Interview with Bing Kinsey

Photograph of The Flames

I got a treat for you all today. I’ve had the pleasure of being able to interview Bing Kinsey! He’s a friend and former producer of The Flames and he was kind enough to answer my questions. For history on The Flames, look at these articles:

http://www.thekinseyreport.com/the%20flames.htm

https://www.mollenkramer.nl/flames/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flames

Beryl Parkey: What were the personalities of the band members?

Bing Kinsey: Rather difficult. I haven’t seen Blondie since the early 70s, and really had very little to do with the group when he joined. Steve always had a confidence about him. He was very affable and generous to a fault. Money didn’t mean much to him as long as he could keep going. Brother was rather shy, and probably lacked a bit of confidence, but was a jovial figure among his close friends. He was a bit sensitive and shared some of his feelings with me. Can’t say much about Ricky because he was rather young and quiet. I know he has grown in confidence. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly. I have only seen him twice in the last 20 years, but used to correspond with him on behalf of his mother. Again with Baby, I didn’t have much to do with the group during his time with them as I was running my own record company, TMO.

BP: Sources list The Flames as having formed in 1963 and Ricky joining in 1964. Your website contradicts that. What year did the band form and when did Ricky join?

BK: The Flames were formed in 1963. I’m relatively sure that their first public performance was in 1963, as that was my last year at College. George Fabre never performed with the group at a public event. He withdrew from the group before their first gig, and Ricky then replaced him. I can recall incidents leading to their first gig.

Ricky was an asthmatic and developed breathing problems during the day and there was fear that they might have had to forego that first gig, or perform as a trio without a drummer. Old man Fataar spent time comforting and cajoling Ricky, and by the evening he was feeling much better. (I presume that nerves got to the 9-year old).

BP: Very enlightening. If Ricky was 9, then the year would’ve had to have been 1961 or 1962 as he was born in 1952.

BK: You’re right. It must have been 1962. I’ve just checked through some documents and note that I Wrote Maniac in 1962. Eugene Champion was with the group for over a year, and, if my memory serves me correctly, played during their first entry in the Big Band contest in 1963. Of course, they took some time to get recognised.

BP: Were early members George Faber [sic] or Eugene Champion on any of the band’s records? If so, which ones?

BK: Unfortunately Eugene didn’t get to appear on any of the recordings. The Flames were keen to be a full-time band and Eugene had to decide whether to continue with them or complete his apprenticeship. He chose the latter.

While Steve did most of the singing, Eugene sang some solo items and he and Brother dueted on Baby My Heart and another song whose title I can’t remember at the moment. I’ve checked with Edries Fredericks and he confirms that he joined in 1963.

BP: Did Edries Fredericks leave the group in 1966 or 1967?

BK: Edries left the group in March 1966. I recorded him later that year.

BP: How did the group find Baby Duval?

BK: Baby was with a group called The Scoot. He was a talented artist coming from a musically talented family. He went on to become a member of a few other groups including The Savoys.

BP: Different sources list Edries Fredericks or Baby Duval or Blondie Chaplin as featuring on the group’s second album, That’s Enough (1967) and 1966 and 1967 singles. Who appeared on what songs?

BK: Edries had left by the time That’s Enough was recorded, so it featured Baby Duval. I’ll check through the tracks to identify the lead singer on each track.

BP: “For Your Precious Love” is on That’s Enough and Soulfire. Why was it included on two albums?

BK: Although it was Edries who found the song by Oscar Tony Jnr, the version on That’s Enough features Baby singing, while the Soulfire version, which was the hit version released also on a single features Steve’s monologue and Blondie singing.

BP: On the Una Valli record, Soul Meeting, The Flames are credited on six of the twelve songs. The other six are performed by The Peanut Butter Conspiracy. Did The Flames play on any of the PBC songs?

BK: I don’t think they backed any other artist on recordings, but I’m not sure if they feature on the PBC recordings

BP: Did The Flames back any artists ever other than Uva Valli on that one album?

BK:  Not that I am aware of.

BP: Who wrote “Useless Illusions”, “Wishes”, and “Solitude”?

BK: There’s confusion about Useless Illusions, but it is credited to Ricky. I’ve no idea who wrote the other two.

Editor’s note: Bas Mollenkramer theorized that Steve wrote the three tracks.

