LANCELOT LINK: SECRET CHIMP (1970-1971) – From Sandler-Burns-Marmer Productions came this fun children’s show that presented trained chimps in a spoof of secret agent stories. Dialogue was dubbed in over the usual twitchy mouth movements of chimpanzees to attempt the illusion that the “performers” were speaking.
The program presented a Good Guy Spy Outfit vs Bad Guy Spy Outfit situation like UNCLE vs THRUSH, SHIELD vs HYDRA, etc, but mostly Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp was based on the spy comedy Get Smart. That show’s villainous Bernie Kopell even voice acted for some of the bad guy characters.
Lancelot Link was a secret agent for A.P.E. (Agency to Prevent Evil), the heroic spies who opposed the agents of C.H.U.M.P. (Criminal Headquarters for Underworld Master Plan). Lance’s cover was that he was a guitarist and singer for a bubblegum pop band called the Evolution Revolution. His fellow agent Mata Hairi was also in the band along with other chimps, and novelty songs credited to the group were released in the real world.
Lance and Mata’s boss at A.P.E. was Commander Darwin, setting up jokes like “What’s your theory, Darwin?” In charge of C.H.U.M.P. was the monocle wearing Baron Von Butcher. The Baron’s underlings included Dragon Woman, Creto, Dr. Strangemind, Wang Fu, the Duchess and Ali Assa Seen. Continue reading
MR. GHIM’S DREAM (1878) – This anonymous work is set in the autumn of 1877. Mr. Ghim is a poor American who dreams of ending the “current” unemployment crisis through a massive construction project that will employ thousands. Ghim tries to enlist some of the most well-known tycoons of his day – William Vanderbilt, Robert Roosevelt, Jay Gould and others – in his scheme. 
TWO – Aeneas and his companions, the survivors of the Fall of Troy, are still lingering in Carthage. Queen Dido, not knowing that the Roman State which Aeneas will spawn will also be the future destroyer of Carthage, remains deeply in love with Aeneas. 
Playing into (or maybe establishing) the enduring cliche about people in a burgeoning romance being driven closer by needing relief from a downpour, Dido and Aeneas start to feel even friskier. Juno manipulates things further by having nature and animal life in the cave behave in ways that parallel a wedding ceremony. 
Balladeer’s Blog is on record as despising both of the rival gangs of white-collar criminals called Democrats and Republicans. Mother Jones once again did some posthumous communicating with me about our de facto Third Party President Donald Trump, who is squaring off against both those sets of villains like Clint Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars. 
It is below. But first a photo of LYNN YAEGER, the Fashion Fascist who tried ridiculing First Lady Melania Trump (Mother Jones told me Melania is our greatest First Lady since Jackie Kennedy). This fashion writer (honestly) made fun of Melania for wearing high heels as she entered Air Force One with her husband – United States President Donald Trump – to visit Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. 
Barack Obama truly is garbage. Not only did this squirrely, wormy little man wait until he was DONE with his golfing vacation before visiting flood-ravaged Louisiana but when the delicate-minded child was pressed a little about his callous attitude toward the human suffering he was ignoring all that time this alleged human being ACTUALLY, REALLY said “I’m out in five months.” 
ASTONISHING TALES Vol 1 #1 (Aug 1970) 
Dr. Doom Title: Unto You is Born … the Doomsman 
Recent movie news about the latest screen adaptation of The Odyssey happened to make me reflect on the lack of a big screen version of the poet Virgil’s epic The Aeneid. For newbies to the tale, I’m posting this very brief synopsis of the story – the first half a mythic voyage like Jason and the Argonauts and The Odyssey and the second half a tale of warfare as Aeneas leads his fellow survivors of fallen Troy in their mythic conquest of what would become Rome. 
SOLO (1980) – Written by Jack Higgins. Solo is not exactly one of my favorite espionage novels but it is definitely my favorite by Jack Higgins. It’s the story of efforts to catch an international assassin code-named the Cretan Lover. Luckily that ludicrous codename is often shortened to just “The Cretan” throughout the novel. I’ll use the same review format that I used for my look at The Top Seven Robert Ludlum Novels. 
SECRET OF THE INCAS (1954) – Considering that some of the costume and design staff members for Raiders of the Lost Ark have openly stated that they did repeated viewings of this neglected Charlton Heston film while putting together the “look” of that 1981 blockbuster I admit to being as puzzled as they are that Secret of the Incas isn’t mentioned as much as old serials are as an influence. 
Location filming in Peru greatly improves the quality of this overlooked film. Footage of Machu Pichu’s 1950s condition is fascinating and Peruvian singer Yma Sumac as priestess Kori-Tica performs a few folk songs in honor of Inca culture. Expect a movie closer to Film Noir with archeological trappings rather than an action spectacle and you may enjoy Secret of the Incas as much as I do. Beautiful Nicole Maurey plays Heston’s love interest. 
Remember when Marion Ravenwood tells Dr. Jones “You’re not the man I knew ten years ago.” Well, it’s tempting to think that Harry Steele IS what Indy was like ten years ago. Brasher than Jones in Raiders and as ruthless as Han Solo, Steele is also fluent in multiple languages, including Quechua. As a veteran relic hunter he’s also well-versed in ancient cultures and is buddies with the scholars at Cuzco’s museum. 
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