The Equalizer (1988) – Day of the Covenant, and Splinters

McCall (Edward Woodward) and Mickey (Keith Szarabajka) find themselves caught up in a human rights struggle when Scott’s (William Zabka) new girlfriend, Zandili (Kasi Lemmons) may be a political terrorist from South Africa being hunted in New York by mercenaries and South African law enforcement. Day of the Covenant was written by Robert Eisele and…

Night Shift (1978) – Stephen King

I was craving some Stephen King, but couldn’t decide which of his novels to tackle next, so instead, I figured I fill that need with some short stories, and fug into his first published collection, which gathered a variety of different tales under the title of Night Shift. I remember seeing the paperback cover as…

Mission: Impossible (1970/1971) – The Hostage, and Takeover

Sometimes, your cover is just too good. Paris (Leonard Nimoy) finds that out in the first few minutes of The Hostage. Written by Harold Livingston, this episode first debuted on 19 December, 1970. The IMF is working south of the border again, and Paris has been posing as a hotel magnate that has agreed to…

Mission: Impossible (1970) – Lover’s Knot, and Orpheus

Paris (Leonard Nimoy) finds that more than his life is in jeopardy this week, but also his heart, in Lover’s Knot. Written by Laurence Heath, this story first debuted on 22 February, 1970. The story finds Paris, Phelps (Peter Graves) and Barney (Greg Morris) on assignment in London (which looks a lot like Southern California),…

The X-Files (1997) – Gethsemane, and Redux

‘Believe the lie’ Series creator Chris Carter delivers a season finale that left me as shaken as when I first saw it. Gethsemane first aired on 18 May, 1997, and brings the faiths and beliefs of Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) to the fore. Mulder heads into the Yukon Territory where what appears…

Role of Honour (1984) – John Gardner

James Bond is back in action in Gardner’s next 007 title, taking Ian Fleming’s character further into the 80s with a story that sees the secret agent encountering computers, war game simulations, and a familiar enemy. There are some familiar elements in this film that showed up in 1985’s A View To A Kill, computers…

Torn Curtain (1966) – Alfred Hitchcock

Paul Newman and Julie Andrews star in this thriller from director Alfred Hitchcock. And while the Master of Suspense is still a fantastic director, this one isn’t quite as thrill-packed as the poster would suggest. Which is not to say it isn’t enjoyable, the leads are wonderful, and it’s a very enjoyable story, it’s just…

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1963) – Ian Fleming

The eleventh 007 book, and tenth novel, by Ian Fleming is this week’s entry on the Book Shelf, and you could see how the film series would begin to influence the continuing novels as we get a mention of Bond’s parentage, with his father being a Scot, and there is an increasing sense of Connery…

Chuck (2009) – Versus the Lethal Weapon, and Versus the Predator

Chuck’s (Zachary Levi) adventures in his personal and professional life continue this week as Cole Barker (Jonathan Cake) the MI6 agent that seems to have some chemistry with Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) resurfaces in Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon. Written by Zev Borow and Matthew Lau, the episode first debuted on 9 March, 2009. It sees…