Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger, Finale!

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

In the last chapter, Tarzan (with Jane at his side) was confronting his cousin Annersley, who was plotting to take the Greystoke title and estate for himself. As they argued, the evil Werper was sneaking up behind our heroes with a knife...

Tarzan catches Werper before he can strike, but Annersley's gun forces the apeman to submit. The villains tie Tarzan to a tree, leaving him at the mercy of the jungle animals. The bad guys force Jane to lead them to the temple of Opar and its treasure.

Tarzan begins calling for Tantor the elephant. The beast rushes to Tarzan's aid, using his trunk to untie the captive. Tarzan vaults onto Tantor's back and they set off after the bad guys.

Meanwhile, Annersley has taken Jane and given Werper the slip. The would-be Lord Greystoke wants the treasure for himself. Werper finds himself lost in the jungle.

A tiger pursues Annersley and Jane. She climbs a tree to avoid the predator. Annersley is not so lucky. He empties his gun at the tiger, but it tears him apart.

Tarzan finds the bag of jewels on Annersley's body. The treasure will allow them to keep the estate.

Back in their jungle home, Tarzan writes to his estate in England and corrects Annersley's letter claiming the Greystokes were dead and had found no treasure. Jane points out that Tarzan 's knife is now secured to the wall. No more Omen of the Falling Knife! They embrace, reaffirming their love.

The End.


.... And we end with a mixed bag. Annersley is mauled by a tiger in spectacular fashion. Tantor appears once more to make a save. We get a call back to the falling knife that kicked the adventure off. All awesome. All what I want to see in the finale.

So what's wrong?

Werper.

We spend over four hours learning to hate the guy and what is his endpoint?

I have no idea.

He ends up being sidelined by Annersley as the main villain. We get a shot where we are told he is lost in the jungle, followed by a shot of a lion running towards the camera. That's it. Was he killed? Is he lost in the jungle? His final moments on screen are so incoherent, I have no idea what happened to him.

If there was one thing the serial needed to do in its finale, it was resolve Tarzan's conflict with Werper. And we don't get it. Annersley is too much of a tacked on subplot to care about. La and Werper were the baddies we cared about. We get La's resolution in the previous episode. We are apparently never getting Werper's.

It's a shame because I really enjoyed my first complete viewing of a serial. It's a crappy note to leave on.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 14

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

 As we begin the penultimate chapter, The high priestess La and her Sun Worshippers were preparing to sacrifice Jane when Tarzan rushed in to save her. He was quickly surrounded by spear-wielding followers of La. Meanwhile, Tarzan's former friend turned baddie Werper was escaping the temple to meet up with Annersley, Tarzan's cousin who wants to take the Greystoke title and estate for himself.

Tarzan easily fights his way through the Sun Worshippers to Jane. To avoid further violence, Jane offers to show La where the temple's hidden treasure room is.

Jane makes good on her promise and takes the Sun Worshippers to the secret vault. With their riches secure, the denizens of the temple release Tarzan and Jane and plan to seal the vault forever. La asks Tarzan to return to him someday and he says he may come back.

As the Greystokes return to their home, Jane explains the treachery of Werper to Tarzan, who is still suffering from partial memory loss. Enraged, Tarzan takes to the trees and lets out a mighty cry.

Werper hears Tarzan's yell and hightails it to the Greystoke estate where Annersley is waiting. At first, Werper lies about finding the jewels, but the heir to Greystoke learns the truth and they begin to fight. Annersley gains the upper hand and Werper promises to show him to the treasure when they hear Tarzan's yell. Werper hides while Annersley awaits his cousin's arrival.

Tarzan and Jane enter and are thrilled to see their cousin. Annersley is less cordial, telling them he is the Lord of Greystoke now as Werper sneaks up behind them...

A lot gets done in this episode. Tarzan's issues with La are wrapped up (at least until a future story). True apeman, after suffering from one form of amnesia or another for the previous 11 chapters, is now back up to speed. And we have nicely set up the final confrontation with Werper.

I'm still not understanding the insertion of Annersley into the story. He's arriving so late in the tale, it's hard to take him seriously as a threat and I'm not at all invested in what happens to him.

Some of the chapters have been a slog to get through, but the momentum seems to have picked up these last few episodes. Only one more left!

