After watching Paramount’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves and seeing in the opening credits that it was based on two books in a historical fiction trilogy written by Sidney Thompson, I had to hunt them down and dig into this historical personage that no one seems to know about. Over the course of three novels, Thompson documents…
Tag: disease
The Andromeda Strain (1969) – Micheal Crichton
I’ve read lots of horror novels, and enjoy Stephen King’s stories but nothing I’ve read in the genre has ever gotten under my skin and unnerve me. Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain got me. I think the story got wrapped up too quickly, but the essence of the story really got to me, and seemed…
Family Ties (1987) – Walking On Air, Invasion of the Psychologist Snatcher, and The Way We Were
Mallory (Justine Bateman) is less than happy to be helping her dad, Steven (Michael Gross) out at the station, something Alex (Michael J. Fox) tried to warn her not to do. It seems to be a rite of passage for the Keaton children. Written by Katie Ford, this episode debuted on 25 October, 1987. Mallory…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) – Ghosts of Illyria, and Memento Mori
Leslie Hope directs Ghosts of Illyria. Written by Akela Cooper and Bill Wolkoff this episode first debuted on 19 May, 2022. While Pike (Anson Mount) and Spock (Ethan Peck) are trapped by an ion storm on a deserted Illyrian colony, the returning landing party, led by Una Chin-Rilly (Rebecca Romijn) come back infected with a…
Star Trek: Picard (2023) – Imposters, and The Bounty
Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Titan may have gotten away from Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and the Shrike, but their troubles may only be starting in Imposters, as Jack’s (Ed Speelers) visions become stronger and increasingly violent. Written by Cindy Appel and Christopher B. Derrick, this episode debuted on 16 March, 2023. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) returns…
Paradise 1 (2023) – David Wellington
Orbit Books takes the reader to a far-distant solar system and exposes them to fear in the new novel, the first in a series, by best-selling author David Wellington. An officer of the Firewatch, Petrova, and a doctor, Zhang, who may not be all there, are shipped off on an AI-controlled ship, accompanied by a…
The Equalizer (1989) – The Visitation, and Past Imperfect
The Visitation boasts a solid guest cast this week, Leonardo Cimino, James Tolkan as the baddie, Ruger, and the wonderful Jenny Agutter as Lauren Demeter. Written by Robert Eisele this episode was first broadcast on 1 February, 1989. Ruger is an arms dealer, but his most recent deal goes wrong when a gun runner attempts…
Fringe (2008) – The Cure, and In Which We Meet Mr. Jones
It’s Olivia’s (Anna Torv) birthday and she gets handed a really bizarre case as a means to celebrate. The Cure was written by Felecia D. Henderson and Brad Kane and had an original airdate of 21 October, 2008. Through the course of the episode, Olivia reveals a tortured past to Peter (Joshua Jackson) even as…
Parable of the Sower (1993) – Octavia E. Butler
Octavia E. Butler’s science fiction tale, that follows a young woman of colour on her quest to understand herself, the ideas of god, and the destiny of humanity. Within pages of this novel, I was completely swept up in Butler’s storytelling style, her characters, and the world she created. And here’s the thing, the world…
The X-Files (1994) – 3, and One Breath
Scully (Gillian Anderson) is still missing, and Mulder (David Duchovny) heads off to L.A. to investigate possible vampires, or at least blood fetishists in the first real clunker of season two, 3. Written by Chris Ruppenthal as well as Glen Morgan and James Wong, this disappointing episode first aired on 4 November, 1994. As Mulder…
The Mind Reels 