#st. george and the dragonet

[omegasmileyface]

ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGONET CAME OUT IN 1953??

[whatacompletebastard]

[comediaclassicablog]

Stan Freberg, June Foray, and Daws Butler - “St. George & The Dragonet”

‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ (1953)

[tenguarts]

A little animatic I made for my Grandpa's 80th Birthday!

‘St. George and the Dragonet' by Stan Freberg is a radio episode that my Grandpa used to play for me and my sisters growing up. It's a classic and will always be a precious memory for me. I've always wanted to make a video like this and I'm happy to share this with you all. Hope you enjoy it too!

[meanstreetspodcasts]

Stan Freberg, Daws Butler, and June Foray do a glorious parody of Jack Webb’s Dragnet with this story of St. George putting out a “dragonet” to catch his foe.

Jack Webb was a huge fan of Freberg, and he was happy to grant the satirist the use of the Dragnet theme. According to Freberg, when he approached Webb with the idea for the parody, Webb said  "I was wondering when you'd get around to me, Freberg."

[draconesmundi]

Book Review: Dragons - A Natural History, by Dr Karl Shuker

Hello fans of dragon books! Here is a review of a book that I found quite helpful in researching mythology and folklore, by the famous cryptozoologist Dr Karl Shuker!

More under the cut:

This book is arranged slightly chaotically, with the five chapters being titled Serpent Dragons, Semi-Dragons, Classical Dragons, Sky Dragons and Neo Dragons. The bizarre classification doesn’t make the book hard to navigate as it’s only around 120 pages long with large illustrations, so a dragon can be found easily by flicking through the pages, but these arbitrary titles do not add anything to one’s understanding of dragons.

Each chapter has a selection of 5-8 dragons picked from mythology and folklore, and the chapter then goes in depth into each dragon. Usually it does this by telling a story, but for some dragons there is a quick description of the dragon alongside theories and ideas linking the dragon to the fossil record. With dragons such as the cockatrice and the Chinese dragon, the text will jump around the folklore to give the reader a full idea of what the dragon is about, rather than focussing on one story.

The writing style is engaging; each of the stories is written with dramatic flair – exciting to read to yourself, but without the storybook language to make it a collection of bedtime stories for a small child, making the recommended reading age for this book anything from ‘scholarly children’ to ‘adults that enjoy dragon facts’. All stories are from folklore or mythology, with very little extra embellishment from the author; it’s hardly a primary source but it means you can get the full extent of say, Seigfried slaying Fafnir, without reading the whole Volsungsaga. It’s a good first-stop for learning about mythology.

The strengths in this book is that it is very broad and covers a wide range of dragons from a wide range of cultures. However, one of the limitations is that the texts touches only on the surface of the stories; for example, the names of famous dragons are sometimes missing (the dragon of Koshi is called Yamata no Orochi in many other texts for example, and a winged serpent from Welsh mythology is called a gwiber).

The other limitation is the links between mythology and palaeontology. As someone who loves heaps of both, I found some of the ‘explanations’ for dragons a little odd as sometimes the author leaned dangerously close to the ‘living dinosaur’ theories (for a variety of reasons you can easily debunk ‘living dinosaur/other prehistoric reptile’ theories). However, Dr Shuker does keep his voice impartial and doesn’t say “the Loch Ness Monster was definitely a plesiosaur”, but I personally don’t like the “but maybe, possibly, if a plesiosaur survived… and was hiding… maybe…?”, but that is a matter of personal taste. If you love that sort of stuff, it’s sprinkled throughout many chapters.

The book is presented nicely, with a huge diversity of illustrations, from photos of dragon artefacts to woodcut prints, carvings, paintings, embroidery – the images are a rich history of dragon culture in themselves. This gives the book a ‘non-fiction’ feel, and helps educate the reader as to where these dragons fit in the public consciousness.

For example; in the ‘Seigfreid and the Slaying of Fafnir’ chapter, we have a painting from 1880 by Konrad Dielitz, a still from the Niebelung film by Fritz Lang (two parter film, 1922-1924, based on Richard Wagner’s opera based on the legend) and a photograph of a wooden carving in a 12th century church in Norway. All three of these images are of the same subject, but each one carries layers of meaning – the sword-and-sorcery style fairy tale illustration by Dielitz, the old black and white film with the giant dragon puppet and the wooden carving nearly as old as the story itself puts the tale in context of a much richer story of European culture and how much we like dragons and dragon slayers.

The illustrations alongside each chapter are one of the things that really make this book pop as a comprehensive introduction to the world of dragon mythology. The book is only 120 pages long, so it’s not going to be an in-depth anthropological dig into why so many cultures like to talk about big serpent monsters, but for the short amount of pages it does try it’s best to put forward as many different dragons as possible: a must-have for a dragon nerd’s bookshelf.