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 13

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

In our last installment, Tarzan (still suffering from amnesia) and Jane have discovered the treasure room in the Temple of Opar, but their duplicitous former friend Werper sneaks in and tries to kill Tarzan. The men battle and fall off of a ledge. Meanwhile, the high priestess La and her men are converging on Jane...

She exits the treasure room but is quickly captured by La. The high priestess thinks that sacrificing Jane will cause Tarzan to fall in love with La, fulfilling a prophecy.

Werper has survived the fall and staggers to his feet. He stands over the unconscious Tarzan, preparing to deliver the killing blow, when he notices the bag of jewels. Distracted, he grabs the booty and heads back to the treasure room.

Tarzan awakes and has regained his memories, except he cannot remember what happened since his memory loss. He enters the treasure room and comes upon Werper struggling to open the treasure chest. Because his mind has been wiped of Werper's treachery, Tarzan offers to help his "friend."

Werper and Tarzan start to leave the temple. Werper tries to steer the apeman away from the chamber where La is about to sacrifice Jane. With spears preparing to impale her, Jane lets out a scream. Tarzan recognizes his wife's voice and rushes to her aid, but he is surrounded by La's men.

As we head toward the conclusion of the story, the pace is picking up and that is all for the better. I finally got Tarzan's amnesia issue resolved (sort of). I'm even okay with the fact that he lost his memory of recent events. It creates an interesting new dynamic between our hero and Werper and I am curious where they go with it.

La's logic remains tortured in her plans to win Tarzan. While killing Jane certainly makes the apeman a bachelor, Tarzan may harbor some resentment because YOU JUST KILLED HIS WIFE!

This was a solid episode. I'd have loved to see some reliance on Tarzan's jungle friends, but I've got to think that's coming in the final two installments.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 12

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.
We return to our story to find Tarzan has left Jane to track down some approaching baddies. Unfortunately, the bad guys find Jane before Tarzan finds them. Jane retreats onto a log which crosses a crocodile-infested river. The log breaks, Jane falls, and the crocs move in.

Tarzan leaps into the water and makes the save, wrestling and killing one of the beasts. The couple head on to find treasure and the amnesiac Tarzan's lost memories. Their enemies, the high priestess La and Tarzan's false friend Werper lay plans to trap our heroes.

Back in England at the Greystoke estate, Tarzan's advisor Beardsley expresses concern that no one has heard from the Greystokes since they entered the jungle. Tarzan's cousin Annersley volunteers to go to Africa to find his missing relatives. However, when he's alone, Annersley reads a letter from Werper directing him to come to the jungle.

Next, we are back in Africa and Tarzan and Jane have found the Temple of Opar, home to massive treasure and (Jane hopes) the key to regaining Tarzan's memories. Tarzan recognizes the building, but remembers it looking different. As the apeman clears debris from the entrance, one of La's men sees the couple and reports back to the high priestess.

Tarzan and Jane enter the treasure room and Tarzan seems to be regaining memories. Werper tries to sneak up on our hero, but he senses the attack and a fight ensues. Locked in combat, the two seem to fall over a ledge as La's men converge on Jane.


There are some good things here. The crocodile fight is awesome. Putting the amnesia subplot behind us had me cheering. The Tarzan-Werper battle feels like a cliffhanger.

So why for the love of the Flaming God are we heading to England to introduce characters as we enter the serial's climax? There are only three episodes after this. I want Werper to die horribly. I want La to be spurned but survive. I don't care a bit what happens to this new villain a continent away that I'm just meeting.

With the exception of the England scene, this was a good entry in the series. I cannot wait to see how it ends.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 11

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

 When last we saw Tarzan, he had just been captured by the high priestess La (who wants to take him as her mate) and his former friend Werper (who is after a treasure and Tarzan knows the location). Worse, Tarzan is still suffering from memory loss from an earlier accident. Meanwhile, Jane has been kidnapped by Chulk, an ape seeking vengeance for his brother's death at the hands of Tarzan.

La's men throw Tarzan into a spike-lined pit. Inexplicably, the apeman misses every spike. La demands Tarzan pledge his love, but Tarzan says he wants Jane.

Chulk is trying to untie Jane so he can give her to Werper. A monkey friend of Tarzan has been following our heroine and her captor and goes to enlist Tantor the elephant's help.

Back at the pit, La's men grab their spears and prepare to impale our helpless hero when Tantor charges in and makes the save. Tarzan escapes with the animals and learns from the monkey that Jane is in danger.

