Category: Serial
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Dark Magic fully introduces Marion Burns’s psychic character. She showed up at the end of last chapter, but she really didn’t get much to do outside her act. The act, which has everyone panicked this chapter, involves her accusing bad guy Jack Ingram of murder. Then all the lights go out and she, her assistant…
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Dark Magic fully introduces Marion Burns’s psychic character. She showed up at the end of last chapter, but she really didn’t get much to do outside her act. The act, which has everyone panicked this chapter, involves her accusing bad guy Jack Ingram of murder. Then all the lights go out and she, her assistant…
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Yes, there’s a Killer at Large, but there are lots of them. The entire gang out bad guys is loose. Brenda Starr’s has all bad ideas when it comes to titling. And, you know, scenes. There’s a scene between lowlifes Ernie Adams and Wheeler Oakman and the conversation repeats itself. It’s almost surreal, the exposition…
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Yes, there’s a Killer at Large, but there are lots of them. The entire gang out bad guys is loose. Brenda Starr’s has all bad ideas when it comes to titling. And, you know, scenes. There’s a scene between lowlifes Ernie Adams and Wheeler Oakman and the conversation repeats itself. It’s almost surreal, the exposition…
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There’s a hideout in Hideout of Terror, but there’s no actual terror in that hideout. Most of the chapter is kidnapped Joan Woodbury being traded between kidnappers. First it’s Jack Ingram, then he gets nabbed by Wheeler Oakman. Ingram gets most of the chapter’s action–he’s got to leave Woodbury in the Hideout to get orders…
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There’s a hideout in Hideout of Terror, but there’s no actual terror in that hideout. Most of the chapter is kidnapped Joan Woodbury being traded between kidnappers. First it’s Jack Ingram, then he gets nabbed by Wheeler Oakman. Ingram gets most of the chapter’s action–he’s got to leave Woodbury in the Hideout to get orders…
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Man Hunt is exasperating. All of it. Copper Kane Richmond, who didn’t have the most fantastic part of the previous chapter’s cliffhanger, gets all the resolution. When the story gets back to Joan Woodbury, her initial shock has worn off and she’s just trying to get Wheeler Oakman to leave her alone. Oakman’s holding Woodbury…
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Man Hunt is exasperating. All of it. Copper Kane Richmond, who didn’t have the most fantastic part of the previous chapter’s cliffhanger, gets all the resolution. When the story gets back to Joan Woodbury, her initial shock has worn off and she’s just trying to get Wheeler Oakman to leave her alone. Oakman’s holding Woodbury…
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The Big Boss Speaks does not feature a scene where the Big Boss speaking over the two-way radio setup sets off the cliffhanger. Actually, the part of the chapter where the Big Boss does speak has absolutely nothing important to do with the plot. Except in how wrong the Big Boss is about predicting Joan…
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The Big Boss Speaks does not feature a scene where the Big Boss speaking over the two-way radio setup sets off the cliffhanger. Actually, the part of the chapter where the Big Boss does speak has absolutely nothing important to do with the plot. Except in how wrong the Big Boss is about predicting Joan…
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Unfortunately, most of A Ghost Walks is missing. What remains–some audio, a couple stills–isn’t really enough to sustain the narrative. After the cliffhanger resolution (not too noisy and apparently not injurious to Joan Woodbury), there’s some treading water while cops Kane Richmond and Joe Devlin catch up to Woodbury and Syd Saylor. Woodbury and Saylor…
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Unfortunately, most of A Ghost Walks is missing. What remains–some audio, a couple stills–isn’t really enough to sustain the narrative. After the cliffhanger resolution (not too noisy and apparently not injurious to Joan Woodbury), there’s some treading water while cops Kane Richmond and Joe Devlin catch up to Woodbury and Syd Saylor. Woodbury and Saylor…
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Taken for a Ride’s opening cliffhanger resolution isn’t particularly exciting–in fact, giving so much information about what’s going on outside the situation to resolve the cliffhanger makes it all procedural, instead of suspenseful–but it still almost leads to a good shootout. Joan Woodbury and Syd Saylor (who can be dashing and heroic when he needs…
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Taken for a Ride’s opening cliffhanger resolution isn’t particularly exciting–in fact, giving so much information about what’s going on outside the situation to resolve the cliffhanger makes it all procedural, instead of suspenseful–but it still almost leads to a good shootout. Joan Woodbury and Syd Saylor (who can be dashing and heroic when he needs…
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The Blazing Trap opens with a lengthy lead-in to the cliffhanger resolve. Even though the resolve is pretty easy, it’s kind of cool how much context Brenda Starr gives its resolution. It doesn’t feel like a quick wrap up, it feels like a part of the story. After it’s over, though, the chapter speeds headfirst…
