The Wilder Ride

Today we spent time discussing Frau Blucher's lack of honesty regarding Victor Frankenstein's private library, why Dr. Frederick Frankenstein would even be interested in it, and why Ovaltine?

We begin with an explanation of continuity and continuity errors since the candles on the table are lit as Frau Blucher picks them up, but are unlit as she turns to escort Dr. Frankenstein, Inga and Igor to their rooms upstairs. The script always called for the candles to be unlit, so someone dropped the ball in the extreme wide shot. 

We spend some time with actor Adam Boyer to begin this week's minute. He's been a working actor for over 20 years and has a host of credits to his name to include working with Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks on the film, Sully, as a Mississippi redneck in Ozark on Netflix and as the butcher of Terminus in The Walking Dead.

The hay cart comes to a stop in front of the doors to the castle of Baron von Frankenstein. Just as Dr. Frankenstein is about to lower Inga out of the cart, Igor uses one of the immense door knockers to bang on the door. Looking over his shoulder, Dr. Frankenstein remarks, "What knockers!" Inga, blushing, thanks the good Doctor for his compliment. 

Dr. Frankenstein helps reassure a startled Inga that lightning is merely atmospheric discharge. She admits she is easily frightened by lightning as their hay wagon (not cart) makes it's way through a dark and scary wood. Suddenly, we here a long and almost human-like howl (which is actually the voice of Mel Brooks) and after a moment, Inga says incredulously, "Werewolf."

We complete the well-known, "walk this way," bit before Dr. Frankenstein and Igor make their way to a hay wagon (not cart), which is their transportation from the Transylvania Station to the castle of Baron von Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein tosses his suitcase into the back of the wagon and is surprised to hear an, "Oomph!"

After Dr. Frankenstein gives his guest some dubious discussion over how to pronounce his name, Igor decides to change how his name is pronounced. They have an additional conversation over the going rate for henchmen and then they go to leave the station.

Now that Dr. Frankenstein has debarked the train, he is all alone on a fog-filled platform in the dark of night. He hears a strange sound of something approaching. That something turns out to be a strange, hump-backed man with bulging eyes who has been sent to meet him at the station.

After a rather funny train ride, where it appears American couples share the exact same argument to ones in Germany -- what is he doing everyday that the wife wants the husband to get him to stop. We have a pretty interesting discussion about what they might be discussing before we pull into the Transylvania Station.

Rebuffed at every opportunity, whether it's her makeup, her hair, her dress or her nails, as the conductor is calling for everyone to board the train, it appears all Dr. Frankenstein is going to be granted is a gentle rubbing of elbows.

After realizing there is no escape from his past, the young Dr. Frankenstein decides to travel to his family's estate in Transylvania to claim his inheritance. We are introduced to a new characters at the train station, Elizabeth, Dr. Frankenstein's fiance.

In an attempt to make a point to the annoying medical student, whom we have affectionately named, Brainy Smurf, he tries to explain it would easier to bring the scalpel to life rather than repair a dead or severed spinal cord.

It's obvious, after the demonstration asked for by the annoying medical student, Brainy Smurf is not yet willing to stop pushing Dr. Frankenstein about his family's history, specifically of his grandfather's work with reanimating dead tissue.

We close out the week with the conclusion of the in-class demonstration on Mr. Hilltop, who, for just $1 more, apparently gets to find his family jewels desecrated.

Our guest again today was Dr. Tim Ryan who mentioned that even though everything up to this point was mostly accurate, in this minute, the reality of medicine goes completely off the rails.