The second film in the pairing Jeff calls "The Myth of the Post-Apocalyptic Recovery" is "Logan's Run," a film that moves ahead in real time six years to 1976. Based on a 1967 novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johns, and directed by Michael Anderson, this film introduces viewers to a seeming utopia within a domed city. Run by computer, each person born has a crystal embedded in the palm of their left hand, which changes color as they age. When the crystal quickly blinks red and black, they are expected to report to the arena-like "Carousel" where they will attempt to gain renewal and be born again. Those who run from this responsibility are known, fittingly enough, as runners, and it is the job of the Sandmen to hunt them down and kill them. The story follows Logan 5 (Michael York) and Francis 7 (Richard Jordan), two Sandmen who revel in their work. But when a chance encounter with an ankh ensnares Logan in the master computer's quest to find a place called "Sanctuary," his lifeclock is sped up and he becomes a runner himself. Helped by Jessica (Jenny Agutter), a woman who has connections in the underground, Logan must outwit Francis and escape the dome. But when he does, what he finds is not at all what he expects! The proto-typical science fiction film about the truth of utopias and the necessity of freedom, this is a seminal work in the genre, even if the special effects haven't aged particularly well. And the trio explain why they've bumped back their list in order to pay tribute to a famous character actor who recently passed away!

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This pairing is what Jeff calls "The Myth of the Post-Apocalyptic Recovery," in that both films take place after an armageddon of sorts, when life has supposedly gotten back to an idyllic status quo. The first film in the pairing is a rarity on this podcast: A sequel! Only the third sequel reviewed thus far. It's 1970's budget-crippled "Beneath the Planet of the Apes." The film picks up at the final moments of the original, and follows Taylor (Charlton Heston) and Nova (Linda Harrison) as they head out into the wilds of the Forbidden Zone. After trying to confront something that could not possibly be, Taylor vanishes, and Nova stumbles upon Brent (James Franciscus), another astronaut who was part of the mission to find out what happened to Taylor and his comrades. Nova leads Brent to Cornelius (this time played by David Watson) and Zira (Kim Hunter), after which they escape capture and flee into the Forbidden Zone, only to find out there are other humans left alive as well, but not quite fully human any longer. An able attempt by director Ted Post, which would likely have been better had the studio not cut their production budget in half!

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We have to move ahead 27 years to find our other Stephen King adaptation, which also turns out to be about a hotel, but this time is not about the hotel itself, but a specific room IN the hotel, a room that has been blamed for over 50 deaths. In 2007's "1408," director Mikael Håfström spins a tale based on a King short story about another writer, Mike Enslin (John Cusack) who, despondent over the death of his daughter Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony), has abandoned his wife Lily (Mary McCormack) and his aging father (Len Cariou) to begin writing books which debunk the idea of spirits and hauntings. When he receives a postcard warning him not to enter room 1408 at the Dolphin hotel in New York, he reluctantly returns to the city he lived in before with his family, and goes to the hotel. The manager of the hotel, Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) tries his best to dissuate Mike from staying in the room, but in the end Mike's stubbornness wins out and he enters the killer room. What happens then is a slowly-evolving nightmare based in the room's inherent evil and Mike's tortured spirit! Plus, the trio disclose which two films they'll be reviewing for a pairing Jeff calls "The Myth of the Post-Apocalyptic Recovery!"

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