Meerkat said:...in order to win all of those awards?
I wonder what her specific achievements were, or if she could have done anything except discoveries in parapsychology.
Montana Smith said:I think it was parapsychology related. She probably discovered secret enemy bases using her long distance viewing skills.
She might, of course, just have slept with Uncle Joe.
Jack Nelligan said:Maybe she slept with "Uncle Joe" remotely!
This is one of my biggest disappointments, character-wise. And I don't really see her using telepathy, either. She comes across as a fraud, to me. Or a nut.Montana Smith said:In KOTCS we never saw much of her powers beyond telepathy, ... In the realm of an Indiana Jones movie Spalko turns out to be quite understated,
I might agree on the Donovan thing, but Toht did more with his fairly small role, and was much scarier. Belloq was far from "understated." But you go on to say......which puts her alongside other villains such as Toht, Belloq, Donovan, or Vogel.
So, maybe by understated, you mean "no supernatural powers." Since Mola would be the exception to the rule (if it's not slight-of-hand), then why parcel up groups? All you really have is Mola Ram and... every other villain.Mola Ram seemed to have more physical supernatural abilities - the heart removal trick (unless that was just a sleight of hand).
Chewbacca Jones said:I might agree on the Donovan thing, but Toht did more with his fairly small role, and was much scarier. Belloq was far from "understated." But you go on to say...
So, maybe by understated, you mean "no supernatural powers." Since Mola would be the exception to the rule (if it's not slight-of-hand), then why parcel up groups? All you really have is Mola Ram and... every other villain.
Chewbacca Jones said:But I love that you mention the possible slight-of-hand thing. There's never a real answer to it, and it's far cooler being a mystery. If they had found a similar way to play Spalko's supposed mental powers, THAT would have been interesting.
Chewbacca Jones said:Anyway, I guess what I'm saying overall is, "In the realm of an Indiana Jones movie" is a phrase that suggests Indy villains are usually more grand, less... fuzzy (10 points for IDing that reference). But actually, in the realm of an Indiana Jones movie, villains are usually quite grounded and normal.
Chewbacca Jones said:Am I making sense?
Here's what "Ultimate Guide" says:Montana Smith said:Spalko is said to be in her mid-thirties in the novel, which could mean she was born around 1922. So when the Great Patriotic War began in 1941 she would have been old enough to play a part.
The war diaries of Irina Spalko, Stalin's 'fair-haired girl', might make interesting reading.
Matt, just wanted to ask if you've only seen the U.K. censored version of "Doom"? Some months ago, the heart scene was being discussed and there was huge minunderstanding because some Ravenheads were not even aware of the censored shots. It's no "sleight of hand".Montana Smith said:In KOTCS we never saw much of her powers beyond telepathy, and she fought Mutt with her sword, rather than use any form of 'psychic attack'. In the realm of an Indiana Jones movie Spalko turns out to be quite understated, which puts her alongside other villains such as Toht, Belloq, Donovan, or Vogel. Mola Ram seemed to have more physical supernatural abilities - the heart removal trick (unless that was just a sleight of hand).
Stoo said:Here's what "Ultimate Guide" says:
Raised in a superstitious Ukranian village, where here psychic abilities led to her being branded a "witch", Irina Spalko was handpicked by Stalin to oversee research into psychic warfare. A former member of the KGB's Science and Technology Directorate, Spalko has been decorated with the Order of Lenin. Her powers of intuition have taken her a long way from the experiments she performed on animals as a teenager.
Stoo said:Matt, just wanted to ask if you've only seen the U.K. censored version of "Doom"? Some months ago, the heart scene was being discussed and there was huge minunderstanding because some Ravenheads were not even aware of the censored shots. It's no "sleight of hand".
Montana Smith said:How does the non-UK version differ?
Maybe she was able to make animals fight each other, similar to Chuck Heston and Jimmy Franciscus were made to do in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes"? Or made their heads explode like in David Croenenbeg's "Scanners"!Montana Smith said:Well, that's a tantalizing glimpse of Spalko's past. Wonder what she did to the animals? I have a book on Soviet psychic warfare - will have to see what it says on this subject...
It could also mean that Spalko was simply a charlatan who had fooled everyone. It would interesting to hear what your book has to say about "psychic warfare".Montana Smith said:So Mola Ram must be one of Indy's true supernatural villains. Which means Spalko should have been able to show off more of her paranormal skills.
Chewie! How could you forget about that?!? Not to take things off track but one thing that's evident is that the censored version has formed a, somewhat, alternate point-of-view of the film within the minds of U.K. viewers, which is unfortunate.Chewbacca Jones said:I forgot about that. And I've never seen the UK version! In my own defense, I don't watch ToD that much, anyway. So, I take back comments agreeing to a possible slight-of-hand trick.
We need a good screengrab of her dossier from "Skull". I wonder if there are any clues in the fine print...Rocket Surgeon said:She seemed one not to get her hands dirty, and appears to be simply a manipulator as J Edgar Hoover was here in the US.
Stoo said:We need a good screengrab of her dossier from "Skull". I wonder if there are any clues in the fine print...
Stoo said:Maybe she was able to make animals fight each other, similar to Chuck Heston and Jimmy Franciscus were made to do in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes"? Or made their heads explode like in David Croenenbeg's "Scanners"!
It could also mean that Spalko was simply a charlatan who had fooled everyone. It would interesting to hear what your book has to say about "psychic warfare".
Montana Smith said:Okay, the book is 'Psychic Discoveries: The Iron Curtain Lifted', by Sheila Ostrander & Lynn Ostrander, 1997.
James said:This is actually an update of the authors' 1970 book, "Psychic Discoveries Behind The Iron Curtain". It was a fairly popular work on the subject and no doubt played a large role in shaping the character of Irina Spalko. (The rabbit experiment was even incorporated into one of her deleted scenes.)
James said:I think Spalko's psychic tendencies were simply intended to provide historical context- as opposed to presenting her as some kind of supernatural foe. Mola Ram was a high priest who dabbled in black magic. Irina Spalko was a Russian officer who believed in her intuition. There's quite a difference there.
She could've had a good success rate under controlled conditions, but that's not something that would necessarily be useful in the field.
James said:Aside from, perhaps, guessing which direction Akator was in, she was never going to suddenly morph into Jean Gray.