Can Geekboy Sum Himself Up In 3 Fictional Characters?

So, I've seen this thing going around social media sights like Facebook and Twitter where people post pictures of fictional characters as a visual aid to illustrate their own character traits.  It's a fun exercise to see what makes you tick.  People looking at your post who know you well can confirm that yes, that is what makes you tick.  People who don't know you quite as well can get to know you better.

The Geekboy blog is more or less anonymous.  You don't necessarily know me (unless you do) and I don't know you.  Or do I?  Perhaps I'm that mysterious figure skulking about in the bushes outside your house.  Okay, that took a creepy turn...

But since the casual visitor to this humble blog doesn't know much about me, I thought it could be fun to tell you a little about myself using one of my favorite things: Stories!

Firstly, we have Seamus Zelazny Harper from 'Gene Rodenberry's Andromeda'.  Harper is a total geek, and he thinks he's way cooler than he actually is.  But he's good with technology, and does his best to keep the Andromeda Ascendant running.  I'm no Harper when it comes to tech, but I also do the best that I can to keep my ship running, metaphorically speaking.

Next, we have Henry Jones Sr. from 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'.  He's grumpy yet driven.  Passionate to a fault about achieving his unobtainable goals.  Obsessive and workaholic, and that gets in the way of his personal relationships.  I have a dose of these character traits.  Hopefully not to this extreme.  But I am grumpy and antisocial, particularly if you're interrupting me when I'm working on something I'm passionate about.

And lastly, Susan Ivanova from 'Babylon 5'.  Like Ivanova, I'm passive aggressive, cynical, and if I have a really good Zinger I just can't hold it inside.  Ivanova has issues with authority, and also with being IN authority.  More often then not she has a lot put on her plate and she stresses out in a major way whenever she does.

These are the characters I chose for myself, but if somebody else was choosing a character to represent me I think they would pick Garfield.  I hate mornings, love coffee, and am a bit of a couch potato.  And again, grumpy.  Geekboy is a Grumpus.  I don't know if I got that across clearly enough yet.

You may be wondering how one can be as much as a couch potato as Garfield, but as driven as Henry Jones Sr.  Somehow I manage.

As I said, I might not know you and you might not know me.  So feel free to tell me a little bit about yourself using three fictional characters in the comments.

Thoughts On: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

"Hey Geekboy!"  You say.  "If you're doing the Indiana Jones movies, shouldn't you start with 'Raiders of the Lost Ark?  Hmm?  The first movie in the franchise?  Hmm?"

Firstly, 'Temple of Doom' is the first one I saw - from start to finish anyway.  I saw part of 'Raiders' on TV when I was 4 or 5, but Mum and Dad thought it was too adult for me and changed the channel.  And rightly so.  I would go on to see 'Temple of Doom' at age 12 during my obsession with the Orient Expedition Lego comics and games.  Johnny Thunder is more or less an Australian version of Dr. Jones so he was the proper stepping stone to the movies.

Secondly, the title card tells us 'Temple of Doom' takes place in 1935, one year before 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.  Yep, technically speaking 'Temple of Doom' is a prequel.

Oh yeah.  Spoilers I guess, if you haven't seen 'Temple of Doom', but you probably have.

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg wanted to get down to the nitty gritty of what made Indiana tick in this movie.  This version of Indiana was supposed to start at a place of 'If I can't have the Ark of the Covenant, nobody can!' and would have blown it sky high rather then let the Nazis have it.  He's just out for Fortune and Glory.  Over the course of the story he is supposed to grow into the more respectable archeologist from 'Raiders'.

There's a bit of a disconnect though, because young Indiana in 'Last Crusade' starts off as a literal boy-scout.  How do you go from "That belongs in a Museum!" to "Some say Dr. Jones is more Grave Robber than Archeologist..."  I suppose you could say the Indiana could have become disgruntled and bitter after losing the Cross of Coronado ("You lost today kid, but you don't have to like it.") and turned to the archeologist Dark Side.

In some ways 'Temple of Doom' gives us the most selfless version of Indiana.  Ironic, because they were trying to make him at his most roguish.  This Indiana is the father figure to Short Round, a young orphan boy who tried to rob him, and the protector of a woman he just met.  True, he more or less kidnapped Willie in the beginning for selfish reasons, but hey, she had the antidote when he was dying.  You'd do the same.

