Stargate: Atlantis (2006) – No Man’s Land, and Misbegotten

Season three of Stargate: Atlantis got underway on 14 July, 2006. It was written by Martin Gero and picks up exactly where the season two finale ended. The Daedalus is still engaged with the Wraith hiveship, Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) is leading a squad of 302s against Darts and we get a huge space battle. And…

Fire and Ice (1983) – Ralph Bakshi

Ralph Bakshi paired up with his good friend, famed fantasy artist Frank Frazetta and delivered 1983’s Fire & Ice. An animated rotoscoped sword and sorcery adventure, this film feels more in line with the 70s style of animation and storytelling, despite the rise of Dungeons & Dragons at the time. An evil ruler, Nekron (Sean…

Ringworld (1970) – Larry Niven

I dug into some classic science fiction this week with Larry Niven’s Ringworld novel, which is set in his Known Space universe. I hadn’t explored any of his stories before, but this one was recommended to me from somewhere, and I found the general idea intriguing, a massive ring, instead of an enclosed sphere, placed…

The Incredible Journey (1963) – Fletcher Markle

Based on the novel by Sheila Burnford, Walt Disney brought The Incredible Journey to audiences in 1963, playing like one of their nature films with the occasional foray into the human characters, the tale follows a trio of household pets, Luath, Bodger, and Tao Cat as they head through the wilderness of Ontario, Canada to…

Star Trek: Enterprise (2003) – North Star, and Similitude

Captain’s log: date unknown Enterprise goes western in this episode, North Star, written by David A. Goodman. Having an original airdate of 12 November, 2003, this story sees Archer (Scott Bakula) and the crew arriving at a planet of  a previously unknown colony of humans that are living in a 19th century setting. But the…

War of the Worlds (1989) – Epiphany, and Among the Philistines

The war continues this week as humans and morthren clash over possession of planet Earth. First up is Epiphany. Written by Greg Strangis, series creator and show runner, this episode first debuted on 2 January, 1989. There is a summit occurring between the U.S. and Russia and the aliens have a plot to cause a…

V – The Final Battle (1984) – Part One

We had to wait a year to see what would happen next in Kenneth Johnson’s V story, but he left the follow-up miniseries due to creative differences. He saw more of a Holocaust-Resistance story and the studio wanted something more gangbusters action adventure in the vein of Star Wars if they could get it. The…

Daybreakers (2009) – The Spierig Brothers

The next entry in the vampire section of DK Canada’s very entertaining Monsters in the Movies book is a but of a unique tale. Set in the far future of 2019, vampires are the dominant life form on the planet after a virus has swept the world. Humans are dying out, and those that aren’t…

The Little Vampire (2000) – Uli Edel

Even family films get into the vampire act as I learn with the next stop in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies, the coffee table tome by legendary director John Landis. That film is The Little Vampire, based on the book by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg. Starring Jonathan Lipnicki, following his endearing turn in Jerry Maguire, the…