Zhao (Jason Isaacs) gets promoted to admiral in his search for the Avatar, and he recruits several expert archers to help him. Iroh (Mako) is happy for him, but Zuko (Dante Basco) is less than thrilled, in The Blue Spirit. Written by series creators Micheal Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, this episode debuted on 17…
Author: TD Rideout
One Piece: Season 1 – East Blue, Part 2
There is so much to discover on Crunchyroll, and I may have been foolish to dig into something so huge as One Piece right off the bat, but I was intrigued by the concept, and after watching the first few episodes I was hooked. The first half of the season helped set up a lot…
The Name of the Rose (1986) – Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud’s adaptation of Umberto Eco’s novel, The Name of the Rose, is an engaging tour-de-force with a fantastic cast, an intriguing mystery, and a fantastic setting. Amazingly, Sean Connery’s career was in a bit of a lull when he lobbied for the part, one which, it seems, much like Bond, and Indy’s father, he…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) – Strange New Worlds, and Children of the Comet
Akiva Goldsman wrote and directed the series opener for Strange New Worlds, which was first broadcast on 5 May, 2022. It had to tie in with the established canon of The Original Series, and what had happened in Star Trek: Discovery during season two. It also riffs on The Day The Earth Stood Still, which…
Family Ties (1986) – A Word to the Wise: Part 2, Art Lover, and Teacher’s Pet
The clip show continues with A Word to the Wise: Part 2. It was written by Marc Lawrence and Susan Borowitz and debuted on 13 February, 1986. The family and Skippy (Marc Price) continue to share stories with Ellen (Tracy Pollan) about Alex (Micheal J. Fox) before she came along. Sure some fun moments get…
Star Trek: Vulcan’s Forge (1997) – Susan Shwartz and Josepha Sherman
James Kirk is dead. But Spock, Uhura, McCoy and the rest go on in the next Star Trek book from Pocketbooks/Simon & Schuster, Vulcan’s Forge. While Chekov has gone off to serve as Sulu’s first officer aboard the Excelsior, and Spock has taken a captaincy aboard the Intrepid II, he is joined by McCoy, and…
Star Trek: Picard (2023) – Vox, and The Last Generation
Showrunner Terry Matalas slips into the director’s chair to give us a powerful penultimate episode, Vox. Written by Sean Tretta and Kiley Rossetter, this episode was first broadcast on 13 April, 2023. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the rest learn that the symptoms of Irumodic Syndrome were simply a side effect of what was really wrong…
The Substitute (1996) – Robert Mandel
Its action sequences are flawed, and don’t look anywhere as near as cool, and sharp as they could, but 1996’s The Substitute (which spawned three increasingly bad direct-to-video sequels) is packed with familiar faces. The cast is led by Tom Berenger, and includes Raymond Cruz, Luis Guzman, William Forsythe, Rodney, A. Grant, Ernie Hudson, Marc…
Allan Quatermain & The Lost City of Gold (1986) – Gary Nelson
Gary Nelson, who directed my beloved The Black Hole, directed the sequel to 1985’s King Solomon’s Mines, Allan Quatermain & The Lost City of Gold, which was filmed back to back with the first film. In fact, it steals a large portion of Jerry Goldsmith’s score for the first film as a way to save…
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Book 1: Water (2005) – Jet, The Great Divide, and The Storm
Problems arise for our heroes, when they meet a young revolutionary named Jet (Crawford Wilson). This episode, written by Aaron Ehasz, was first broadcast on 6 May, 2005. After stumbling upon a Fire Nation encampment, Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen), Katara (Mae Whitman) and Sokka (Jack De Sena), Jet rescues them and reveals his hidden encampment…
The Mind Reels 