Dragons covered are:

Ampitheres and other winged serpents, Basilisks and Cockatrices, the dragon of Bel, Bunyips, the Carthaginian Serpent, Cetus, Chinese dragons, the Dragonet of Mount Pilatus, Fafnir, the Gargouille, Gwiberod (just named ‘winged serpents of Wales’, and likened to Kuehneosaurus), Jormungandr, Komodo dragons, La Velue (named Peluda in the text), the Lambton Worm, the Lernean Hydra, the Leviathan, the Lindorm King, the Loch Ness Monster, Mokele-Mbembe, the Mordiford Wyvern, O-Goncho, the Piasa, Quetzalcoatl, the Salamander and the Pyrallis, a sea crocodile spotted near Ireland, Sea serpents (linked to whale palaeontology), the Mushussu or Sirrush, St George’s Dragon, the Tarasque, Tatzelwurms, Tiamat, the Wantley Dragon, the Weewilmekq (or giant leech), Yamato no Orochi (just named as the dragon on Koshi), and a few other brief dragon mentions.

Author and Book Links:

Dr Karl Shuker’s website

Dr Karl Shuker’s blog

More about the book

Amazon link to book (£2-£4) (to avoid Amazon, best bet is eBay, the book is currently out of print so pretty much every copy you’ll buy via Amazon, eBay or another seller will be second-hand - often good as new!)

[goalhofer]

Top 30 Songs Of The Year: 1953.

30. “Have You Heard?” by Joni James.

29. “C’est Si Bon” by Eartha Kitt.

28. “With These Hands” by Eddie Fisher.

27. “Limelight (Terry’s Theme)” by Frank Chacksfield.

26. “Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Joni James.

25. “Why Don’t You Believe Me?” by Joni James.

24. “Crying In The Chapel” by June Valli.

23. “Tell Me A Story” by Jimmy Boyd ft. Frankie Laine.

22. “Dragnet” by Ray Anthony And His Orchestra.

21. “Say Your Mine Again” by Perry Como.

20. “Anna” by Silvana Mangano.

19. “Rags To Riches” by Tony Bennett.

18. “Eh, Cumpari!” by Julius La Rosa ft. Archie Bleyer Orchestra.

17. “Tell Me Your Mine” by The Gaylords.

16. “P.S. I Love You” by The Hilltoppers.

15. “St. George And The Dragonet” by Stan Freberg.

14. “Ruby” by Richard Hayman.

13. “Pretend” by Nat King Cole.

12. “Ebb Tide” by Frank Chacksfield.

11. “Oh” by Pee Wee Hunt.

10. “I Believe” by Frankie Laine.

9. “Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes” Perry Como.

8. “No Other Love” by Perry Como.

7. “April In Portugal” by Les Baxter And His Orchestra.

6. “Till I Waltz Again With You” by Teresa Brewer.

5. “You, You, You” by The Ames Brothers.

4. “I’m Walking Behind You” by Eddie Fisher ft. Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra & Sally Sweetland.

3. “(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window?” Patti Page.

2. “Vaya Con Dios” by Les Paul ft. Mary Ford.

1. “The Song From Moulin Rouge” by Percy Faith.

[bigboxochristmas]

Yuletidings 1987: HaHaHallelujah

1. Have Yourself A Looney Christmas - Bugs Bunny & Friends        01:49 2. Don't Believe in Christmas - The Sonics        01:42 3. O Little Town of Bethlehem - Bob Rivers        02:05 4. Toad Away - The Firesign Theatre        02:13 5. Santa Doesn't Cop Out on Dope - Martin Mull         02:19 6. Santa And The Sidewalk Surfer - The Turtles        01:54 7. Be-Bop Santa Claus - Babs Gonzales        03:05 8. Santa Claus Is Watching You - Ray Stevens        03:14 9. The Hat I Got For Christmas Is Too Beeg - Mel Blanc        02:42 10. Christmas in the Congo - The Marquees        02:13 11. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - A.B. Green        02:09 12. There's Trouble Brewing - Jack Scott        02:17 13. Jingle Bells - NRBQ        00:55 14. Santa and The Satellite - Buchanan & Goodman        02:58 15. Captain Santa Claus -Bobby Helms        02:27 16. Monster's Holiday - Bobby 'Boris' Pickett        03:06 17. 'Zat You, Santa Claus -  Louis Armstrong        02:44 18. I'm Your Santa (As Seen on TV) - The Christmas Jug Band        03:46 19. The Nutcracker Suite - Spike Jones        06:57 20.  O Come All Ye Grateful Dead-Heads - Bob Rivers        01:22 21. I Tawt I Taw Ol' Tanty Claus - Tweety & Sylvester        01:59 22. Christmas Dragnet - Stan Freberg        06:38