Chulk is still working to free Jane when Tarzan arrives. A fight ensues and Tarzan kills the ape. The reunited couple takes off for the temple to try and recover his memories.

They find a lion with a fresh kill and chase the predator off. The animal carcass becomes useful for distracting some crocodiles as Tarzan and Jane cross a river.

As they near the temple, Tarzan goes off on a reconnaissance mission, leaving Jane who quickly is quickly found by a couple of the bad guys.  How will she escape?



If watching Tarzan serials is charted against the five stages of grief, I've reached the last stage: acceptance.

It's maddening that the amnesia plot line is still going. It's frustrating that Jane gets captured by another ape and Tarzan makes the save, a complete repeat of events from seven episodes ago. It's ridiculous that Chulk has a revenge plot built around facts he couldn't possibly know (because he's an ape and I doubt he thinks a lot about Werper's motivations).

You know what? At this point, that's what this is and I'm okay with it. I had higher hopes at the beginning, but I have come to accept that Tarzan will have amnesia until at least chapter 14. Tarzan will continue to inexplicably leave Jane alone. Arbitrary animals will attack to pad this story out.

We did get an awesome new wrinkle this time around with Tantor and the monkey proactively saving their human friend. For all of the jungle friend talk, there was little actual evidence thus far that Tarzan had any real allies.

Still, it is becoming tedious to watch a different variation on the same subplots over and over. I've given up on being surprised. Just get me to the end.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 9

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

When last we saw Tarzan, he and Jane had gone back to the apeman's childhood hut to retrieve jewels Jane had hidden there. Unbeknownst to them, their former friend Werper and an associate are lying in wait. They rope Tarzan and hit him over the head knocking him unconscious.

Or did they? Werper raises his knife to deliver the killing blow, but Tarzan grabs his arm, beats him and throws him out the door. His partner fairs no better and is soon lying unconscious outside the hut. Werper sees the writing on the wall and escapes.

Tarzan (still suffering from amnesia) says he has vague memories of Werper. Jane tries to use the connection to help her husband remember more, but his mind remains clouded.

Back at the temple of Apor, the high priestess La, who has swore to only mate with Tarzan, has a vision that... she should only mate with Tarzan.

Tarzan and Jane decide to head to the temple to find more jewels, while Werper goes there to enlist La's help with the apeman.

Now, the four are on a collision course. But is that a lion stalking our heroes? Will they live long enough to see the temple?


This may have been the most annoying episode yet.

First, we get exactly what I thought after the last chapter: incapacitated Tarzan is not so incapacitated and quickly dispatches Werper. At least he got thrown out of a door this time instead of a window.

Then, Jane tries to jog Tarzan's memory. He gets a thoughtful look and seemingly remembers the first five minutes of episode 1. I assume this because the director replays these minutes in their entirety.

Except when we cut back to Tarzan, he still doesn't remember. Well, someone remembered. That, or the filmmaker doesnt understand that if a character is trying to remember something, then you cut to that memory, we as an audience assume the character remembered.

Then we cut to La and a title card explaining she will only mate with Tarzan. She takes a couple of minutes to perform a ceremony to tell her what to do. And the vision tells her to pursue Tarzan which a) we knew, and b) leads me to question La's visions. There's a difference between a real supernatural talent and pushing the piece on the ouija board towards the answer you want.

As the final minutes approached, I actually thought to myself that we had not had a random animal attack in a while and... here comes the lion.

This installment was pointless. Nothing happened. Old information was repeated. The same beats get hit again. And I just don't buy that there is any danger at the end.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 8

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

We last left Tarzan and Jane staring down the barrel of a gun on one side and the eyes of a lion on the other. Tarzan's former friend Werper is behind the gun and he is after some jewels he thinks the apeman has. For his part, Tarzan is suffering from amnesia and cannot remember anything about his former life including Jane.

Tarzan surveys the situation and leaps to grab the barrel of the rifle. The gun goes off, killing the lion before it can pounce. Realizing they are overmatched, Werper and his partner hightail it out of the cave.

Jane had hidden the jewels at Tarzan's old hut. So the apeman summons Tantor the elephant to carry them across the jungle to the treasure.

It's too far to reach in one day so they camp for the night. After trying to help Tarzan recover his memory, they sleep apart for the evening.

The following morning, Jane goes skinny dipping under a nearby waterfall. Tarzan seems to have... well, let's call it a glimmer of recognition.

