TRW campus, from which were monitored the space probes of Pioneers 0, 1, 2 and 5, Explorer 6, and the Orbiting Geophysical Observatories).

But the science is ridiculous, even for television. Really Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea stuff. The title is one of the least inspired of the series, too.

It's a bit of a shame that this is the episode that concludes the first season. Nevertheless, the strength of the others we've seen this season suggests we're in for a great time come fall. And in any event, it's certainly not "The Alternative Factor".

Three and a half stars.

Operation: Indecision!

by Jessica Dickinson Goodman

Captain Kirk seemed to be of two – or more! – minds in "Operation: Annihilate!" His curiosity wars with his concern for his ship's safety early in the episode when the Denevan vessel hurls itself into the sun; his fear for his brother Sam and his sister-in-law Aurelean's safety on Deneva competes with his commitment to civility with his crew, leading him to snap at Lieutenant Uhura in a moment of uncharacteristic and uncaptainly unkindness. (To her credit, Uhura responds with complete professionalism and competence.)

But his deepest conflict becomes clear when Commander Spock and Kirk's nephew Peter become the prey of the fleshy flying flapjacks that served as this episode's villains. Kirk watches as Spock is consumed by pain, overwhelmed by it, then fiercely begins to resist it using his Vulcan training. This moment encapsulates the sweet tension that gives this episode its flavor:

Captain Kirk: "I need you, Spock, but we can't take any chances. We'll keep you confined for a while longer. If you can maintain control, we'll see. My nephew. If he regains consciousness, will he go through that?"
Dr McCoy: "Yes."
Kirk: "Help them. I don't care what it takes or costs. You've got to help them."
McCoy: "Jim, aren't you forgetting something? There are over a million colonists on that planet down there, just as much your responsibility. They need your help, too."

"I need you, Spock."

Though Kirk brings up his nephew's fate throughout the episode, it is his relationship with Spock – and his fear for his well being – that drives much of the action. This episode, more than many others, gives us language for that relationship from both Dr McCoy and Kirk himself: "affection," "best first officer in the fleet," "need," someone McCoy needs to "take care of." The look of devastation on Captain Kirk's face when he realizes that Spock might have been permanently injured was powerful, though it did make me wonder if Star Fleet can be so advanced if it has no clear accommodations for blind people. I would hope for more from the future.

"Who put this #$&@ table here?"

Like the other reviewers, I found the science in this episode silly; I kept getting hung-up on how the Ingrahamians were flying in the first place and whether we were supposed to see them as a devious hivemind or a reactive predator. But Kirk's conflict was delicious, the acting was great fun, and it made me check my TV Guide for when the next season starts. See you all back here again in September!

Three stars.

Operation: Genocide!

by Joe Reid

If there is anything that I learned from this week’s episode of Star Trek, it is that Vulcanians are strong and powerful life forms with amazing physical and mental gifts. "Vulcans" on the other hand are the discount Woolworth's version of Vulcanian. I seem to remember that when Mr. Spock was a Vulcanian, he could read the mind of an alien lifeform, get to know that lifeform’s intentions and desires, and find a way to help it. Remember just a few short weeks ago, on the episode, “Devil in the Dark ", where Spock saved a misunderstood creature from the humans that were going to exterminate them? Now in “Operation: Annihilate!”, creatures, intelligent creatures no less, are no longer afforded the benefit of the doubt to be misunderstood. They can only be annihilated.

Woolworth's – discount Vulcans available now…while supplies last!

Dear reader, please forgive my jeering of Spock. As a character, I find him to be a standout and thoughtful character most of the time. Apart from the limited nature of the abilities that he displayed in this episode, I normally find him compelling to watch. The problem that I had with this episode was the handling of the creatures themselves. The nameless, formless, flying, buzzing, lumps of Horta excrement, that conquered 3 planets and had the amazing power to control men and make them build ships. This seems like an intelligent species that is after something. I find myself truly wondering what it was. “Operation: Annihilate!”, completely ignores that, just following along with the dictate presented by the title.

