Comments on: John Agar Probes Uranus

By: El Santo

El Santo — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:08:50 +0000

“Mention how much you enjoyed Slaves of the Cannibal God. That’s sure to make an impression.”

Exactly how I would have approached the situation, too.

By: Howard

Howard — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:22:27 +0000

Holy Crap! You’ll never guess who I met tonight, in the little dive bar where I sometimes hang out in my crappy midwestern town.

Nope. Guess again.

No way! You’ll never guess.

Tonight, I met, and shook hands with, Stacey Keach.

I don’t usually do the celebrity thing, but OMG! Stacey Keach.

The bartender had said, “I never noticed before, but he’s a very distinguished man,” and I said “Who?” And she said, “See that white-haired man there in the back? That’s Stacey Keach.”

And I was all like, Be charming, Howard. Mention how much you enjoyed “Slaves of the Cannibal God.” That’s sure to make an impression. But instead I pretended I had to pee and hung out by the men’s room.

“Mr. Keach?” I said, just like that. Mister Keach. “Yes?,” he said, in that infamous baritone voice.

I choked. “I just wanted to say how much I’ve enjoyed your work over the years.”

His great bear-paw hands engulfed mine — did you know Stacey Keach has huge, huge hands? — and I was a child again. “Thank you,” said Stacey Keach, and I went back to the bar and had, like, seven more drinks until I calmed down.

I know this isn’t the place, or the thread, but come on! — Stacey Keach! I’ve got to tell someone.

By: Howard

Howard — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:17:27 +0000

Sorry, Lyzard, I didn't mean to jump your claim. I tell you what -- as an added-value bonus, for you musicians out there, here's a chord chart so you can play along at home: ||: Cm7 | F7b9 | BbM7| Gm9 | | Cm7 | F7b9 | Dm7b5 | G7 :|| || Cm7 | F7 | BbM7 | % | | Gm7 | C7 | Cm7 | F7 || || Cm7 | F7b9 | BbM7| Gm9 | | Cm7 | F7b9 | Dm7b5 | G7b13 || || Cm7 | F7 | BbM7 | G7b9 | | Cm7 |F7b9 | BbM7 | % || I just banged that out special for the Cabal and haven't tested it beyond my own piano, so it may need some tweaking. (I really wish you guys had comment preview enabled.)

By: lyzard

lyzard — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:43:43 +0000

[Shameless self-promotion] It's in my Immortal Dialogue section (along with the theme songs from Orca, The Green Slime and Amphibian Man). [/Shameless self-promotion]

By: Howard

Howard — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:18:52 +0000

I’m surprised no one has mentioned the single greatest thing about this movie: the “love theme” that plays over the closing credits.

Journey to the Seventh Planet
Come to me.
Let your dreams become reality.
I wait for you.

Somewhere, on the seventh planet,
Out in space.
You and I will find a magic place,
Like lovers do.

And while we’re
Up above, we’ll touch the star
That we have wished upon.
Then our love will take wings
And go on and on.

Journey to the Seventh Planet
In your heart,
Let a spark of love begin to start
For us to share, forever.
Seventh planet, seventh heaven —
If you learn to care,
Our love will be beyond compare!

[cue trombone solo, and . . . fade.]

I have been known to put this movie on and watch it all the way through, just to enjoy this song to the fullest in the context of the previous 90 minutes.

By: Braineater

Braineater — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:18:35 +0000

Perhaps if it had been directed by Sidney Brown…?

By: KeithA

KeithA — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:40:02 +0000

So I think the science to take away from this is that you usually can’t see Uranus with your own eyes, but sometimes, under very specific special conditions, it may be possible.

By: Chad R.

Chad R. — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:53:53 +0000

Am I alone in thinking the rat dinosaur is kind of cute? Then again, I have a crush on Turanga Leela, so obviously a large central eye is not a problem for me.

By: supersonic

supersonic — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 06:10:08 +0000

“the planet isn’t visible from Earth with the naked eye.”

Sometimes it is, in the darkest and clearest of seeing conditions. I’ve heard there are records of Arabic astronomers occasionally spotting it and tracking it without telescopes, though not well enough to get a lasting grip on it.

By: Camassia

Camassia — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:35:36 +0000

I have a distinct memory that, long ago when I was a teenager reading Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine, I read an essay by Isaac Asimov called “The Unmentionable Planet,” discussing the pronunciation of Uranus. He endorsed yoo-RAN-us, though I don’t think he referred to this movie. So I guess you can’t blame it all on Brits and Greeks.

Anyway, I enjoyed the recap, and loved the pictures. I’ve read about this movie before but the visuals added a lot.