Werper has been following the couple and overhear Jane saying the jewels are in the hut. Now with a location, the villain and his associate race to reach the hut before our hero.

At the hut, Werper cannot find the jewels. He hears Tarzan coming and sets a trap. Jane recovers the jewels, but Tarzan finds himself caught in a rope and knocked unconscious. Can Tarzan and Jane escape? And will he ever $@!? recover his memory?


Okay, this is getting tedious. Half of every chapter is devoted to Jane trying desperately to get Tarzan to remember, followed by Tarzan staring blankly into space like he might be remembering, then ending with him shaking his head. I'm done. Please for the love of God, let's get him back to normal.

The peril here is not as pronounced as we've seen in other episodes. Tarzan's captured, but experience says that will be a temporary situation.

I am enjoying hating Werper. He's a nice slimy villain. I cannot wait for his comeuppance.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 7

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.
 

So where'd we leave off? Werper had just sold Jane into slavery when Tarzan came busting into the slave market riding Tantor the elephant.

The merchant who purchased Jane mounts a camel and takes off with her, with Tarzan in hot pursuit.

Werper tries to sneak away, but his men catch him demanding their share of the jewels. They open the bag and discover it's filled with gravel. Score one for Jane. All but one of Werper's men leave him in disgust.

Meanwhile, Tarzan catches the merchant and kills him after a brief fight. Our hero is still suffering from amnesia and thinks Jane stole the jewels. Jane is trying to explain herself when a gunshot rings out. Werper and his henchman have caught up to them. The couple escape into a nearby cave.

Tarzan moves a rock in front of the entrance and Jane gets to work helping Tarzan recover his memory. He seems close for a moment, but then it fades.

However, the peril for our heroes isn't going anywhere. The muzzle of a gun slides into view by the entrance to the cave. And is that a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness?


Oh Tarzan the Tiger, why must you tease me?

It really felt like we were about to put the amnesia plot behind us. It's so cliche I just hate it.

We do get some bad guys making some smart decisions. They see Werper, realize he's a fool, and seek greener pastures. And Werper actually figures out that if he tries to shoot Tarzan from a distance, he won't be immediately thrown out a window.

It feels like we are repeating a lot of the same beats. Hopefully the next episode will get us moving again.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 6

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

When we lost saw the amnesiac Tarzan, he had been captured by now-deceased slaver Achmet Zek's men after being betrayed by his former friend Werper over a satchel of jewels.

His captivity lasts all of ten seconds as he begins beating Zek's men and throws Werper out the window.

He is about to exit, but realizes he can't leave Jane behind. Even though he can't remember her, Tarzan feels Jane is a friend.

The couple head toward the hut where Tarzan was orphaned and adopted by an ape. Jane tries unsuccessfully to help Tarzan regain his memory. After some effort, Tarzan heads for the treetops to sleep, leaving Jane in the hut with the jewels.

Werper and his men find the hut and Werper convinces Jane he instill her friend. He "pretends" to capture her and takes her to the slave market.

Tarzan awakens and finds the hut empty. Enraged because he thinks Jane has betrayed him, he teams up with Tantor the elephant to track her down.

Werper convinces Jane to be sold as a slave and commits to being the highest bidder. Of course, when the moment comes, he does not bid and Jane is sold.

Moments later, Tantor destroys the gates to the market with Tarzan on his back. The elephant stampedes through the square scattering slaves and slaver's alike. What happens next? Tune in next week...


I like the tale they tell here. We get some natural exposition about Tarzan's history. We get Tarzan actually getting an assist from one of his jungle friends. We get Werper going full-on baddie.

Unfortunately, we get Jane being a rube.

"Sure, guy who betrayed me moments ago, I'll totally pretend to be your prisoner. What? You want to sell me as a slave, but buy me yourself? I can see no flaw in your plan?"

The sad thing is from a story perspective, there's no reason for Jane to trust Werper. If she had not trusted, she still would have become a prisoner and been sold as a slave. The script choice serves only to make her look like an idiot.

Still, it's keeping my interest. Wonder what will happen next?

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 5

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

When we last saw Tarzan and Jane, they were captured by the priestess La and her Sun Worshippers, and Tarzan (still suffering from amnesia) was about to meet the business end of a spear. Tarzan's false friend Werper returned to Greystoke to find a suspicious Achmet Zek waiting for him.