The episode starts out with a mystery. Mass insanity is gripping entire populations on planets and jumping to other planets, and no one knows why. The best sci-fi takes us on a journey of discovery, to find out the whys of whatever the writer has brought to us. This week, we viewers start down a path and are presented with a creature that has more abilities than any that we have seen on the show thus far. It is invisible to scanning. As stated before, it flies, directs populations to do their bidding, and buzzes like a honeybee, for crying out loud.

"I suddenly have a craving for pancakes with honey syrup…"

Kirk and the others at one point of the episode suppose that this creature may be part of a larger organism that exists in a great beyond. After being presented with so many proofs of intelligence, it is disappointing that the crew of the Enterprise, so intent on meeting new life forms, drives forward towards destruction over discovery. Towards demonization of actions, over deconstruction of intent. Towards annihilation over understanding.

This creature had the potential to be one of the, if not the most interesting and complex creatures that we could have witnessed in the cosmos. Instead, these single celled marvels are treated like a disease in need of penicillin. What a waste. If only a proper Vulcanian were present this week, something could have been made from the unsolved mysteries left unexplored in this episode.

2 stars

Operation: Vulcanalia!

by Abigail Beaman

As it turns out, Vulcans are not just pointy-eared humanoids with very little variation to their anatomy compared to humans. We learn an awful lot about Spock's people from this latest episode. Now we did know a few things. One of the earliest examples is that Spock’s blood isn’t a red color, but instead green. This is due to Vulcans' blood being copper-based instead of iron-based like our human blood. But thanks to this episode, not only do we learn more about Vulcans, but we might have learned just how secretive Vulcans are about themselves with other races.

So much to this man…

In "Operation: Annihilate!", we discover that Vulcans in fact have two sets of eyelids, after Spock recovers from blindness caused by the light that kills an invasive alien parasite living inside him. Similar (I guess) to felines, Vulcans adapted these inner eyelids to protect their eyes from the harsh and unforgiving sun on the planet, Vulcan. This allows our first mate, Mister Spock to regain his eyesight after the exposure to 1,000,000 candles per square inch. Yet then an eyebrow may raise, as earlier in the episode when he first loses his sight, Bones blames himself. Bones is sure the damage is permanent and nothing could have saved Mister Spocks’ eyes. Bones not knowing that Mister Spock has two sets of eyelids initially really bugged me. Isn't he the ship's Chief Medical Officer? But maybe it's not his fault that Spock's internals are unknown to him. Maybe Vulcans keep their racial anatomy secret. That would explain why McCoy is so irritated all the time–his patient keeps holding vital information from him!

"I blame myself." "I blame you, too!"

Now I’m not saying this episode was good. For the most part, I actually felt very unhappy that this is the episode season one had to end on (hopefully season two will continue on with good episodes like “The Devil in the Dark” or “Shore Leave”). I do in fact feel that the anatomy Daugherty comes up with within this episode is a cop-out to ensure a somewhat happy ending. [Note: Daugherty is the Director. Carabatsos is the writer–those darn credits flash by so fast! (ed)].

Yet something I would also like to point out is Leonard Nimoy’s acting of the stoic and computerized Mister Spock fighting the human emotion, pain. Throughout the episode, after Mister Spock is infected, he tries everything in his Vulcan power to deny the pain he is in. Leonard Nimoy really shows this struggle that Spock faces; his creeps rather than strides, his voice is harsh, and every once in a while, he seems to twitch in pain. It sent shivers down my spine. I was very enthralled by Leonard Nimoy (well at least more than usual) by his acting in this episode. It was probably one of, if not the only saving grace in this episode for me (well also Scotty about to shoot Spock; remind me next time when I wanna pick a fight with him).

"Freeze, Mr. Spock!"

This episode left me empty inside, and for that, I have to rate it pretty low.

Two and a half stars.

Operation: Copycat!

by Erica Frank

The aliens in "Operation: Annihilate!" are obviously inspired by Heinlein's classic, The Puppet Masters, but the differences are definitely for the worse. These aliens don't attach themselves to humans—they sting them once, injecting them with "tentacles" that spread throughout the nervous system. This allows them to control people through pain—pain so bad it can kill. It's unclear how the aliens coordinate their efforts and communicate with each other. (Looks like more evil telepathy. Sigh.) It's also unclear what the aliens themselves do after their planetary takeover, other than flutter around in shady spaces.

