Full Theme to The Pumaman (1980).
Pyumaman!
I mean, itâs Pyumaman! [gestures wildly] Look at this glorious mess! Dyonald Pleasence! The onion! The rear projection! The hero who gets worse at his job once he gets his powers! This is a top tier episode for a reason. The host segments with Pearlâs ball, Coatimundi Man, and Roger Whittaker are good, but this time itâs the movie that does the heavy lifting.
Of all the chump protagonists to be featured in the movies screened on MST3K, Tony Farms is probably the least deserving of the scorn he receives from the fan base. First, we should consider his initial predicament. It starts with a total stranger pushing him out of a third-floor window. Later, said stranger approaches him, telling him to put on a magic belt because his surviving the fall proves that heâs descended from a Meso-American puma god from outer space. Think carefully. Would you have reacted any differently than Tony? If you intend to reply in the affirmative, remember that the saints cry whenever such filthy, bald-faced lies cross your lips.
Watching it again, Tony is nowhere near being the useless bumbler who needs Valdinho to handhold him throughout of popular imagination. That likely came about from fans mostly recalling the scenes just after he gets depowered and is at his most whiny.
But this should not be taken as an endorsement of quality. Far from it. Most notable is the unfortunate resemblance to the television series The Greatest American Hero (which came out at near the same time), especially in how similar their awkward flying sequences are. If you think flight is an odd power for a superhero with a puma theme, consider that he can also teleport and phase through walls.
Then thereâs his costume. Though the one in the movie poster looks reasonably good, the realization fell short. Truth be told, it looks like something a particularly untalented cosplayer slapped together in a couple of minutes. Our hero isnât the only one who falls short when it comes to costumes. His foe Kobras wears a leather jumpsuit, which proves to be quite unflattering for a bald dumpy man like Donald Pleasence. But after the aggressively bland movies in the previous two episodes, a bit of energetic stupidity is a welcome change of pace.
My whole problem is that the cultural mythos is somewhat confusing.
Sure, we have a âMesoâ American, but it all looks South American to me. Vadinho has the classic Incan/ Amayaran Jawline; and âPumasâ are the nomenclature normally used in South America.
Puma is an âIncanâ word, from what I remember, it means âstrengthâ, or âpowerâ. Some traditions imply that the god of storms, Viracocha, can transform at will into a Puma.
While cougars are important to Meso and North American native cultures (the Cherokee think highly of them), they represent a far larger part of South American traditions. The word, cougar, is thought to be derived from a South American etymology. The Meso Americans liked the Cougar, but they were crazy for the Jaguar, with monarchs taking the name âJaguarâ to denote power, skill, etc.
The clothing, which could be Mayan, more closely resembles that of the South American highlands.
Now, I do actually enjoy this whole strange, amalgamated cultural theology that just stinks to high heaven. I love the ancient astronaut tie-in, and I love Crowâs D. Pleasance voice. All this being said, I have this episode in my top ten at the moment.
This is another fun, quotable episode that makes me want to see if defenestration is all itâs cracked up to be.
Iâm guessing everyone reading this thread has the Pumaman theme music running through their head by this point. I sure do.
âWhen you want,
the flavor of bacon,
in a dipâŚâ
@optiMSTie Away from Forgetting You, Night Train to Mundo Fine, and the Bup-a-dup-a-da-da! of Danger!! Death Ray (1967), is this the Best Worst music in Mystery Science History? Pod People (1983) is close. Cave Dwellers (1984) not far behind. The Creeping Terror (1964) may beat it on sheer repetition. But isnât Pumamanâs (1980) score memorably bad? In a good way? Tomâs blurring of it with Endless Love is one of the greatest song callbacks in the series.
A Sci-Fi Experiment I responded to immediately. Donald Pleasance is a huge lure. The sub-par Superman: The Movie (1978) emulation âHad me at Helloâ. It felt like something Frank Conniff wouldâve chosen back in the day. The unlikely leading man, nonexistent production values, the terribly catchy music, no romantic chemistry between the leads, it has nothing except not knowing how little it has. THIS is why itâs MST-Grade Deep Hurting aided by a fantastic riff of whatâs there.