Sure it’s another freak-of-the-week episode, but the series is still finding itself, and building its characters and narratives. Cool first aired on 13 November, 2001 and was written by Michael Green. This time out, Sean (Michael Coristine) apparently drowns in ice-covered Crater Lake. At the bottom of that crater, kryptonite-infused rocks (as usual) which give…
White Lightning (1973) – Joseph Sargent
Burt Reynolds stars as Gator McClusky, who feels like he may be a more rough and tumble relative of the Bandit. And speaking of Smokey & the Bandit, Hal Needham, who went on to direct that classic film, served as the second unit director on this film. Gator is in prison, and he’s a model…
Dead of Winter (2025) – Brian Kirk
Emma Thompson stars in this white-knuckle thriller that features a layered performance, and some stand-out moments. With Finland standing in for Minnesota, Thompson braves the cold as Barb who sets out for Lake Hilda for personal reasons. A goodbye needs to be made. Along the way, she has an unnerving encounter with a man in…
Stargate: Atlantis (2006) – No Man’s Land, and Misbegotten
Season three of Stargate: Atlantis got underway on 14 July, 2006. It was written by Martin Gero and picks up exactly where the season two finale ended. The Daedalus is still engaged with the Wraith hiveship, Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) is leading a squad of 302s against Darts and we get a huge space battle. And…
Star Trek: The Peril of Planet Quick Change (1969)
The Enterprise continues its journeys across galaxies (?) in Gold Key’s The Peril of Planet Quick Change. Once again the story was written by Dick Wood, and once again features art by Alberto Giolitti. It hit comic spinners on June 1969. The Enterprise interior still looks terrible and cluttered. I wish it was more in…
Get Smart (1965) – Aboard the Orient Express, Weekend Vampire, and Survival of the Fattest
Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) and Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) are Aboard the Orient Express. It seems a number of CONTROL couriers have been murdered on the iconic train trip and it is up to this pair of agents to find out what is going on. Written by Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret, this episode…
The Last Astronaut (2019) – David Wellington
Whatever 1I/2017 Oumuamua and now 3I/Atlas are, they fired my imagination. These intersolar voyagers are cloaked in mystery and possibilities. David Wellington’s novel, The Last Astronaut, takes that idea and runs with it giving us a cross of Crichton, Clarke and Lovecraft. A combination of science and wonder with unnerving horror. Sally Jansen was the…
Stargate SG-1 (2006) – Flesh and Blood, and Morpheus
The final season of Stargate SG-1 began on 14 July, 2006 with the episode, Flesh and Blood. Written by Robert C. Cooper, the episode picks up with the Ori arc right away. The Ori invasion continues, a large portion of the human fleet has been destroyed. Vala (Claudia Black) delivers her baby, who grows at…
Star Trek: Invasion of the City Builders (1968)
Issue three of Gold Key’s Star Trek comic was available in December of 1968. That’s a ridiculous three issues in the space of over a year. Dick Wood remains on as the story’s writer, but this time out there is art by Alberto Giolitti. After some repair work on the port nacelle, referencing it as…
Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) – Peter Segal
Not half as clever as the previous films, Naked Gun 33 1/3 is Leslie Nielsen’s final turn as Police Squad!’s Frank Drebin. Now retired and living with Jane (Priscilla Presley), Frank finds himself called out of retirement yo join his team one last time in an effort to stop a terrorist attack on the Academy…
The Mind Reels 