This week, we come to the conclusion of the ill-conceived weekly series of V. It could have been a lot better than it was, and even the reimagined series was stronger, but still not quite where it needed to be (though it is exponentially more enjoyable than this incarnation). First up is War of Illusions….
Tag: elizabeth
V – The Series (1985) – The Hero, and The Betryal
Carleton Eastlake pens this episode that first debuted on 11 January, 1985. Nathan Bates (Lane Smith) has created a new police force to keep the open city of Los Angeles safe, but more importantly to keep the Resistance under control. When they seize a group of rebels including Robin (Blair Tefkin), a deadly plan is…
V- The Series (1984/1985) – Reflections in Terror, and The Conversion
Diana (Jane Badler) continues to be up to no good this week as the battle for Earth continues in Reflections in Terror. This episode was written by Chris Manheim, and it debuted on 21 December, 1984. Visitor leader Diana gets her hands on some of Elizabeth’s (Jennifer Cooke) blood which allows her to create a…
V – The Series (1984) – The Overlord, and The Dissident
While Julie (Faye Grant) confronts allegations of treason, Donovan (Marc Singer), Elias (Micheal Wright) and Tyler (Micheal Ironside) could be walking into a trap when they agree to help a small mining town take on some Visitor backed villains. The Overlord was written by David Abramowitz, and first aired on 30 November, 1984. The town…
V – The Series (1984) – The Sanction, and Visitor’s Choice
The battle for Earth continues this week, along with a healthy dose of melodrama, as I continue exploring V – The Series. Up first is The Sanction, written by Brian Taggert, who worked on The Final Battle, this story first aired on 16 November, 1984. Mike Donovan’s (Marc Singer) son, Sean (Nicky Katt) is being…
V – The Series (1984/1985) – Breakout, and The Deception
Plot holes, and continuity errors begin to crop up in the V The Series already, when Breakout comes to the screen this week. Written by David Braff, this episode, the third in production, and intended to be broadcast as such, wasn’t aired until 24 May, 1985. This causes some problems with characters meeting, and the…
V – The Series (1984) – Liberation Day, and Dreadnought
V – The Series brought the Visitors and the renewed battle for Earth to television on a weekly basis, and despite being a costly production (a calculated one million dollars per episode, which was unheard of at the time), it just seemed doomed to fail. I mean with a budget like that, you think someone…
V – The Final Battle (1984) – Part Three
There’s a lot that needs to happen in this third and final part of V- The Final Battle, which first aired on 8 May, 1984. Brian Taggert and Craig Buck (as Faustus Buck) pen the teleplay from a story by series creator Kenneth Johnson (as Lillian Weezer), Buck, Diane Frolov and Peggy Goldman. Taking place…
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – Philip Kaufman
The Sci-Fi Chronicles book has brought me lots of enjoyment to date, and I got very excited when it was time to revisit the series of films based on the novel by Jack Finney. I’d previously reviewed the original film here but was looking forward to re-watching this version, I’d only seen it a few…
Magnum, p.i. (1984) – Blind Justice and Murder 101
Chris Abbott wrote Blind Justice, which aired 8 November, 1984, and this poses a wonderfully ethical problem for Thomas (Tom Selleck). The private investigator is approached by his friend, prosecuting attorney Carol Baldwin (Kathleen Lloyd) about helping out on her case as a witness, as well as doing some investigating for her. She wants…
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) – Kenneth Branagh
The final version of Frankenstein to be suggested for viewing by the Sci-Fi Chronicles book is this 1994 adaptation by actor/writer/director Kenneth Branagh. He takes on this version of the tale by creating a lush and beautiful looking period film. Despite the films he would later make, this one feels restrained, not quite stuffy but seems…
Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus (1818) – Mary Shelley
So having spent some time with the cinematic incarnations of Frankenstein and his creature, I thought, as it was mentioned in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, that I would revisit the original tale, on which all of them found their inspiration. I hadn’t read the original tale since 1984, when it was on a list of…
