Ghost Rider has always been a cool character to me. Someone stuck in a horrific world filled with supernatural beings and violence, demons and angels, not to mention your common criminal, all coming from one man making a choice based on keeping those he loved safe. As a kid, I thought the character just looked…
Author: TD Rideout
Batman (1966) – The Minstrel’s Shakedown, and Barbecued Batman?
Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) encounter an all-new villain when The Minstrel (Van Johnson) arrives in town. A talented singer and an electronic genius, he leans his talents toward villainy! This two-parter was written by Francis M. Cockrell and Marian B. Cockrell, with the first instalment, The Minitrel’s Shakedown, first airing on 21…
Family Ties (1982) – Pilot, Not with My Sister You Don’t, and I Know Jennifer’s Boyfriend
Family Ties premiered on 22 September, 1982. The pilot was written by series creator Gary David Goldberg and introduced us to the Keaton family. There’s patriarch, a former hippie, who manages a public television station Steven (Michael Gross), fellow hippie, and architect, Elyse (Meredith Baxter), son, and young Republican, Alex (Micheal J. Fox), popular but…
Lords of Uncreation (2023) – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Orbit Books delivers the final book in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s The Final Architecture Trilogy, and if you dug the first two, the space opera in the third is going to let you enjoy every page as Tchaikovsky wraps things up while delivering a fast-paced, highly enjoyable tale. The Architects, strange planet-shaped beings that appear from unspace,…
Three Miles Down (2022) – Harry Turtledove
I hadn’t picked up a Turtledove book before. He’s made a name for himself telling tales of alternate histories, picking a historical event and letting it play out differently. I was never too worried about those things, though I do like a good alternate timeline. This time, however, I was intrigued as it set a…
Batman (1966) – Hot Off the Griddle, and The Cat and The Fiddle
Julie Newmar returns as The Catwoman in the second story of season two. This two-parter was written by Stanley Ralph Ross and part one, Hot Off the Griddle, first aired on 14 September, 1966. Catwoman is stalking the streets of late-night Gotham and has made a number of interesting thefts which catch the attention of…
Punisher: War Zone (2008) – Lexi Alexander
Ray Stevenson didn’t get a fair shake at playing Frank Castle aka The Punisher, in the 2008 follow-up to The Punisher starring Thomas Jane. Jane declined to return as he felt the script didn’t go in the way that he wanted to portray the character. What was there to dislike? And what did Ray Stevenson…
Rush Hour 3 (2007) – Brett Ratner
So the racism is a little toned down (not much), but the sexism is still on display as Lee (Jackie Chan) and Carter (Chris Tucker) return for a third (and final?) go-round. Things get underway when Lee finds himself back in Los Angeles, serving as security for his old friend Ambassador Han (Tzi Ma). Han…
Hill Street Blues (1985) – Dr. Hoof and Mouth, and Davenport in a Storm
Mayo (Mimi Kuzyk) continues her undercover work to bust Dr. Rose (Sandy McPeak) for his sexual assault of his patients while they are under anesthesia. She’s less than thrilled to discover what LaRue (Kiel Martin) is doing with the videotape evidence. Every time his character redeems himself a little, he does a jackass thing like…
Shaolin Soccer (2001) – Stephen Chow
Writer/director Stephen Chow delivers another highly entertaining live-action cartoon that shows what happens when some washed-up Shaolin masters rediscover their powers and come together to play in the Chinese SuperCup competition. Chow is Mighty Steel Leg Sing. Despite his abilities, he can’t make a living and is trying to find a way to turn Shaolin…
The Mind Reels 