Weekly Geekly Rundown for October 27, 2023

All Frankenstein, all the time.

Back in August, I did my first “themed” Weekly Geekly Rundown. For that post, I selected Jane Austen whom I believe is the Greatest Novelist in the English Language. It was an easy post to write and I could have shared many more things Jane Austen. Given that her birthday is coming up in December, I might do exactly that. It is not December though, it is October and that means it is a time for frights.

Weekly Geekly Rundown for July 29, 2023 Sent on August 1.

As we move from the bright and long days of summer into the darkness of winter, we witness the plants of around us enter into a slumber that will let them re-emerge next spring with vibrant colors. It is a slumber that looks a lot like death. Trees that provide protection from the sun and rain become skeletons offering only jagged shadows that can play upon the imagination. Fall is the perfect season to contemplate mortality and cool air isn’t the only thing that brings a chill to the back of our necks.

In the sinister season that surrounds us, there is no better time to do another themed Rundown and what better theme than one of the singular most important creatures of terror ever invented, Frankenstein’s Monster?

There has been a meme going around lately that says, “Knowledge is knowing that Frankenstein was not the Monster. Wisdom is understanding that Frankenstein was the monster.” The long time D&D gamer in me is screaming at me to edit that and change “knowledge” to “intelligence” since gamers often discuss the difference between those two abilities¹. The pedant in me wants to post a galaxy mind meme with a follow up clarifying that both Victor and The Creature are monsters.

Victor, mirroring Percy Bysshe Shelley is a father with no interest in parenting. He is also a god who has no interest in caring for his creation. More than that he is a coward who let’s others die unjustly when he could save them from the thing he created. He is a vile figure whose worst act was not the creation of The Creature, but his willingness to allow all around him to suffer and die rather than to take responsibilities for his actions. Mary uses Victor to present a lot of arguments about the nature of companionship, society, and science and he fails to do “the right” in all of those domains.

The Creature, that thing we pity as it is spurned by its creator, is as cruel as it is physically corrupted. It knows that it is not beautiful. It knows that is one of the reasons its petty creator rejected it. Mary also knows that we can take pity on those rejected unjustly, so she pushes the cruelty of The Creature in our faces to remind us that having been rejected by his God, The Creature has chosen evil. While his murder of Henry Clerval could be seen as a just action that prevents Henry from engaging in colonial cruelty, and I think there is merit to that interpretation, his murder of William is a grave sin. William is a bundle of pure joy and innocence. He could be the means of a new connection with society, instead The Creature kills him because he is a reflection of his creator. He then frames Justine for his crime and allows another to die for his sins.

It should be noted that Victor also allows Justine to pay for his sins. While The Creature kills William, both Victor and The Creature are culpable in Justine’s death. Both are monsters and both reflect how monstrous we as people can be when we abandon the spiritual and natural connections that bind us.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel is a thing of beauty and should be read by everyone. People should also read her novel The Last Man, a novel that rings particularly true in a post-pandemic world. Frankenstein connects with us, so let’s explore some geeky ways we can experience this connection this Halloween season?

But first, a few words or review from our friends Luke Y. Thompson and Courtney Howard.

Luke Y. Thompson

Luke has a review of Suitable Flesh over at ComingSoon.net. It’s not a particularly positive review, but it is a very useful one that highlights Luke’s deep understanding of the genre. That knowledge is also on display in his review of the recently released 4K edition of David Cronenberg’s classic horror commentary Videodrome.

I have a mixed relationship with the tendency of professional websites to use the “listicle” format for articles. Sure, there’s the hipster loves to geek out part of me that wants to Top 5 almost everything under the sun.

While the “top” portion of that construct grates on my nerves a little bit because I prefer “things you should check out” instead of “best” or “top,” I do believe that lists have value. They can be an opportunity to share overlooked things or offer insight into the well-known. However, when some professional websites create lists they do so merely as a means to generate ad impressions. They do this by requiring readers to click through to a new “slide” for each item on the list. Yes, it increases ad impressions but it also guarantees I’ll second guess going to the website in the future.

Thankfully, SlashFilm doesn’t subscribe to the click for each slide philosophy and Luke’s list of “Alternate Movie Endings that Would Have Changed Everything” is well worth checking out.

And in theme, Luke’s got a review of a Bride of Frankenstein action figure (and others) over at SuperHeroHype.

It’s a good thing I don’t hate lists on principle because I’ll be doing a couple short lists coming up.