These aliens have been moving through planets, causing "mass insanity" and destruction for several hundred years. If the pain immediately killed people, they wouldn't last long enough to reach new worlds. So it seems only the ones who resist control are in danger, or they'd be like a virus that burns out its host before it has a chance to transfer.

Because of this, I doubt Peter—Kirk's nephew—was at risk of death. Rather, he'd likely succumb to the alien control. He'd wake up surrounded by strangers, only to be told his parents are dead. He might well give up fighting entirely; he'd have no reason to push through the pain. So it's unclear why Kirk needs to find an immediate solution.

This episode brings too many questions. While it's common for science fiction to leave possibilities for the reader or viewer to ponder, in this case, the potential answers often make no sense.

We're supposed to believe large tentacles like these are spread throughout the nervous system… without being visible through the skin? And that removing them wouldn't stop the pain? In that case, what's causing the pain?

Kirk should be able to just declare the planet off-limits, infected, and sabotage its space travel while bringing in a full scientific team. Or will the pain quickly kill people? …In which case, how did the aliens last long enough to get to new worlds, and how have they taken over only a handful of planets in several hundred years? Or are there dozens of others we don't know about?

If they haven't been going through dozens of planets, what have they been doing for those hundreds of years? Do infected humans eventually "hatch" into a swarm of flappy blob aliens that can infect new people? Or do the flappy-blob versions reproduce on their own, with the injected hosts eventually dying along with their tentacles? Do the injected people reproduce normally, and have alien-controlled babies? (Eew.) Or will each child need to be infected?

Regarding their destruction: If they stick to shaded areas, how will bombarding the planet with ultraviolet light reach them? Any of them that are inside buildings will be safe. (And in the meantime, the entire human populace will have very bad sunburns.)

Two stars. While the aliens were interesting and the underlying ideas were good (which makes sense; they were based on a terrific book), the plot itself was disjointed and incoherent. I was more intrigued by McCoy's frequent wardrobe changes than the story itself.

Summer reruns have begun! Join us tonight at 8:30 PM (Eastern and Pacific) for the pilot that sold the series: "Where No Man Has Gone Before!

Here's the invitation!

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Magazine, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[April 18, 1967] Bright Lights (May 1967 Fantasy and Science Fiction

April 18, 2022 Gideon Marcus 7 Comments

by Gideon Marcus

Tinsel Town

Last weekend, the world's greatest stars and movie-makers assembled in Santa Monica for the annual celebration of the best the silver screen has to offer. It was a cavalcade of prominent names, from Sidney Poitier to Lee Remick to Julie Christie to Omar Sharif. Some of the contestants were unfamiliar (Herb Alpert has a short animated film?) Some were surprising but welcome in their inclusion (like The Wargame for best documentary). Some were inevitable (If Grand Prix hadn't won Best Sound and Best Editing, I'd have written letters…) Two titans towered all the rest (Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf and A Man for All Seasons–both of which I still haven't seen yet).

And throughout it all, Bob Hope was host, narrator, and satirist. Lorelei observed that this time, the jokes about recognition still eluding the aging comedian seemed more pointed and bitter than usual. Maybe it's time he got some kind of lifetime achievement award, as did Isaac Asimov at a recent Worldcon…

Print City

The latest issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction features a similar assemblage of luminaries–and it's not even an "All-Star Issue"! Presented in a format that has been standard and familiar since 1949, this month's read was as comforting and entertaining as two primetime hours at the Oscars.

With the added benefit that one can reread favorite stories!

by Ronald Walotsky

Planetoid Idiot, by Phyllis Gotlieb

Our first star is Phyllis Gotlieb, a woman writer who joined the SF ranks one year after Mses. Rosel George Brown, Kit Reed, and Pauline Ashwell. Her latest is a fine novella in the Analog tradition–indeed, it reads like something Katherine MacLean might have penned.

A mutli-species spaceship has landed on the ocean planed of Xirifor. Their goal is to save the indigenous race from a pandemic of gill rot such that they can better represent themselves when representatives of the Galactic Federation come to negotiate for the pearls the aliens harvest.

