I'm not going anywhere. I'm not that lucky fella. Usually a Hiatus week means I'm off on a cruise or long jault, but, well, you know. We are jauntless.
Nothing today but the Shadow and some matches, but who knows what tomorrow will bring?
THE SHADOW KNOWS! oh wait, that's not it. I know. I also know what evil lurks in the heart of men. I mean, who doesn't? That's not exactly something the Shadow ought to tout. It's like saying WHO KNOWS WHETHER EGGS ARE OFTEN HAD FOR BREAKFAST? THE SHADOW KNOWS!
Anyway. Next week will be great. This week will be different! Except for today. I have to pack these Shadows in, because there are 15 eps and a one-a-month pace leaves the thing dribbling intot 2021, and we can't have that. it would back up the next serial in to the middle of 2022. Madness; my palms sweat at the thought of it.
All months that have five-week arrangements for the Bleat have Two Serials.
It is the way of things.
We return to the adventures of the Shadow, who is not invisible, has no special skills, no gadgets, nothing. Just a hat and a cape.
Let's use the crawl to catch up.
When last we saw the Shadow, he had been beaten unconscious by a gang of men for the 17th time or so. There was an explosion, as there had been three times before, and the entire lumber production of Canada fell from above. In each instance before the Shadow survived by . . .
By surviving.
Wow is he resourceful.
At this point, at Episode 8, I am seriously considering whether this is the worst serial ever. They’re all repetitive, but this is ridiculous. The identity of the Black Tiger - well, I think I figured that out early enough, but they haven’t shown the butler figure as much as you’d think. (I still think it’s him.) The Black Tiger himself sounds ridiculous - petulant, not brilliant. The Shadow himself is underwhelming, with no mind-clouding. Lamont Cranston even has another secret identity, a cartoonish “Asian” cliche.
I hit FF to see if I could figure out what happened next, and I could. Two henchmen trail the Shadow’s car back to his “Asian” hideout.
You should not be able to trail the Shadow.
The henchmen can’t find the Shadow in the “antique” store, so they use the phone to set up a meeting the next day. Cranston overhears, setting up the predictable cliffhanger. Back at the Black Tiger’s joint, he turns invisible . . . .
Again, it’s like they thought well, the Shadow can’t be invisible, but it’s a Shadow story, so someone has to be invisible.
The Black Tiger tells his henchmen that one of the Captains of Industry has an invention to protect his railroad, and he wants . . . to steal it? To kidnap the inventor? To manipulate the stock market?
It’s a fox-trot! He hates that stuff!
Turns out the invention is a “radio-telephone” that allows the company to contact any train at any point in its journey. A demonstration is held; we go to the train.
Then the Black Tiger interrupts!
Yeah, yeah, the train’s going to be wrecked, got it. The Shadow goes off to plant a camera at the crooks’ lair over the cafe, but he’s discovered!
Nail that table down, boys, nail that table down.
The crooks come up to their room to get orders from the Black Tiger, who is as subtle with his comm system as you might expect:
He tells the crooks where to go to a train yard where a train’s supposed to be sidetracked, so the other train runs into it. After this the crook the Shadow stashed in the closet wakes up and yells, and says he was stuffed away by the Shadow. They run after him!
And he gets away! Off the Shadow goes to the train station to stop the passenger train from smashing up, and a fight ensures.
Even if it runs over him, he’ll shake it off.
That'll do; on we go on a diminished week. I'm not saying I'm owed it, because I'm not, but I'm taking it anyway.
That'll do; on we go on a diminished week. I'm not saying I'm owed it, because I'm not, but I'm taking it anyway.
