Previously Balladeer’s Blog examined three of the neglected tales from the Epic Cycle which dealt with the Trojan War. First came Cypria, then after skipping The Iliad because of how well-known it is I moved on to Aethiopis and then most recently I examined Iliad Minor.
SACK OF TROY aka Sack of Ilion is credited to Arktinos of Miletos in the 770’s BCE. The previous epic Iliad Minor wrapped up with the Greek warriors springing out of the Trojan Horse and at last triumphing over King Priam and his Trojans. Sack of Troy rehashes a few story elements, backing up to cover the construction of the Trojan Horse and the Trojans ignoring the prophet Cassandra’s warnings about the Horse. New elements are the arguments the Trojans have about possibly burning the Horse or rolling it off a cliff into the sea before deciding to take it inside the city gates.
BALLADEER’S BLOG
During the celebrations for what the Trojans think is their victory over the Greeks two serpents bit and killed the priest of Apollo named Laocoon and one of his sons. The Trojans called an end to the feast and retired for the evening, their spirits dampened. The Greek soldiers emerged from the Trojan Horse after most of the Trojans were asleep and started slaying the Trojans, taking time out to allow their returned comrades to enter Troy to bring their numbers up.
Much pride was taken over which Greek warrior killed which Trojan and also, given the time period, which Trojan woman or women they took as sex-toys. Taking Trojan women who had been aristocrats was a particular sign of status. To name just a few Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, killed King Priam and Odysseus killed Astyanax (Hector’s son) by throwing him from the top of the city walls to his death. Neoptolemus then seized Astyanax’s wife Andromache. Continue reading
THE LIVES OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1974-1975) – This was a series of four 90-minute (with commercials) dramas depicting America’s magnificently unorthodox genius at various stages of his life. Eddie Albert and Melvyn Douglas (husband of Helen Gahagan Douglas) depicted Franklin in his 70s and 80s, with flashback storylines in each episode. The Lives of Benjamin Franklin won five Primetime Emmys including Outstanding Limited Series. 
CAR CRASH (1981) – Travolta … Joey Travolta. Yes, it’s Barbarino’s older brother in this Italian-Spanish coproduction. Ever wonder what the Fast and Furious franchise would be like if Frank Stallone was the overall star? This movie provides the answer – sped up footage to (unsuccessfully) lend the illusion of speed, and model cars just one step above Hot Wheels toys passing for the race cars much of the time! 
D-DAY ON MARS (1945, 1966) – Obviously, the Sixth of June marks the solemn remembrance of World War Two’s Normandy Invasion, but I did my annual salute recently. For today I’m reviewing D-Day on Mars, the edited down feature film version of the 1945 serial The Purple Monster Strikes.
Previously Balladeer’s Blog examined Cypria and Aethiopis, two of the neglected Greek epics. Cypria recounted the events leading into The Iliad while Aethiopis picked up the tale of the Trojan War after the death and funeral of Hector at the end of The Iliad. The neglected epic I’m examining today is Iliad Minor, the next in line chronologically. The author is speculated to have been either Lesches, Thestorides, Diodoros, Kinaithon or even Homer himself.
FRANK & DRAC (1987-1988) – Frank & Drac was this Movie Host show’s title, and Frank & Drac were the stars. Frankenstein’s Monster was played by Allen Christopher while Dracula was played by Robert Kokai. This show aired on WOIO in Cleveland, Ohio from October 1987 to June 1988. Kokai and Allen had the potential to be among the biggest Movie Hosts ever but clashes with station management over budget issues ended with their show getting shut down. 
Elvira’s syndicated show Movie Macabre had technically aired its final episode in November of 1986 but several channels across the U.S. continued airing reruns for years. During 1987 the ratings for the Elvira reruns were bottoming out in Cleveland, so WOIO decided to give its own home-grown Movie Host show a try in Movie Macabre’s former time slot on Saturday nights. 
And comedy was one of the strong suits of Frank & Drac. The other was the show’s conceit that the hosts were the actual Frankenstein Monster and Dracula, airing “biographical” movies about themselves and other Universal Studios monsters. 
NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)
PART 67 – Some of the Fool Killer’s targets on both sides of the aisle in the January 1914 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s version of the folk figure: 
THE UNITED STATES STEEL HOUR (1953-1963) – Some of the finest hour-long dramas aired on American television during the 1950s and 1960s were produced for The U.S. Steel Hour. Over time the anthology program added a few comedies and children’s projects, but it made its reputation on the strength of its dramas. 
P.O.W. (Oct 27th, 1953) – David Davidson wrote and Alex Segal directed this tale of the tortuous brainwashing techniques that the Communist Chinese and their North Korean allies inflicted on Prisoners of War during the Korean War. In a way the 1950s Manchurian Candidate film trivialized the ordeals that service members were subjected to so that the reality seems to have faded into the background, replaced by pop culture melodrama. 
Balladeer's Blog 