Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Classic Star Trek Revisited: The Man Trap


(Excerpted from orders to Captain James T. Kirk)

III. You are therefore posted, effective immediately, to command the following: The U.S.S. ENTERPRISE

Cruiser Class - Gross 190,000 tons.
Crew Compliment - 430 persons
Drive - space-warp
Range - 18 years at light-year velocity
Registry - Earth, United Space Ship

IV. Nature and duration of mission:

Galaxy exploration and investigation: 5 years

V. Where possible, you will confine your landings and contacts to Class "M" planets approximating Earth-Mars conditions.

VI. You will conduct this patrol to accomplish primarily:

(a) Earth security, via explorations of intelligence and social systems capable of galaxial threat, and
(b) Scientific investigation to add to the Earth's body of knowledge of alien life forms and social systems, and
(c) any required assistance to the several Earth colonies in your quadrant, and the enforcement of appropriate statues affecting such Federated commerce vessels and traders as you may contact in the course of your mission.



From the get go NBC wasn't sold on the show, the pilot episode that Gene Roddenberry delivered to the network, 'The Cage', wasn't what he had promised them, a western set in space, but a pure sci fi story. More "Forbidden Planet" than "Wagon Train", and the execs didn't like it. Well, to be honest, they didn't understand it, feeling that the episode was "too cerebral" for your average American TV viewer.

At this particular time in television history, the people in charge of the big networks didn't 'get' sci fi. Westerns they understood, comedies and dramas they could get their minds around. Spaceships, lasers, Vulcans and other worlds were way out of their league. Sure that kind of stuff worked in movies made for kids, but would a grown-up working man want to come home after a long day at work and want to watch a model space craft zooming around?


There were two things that they did know about sci fi, it was risky and expensive and they weren't about to loose advertising dollars on anything that they believed wouldn't hit a home run.

Despite their better judgement, NBC gave Roddenberry another shot, and his second pilot episode for "Star Trek", "Where No Man Has Gone Before", was a little more in line with what the network thought sci fi TV should be like.

Reluctantly NBC agreed to air "Star Trek", but behind closed doors the network still had major doubts about it and ultimately wished that Roddenberry and his 'space-opera' would simply just go away.


It is safe to say, now at this juncture, that making "Star Trek" fail seemed to be NBC's plan when it announced that it would place the show on Thursday night opposite the very popular "Bewitched " on ABC and "My Three Sons" on CBS. Throughout the series three-year run NBC repeatedly placed the show opposite other such high rated programs on rival networks before dumping it in the legendary Friday night "death slot" at 10pm EST.

Surprisingly, NBC opted not to open the series with the pilot episode, leaving Roddenberry and his crew in an awkward position. With only a few episodes in the can there weren't many options for a debut episode. Out of the episodes in hand producer Robert Justman suggested that the episode "The Naked Time" would fit due to it's strong character driven story. NBC, on the other hand, selected "The Man Trap" because it was action packed and had a monster in it.

So, on September 8th 1966 "Star Trek" made it's television debut, and surprisingly won it's time slot against the comedy series reruns it was up against. That success would be short lived, however. The very next week "Trek" would fall to second place when ABC aired a new episode of "Bewitched".


Here is the plot for "The Man Trap":

Stardate 1513.1: The Enterprise arrives at planet M-113 for routine medical exams of archaeologist Professor Robert Crater and his wife Nancy. First Officer Mr. Spock is left temporarily in command. Kirk, McCoy, and Crewman Darnell beam down and Kirk gives McCoy a friendly hard time that he and Nancy Crater were an item ten years ago. Nancy arrives and each of the three men seems to see her differently: McCoy as she was ten years ago, Kirk as she should look age-wise, and Darnell as a totally different attractive younger woman. Kirk sends the dazed Darnell outside and when Nancy goes out to fetch her husband, she beckons Darnell to follow her.

Advertisement:



Professor Crater arrives and doesn’t appear happy to see them, telling them that he and his wife don’t need a medical examination. But then, he adds that he's glad to see McCoy as an old friend of his more social wife. Nancy appears, nervously insisting they restock their salt tablets. Kirk orders Crater to submit to the medical exam but before McCoy can proceed they hear a scream from outside. They go out to find Darnell, dead, with red ring-like mottling on his face. There’s a plant root in his mouth and Nancy comes up, saying she saw Darnell taste the plant and she couldn’t stop him. Kirk is skeptical that an experienced crewman would taste an unknown plant. Kirk has Darnell’s body beamed up to the ship.

