Companion was a super-enjoyable film with a not-so-subtle commentary about how we, as a society, use and abuse technology, including AI, for our comforts. Which shouldn’t be a surprise considering we do that each other. Often funny, and filled with sharp dialogue, and whip-smart performances from Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, and Harvey Guillen. You know…
Stargate: Atlantis (2005) – Instinct, and Conversion
Instinct, written by Treena Hancock and Melissa R. Byer, opens with a bit of a nod to An American Werewolf in London. McKay (David Hewlett), Ronon (Jason Momoa), Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) and Teyla (Rachel Luttrell) enter a pub house on a distant world. They are unwelcome and urged to leave, but one of them warns…
Northern Exposure (1995) – Little Italy, and Balls
The series has begun stumbling towards its now seemingly inevitable end. The stories have become less and less engaging, though there are some great character bits. The character bits that stand out in this episode are very much Ruth-Anne’s (Peg Phillips). She has become a bit of a radio storyteller, and it’s a great new…
Blood Fever (2006) – Charlie Higson
The end of James Bond’s first year at Eton is almost here, and the young boy, still thirteen, is working to figure out what to do with his summer holidays. His Aunt Charmain endorses his choice to go on a school trip to Sardinia, with the caveat that if it gets too dull, he can…
Stargate SG-1 (2005) – Ex Deus Machina, and Babylon
Jaffa politics led by Gerak (Louis Gossett Jr.), a missing CEO, and the reveal of Ba’al (Cliff Simon) hiding out on Earth, plunge SG-1 into global intrigue in Ex Dues Machina. Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, this episode was first broadcast on 26 August, 2005. Carter (Amanda Tapping) is settling back into Stargate…
Monday Musings – The Movie Tie-In Saga
I’ve always been an avid reader. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have at least one book on the go. And, I loved my movies. When I was a kid all the way up through the end of high school I was a devout fan of the movie tie-in book….
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) – Roy William Neill
Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) continue their own efforts against the Third Reich in this 1942 film that is loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Dancing Men story. I say loosely, but it’s really only the code that comes into play. Holmes gets to put his disguises to…
Farscape (2003) – Mental as Anything, and Bringing Home the Beacon
Mark Saraceni pens Mental as Anything, which first debuted on 20 January, 2003. We get a wrap-up of D’Argo’s (Anthony Simcoe) series long quest to bring justice to his wife’s murderer. But it doesn’t quite work as well as it should, and definitely doesn’t feel quite as epic as it should. D’Argo, Crichton (Ben Browder),…
They Call Me Trinity (1970) – Enzo Barboni
They Call Me Trinity is a spaghetti western that riffs slightly on the classic Seven Samurai story, but is filled with lots of comedic moments, and is led by a pair of charming actors, Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer. It gently pokes fun at the tropes of the genre, plays to them, and enjoys them,…
Stargate: Atlantis (2005) – Condemned, and Trinity
Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), Teyla (Rachel Luttrell), McKay (David Hewlett), and Ronon (Jason Momoa) arrive on a planet via puddlejumper and a stargate that they have never been to before. Moments after arrival, they fall under attack. They are rescued, and learn from their rescuers that the stargate is located on a prison island. Condemned was…
The Mind Reels 