------------------------------ The basic theme for this collection was holiday recordings with a humorous bent, though the definition of ‘humorous’ was stretched in a few cases.  My holiday-music collection still being somewhat limited at the time, there are a few repeats from the previous compilations, but there are definitely some gems here.  Highlights include: Bob Rivers’ stunning, note-for-note cover of The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” (with an absolutely perfect Eric Burdon imitator on vocals), remade as “O Little Town of Bethlehem”; the Firesign Theatre’s (from whom I swiped my nom de blog, Sacred Cowboy) quasi-biblical “Toad Away”; Martin Mull’s classic “Santa Doesn’t Cop Out on Dope”; Babs Gonzales’ 1955 hipster version of “The Night Before Christmas”, entitled “Be-Bop Santa Claus”; the peculiar interpretation of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by one A.B. Green, and Stan Freberg’s holiday-themed follow-up to his earlier “St. George and the Dragonet”, “Christmas Dragnet”.

As mentioned in the notes for the first compilation, Mel Blanc’s “The Hat I Got for Christmas is Too Beeg” is somewhat queasy-making by modern standards, as is The Marquees’ “Christmas in the Congo”, and are only included here because they were part of the original mix.

The cover art (such as it is) was a cut-and-paste job with some photocopies of an alphabet from a book of classical lettering designs and borders. DOWNLOAD

[olafsings]

Music History Today: October 10, 2021

October 10, 1953: Stan Freberg's "St. George And The Dragonet" hits number 1 in the US. The spoof combined the tale of "St. George and the Dragon" with the popular 1950s radio-TV series Dragnet. Freberg used a variation of the line "Just the facts, ma'am," which was popularly associated with Dragnet despite never being used in the series. Freberg actually said, "I just want to get the facts, ma’am."

Read more: https://www.olafsings.com/2021/09/music-history-today-october-10-2021.html

[bm2ab]

Arrivals & Departures 07 August 1926 – 07 April 2015 Stanley Friberg [Stan Freberg]

Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg) was an American author, actor, recording artist, voice artist, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director, whose career began in 1943. He remained active in the industry into his late 80s, more than 70 years after entering it.

His best-known works include "St. George and the Dragonet", Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, his role on the television series Time for Beany, and a number of classic television commercials.

[tyrantisterror]

Revised Midgaheim Dragon List

One day of suggestions and already the list have so many new dragons.  Why, it’s almost enough dragons!  Except no, no it’s not enough. There’s never enough.

I mean, specifically it could use more Wyrms and Wyverns, since they should be comparable in diversity to Greater Drakes.  The Greater and Lesser Drakes are in good shape though - I mean I’ll probably make more of them, but if these were the final tallies for them it’d be pretty ok.  Lindorms, Tatzelwyrms, Zilants, and Amphipteres have a low turnout, but that should be the case in the final tally anyway - though there could definitely be more of them regardless.

Suggestions - be they species prompts, names, actual dragons from folklore, what have you - are still welcome!

Overview of Dragons

Origin

Definition

Biological Facts

The Helm of Terror – the part of the skull where the horns are rooted

Dragon Fangs & Venom

Dragon venom dissolves flesh on contact before eventually combusting, working like a mix of Hollywood acid and Napalm

All dragons have a slightly different venom cocktail.  Some dragon venom ignites far faster than others.

Dracontite: a thick, hardened gland that emits a chemical that turns the venoms produced by a dragon into a volatile, combustible chemical mixture.  Sometimes called a Thor Thimble.

The Tail Spade

Evolution of the Dragon’s Wing

Terms that apply to all dragon clades:

Dragonets: young (i.e. everything from baby to adolescent) dragons

Knuckers: freshwater aquatic dragons

Guivres: saltwater aquatic dragons

Hydras: dragons with multiple heads (sufferers of hydra syndrome, a common magical genetic disorder)

Zmeys – three headed variant of Hydra syndrome, lacks enhanced healing

Lesser Drakes

Guardian Lesser Drakes

Medea’s Drake

Acidfang Lesser Drakes

Lernaean Hydra/Swamp Drake – most famous specimen is also the most famous sufferer of Hydra Syndrome

Carrion Lesser Drakes

Root Chewer Drake – Nidhogg’s species

Sir Samson’s Cave Drakes: live deep within mountains

Liesmith Drake – Glaurung expy

Caverndwell Lesser Drakes

Cavern Drake - named by Godzillakiryu

Lavender Eyed Drake – Skoloki’s species

Amethyst Drake

Hillden Lesser Drakes

Ammon’s Drake: massive, tail the size of a ship’s mast

Donatus’s Drake: big enough to prey upon oxen

Blue Shale Guivre – an ichthyosaur-like dragon from Breton, homage to Blue Ben.