Spock analyzes the plant, the Borgia root (named for Lucrezia Borgia, a notorious poisoner) and confirms records showing it’s poisonous but skin mottling is not a usual symptom. McCoy conducts the initial exam but can’t find any cause of death, poisoning or otherwise. Kirk and McCoy compare notes on Nancy, and McCoy admits he might have been seeing her the way he imagined her from ten years ago.


Kirk decides to remain to investigate Darnell’s death. McCoy, along with Spock, finally determine that Darnell had every bit of salt drained from his body. Spock adds that he would die almost instantly. Kirk beams back down to the planet with McCoy and two crewmen, Green and Sturgeon. They spread out but Crater slips away and calls out to Nancy saying he has salt. Kirk and McCoy find Sturgeon’s body, unaware that Nancy is nearby over Green’s corpse. Both the bodies have the same red rings on the faces. She pauses and then changes her shape, turning into a duplicate of Green. He meets with Kirk and McCoy and they beam back up to the ship to conduct a search from orbit.

"Green" roams the halls and runs into Rand, who is taking a food tray to Sulu in his quarters. "Green" is attracted to the salt and follows her in, but the plants react badly to him. He leaves and runs into Uhura, taking the hypnotizing form of a crewman from her memories. Rand and Sulu arrive and Uhura is summoned to the bridge.

In his quarters, McCoy is trying to get some sleep. Kirk reminds him of the sleep medication McCoy gave him once. Spock confirms that the scans only show Crater on the planet, and he and Kirk beam down to capture the professor. "Nancy" assumes her female form and goes to McCoy’s quarters, and seems reassured by the fact he has strong memories of her that she can rely on. Nearby, Sulu and Rand find a dead crewman with the same red mottling.


McCoy is already asleep when the general alert sounds, and "Nancy" takes on his form and goes to the bridge. On M-113, Kirk and Spock find Green’s body and realize an impostor is on-board. They find Crater, who tries to frighten them off with phaser fire. They flank and then stun him, and the dazed Crater says that his real wife died a year ago, killed by the creature. Crater rambles on that the creature still appears to him as Nancy out of true affection. He adds that it's like the Earth buffalo, the last of its kind and he helped to keep the creature alive. Kirk immediately communicates with the ship "It's definite Mr. Sulu, the intruder can assume any shape - crewman, you, myself, anyone, do you understand ?" Sulu acknowledges, and Kirk adds "Go to General Quarters-4." As they're about to transport to the Enterprise, a frustrated Kirk tells the Professor, "Your creature is killing my people !"

With Crater, Kirk calls a meeting. McCoy & Spock join them, but the officers are unaware that McCoy isn’t McCoy. "McCoy" suggests they try to deal with the creature peacefully and Crater clearly recognizes it for what it is. Kirk prefers to eliminate the predator creature and insists that Crater help identify it. Refusing, Kirk orders McCoy to administer truth serum. They go to sickbay and a suspicious Spock insists on going with them. The alert goes off and Kirk arrives in sickbay to find an injured Spock. Crater is dead, killed by the increasingly desperate creature. Fortunately, Spock’s Vulcan blood made him immune to the creature’s hunger.

Back in her "Nancy" form, the creature goes to McCoy’s quarters and asks him for help. Kirk arrives with a phaser and a handful of salt and tries to entice the creature into attacking. McCoy refuses to believe Nancy is false and gets in the way so the creature can attack Kirk. It hypnotizes him and starts to feed off of him while McCoy holds the phaser, indecisive. Spock arrives and tries to use his superior strength against the creature, but it is stronger than Spock. McCoy realizes the creature isn’t his "Nancy" and, with his phaser, fires at it. The creature reverts to its true alien appearance and McCoy continues firing, finally killing it, saving Kirk


As one would expect, the critics of the day weren't exactly kind when they wrote about "Star Trek's" debut. Daily Variety columnist Jack Hellman gave the episode an unfavourable review, stating, "Not conducive to its popularity is the lack of meaningful cast leads. They move around with directorial precision with only violence to provide the excitement."

Looking back on it now, it is easy to see why "The Man Trap" may have failed to bring new viewers into the "Trek" fold. It certainly isn't one of the series best episodes, though it isn't one of it's worst either. One can only speculate now what may have happened if NBC would have gone with "Where No Man Has Gone Before" or "The Naked Time". Possibly the show may have been a bigger hit, or then again possibly not.

Regardless "The Man Trap" gave all of us Trek fans a look into McCoy's love life, a preview of Kirk's womanizing ways and a good monster, in this case the Salt Vampire, to boot.

Can't complain there.

