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Jack The Ripper

This entry is part 1 of 14 in the series Evil Dudes In History

Evil Dudes In History

Today Toren, Joe, and Kevin take a look at the most famous serial killer in history: London, England’s very own Jack the Ripper.

Music: Guy Lombardo “Annie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”

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On the Trail of Jack the Ripper (tour)

Movie Reviews

From Hell
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 4/10
Joe: 4/10

Amazon Women on the Moon
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

Time After Time
Toren: 4/10
Joe: 6/10

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32 Responses

  2. I know it is nearly impossible to list all the Ripper fictional materials, but one I’d note would be the novel The List of 7. It’s sort of a Holmes pastiche, but with more going on, and would probably interest League of Extraordinary Gentlemen fans. Off the top of my head, it not only touches on the Ripper, but also has a memorable and vaguely Lovecraftian appearance by M. Blavatasky. It hits several of the occultish points that From Hell does, and it was written when the original series was running, so I don’t know how independent they are (as Moore’s ideas were at least partly drawn from the crank literature, I’m guessing they’re independent).

    Absolutely love the book From Hell, though I agree with Joe(? can’t remember) about the art (in much of the book, it works in some places, especially the tour of masonic London). Hated the film, found it as appallingly bad an adaptation as LoEG, considering the entire point of the novel is how anchored it is in the history before departing from it. The density of the work, the constant checking of the endnotes and so on, is why I like it. And I adore the epilogue, about Ripperology itself. The story absolutely needs that epilogue, IMHO.

    Toren’s critiques of Time after Time are largely valid, but some of the aspects are so cool, and David Warner does such a good job there (I saw this movie when I was a kid, and have been a David Warner fan ever since. Funny how his probably most remembered role will end up being the interrogator in the “There are FOUR LIGHTS” scene of Star Trek), that I can’t hate on it. Mary Steenbergen is a real problem here, while Malcom Macdowell is massively miscast as nebbish Wells.

  3. I know it is nearly impossible to list all the Ripper fictional materials, but one I’d note would be the novel The List of 7. It’s sort of a Holmes pastiche, but with more going on, and would probably interest League of Extraordinary Gentlemen fans. Off the top of my head, it not only touches on the Ripper, but also has a memorable and vaguely Lovecraftian appearance by M. Blavatasky. It hits several of the occultish points that From Hell does, and it was written when the original series was running, so I don’t know how independent they are (as Moore’s ideas were at least partly drawn from the crank literature, I’m guessing they’re independent).

    Absolutely love the book From Hell, though I agree with Joe(? can’t remember) about the art (in much of the book, it works in some places, especially the tour of masonic London). Hated the film, found it as appallingly bad an adaptation as LoEG, considering the entire point of the novel is how anchored it is in the history before departing from it. The density of the work, the constant checking of the endnotes and so on, is why I like it. And I adore the epilogue, about Ripperology itself. The story absolutely needs that epilogue, IMHO.

    Toren’s critiques of Time after Time are largely valid, but some of the aspects are so cool, and David Warner does such a good job there (I saw this movie when I was a kid, and have been a David Warner fan ever since. Funny how his probably most remembered role will end up being the interrogator in the “There are FOUR LIGHTS” scene of Star Trek), that I can’t hate on it. Mary Steenbergen is a real problem here, while Malcom Macdowell is massively miscast as nebbish Wells.

  4. Hey guys,
    Just wanted to let you know about an interesting thing that happened to me on the way home from work today. While driving back home from working a Graveyard shift (not at an actual Graveyard) I was listening to the Jack the Ripper episode and I guess the soothing descriptions of the various murders caused me to nod off and flip my car into a ditch….the odd thing was that I remember hearing your voices as I was rolling over and thought that you may appreciate the fact that you were close to being the last voices I ever heard.

  6. The Town Pants, a Vancouver-based Irish–styled band, have a song about Annie Chapman, as one of their members, Aaron Chapman, claims to be a distant relative… a nephew or something…

    http://www.thetownpants.com/

  7. The Town Pants, a Vancouver-based Irish–styled band, have a song about Annie Chapman, as one of their members, Aaron Chapman, claims to be a distant relative… a nephew or something…

    http://www.thetownpants.com/

  8. I still saying that you guys should add Shiro Ishii, Commander of Unit 731 to you list of Evil Dudes

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  14. Jack the Ripper was also one of the villains of the video game Shadowman. Therein he was depicted as an insane polymath (doctor, artist, architect, occultist) who was called upon by the demon, Legion, to help him build an Asylum in the Netherworld, a place where all the most monsterous souls would gather to prepare for Armeggedon. His victims were chosen because he believed he could find the ‘organ of the soul’ in their bodies, but of course couldn’t. He was a bitch to fight in the game because he was one of the bosses who didn’t just fight you on one plane, as he would make these big tumbling leaps over you while flinging knives.
    I’d link to the opening cutscene from the game, but frankly the graphics and sound quality are now so dated it’s kinda brutal to watch.

  15. In the first episode of the short lived series Kolchak: the Night Stalker, while investigating a series of serial killings, Kolchak discovers the killer to be Jack the Ripper. Jack is portrayed as super strong, bullet proof, and is able to fight off dozens of police officers at once. Through his research, Kolchak theories that Jack is over 130 years old, and the only way to kill him is a severe electric shock.

  16. In the first episode of the short lived series Kolchak: the Night Stalker, while investigating a series of serial killings, Kolchak discovers the killer to be Jack the Ripper. Jack is portrayed as super strong, bullet proof, and is able to fight off dozens of police officers at once. Through his research, Kolchak theories that Jack is over 130 years old, and the only way to kill him is a severe electric shock.

  17. Jack the Ripper was also in the anime/manga Black Butler, wherein Ciel Phantomhive was tasked by Her Majesty to find the killer. (spoiler) turns out the other butler did it, except that he’s not a butler, and not totally a he, and not human, and working for someone else. still no match for Sebastian, but then… Sebastian is one Hell of a butler.

  18. I cannot believe you guys dissed “Time After Time”. That is one of my all-time favourites. It has an interesting story, good 70s effects and great acting from McDowell, Warner AND Steenburgen (the scene where she tries to seduce the Victorian Wells is a hoot!).

    “Time After Time” was written for a discerning movie-goer who prefers good writing over the CGI garbage that clogs up cinemas today.

    But then – you admit you didn’t read “From Hell” – so it is obvious you are low-brow types who probably enjoyed “Transformers”.

  19. I cannot believe you guys dissed “Time After Time”. That is one of my all-time favourites. It has an interesting story, good 70s effects and great acting from McDowell, Warner AND Steenburgen (the scene where she tries to seduce the Victorian Wells is a hoot!).

    “Time After Time” was written for a discerning movie-goer who prefers good writing over the CGI garbage that clogs up cinemas today.

    But then – you admit you didn’t read “From Hell” – so it is obvious you are low-brow types who probably enjoyed “Transformers”.

    1. “You guys dont like the movie that i personally like? Well you must all be low brow types that enjoy transformers even though i have nothing at all to back that up other then you guys didint like that one 70’s movie that I myself personally enjoyed

    1. It was, there was just some HTML weirdness. The “Series” box that lists the other Evil Men In History episodes was blocking the download link from being cursor-accessible.

      I’ve put in an easy fix for now and will see if I can find a more elegant solution that simply “clearing” that box completely.