Full title: THE REV. JOHN SMITH DIED – AND WENT TO JUPITER VIA HELL (1908) – This bizarre but memorable work was published by the Juno Society of the time and was written by an anonymous author. The title clergyman passes away and finds himself in Hell – not forever, but as an ambassador to Jupiter.
Before he can be sent to that interplanetary posting Smith must witness the horrors of Hell. In this odd tale the ruler of Hell is a woman named Satinita the Sexless Queen. She first shows him how many fellow clergymen are in Hell for eternal punishment.
After that, Satinita takes Rev. Smith on a tour of New York City’s Red Light District, bars, illegal casinos … and the Stock Market. Following this ham-fisted attempt at satire, Smith is dropped off on Jupiter as a guest of the planet’s Omu Family.
The family members become his guide to life on Jupiter, where everyone is ruled by a being called the Entity. There is one planet-wide language, and that’s just the beginning. Continue reading




ASSOCIATE JUSTICE WILLIAM PATERSON
MONSIEUR LECOQ – This French detective, who worked for the Surete, was created by France’s Emile Gaboriau, a former secretary of THE Paul Feval, the famed writer. The Gaboriau novels featuring Lecoq (whose first name was never revealed, like Columbo) all came out in the 1860s, making him one of the western world’s Big Three fictional detectives who came BEFORE Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes in 1887.
L’AFFAIRE LEROUGE (serialized in 1865, novelized in 1866) – This novel, set in 1862, depicted Lecoq as an assistant detective who was refining his trade with the help of another Gaboriau detective named Tabaret. In this story alone, Lecoq is a figurative Archie Goodwin to the less mobile Tabaret’s Nero Wolfe.
THE FLAME AND THE ARROW (1950) – In 1100s Lombardy, evil Count Ulrich (Frank Allenby) rules on behalf of Emperor Frederick the First. Ulrich abuses his power and even takes the unfaithful wife of Dardo Bartoli (Burt Lancaster) into his own court as one of his mistresses. This drives archer and swordsman Dardo into opposition against him.
Dardo now goes all out against the Count, leading rebels both high born and low in Robin Hood style banditry against Ulrich from an old Roman fortress in the hills. At one point Dardo and his allies abduct Count Ulrich’s niece Anne (Virginia Mayo) in hopes of exchanging her for Rudi. The Count instead captures Dardo’s father and several other villagers, threatening to kill them all unless the rebel and outlaw surrenders. 


THE OLD LADY OF NIGHTMARE ALLEY was the character who hosted the film show Nightmare! on KTLA in Los Angeles. She was played by the elderly actress Ottola Nesmith, who started in Silent Films in 1915 and appeared in over 100 movies, including Invisible Ghost with Bela Lugosi.
Ottola’s Movie Hostess character The Old Lady eschewed the sex appeal approach of predecessors like Vampira and instead employed a memorable gimmick, albeit one which once got herself and KTLA in legal trouble.
PART SIX – Corresponding with the one-day hiatus from the story tellers and singers performing the Ozidi Epic, our hero has been sleeping after slaying Badoba. Tall Badoba was the latest of his father’s killers to meet their end at the hands of Ozidi the Younger. Only the leader of the murderers remained – Ofe.
Our hero’s mother Orea and his sorceress grandmother Oreame fed him breakfast until he was full. Then it was time once again to go into action, so Ozidi reached down his throat and pulled out of his mouth his sword made of lightning, his battle clothing, his musicians and attendants plus his spear and other weapons. He pulled out his monkey and lizard, too.
THE NEW ODD COUPLE (1982-1983) – This sitcom was a reboot of the 1970-1975 series, now starring former Barney Miller co-star Ron Glass as obsessively tidy photographer Felix Unger and former Sanford & Son co-star Demond Wilson as pathologically sloppy sports reporter Oscar Madison. Coincidentally, Glass had made guest appearances on two Sanford & Son episodes in the 1970s.
THE IDES OF APRIL (Oct 29th, 1982) – Felix must go down to the IRS office to correct a computer error. While there, he accidentally lets slip Oscar’s tax cheating. Oscar gets audited, but Felix manages to get his roommate through the ordeal successfully. ESTHER ROLLE guest starred. 