Then he comes to an impoverished village in need of a champion of justice while he's just passing through, and decides to help only after he hears about all of the children in the village who had been carried away as slaves.  Because he's just in it for the fortune and glory.  Right Indiana.

In all of the other movies his motivation revolves around a personal interest in how the adventure turns out.  True, he's recruited by the government in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' but the possibility of seeing his Ex girlfriend Marion Ravenwood again is a definite perk.  In 'The Last Crusade' he has no interest in finding the Holy Grail until he finds out that his estranged Father disappeared looking for it.  And then in 'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' - yes I do consider 'Crystal Skull' cannon, I like that movie! - He's trying to protect his reputation when he's accused of being a Communist sympathizer.

All of those motives make sense.  It's not actually selfish to look out for people you care about or protect your reputation - I remember my Grandma saying that sometimes all you have is your good name.  But to try and help people you've just met?  That's an undeniably selfLESS act.  'Temple of Doom' plays out like an episode of 'The Lone Ranger!'  The Lone Ranger and Tonto ride into a new town, see that it's run by a corrupt mayor, or held hostage by a gang of outlaws, then they save the day and ride off with a "High Ho Silver!" leaving the good townsfolk to ask "Who was that masked man anyway?"

When they reach the titular temple of doom Indiana has an opportunity to grab the Sankara stones and scram.  He doesn't because he hears one of the slave children crying out in anguish.  Indiana investigates, and impulsively throws a rock at the Thugee guard whipping the boy.  Because this selfish rouge sticks up for the little guy.  This act - selfless though it may be - causes Indiana and the gang to be captured by the cultists.  Yep, our hero helps those in need regardless of the consequences.  That greedy selfish nature his character has is really shining through.  Indiana is forced to drink a potion that makes him an evil zombie cultist.  Short Round is forced to work in the mines with the other slaves.  And Willie?  She's about to be scarified to Kali.  Time out from the review for a second.

In the part where Indy and Short Round are rescuing Willie from the sacrifice Spielberg does something Spielberg does so well.  He has an action scene that is really intense and really funny.  Willie is being lowered into a flaming pit.  Our heroes come along, stop that bad guy lowering the cage, and start to pull her back up.  More bad guys attack Indiana, and the cage starts lowering again.  Repeat.  Several times.  And it's hilarious.

Spielberg does something similar in 'The Adventures of Tintin' with the sword-fight between Sir Francis Haddock and Red Rackham.  Haddock is trying to blow up the ship and all of the pirates on it.  He sets a really long fuse leading to all the ship's gunpowder.  Rackham discovers him and they get into a big swashbuckling fight.  Red Rackham stomps on the fuse.  Haddock finds a way to re-light it -breaking a lantern or something -  and they keep fighting.  They go through this several times, and each time Haddock re-lights the fuse you laugh as your heart rate increases.

So they have a big fight, free all the slaves, and then try to escape in the big mine car chase.  I think the movie actually has a bit of action fatigue by this point.  There's that part with the flooded tunnel that Lucas and Spielburg borrowed from the 1941 serial 'Jungle Girl' and then more fighting once they escape the tunnels.  There's a hilarious call back to 'Raiders' where Indiana is confronted by two swordsmen and reaches for his gun.  BUT HIS HOLSTER IS EMPTY.  He lost his trusty revolver in that car chase all the way back in the beginning of the movie.  We get a little bit of a taste of that planned sword-fight that they cut from 'Raiders'.

Then we have the famous bridge sequence.  Even though lots of jungle movies and serials from back in the day - 'Gunga Din' and 'Perils of Nyoka' come to mind - have a collapsing suspension bridge, if you try to do one now everybody will point and say "Temple of Doom! They got that from Temple of Doom!"

Here we have a scene that mirrors the ultimatum from 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' where Indy threatens to blow up the Ark of the Covenant and Rene Belloq calls his bluff.  Indiana first threatens to drop the stones into the river were they'll be lost again.  When his bluff is called by Mola Ram, he changes his approach.  Now he threatens to cut the bridge and take as many of the cultists with him as he can.  Big fight, he cuts the bridge, and he and Mola Ram fight over the Sankara stones.  Two are lost, but he manages to save the third for the villagers.

At this point in  the story Willie finally calls him out for pretending he isn't being selfless.  "So much for your Fortune and Glory!"

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. WAIT! A!! MINUTE!!!