Star Trek #45 July 1977 Gold Key Comics Grade VF/NM - $20.99

Star Trek #40 September 1976 Whitman Comics Grade VF+ - $29.99

Star Trek Newly Recorded Music, Record Album Volume Two / The Trouble With Tribbles / Mirror, Mirror / The Empath - $24.99

Star Trek Color and Activity Book: A Blast of Activities 1979 Merrigold Press Grade VF - $8.99

Star Trek Book and Record Set #26R-2ND (1975) Published 1979 Peter Pan/Power Records Grade NM - $34.99

Check Out:


No comments:

Post a Comment

Labels

000 Fathoms (1) 000 Maniacs (1) 10 (1) 120 Minutes (6) 20 Minute Workout (1) 70s Sounds (4) 80s Rock Block (2) 80s Summer Block Party (1) A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1) A Charlie Brown Christmas (2) A Christmas Story (2) ABBA (2) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1) ABC (8) Action Figures (3) Action Movie (7) Acton California (1) Actor (2) Actress (46) Addiction (1) Addis Railway Museum (1) Adiction (1) Adult (1) Adventure (6) Adventures Into The Unknown (1) Adventures on the Planet of the Apes (1) Agave Mexican Grill & Cantina (1) Age of Samurai Battle for Japan (1) Aiircraft (1) Air Force (1) Alamogordo New Mexico (1) Albuquerque (38) Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (6) Alexandria Louisiana (25) Alfred Hitchcock (4) Alistair Begg (1) Alpha Flight (1) Amarillo (2) Amazon (2) Amber Heard (1) America (Band) (3) America The Land We Live In (1) American Experience (1) American Revolution (4) Anaheim Ducks (4) Anamaniacs (1) Ancient Text (1) Andor (3) Andy Gibb (1) Anime (15) Ann Miller (1) Anteros (1) Antique Stores (4) Anza Narrows Park (1) Apollo 11 (1) Apple Dumpling Gang (1) Apple Valley (1) Arizona (18) Ark II (1) Arkansas (7) Art (4) Artificial intelligence (3) Asha The Mexican Grey Wolf (1) Asia (Band) (1) Asteroid City (1) Atomic Robot Comics & Toys (40) Australia (13) Avengers (1) Awaken Church (15) Aztec Camera (2) B-17 Flying Fortress (1) Babylon 5 (2) Back to the Future (2) Bad Movies (7) Bakersfield (2) Bananarama (7) Band of Skulls (2) Bandelier National Monument (1) Barbara Eden (1) Barbarella (2) Barstow California (1) Batman (25) Batman The Animated Series (1) Baton Rouge (28) Battlestar Galactica (5) Bayou Beauties (1) Bear's Den (1) Bedrock City (1) Bee Gees (1) Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (1) Belle and Sebastian (1) Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1) Berlin (Band) (4) Bernice Louisiana (1) Best Coast (1) Bettie Page (6) Betty Brosmer (1) Bible (71) Big Bear Lake (2) Big Boy 4014 (6) Big Trouble In Little China (5) Bigfoot (27) Bill the Cat (1) Billy Graham (11) Billy Joel (1) Bishop Dale Bronner (1) Bjork (1) Black Cat (1) Black Dahlia (1) Black Panther (1) Black Widow (1) Blake's Lotaburger (3) Blankets and Throws (1) Blazing Saddles (4) Blessings (1) Blondie (10) Bloom County (4) Blossoms (3) BNSF (11) Bob Goff (2) Bob Welch (1) Bob's Big Boy (1) Bob's Burgers (1) Bonfire of the Vanities (1) Book (13) Books (6) Boston (Band) (1) Boy Meets Girl (1) Boz Scaggs (2) Brazil (1) Breaux Bridge (1) Bride of Frankenstein (1) Bronski Beat (1) Brookhill Ferry Shipwreck (1) Brusly Louisiana (1) Buck Rogers (1) Buddy Guy (1) Buena Park California (1) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1) Bugs Bunny (11) Bunkie (3) Burger Barn (1) C&C Mercantile (1) Cabazon Dinosaurs (1) Caddo Parish (2) Caesars Palace (1) Cafe 80s Its Electric (3) Cajon Pass (6) Calico Ghost Town (2) California (138) California Days (1) California Girls (1) California State Railroad Museum (1) Cam Akers (1) Cameras (1) Camping Gear (1) Canada (5) Canadian National Railway (1) Candi Stanton (1) Cannons (1) Canon Cameras (1) Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels (1) Carol & Kay Save The USA (2) Carole King (1) Caroline Munroe (1) Cars (4) Cartoon (70) Casa Ole (1) Cathy Cat (1) Celluloid Philosophers (3) Central Christian Church (1) Character (2) Charity (1) charli (1) Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (2) Charlie Kirk (1) Charlton Comics (1) Chase Masterson (1) Cheneyville Louisiana (1) Chic (2) Chicago Theater (1) Chilly Willy (1) China (1) Chinese Food (2) Christine McVie (1) Christmas (21) Church (Importance) (1) Chvrches (1) Cinclare Sugar Mill & Plantation (1) Cinco de Mayo (1) Cindy Hanson (1) Civics (2) Classic Cars (2) Classic Rock (48) Classic Toys (7) Claude Texas (1) Clear Lake (1) Clearman"s North Woods Inn (1) Cleburne Texas (1) Cleopatra (1) Clothing (2) Coal Mine Canyon (1) Colfax (1) College Basketball (5) College Football (9) Colorado (5) Columbia Louisiana (1) Comedy (54) Comic Books (112) Comic Strips (3) Compassion (1) Conrad Veidt (1) Corona California (1) Corona Del Mar State Beach (3) Cosplay (3) Costa Mesa California (1) Costumes (1) Counseling (2) Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse (1) Coushatta Louisiana (1) Cowboy Bebop (8) CPKC Railroad (1) CPKS Railroad (3) Creature from the Black Lagoon (17) Crescent Bay Beach (2) Crime (1) Crime Drama (1) Cross Lake (1) Crusader Rabbit (2) Cryptozoology (38) Culture Club (1) Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (2) Cutie Honey (1) Cyndi Lauper (4) Daily Devotional (21) Daredevil (4) Darkwing Duck (2) David Bowie (2) Dawn Wells (1) Day Trips (1) DC Comics (38) Dead Man's Point (1) Dead or Alive (1) Debbie Harry (1) Declaration of Independence (1) Deep Purple (1) Defenders (2) Dejah Thoris (3) Del Taco (1) Denver (1) Depeche Mode (8) Depression (1) DeQuincy (2) DeQuincy Railroad Museun (2) Detroit (1) Devlin (1) Diana Ross (1) Diane Birch (2) Diboll Texas (1) Dinosaurs (19) Discipleship (3) Discover New Mexico (51) Disney (22) Disneyland (1) Doctor Who (9) Documentary (8) Dodson Louisiana (1) Dominion Tank Police (2) Donald Duck (1) Donald Fagen (1) Double Trouble (1) Dr Martin Luther King Jr (2) Dr Seuss (1) Dr Strange (2) Dr Strangelove (1) Dracula (13) Drama (1) Dubstar (1) Dubuisson Lake (1) Dune (1) Duran Duran (6) Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (2) Dynamite Entertainment (27) Eagles (Band) (1) Economics (2) Edwards Air Force Base (1) Eiji Tsuburaya (1) El Dorado Arkansas (4) Electronic (1) Electronics (3) Elektra (1) Elizabeth Olsen (2) Ellen Dubin (2) Elske McCain (1) Elvira (3) Elvis Costello (1) Embraceable Ewes (1) Emer Kenny (2) Emergency +4 (2) Emmie Mikaelsson (1) Emotional Monsters (5) Emotions (1) Enchanting Beauties (1) Energy Crisis (4) England Air Force Base Heritage Park (5) English Beat (2) Entertainment Earth (5) Environment (13) Envy of None (1) Escape From The Planet of the Apes (2) Eunice Louisiana (1) Eurythmics (1) Eva Vlaardingerbroek (4) Event (10) Expedition X (1) Expensive Stuff I Will Never Be Able To Afford (1) Fabulous 50s (41) Facebook (1) Fail Safe (1) Failed Television (3) Faith (153) Famous Monsters of Filmland (1) Famous Quotes (1) Fantastic Four (10) Fantastic Photos From Fantasy Films (17) Fantasy (2) Faster (1) Faster Pussycat Kill Kill (1) Father Brown (2) Father's Day (1) Fathom Events (2) Fenton Louisiana (1) Fickle Friends (2) Fillmore (1) Fillmore & Western Railway (1) Fine Young Cannibals (2) Fireball XL-5 (1) FireCityFunk (1) Flame Broiler (1) flas (1) Flash Gordon (2) Flasher (1) Fleetwood Mac (12) Florence Pugh (1) Football (45) Fort Courage Trading Post (1) Fouke Arkansas (4) Fox and the Croe (1) Foxes (2) France (1) Frankenstein (14) Frankenstein Jr and the Impossibles (4) Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman (1) Franz Ferdinand (1) Freedom Families United (1) Freedom Fry (1) Fremont Street Experience (1) Fresh Pickins Produce Market (1) Friday Night Videos (24) Futurama (1) Gal Gadot (4) Gallup (1) Gamera (4) Genesis II (2) George Orwell (1) George Washington (1) Geowulf (1) Get Smart (2) Ghost Town (2) Ghost Towns Of Route 66 (2) Gibson's Discount Center (1) Gila Cliff Dwellings (1) Gilligan's Island (3) Gina Carano (1) Glenmora Louisiana (2) Go West (4) Godzilla (61) Godzilla King of the Monsters (3) Godzilla Minus One (9) Godzilla Power Hour (2) Godzilla Raids Again (2) Godzilla vs Kong (3) Godzilla vs Kong 2 (1) Godzilla's Revenge (2) Gold Key Comics (3) Gold Mine Arcade (1) Golden State Railroad Museum (1) Gordi. Alex Lahey (1) Gorgo (3) Government Spying (1) Grand Canyon Railroad (7) Great Food (18) Greenpeace (1) Greensboro North Carolina (1) Griffith Observatory (1) Griffith Park (1) Grindhouse (4) Groundhog Day (1) GS4 Locomotive 4449 (1) Gwen Stefani (1) Habanero (1) Hall & Oates (3) Halloween (5) Hamburgers (5) Hammer Film Productions (1) Hanna-Barbera (34) Harry Houdini (1) Harumi Nemoto (1) Hatchie (3) Hawaiian Food (2) Health (1) Heart (3) Heather Locklear (1) Heather Tomes (1) Hey There It's Yogi Bear (3) History (124) Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy (6) HO Scale (2) Hockey (4) Holbrook (1) Holidays (18) Homes For Sale (4) Hong Kong Phooey (1) Hope (1) Horror (8) Horror Movies (46) Hot Traxx (70) House of Frankenstein (1) House of Wax (1) Houston Texas (3) Howard Fogg (1) Huckleberry Hound (1) Huey Lewis and the News (1) Hulk (1) Hulsey Family (3) Humor (17) Ice Cream (1) Icehouse (3) Iconic Events (1) IDW Publishing (6) images (1) Images Without Context (53) In Search Of (1) In Search of Noah's Ark (1) In Touch Ministries (3) In-N-Out (2) Inch High Private Eye (2) Independent Film (1) Indian Creek Recreation Area (1) Indian Food (1) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (1) Indie Pop (1) Infrastructure (1) Inglewood Plantation (1) Inhumans (1) Interview (6) Inventions (1) INXS (4) Iowa Louisiana (1) Iron Man (1) Irvine California (1) Isabella Manfredi (6) Istanbul Turkey (1) It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (1) Italy (2) j (1) Jabberjaw (1) Jackson (1) James Bond (1) James Stewart (1) Jana of the Jungle (2) Jane Russell (1) Japan (49) Japan Railway Journal (2) Japanese Breakfast (3) Jazz (1) Jean Harlow (1) Jeannie (1) Jefferson Louisiana (1) Jemez Mountains (2) Jenilee Harrison (1) Jenna Coleman (1) Jerry Paper (1) Jersey Mike's (1) Jesus (5) Jesus Christ (7) Joan Collins (1) John and Ken Show (12) John Carter Warlord of Mars (1) Johnny Nash (1) Johnny Soko & His Flying Robot (2) Jordan Fuller (1) Josh Gates (1) Josie and the Pussycats (4) Journey Church (65) Journey United (1) Junction City (1) Jurgen Matthesius (3) Justice League (4) Kansas City Southern (7) Kate Bush (1) Kay Smythe (2) KENN.FM (14) Kens Model Train Shop (2) Kern County Museum (1) Kim Novak (1) King Kong (17) King Kong Escapes (2) King Kong vs Godzilla (5) Kingdom of the Spiders (1) Kisatchie National Forest (2) KISS (8) Knott's Berry Farm (1) Konga (2) Krispy Kreme (1) Lafayette (6) Laguna Beach (1) Lake Charles (7) Lake Street Drive (1) Lamborghini (1) Land of the Lost (5) Lara Logan (1) Las Vegas (6) Law (1) Lea's Pies (1) Leadership (2) Leanne Matthesius (7) Lecompte (37) Led Zeppelin (2) Leesville Louisiana (2) Legacy Church (41) Lettsworth LA (3) Level 42 (5) Liane Jungle Goddess (1) Life Hacks (4) Lincoln Historic Site (1) Linda Lindas (1) Linda Ronstadt (2) Lisa