The Adventures of Captain Marvel: The Scorpion Strikes

"What about Captain Marvel? He seems to appear every time Batson's in trouble."

Another splendid instalment here even if, again, the reprise is a little long and the resolution- Captain Marvel swoops down and saves Betty from being unconscious at the wheel- is again obvious. It doesn't matter; the cliffhanger is just a set piece, a bit of excitement, and it's on with the story- and again the set pieces are not just random ways to pass the time as per certain other movie serials; the plot actually progresses.

We have a fun little set piece in which Captain Marvel goes after the goons who had Betty and ctches one by pulling down the lift by its cables with said goon still inside. He then takes said goon to meet the rest of the group of archaeologists and see if he can identify the Scorpion by his voice- he can't, but it's always fun to see so many red herrings acting suspiciously. I'll say it: I suspect Malcolm himself, on the grounds that he isn't behaving suspiciously at all.

So it's on to the final set piece, as Captain Marvel is lured into a molten rock trap, in which sock footage of running lava is mixed with some rather good effects. Five episodes in and I'm still enthralled.