BP: There’s an alternate version of “You Just Keep Me Hanging On” on YouTube. Are there alternate versions of other songs? I’ve heard there might be an alternate version of “Purple Haze”.

BK: Not that I’m aware of. Graham Beggs has tapes of live recordings made at the Alfresco in May or June 1967, but we’ve been unable to track him down or get information about these. He apparently was satisfied with the recordings and that is why he produced the studio album Burning Soul.

BP: Are there any lost recordings from the group that you have and could they be released? Such as “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Misery”, a film of the group playing “Restless”, or anything else?

BK: The tapes of I Saw Her Standing There and Misery were lost/destroyed early in the piece. Boys and Claudette were found by Rob Allingham while searching through old tapes at Gallos. Really lucky here because all the other masters of Flames material were destroyed during a fire in the late 70s. I seem to recall a grainy video of Restless performed at a club in London, but, for the life of me, can’t remember who had it. It might have been Steve. There are rumoured to be some videos of shows that they did in the States in the 70s.

BP: Do you have any unreleased photos that could be released, such as a high quality version of the cover for Ummm! Ummm! Oh Yeah!!!?

BK: No I don’t.

BP: Other than the two songs on the Kinsey Report, are there more recordings of the 2000 or 2011 reunion concerts?

BK: When Steve visited Australia in 2004, he brought a videotape of the concert, as well as a mini-disc of the audio. I had the tape digitised. Part of the audio was inaudible on the tape. I sent the MP4 file and audio to Bas Mollenkramer who then patch the missing audio into the video and did some enhancing. So I do have the whole show, but only extracted those two tracks. Steve wasn’t too keen on releasing too much as he was hoping to produce a DVD for sale. I might extract more and upload onto the website

BP: It would be cool to watch/hear the 2000 concert and any other rarities.

BP: Who was the bassist for those reunions?

BK: I can’t remember his name. He was once a member of Bryan Ferry’s  Roxy Music.

BP: Attached are Roxy Music’s bass players. Do you recognize who The Flames’ reunion bassist is?

BK: Not sure but it might have been John Porter

BP: Who sang vocal on each record?

BK: This list is fairly accurate.

Flames Records.pdf (Contents of pdf listed below)

BP: What were the recording dates for the records and who were the producers?

BK: Art Heatlie is credited as producer of the early material, but in reality production was basically left to sound engineer Dave Erbstoesser.

During the recording of the first lp, Dave and I spend most of the time in the control room with Art making a few appearances. He played piano on White Cliffs of Dover and he and I did the handclapping on Love’s Made a Fool of You and 8 Days a Week. Graham Beggs produced the later stuff.

Listening to the Post-Zombies (1969-present)

Cover for a release of “R.I.P.”

So… you’ve listened to (almost) all of the classic-line-up Zombies material? Namely,

1. Are Missing (1964) – My Fan Creation
2. Begin Here (1965) – YouTube, Spotify
3. Feeling Something (1967) – My Fan Creation
4. Odessey and Oracle (1968) – YouTube, Spotify

And now you want more material. Here’s a little compendium of other works by Zombies members. Those who want all five “classic Zombies”; Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, Paul Atkinson, Hugh Grundy, and Chris White, together can go to three places. The first is the “R.I.P.” album. In 1968, Rod Argent and Chris White were asked to make another Zombies album after the band disbanded. They recruited Hugh Grundy, Rick Birkett on guitar, and Jim Rodford on bass. Argent sings lead vocals and White only writes and produces. Side A consists of six songs by this line-up. Side B consists of six songs from 1964 to 1966 by the classic line-up. They were enhanced with overdubs. I don’t know who performed on the overdubs. I suspect the line-up with Birkett and Rodford. Some dislike the shift halfway through from newer songs to older songs as they’re stylistically different. Some tried to remedy this with fan edits. Here’s two:

1. Albums That Never Were’s version
2. FuzzDandy’s version, which features relatively few R.I.P. songs and many solo-era songs – The album on Archive.org

For whatever reason, R.I.P. wasn’t released until 1997 on the Zombie Heaven compilation. Basically everything from the 60s with the classic-line-up is in that box set. Despite being closer to Rod Argent and Chris White’s next project, Argent, R.I.P. does deliver some material by Atkinson, Grundy, and White on bass all together. Fortunately, the original mid-60s versions are also easily accessible.

1. R.I.P. (1969) – YouTube, Spotify
2. The original mid-60s versions of the classic line-up songs – YouTube, Spotify

Cover for a release of “R.I.P.”

