The first iteration of Batman: The Animated Series comes to a close with this episode, The Lion and The Unicorn, which had an airdate of 15 September, 1995. In it, Gotham, Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Alfred (Efrem Zimbalist jr.) are threatened one final time by the Red Claw (Kate Mulgrew) who returns and kidnaps…
Author: TD Rideout
American Beauty (1999) – Sam Mendes
The next title up in the Drama genre for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is the Academy Award Winning American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes. The film went home with a Best Actor for Kevin Spacey, Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography and Best Original Screenplay. Spacey plays Lester…
Deep Impact (1998) – Mimi Leder
Releasing the same year as Michael Bay’s big budget, small story, extravaganza, Armageddon, Deep Impact got a little lost in the rubble. But with Steven Spielberg’s name attached to it as executive producer, it’s my next stop on the Sci-Fi Chronicles. Eschewing the flash-bang, style over substance, popcorn nature of Bay’s film, Deep Impact, ably…
Doctor Who (Peter Davison) – The Awakening
The Doctor (Peter Davison) encounters the entity known as the Malus on this two-parter that was written by Eric Pringle and that aired from 19 to 20 January, 1984. The Doctor, Teagan (Janet Fielding) and Turlough (Mark Strickson) arrive in Little Hodcombe, where a reenactment of an English Civil War battle is rousing the…
*batteries not included (1987) – Matthew Robbins
The Sci-Fi Chronicles book brings me to the next stop on my continued exploration of the genre, and this time around I’m checking in with Steven Spielberg. I’ve covered some of his other films prior to this, and it also gives a few he served as executive producer on, including this film from ’87…
Quantum Leap (1989) – Play It Again, Seymour and Honeymoon Express
Season 1 of Quantum Leap comes to a close this week with Play It Again, Seymour. This nod the noir films of yesteryear was penned by Scott Shepard and Bellisario from a story by Shepherd, Bellisario and Tom Blomquist. It had an original airdate of 17 May, 1989. Sam (Scott Bakula) leaps into trouble…
Star Trek: The Trellisane Confrontation (1984) – David Dvorkin
This week’s entry on the Book Shelf is another Star Trek book (sorry loyal readers, I’ve a pile of them, and they keep me reading until I can hit a book store), this one verges on melodrama, especially coming on the tails of The Wounded Sky, and I ended up not being a fan…
Batman: The Animated Series (1995) – Showdown, Catwalk and A Bullet for Bullock
The fourth season of Batman: The Animated Series continues this week with this trio of episodes, first up is Showdown, which aired 12 September, 1995. This one is a little different, and may have hinted at what was going to come down the line when the Justice League series started. Batman (Kevin Conroy) and…
Runaway (1984) – Michael Crichton
My time with the Sci-Fi Chronicles book continues as I dive into Michael Crichton’s other science fiction film from the 80s, Runaway, starring Tom Selleck, Cynthia Rhodes, and Gene Simmons. Selleck is Jack Ramsay, a cop that specializes in robots. With his partner, Thompson (Rhodes) at his side, he finds himself pulled into a…
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) – Henry Selick
The final recommendation from The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of It’s A Wonderful Life is this modern day cult classic, that has found its way into the mainstream consciousness and has been stuck there since the film’s initial release, celebrating Christmas and Halloween in that macabre and…