Courtney Howard

She has a very thoughtful review of David Fincher’s latest film The Killer over at FreshFiction.tv. She gives the film an overall positive rating and it looks to be a wonderful adaptation of its source material. I do kind of wish she’d referenced the rerelease of Moonlighting episodes on Paramount+. There’s an early episode of Moonlighting that is a kind of Requiem for a Hitman and having recently watched that episode, it came to mind while reading Courtney’s review of The Killer. If you are reading this, you know that I make weird pop culture connections like that and I like to see them when others do too.

Franken-music

Returning to the theme of Frankenstein and his creature, it’s time to wander into the world of melody, harmony, and minor keys. I’ve picked four songs that I really enjoy that all feature Frankenstein in one way or another.

The first entry is Edgar Winters Group’s classic rock HEAVY synthesizer extravaganza Frankenstein. The song was written to demonstrate how synthesizers could be used in a manner similar to guitar to provide a heavy feel and the song succeeds marvelously. Winters wasn’t quite Keith Emerson when it came to the keyboard, but this song is straight fire.

I don’t think any horror rock recommendation list would be complete without a reference to Alice Cooper, one of the founders of horror rock and a key figure in glam. His song Feed My Frankenstein is a fun romp and Alice is always worth a listen.

I remember when I first saw the band that performs the next two songs. A couple of friends of mine and I drove from Reno to San Francisco to watch a show at the Fillmore that had been put together by Jello Biafra. One of my friends was a big Dwarves fan and I went for the overall experience. I’d never heard of Electric Frankenstein before their first guitar riff hit my eardrums, but I’ve been a fan ever since. They were pure rock and/or roll of a kind that isn’t made very often. It wasn’t really made at the time and it isn’t really made today.

Okay, that last song was just a song by a band named Electric Frankenstein and it didn’t have any “horror” elements to it, so how about the E.F. Theme? His mother is electricity and his father’s a corpse…

Franken-RPGs

Professor Dungeon Master hasn’t done as much role playing game content lately, though his recent Lost City video was very cool, but he did write and run an adventure based on the novel Frankenstein. It’s a pretty cool adventure that comes at a reasonable price.

Accursed by Melior Via (and soon Star Anvil Studios)

It will be a while before this one returns to print because they have to update the rules to the latest edition of Savage Worlds, but this is a great game in an interesting setting inspired by gothic horror like Frankenstein.

Ravenloft for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and Dungeons & Dragons

The Ravenloft module for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was inspired by the Hammer Films version of Dracula and it inspired an entire setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. The module is an absolute classic that changed how modules were written forever and marked a shift from tactical/puzzle modules to storytelling based modules.

The Ravenloft setting features a realm based on Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel called Adam’s Wrath in which the player’s characters can attempt to stop Adam from murdering Doctor Victor Mordenheim’s wife.

Rippers for Savage Worlds

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if monster hunters could rip out the organs of werewolves, vampires, and golems and bind them to their bodies like cybertech in order to become more effective monster hunters? I hadn’t either, until I read Rippers for Savage Worlds. Ever since that day I’ve been eagerly awaiting a movie or tv series based on the property. Doctor Frankenstein, and his Creature, play a relatively unique role in the setting so no spoilers. Just buy it and have fun.

Leagues of Gothic Horror by Triple Ace Games

If you want a less “ripper-punk” and more “steampunk” look at fighting Gothic monsters, then Triple Ace Games Leagues of Gothic Horror is right up your alley. Paul “Wiggy” Wade Williams is one of my favorite game designers, and he’s written a ton for Savage Worlds, and his “Leagues of…” games are easy to play, well balanced, and well written. Check it out.

Franken-Films

Okay, I’m running near the end of “email length” and I’d love to get your comments this week on Franken-things you recommend. So I’m just going to make a simple list of films with trailers…with one exception that includes a link to an old article I wrote for The Robot’s Voice.

Bride of Frankenstein

Young Frankenstein

The Bride

The Curse of Frankenstein

I, Frankenstein

I know, I know, you are wondering “I, Frankenstein. Are you fucking kidding me?” No. I am not kidding you. In the future, I’ll take some time to rewrite my long defense of the film but I don’t own the rights to the article I wrote and this is not a portfolio, so I’ll just have to share a link to the article archived on the old Robot’s Voice website.

The article is called, 7 Reasons I, Frankenstein Is Like the Greatest RPG Campaign Ever GM’d

1. Ray Winninger, a former Executive Producer of the Dungeons & Dragons game shared a style guide recently clarifying that SIWDCC were abilities and not attributes.