The final season of The Expanse is a six-episode finale, attempting to not only move the story continually forward but wrap up narrative threads. The first episode, Strange Dogs, was written by Naren Shankar and dropped on Prime on 10 December, 2021. Fans of the novels will be delighted with a glimpse of one of…
Author: TD Rideout
Phasers on Stun!: How the Making (and Remaking) of Star Trek Changed the World (2022) – Ryan Britt
I have one complaint about Ryan Britt’s examination of Star Trek, it’s too short! It goes by at warp speed, sharing anecdotes new and old, and taking us through Trek’s entire timeline up to 2022. The series, the movies, the fandom are broken into separate chapters and Britt delivers an easy-to-read, occasionally brilliantly funny examination…
Batman (1966) – Hi Diddle Riddle, and Smack in the Middle
I have never seen the original Batman television series. I did see the movie that was released between seasons at a Saturday matinee when I was a kid and it inspired hours of play, but I’d never dug into the 120 episodes that comprised the series. I’m determined to fix that, so here we go…
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) – Jay Oliva
Flash (Justin Chambers) has his hands full after the timeline is changed around him in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. Based on the graphic novel, Flashpoint by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, this animated feature, though featuring great voice work by its all-star cast suffers from the same thing most of the other adaptations suffer…
Rocky II (1979) – Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone writes, directs and stars in his 1979 follow-up to the 1976 hit Rocky. Picking up moments after the first film ended, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) is dealing with the fallout of his fight with Rocky (Stallone) while Rocky is having his first brush with fame and money even as a rematch is on…
Hill Street Blues (1984) – The Count of Monty Tasco, and Nutcracker Suite
Joyce (Veronica Hamel) has to deal with the physical intimidation of the brother, William (Jesse D. Goins) of one of the suspects in the case she’s dealing with. He’s pulled a gun on her once and has threatened her a number of times if she doesn’t leave the case alone. But she’s not the only…
The Gate (1987) – Tibor Takacs
I wish I had been into horror movies a little more as a teen. As mentioned before it took me forever to come around to some of them, though Jaws and Poltergeist were much-loved by me even then, though Poltergeist freaked me out for quite some time, even after I learned how it was all…
The Equalizer (1989) – Endgame, and Suicide Squad
Endgame is a tale of manipulation, and revenge, and seems to almost sneak up on the fringes of Saw territory, as the episode finds two sisters pitted against one another. Written by Coleman Luck, the penultimate episode of The Equalizer aired on 10 August, 1989, well after the season should have finished in May. McCall…
The Expanse (2021) – Winnipesaukee, and Nemesis Games
The penultimate episode of the fifth season of The Expanse, sees things racing towards the season finale. Written by the duo of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, collectively known as James S.A. Corey, the author of the novel series, and Naren Shankar, this episode first dropped on Prime on 27 January, 2021. On Luna, Chrisjen…
Star Trek: The Return (1996) – William Shatner with Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Judith Reeves-Stevens
William Shatner with the Reeves-Stevens at his side, pens the second volume of his Shatner-verse Star Trek novels, and while a little too self-indulgent in some aspects, it’s not a terrible tale, and hints at some cool Borg ideas that don’t wholly conflict with what was later established by Star Trek: First Contact, and events…
The Mind Reels 