Almost a decade after the Paul McGann television movie, Russell T. Davies brought the series back to life with Christopher Eccleston taking the role of the Doctor, and this time around the new Time Lord is joined by a new Companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). Davies continued to shift the story focus so that Doctor…
Transformers (2007) – Micheal Bay
Steven Spielberg served as executive producer on the next stop on my journey through the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, but when handed over to Michael Bay, the film is a nausea-inducing mess that lacks a real story. Bay’s editing style has never been my favourite. Most of the shots in the film don’t last much longer…
Quantum Leap (1992) – The Last Gunfighter and A Song for the Soul
Sam finds himself in the form of aged gunfighter, Tyler Means, in The Last Gunfighter. Written by Sam Rolfe and Chris Ruppenthal and airing on 5 February, 1992, Sam find himself on 28 November, 1957. Tyler Means is 82 years old. He likes his whiskey, and he likes his tall tales, especially the ones centring…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1967) – Journey to Babel and Friday’s Child
Captain’s log: stardate 3842.3 Journey to Babel, written by D.C. Fontana and airing on 17 November, 1967 is an incredibly important episode. It features some diplomacy in the 23rd century as well as introducing us to Sarek (Mark Lenard) and Amanda (Jane Wyatt) Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) parents. His father serves as the Vulcan ambassador and…
Dance of Death (2005) – Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
It’s been a while since I checked in with FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast, Preston and Child’s modern, American answer to Doyle’s Holmes. Last time we checked in with him, he was left in a bit of dire straits as his friend Vincent D’Agosta fled for his life. The story picks up a couple of short…
The Twilight Zone (1960) – The Purple Testament, Elegy and Mirror Image
There’s the signpost up ahead, and make note of where you are, because Paramount Pictures is taking me deeper into The Twilight Zone this week, with another trio of episodes. First up is The Purple Testament. The episode aired on 12 February, 1960 and was written by Rod Serling. It’s World War II, and Lt….
Arrival (2016) – Denis Villeneuve Blu-Ray Review
Anyone who follows this blog knows I am passionate about my science fiction cinema, but that doesn’t mean it’s always good. Therefore when a smart piece of sci-fi film making comes along, I feel I have to champion it, to cheer it on, revel in it, and share it with all who will listen. Villeneuve’s…
The Transformers: The Movie (1986) – Nelson Shin
In the mid-80s there were two sets of toys that seemed to be everywhere, G.I. Joe (who would get his animated movie the following year) and the Transformers – a collection of robots whose civil war had spread to Earth. There are two sides, the brave and loyal Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen)…
Oklahoma! (1955) – Fred Zinnemann
The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book has brought around to musicals again, and this time, it’s Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! This big budget adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical that opened in 1943 cast Gordon MacRae as the show’s lead Curly and Shirley Jones, as the object of his affections, Laurey. There’s…
Doctor Who (Paul McGann) – The Movie
Seven years after Sylvester McCoy’s last story, Survival, a weird co-production involving Fox television and the BBC, introduced Paul McGann as the Doctor when McCoy regenerated into him after being shot in San Francisco (actually Vancouver), at the end of the 20th century. The story is deeply flawed, conflicts with canon in a number of…
The Mind Reels 