Steven Spielberg served as executive producer on the next stop on my journey through the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, but when handed over to Michael Bay, the film is a nausea-inducing mess that lacks a real story. Bay’s editing style has never been my favourite. Most of the shots in the film don’t last much longer…
Tag: robot
The Twilight Zone (1959) -The Lonely, Time Enough at Last, and Perchance to Dream
Paramount Pictures takes me deeper into the Twilight Zone this week as I continue my exploration of the dark reaches of the mind and psyche with The Complete Series blu-ray set. The first episode this week was The Lonely. Penned by Rod Serling, and having an original airdate of 13 November, 1959, this story definitely…
Life, the Universe and Everything (1982) – Douglas Adams
Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Marvin the robot, Zaphod and Trillian find themselves caught up in trouble again as the third Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book finds its way to The Book Shelf this week. And, just like the preceding novels, this one is a life riot as well. Arthur and Ford are where we…
Doctor Who (Sylvester McCoy) – The Happiness Patrol
The second story of season 25, is a little odd, but a lot of fun. That is thanks to the continually layered performance of the Doctor (McCoy). The Happiness Patrol was penned by Graeme Curry and ran from 2 to 16 November, 1988. The TARDIS, carrying Ace (Sophie Aldred) and the Doctor arrive on Terra…
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005) -Garth Jennings
Grab your towel and Don’t Panic! Douglas Adam’s classic tale gets a big screen adaptation, of his book/screenplay, which had previously been so well used by the BBC as a miniseries, and before that a radio programme. There are things that work in this version, and things that don’t, but the effort is there to…
Doctor Who (Colin Baker) – The Mysterious Planet
Season 23 gets underway this week with the season long story, Trial of a Time Lord. The first instalment, The Mysterious Planet, was written by Robert Holmes and aired from 6 to 27 September, 1986. The stories reverted back to twenty-five minute long episodes, and found the Doctor (Baker) being uncontrollably summoned to present themselves…
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…
The Iron Giant (1999) – Brad Bird
The Sci-Fi Chronicles now brings me Brad Bird’s now classic animated tale of a young boy, Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal) who meets a robot (Vin Diesel) from outer space, and the government agent, Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald) who is trying to capture them. Set in the late 50s, the film gives adult viewers an…
Doctor Who (Peter Davison) – The King’s Demons
The final story of the celebratory 20th season is up this week with The King’s Demons, a two-parter penned by Terence Dudley which aired 15 and 16 of March, 1983. The Doctor (Davison) confronts The Master (Anthony Ainley) in 13th century England, with the historical personage of King John (Gerald Flood) and the upcoming…
Lost In Space (1998) – Stephen Hopkins
The next big adventure in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book is the big-screen reboot of the classic 60s television series, Lost in Space. Boasting an all-star cast, William Hurt, Gary Oldman, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Lacy Chabert, and Matt LeBlanc, the film follows the family Robinson as they leave the dying earth to prepare the…
The Mind Reels 