Svara – Ruslovakian dragon with large ear-fins, enormous fangs as long as a man’s arm, an enormous cranial horn, and yellow scales

Trunked Drake – a missing link between Loongs, Persian dragons, and Midgaheim dragons.  Has a trunk-like snout.  Conceived and named by theload

Bipedal Lesser Drakes

Graham’s Bipedal Dragon – i.e. the reluctant dragon

Gem-eater Drake – a bipedal species of lesser drake that devours gemstones.  While a stunted, inbred lineage is popularly kept as a pet, wild Gem-Eater drakes grow to massive sizes and are incredibly dangerous. An MLP homage conceived by Ledi.

Aitvaras – a fairy version of a lesser drake, bipedal (slight homo falsum), the only known fairy dragon

Cychreides Drake – a crocodile-like drgon from Mediterra.  One was tamed by the deity Demeter.

Armored Lesser Drakes

Hammertail drake – short & squat dragon with a hammer-like tail spade, conceived by ledi

Jasper Drake

Peludas

Tarasque Peludas – Peludas that evolved to resemble the chimeric Tarasque

Cucafera Peludas – Peludas that evolved to resemble the Cucafera, which is itself a turtle that evolved to look slightly draconic

Sir George’s Peluda

Viper Fang Peluda – based on the picture from that one dragon book you have, name inspired by theload

Wartail Peluda – a peluda with a thagomizer, conceived by Ledi

Greater Drakes

Flightless Greater Drakes – greater drakes whose wings are used for other purposes than flight, a missing link between lesser and greater drakes.  May be a wastebucket clade – none of the species seem remarkably close to each other save for their stunted wings, and some could conceivably have evolved FROM flying Greater Drakes instead of predating them.

Grayfang Dragon – Gravatak’s species

Sir George’s Gutter Dragon

Sir George’s Canyon Dragon

Krakow Dragon – enormous, swallows cows and men whole, gluttonous

Puff Dragons (F.o.D. inspired dragons, named by theload) – dragons whose bodies can puff up like bloated balloons as a threat display

Sir Smythe’s Dragon (Gorbash homage)

Sage Dragon (Smrgol homage)

Vormadon’s Dark Dragon

Rose Dragon

Pit Dragons – burrowing dragons renowned for their vicious fighting prowess

Red Pit Dragon – Y Ddraig Goch’s species

White Pit Dragon

Green Pit Dragon

Blue Pit Dragon

Yellow Pit Dragon

Orange Pit Dragon

Thornwhip Pit Dragon

Gnarlfang Pit Dragon

Crushjaw Pit Dragon

Sir Carantoc’s Pit Dragon: fairly docile

Garnet Pit Dragon

The Great Dragons – considered the most iconic dragons in Midgaheim, and some of the more prolific

Great Red Dragon

Great Blue Dragon

Great Green Dragon

Great White Dragon

Great Black Dragon

Great Brown Dragon

Great Purple Dragon

Great Gray Dragon

Great Gold Dragon

Great Silver Dragon

Great Bronze Dragon

Great Copper Dragon

Great Brass Dragon

Great Iron Dragon

Great Tin Dragon

Great Nickel Dragon

The Grand Dragons – largest of all the Greater Drakes, these species are rare but long lived

Green-bellied Mountain Dragon – Lawrence’s species

Regal Mountain Dragon – Charlartur’s species

Gilded Dragon – Smaug homage, name suggested by theload

Grand Ashen Dragon – an homage to Ancalagon the Black, a dragon large enough to dwarf mountains. Name suggested by Virouvac.

Butcher Dragon – Maleficent homage, sleek and sinister, nests in brambles, named suggested by Bugcthulhu

Cervine Cloud Dragon – a regal white dragon with deer-like antlers and a white coloration. Concieved by theload and an homage to her Landilizandra.

Grand Diamond Dragons – come in blue, yellow, rose, and white varieties

Sir George’s Tyrant Dragon

Sir George’s Coca Dragon – the one dragon Sir George could not slay, though he wounded it greatly.

Puks – closely related to Grand and Great dragons, Puks are mainly defined by their diminutive stature compared to their kin.  Rarely larger than a housecat, Puks are often kept as pets by civilized species, though whether a Puk is truly domesticated or simply enjoys getting free food and shelter in exchange for amiability is always in question.

Ox Dragons – named for their short necks and stocky, muscular builds

Sir Moor’s Dragon – i.e. the dragon of Wantley

Tristan’s Dragon: eats horses, pretty big, breaths fire

Thidrek’s Dragon: big enough to swallow a man whole with some effort

Sir Silvester’s Dragon: red eyes

Hound Dragons – named for their general size and tenacious hunting prowess

False Dragonet – a small, dog-sized dragon fond of chasing sheep.  Docile as far as dragons go, i.e. not a maneater.  An homage to Spyro the dragon, name proposed by Bugcthulhu.

