The summer of ’84 was one of the defining summers of my life. It saw a lot of changes in my life, and was also the first time that I read The Lord of the Rings. I was swept up in the world, and was delighted that I’d read all three books so quickly, and…
Tag: dark
The Lone Ranger (2013) – Gore Verbinski
Gore Verbinski is a vibrant visual director, but the casting of Armie Hammer as John Reid aka The Lone Ranger, doesn’t do the film any good, and the whitewashing of Tonto with the casting of Johnny Depp makes things worse. There are some wonderful sequences, some great images, and some fun comedic moments, as the…
Star Trek: Picard (2020) – Stardust City Rag, and The Impossible Box
Jonathan Frakes directs Stardust City Rag, which starts off brutally, and takes us to some dark places with the characters even as Picard (Patrick Stewart) gets to pose as a villain. Written by Kirsten Beyer, this episode first aired on 20 February 2020 and opens with a Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) flashback as we…
The Equalizer (1989) – Heart of Justice, and Race Traitors
McCall (Edward Woodward) finds himself on the hunt for a vigilante after an innocent man is arrested for his crimes. Heart of Justice is a very dark story. Written by Gail Morgan Hickman this episode was first broadcast on 11 May, 1989. Michael Gianelli (John Shepherd) wants revenge on the two serial rapists (including Paul…
The Equalizer (1989) – Lullaby of Darkness, and 17 Zebra
McCall (Edward Woodward) tries to saves the lives of a young girl, Mindy (Ellen Latzen) and her mother, Rebecca (mary-Joan Negro) from her abusive father, Joseph (Stephen Lang!) and her own imagination in Lullaby of Darkness. The episode was written by Coleman Luck and originally aired on 30 March, 1989. McCall is contacted by one…
Batman: Year One (2011) – Sam Liu, and Lauren Montgomery
I have a tough time getting through animated Batman films because when it comes to being Batman, especially in an animated format, it’s all about the voice, and for me, as for countless fans, Kevin Conroy is, and always will be, Batman. But that doesn’t really stop Warner Brothers’ animation department from cranking out a…
The Equalizer (1986) – A Community of Civilized Men, and Joyride
McCall (Edward Woodward) loses a potential romantic partner after resolving her issues at the beginning of A Community of Civilized Men when she’s murdered and McCall has to help her daughter, Valerie (Jennifer Grey) survive and elude a professional agent, and killer. Written by Daniel Pyne and Scott Shepherd this episode was first broadcast on…
The Equalizer (1986) – Unpunished Crimes, and Pretenders
John Cullum is the baddie in the penultimate episode of season one of The Equalizer. Unpunished Crimes was written by John Burke and Grenville Case, first airing on 1 April, 1986. Cullum is Stuart Cane, a brutal CEO with ties to a terrorist organization, and is set on ruining Frank Donahue (Dan Hedaya) and his…
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…
Hill Street Blues (1982) – Personal Foul, and The Shooter
The Hill Street Precinct deals with a lot of personal things this week in Personal Foul. First airing on 25 March, 1982, Personal Foul was written by Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich, Jeffrey Lewis and Michael Wagner. With a basketball game with the local community (and its gangs) waiting in the wings, Renko (Charles Haid) deals…
The Mind Reels 