M*A*S*H (1980) – Goodbye, Cruel World, Dreams, and War Co-Respondent

Klinger (Jamie Farr) has enough, and almost makes a disastrous mistake while one of Hawkeye’s (Alan Alda) patients, Michael Yee (Clyde Kusatsu) is having some serious issues, and attempts to take his own life, necessitating a visit from Sidney (Allan Arbus) in Goodbye, Cruel World. Written by Thad Mumford and Dan Wilcox, this episode first…

The Prisoner (1967) – A. B. and C., and Free For All

Anthony Skene pens A. B. and C. which sees Number Six (Patrick McGoohan) dealing with a new assault, this time on his mind, as a new Number Two (Colin Gordon) uses dream manipulation to attempt to sift the truth of Six’s resignation. First airing on 13 October, 1967, it sees Six being drugged at night,…

The X-Files (2016) – My Struggle, and Founder’s Mutation

Eight years after the second feature film, I Want to Believe, and almost fourteen years after the season nine episode, The Truth, The X-Files returned to screens with a six episode limited series, now christened Season Ten. And while I Want To Believe may not have been the film fans wanted (hoping for more on…

The X-Files (2000/2001) – Via Negativa, and Surekill

Agent Doggett (Robert Patrick) takes on a killer who can seemingly murder his victims via dreams, while Scully (Gillian Anderson) undergoes some medical tests – is it her cancer? it it the pregnancy? We don’t know yet. Via Negativa was written by Frank Spotnitz, and first debuted on 17 December, 2000. Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) pairs…

TIFF 2021: Dune dir. Denis Villeneuve

Magnificent. Triumphant. THIS is the movie I saw in my mind’s eye when I first read Dune in 1984 when I was anticipating the Lynch film (which I love for its own reasons). The visual aesthetic, the sound and production design, the score (I swear Hans Zimmer isn’t the only one throwing a few nods…

The Day She Died (2021)- S.M. Freedman

Dundurn Press delivers S.M. Freedman’s thriller, The Day She Died, to my summer reading pile, and it is a gut punch of a book, exploring dark secrets, while exploring the concept of forgiveness of oneself. It’s a captivating read that pulls you in, and drags you along at full-throttle on a white knuckle ride that…

Dreamscape (1984) – Joseph Ruben

Dennis Quaid, Kate Capshaw, Eddie Albert, Christopher Plummer, Max von Sydow, George Wendt and David Patrick Kelly (has this guy ever played a good guy?!) star in Ruben’s 1984 psychic thriller, Dreamscape. Quaid is Alex Gardner, a psychic who has been using his gifts for his own benefit, but gets recruited by Paul Novotny (von…

Prince of Darkness (1987) – John Carpenter

Prince of Darkness was the third John Carpenter movie I saw ever, before that I was delighted with Big Trouble in Little China, and had found my favourite horror movie with The Things (Jaws is not a horror film, it’s an adventure movie).I remember seeing print ads for it on the back of the comic…

The X-Files (1997) – Christmas Carol, and Emily

Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) gets some solo time in this episode written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz. Mulder (David Duchovny) makes a small appearance (he was promoting Playing God at the time, and needed some time off)in this episode that first aired on 7 December, 1997. Dana and her mother, Margaret (Sheila…

The X-Files (1996/1997) – Paper Hearts, and El Mundo Gira

Vince Gilligan pens Paper Hearts, one of the best episodes of season four according to stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. It first aired on 15 December, 1996, and earned composer Mark Snow an Emmy nomination. Mulder (Duchovny) has been having very vivid dreams, dreams that lead him to the unmarked grave of a little…