Tying off the 60s is another transitional work between the Zombies and the solo era, Into The Afterlife. Colin Blunstone and the collective of Rod Argent and Chris White continued to make music, basically little projects before everything came together. This set contains a double album’s worth of content. Into The Afterlife was released by the same company as Zombie Heaven. These two sets contain most or all of the content from the 60s, making them a great resource. I don’t know if Hugh or Paul feature on Into The Afterlife at all. They might a little, but nothing significant. Those two will be out of the picture for a while. Along with Chris White, the three of them released zero solo albums, with anything they did being secondary to other artists, like Rod Argent. I’m also unsure if Afterlife features anything from before or after 1969. It might span ‘68-’70, but probably just 1969.

1. Into The Afterlife (1969) – Archive.org

Rod and Chris’ solo work (which was mostly one in the same), mingled a lot with Colin’s. Some of Colin’s solo albums feature Argent/White songwriting and production, Rod’s keyboard playing, and members of Argent. Here are the solo works of Rod Argent and Chris White from 1970 to 1990. I may fan edit these together to make makeshift Zombies albums in the future, who knows?

1. Argent (1970) – Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
2. Ring of Hands (1971) – Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
3. One Year (1971) – Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
4. All Together Now (1972) – Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
5. Ennismore (1972) – Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
6. In Deep (1973) – Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
7. Nexus (1974) – Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
8. Journey (1974) – Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
9. Circus (1975) – Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
10. Counterpoints (1975) – Rod Argent, Chris White – YouTube
11. Planes (1977) – Colin Blunstone
12. Never Even Thought (1978) – Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent – YouTube
13. Moving Home (1978) – Rod Argent – YouTube
14. Late Nights in Soho (1979) – Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent
15. Ghosts (1981) – Rod Argent – YouTube
16. Metro (1983) – Rod Argent – YouTube, Spotify
17. A New Age (1984) – Rod Argent – YouTube, Spotify
18. Second Sight (1984) – Rod Argent – YouTube, Spotify
19. Shadowshow (1985) – Rod Argent
20. Wild Connections (1987) – Rod Argent
21. Network Heroes (1987) – Rod Argent – YouTube, Spotify
22. The Advance of Man (1988) – Rod Argent – YouTube, Spotify
23. Red House (1988) – Rod Argent
24. Rescue (1989) – Rod Argent – YouTube, Spotify

The second way to get more classic-line-up Zombies is in 1990. 1990 saw an almost reunion of the Zombies. Knowing that the line-up has three of the five members, one might expect the returning players to be Rod, Colin, and Chris. In fact, Rod was absent and Hugh is back. They’re back for a new album with guitarist/keyboardist Sebastian Santa Maria. Paul and Rod each appear on one song of the album, though not the same one. Paul is on “New World (My America)” and Rod is on “Time of the Season”. It’s a shame the classic line-up couldn’t have been on the full album. The album received a limited release as The Return Of The Zombies in 1990. It was then rereleased with three newly recorded tracks as New World. Also featured are two demos from 1978 featuring Rod, Colin, and Chris called “Hold My Hand a.k.a. Lula Lula” and “When My Boat Comes In”.

1. New World (1991) – YouTube, Spotify

Here are more solo works from Colin and Rod, from 1990 to 2021.

1. Sings His Greatest Hits (1991) – Colin Blunstone, Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
2. Echo Bridge (1995) – Colin Blunstone – YouTube, Spotify
3. Classically Speaking (1998) – Rod Argent – YouTube, Spotify
4. The Light Inside (1998) – Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent – YouTube, Spotify
5. The Ghost of You and Me (2009) – Colin Blunstone – YouTube, Spotify
6. On the Air Tonight (2012) – Colin Blunstone – YouTube, Spotify

In 2001, Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone reunited for an album credited to them, not the Zombies, but the personnel is similar to their 2004 and onward effort, so it’s counted as part of it. In 2004, they reunited as the Zombies with minimal participation from other members. Zombies albums with only Rod and Colin are considered collaborative solo projects by me. Other members of the new Zombies are Argent and R.I.P. member Jim Rodford.