I only just realized something after years of watching and re-watching this movie.  In the opening Indiana threatens to kill Willie unless Lao Che will give him a valuable diamond.  This is a reflection of the bridge scene but FLIPPED!  On the bridge Indy is bargaining with Mola Ram to let Willie and Short Round or he'll drop the stones into the river.  In the first scenario it's a life for the diamond, in the second it's the Sankara stones for a life.  I can't believe I never noticed that parallel.  So this movie DOES show us a good bit of character growth after all.

So there you have it.  'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'.  A movie that shows us Indiana Jones at his worst and may just give us Indiana Jones at his best.

Perils Of Nyoka (1942)

The 1942 serial "Perils of Nyoka" (Re-released under the title "Nyoka and the Tigermen") is a sequel to the 1941 serial "Jungle Girl".  Sort of.  Except for the part were it really isn't a sequel at all.

This serial stars Kay Aldridge as Nyoka GORDON, whereas Jungle Girl featured Frances Gifford as Nyoka MEREDITH.  Nyoka Meredith's father Dr. John Meredith was murdered in chapter 1 of "Jungle Girl", and "Perils of Nyoka" concerns Nyoka Gordon's search for her father Dr. Henry Gordon.  Nyoka Meredith swings around on vines, and Nyoka Gordon hangs out in the desert with her friendly native Bedouin buddies.  Get the picture?

But "Perils Of Nyoka" is a sequel in spirit.  This serial has plenty on globe trotting adventure, treasure hunting, and death traps.  And for those of us who are fans of people wearing gorilla costumes, Queen Vultura's pet ape Satan appears in almost every chapter.  Some people think that "Perils" is actually a better serial than "Jungle Girl".  I personally prefer Jungle Girl, but "Perils" is in my top 5 favorite cliffhangers.

So.  What's so great about "Perils of Nyoka?"

The Music.  This may be odd thing to talk about in a review of this sort, but I love the opening theme.  In my opinion "Perils" has the best music of any cliffhanger serial.

The Villains.  Queen Vultura is up there with great serial villains like Ming the Merciless and Fu Manchu.  Visually she is memorable, and, dare I say iconic?  She assassinates people with her poison ring, she masquerades first as Nyoka and later as a native sun goddess, and she has a legion of arabs and her afore mentioned pet gorilla at her command.  Actress Lorna Gray has also appeared as the heroine in serials such as Captain America (1944) and Daughter of Don Q (1946) but she really shines as this native Femme Fatale.




The Action.  While most serials have a brawling fistfight every chapter in which the heroes break all the  furniture in a room, this serial shakes it up with a swashbuckling swordfight in chapter 1.  We also get breaking suspension bridges, spike traps, human sacrifice, ect. ect.  My favorite chapter endings include a pit-and-the-pendulum style sacrificial altar, where the altar lifts to meet the pendulum rather than the pendulum descending, and a trap where cave winds threaten to blow our heroes out of a tunnel and over the edge of a cliff.

Why do I feel this serial is slightly weaker that "Jungle Girl?"

Our Heroine.  This Nyoka doesn't lead the action the same way Nyoka Meredith did in "Jungle Girl".  She gets knocked out pretty much every time she's in a fight, and is rescued by her boyfriend Larry (Played by the future Lone Ranger Clayton Moore) or her dog Fang, far more often than she escapes herself or bails out the guys when they get into trouble.

Fang is basically like Lassie in this story, to the point where are Nyoka is constantly locking the helpful canine in his cage or tying off his leash just so she can get into trouble easier!

The Globe Trotting.  Yep, one of the things that makes this serial great is also one of the things that weakens it.  After awhile all the trap filled lost temples our heroes need to explore in order to find the next clue on their treasure hunt start to feel a little redundant.  And then in the final chapter their quest takes them right back to where they started.  So, all of that traveling feels a little pointless.  Would it have helped if this serial was 12 chapters instead of 15?  Maybe.

But those aren't good reasons to NOT watch this serial.  If you love a good action adventure romp, go check this out ASAP.




Fawcett Comics published an adaption of this serial, which led to the Golden Age comic series "Nyoka the Jungle Girl".  Most of these comics are now public domain and can be read for free here.

Jungle Girl (1941)

The 1941 cliffhanger serial Jungle Girl is one of the best serials ever made.

