It’s Christmas in New York, but that doesn’t mean Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) is expecting a silent night. Back Home was written by Joel Surnow and Maurice Hurley from a story by Neil Cohen, and it first aired on 18 December, 1985. His son, Scott (William Zabka) is still in Paris, and trying to organize…
Tag: 1985
The Equalizer (1985) – Desperately, and Reign of Terror
Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) is feeling a little under the weather, but there’s always someone who needs help, desperately. Written by Charles Grant Craig, this episode first debuted on 4 December, 1985. A bored and neglected housewife, Alison Webster (Blanche Baker) heads into the city one day to spend it with her friend, Samantha (Tovah…
The Equalizer (1985) – Mama’s Boy, and Bump and Run
Christine Baranski is denied a chance to shine in Mama’s Boy when the narrative shifts to include her ex-husband, Gilbert (Jim Dale) as Victoria (Baranski) turns to Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) for help when her son is on the verge of becoming a drug dealer. And hey look! There’s Alex Winter in a bit part…
The Equalizer (1985) – The Children’s Song, and The Distant Fire
William Zabka is back as Robert McCall’s (Edward Woodward) son, Scott, and there’s a television debut for Bradley Whitford, Ed O’Neill shows up as a local doctor, and Dana Barron from National Lampoon’s Vacation is this week’s person in need of help from McCall’s Equalizer. The Children’s Song was written by Howard Chesley, Joel Surnow…
The Equalizer (1985) – Lady Cop, and The Confirmation Day
Lady Cop, the fifth episode in The Equalizer’s first series boasts some pretty big and interesting names. It was written by Maurice Hurley and Joel Surnow from a story created by Hurley, Surnow and Kathryn Bigelow(!). It first aired on 16 October, 1985 and sees Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) continuing to wrestle with his inner…
The Equalizer (1985) – The Defector, and The Lock Box
Very quickly The Equalizer has shown that its willing to go dark and gritty, and while there are some dark moments in The Defector, The Lock Box is even darker. The Defector was written by Heywood Gould and first debuted on 2 October, 1985. An old friend, and former agent of the USSR, Felix (Joe…
The Equalizer (1985) – Pilot, and China Rain
I don’t know what the first episode of The Equalizer was that I saw, but I remember where I was, and I knew I found the concept and execution interesting, even at 14. It was grittier than a lot of the episodic television that was being broadcast at the time, a little darker, and had…
Skeleton Crew (1985) – Stephen King
Stephen King’s second short story collection, Skeleton Crew looked like a giant sitting on my mom’s bookshelf. It was a hardcover and had that creepy monkey on the front. And while I didn’t recall all of the stories as I did this re-read, some sent me right back to the first time I read it,…
Fringe (2011) – Subject 13, and Os
Subject 13 serves as a bit of a sequel to last season’s ‘Peter’ episode. Written by Jeff Pinkner, J.H. Wyman, and Akiva Goldsman, this story was first broadcast on 25 February, 2011. We plunge back to 1985, with opening titles to reflect that, and we see what happened following Walter’s (John Noble) abduction of young…
The Color Purple (1985) – Steven Spielberg
Was Steven Spielberg the right person to shoot the film adaptation of Alice Walker’s powerful novel? He was an interesting choice for the project, and it definitely wasn’t the dramatic material that he was associated with in the 80s, having delivered a number of blockbusters at that point. And while there were a number of…
The Mind Reels 