Martha Wells delivers another entertaining entry in the Murderbot Diaries with Artificial Condition. Much like the first story, this is only a novella as well and it rips along at warp speed, filled with action beats, laughs, and a small exploration of the worlds that Wells is building. The story picks up shortly after the…
Author: TD Rideout
Stargate SG-1 (2007) – Talion, and Family Ties
We begin our run to the series finale, with only four episodes left how are stories, and character arcs going to start playing out? Talion was written by Damian Kindler and first debuted on 1 June, 2007. When Teal’c (Christopher Judge) and Bra’tac (Tony Amendola) survive a series of bomb attacks which kill other Jaffa,…
Star Trek: The Haunted Asteroid (1973)
Gold Comics conintued to boldly go in July 1973, with their next Star Trek issue. The Haunted Asteroid featured a story by Arnold Drake, with art by Alberto Giolitti and Sal Trapani. It had another cover painting by George Wilson. The story’s opening splash page seems to suggest we’re in for a ghost story. How…
Rolling Thunder (1977) – John Flynn
William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones star in this slow burn revenge thriller that sees the pair as former P.O.W.s of the Vietnam War finally returning home. Unfortunately, the world isn’t the way Major Charles Rane (Devane) left it. His city welcomes him back, gifting him a giant Cadillac convertible, and a hefty collection of…
A House of Dynamite (2025) – Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow has been a fave director of mine since Near Dark. And with A House of Dynamite, she continues to prove that not only is she a fantastic director, she should be a bigger deal than she is. Taking a political/techno-thriller concept and putting a human face on it, as this film does, makes…
Smallville (2002) – Crush, and Obscura
Adam Brody guest stars as Justin in Crush, the nineteenth episode of the first season. First airing on 7 May, 2002, it was written by Philip Levens and showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Justin has been recovering in a Metropolis hospital after a hit and run. He’s returning to Smallville, following his release (and…
Weapons (2025) – Zach Cregger
Much like Cregger’s previous film, Barbarian, it’s best to go into this film for the first time with no real knowledge beyond what is provided by the poster… one night, almost all the kids from a single classroom disappeared. What happened? That’s the initial launching point for a story that shifts narratives and fractures fairy…
Stargate: Atlantis (2007) – The Game, and The Ark
The Game first debuted on 11 May, 2007 and was written by Carl Binder from a story by Don Whitehead and Holly Henderson. Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) and McKay (David Hewlett) are thrown into a game that the expedition finds in the Ancient database. But, as things continue to play out, everyone comes to realize it’s…
Star Trek: The Hijacked Planet (1973)
Arnold Drake’s second story for Gold Key’s Star Trek comic came in issue 18, The Hijacked Planet which was on comic spinners for May of 1973. Alberto Giolitti and Giovanni Ticci continue to supply the art, while George Wilson delivers another cover painting. The comic mentions that we are in the 23rd century, and that…
Get Smart (1966) – The Only Way to Die, Maxwell Smart, Alias Jimmy Ballantine, and Casablanca
The Only Way to Die riffs on the idea of Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) being publicly dead, and using that as cover to get his mission done. But everyone is going to have to believe he’s dead including 99 (Barbara Feldon), the Chief (Edward Platt) and Fang. Written by Arne Sultan, this episode first aired…
The Mind Reels 