Discovered something about my new TV and Internet provider, Comcast. Started X-Men: First Class last night, and tried to finish it early this morning, but they were serious about the 7/31 deadline.

Liked the first half, guess I'll get the blu-ray.

That's it - 57 entries, not bad and I believe I surpassed myself from last year's SF/Fantasy challenge.
Here's my breakdown:
Seen from my own collection: 27 entries.
Seen online: 25 entries! All on YouTube.
Seen in the movie theater: 2
Seen on regular TV broadcast: 3

I'd also like to point out that my most watched decade was the 70's with 23 movies of which 10 were made for TV movies for which I have a soft spot. Also from the 70's the entire Ark II TV series and about half of season 3 of The Incredible Hulk.

Serials

I watched five serials for this challenge:
FLASH GORDON (1936, Universal)
FLASH GORDON’S TRIP TO MARS (1938, Universal)
ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL (1941, Republic)
BATMAN (1943, Columbia)
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1951, Columbia)

Each of the major studios producing serials back then is represented.

Plus I started BATMAN AND ROBIN (1949) yesterday with the first four chapters. I started FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE at one point, but stopped after two chapters and didn’t use them in an entry. I was kind of Flash Gordon’d out at that point and need to start again after I read the Flash Gordon comic strips from 1934-36 that I recently purchased in book form.

I would argue that FLASH GORDON’S TRIP TO MARS was the best of the ones I watched. It had the most wide-ranging story and the most cool new stuff introduced along the way. Most serials get too repetitive and put the heroes through virtually the same dilemmas in chapter after chapter, fighting the same generic henchmen in each chapter. And most cheat on the cliffhangers. In one Batman episode, the plane he’s in crashlands at the end of the chapter and when we pick it up again in the next chapter…he climbs out of the wreckage! He wasn’t saved, but he wasn’t damaged either. Or the one where a building collapses on him and in the next chapter, Robin digs him out of the wreckage, none the worse for wear. I’m sorry, but that’s a cheat.

CAPTAIN MARVEL was quite good because it had so much good action, most of it filmed on location. Marvel’s flying scenes were mostly done in real time on location with wires stretched between two points and a Marvel dummy sliding along in flying position. My big problem with MARVEL was that the two characters, Marvel and his alter ego Billy Batson, are none too bright and usually a step or two behind the villains. Neither actor is very good either. Tom Tyler looks the part of Marvel and does all the physical stuff well, but he doesn’t speak much during the serial. When they finally give him a speech at the end, it’s obvious why they kept him quiet for so long. He was definitely better suited to the strong silent type. (His career was largely spent playing bad guys and henchmen in westerns.)

However, MARVEL has one interesting touch. Marvel kills a few bad guys quite casually. He machine guns three natives in the back in the first chapter and, later on, throws a hapless crook off of a roof to his death. Superman and Batman never did anything like that in their serials. Also, Marvel behaves quite a bit like Superman and you can see why DC sued Marvel’s publisher and made them stop the comic.

Batman is kind of low-rent in the serials. His “Batmobile” is just an ordinary four-door convertible and Bruce and Dick have to change costumes in the backseat with the top up. One at a time, of course. When Batman breaks into bad guys' hideouts, we see him climbing up fire escapes and opening up windows like anybody else would do. None of that cool gliding up and down on the bat-cables or whatever they call them.

I didn’t get to the Green Hornet serials, DRUMS OF FU MANCHU or FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS. Nor did I get to BUCK ROGERS, although I did watch PLANET OUTLAWS, the feature compilation of it. I would have liked to re-watch the two Superman serials also.

^I *love* many of those serials you watched and mentioned in spite of the cheats and repetition. I, too, have the Green Hornet ones as well as Buck Rogers I've yet to watch along with Captain Video, The Green Archer, Jungle Girl, Jungle Queen, and The Phantom. I have a few more in various "wish lists". Your posting your thoughts makes me want to delay starting the Animation Challenge to watch a few serials instead, especially those I've yet to view.

I started that Mill Creek "Sci-Fi Invasion" set and discovered many of the films on the first few disks are Italian productions. Most had sound fx used by many "B" sci-fi films during the 70s/80s that were supposed to be "futuristic" but sounded dated even then (bleeps/bloops/blips, pseudo theramin sounds, etc.). Most had poor acting, bad scripts, poor dubbing, bad visual and aural fx, bad prints, etc. When I finally ended late last night with Slipstream it felt like a better film simply because it was superior to what I'd watched earlier (plus I was pretty tired by that time). Even though I'm pretty drained I'm eagerly anticipating next year!

I managed to finish 3 above my count from last year with a final total of 147.

I enjoyed almost everything that I watched this challenge (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was barely tolerable), but as always wish that there was time to fit more in. I could have watched more animation, but saved it for this month, so I'll be watching mostly sci-fi and fantasy for at least a little while longer.

I wish I had been able to make a bigger dent in my Irwin Allen sets, but life just got in the way at times. Oh well, anyways, my list is finalized.

My list is finalized.

Same here - list finalized.

Ditto.

Thanks to Mister Peepers for hosting the challenge; my "list" is now finalized. I haven't participated as much as I'd have liked. Highlight was introducting my daughter to The Neverending Story; low point was Scorpion King.

My piss-poor excuse for a list is also finalized. Life got in the way this year.

Regardless, thanks for another excellent job as host, MP.

I didn't have much of a list to finalize.... but it is.

I'll do a results thread next weekend.

Does finalized mean that you're done adding things to it? Or do we have to do something in particular? If it just means that you're done adding things, mine is finalized as well.

Finalized can be as simple as you are done adding things, or you can make your list pretty too if you want. Myself, I just count it as I am done adding things.

Thanks, mine's finalized then.

My list is finalized! I had such a fun time participating in this challenge. There were quite a few entries on other lists that piqued my interest. I have some more films to check out!

Too many serials, anime and sentai to do a checklist. My list is finalized.

List finalized. Wish I could have watched more. Thanks for hosting MrP!

Had tons of fun with this one...

List Complete except for stats/awards.

http://www.gizmag.com/sf-time-capsule/23556/

Thought this was somewhat relevant to the challenge theme

Not sure what happened to me, but man did I fizzle towards the end. I did finish the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer finally.. I was going through my big set when I found this forum and got sidetracked by my first horror movie challenge and had never gotten back. I also watched the first 2 extended LOTR movies, and definitely enjoyed the first one more this time then I did the first time, still waiting on netflix to send the 3rd one but its been on very long wait for 2 weeks ugh, going to keep it at the top though no matter what challenge it ends up coming during.

my list is done

Awards

Best Title Watched:
The Thing

Wife’s Best Title Watched:
The Cat From Outer Space

Worst Title Watched:
The Shape Of Things To Come

Wife’s Worst Title Watched:
The Shape Of Things To Come

Alien I Would Not Want To Piss Off:
Alien from Super 8

Coolest Cat:
Cringer from He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe
Runner Up:
Jake from The Cat from Outer Space

Best Surprise Boobs:
Almost every girl from Dr. Alien
Runner Up:
80's Holograms from Jason X

Me And My Wife Completely Agree On:
Metropolis (3.5)
Oblivion (3)
Dark Shadows (3.5)
Green Lantern 3D (3.5)
The Shape Of Things To Come (2)
The Crazies (4)
Dark City (4)
Highlander: The Final Dimension (3)
Gorgo (3)

WTF Award
House

-------------------------------------

Additional Statistics