Dateline Jasoom: Joan Bledig on Princess play

Herbo Gooli of the Barsoomian Blade covers the jeddak debate in Thark

In 2006, Joan Bledig and I traveled from Chicago to Minneapolis to see “A Princess of Mars” performed on stage by Hardcover Theater. This is our discussion of the play on the drive home. My friend of more than 25 years died Jan. 18, 2024. RIP, Joan – J the V.

Bit: The ever-widening scope of the Red Mafia would become even more apparent over the next few years as federal agents began tracking the activities of a flamboyant Florida Red Fella known as “Tarzan.” Antiques Road Show features a piece of art by Frank Schoonover. Cartoon network, “My gym partner is a monkey.” Peter Cook and Dudley Moore routine: Actor has one leg too few for the role of Tarzan.

Opening clip: Your Flight Patrol membership card will get you a free bag of jumping beans. The Chicago Blackhawks are “Muckers and grinders,” according to a Chicago sports radio show. The Chicago Muckers chapter of the Burroughs Bibliophiles discusses favorite “minor” ERB characters.  Jim Hadac likes the dogs that appear in the tales. Greg Phillips mentions Phaidor, the “La” of Barsoom. He also likes Kar Komak, the phantom bowman.  Joan Bledig likes Ben, King of Beasts. Elmo likes Sven from “Beasts of Tarzan.” Ken Manson likes Paul d'Arnot. 2020 Elmo announces plans for a reboot of Dateline Jasoom.

Opening clip: From the Tarzan radio show, “Congo Christmas.” This is Dateline Jasoom's 2007  interview with Alex Simmons, who wrote the Sunday Tarzan comic strip in the early 2000s. Alex also talks about his original creation, Black Jack. The discussion includes Alex's perspective as an African American on Tarzan – or “White Skin” of the Apes. One storyline for the Tarzan strip was to have Tarzan meet Black Jack, a 1930s era soldier of fortune. “I really enjoyed working on the story,” Alex says.

Opening bit: An expedition into the Carrion Caves at the frozen North Pole of Barsoom is foiled by Rudolph's nose. Francisco M. Camas of the Spanish National Biotechnology Centre in Madrid creates Tarzan yells via pan flute, clarinet and oboe. Dateline Jasoom talks to Steve “Korak” Allsup, who audited Paul Yoder's class at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which explored literary icons: Frankenstein, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes – and Tarzan of the Apes.

Elmo mixed Dr. Awkward from the old Podsafe Music Network with various Tarzan yodels.

Opening clip from the Tarzan radio program. Dateline Jasoom interviews Paul Yoder, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock about his graduate seminar exploring the literary icons Frankenstein, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes – and Tarzan of the Apes. This wide-ranging discussion includes an examination of the apeman's inner conflict between heredity versus environment. “He does have that moment where he asks himself, 'Are you a man or an ape?'” Yoder says. Is Tarzan a literary icon? “He's obviously a cultural icon,” Yoder says. “There's something about that story that appeals to us.” He compares the end of “Tarzan of the Apes” to “A Tale of Two Cities” and “Gulliver's Travels.”

Opening clip: “Super Argo and the Faceless Giants.” 2007 Louisville Dum-Dum discussion of local chapters of the Burroughs Bibliophiles. James G Huckenpöhler talks about the National Capital Panthans. Bill Ross also talks about the benefits of forming a local Burroughs group.

Brazilian TV commercial clip: “The chimp who drank Coke became a very close friend of Tarzan. The chimp who drank Pepsi became a very close friend of ...” Dateline Jasoom researches the archives of the Chicago Daily Tribune and finds references that almost certainly helped inspire “The Mucker.” A soundbite from “His Girl Friday.” Comedian Sean Cullen sings, “The chimp and the woman.”