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…
Tag: defect
Mission: Impossible (1973) – The Question, and The Fountain
The IMF get back to spycraft this week with The Question. Written by Stephen Kandel it first aired on 19 January, 1973. When a foreign assassin, Nicholas Varsi (holy crap, it’s Gary Lockwood!) defects, the IMF is unsure if he’s legit or a mole, so they are tasked with kidnapping him from his safe house,…
Mission: Impossible (1970) -Butterfly, and Decoy
Phelps (Peter Graves) and his IMF team (with Willy (Peter Lupus) back) head to Japan in Butterfly. Written by Eric Bercovici and Jerrold L. Ludwig from a story by Sheldon Stark, it first aired on 31 October, 1970. There’s some uncomfortable things that go on in this episode as the characters pose as various Japanese…
Mission: Impossible (1967) – The Legacy, and The Reluctant Dragon
Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible – The Complete Series on blu-ray continues to entertain as I explore more of the first season of the iconic season. First up this week is The Legacy, written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter, it debuted on 7 January, 1967. Dan (Steven Hill) and his IMF team, including Rollin…
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…
Redemption Ark (2002) -Alastair Reynolds
I return to the universe of Alastair Reynold’s space opera this week, with a story that ties directly into Revelation Space, though it also ties into the expanded universe as glimpsed in Chasm City. The Inhibitors are back, they are an ancient mechanical race that prunes back intelligent life, stopping them when they venture too…
The Hunt For Red October – 30th Anniversary Edition
Somehow the film adaptation of Tom Clancy’s The Hunt For Red October is thirty years old and has garnered an anniversary Blu-ray 4K release from Paramount Pictures. That number just seems off, because thirty years seems like a fairly long time ago, and that doesn’t seem right. The original novel came out in 1984, and…
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998) – Chrysalis, and Treachery, Faith and the Great River
Station log: stardate unknown Rene Echevarria pens this Bashir (Alexander Siddig) episode that first aired on 28 October, 1998. It sees the return of the genetically engineered personnel from Statistical Probabilities, Jack (Tim Ransom), Lauren (Hilary Shepard Turner), and Patrick (Micheal Keenan). They have brought their fellow, Sarina (Faith C. Salie), who seems to be…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991) – Unification I & II
Captain’s log: stardate 45233.1 Written by Jeri Taylor from a story by Michael Piller and Rick Berman, the first part of this crossover two-parter first aired on 4 November, 1991. With the final voyage of the original Star Trek crew preparing for release in December (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), and the death of…
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965) – Martin Ritt
Richard Burton turns in a solid, and believable performance in this adaptation of John le Carre’s classic thriller novel. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Dr. Strangelove. Burton is Alec Leamas, a spy in charge…
The Mind Reels 