The Sun Worshipper hurls the spear at Tarzan from a few feet away and... misses! High and to the right. No sooner does the spear lodge itself in the tree when Zetks men arrive and recapture Jane. A fight ensues and Tarzan rescues La.

La, now believing Tarzan loves her, declares he shall not be harmed. The priestess' necklace reminds Tarzan of the jewels he hid in the forest.

He sets off to find the treasure and discovers Werper has stolen it. Enraged, he seeks out his former friend and sees him in the distance being chased by Zek.

Werper and Zek fight. Werper kills the slaver and escapes from Tarzan back to Zek's camp where Jane is being held.

Werper plots to sell Jane as a slave, but is betrayed by Zek's second-in-command. Werper kills the man, but Tarzan arrives, crashing through the roof to reclaim his jewels.

Zek's men arrive and see their leader dead. Werper claims Tarzan murdered him and is captured. What fate awaits our hero next?


This episode represents the best and worst aspects of this serial so far. The pace really picks up. Zek is taken off the board. Werper is revealed as a bad guy. Tarzan reaches a temporary resolution with La. It ends at an intriguing moment. All good.

But then there's the spear missing Tarzan. You want your hero to earn his escape, not stumble into it. When Tarzan is angry, he starts breaking sticks, uprooting trees and throwing boulders. He looks ridiculous doing it, like my four year old throwing a tantrum. And when the animals "help" him? It consists of him running by a tiger, pointing as though he is speaking with the comatose animal, and running off. Silly.

Still, I'm happy about the forward movement here. I'd be happier if the amnesia subplot fizzled out, but I'm not holding my breath there.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Ep. 4

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

Chapter 4: The Vengeance of La

When last we saw our heroes, Jane was being attacked by Taglat the ape, while an amnesia-suffering Tarzan was about to be killed in his sleep by his supposed friend Werper.

Jane's scream wakes Tarzan, but the apeman does not notice the knife in Werper's hand. Tarzan sets off after Jane and an epic battle in the trees ensues. Tarzan defeats Taglat, but he has no memory of Jane.

The evil high priestess La has followed Tarzan and her men capture the couple easily. La makes Tarzan choose between her and Jane. Our hero selects the jungle instead, outraging La.

Meanwhile, back at Greystoke Manor, Werper arrives to find the slaver Achmet Zek waiting to ambush Jane. She escaped him earlier, but he wants her recaptured.

Werper recounts his adventure to Zek, leaving out the part where he stole the jewels from Tarzan. Zek sets out to find Jane, but Werper begs off. Suspicious, Zek remains behind to keep tabs on his accomplice and sees him admiring the jewels. But Werper sees his partner spying on him and arms himself.

La has set up a double sacrifice with Tarzan to die first? Will our hero avoid the killing stroke? And who will win Werper and Zek's deadly game of cat-and-mouse?


This episode feels like we are crossing off the checklist. Of course Tarzan doesnt recognize Jane (yet), although there is a glimmer of recognition. Of course he must choose between his wife and La. Why else give him the memory loss if not to create issues with his wife?

I liked Taglat's appearance in the prior episode, but here it is painfully clear we are watching a man in a suit.

A lot of this chapter feels like the wheels are spinning with little movement. We do leave Tarzan at a moment of real peril though. Let's see how he escapes... next time.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger, Ep. 3

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

Chapter 3: The Altar of the Flaming God

In our last episode, Jane's decision between marriage or slavery is interrupted by a misoon, Tarzan was caught in a ceiling collapse and the high priestess La was preparing to sacrifice the evil Werper to her god.

Tarzan awakens but a blow to the head has erased his memory. He comes upon another treasure room with a chest full of jewels, but doesn't know what they are. Still, he pockets some of the "pretty pebbles."

He stumbles upon La and prevents her from killing Werper. He doesn't recognize La (who tried to kill Jane in the past) or Werper (who Tarzan "thought" was his friend). A fight ensues between Tarzan and La's followers, but our hero escapes into the jungle with Werper.

Meanwhile, the slaver's camp where Jane is held captive is being reassembled after the storm. Jane dreams about her date with the slaver's auction block (note: we never see her make her choice, but whatever...). She sees a rag on a table and gets to work on a more traditionally Jane-like outfit. When her sewing is complete, she lifts the edge of the tent and sneaks away.

Tarzan and Werper set up camp, but have attracted the attention of another of Tarzan's jungle foes, Taglat. The ape attacks Werper, but Tarzan intervenes and sends Taglat running.

