Today (Thursday) was the last day of a 20% off sale at Half-Price Books and I took the opportunity to pick up a number of selections for the Collection.
“Wonder Woman” — Season 1, 2, 3
All three seasons of the “Wonder Woman” TV series starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. No other series features such continual mind control elements, especially Wonder Woman’s famous lasso, but there were also a number of other hypnosis or brainwashing elements in the stories.
“Killers from Outer Space”
Peter Graves stars in this movie abut aliens who plan to mutate ordinary insects and animals into an unstoppable assault force on humanity. Grave’s character is essential for his scientific connections and is placed under the mental control of the aliens to provide that assistance.
“Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe”
The entire 12 episode series, the third of the Flash Gordon serials. This one is noteworthy for the episodes where Dale Arden is exposed to an amnesia agent and is turned against Flash. The set also includes episodes from the 50’s TV series and might contain another mind control storyline.
“Instant Self Hypnosis” by Forbes Robbins Blair
A do-it-yourself self-hypnosis book, with a large number of scripts to follow and directions on how to write your own scripts.
“Hypnosis: Secrets of the Mind” by Michael Streeter
[amtap book:isbn=0764125931]
A lavishly-illustrated guide to the subject of hypnosis, starting with the history of the subject and moving on to specific subjects such as the applications of hypnosis, self-hypnosis, stage hypnosis, etc. (It also includes a chapter entitled ‘Hypnosis in the Media’.) Its a good book for the professional to give to non-professionals to describe what they do.
And the one that got away, as the store couldn’t find the DVDs to put back into the packaging:
“Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” — Season 1
The black&white season, early in the show’s history when it was as much concerned with espionage as with monsters. This collection includes the episode with the “fear gas”, where a foreign agent tries to disrupt operations by exposing the crew to a gas that multiplied their latent fears.
There were a few others that are not destined for the Collection but I couldn’t just pass up, including:
“Them!” (1954)
The first and best of the 50’s giant insect movies. Starring James Whitmore and James Arness (and appearances by Whit Bissell and Fess Parker and even Leonard Nimoy), its a taut and suspenseful story about mysterious attacks in the desert near where the first atomic bomb test was carried out. The first 10 minutes are especially creepy, set in a wind-blown desert where the only sign of the presence of the giant insects is the smell and the sound they make: there is a real feeling of claustrophobic danger here. Also to be mentioned is the female scientist (Joan Weldon) who demands to be treated as a scientist first and a woman later and gets it.
I thought you’d note episode 13 “The Blizzard Makers” or episode 24 “The Saboteur” from VttbotS? Well, maybe you just haven’t gotten to them yet. “The Fear Makers” was episode 3.
Thanks,
Darci
I only glanced at the back of the set: at the time, I was trying to balance six boxed sets and a couple of books and wasn’t really paying attention. I did leave my number with the store and when they do find the missing DVDs I will be going back to pick it up.
Seems like you got an excellent array of things to play with! I particularly love the Wonder Woman DVD’s and did find intriguing the Them! film. I’ll see if I can get it near home.
I am enjoying your posts a lot, thank you!
Happy New 2012!