Sir George’s Griffin Mimic Dragon – named by theload, based on that one picture of St. George killing a very griffin-y dragon

Carpaccio Dragon – also known as Sir George’s Corpse Eater Dragon.  Believed to spread disease, they are actually humble carrion eaters. Suggested by Bugcthlhu, based on a Rennaisance painting of Sir George’s dragon by the painter Carpaccio.

Fancy Dragons – incredibly colorful and elaborate dragons

Sir George’s Dazzling Dragon

Shadow Dragon – fast flying dragon with jet-black scales, a Toothless homage named by Ledi

Scourge Dragons – a clade of greater drakes known for their repulsive (to humans) habits and anatomy

Sir Hillarion’s Dragon: massive, eats cows

Sir Victoria’s Dragon: foul stench but otherwise not overtly hostile

Sir Andrew’s Dragon: enormous, destroyed a whole town

Sir Berkeley’s Dragon: a pretty scary dragon, based on the dragon of Bignor Hill.

Grave Dragons – a dragon clade that specializes in feasting on carrion and living a semi-subterranean lifestyle.  Often found in tombs, hence the clade’s name.

Beowulf’s Fire Dragon – fifty feet long, very strong

Sir George’s Stench Dragon

Sir Marvellus’s Knucker: scavenger, live in crypts, caves, and lakes, serpentine body despite limbs and wings

Guivre Greater Drakes – greater drakes evolved for life in the sea.  May be a wastebucket clade.

Gargouille – a guivre with a secondary set of wings/fins

Druks – a clade exclusive to the countryside of Ruslovak, known for their bipedal posture and advanced tool use

Imperial Zmey – Gorynych’s species

Bolovan’s Dupe Dragon

Carpathy Dragon – a massive dragon with large, pronounced fangs

Aristocrat Druk – a dragon species known for its almost humanoid torso (slight homofalsum) and its “civilized” lifestyle.

Armored Southern Dragon – heavily armored, massive Greater Drakes that are fiercely protective of their young.  Concieved by Godzillakiryu in homage to their kaiju, Jake.

Lindorms

Colchian Lindorm – grey eyes, longer than the Argo, lives in a massive tree, capable of speech, golden coils with dappled back, unsleeping

Ares’ Lindorm – slain by Cadmus, purple OR golden crest, blue scales, dapple-backed

Sigurd’s Lindorm – Fafnir’s species

Tundra Lindorm

Bearded Guivre – based off of that one famous red Jormungandr picture

Sir George’s Lindorm

Ruby Lindorm

Topaz Lindorm

Lunging lindorm – a heron-like lindorm that lurks at the water’s edge, created by Ledi

Iceflow Lindorm – a walrus-like polar lindorm, conceived by Ledi

Wyrms

Fateful Wyrms

The Lambton Wyrm: big knucker wyrm that loves cow milk, has off-white color

Fragment Wyrm: closely related to the Lambton wyrm, conceived by theload

Sentinel Wyrms

Ladon: utterly massive, suffers Hydra syndrome (100 heads), unsleeping,

Nemean Wyrm/Zeus’s Wyrm: blue eyes, golden horns & ears, barbed teeth, massive

Bagrada Wyrm: 120 feet in length, eats lions

Heracles’s Guivre: an enormous (kaiju-sized) sea wyrm with a somewhat dog-like face

Lydian Knucker – a river dwelling breed of wyrm. One was slain by Heracles.  Also known as the Maeonius Knucker.

Phrygioi Wyrm – a small Mediterran wyrm that lures birds with its magical breath and can stand on its tail.  Though they primarily feed on birds, they are also known to be maneaters.

Hillwrap Wyrms

Cnoc-Na-Cnoimh Wyrm: big enough to wrap around an entire hill

Dalry Wyrm: snow white scales, also wraps whole body around a hill

Nightscale Wyrm - a wyrm with dark blue, purple, and black scales.  Very fast.

River Wyrms

Sir George’s River Wyrm

Sir George’s Pond Wyrm

Lake Wyrms

Sir George’s Swamp Wyrm

Sir George’s Marsh Wyrm

Sapphire Wyrm

Sea Wyrms

Emerald Wyrm

Wyverns

Spade-tailed Wyverns

Winston’s Wyvern – the largest of all spade tailed wyverns, and one of the most powerful.  An homage to Vermithrax Perjorative.

Sir George’s Cave Wyvern

Sir George’s Blinding Wyvern

Sir George’s Fume Wyvern

Locust Wyverns – wyverns who reach maturity and reproduce at an alarming rate.  One of the least intelligent breeds of dragon.

Dracs – Castalanian wyverns who emit a stench so foul it rots food

Numb Wyvern – a close relative of the Drac, it has toxins in its secretions (saliva, urine) in addition to its venom

Vouivres – eyeless wyverns with jewels in their heads

Scythe Wyvern – a wyvern whose wings have become weapons instead of tools of flight, with the once delicate “ribs” turned into blades.  Concieved by Ledi.

