The clip show continues with A Word to the Wise: Part 2. It was written by Marc Lawrence and Susan Borowitz and debuted on 13 February, 1986. The family and Skippy (Marc Price) continue to share stories with Ellen (Tracy Pollan) about Alex (Micheal J. Fox) before she came along. Sure some fun moments get…
Star Trek: Vulcan’s Forge (1997) – Susan Shwartz and Josepha Sherman
James Kirk is dead. But Spock, Uhura, McCoy and the rest go on in the next Star Trek book from Pocketbooks/Simon & Schuster, Vulcan’s Forge. While Chekov has gone off to serve as Sulu’s first officer aboard the Excelsior, and Spock has taken a captaincy aboard the Intrepid II, he is joined by McCoy, and…
Star Trek: Picard (2023) – Vox, and The Last Generation
Showrunner Terry Matalas slips into the director’s chair to give us a powerful penultimate episode, Vox. Written by Sean Tretta and Kiley Rossetter, this episode was first broadcast on 13 April, 2023. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the rest learn that the symptoms of Irumodic Syndrome were simply a side effect of what was really wrong…
The Substitute (1996) – Robert Mandel
Its action sequences are flawed, and don’t look anywhere as near as cool, and sharp as they could, but 1996’s The Substitute (which spawned three increasingly bad direct-to-video sequels) is packed with familiar faces. The cast is led by Tom Berenger, and includes Raymond Cruz, Luis Guzman, William Forsythe, Rodney, A. Grant, Ernie Hudson, Marc…
Allan Quatermain & The Lost City of Gold (1986) – Gary Nelson
Gary Nelson, who directed my beloved The Black Hole, directed the sequel to 1985’s King Solomon’s Mines, Allan Quatermain & The Lost City of Gold, which was filmed back to back with the first film. In fact, it steals a large portion of Jerry Goldsmith’s score for the first film as a way to save…
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Book 1: Water (2005) – Jet, The Great Divide, and The Storm
Problems arise for our heroes, when they meet a young revolutionary named Jet (Crawford Wilson). This episode, written by Aaron Ehasz, was first broadcast on 6 May, 2005. After stumbling upon a Fire Nation encampment, Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen), Katara (Mae Whitman) and Sokka (Jack De Sena), Jet rescues them and reveals his hidden encampment…
The Addams Family (1991) – Barry Sonnenfeld
I remember enjoying The Addams Family from Barry Sonnenfeld when it came out in 1991, as it brought back memories of watching the original show on TBS in the evenings. I loved Raul Julia’s portrayal of Gomez, the family patriarch, and consequently, I figured it was time for a revisit. It’s definitely not aimed at…
Star Trek: Picard (2023) – Dominion, and Surrender
Things are getting intense as we race towards the series finale. Dominion ups the stakes again. Written by Jane Maggs, it debuted on 30 March, 2023. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Crusher (Gates McFadden) learn some shocking truths about these new Changelings (augmented and developed by Starfleet under Project Proteus), especially Vadic (Amanda Plummer) as they…
Family Ties (1986) – Checkmate, Engine Trouble, and A Word to the Wise
Alex (Micheal J. Fox) learns the difference between countries fighting for honour, and two people playing chess for the love of the game in Checkmate. Written by Micheal J. Weithorn, it first aired on 30 January, 1986. Alex is gearing up for a showdown with a Russian chess champ, Ivan Rozmirovich (Albert Macklin) and despite…
Easy Go (1968) – Micheal Crichton
Easy Go should have been my favourite of Micheal Crichton’s early novels. Written under his John Lange pseudonym while Crichton was still in med-school, the book includes some archaeology, some Egyptology, and the idea of a heist. Barnaby has discovered the possibility of a lost tomb, an undiscovered cache of wealth and a forgotten king….
The Mind Reels 