SCORPIO (1976-1977) – From September 18th, 1976 to August or September of 1977 Scorpio (actor name unknown) hosted Thing Theatre at 1:00pm on Saturday afternoons. Thing Theatre aired on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s WPGH-TV, which was back after having declared bankruptcy years earlier when its Movie Host show was Scream-In.
The fun backstory for Scorpio was related in the opening of every show. WPGH field reporter Ed Barrett played himself in a remote bit about pollution. He and the crew with him pretended to find a coffin covered in undergrowth, so (for some reason) they took it back to the station with them. Setting up the coffin in an unused studio, they got the lid opened revealing nothing inside.
Losing interest, Barrett and the others wandered off, leaving the coffin sitting there. As one does, I guess. Suddenly, a man in tattered clothing with messy hair and sporting an eyepatch emerged from the coffin evilly laughing at how he had fooled the others.
He introduced himself as Scorpio and, playing off Ed Barrett’s question about what kind of thing the coffin once held, decided to call his show Thing Theatre. Belaboring the point, Scorpio also said he needed to call his show something … something … some THING!” in the same sketch. Only the audio of this opening survives, no video from it. Continue reading
PART NINE – Ozidi’s character development will continue in this installment. It starts out like the previous part, with our main character being sought by another who has heard of the many powerful opponents that Ozidi has slain and wanting to see for himself how well the young man can fight. 
Tebesonoma roams the jungles near the Niger River until he comes face to face with Ozidi, who as usual stalks the land looking for adventure. The seven-headed giant speaks to Ozidi about how much he has heard about him and goes down a list of all the figures who have fallen in combat with him. He then challenges our hero to battle.
BANACEK (1972-1974) – George Peppard starred as insurance investigator Thomas Banacek solving seemingly impossible thefts in this rotating series from NBC’s Wednesday Night Mystery Movie. NBC launched the Wednesday Night Mystery series in an attempt to duplicate the success of its Sunday Night Mystery Movie which had launched iconic detective shows like Columbo, McMillan and Wife & McCloud. 
An insurance detective recovering the stolen item would save the parent company from having to pay the entire insurance policy amount. They would only have to pay a certain percentage to the detective solving the theft and recovering the insured object. 
Labor Day is the appropriate time to post this look at neglected working-class folk hero Joe Magarac. This figure was the Steel Mill equivalent of Paul Bunyan and John Henry. 
As a lame play on words since this is Labor Day season I’ll present Joe Magarac’s origin and then depict his tales as “Labors” like in The Labors of Hercules. 
NAIA OVER NCAA DIVISION TWO – The NAIA’s FLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY LIONS traveled to face the higher NCAA Division Two team the ALLEN UNIVERSITY YELLOWJACKETS. Allen University parlayed their 10-7 1st Quarter edge into a 31-21 advantage by Halftime. From there the Lions shut out their opponents and came from behind for a 38-31 Upset. 
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER THREE – Down in NCAA Division Three, the 5th ranked team in the nation – the WHEATON COLLEGE THUNDER – played host to the number 3 UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT UNION PURPLE RAIDERS. The Thunder put Mount Union on Upset Alert with their 17-7 lead at the Half only for the Purple Raiders to tie things up at 17-17 in the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th, Wheaton College managed a 24-23 victory. 
Our heroes don their costumes and as Captain America and Bucky they find Mara’s lair and defeat all her Nazi troops and her booby-traps. Then Cap defeats the countess and her purse’s weaponry – grenades, a gas-gun and a regular gun. 
VIKING TOUGH – The VALLEY CITY STATE VIKINGS welcomed the DICKINSON STATE BLUE HAWKS last night. A 3-0 Blue Hawks lead in the 1st Quarter turned into a 10-7 edge at Halftime. A big 3rd Quarter for the Vikings put them up 21-10, but they had to hold on against Dickinson State in the 4th for a 28-25 win. 
UPSETS IN THE RANKINGS – The INDIANA UNIVERSITY (PA) CRIMSON HAWKS took it on the road against the number 12 team in the nation – the ASHLAND UNIVERSITY EAGLES and notched a 34-24 victory over them ### And the 24th ranked UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AT DULUTH BULLDOGS toppled the visiting number 13 AUGUSTANA (SD) UNIVERSITY VIKINGS 30-23. 
Full Title: ORRIN LINDSAY’S PLAN OF AERIAL NAVIGATION WITH A NARRATIVE OF HIS EXPLORATIONS IN THE HIGHER REGIONS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND HIS WONDERFUL VOYAGE ROUND THE MOON (1847) – This work was written by J.L. Riddell.
PART 75 – Regular readers may notice that picking up in June of 1915 is quite a jump from last week’s Fool Killer installment, which left off in Fall 1914. That’s because I can honestly say that James Pearson’s version of The Fool-Killer hit a decided creative dry patch for several months. 
THE BLACK KNIGHT (1954) – During the time of Camelot, King Arthur and Guenevere, a blacksmith and swordsmith named John (Alan Ladd) is in love with Lady Linet (Patricia Medina). John has no chance of winning her as a mere blacksmith, so he forges a special sword for himself and is covertly taught fencing, riding and jousting by a sympathetic knight named Sir Ontzlake (Andre Morell). 
John the Blacksmith accidentally stumbles upon part of the villains’ schemes and tries to warn King Arthur but isn’t believed against the word of King Mark and a Knight of the Round Table. Sir Ontzlake helps the now fugitive John adopt a false identity called the Black Knight. Using that nom de guerre, Alan Ladd repeatedly foils the villainy of King Mark and Sir Palamides. 
