Where's the beefcake?

One disappointing aspect of this serial, especially as compared to its 1936 predecessor, is its lack of fresh "beefcake" scenes involving handsome, hunky Buster Crabbe. Only in Chapter 11 is he given a bare-chest scene. It's disappointingly brief and so modestly posed that one imagines Crabbe being warned not to put his nipples on display any more than absolutely necessary. There's a lack of memorable bondage scenes as well. Why not, at the end of Chapter Nine, have something better than showing a fully-dressed Crabbe tied to a chair in the Disintegrating Room? Why not have him shirtless and sweaty, and tied spread-eagled to a giant wheel?