The Shadow (1994) – Russell Mulcahy

I remember taking this one home from work at the video store when it came out. And I enjoyed it. Sure that was some thirty years ago (how is that possible?), would I still like it if I watched it today? Apparently the answer is yes. A pulpy blend of special effects, characters and production…

The Challenge (1982) – John Frankenheimer

Scott Glenn sports a truly horrific bowl cut in his first leading role, starring alongside Toshiro Mifune in the Frankenheimer-helmed The Challenge. Featuring a score by Jerry Goldsmith and a supporting cast that includes Sab Shimono and Clyde Kusatsu, the film is a pretty solid action entry though it wasn’t the film Glenn and Mifune…

Magnum P.I. (2023) – Appetite for Danger, and Night Has a Thousand Eyes

While Kumu (Amy Hill) documents a dark part of Hawaiian history, doing interviews with Cade (Martin Martinez) as her cameraman, with survivors of the Japanese internment camps in Hawaii following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sab Shimono, the wonderful actor, plays George, and tells his story, something Shimono went through himself. It’s a great story…

M*A*S*H (1980) – Back Pay, April Fools, and The Best of Enemies

Hawkeye (Alan Alda) is out for justice in the penultimate episode of season eight. Back Pay was written by Thad Mumford, Dan Wilcox and Dennis Koenig and first debuted on 10 March, 1980. When Hawk receives a letter from home, he’s shocked to learn that there are doctors back State-side that are making a mint…

M*A*S*H (1978) – Point of View, Dear Comrade, and Out of Gas

Ken Levine and David Isaacs delivered Point of View, which was first broadcast on 20 November, 1978. The episode gives us a unique perspective on the show, it’s all told from the narrative point of a patient who arrives in the 4077th. Private Rich (David Hunt Stafford) takes some shrapnel to his throat during an…

The X-Files (1994/1995) – Excelsis Dei, and Aubrey

Excelsis Dei by Paul Brown plunges agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) into the still incredibly relevant exploration of a long term care facilities, and how those who live there are treated… done, of course, with The X-Files twist. This episode first aired on 16 December, 1994. It seems a nurse, Michelle Charters…