Leslie Bohem continues the UFO narrative in the ‘Steven Spielberg presents’ mini-series, Taken. This episode marks the halfway point of the show, and first aired on 6 December, 2002. The narrative moves into the 1980s. Eric Crawford (Andy Powers) has cemented his role as the head of the government’s UFO program, based out at Groom…
Synchronic (2019) – Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
I think when COVID rolled around, Benson and Moorhead fell off my radar. And that’s unfortunate because I liked everything by them that I had seen to that point. On the flipside, it not means there are a couple of titles of theirs that I need to catch up on, with Synchronic being one of…
Curse of Chucky (2013) – Don Mancini
Child’s Play writer Don Mancini, who has penned all of the entries so far, continues to guide us through Chucky’s (voiced by Brad Dourif) murderous adventures. Like the previous entry, Seed of Chucky, he also directs this one. Curse of Chucky didn’t get a theatrical release; it was straight-to-video, the first in the series to…
Smallville (2005) – Unsafe, and Pariah
Unsafe debuted on 26 January, 2005. It was written by Steven S. DeKnight and Jeph Loeb. Alicia Baker (Sarah Carter) is back. Supposedly cured, she’s been released from the mental institution. But the first thing she does is go to see Clark (Tom Welling). For now, she’s unable to teleport, thanks to some low-tech solutions….
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
DC’s Movie Special adaptation of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was released in June of 1984. Mike W. Barr adapted the story from the script by Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes, Harve Bennett, and Nicholas Meyer, from a story developed by Bennett and Leonard Nimoy. It featured pencils by Tom Suttton, inks by Ricardo…
Tequila Sunrise (1988) – Robert Towne
I enjoyed seeing Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer in The Madison, and then I remembered they’d worked together in Tequila Sunrise. Written and directed by Robert Towne, the film is a neo-noir film that entertains. The pair are joined by Mel Gibson (and makes me lament what he’s done to himself) and Raul Julia. Dale…
Taken (2002) – Acid Tests
Acid Tests moves Leslie Bohem’s Taken miniseries into the 1970s. Bohem guides the characters through another feature length episode that first aired on 5 December, 2002. We’re entering the era of crop circles, and Crawford (Joel Gretsch) is joined by his grown son, Eric (Andy Powers) and Marty (John Hawkes) as he investigates them. One…
Get Smart (1969) – Physician Impossible, The Apes of Rath, and Age Before Duty
Physician Impossible first aired on 21 November, 1969. It was written by Lloyd Turner and Gordon Mitchell. Early in the day, while working undercover, Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) shoots and injures a high profile criminal, Big Eddie Little (Henry Corden). Later, when he goes to visit 99 (Barbara Feldon) and the twins in the hospital,…
Firefly: The Magnificent Nine (2019) – James Lovegrove
James Lovegrove takes us back out into the Black with his second Firefly novel, The Magnificent Nine. Once again, he has an ear for the dialogue and the pacing of the series and translated it nicely to a novel. As the title hints at, the story is a bit of a riff on the classic…
Taken (2002) – High Hopes
The Taken miniseries aired over ten consecutive weekday nights. High Hopes, the third feature-length episode, aired on 4 December, 2002. Leslie Bohem continues to script the narrative, interweaving his fictional families around alleged UFO encounters and historical events. Set in October of 1962, things are developing for both the Keys family, the Crawfords and the…
The Mind Reels 