THE FANTASTIC JOURNEY – This was a very promising hour-long science fiction tv series that somehow just never gelled well enough to last even for a full 13-episode tryout. The premise involved a 1976 nautical expedition into the Bermuda Triangle by a group of scientists and a few of their family members.
Their ship encounters green mists connected to the many sea and air disappearances in the Triangle and they wind up stranded on a continent-sized island called Evoland. Beings from many time periods and planets are trapped there as well and at times try to help or hinder our main cast in their efforts to escape the Bermuda Triangle.
VARIAN, played by Jared Martin. Varian was an Earthling from the 23rd Century. He is cultured, refined and highly intelligent. Like many scholars from his time period, Varian is capable of focusing his mental energies through his crystal rod/ tuning fork called a Sonic Energizer. The device responds only to his mind and lets him diagnose and heal others, as well as manipulate matter in various destructive and constructive ways depending on the needs of each episode’s story.
Yes, the Sonic Energizer was every bit as much of a Deus ex Machina as the Sonic Screwdriver on Doctor Who. In fact, I’ve always felt that if American television had decided to do an Americanized version of that BBC series rather than import the episodes starring the terrific Tom Baker, that Jared Martin would have made a perfect U.S. incarnation of the Doctor. (Or maybe even a rebooted Gary Seven.)
FRED WALTERS, MD, played by Carl Franklin. Fred is fresh out of medical school and is co-leader of the group along with Varian.
Dr. Walters is a brilliant physician in his own right and his 20th Century cynicism lets him read many potentially dangerous situations more accurately than Varian, whose largely innocent and pacifistic 23rd Century nature leaves him a bit naive. Fred was like an 80s badass in a 70s tv show. Continue reading
THE PESHTIGO FIRE – This piece of neglected history may be one of the most Balladeer’s Blog-ish topics in Balladeer’s Blog’s sixteen-year history. On October 8th, 1871 Peshtigo, Wisconsin burned down in a monumental conflagration that killed OVER FIVE TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE AS THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE KILLED! 
THE SPANISH MAIN (1945) – In the 1600s, Dutch Captain Laurent van Horn (Paul Henreid) is using his ship to transport refugees from the current war in Holland to safety in the Carolina Colonies. Storms and other misfortunes cause the ship to go wildly off course, ultimately wrecking near Cartagena. Spanish Colonial Governor Don Juan Alvarado (Walter Slezak) imprisons Laurent and his crew, sentencing them to hang. 
Captain van Horn and his crew take the Contessa to the port where the Barracuda and other pirate vessels hide out. A very inaccurate rendition of pirate Anne Bonny (Binnie Barnes) is jealous that Francesca has taken her man Laurent. She joins forces with pirate captains who resent van Horn’s leadership to deliver Francesca to Alvarado. 
MACABRA – This hostess of Omaha’s Theatre of the Macabre (1982-1985) has accomplished the seemingly impossible – she has managed to keep her real name a secret all these decades! She was an Omaha businesswoman who beat out over 150 other applicants for the position of WOWT’s Movie Hostess for their new Friday night at 10:30pm Bad Movie show. 
On top of that, Macabra rejected the over-the-top humor that characterized Elvira and her cash-in imitators in favor of a wry, understated approach that put me in mind of a combination of Movie Host legends like Moona Lisa and Fritz the Nite Owl. For an airing of Attack of the Mushroom People (1963) this hostess munched on mushrooms completely deadpan rather than hit the viewers over the head with the joke. 
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