Gull Wyvern – a coastal dragon known for taking long flights over sea, often seen as a bad omen by sailors. Concieved by Takingturnsatrandom

Zircon Wyvern

Hellion Wyvern – a elf-bred species of wyvern.  They are notable for being scaleless, ill tempered, and prone to hideous shrieking. They are also far more prone to cannibalism than other dragons.  Concieved by bugcthulhu in homage to the Fell Beasts.

Sabertooth Wyvern – a wyvern with killing fangs, sleek (no spikes).  Conceived by ledi

Crowned Fishing Wyvern – a wyvern with vaguely spinosaurid jaws that eats fish.  Conceived by Ledi.

Sting-tailed wyverns

Maude’s Wyvern – Mordi’s species

Azure Wyvern

Behemoth Bane Wyvern – a wyvern that specializes in hunting elephants, young behemoths, and other large mammals.  The largest breed of wyvern by far.

Comet Wyvern –  another massive wyvern.  It flies at incredible speeds and preys on other large flying creatures, particularly ruhks and griffins.

Sir George’s Scorpion Wyvern

Sir George’s Burning Wyvern

Sir George’s Devil Wyvern

Sir George’s Spitting Wyvern

Sir George’s Hook Wyvern

Sir George’s Fuming Wyvern

Pearl Wyvern

Sun Wyvern – golden-yellow wyvern, conceived by Ledi

Nettletail Wyvern – a wyvern whose tail is covered in toxin oozing spins in addition to the venomous stinger, conceived by Ledi

Amphis Wyvern – a wyvern whose stinger resembles a false heady, complete with fleshy “lips” that cover the sting.  Conceived by bugcthulhu

Zilants (False Wyverns)

Midgar Serpent – a guivre Zilant, Jormungander’s species

Root Crawlers – a diminutive species of zilant, Sven’s species

Graoully, a zilant slain by a saint in Francobreton (France)

Kulshedra – a long-tailed dragon that causes droughts and famines.  Its juvenile/dragonet form is called a Bolla and lives in trees for twelve years before a sudden growth spurt turns it into a terrifying adult.  While bollas spend most of their time sleeping and are fairly benign, Kulshedras are massive and powerful predators.  Found in both Mediterra and Ruslovak (Albania).

Agathosdaimon Zilant – playful, lived by a river

Sir Clement’s Zilant – watches over other serpents and fights as their champion

Sir George’s Zilant

Peridot Zilant

Aquamarine Zilant

Spitting Zilant – flightless and small, males are brilliantly colored.  Concieved by Ledi

Alchemist’s Zilant – named by theload, based on the image from that one dragon book

Sea King Zilant – A massive guivre zilant that’s amphibious enough to spend time on land.  Conceived by Godzillakiryu.

Amphipteres

Pythos

Olympian Amphipteres

Hera’s: dark blue scales, suck blood, Burmese python sized

Athena’s

Ares’s

Zeus’s

Pythos (slain by Apollo)

Hades’s

Medea’s Amphipteres

Sir George’s Singing Amphiptere

Sir George’s Scavenging Amphiptere

Lapis Amphiptere

Blushing Guivre – named by theload, based on the picture of the gargouille in that one dragon book you’ve got

Bicha Amphiptere – named by bugcthulhu, based on bestiary art.  A highly belligerent species of amphipteres.  Though mainly scavengers, they will stand their ground and strike at anything, even creatures they really shouldn’t attack.

Cuelebre – Castalanian dragon whose scales become impenetrable with age that specializes in hunting nymphs/fairies.  Its spit can harden in a magical stone that cures disease.

Tatzelwyrms

Bergstutzen – mountain dwelling, stout species

Springewurm – leaping species

Stollwurm – burrowing species

Sir George’s Tatzelwyrm

Sir Staven’s Tatzelwyrm

Sir Christopher’s Tatzelwyrm – homage to St. Christopher as well as Jurassic World

Eve’s Tatzelwyrm – a tatzelwyrm with a fruit-shaped lure on the end of its tail

Bikawyrm – a heavy tatzelwyrm with massive goring horns.  Very territorial, and males perceive anything with horns as a rival. Concieved by bugcthulhu

Vinedweller Tatzelwyrm – a tatzelwyrm that lives in vine-encrusted trees.  Conceived by Godzillakiryu

[spydre]

Check this: Stan Freberg - St. George & The Dragonet, 1953 Capitol record. https://youtu.be/oUdFLyNCeI4

[nycpenpusher]

Song of the Day - In honor of the anniversary of the birth of Stan Freberg

Stan Freberg - “St. George and the Dragonet”

[meanstreetspodcasts]

On July 14, 1957, the late satirist and musician Stan Freberg brought his unique blend of humor to radio in one of the last pure comedy programs of the Golden Age of Radio. Freberg was already popular from his comedy albums (including the Dragnet parody “St. George and the Dragonet”) and his radio series revived old gags and introduced new skits and characters.

