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Just in case anyone was too lazy to go to the Monsterverse website, here's what I wrote about last week's meeting:

There were just four of us last night: me, Ryan Brennan, Kezilla, and TV's Steve. But it was a very enjoyable evening, with everyone picking out something they wanted the rest of us to watch.

My choice was several of the unavailable George Pal Puppetoons that Ryan had recorded off TV in the late '70s (yeah, the quality was pretty poor, but still watchable). Ryan was one of the first people in the country to buy a VHS recorder, and it was fascinating to hear how much he paid for it ($800), along with how much he had to pay for blank tapes ($20 each!).

First up was TULIPS SHALL GROW, a truly bizarre tale of an idyllic Dutch countryside invaded by a really nasty 'screwball' army of metal people, umbrella-fitted tanks, and crystalline bird-planes. Incredible combination of stop motion and cel animation. Made during the second world war, the parallels are obvious - there's even a 'V for victory' ending. I have to say that the destruction of the screwball army is simply amazing.

TUBBY THE TUBA was one I never cared for as a kid, but thoroughly embraced last night. The tale of a tuba who can't seem to contribute much to the other orchestra instruments, it's a wonderful melding of music and animation. And the moral isn't too bad either.

DATE WITH DUKE features Duke Ellington interacting with some… hell, I don't know what they were - they look like perfume bottles. But they play along with Duke until the gears switch and some other unidentifiable character shows up who can't stand music. Of course, Duke gets the guy's feet tapping and soon, he's going crazy and dancing all around the piano. Another great meld of music and animation.

The next one was the strangest - JOHN HENRY AND THE INKY-POO. Henry is born full-grown in a truly weird beginning, then decides he has to be a railroad worker, but his and everyone else's jobs are in danger when the Inky-Poo is introduced. It's a machine that drives railroad spikes faster than men can do it, so John Henry challenges it to a duel. I won't tell you much more except that it has a bizarre ending that makes Henry into a true folk hero. Although it's a completely black character roster, there are very few racist stereotypes other than the usual slang vernacular that's pretty accurate.

Last of the Puppetoons was JASPER IN A JAM. The black little boy Jasper has always been one of my favorite characters from my youth, and even more, the Scarecrow that always tries to cheat him. Unfortunately, the Scarecrow is not in this cartoon. Instead, Jasper finds himself in a spooky pawn shop where musical instruments come to life, along with a 'wooden Indian' that tries to kill him. Here, the stereotypes are a little stronger, but I don't care. Get that chip off your shoulder…

Ryan's choice was the first episode of a TV show called NO SOAP, RADIO from 1982 starring Steve Guttenberg, with Bill Dana, Stuart Pankin and Edie McClurg in other parts. Guttenberg runs a seedy hotel with lots of goofy residents, and that part of the show pretty much sucks. But periodically, a giant foot steps down and the scene changes to various bizarre skits that are often hilarious - and have nothing to do with the rest of the show. My favorite was a TV talk show host (Bruce Glover) with an 'expose' on the truth behind cartoons featuring a silhouetted Elmer Fudd, who admits that cartoons aren't really real and that he feels like a 'fwad' (fraud) for having been associated with them! It was inspired. Another skit is called 'Dirty Old Bum Plays Mozart' that I don't want to spoil. It was also inspired.

Dinner was fried pork chops (soaked in Liquid Smoke), corn-on-the-cob, Italian green beans, and buttered baguette bread. Although I had dessert, no one wanted any.

Steve's turn was another episode of THE INVADERS called 'Vikor' starring Jack Lord in an extremely nasty role that most actors might have shied away from. He's a decorated war hero (turned down for a VA loan, apparently) who is helping the aliens try to take over the world so that he can become a big shot again.

This was the best episode so far. There's one scene that really got my blood pumping where David Vincent kills a couple of aliens in a frenzied moment that has to be seen to be believed. Definitely the best action sequence of the series up to this point. But the greatest thing was the ending, when Vincent actually becomes rather vicious himself. Don't want to spoil it for you, but I guarantee you'll be satisfied.

Kezilla's choice was a DOCTOR WHO episode called 'Silence in the Library' (part one of a two-part episode) that was one of the most complex TV shows I've ever seen. Can't begin to explain it to you except to say that the Doctor and his partner find themselves in a vast library on an apparently deserted planet. And in an alternate universe, there's a little girl who seems to have a close attachment to the library. The Doctor and woman are soon joined by a group of people investigating a problem that can't be explained without giving away too much.

But the real situation is that there are deadly creatures that live in the shadows of the library that can turn you into a skeleton faster than the ants in THE NAKED JUNGLE. Not only that, once you die, your memory lives on for awhile, so these skeletons walk around repeating the vocalizations of the last few moments of their lives. Truly creepy stuff.

Ryan and Steve had to leave, but Kez and I couldn't stop. We went on with part two, 'Forest of the Dead' that premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel last Friday. Again, can't say too much except that most of the characters disappear pretty fast.

But what's amazing is that it ends up being one of the most heartfelt things I've ever seen on TV. I choked up at several points, and I'm sure I'll cry the next time I see it. You just won't believe how anyone could write something like this and then tie it all up in a nice package. Truly incredible.

We were on a roll, so we watched another DOCTOR WHO called 'Midnight' which is the name of an uninhabitable planet that has a fantastic waterfall that creates gems. That has very little to do with the story though. On this resort-like vacation, Doctor Who is on his own when an alien creature begins beating on the spacecraft when it breaks down. Soon, a passenger is infected with the alien's mind and continually repeats whatever is said to her. Again, very creepy.

It sort of turns into THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET as the other passengers begin distrusting everything, even deciding to throw one or two characters out the airlock for no real reason. While this episode was a lot of fun, it pales in comparison to the two-parter.

Until next time…