JOHN CARPENTER’S CANCELED 1988 REMAKE OF THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON: IN-DEPTH SCRIPT REVIEW – The internet is crawling with all manner of scripts for movies that didn’t get made, but this is the first time I’m mentioning one. That’s because I feel this one could have been a hit. Maybe not a cash cow but a solid hit.
It would have been directed by a John Carpenter still in his relative prime, for one thing. The screenplay gets a detailed break down below, but if you want a quick overview this 1988 Creature from the Black Lagoon would have taken the story in the inevitable direction needed to avoid nothing but quick underwater fights with the title menace.
At this point the term “Lovecraftian” has been incredibly overused but let’s face it, that atmosphere is needed to breathe new life into this long-dormant franchise. Lovecraft’s tales of Dagon and Innsmouth and the underwater ruins in The Temple would fit this franchise like a glove.
In addition to a scientific expedition on the Amazon River like in the original film, the script featured an underwater structure in the Black Lagoon’s depths.
Artwork and hieroglyphics in the pyramid/ temple indicate a prehistoric time when Gill-Men and humans coexisted. Bones of countless sacrificial victims are found by the expedition members as well as multiple fossils of Gill-Men, a species of which the Creature is the last living representative. Continue reading
CUCUMBER CASTLE (1970) – Eight years before the Bee Gees embarrassed themselves on the big screen with a horrible movie forcing a storyline to the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band they embarrassed themselves on the small screen forcing a storyline to their own album Cucumber Castle.
Cucumber Castle is so awful that not being in it was presumably brother Robin Gibb’s greatest professional triumph. He had recently left the Bee Gees in a huff to try a solo career, and little Andy Gibb was only twelve years old, so Barry and Maurice, who also produced, were left holding the
THE Nth MAN (1920 – 1924?) – Written by Homer Eon Flint, who died in 1924. Though this short novel was not published until 1928 many fans of the author argue that it was actually written in 1920. 
Time for another look back at a clash of cereal mascots. Previously, Balladeer’s Blog covered
General Mills tried replicating their Monster Cereal success with a pair of cartoon World War One flying aces as mascots for two new cereals. Sir Grapefellow was a stiff upper lip British fighter pilot whose cereal featured oats and grape-flavored marshmallows called Starbits. Baron Von Redberry, clearly based on Germany’s Red Baron, represented a cereal with oats and berry-flavored marshmallows/ Starbits.
CLOSE CALL FOR NUMBER ONE – The nation’s number one team – the NORTH AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STALLIONS – clashed with the visiting TEXAS A&M AT TEXARKANA EAGLES (should be Texarks). The 1st Half ended with the Stallions on top 37-29 but Texarkana was ready for a comeback. Their rally fell short as NAU held on to win 74-71. Jayden Jackson led the Stallions with 23 points, while teammate Joseph Cormier got a Double Double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.
CENTURY CLUB – Teams scoring 100 or more points in Regulation: The (6) NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS (Shipbuilders) obliterated the CENTRAL INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE CARDINALS 121-65 ### The BLOOMFIELD COLLEGE BEARS won 110-108 at the BRYANT & STRATTON COLLEGE (Albany) BOBCATS ### And the (10) PAUL QUINN COLLEGE TIGERS mauled the WILEY UNIVERSITY WILDCATS 107-53.
SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #50 (Jul 1967)
Over the next few weeks, the crime rate in New York City skyrockets with no Spider-Man getting in the way of villainy and only Daredevil fighting street-level wrongdoing. Our hero’s absence is noted in criminal circles, inspiring the Kingpin to at last operate openly. 
THE GHOST GOES GEAR (1966) – Okay, how could anyone resist a film that features a song titled Show Me Your English Teeth? This movie was the Spencer Davis Group’s addition to all the imitation Help! flicks from the 1960s as so many British bands tried to replicate the Beatles’ big screen success but fell below even some of the worst Monkees episodes in quality.
For those readers not familiar with them, the Spencer Davis Group was made up of THE Steve Winwood, his brother Muff Winwood (but not his sister Dick Winwood), Pete York and of course Spencer Davis.
THE GOSPEL OF THE SAVIOR – The narrative of this gospel centers around dialogues between Jesus and his apostles in the last few days before his arrest and crucifixion.
ASTOLPHO RESTORES ROLAND’S SANITY – Picking up where we left off, the Paladin Astolpho and St. John returned from the moon in the latter’s flying chariot and entered the saint’s palace on a mountaintop. (Yes, I just typed those words.)
Mounting his winged hippogriff (part horse, part eagle), our hero flew down from the mountaintop and returned to the court of King Senapus. When he used the salve to cure the king’s blindness, Senapus felt doubly indebted to the Paladin.