1. Out of the Shadows (2001) – Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone – YouTube, Spotify
2. As Far as I Can See… (2004) – Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, with Chris White on backing vocals and Paul Atkinson on A&R – Archive.org
3. Breathe Out, Breathe In (2011) – Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, with Chris White writing a few songs – YouTube, Spotify
4. Still Got That Hunger (2015) – Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone – YouTube, Spotify

Beyond studio albums, there have been some notable compilation and/or live albums. The works of Chris White, some before unreleased, have been compiled, making them the closest thing to White solo work. Rod and Colin also have their own efforts.

1. Encore: Live in Concert (1974) – Rod Argent – YouTube, Spotify
2. In Concert (1995) – Rod Argent
3. Live at the BBC (1996) – Colin Blunstone – YouTube, Spotify
4. The Complete BBC Sessions (1997) – Rod Argent
5. Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London (2005) – Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone – YouTube, Spotify
6. On The BBC Radio (2007) – Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone – Possibly a bootleg, was hard to find – Archive.org
7. High Voltage Festival (2010) – Rod Argent
8. Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios (2012) – Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone – YouTube, Spotify
9. Live in the UK (2013) – Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone – YouTube, Spotify
10. The Chris White Experience Vol. 1 (2019) – Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
11. The Chris White Experience Vol. 2 (2019) – Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
12. The Chris White Experience Vol. 3 (2019) – Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
13. The Chris White Experience Vol. 4: Production Sessions (2020) – Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
14. The Chris White Experience Presents Sparrow (2020) – Chris White – YouTube, Spotify
15. The Chris White Experience Vol. 5: Production Sessions (2020) – Chris White – YouTube, Spotify

Anyone that wants works with minimal involvement from one of the five Zombies can look at each individual’s page on Wikipedia, AllMusic, RateYourMusic, Discogs, and various other sites. And last, but certainly not least, are live albums featuring the classic line-up. First are compilations of the BBC sessions from the 60s, which have been released multiple times, sometimes without all the material. The best way to get them is on one of these releases:

1. Zombie Heaven (1997) – Also contains alternate versions of Zombies songs by the Zombies in the 60s
2. Live at the BBC (2003)
3. The BBC Radio Sessions (2016)

Some of these releases are annoying as it can be hard to find a quality, inexpensive set. Sets might be missing tracks or the audio quality is lesser. Here’s a link to the BBC Sessions on Archive.org. Hopefully an all-encompassing set will be released on Spotify, such as Zombie Heaven. Secondly, Chris White and Hugh Grundy sometimes would participate in modern day Zombies shows. Them, with Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone, would perform their famous album, Odessey and Oracle, in its entirety. Sadly, Paul died and thus can’t participate. Here is an official release of one of their shows:

1. Odessey and Oracle: 40th Anniversary Live Concert (2008) – YouTube, Spotify

Fortunately, there is plenty of Zombies content around, even if at first glance, there’s only two albums; Begin Here and Odessey and Oracle. It might take a little digging, but there’s more around, 58 albums to be exact. It’d be nice to go to the alternate universe where the main five stayed together and kept on going. It’s hard to beat Rod’s keyboard playing or Hugh’s drumming, which is missed on projects without them. Still, us fans are very fortunate to have the content we do have.

Her Friend the Bandit (1914) Non-Review

A frame of Chaplin from “Her Friend the Bandit”, “How Motion Pictures Are Made”, or something else

I have not seen Her Friend the Bandit. Why? Because it’s lost. This is the only “true” example of a lost Chaplin film, and then not even. Perhaps us fans are masochistic. We want there to be the one, as it’s something to hold onto. It’s something to look forward to as this is the only one left… kind of. If we are to cast a wider net, we could say there’s seven lost Chaplins. A film with basically no information known about it called How Motion Pictures Are Made (1914) has been alleged to contain Chaplin. A few frames exist which some have said come from this film. If that’s true, this is the first Chaplin film, which makes it extra enticing despite no one caring about its plot. The Baggage Smasher (1914) is also alleged to feature Chaplin with nothing confirming or denying that. The Essanay-Chaplin Revue (1916) and Zepped (1916) utilize outtakes from Chaplin films. Extra infuriating is that Zepped has been found, but it hasn’t been released yet. Hollywood (1923) features a cameo of Chap and A Woman of the Sea (1926) was produced by him. What I want the most are the little bits of footage from the incomplete The Freak (1966-75) which apparently were recorded, then lost. They might have never been.