The crew of the contact ship are a beautifully heterogenous group: Hrufa, an eight foot telepathic amphibian is their leader, keeping the rest of the team in order, if not harmony. Thlyrrh is a protoplasmic being with a shape-shifting carapace; it can do almost anything…except compose an original thought. And then there are the two humans, or "solthrees" (I really like that phrase): Olivia the exobiologists, and Berringer, the generalist.

Despite their vast collective knowledge, they are hindered in their task by politics, internal and external. But in the end, working together, they deduce a solution that is completely scientific and plausible.

It's all very satisfactory, and if I have any complaint, it is only the title, which I found misleading (I thought "planetoid idiot" would be a play on "village idiot"). Definitely a candidate for the next volume of Rediscovery.

Four stars.

Sleeping Beauty, by Terry Carr

It's nice to see Ace Books publisher, Terry Carr, slinging the pen again. His latest story is a beautifully written if rather inconsequential tale of a landless prince, galloping across Europe looking for that most endangered of modern creatures: the single (and wealthy) princess. There is, of course, a sting in the story's tale.

You'll forget it soon after you read it, but you'll enjoy the journey. Three stars.

Safe at Any Speed, by Larry Niven

If Ralph Nader has his way, all cars of the future will be like the one presented in this, the latest tale to take place in Niven's "Known Space". It's his most humorous piece, almost Sheckleyesque, and it accomplishes a lot in a brief space.

Four stars.

Fifteen Miles, by Ben Bova

Two years ago, Air Force astronaut Chet Kinsman was tested in orbit when he had to go mano-a-mano with a Communist spacewoman. Now Kinsman is on the moon, haunted by the memory of the lady he had to slay. Will his guilt get in the way of his rescuing a fellow astronaut trapped in a lunar crevice?

This is another grounded SF tale I'm surprised (but pleased) to find in F&SF. I've not yet found Bova brilliant (though Victoria Silverwolf has), but I always enjoy him.

Three stars.

The Red Shift, by Theodore L. Thomas

Thomas explains in his nonfiction vignette how quasars, which must be extragalactic yet near objects, give lie to the Doppler shift, and thus rewrite physics. Specifically, he says that the redshift of quasars indicates that they are far away, but that radio astronomy locates them much closer to Earth.

I do not know how he makes this assertion, as it is radio astronomy that detects these quasars at all–including their red shift. According to the article I read in Britannica's 1966 year book of knowledge, quasars are very interesting in that they point up an asymmetry between the young universe (quasar-rich) and the curent universe (quaser-poor). But there's nothing that suggests quasars exist close by, or that there's anything wrong with Doppler.

There does seem to be something wrong, however, with Thomas.

One star.

Cyprian's Room, by Frances Oliver

Onward to the second woman-penned story, by an author about whom our editor knows virtually nothing. A pity, because her first story is a good one. Romantic Hilda Wendel takes a room in the big city hoping to meet someone interesting in her boarding house. She finds a tubercular artist whose views on art are maddeningly contradictory, yet irresistably compelling.

Is he just an avante-garde…or something otherworldly?

A high three.

Interview with a Lemming, by James Thurber

This putative dialogue between man and lemming, to indulge in adjectives solely beginning with "i" is inconsequential, irritating, and inspid–particularly the thinks-itself-clever ending.

Two stars.

Where is Thy Sting, by Emil Petaja

One of the last fertile men in a post-atomized Earth, racked with suicidal desires, must be kept alive at all costs, even if it means subverting his reality.

I'd have liked this story more had I not read one so similar to it (The Best is Yet to Be) in the pages of this same magazine not many months before.

Two stars.

Times of Our Lives, by Isaac Asimov

All about time zones. I actually found this atlas-derived article educational and interesting.

Four stars.

Fill in the Blank, by Ron Goulart

Finally, the return of a perennial star with a series with more installments than James Bond. Max Kearney is dragooned into investigating what appears to be an infestation of poltergeists. The culprits are all-too-temporal…but it doesn't mean magic's not involved!

It's funnier in the latter half. Three stars.

House Lights Return

By strict mathematical computation, the latest F&SF only scores an average three star rating. Nevertheless, the brilliance of the first piece, the general competence of most of the rest, and the edification provided by the Good Doctor leaves a most pleasant impression.

Let's keep our stars around for a while. They make good illumination.

by Gahan Wilson

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