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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 4, 2007 16:41:19 GMT -8
Tristram Coffin ... Jeff King
Mae Clarke ... Glenda Thomas
Don Haggerty ... Tony Dirken
House Peters Jr. ... Burt Winslow
James Craven ... Prof. Millard [Chs. 1-7, 10]
I. Stanford Jolley ... Prof. Bryant
Douglas Evans ... Chairman [Ch. 12]
Ted Adams ... Martin Conway [Chs. 1-4]
Stanley Price ... Gunther Von Strum
Dale Van Sickel ... Prof. Drake/Henchman Gates
Tom Steele ... Henchman Knox /Taxi Driver [Chs. 10-11]
David Sharpe ... Henchman Blears/Cliff/Stark
Eddie Parker ... Rowan [Ch. 3]
Michael Ferro ... Henchman Turk [Ch. 8]
Frank O'Connor ... Warehouse Guard [Chs. 1, 10]
this is the first of the Rocketman "trilogy" though none are connected at all. supposed to be good, though since it says "Republic" that's pretty much assured. chapters are not as long now though!
CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Dr. Vulcan - Traitor
2. Plunging Death
3. Dangerois Evidence
4. High Peril
5. Fatal Dive
6. Mystery of the Rocket Man
7. Molten Menace
8. Suicide Flight
9. Ten Seconds To Live
10.The Deadly Fog
11.The Secret of Dr. Vulcan
12.Wave of Disaster
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 4, 2007 17:03:32 GMT -8
accidents are happening to scientists around the globe. in reality it's a mysterious masked figure causing the disasters. Glenda Thomas wants to know if it's an outside source doing these awful things.
Jeff King is appointed to investigate the accidents in a special function by the Science Associates. Dr. Vulcan sends his men to the lab to find out what King knows. naturally, a fistfight breaks out. Jeff beats them up and they run out.
Prof. Millard is still alive, but "dead" while he and Jeff figure out how to defeat Dr. Vulcan. he presents Jeff with the completed atomic powered rocket suit.
Jeff again gets waylaid by the gang, and they steal the truck with the new rocket in it. Jeff follows in the rocket suit! after catching the truck, the torpedo is launched accidentally during the ensuing fistfight and Jeff takes off to catch it. He blasts it out of the sky with his ultra cool gun but the backlash knocks his engine off and he plunges toward the ground!
next~ Plunging Death
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 4, 2007 17:46:33 GMT -8
Jeff regains consciousness just in time to stop him from going splat. Rocketman gets a lot of press then! King and Millard figure out Dr. Vulcan is one of the members of Science Associates.
Glenda took a picture of the Rocketman, and Dr. Vulcan sends his thugs to get it. Glenda trails them toward the Ridge Road. Jeff dons the costume and away he goes. he reaches Joan's car just as it plunges over the cliff and explodes!
next~ Dangerous Evidence
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 4, 2007 18:22:22 GMT -8
our heroes leap out right before the car goes over the edge. Glenda wants to write a story about him, but he tells her he is only there to stop Dr. Vulcan.
later, Millard and Jeff plan a trap for Dr. Vulcan who will want to enlarge the negative to see the Rocket suit. naturally, Jeff gets the drop on them, and then a fistfight breaks out! they get away with the developing fluid and Jeff flies after them.
naturally a fistfight breaks out when he gets to the secret lab. during the battle a fire is started near the explosives! Jeff is knocked out and ka-boom!
next~ High Peril
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Post by Shonokin on Jul 4, 2007 18:43:02 GMT -8
When I think of the archetypal cliffhanger serial, King of the Rocketmen is what I think of. I'm not much into the fist fights, even the legendary Republic fist fights, but the ones in Rocketmen are pretty fun, especially with Tristram throwing down with that bullet helmet on. That definately puts them on a different level. Also the Lydeckers are really in top form in this series. They've gotten the flying man rig down, the melting emulsion trick and all the rest. Speaking of melting, I'll warn you that the resolution to the cliffhanger for Molten Menace is a total cheat! boooo! There's enough wacky science going on and standard Republic adventuring to keep this one entertaining all the way through. In fact one night me and my wife watched the last 6 episodes in a row. That's saying a lot because she's not into old serials in the first place, but found this one audacious and entertaining enough to keep her interest through about two hours of it. After watching this, maybe check out a few episodes of COMMANDO CODY; SKY MARTIAL OF THE UNIVERSE to see just how much a concept can diverge from its original concept. Basically the rocket suit is transfered into a much more far out universe of Flash Gordon/Captain Video type fantasy, making the original serial seem almost like hard science.  That doesn't make CODY a bad show, just extremely different. |
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 4, 2007 20:17:19 GMT -8
this one has shorter episodes, and the last episode had three fistfights! so they do tend to move rapidly.
by the way, there are no chapters on this disc- is your like that?
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 4, 2007 21:04:15 GMT -8
Jeff comes to and runs outside as the place goes explodes.
Jeff talks to the men of the committee, because he saw a ring on the finger of Dr. Vulcan. Prof. Conway is ID'd by the ring. Conway pulls a gun and runs off. Rocketman follows him! Conway gets away, and calls Dr. Vulcan who sends him to a "pal" to hide him until things blow over.
it's Dirken, and Jeff has had them followed. Dirken makes Conway write out a full confession. Rocketman gets there, but Conway gets knifed and Rocket gets pushed out a window!
next~ Fatal Dive
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Post by Shonokin on Jul 4, 2007 21:11:40 GMT -8
I'll have to dig it out and check it. Give me a reason to watch it again! hehe
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 4, 2007 21:20:08 GMT -8
Rocketman revives in time and saves himself. Jeff starts to suspect Burt as Dr. Vulcan. Glenda tells Burt that she suspects Jeff. 
