# Doc Savage **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521 "2013-07-15T01:14:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/21 "2013-07-16T22:05:48Z")
They didn’t get a choice, Trinopus. If he captured them, they went to the College. With one exception, Alessan, \*The Flying Goblin \*(7/1940), the graduates of the College never went back to a life of crime. As part of their treatment, they were taught a trade. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/22 "2013-07-16T23:19:24Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > According to [this site](http://screenrant.com/doc-savage-movie-director-shane-black/), Doc and crew are coming back sometime in the future. Not much more information. > > Bob The future is now. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=685774&highlight=bronze](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=685774&highlight=bronze) ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/23 "2013-07-17T03:41:04Z")
> [@Nightfall1](#): > > I saw the movie when it first came out. I really wanted it to be good. Within two minutes I KNEW it was bad when Doc’s teeth sparkled. It was sad to sit through it. Just horrible. I went to the world premiere. Not much of a claim to fame is it? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/24 "2013-07-17T10:42:26Z")
> [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](#): > > It has some excellent scenes of Doc trying to get around the streets of Manhattan while invisible. So he was homeless, then? ---
**Author:** ![Nightfall1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@Nightfall1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightfall1)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/25 "2013-07-17T12:43:42Z")
I feel for you Rick. Boy, I had dreams of the Doc Savage movie being the start of a great franchise like James Bond. I felt like someone kicked me in the gut when I walked out of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/26 "2013-07-17T14:00:03Z")
> [@Nightfall1](#): > > I feel for you Rick. Boy, I had dreams of the Doc Savage movie being the start of a great franchise like James Bond. I felt like someone kicked me in the gut when I walked out of the movie. Honestly, they could have made a go at making a serious version, not camped up. It really would not have been difficult, Doc Savage - Man of Bronze was not as Mary Sue as some of the books. I always thought it would be fun to win a huge lottery and make it properly. Honestly, I have to wonder what runs through their minds - Hey, let’s take a popular book and screw with people and mangle it when we pt it into production! ? Frex, I can remember discussing LOTR when it was announced that they were turning the book into 3 movies and people were saying that they would chop it to hell and it would be horribly unrecognizable. I have to admit, I did think to myself it would be difficult deciding what to eliminate when transferred to a filming scrip but I admit I was pleasantly surprised that it came out the way it did. They are screwing with The Hobbit a bit, to stretch it into 3 movies though. I understand that JRRT’s son is not pleased with the first movie. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/27 "2013-07-17T18:27:19Z")
To me, the best part of the Doc Savage series was not Doc himself - it was his five assistants. I always thought “Monk” and “Ham” could carry their own series. They were hilarious. In a similar vein, the appeal of the Destroyer series is NOT the suspense of how Remo is going to dodge the bullet. It’s the relationship between Remo and Chiun, which is the one thing THAT movie got right. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/28 "2013-07-17T23:33:03Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > To me, the best part of the Doc Savage series was not Doc himself - it was his five assistants. I always thought “Monk” and “Ham” could carry their own series. They were hilarious. Dent knew it also. I have about 100 of the books, and while I haven’t read all of them, Monk and Ham are in all the ones I have read - no other assistant was. And they were far from perfect. \ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/29 "2013-07-17T23:37:11Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Dent knew it also. I have about 100 of the books, and while I haven’t read all of them, Monk and Ham are in all the ones I have read - no other assistant was. > And they were far from perfect. > \ The others are in a few books. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/30 "2013-07-20T21:30:41Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > To me, the best part of the Doc Savage series was not Doc himself - it was his five assistants. I always thought “Monk” and “Ham” could carry their own series. They were hilarious. And the pig, Habeas Corpus! I, too, loved the assistants. Plus, they all had the ampoules of sleeping gas in the crooks of their arms and could hold their breath, while giving instructions in Mayan. Doc Savage and his crew rocked! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/31 "2013-07-20T23:15:09Z")
For the record, campy isn’t necessarily bad. After all, Doc Savage’s contemporary Flash Gordon had a very campy movie of his own made 5 years later, and it was _awesome_. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/32 "2013-07-20T23:22:41Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Dent knew it also. I have about 100 of the books, and while I haven’t read all of them, Monk and Ham are in all the ones I have read - no other assistant was. > And they were far from perfect. > \ > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > The others are in a few books. That’s his point - Rennie, Log Tom and Johnny were in most of the books, but each of them missed out on several adventures, for various reasons. Only Ham and Monk were in _all_ of the books. So who’s read _A Feast Unknown_, _Lord of the Trees_ and _The Mad Goblin_? ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/33 "2013-07-21T03:10:29Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > …So who’s read _A Feast Unknown_, _Lord of the Trees_ and _The Mad Goblin_? All of 'em. I have the Lord of the Trees/The Mad Goblin double. Farmer was wonderful, in a weird sort of way. The Mad Goblin is probably my favorite, but Lord Grandrith is a fine contender. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/34 "2013-07-21T06:18:56Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > That’s his point - Rennie, Log Tom and Johnny were in most of the books, but each of them missed out on several adventures, for various reasons. Only Ham and Monk were in _all_ of the books. > > So who’s read _A Feast Unknown_, _Lord of the Trees_ and _The Mad Goblin_? Of course. And I also have Farmer’s bio of Doc, Doc Savage, his Apocalyptic Life. (Bantam, Q8834, hardcover edition 1973.) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/35 "2013-07-21T06:25:10Z")
> [@BobArrgh](#): > > And the pig, Habeas Corpus! > > I, too, loved the assistants. Plus, they all had the ampoules of sleeping gas in the crooks of their arms and could hold their breath, while giving instructions in Mayan. > > Doc Savage and his crew rocked! And the monkey, Chemistry! Owned by a lawyer with a sword cane. Not sure putting the mercy-poison on the sword really made it a non-lethal weapon unless Ham is some super-powered fencer, though. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/36 "2013-07-21T08:18:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s the thing that creeps me out the most about him. Anyone who tries pulling that sort of thing off today is by definition a supervillain, not a hero. Professor X does that sort of thing all the time. Then again, [I have my doubts about that guy.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=240918) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/37 "2013-07-21T23:51:49Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > And the monkey, Chemistry! Owned by a lawyer with a sword cane. Not sure putting the mercy-poison on the sword really made it a non-lethal weapon unless Ham is some super-powered fencer, though. Don’t forget the pig Habeas Corpus owned by Monk to spite Ham. Ham got his name from being framed for stealing a pig during WW I. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/38 "2013-07-21T23:57:49Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Don’t forget the pig Habeas Corpus owned by Monk to spite Ham. Ham got his name from being framed for stealing a pig during WW I. I thought it was pigs (plural) ? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/39 "2013-07-22T00:38:21Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I thought it was pigs (plural) ? I thought it was a ham or hams from the officer’s mess. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521/40 "2013-07-23T23:08:07Z")
You’re right, carnivorousplant. It was a load of hams. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-savage/663521.md?page=3)