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Pip: The Ship’s Lantern is back, and this time we’re riding west — or at least, someone is, and he’s got a stubborn mule and two very heavy saddlebags about it. Mara: Marshall Bennett, Doctor of Pulp, has published a screenplay excerpt — a Western set in 1896, with a federal marshal, a fugitive, and…

FADE IN: EXT. TEXAS PRAIRIE – DAWNMorning mist clings to the grass.A lone rider emerges. TITLE CARD: THE RIGHT LEAN An OLD MAN. A weathered derby. A faded poncho. Long gray hair. A Winchester rests in the saddle scabbard. Twin Colts ride low on his hips. Behind him… A stubborn mule strains under two heavy…

Pip: Welcome back to The Ship’s Lantern, where today we are stepping somewhere considerably darker than a lantern usually points. Mara: Marshall Bennett, Doctor of Pulp, takes us into a Vietnam-era screenplay excerpt — a young Marine arriving at Khe Sanh, carrying a rosary and a question he can only ask his mother. Let’s start…

SMASH TO BLACK. THEN—A DEAFENING WHIRR OF ROTORS. EXT. KHE SANH COMBAT BASE – 1968 – LATE AFTERNOONA Huey kicks up red dust as it lurches down, spitting shrapnel wind across the jungle perimeter. CHUY-GRIND — real name RAMON RIVERA, 19, too skinny for the flak vest he’s wearing — steps off, duffel slung over…

Pip: The Ship’s Lantern keeps the lights on at the edge of the known universe — which, given what’s happening to the star in today’s episode, is a more literal statement than usual. Mara: Marshall Bennett, Doctor of Pulp brings us a piece of science fiction screenwriting today — pilots, a dying system, and what…