Jeff finds a hidden mic, and plans a trap, which Burt and Glenda overhear and think he IS guilty. Dr. Vulcan calls Dirken as well. they surprise both Dirken and Jeff. Glenda jumps into the plane with Dirken while Jeff and Burt fight.
Glenda is a tough cookie. Dirken finds out that there's a radio amplifier from Dr. Vulcan. he then plans to throw Glenda out of the plane. Rocketman to the rescue! Dirken puts the plane into a dive and leaps out. Rocketman breaks in and then the plane crashes into the ground!next~ Mystery of the Rocket Man
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 4, 2007 21:42:09 GMT -8
our heroes jump out of the plane in time, and Rocketman leaves Glenda on the side of the road, again.
Dirken calls Dr. Vulcan who thinks the Rocketman is Jeff. they form a plan to kill him. two of Vulcan's men wait for Jeff and KO him and Burt. they take Jeff away, and Burt follows in hot pursuit.
using his radio lighter, Jeff lets Millard know where he is. Rocketman is headed that way, and a fistfight breaks out. then a gunfight! Jeff hops into a truck and gets KO'd and it falls into the water!
next~ Molten Menace
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 22, 2007 13:23:47 GMT -8
Jeff leaps out right before the truck goes into the water. Jeff and Millard try a plan to get Vulcan to reveal himself.
Vulcan listens in on the conversation between King and Millard. he sends his thugs to get get Millard.
Rocketman jets to the cave in time to start a fistfight. the devestator gets turned on and the mountain begins melting on our heroes!
next~ Suicide Flight
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 22, 2007 14:49:30 GMT -8
Rocketman spots an airshaft that leads them outside and they escape at the last minute. later on King tells the staff he will remake the Decimator.
later, Von Strum is found in an hypnotic trance. he's mumbling "RFD 48" and Jeff thinks that's an address. turns out, he's right!
Jeff goes there to deliver the papers. naturally a fistfight breaks out. Dirken reports to Vulcan, and Rocketman desperately tries to get back to Glenda's place to save von Strum and the others. as he jets in, the thugs open fire!
next~ Ten Seconds To Live
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 22, 2007 18:13:36 GMT -8
the thugs miss Rocketman completely, but Strum is dead. Jeff then rebuilds the Decimator, but is worried that Vulcan can locate it by radiation detection.
Dr. Vulcan does just that. and his decoy plan works! good thing Jeff had an "insta-matic" camera that can have a developed photograph in a couple minutes. they get the truck's license off the picture and have the cops throw up a dragnet.
Dirken heads for Saddle Pass. the Highway Patrol radios King to tell him where the truck is headed, and off goes Rocketman! but Vulcan has a trap ready for him- an explosion rigged to go off ten seconds after he sets foot on the truck. Rocketman gets clobbered... and BOOM!
next~ The Deadly Fog
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 22, 2007 18:27:26 GMT -8
that was the longest ten seconds ever.
Rocketman comes to and walks out of the truck to get away. the gang can't believe it.
then we have a flashback episode. Jeff and Burt discuss a few previous adventures. Dr. Vulcan wants King dead. he then has to go into town to meet Prof. Moore, which is a trap. Vulcan has him in a cab as he gets gassed!
next~ The Secret of Dr. Vulcan
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 22, 2007 18:59:51 GMT -8
Burt and Glenda come by and rescue Jeff. Jeff knows who Dr. Vulcan is now. Vulvan sends his men over to stop him, and a fist fight AND a gun battle break out. Dirken gets the receipts and destroys them.
Burt gets captured, and Vulcan phones King to tell him to meet with him. good thing Jeff sends Rocketman in his place, so Jeff doesn't get electrocuted. turns out Prof. Bryant is Dr. Vulcan! he backs Rocketman into the electrified door!
final chapter~ Wave of Disaster
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 22, 2007 19:32:31 GMT -8
Burt kicks Dirken and Rocketman avoids the trap. Vulcan escapes, and then plans to use the Decimator in an extortion plot. Jeff, Burt and Glenda go to NYC to warn them about it.
Vulcan plans to use the Decimator on the Amsterdam fault to make the worst earthquake and tidal wave in the history of America. it works! the waves hit, and the quake hits, causing massive damage and killing lots of people.
Rocketman flies into the base and destroys the Decimator. he then pummels Dirken, who gets shots accidentally by Vulcan. the airforce bombs the island off the face of the map, and Vulcan with it!
Rocketman gets out JUST in time! later on, they wonder if Rocketman will be with us again, as the mayor promises to rebuild NYC into the finest city ever known!
overall, a fast paced fun serial. the total running time is only about 165 minutes, which is not very long at all. like Shonokin said, the effects are top notch in this one.
the tidal wave plot is pretty good at the end, though. the miniatures at the end when the tidal wave hits look really cool, and cause lots of damage to NYC. i wonder where the footage came from?
i was surprised they actually destroyed the city, though, usually they stop the damage just in time.
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