Liberace?! Yup, Liberace. The renowned pianist and entertainer shows up as this story’s villain, Harry, as well as the villain’s entertainer twin brother, Chandell, who is being blackmailed by Harry. A series of musical crimes are striking Gotham City in this two-part story which was written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. The first part, The Devil’s…
Author: TD Rideout
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) – Jason Reitman
Ignoring the 2016 film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife leans into its nostalgia, ties itself firmly directly to the 1984 original and while it can be seen as a little oversentimental in its final act, it checked all the boxes I needed for a Ghostbusters legacy sequel. Callie (Carrie Coon) is a single mother whose absent father died…
Muppet Treasure Island (1996) – Brian Henson, and David Lane
Tim Curry, Billy Connelly, Jennifer Saunders and Kevin Bishop joined the standard Muppet cast of characters in the film series follow-up to A Muppet Christmas Carol. This time they took on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale of Treasure Island which saw Tim Curry delightfully chewing scenery as Long John Silver. Kermit (Steven Whitmire) is…
Hill Street Blues (1985) – G.Q., and Queen For a Day
Hill (Michael Warren) and Renko (Charles Haid) need some time apart after the shooting, Hill takes some administrative duty but their relationship is incredibly strained now. In fact, Hill thinks that Renko may be too dangerous, and a bad cop and won’t be there for his partner. Renko is furious with Hill and it’s going…
Murphy’s Romance (1985) – Martin Ritt
James Garner earned his only Academy Award nomination for his turn as Murphy Jones, a local widower, handyman and pharmacist in the small town of Eunice, where the newly divorced Emma (Sally Field) and her young son, Jake (Corey Haim) arrive in to make an attempt at running a horse ranch. Emma has a tough…
Batman (1966) – An Egg Grows in Gotham, and The Yegg Foes in Gotham
Vincent Price shows up as Egghead, and we learn a dark secret about the Wayne family and the other founding members of Gotham, that being how much they paid the Mohican tribes for the land and the renewal of that contract every few years, all for the price of a few raccoon pelts. Ugh. This…
Family Ties (1982) – Big Brother Is Watching, No Nukes Is Good Nukes, and Death of a Grocer
Alex (Micheal J. Fox) finds himself in an ethical dilemma when he’s made editor of the school paper. Big Brother is Watching was written by Ruth Bennett and originally aired on 17 November, 1982. Within moments of getting the position he’s presented with a story that involves cover-ups and lies, their school has a very…
Star Trek: The Joy Machine (1996) – James E. Gunn
James E. Gunn takes the original story treatment for The Joy Machine by Theodore Sturgeon, who gave us the TOS episodes Shore Leave and Amok Time, and turns it into a novel that feels very much like an Original Series episode. When a couple of Federation investigators disappear on a planet, one that Captain James…
Swan Song (1987) – Robert McCammon
I remember seeing the original cover for this paperback in a variety of book racks when I was a teen, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I didn’t recognize the name of Robert McCammon at the time, though since that time Boy’s Life has become one of my favourite books. I didn’t…
Batman (1966) – The Clock King’s Crazy Crimes, and The Clock King Gets Crowned
We get a great window cameo (Hey! It’s Sammy Davis Jr.!) to an introduction to a new baddie, The Clock King (Walter Slezak), Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) have their hands full in this two-parter written by Bill Finger and Charles Sinclair. The first episode, The Clock King’s Crazy Crimes first aired on…
The Mind Reels 