Writer/director Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light is a beautiful and emotional achievement, celebrating the beauty of cinema while allowing its star, Olivia Colman to deliver a powerful, layered and nuanced performance as Hillary. She’s a woman of a certain age who suffers from a mental illness, which she has to contend with in her day-to-day…
Tag: 1980
Alligator (1980) – Lewis Teague
I remember seeing the poster for Alligator when I was a kid, and while I liked the shadowy look of the art, with a giant alligator peering out of an arched sewer, I never really had much of a desire to see it. Even as I grew older and heard some semi-decent things about it,…
Terror Train (1980) – Roger Spottiswoode
In the early 80s, poor Jamie Lee Curtis seemed to be in constant trouble with slashers. I remember seeing the fairly generic poster when I was a kid, and the masked face and the knife really bothered me. As mentioned previously it took me a long time to come around to horror films. So until…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1980) – Flight of the War Witch
Flight of the War Witch, written by Rob Gilmer and Bruce Lansbury from a story by David Chomsky, closed out the first season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, with a two hour finale on 27 March, 1980. I’ve resigned myself to the campiness of the series now, but I’m a little upset knowing…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1980) – Space Rockers, and Buck’s Duel to the Death
Jerry Orbach is the baddie in Space Rockers! Written by Chris Bunch, it first aired on 21 February, 1980. There is a music group, Andromeda (who only seem to have the one song), that has a huge influence on the youth of the galaxy today, broadcasting from their converted space fortress, christened Musicworld, and Lars…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1980) – Olympiad, and A Dream of Jennifer
Buck (Gil Gerard) finds himself in a political mess that probably played pretty well with the folks at the time, considering it’s a story about defectors wanting to escape to a better world. Written by Craig Buck, this episode first debuted on 7 February, 1980, and sees Buck Rogers taking in an in-person look and…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1980) – Ardala Returns, and Twiki is Missing
Princess Ardala (Pamela Hensley) is back in Ardala Returns. Written by Chris Bunch, this episode first debuted on 24 January, 1980. Ardala and Kane (Yay Michael Ansara!) are having issues with the new Draconian Ratchet fighters, since Kane updated them, none of the pilots are good enough to handle them. So a plan is concocted,…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1980) – Happy Birthday, Buck, and A Blast For Buck
Buck’s (Gil Gerard) birthday is coming up, and it’s his 34th or 534th, depending on how he feels about it. And he definitely feels the latter, as he’s moping around and just bummed that Earth is just a little too neat; the weather is always perfect, the architecture is just so, and there seem to…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979/1980) – Cruise Ship to the Stars, and Space Vampire
Buck (Gil Gerard) ends up on a space cruise in an attempt to protect the genetically perfect Miss Cosmos (Dorothy Stratten, featuring a voice dub by Anne Lockhart) in Cruise Ship to the Stars. Written by Alan Brennert and Anne Collins, from a story by Brennert, this episode first debuted on 27 December, 1979. Buck…
M*A*S*H (1980/1981) – Death Takes a Holiday, A War for All Seasons, and Your Retention Please
Mike Farrell directs this episode that he wrote alongside John Rappaport, and Dennis Koenig from a story by Thad Mumford, Dan Wilcox, and Burt Metcalfe. It aired on 15 December 1980 and was used as that year’s Christmas episode. Farrell knows how to pack his story with emotional impact without being super sappy about it….
The Mind Reels 