Backed up by June Foray (Rocky and Natasha from Rocky & Bullwinkle), Daws Butler (voice of Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound), and Peter Leeds (“Eugor” of Rogue’s Gallery), Freberg satirized advertisers, the networks, censorship, and popular singers and artists of the day. Audiences used to Jack Benny probably didn’t know what to think when Freberg’s first show climaxed with a fable about two competing Las Vegas casinos whose efforts to top one another culminate with a live atomic bomb show. Freberg and company recreated some of their most popular bits and introduced fantastic skits and recurring characters. June Foray played an extra terrestrial upset about her exclusion from the Miss Universe pageant, and Butler appeared as a sleazy tabloid reporter who dug up dirt on historical figures. Although the show only lasted 15 episodes before it was cancelled, The Stan Freberg Show is a high-water mark in the world of radio comedy.

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The Story You’re About to Hear is True

“Dragnet - the documented drama of an actual crime.  For the next thirty minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from police files.  From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.”

Is there anybody who doesn’t know Dragnet?  Even if you don’t know the series or couldn’t pick Jack Webb out of a line-up, chances are you know the distinct “dum-da-dum-dum” opening. Like the eerie sounds of the theme to The Twilight Zone, the opening notes of the Dragnet march have become shorthand for someone in trouble about to get busted, or the arrival of an authority figure on the scene. This writer discovered the taut police series in between Get Smart and The Dick Van Dyke Show on Nick at Nite in the early nineties, and it wasn’t until years later that he discovered the radio series. It’s hard for modern audiences to appreciate just how revolutionary Dragnet was when it hit radio. The style it perfected and the approach to docudrama realism it produced can still be seen in TV procedurals and films today, more than seventy years after it premiered on June 3, 1949.

The series was the brainchild of actor, writer, and producer Jack Webb. In 1948, he was in between runs as Pat Novak For Hire when he appeared in He Walked by Night in a small role as a police forensic scientist. During the shoot, Webb struck up a friendship with the film’s Los Angeles Police Department technical advisor, Sgt. Marty Wynn. The two discussed how police officers were depicted in films and on the radio and how far that portrayal strayed from the real day-in, day-out work of a policeman. Webb thought that a realistic representation of policework could be a hit. Convincing a network would prove to be tricky.

NBC wasn’t enthusiastic when Webb pitched them the series.  Police shows were a dime a dozen on radio, and the network did not see the merits of adding one more to its schedule. Two things helped sell the series. The first was Webb himself, who in 1949 had returned to Pat Novak for a run over ABC’s national network and was making a name for himself. The second was the network’s recent loss of big stars like Jack Benny, Red Skelton, and George Burns and Gracie Allen to CBS in a raid of comedic talent.  In need of programming, NBC commissioned an audition program. Webb and writer James Moser already had a script prepared, but they needed the cooperation of the Los Angeles Police Department. Without it, Webb couldn’t hope to leverage the department’s case files and official procedures. Then-Chief of Police Clemence B. Horrall granted permission with two conditions. First, the LAPD would get to okay the program’s sponsors. Second, the department would not be portrayed in an unflattering light. As a result, certain practices - including allegations of department racism and corruption - were not addressed on the series, and that can make the show an occasional tough listen especially in the wake of nationwide protests about police brutality and unchecked aggression.

With a network behind him and access to the police department, Webb set to work on preparing the series. Webb was known for his own style of understated acting, and he sought actors who could bring that style of realism to the scripts.  He responded to criticism of this performance style: “Underplaying is still acting.  We try to make it as real as a guy pouring a cup of coffee."  Some actors got it; others did not.  Raymond Burr, who so memorably tangled with Webb on Pat Novak, could not adapt to the understated style and he left the show after a few episodes. But Webb was able to build a stock cast of actors who were heard throughout the series and who could deliver the style of performance he needed; this company included Stacy Harris, Harry Bartell, Peggy Webber, Virginia Gregg, Barney Phillips, and Jack Kruschen. Radio veteran Barton Yarborough (below, famous for I Love a Mystery and One Man’s Family, along with earlier collaborations with Webb) played Sgt. Ben Romero, partner to Webb’s Sgt. Joe Friday.

At the center of the Dragnet universe were the police officers, not supermen but hard working professionals who put in the hours to see justice done.  As Webb said, "We try to make cops human beings.  We try to combine the best qualities of the men I’ve seen downtown, incorporate their way of speaking, make a composite."  This realistic approach to presenting the police seems cliche today; Law & Order, CSI, and their various spin-offs and imitators try to present authentic portrayals of law enforcement, but at the time Webb introduced his cops to radio listeners, it was groundbreaking.  The "odd couple” dynamic of Dragnet’s lead investigators is one that continues to be seen in police dramas today.