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The Blazing Trap opens with a lengthy lead-in to the cliffhanger resolve. Even though the resolve is pretty easy, it’s kind of cool how much context Brenda Starr gives its resolution. It doesn’t feel like a quick wrap up, it feels like a part of the story. After it’s over, though, the chapter speeds headfirst…
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Brenda Starr, Reporter is all action. Sure, there’s some scenes of lead Joan Woodbury sitting at her desk, but she’s just waiting to hear about more action. The chapter starts with a building on fire. Woodbury and her photographer, Syd Saylor, drive out from the newspaper office, racing to get there faster than the cops.…
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Brenda Starr, Reporter is all action. Sure, there’s some scenes of lead Joan Woodbury sitting at her desk, but she’s just waiting to hear about more action. The chapter starts with a building on fire. Woodbury and her photographer, Syd Saylor, drive out from the newspaper office, racing to get there faster than the cops.…
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About seventy percent of Adventures of Captain Marvel is narratively useless. Nothing occurring in chapters two through ten has an effect on how the story actually turns out. The serial has a great first chapter involving a tomb robbing archeological expedition in Thailand. Radio journalist Frank Coghlan Jr. is along, presumably to do a story…
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Captain Marvel’s Secret opens with yet another lackluster cliffhanger resolve. No reason to change it up at the end, apparently. The chapter has a lot to do in sixteen minutes. It’s got to reveal the evil Scorpion’s identity, stop the Scorpion’s evil plan, and maybe do something regarding Frank Coghlan Jr. and Tom Tyler’s Captain…
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Captain Marvel’s Secret opens with yet another lackluster cliffhanger resolve. No reason to change it up at the end, apparently. The chapter has a lot to do in sixteen minutes. It’s got to reveal the evil Scorpion’s identity, stop the Scorpion’s evil plan, and maybe do something regarding Frank Coghlan Jr. and Tom Tyler’s Captain…
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Valley of Death is the penultimate chapter of Adventures of Captain Marvel. It’s in a rush to finish. The cliffhanger resolution is boring, though leads to some decent effects shots. The cast ends up in a hotel somewhere, planning to return to Thailand and the tombs from the first chapter. Villain Reed Hadley, who made…
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Valley of Death is the penultimate chapter of Adventures of Captain Marvel. It’s in a rush to finish. The cliffhanger resolution is boring, though leads to some decent effects shots. The cast ends up in a hotel somewhere, planning to return to Thailand and the tombs from the first chapter. Villain Reed Hadley, who made…
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There’s nothing nice to say about Doom Ship’s opening cliffhanger resolution other than it’s short and leads into an energetic fight scene for Frank Coghlan Jr. More than ever, Coghlan’s got the wrong timing for turning into Tom Tyler’s Captain Marvel this chapter. Unlike the times when Coghlan’s been over his head, in Doom Ship…
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There’s nothing nice to say about Doom Ship’s opening cliffhanger resolution other than it’s short and leads into an energetic fight scene for Frank Coghlan Jr. More than ever, Coghlan’s got the wrong timing for turning into Tom Tyler’s Captain Marvel this chapter. Unlike the times when Coghlan’s been over his head, in Doom Ship…
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Dead Man’s Trap is, I guess, a bridging chapter. It depends on what’s next. Otherwise it’s a treading water chapter. It picks up from the previous chapter’s “cliffhanger” (quotations because it’s more of a “beware the cliff 150 meters away” than anything else) and gives George Pembroke quite a bit to do for a while.…
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Dead Man’s Trap is, I guess, a bridging chapter. It depends on what’s next. Otherwise it’s a treading water chapter. It picks up from the previous chapter’s “cliffhanger” (quotations because it’s more of a “beware the cliff 150 meters away” than anything else) and gives George Pembroke quite a bit to do for a while.…
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Boomerang is the best chapter of Captain Marvel yet. Not because of Captain Marvel action–there’s some, but it’s perfunctory–rather it’s the plotting. Boomerang springboards off something in the previous chapter (unrelated to the cliffhanger), sort of narratively hopping over something. That something being the predictable, tedious, though visually interesting cliffhanger resolution. Boomerang then assumes a…
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Boomerang is the best chapter of Captain Marvel yet. Not because of Captain Marvel action–there’s some, but it’s perfunctory–rather it’s the plotting. Boomerang springboards off something in the previous chapter (unrelated to the cliffhanger), sort of narratively hopping over something. That something being the predictable, tedious, though visually interesting cliffhanger resolution. Boomerang then assumes a…
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Starting Human Targets, I couldn’t remember what cliffhanger needed to be resolved. It’s not a good one. More of the “Tom Tyler is bad at being a superhero” same. Once it gets resolved, with William ‘Billy’ Benedict shooting the breeze with Tyler and asking zero questions about why Tyler’s trying to save him, the action…
The Stop Button 