It's got everything.  Evil identical twins?  Check.  Booby-Trap filled Diamond Mines?  Check.  An evil Witch Doctor?  Check.  Human Sacrifice?  Check.  Guy in a Gorilla costume?  Check.  A pretty Heroine who swings around on vines?  You betcha.


This was my first serial.  Sort of.

I had heard the term cliffhanger before.  Read that they inspired Star Wars and Indiana Jones.  But I had no idea what they were.  Reading a Flash Gordon comic by Al Williamson, I read that one of his greatest influences was something called "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe."  I decided to look it up on Youtube.  Turns out it wasn't a movie, but an early example of a mini series.  It didn't hold my interest.  I was new to the whole retro thing.

But something called "Jungle Girl" appeared on my "Recommended for you."  I decided to check it out.

Youtube only had chapters 1, 9, and 10.  ("Chapter" is cliffhanger speak for "Episode")
The ending of chapter 9 had me hooked.  Our three daring heroes were trapped in a tiny chamber by the evil witch doctor, who had pulled a secret lever, and now the floor was disappearing into the wall, and a gaping pit was opening under the feet of our imperiled protagonists...

Chapter 10 ended with our heroine, Nyoka, caught snooping around the bad guy's hideout.  She's left tied to a pole, just as the guy-in-the-gorilla-costume escapes from his cage.  He is coming towards her, intent on tearing the flesh from her bones (That's what guys in gorilla costumes do. Everybody knows that).


And then it just cut off!  Not only was I thrown into the middle, but I had no idea what would happen next!  As I was pretty green when it came to serials, I didn't know everything would turn out okay.

I became pretty obsessed by serials after that.  I watched every one I could find.  I don't know if that would have happened if Jungle Girl hadn't left me cliffhung.

Eventually I tracked down Jungle Girl on DVD.  Sort of.  My copy was defective.  The first 10 chapters played fine.  11 through 15 were missing.  I went through 3 DVDs before I found out how Nyoka escaped from the guy in the gorilla suit!

It was worth all the effort and frustration in the end.  Jungle Girl is one of the best serials out there.  Really solid story telling you won't find in other serials.

For example, in an early chapter, Nyoka, Jack, and Curly are trapped in an oil swamp.  The natives are chasing them and throwing flame tipped spears.  The oil catches fire and our gang is cut off from the shore.  How will they ever escape?  Find out at this theater next week!

Later on, the bad guys sweet talk the natives into stealing the fuel for the heroes airplane so they can't leave the valley.  Our heroes catch the natives in the act, and pursue.  They have a showdown at the cliffs, and in the fight, the cans of fuel catch fire and explode!  Avalanche!

So our heroes decide to refine the oil from the swamp, and build a refinery using bamboo and coconuts.    After a showdown in the refinery, Nyoka is in peril again, as she hangs above a vat of the boiling oil...

That one plot thread effectively keeps Nyoka and the Gang from leaving the valley, and leads to at least 3 chapter endings.  It's rare that you see that much foresight and planning in a serial!

People who complain about a lack of good action roles for women in Golden Age Hollywood really should watch some of these old cliffhangers.  Yes, by technical definition Nyoka is a "Damsel in Distress."  But more often than not, she's the one leading the action.  And in a good serial every main character spends some time in peril.  Jack is also a "damsel" in several chapters.  Even comic relief Curly spends some time in jeopardy.  And Kimbu-the-Annoying-Jungle-Kid is a total damsel in distress.


Use of a child actor is one of the weak points of this serial.  The other weakness is the way Shamba the Witch Doctor is forgotten towards the end of the serial.

Every chapter ending involving the Diamond Temple is terrific.  The first chapter has a flooding tunnel that is visually mirrored in 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'.  There is a big sacrificial alter it the shape of a lion's head.  The victim is strapped down to the lion's moving jaw and then lifted up to the roaring flames.  There's a big bamboo-and-coconut conveyor belt that leads to a big rock crusher that the natives use to mine the diamonds.

I get a kick out of the way, if our heroes need to sneak into the back entrance of the mines, they lower a vine from the cliff-top and climb down to a secret tunnel.  They toss the same vine down several times over the course of the Chapter-play.  What I want to know is, who's the Joker who keeps putting the vine back where it was?

Overall, this is a great serial.  Likable, if sometimes a bit wooden, characters.  Great chapter endings.  A story that holds together really well.

If you like Indiana Jones, Tarzan, or King Solomon's Mines, give this a watch.  It should be right up your alley.