Those seven films are usually not counted as “real” Chaplin films, but Friend is. So what do we know about it? The synopsis follows: “Charlie plays an elegant bandit with whom Mabel has a flirtation. Mabel hosts a party. Charlie attends as a French count (Count de Beans). Charlie’s uncouth behavior shocks the other party guests. The Keystone Cops eventually are summoned and remove Charlie from the party.” In terms of reviews, one by Moving Picture World called the film “a bit thin”, but also featured “the rough whirling of happenings usually found in farces of this well-marked type”. More positively, The Oregonian said “The Keystone players will offer ‘Her Friend, the Bandit’, one of those rough and ready farces that make everybody laugh.” Most enticingly, The Lexington Herald claimed it’s, “One of the funniest and most hilarious comedies in a decade, with a conglomeration of mirth-provoking scenes.” However, many Keystone films garner reviews this positive, but don’t impress in the now. I dislike most of them. Some have suggested that this is basically the same as the other already similar films where Chaplin and Normand play off each other. It’s not unlikely that Bandit is just like them.

No matter how bad or redundant or pointless this film is, we got to have it. We got to have all of them. Other Chaplin films like Mabel’s Strange Predicament, A Thief Catcher, A Busy Day, and Cruel, Cruel Love were lost for a while and despite none being must watch classics, they are still devoured and treated as Holy Grails, as if they were The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator being found, all because they feature Chaplin, even though he didn’t write or direct them. Admittedly, Wikipedia does list Chaplin as a co-director with Normand, but that could be wrong. Little info can get our ears peeled towards recovery. Some say that film restorer Enrique Bouchard has a copy, but that’s been debunked. Some were ecstatic to hear of its recovery not too long ago, only to learn that it’s His Day Out, which starred a famous Chaplin impersonator, Billy West. Message boards and fan pages discuss the film and if you type it into YouTube, you’ll find videos labelled it, but are in fact something else, usually His Day Out or an actual Chaplin film entitled, Police, which exists and is readily available. It appears that the need for more Chaplin can make our minds try to fill the gap. We gotta discuss it, we gotta label something it. What if in a collection of West films, Her Friend lies. That last bit is a joke, but someone might believe it.

Of course, most tantalizing are the few surviving photos from something. We don’t know where they’re from. Some have said (by proxy) that they aren’t from this film as some say Chaplin isn’t even in Friend. Something that’s been noticed by some is that the film is missing from various older lists of Chaplin films, including one by the man himself and Chaplin not being mentioned in many contemporary reviews. According to Swedish critic Uno Asplund, the only Chaplin films not released in his country are two half-reelers, a propaganda film, Cruel, Cruel Love, and Her Friend. While Cruel’s absence is a mystery, some wonder if this film’s absence is because Chaplin doesn’t show up. At the time, Chaplin was getting big, so why wouldn’t Keystone sell it unless he doesn’t appear? In a 1965 interview, Chaplin recalled playing a Keystone Cop. At the time, no such film was known to feature that until A Thief Catcher was found in 2010. Maybe Her Friend The Bandit also features this. It at least features the Keystone Cops, even if Chaplin isn’t one of them.

OVERVIEW

It’s funny, I don’t want Chaplin in How Motion Pictures Are Made and Her Friend the Bandit as it feels better to have the collection complete, we can give up looking. I also want them found because lost films are so fascinating and more importantly, I want to satisfy the itch. There’s uncertainty if we can’t see it. If we do find it, I want him in it as that’s more Chaplin goodness for the archives. There’s a little more pie than before. In fact, every lost film ever should have Chaplin in it. How about all of my favorite actors alive in the silent era appear. Lon Chaney, Marion Davies, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Lucille Ball, Katharine Hepburn, Conrad Veidt, and of course Charlie Chaplin are in all the classics. From London After Midnight to The Head of Janus to 4 Devils to Her Friend the Bandit, they all should have all of them as that’s so satisfying, but they’re only there after we find them! Perhaps we can sleep easy as most of them can’t possibly have appeared in certain films, but that leads the mind to wonder what they are in…

Mystery Science Theater 3000 S07E06 Time Chasers (1996) Editorial

Not featured today, Laserblast!

This editorial contains spoilers for this MST3K episode and the film Time Chasers.

Context for those unfamiliar with ‘MST3K’

Mike Nelson is a standard guy trapped in a spaceship called “The Satellite of Love” with a few sentient robots; Crow, Tom Servo, Gypsy, and Cambot. Mike is forced to watch bad movies by the evil scientist, Dr. Forrester.

