Johnny Byrne pens the season 21 opening story that was a four-parter which aired from 5 January to 13 January 1984. Peter Davison’s last season as the Doctor gets underway with the return of a pair of familiar alien race, the Silurians and the Sea Devils. The TARDIS arrives in orbit around Earth in…
Author: TD Rideout
Stranger Things (2016) – Season 1
Picture a Stephen King novel directed by Steven Spielberg, with a score by John Carpenter, and a beautifully balanced touch of nostalgia and you have the wondrous, scary, funny, and exciting ride that is Netflix’s latest winner, Stranger Things. Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, the series is set in Indiana in the year,…
Looker (1981) – Michael Crichton
I love when a movie I’ve never heard of at all comes along on the lists I am working through, and as I dove into the Sci-Fi Chronicles book today, I learned Michael Crichton’s films were next on the list. He only wrote and directed a few and this one is one of them,…
Star Trek: Beyond (2016) – Justin Lin
The latest Star Trek film, celebrating the long-lived series 50th anniversary hits screens nationwide today, and once again, film-goers are invited to Boldly go… And for the most part, it’s pretty damned enjoyable, and arguably a step up from the previous entry. While I was unsure of Lin taking the helm (I’m not a…
Quantum Leap (1989) – The Color of Truth and Camikazi Kid
Sam (Scott Bakula) has more time-travelling adventures this week, when he leaps into a black man in the south in The Color of Truth. Written by Deborah Pratt, this award winning episode aired on 3 May, 1989. It’s 8 August, 1955, and Sam has leapt into Jesse, the chauffer for Miz Melny Trafford (Susan…
Star Trek: The Wounded Sky (1983) – Diane Duane
Diane Duane takes the helm of the Enterprise in this week’s visit to the 23rd century via The Book Shelf. While heavy on the techno-babble and grounded in factual science, this story garnered an additional worthy note, it was later adapted for the season 1 episode of The Next Generation, Where No One Has…
Batman: The Animated Series (1994/1995) – Lock-Up, Deep Freeze and The Terrible Trio
There’s more trouble in Gotham this week, and Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Robin (Loren Lester) are ready to take it on. First up is Lock-Up which aired 19 November, 1994. Lyle Bolton (Bruce Weitz) is fanatical about his job as security chief in Arkham, keeping an eye on the likes of Harley Quinn (Arleen…
A Boy and His Dog (1975) – L.Q. Jones
Harlan Ellison’s classic novella comes to life in this adaptation that is my next stop on the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. Vic (a very young Don Johnson) is wandering the post-apocalyptic world, accompanied by his dog, Blood (voiced by Tim McIntire), with whom he can communicate telepathically. Together they navigate the barbarity, the cruelty and…
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) – Robert Stevenson
The recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book continue following my screening of It’s a Wonderful Life. This time around it’s a Disney film I’ve only seen in bits and pieces and never seen as a whole. It’s World War II, and an apprentice witch, three children and a conman…
Doctor Who (Peter Davison) – The Five Doctors
Neither part of season 20 or 21, The Five Doctors was originally a Children in Need special, featuring Davison’s Doctor as well as Tom Baker’s (shown through footage recorded for the unaired Shada, as the actor didn’t want to return), Jon Pertwee’s , Patrick Troughton’s and Richard Hurndall, standing in for William Hartnell’s. Airing…
