Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995) – Visionary, and Distant Voices

Station log: stardate unknown John Shirley pens the teleplay for this episode from a story by Ethan H. Calk that first aired on 27 February, 1995. This O’Brien (Colm Meaney) story is fairly enjoyable, and also plays into the overall arc of the season. A delegation of Romulans arrives on the station to be briefed…

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1994) – Rivals, and The Alternate

Station log: stardate unknown Rivals was written by Joe Menosky from a story by Jim Trombetta and Michael Piller. It originally aired on 2 January, 1994. Quark (Armin Shimerman) has trouble on the Promenade when an El-Aurian con artist, Martus Mazur (Chris Sarandon) arrives on the station and plans to open a competing bar. Mazur…

Persepolis Rising (2017) – James S.A. Corey

The seventh volume in the brilliant, and highly enjoyable science fiction series, The Expanse, finally finds its way to the Book Shelf this week, and it was so worth the wait. I love this series so much, and this book, Persepolis Rising does two things that haven’t really happened in the series before: there’s a…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1992) – Man of the People, and Relics

Captain’s log: stardate 46071.6 Frank Abatemarco wrote this rather lacklustre episode that should have allowed Marina Sirtis a chance to shine a bit, but instead we’re given another episode that is not only recognisable, but also incredibly predictable. First airing on 3 October, 1992, all this episode did for me was make me want to…

Unforgiven (1992) – Clint Eastwood

The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Wild Bunch, is my all-time favourite western, Eastwood’s multi-Oscar winning film (Best Director, Best Picture, Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actor for Gene Hackman). An ageing gunfighter, William Munny (Eastwood) wants to tend to his tiny parcel…

The Wild Bunch (1969) – Sam Peckinpah

The next big stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as I return to the Historical chapter, is Peckinpah’s ultra-violent, wonderfully bloody take on the Hollywood Western. A group of professional outlaws out of step and out of time looking for one last score find themselves fatally wandering the line between…

Hell or High Water (2016) – David Mackenzie

  Director David Mackenzie and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Sicario) update the western for the modern age, while tweaking and twisting it into this crime drama. Tanner (Ben Foster) and Toby (Chris Pine) are brothers. Tanner is a career criminal, and Toby, like those in his family before him, is dirt poor. Like so many places…