The ape comes upon another means of harming Tarzan: Jane. And while Tarzan sleeps, Werper steals the apeman's jewels and raises his knife to kill the hero.

Will Jane escape Taglat's wrath? And can Tarzan save himself from the two-faced Werper?

An amnesia plot line? Really?

(* sigh *)

Okay, I guess we are going there. I'm assuming Tarzan's memory loss will be more of a factor in future episodes. While we are repeatedly told he doesn't recognize people, I can't think of how any outcome may have been different here if he didn't have amnesia.

Jane's escape was unbelievable. She quickly assembles her outfit and then simply lifts the side of the tent. Worst. Guards. Ever.

Still, we get her into the traditional Jane garb and that is both good and necessary. It feels a little repetitive that three chapters in and we are ending on an animal attack again.

This episode was better than the second. My curiosity is piqued for the next installment.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Ep. 2

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

Episode 2: The Road to Opar

When we last left our hero, Tarzan was on his way to retrieve the gold of Opar from the depths of the jungle when he was ambushed by Numa the lion. Meanwhile, his wife Jane was seized by Achmet Zet, a slaver and Tarzan's sworn enemy.

Tarzan makes short work of Numa and issues the Tarzan yell (tm) to rally the jungle animals to his cause.

Back at Zet's camp, our villain bring forward Jane to show her the future in some mystical sands. In the vision, Tarzan takes a spear through the chest and falls from the treetops. Zet issues an ultimatum: marry me or be sold as a slave.

Tarzan arrives at the Temple of the Sun Worshippers and opens the secret passage to the treasure chamber. Unbeknownst to our hero, the duplicitous Werper is following him. Tarzan finds the gold ingots and begins preparing to take them home.

Jane is brought back before Zet to make her choice. Before she can speak, a misoon arrives, threatening to blow the camp apart.

Back in the temple, lions are entering to escape the weather, forcing Werper deeper into the building. He stumbles into a ceremony led by the High Priestess La and is captured to be offered as a sacrifice.

Tarzan has loaded up the gold and tries exit when part of the temple collapses on him. Will he survive? And what will Jane decide?

After a great first episode, this one dragged a bit. Jane's story went nowhere. She was captured in the last chapter and here she has to make a decision that is conveniently interrupted by the weather. Nothing happens here.

Tarzan's tale was characterized by a lot of things that were just too easy. He kills the lion in a second, stars in a montage where he comically screams "Yeah!" as animals react, then poof!...he's at the temple. And conveniently, he is the only one who knows where the secret treasure entrance is. Why not make him work for it a little? And why scream to a phalanx of elephants, tigers and chimps and not use them.

After a crackling initial episode, things have slowed and I'm heading into the third chapter with trepidation.

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Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Ep. 1

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

Episode 1: Call of the Jungle

Tarzan and Jane are relaxing in their manor at Greystoke, regaling their friend Werper with tales of our hero's exploits in the jungle.

In particular, Tarzan recounts the time he rescued Jane from the high priestess La. The villain saw Jane as a rival for Tarzan's affections. Thanks to some help from his elephant friend Tantor, Tarzan makes the last minute save and escapes with his love.

Jane is worried about Tarzan's return to the jungle to seek a legendary treasure. As they are speaking, a knife falls from the wall where Tarzan keeps the old jungle outfit. This causes Jane to invoke the "Omen of the Falling Knife." This is apparently bad. Tarzan laughs off Jane's warning, reminding her they are almost broke, and packs for his trip.

Meanwhile, Werper arrives at a slave mart to the north. Turns out, he is working with Achmet Zek, a slaver against whom Tarzan has waged "relentless war." Zek plans on kidnapping Jane while Tarzan's away in order to sell her into slavery.

Tarzan heads out to seek his fortune and Zek wastes no time making his move and capturing Jane. Tarzan's got his own problems. His old rival Numa the lion is looking to take him out. Can Tarzan fend off the man eater? And what will become of Jane?

I have to admit: this one surprised me. I was expecting it to be hammier and cheesier than a deli, and it was. But damn, if it's not addictive as well.

The first episode sets up a lot in a few minutes. We get Tarzan's backstory. His enemies list. The plot against Jane. And a lion attack. It's brisk and exciting.

The Tarzan outfit of course still looks ridiculous, but on the whole, color me impressed. I would definitely tune in for the next installment.

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