The Penguin (Burgess Meredith) is back in this two-part story written by Stanford Sherman. The first part, Hizzonner The Penguin aired on 2 November, 1966. So The Penguin is back in Gotham City, and not only has he gone straight, he’s thrown his hat into the political arena to be mayor (Holy Shades of Batman…
Family Ties (1982) – Have Gun, Will Unravel, A Christmas Story, and Oops
The Keaton household is burglarized and Steven (Micheal Gross) and Elyse (Meredith Baxter) have to find a way to reconcile their beliefs with the need to protect their family. Have Gun, Will Travel was written by Ruth Bennett and originally aired on 8 December, 1982. I did like the fact that the movie the family…
Star Trek: The Next Generation – Ghost Ship (1988) – Diane Carey
Diane Carey can be forgiven for a lot of the portrayals in Ghost Ship, the first novel in The Next Generation series released by Pocket Books following the novelization of the pilot episode. The book was largely written before there was any casting in place, and she could only rely on the show’s bible to…
The Impossible Fortress (2017) – Jason Rekulak
I loved Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures, so when I checked to see what else he’d written and discovered he’d penned a coming-of-age story in the 80s with characters who were exactly the same age I was in the year 1987, I had to check it out. And I LOVED it. The Impossible Fortress takes us into…
Batman (1966) – The Devil’s Fingers, and The Dead Ringers
Liberace?! Yup, Liberace. The renowned pianist and entertainer shows up as this story’s villain, Harry, as well as the villain’s entertainer twin brother, Chandell, who is being blackmailed by Harry. A series of musical crimes are striking Gotham City in this two-part story which was written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. The first part, The Devil’s…
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) – Jason Reitman
Ignoring the 2016 film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife leans into its nostalgia, ties itself firmly directly to the 1984 original and while it can be seen as a little oversentimental in its final act, it checked all the boxes I needed for a Ghostbusters legacy sequel. Callie (Carrie Coon) is a single mother whose absent father died…
Muppet Treasure Island (1996) – Brian Henson, and David Lane
Tim Curry, Billy Connelly, Jennifer Saunders and Kevin Bishop joined the standard Muppet cast of characters in the film series follow-up to A Muppet Christmas Carol. This time they took on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale of Treasure Island which saw Tim Curry delightfully chewing scenery as Long John Silver. Kermit (Steven Whitmire) is…
Hill Street Blues (1985) – G.Q., and Queen For a Day
Hill (Michael Warren) and Renko (Charles Haid) need some time apart after the shooting, Hill takes some administrative duty but their relationship is incredibly strained now. In fact, Hill thinks that Renko may be too dangerous, and a bad cop and won’t be there for his partner. Renko is furious with Hill and it’s going…
Murphy’s Romance (1985) – Martin Ritt
James Garner earned his only Academy Award nomination for his turn as Murphy Jones, a local widower, handyman and pharmacist in the small town of Eunice, where the newly divorced Emma (Sally Field) and her young son, Jake (Corey Haim) arrive in to make an attempt at running a horse ranch. Emma has a tough…
Batman (1966) – An Egg Grows in Gotham, and The Yegg Foes in Gotham
Vincent Price shows up as Egghead, and we learn a dark secret about the Wayne family and the other founding members of Gotham, that being how much they paid the Mohican tribes for the land and the renewal of that contract every few years, all for the price of a few raccoon pelts. Ugh. This…
The Mind Reels 