Quantum Leap (1990/1991) – A Little Miracle and Runaway

Sam (Scott Bakula) is Reginald Pierson, the valet of one Michael Blake (Charles Rocket), a Scrooge-like character in Quantum Leap’s take on A Christmas Carol. A Little Miracle aired 21 December, 1990 and was penned by Sandy Fries and Robert Wolterstorff. It’s Christmas Eve, 1962, and Sam is feeling a little flustered serving Blake, who…

The Mind Reels chats with This Life’s Torri Higginson

Sue and I were lucky enough to be afforded some time to chat with the always amazing, Torri Higginson. Over ten episodes last year, the CBC introduced us to the Lawson family, living in Montreal, and Natalie (Higginson) who is dealt a blow when the cancer she has beaten has returned, and she has about…

Brief Encounter (1945) – David Lean

  I dive into the recommendations for the Romance and Melodrama genre following my screening of Casablanca for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book and first up is the David Lean film, based on the play by Noel Coward, Brief Encounter. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard star as Laura Jesson and Dr….

Quantum Leap (1989) – Good Morning, Peoria and Thou Shalt Not…

  Sam (Scott Bakula) gets to be a DJ this week, in a riff on Good Morning, Vietnam. Written by Chris Ruppenthal with an airdate of of 8 November, 1989, Good Morning, Peoria, finds Sam leaping into radio personality Chick Howell on 9 September, 1959, in the small town of Peoria. Broadcasting from WOF, Sam…

The Crowd (1928) – King Vidor

  The first recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of American Beauty, takes me all the way back to 1928, to this silent film, that follows the tale of Mary (Eleanor Boardman) and John Sims (James Murray), as they struggle to survive and thrive, pursuing their hopes, as…

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) – Steven Spielberg

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles brings me another Spielberg film to cover that I previously hadn’t for the blog. A.I. This one proved to be a very divisive film for a lot of viewers, originally planned to be a Stanley Kubrick film a lot of film fans believe that Spielberg over-sentimentalizes it and makes it a…

*batteries not included (1987) – Matthew Robbins

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles book brings me to the next stop on my continued exploration of the genre, and this time around I’m checking in with Steven Spielberg. I’ve covered some of his other films prior to this, and it also gives a few he served as executive producer on, including this film from ’87…

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) – Robert Stevenson

  The recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book continue following my screening of It’s a Wonderful Life. This time around it’s a Disney film I’ve only seen in bits and pieces and never seen as a whole. It’s World War II, and an apprentice witch, three children and a conman…

Mary Poppins (1964) – Robert Stevenson

poppin It’s time to dig into more family fare in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as i delve into the recommendations for my screening of It’s a Wonderful Life. Disney based the film on P.L. Travers’ series of books, and created an icon. They added a bunch of classic songs, Julie…

Quantum Leap (1989) – Genesis Parts I & 2

  Quantum Leap. Scott Bakula. Dean Stockwell. I love a lot of science fiction television (and movies) and as much as I love my Star Trek, Quantum Leap has been my favorite show since my introduction to it. I came to it towards the end of Season 2 originally, in fact, I still recall the…