Tag: DragonKing Dark
-
DragonKing Dark Podcast: 1971 and the Manson Family trial
I celebrate my birthday all week long with a look back at the year I was born: 1971. On this episode, we look back at the insane circus that was the Charles Manson Family trial. While the killings took place in 1969 and the trial began in 1970, it wasn’t until 1971 that a verdict…
-
DragonKing Dark: A trilogy of pro wrestling murders
This week, DragonKing Dark takes a turn toward true crime with a look at three wrestlers whose careers were tainted by murder accusations. Everyone is very familiar with Chris Benoit who killed his wife and child and then himself, but did you know I once had dinner with him? I’ll tell you about it and…
-
DragonKing Dark: Pro wrestling and the curse of July
Professional wrestling has had its share of tragedy, accidents, and true crime over its lengthy American history but July, as it seems, has historically been the worst month of all. A major superstar comes to America and is the darling of the press, spawning imitators for decades later and literally goes down with the ship.…
-
DragonKing Dark: Who were the Olmecs?
DragonKing Dark takes another journey back in time to study ancient civilizations in our continuing effort to make sense out of the history of mankind, a timeline which seems to have a lot of pieces that don’t fit. One of the great Central American cultures surrounded by a lot of mystery are the Olmecs. They…
-
DragonKing Dark: The most ancient of civilizations
This week on DragonKing Dark, I return to the topic of ancient civilizations and triy to unpack the question: What is actually the most ancient organized civilization we know of? Most of us know of the Sumerians and ancient Egypt, but recent archeological investigation is beginning to shed light on even older civilizations which were more north…
-
DragonKing Dark: Funerals, tombs, and memorials
This week on the DragonKing Dark Podcast, we are going to look at how we remember the dead. In years past, the veneration of the deceased was a big deal. Historically, mankind has built elaborate tombs, pyramids, and even cities to honor the deceased. As recently as the early 1900s, it was not uncommon for…
-
DragonKing Dark: Secrets of Archaeology – The Mayans
The mysterious Mayan civilization built cities, roads, and elaborate complexes throughout Central America. An amazing advanced civilization that evaporated in a remarkably short period of time. Host Karl Stern watched an episode of Secrets of Archaeology and reviews it and relates his experiences visiting a Mayan holy site a few years ago.
-
DragonKing Dark: Biblical plagues and the Four Horsemen
On this episode of DragonKing Dark, host Karl Stern takes a break from reviewing retro paranormal shows and discusses a topic that have many of the religious world unsettled right now — end-time events. Karl takes a look back at the Biblical plagues of Egypt as detailed in the book of Exodus. Then, we visit…
-
DragonKing Dark: Roald Dahl’s ‘Tales of the Unexpected’
On this episode of DragonKing Dark, I take a look at an amazing show written by Roald Dahl, Tales of the Unexpected. It’s a wonderful show that ran for nine seasons from 1979-1988 and can be found on Tubi (free) or with an Amazon Prime subscription. (It’s also getting rebooted.) Similar in many ways to The…
-
DragonKing Dark: Marvel Comics’ Son of Satan
Another supernatural entity first appeared in the pages of Marvel Comics back in the 1970s alongside Ghost Rider — the Son of Satan! Daimon Hellstrom has occasionally appeared ever since in the pages of his own comic book series and as a member of The Defenders. In our current series we are examining the stories we…
-
DragonKing Dark: Avenging Angels
We continue our look at supernatural aspects as presented in comic book stories and this week, I investigate the theme of avenging angels, angelic beings sent by a high power to right wrongs and serve justice. Obviously, they are vastly powerful and are based on archetype biblical angels. The Spectre, Angela, and other powerful beings…
-
DragonKing Dark: Marvel’s Ghost Rider
This week, we begin a new series at DragonKing Dark as we will be looking at comic book characters with supernatural stories. For several weeks now, we have been exploring our fascination with the unknown, the paranormal, and the supernatural through the stories we tell. After examining several movie characters, we shift our focus to…
-
DragonKing Dark: The Joker
This week on DragonKing Dark, host Karl is joined by Joker expert Tonya from WhenItWasCool.com to discuss the complex and widely interpreted Batman foe The Joker. The Joker debuted in Batman issue one way back in 1940 and has been interpreted many ways, both in the comics and in movies. Cesar Romero’s slapstick Joker, Jack Nicholson’s…
-
DragonKing Dark: A look at Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men
We continue our look at complex movie villains with a dark or supernatural aspect to them and this week on DragonKingDark, we examine one of my favorites: Anton Chigurh from the movie No Country For Old Men. Upon first viewing in 2007, the film became one of my favorite movies and much of that was…
-
DragonKing Dark: The rise of Bane from ‘The Dark Knight Rises’
This week, I take a look at another movie villain who is more than a one dimensional brute: Bane from ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, the finale of the Nolan Batman triology and what many feel is the worst of the three. However, the lead antagonist is an extremely interesting character. At first examination, Bane is a…
-
DragonKing Dark: Friday The 13th’s Jason Voorhees
On DragonKing Dark, I continue to explore elements of the supernatural, fear, and paranormal through the stories we tell. This week, we look back at one of the most iconic film series ever and explore the story and psychology of an icon of fear and horror: Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movie series. The…
-
DragonKing Dark: Lord Humungus and our (possible) dystopian future
Here he is: Humungus, aka Lord Humungus, the master of the wastelands from Mad Max 2 and the Ayatollah of rock and rolla! On this episode of the DragonKing Dark Podcast, I take a look at our possible dystopian future through the movie Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and its main antagonist. As we live…
-
DragonKing Dark: The TV inspiration for ‘The Terminator’
On this edition of DragonKing Dark, I journey back in time to 1964 for an episode of the sci-fi fueled TV show The Outer Limits and an episode titled ‘Soldier’ where a soldier from the future is accidentally beamed back in time and tries to mesh with the world of 1964. The results are less than successful.…
-
DragonKing Dark: Smithsonian Channel ‘Sphinx’ documentary review
This week on DragonKing Dark, I review the 2013 documentary from the Smithsonian Channel called Secrets: The Sphinx. Of all the ancient monuments in Giza complex in Egypt, one stands out as different from the others ss the great Sphinx seems out of place, out of scale, and older than the rest. The official archaeological…
-
DragonKing Dark: Bionic Man vs. Venus Death Probe
This week on DragonKing Dark, host Karl Stern looks back at a series of popular Six Million Dollar Man TV episodes featuring a Soviet Venus probe that malfunctioned and landed in the United States and went on a terror spree. The Venus death probe was indestructible — built to withstand the harsh conditions of the…