Boothe (3) little (1) Little Boots (2) Liz Phair (1) Loch Ness Monster (4) Logan's Run (5) Long Beach (1) Long Branch New Jersey (1) Looney Tunes (8) Los Angeles (27) Los Angeles Rams (47) Los Cerrillos (1) Lou Rawls (1) Louisiana (203) Louisiana Southern Railroad (2) Louisiana Steam Train Association (1) Love (3) Lucerne Valley (2) Lufkin Texas (3) Luscious Jackson (1) Lyle Blackburn (1) Lynda Carter (4) M.E. Moses Five and Dime (1) Macross (3) Mad Monster Party (2) Madeline Smith (1) Madonna (1) Madrid (NM) (3) Magazines (5) Magnus Robot Fighter (1) Mansfield Louisiana (2) Mardi Gras (1) Marie Devereux (1) Marilyn Monroe (1) Mark Ronchetti (2) Marksville Louisiana (1) Mars Exploration (2) Martin Homeplace Museum (1) Marvel Comics (42) Mary Lynn Richardson Park (1) Mathmatics (1) Maturity (1) Mayer Hawthorne (6) Mazinger Z (2) Mazinkaiser (2) Medication (1) Mego (3) Mel Brooks (4) Memorial (11) Memorial Day (2) Men Without Hats (2) Mental Health (2) Metropolis (1) MeTV (7) Mexican Food (7) Michael Schellenberger (3) Michelle Garcia Holmes (1) Michigan (1) Micronauts (1) Mile Two Church (1) Milli Vanilli (1) Minami Hamabe (1) Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (1) Missing Persons (5) Monroe's Mexican Food (3) Monster Island News Archives (1) Monty Python (3) Moonknight (1) Moreauville Louisiana (1) Morgan Fairchild (2) Mormon Rocks (2) Morrissey (1) Mothra (3) Movie Clips (15) Movie Quotes (3) Movie Screening (6) Movie Trailers (6) Movies (162) Mr Lobo (1) Mt Whitney (2) MTV (2) MUNA (1) Museum (40) Musical (1) Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (1) Myrna Loy (1) Mysterious Island (1) Mystery (62) Naomi Wolf (2) Napoleon (1) Naranjo Museum of Natural History (2) NASA (10) Natalie Dormer (1) Natchitoches Louisiana (5) Native Americans (3) Navajo Nation (1) Neil Armstrong (1) Neil Norman (1) Netflix (8) Nevada (7) New Jersey (2) New Mexico (89) New Mexico Lobos (11) New Mexico Museum of Art (1) New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science (2) New Mexico Museum of Space History (1) New Mexico Rail Runner Express (3) New Order (4) New Zealand (1) Newport Beach (4) News (4) Newton Texas (1) Night Passage (1) Nightwing (2) Noodles Grandiose Adventures (2) North Acomita (1) North Carolina (7) Nova (1) Oakland (1) Obi-Wan Kenobi (2) Ogopogo (1) Oklahoma (1) Olivia Newton John (2) Olla Louisiana (1) Ono Hawaiian BBQ (1) Opelousas Louisiana (1) Orange County (11) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (4) Oro Grande (3) Ouachita Railroad (1) Pacific Harbor Line (1) Paintings (1) Palm Springs (2) Parade (1) Paranormal (23) Partridge Family 2200 AD (1) Pastor Cal Jernigan (1) Pastor Darrell Ingram (2) Pastor James Greer (30) Pastor Steven Roberts (13) Pat Benatar (10) Pat Hitchcock (1) Patlabor (1) Paul McCartney (1) Paul Simon (1) PBS (3) Peanuts (4) Pedros Tacos & Tequilia (1) Pelican Institute for Public Policy (1) Pennsylvania (2) Performing Arts (1) Perris California (4) Pet Shop Boys (1) Peter Cushing (1) Phoenix Arizona (1) Photography (241) Pink Floyd (1) Pink Lady (2) Pinky and The Brain (1) Pioneertown (2) Pirate's Cove Water Park (1) Pizza (2) Planet of the Apes (15) Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site (3) Playboy (1) Player (1) Playlists (1) Pluto TV (1) Podcasts (22) Poison Ivy (2) polit (1) Politics (119) Pop Culture (5) Portugal The Man (1) Pre War 30s (3) Prehistoric Park (2) Prince of Space (1) Pringle Theater (1) Project UFO (2) Proverbs (1) Psycho (1) Pussycat! Kill! Kill (1) Quark (2) Quatermass and the Pit (2) Queen Marry (1) Quick Draw McGraw (3) Rachel Grubb (2) Radio Show (7) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1) Railroad (115) Rapides Parish Fair (1) Ray Harryhausen (1) Rays Drive In (1) Rear Window (2) Rebecca Dow (1) Recipes (5) Record Players (1) Recycling (1) Red Hot Chili Peppers (1) Red River & Gulf RR (11) Red River and Gulf Railroad (7) Red Sonja (13) Relationships (2) REM (2) Renegade Soundwave (1) Reptilicus (1) Restaurant (35) Retro Saturday Morning (91) Return to the Planet of the Apes (4) Revenge of the Creature (1) Richard Hatch (1) Ringo Starr (1) Rio Grande Railroad (1) Rio Rojo Mexican Restaurant (1) River Road Treehouses (1) Riverside California (2) Road To Bali (1) Robotech (7) Robyn Hilton (2) Rock Island Railroad (3) Rock Music (153) Rocketeer (1) Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends (3) Rodan (2) Roger Corman (2) Rolling Stone (1) Rosetta Stone (1) Roswell UFO Festival (1) Rotolo's Craft & Crust (1) Rougarou (3) Route 66 (9) Royal India Bistro (1) Rubios Coastal Grill (1) Ruidoso New Mexico (1) Rush (8) Russia (2) Safety (1) Saga (2) Saint Etienne (5) Sale (1) Sally Shapiro (1) Salvation (1) San Antonio (1) San Bernardino California (1) San Cisco (1) San Diego (1) San Diego Zoo (1) Sandia Peak Tramway (1) Santa Fe (6) Santa Fe 2926 (4) Santa Fe Railroad (9) Sarah Brightman (1) Sarah French (5) Sarto Iron Bridge (2) Satire (12) Saturday Night Live (2) Savage Tales (1) Sayo Komada (1) Scams (1) Scarlet Witch (3) Scarlett Johansson (1) Schlitz & Giggles (1) Schoolhouse Rock (1) Science (29) Science Fiction (219) Scooby Doo (1) Scotland (5) Scritti Politti (2) Sea Monsters (1) Sears Christmas Wish Book (1) Secret Squirrel (1) Sedona (2) Self Help (62) Sermon (24) Seven Stars in Kyushu (1) Sex Pistols (1) She & Him (1) Sheena (5) Shen Yung (1) Shogun Warriors (1) Shreveport (14) Shreveport Reverview Park (2) Sia (1) Silent Movies (1) Silver Age Comics (2) Silver Streak (1) Silver Surfer (1) Silverwood Lake (1) Simmesport (1) Simple Minds (1) Sinead O Conner (1) Sky High (2) Sky Railway (3) Skybound Entertainment (1) Smashing Pumpkins (1) Smith's Landing (1) Snoopy (5) So I Married An Axe Murderer (1) Soft Cell (1) Soggy Bottom USA (1) Solar Eclipses (1) South Arkansas Arboretum (2) South Carolina (2) Southern California Railway Museum (8) Southern Forest Heritage Museum (18) Southern Pacific Railroad (7) Soviet Union (2) Soylent Green (1) Space (1) Space 1999 (3) Space Exploration (13) Space Sentinels (1) Spaceballs (1) Spaced (1) Speed Buggy (1) Spencer North Carolina (1) Spider-Man (13) Spider-Woman (2) Spoonbill Watering Hole & Restaurant (2) Sports (62) Sports Gear (1) Squeez (1) St Francisville (1) St Lucia (2) St Patrick's Day (2) Star Trek (27) Star Trek The Animated Series (2) Star Wars (57) Starcrash (1) Starlog (1) Starstruck (1) Statues (3) Steam Preservation (44) Steely Dan (1) Stefani Lord (1) Steve Ditko (1) Steve Martin (2) Steve Smothermon (19) Stevie Nicks (4) Store (2) Styx (3) Superman (15) Supertrain (1) Susannah Fielding (1) Suzanne Vega (2) Suzi Lorraine (3) Sweden (3) Sylvan Esso (1) T-shirts (1) Tabitha Swanson (1) Taco Treat (1) Taiwan (1) Talking Heads (3) Tanya Roberts (2) Taos New Mexico (4) Taylor Swift (1) Technology (5) Tehachapi (3) Tehachapi Loop (2) tele (1) Television (193) Tennessee (2) Texas (35) Texas & Pacific Railroad (1) Texas State Railroad (5) Th (2) Thanksgiving (4) The (1) The Addams Family (5) The American Buffalo (1) The Artic Giant (1) The Avengers (Comics) (1) The Avengers (TV) (2) The Bamboos (3) The Beast From 20 (2) The Beast of Bray Road (1) The Beatles (3) The Benny Hill Show (1) The Bible (14) The Birds (2) The Black Scorpion (1) The Blues Brothers (1) The Book of Boba Fett (4) The Carol Burnett Show (1) The Clash (1) The Cove Hawaiian Grill (1) The Cure (5) The Curse of the Werewolf (1) The Day The Earth Stood Still (3) The Doobie Brothers (2) The Flintstones (8) The Fratellis (2) The Giant Claw (1) The Giant Spider Invasion (1) The Green Slime (1) The Groovie Goolies (4) The Groovy 70s (152) The Hardcore 90s (25) The Herculoids (3) The Heritage Center (1) The Human League (3) The Interruptors (1) The Jam (1) The Jerk (1) The Jetsons (2) The Knocks (1) The Krofft Superstar Hour (1) The Land That Time Forgot (1) The Land Unknown (2) The Last Dinosaur (2) The Legend of Boggy Creek (3) The Lightning Seeds (3) The Man Called Flintstone (1) The Mandalorian (12) The Midnight Special (7) The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (1) The Mighty Peking Man (1) The Monster That Challenged The World (1) The Mr. Bill Show (1) The Mummy (4) The Muppet Show (1) The New Adventures of Gilligan (1) The Oddball Couple (1) The Partridge Family (3) The Pebbles and Bamm Bamm Show (2) The People That Time Forgot (1) The Perils of Gwendoline (1) The Pink Panther (2) The Police (6) The Power Station (2) The Preatures (3) The Pretenders (3) The Primitives (1) The Radical 80s (76) The Real X-Files (17) The Roaring 20s (1) The Robot Apocalypse (2) The Rocketeer (1) The Roman Holidays (1) The Secret (1) The Secrets of Isis (1) The Simpsons (5) The Smiths (1) The Spinners (1) The Struts (1) The Style Council (1) The Temper Trap (2) The Thin Man (1) The Thing (1) The Vaccines (1) The Vampire Lovers (1) The Way Out 60s (67) The Who (1) The Wild Things (1) The Wolf Man (3) The X-Files (6) Them! (3) Thomas Jefferson (1) Thor (1) Three's Company (1) Thunderbirds (1) Tiffani Amber Thiessen (1) Tina Cole (1) Tom & Jerry (5) Tony Evans (6) Tops (2) Tornado (1) Toto (1) Tourism (123) Tourist Railroad (19) Toys (13) Toys By Roy (1) Trading Places (2) Train Set (2) Travel (29) Travel Guides (5) Travelers Gear (10) Trivia (2) True Crime (3) Trulia Finds (2) Trust (1) Tulsi Gabbard (10) Tustin California (1) U.S. Constituation (1) UCLA Bruins (7) UFO (Sighting) (24) UFO (TV Series) (2) Ultraman (8) Ultraman Towards The Future (1) Union Pacific (15) United Kingdom (38) United States (18) Unversal Monsters (1) US Civil War (3) USC Trojans (5) USSR (2) Vampire (1) Vampirella (4) Vampiress Carmilla (2) Van Gogh Gala (1) Van Halen (1) Vasquez Rocks (1) Venom (1) Venus Wars (1) Vernon (11) Vernon Plaza Theater (1) Vertigo (2) Victorville (15) Victorville First Assembly of God (3) Video Games (1) Vincent Price (3) Virgin Galactic (2) Virginia (1) Vision (2) Vixen (1) Volcanodon (1) Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1) Voyage To The Prehistoric Planet (1) WandaVision (2) Wang Chung (1) war (1) War Era 40s (20) War of the Gargantuas (1) War of the Worlds (1) Warner Bros (13) Water Bottles (1) Watson's Soda Fountain & Cafe (2) Weather (7) Welsh Louisiana (1) Werewolf of London (1) Werewolves (1) West Virginia (1) Western (2) Western America Railroad Musuem (2) Westlake Louisiana (1) Wet Leg (1) Wetumka Oklahoma (1) Wham! (2) What's Up Doc? (1) Whittier (3) Wichita Falls Texas (1) Wildlife (2) Williams Arizona (4) Winnfield Louisiana (1) Winston-Salem (2) Winter Gear (1) Witnessing (2) Wizard of Oz (2) Wizards (2) WKRP in Cincinnati (2) Wolfman (5) Wonder Woman (21) Wonder Woman 3 (1) Wonka (1) Woody Woodpecker (1) World War I (2) World War II (9) Worlds Unknown (1) Wrightwood California (1) Wyoming (3) X-Men (10) Xena Warrior Princess (2) xPropaganda (1) Yazoo (2) Yellowstone National Park (1) Yermo (2) Yeti Giant of the 20th Century (1) Yogi Bear (4) Yumi Zouma (7) Yumiko Shaku (1) Zillow Finds (2) Zone Fighter (2) Zorro's Black Whip (1)