Webb’s Friday was a bachelor, married only to the job, who lived with his mother.  Yarborough’s Romero was a family man with a wife and two kids.  Though the series rarely got personal, the banter between the two about weekend plans, Romero’s domestic frustrations, and Friday’s confirmed bachelor status gave the series moments of levity.  More importantly, it made these two men seem real.  It was broad strokes storytelling, but Webb was able to convey a sense of who they were outside of the office.

Beyond the cast, production value was crucial to the success of Dragnet.  Webb employed a team of sound effects artists tasked with recreating the world of the LAPD. He counted the number of steps it took to walk to various spots at headquarters. When Friday walked from his desk to the crime lab, listeners heard the exact number of steps he’d be walking downtown.

By the fall of 1949, critics were calling it the best crime show on radio and the Liggett and Meyers Tobacco Company had signed on as a sponsor. NBC had a hit on their hands, and they turned their attention to the emerging medium of television. Webb wanted to use his radio cast, and a pilot was filmed for a Dragnet TV series with Webb and Yarborough as Friday and Romero.

The series was dealt a blow when Barton Yarborough passed away on December 19, 1951.  Yarborough had filmed two episodes of the Dragnet TV series before he was felled by a heart attack. The loss of the veteran actor and co-star hit Jack Webb hard.  He wrote out the character of Ben Romero (in the December 27, 1951 episode “The Big Sorrow,” Romero passes away from a heart attack offstage) and allowed an unprecedented display of emotion from the usually stoic Joe Friday.

Webb knew who he wanted as Friday’s new partner - actor Ben Alexander, who had started in Hollywood as a child star and who found new success on radio in the 1940s. However, Alexander wasn’t immediately available, so Webb used a number of “temporary” partners to bide time before Alexander could take the role.  From December 1951 until April 1952, Friday was partnered with Sgt. Ed Jacobs, voiced by Barney Phillips. Officer Bill Lockwood, introduced as Ben Romero’s nephew, was played by Martin Milner and served as Friday’s partner for just about a month until May 1952. (Milner would later go on to star in the Dragnet spin-off Adam-12, also produced by Jack Webb.)  Herb Ellis briefly filled in before Alexander was finally clear to accept the role. Alexander brought the same sort of humor to Smith as Yarborough had to Romero, and he and Webb shared a chemistry that kept the series going on radio until 1955 and on television until 1959.

The series spawned a feature film version starring Webb and Alexander in 1954, and legendary comedian Stan Freberg scored a hit with his parody record “St. George and the Dragonet” in 1953.  Interestingly, it was Freberg’s record that cemented the phrase “just the facts, ma'am” in the public mindset.  Friday never said it on the series.  Webb joked with Freberg that he had to start saying it after the parody became so popular.

Webb said goodbye to Dragnet to focus on his production company and his work as a producer of new shows. In the 1960s, however, he worked with NBC to revive the series for a four season run. At the time, Ben Alexander was unavailable and actor Harry Morgan (Col. Potter on M*A*S*H*) played Friday’s new partner Bill Gannon.  Another revival was planned for the early 1980s but was scrapped when Webb passed away. The man who had done so much to change the perception of police officers was honored by them; Joe Friday’s badge number was retired and the LAPD flew its flags at half staff after Webb’s passing.  Since then, Dragnet has endured in reruns, remakes, and the style that Jack Webb took a gamble on nearly 70 years ago.

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On July 14, 1957, the late satirist and musician Stan Freberg brought his unique blend of humor to radio in one of the last pure comedy programs of the Golden Age of Radio. Freberg was already popular from his comedy albums (including the Dragnet parody “St. George and the Dragonet”) and his radio series revived old gags and introduced new skits and characters.

Backed up by June Foray (Rocky and Natasha from Rocky & Bullwinkle), Daws Butler (voice of Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound), and Peter Leeds (“Eugor” of Rogue’s Gallery), Freberg satirized advertisers, the networks, censorship, and popular singers and artists of the day. Audiences used to Jack Benny probably didn’t know what to think when Freberg’s first show climaxed with a fable about two competing Las Vegas casinos whose efforts to top one another culminate with a live atomic bomb show. Freberg and company recreated some of their most popular bits and introduced fantastic skits and recurring characters. June Foray played an extra terrestrial upset about her exclusion from the Miss Universe pageant, and Butler appeared as a sleazy tabloid reporter who dug up dirt on historical figures. Although the show only lasted 15 episodes before it was cancelled, The Stan Freberg Show is a high mark in the world of radio comedy.