In this episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Crow goes back in time to tell Mike to pursue his career in music, so he won’t get stuck on the SOL. He goes back to the present and discovers that Mike died as a rock star. Crow then goes back in time to tell his past self to not tell Mike to be a musician. The Crow that told the past Crow that Mike died then goes to the present. The episode then claims that the Crow that was informed by the other Crow is still in the 80s and is seemingly stuck there.

However, Crow isn’t stuck there or at least he shouldn’t be. Wouldn’t past Crow just do nothing, then return to the future and become present Crow? That Crow is following the same timeline as the other Crow. To those that would say that Time Chasers, which MST features in this episode, has the same plot hole; let me point out that in that movie, the protagonist, Nick, sees a dark future and goes to the past. He runs into his past self and they prevent the bad future. However, the future Nick dies. This isn’t a problem as past Nick changes and lives in the main timeline while future Nick dies with the future timeline. The loose ends tie up. Crow’s past self is in the 80s, even though there was no reason not to keep going on his merry way. If he did stay there in the 80s, he wouldn’t be able to learn about Mike’s death and then prevent it, thus starting a whole new paradox! What seems most likely is that past Crow at some point decided to go to the present and do his business.

Evil Dead’s Ideal Sequel

The logo for Ash vs Evil Dead

This editorial contains spoilers for the Evil Dead franchise.

Please note the following if you’ve never seen The Evil Dead series. The series revolves around a man named Ash that finds a book called “The Necronomicon”. When read from, demons come to life, kill people, and cause mayhem.

Many say that the TV show, Ash vs Evil Dead, is a perfect, direct sequel to the third Evil Dead movie, Army of Darkness. There are problems that could be solved with a fourth film. If the director of the movies, Sam Raimi, makes the much discussed “Army of Darkness 2”, these problems could be solved.

When Army of Darkness was being made, two endings were filmed; the ending the producers wanted and the ending Sam Raimi wanted. Ultimately, the producers won at getting their ending used for cinemas, leaving Raimi’s to international releases, as well as a director’s cut. The TV show appears to hold the producer’s/theatrical ending as canon. In the producers’ ending, Ash successfully goes from the Medieval age to modern times. In the director’s cut, he goes to the far, distant future which is post-apocalyptic. The movie then ends. Presumably, this cliffhanger would be picked up in a fourth movie that was ultimately never made. The TV show, released twenty-three years after Army of Darkness, is the fourth installment of the series. While the show is really good, there are some continuity errors that a fourth film could solve.

In Evil Dead 2, the Necronomicon is lost. In Army of Darkness, Ash goes back in time and finds the book, which he does not keep. In Ash vs Evil Dead, he just has it. It’s implied that he found the book in between those events. How? After getting home in Army of Darkness, he lives a simple life and wants nothing to do with evil, so why and how would he have the book? This is made especially confusing since he had various notes, translations, and phonetic pronunciations written in by himself. Once again, why? What if in this hypothetical fourth movie, in the post-apocalyptic future, someone finds the book and ruins the world? Ash must obtain the book, go back in time, add in notes that he can use to understand the various incantations, save the day, and decide to keep it so it doesn’t fall in the wrong hands. That’s a relatively simple way of explaining these issues away. In Evil Dead 2, Ash loses his hand, in part 3, he makes a new one out of spare parts. While the hand isn’t great, it works well enough. How come in Ash vs Evil Dead, he has a wooden hand? It does look prettier, but it can’t move or hold things. Maybe he loses his hand from Army of Darkness in Army of Darkness 2?

Most of what I say only makes sense if we assume Sam Raimi’s ending is what actually happened. If the producer’s ending is canon, it still doesn’t make sense without the hypothetical #4. In The Evil Dead, Ash’s girlfriend, Linda, dies. In the producer’s Army of Darkness, she is alive. Ash vs Evil Dead refers to Linda’s death. It is implied that the Necronomicon is asleep and not a problem unless someone reads its text, which happens in Ash vs Evil Dead. However, in the producer’s ending, one demon randomly appears and is killed by Ash. It is implied that the demon problem is solved. There’s no logical reason for there to be any demons at that point as they’ve been killed by Ash. This whole piece makes the assumption that Army of Darkness 2 wouldn’t take place during the TV show’s time span, which would be a bad idea. The TV show has its own tone and style and such an installment is better spent beforehand.