Magnum Force (1973) – Ted Post

Clint Eastwood returned as Detective ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan for a second outing in 1973’s Magnum Force, despite the fact that he seemed to be quitting at the close of the original film. This time out the gritty, and occasional racist and misogynistic film sees Harry hard at work in his beloved San Francisco, when a…

The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) – Agatha Christie

Before Hercule Poirot took the Orient Express, he found himself on the Blue Train, sans Hastings, in a mystery that has a murder, missing jewels, stagecraft, thieves, divorces, a love story, rich Americans, and devious criminals. While not quite the romp of Poirot’s previous tales, this story was fun, and while most of the clues…

The X-Files (1997) – Unrequited, and Tempus Fugit

Howard Gordon and series creator Chris Carter pen the teleplay for this episode from a story developed by Gordon to show that even in the late 90s the horror and worry over Vietnam POWs was still with us and haunting American society. With an original airdate of 23 February, 1997, Mulder (David Duchovny), Scully (Gillian…

The X-Files (1997) – Memento Mori, and Kaddish

Series creator Chris Carter penned Memento Mori which first aired on 7 February, 1997. It brings Scully’s (Gillian Anderson) cancer to the fore as the tumour becomes more aggressive and sends Mulder (David Duchovny) into an investigation of the MUFON group Scully met last year, a group of women who claim to be abductees and…

Millennium (1997) – Weeds, and Loin Like a Hunting Flame

Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) steps back into the darkness with another pair of episodes of Millennium this week. First up is Weeds. Written by Frank Spotnitz this story first aired on 24 January, 1997. Frank heads to a small gated community, joined by Cheryl Andrews (Cch Pounder in a return appearance), where a series of…

Poirot Investigates (1924) – Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie’s first collection of short stories, first published in 1924, sets forth a number of mysteries before her Belgian creation, Hercule Poirot, his little grey cells and his good friend Captain Hastings. While still capturing some of the humour of her novels, the short form of the stories doesn’t allow for a lot of…

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) – Agatha Christie

This week’s Agatha Christie isn’t quite the romp of the previous entry, but like all her tales, is wonderfully engaging and entertaining as she weaves a tale of murder, secret marriages, servants, doctors, drugs, wayward sons, and hidden secrets and truths. And in the middle of it all, Hercule Poirot. This one is a bit…

The Secret of Chimneys (1925) – Agatha Christie

Christie’s fifth novel is a bit of a romp filled with double identities, a murder, political issues, an empty throne, a renowned criminal, a love story, a missing diamond, and a week away at a manor known as Chimneys. We are introduced to Anthony Cade when he is working as a travel guide in Africa,…

The X-Files (1996) – Quagmire, and Wetwired

Kim Newton takes on one of my favourite subjects in this week’s X-files, the episode features some additional work by Darin Morgan and brings lake monsters into the realm of our two FBI agents, Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson). The episode first debuted on 3 May, 1996, and featured the final appearance of…