Captain’s log: stardate 5718.3 Whom Gods Destroy was penned by Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl and had it’s first broadcast on 3 January, 1969. The Enterprise arrives in orbit around Elba II, which serves as an asylum for the criminally insane. They have arrived on a mission of mercy, they are carrying a serum that…
Tag: sexism
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – The Empath and Elaan of Troyius
Captain’s log: stardate 5121.5 The Empath is an interesting episode, written by Joyce Muskat and with an original airdate of 6 December, 1968, this one uses a bit of minimalist set design to give it an almost surreal feel. Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) find themselves trapped in…
Saturday Night Fever: The Director’s Cut (1977) – John Badham
Paramount Pictures takes you back to the dance floor with the blu-ray and DVD release of the Director’s Cut of the now iconic Saturday Night Fever, which helped to catapult John Travolta, a Sweathog from Welcome Back, Kotter, to super-stardom. It’s easy now to think of the film as a time capsule of the 70s…
Quantum Leap (1993) – Liberation and Dr. Ruth
Sam (Scott Bakula) finds himsef in the form of a women’s lib protester, Margaret Sanders on 16 October, 1968. Liberation was written by Deborah Pratt and Chris Abbott, and aired on 12 January, 1993. According to Al (Dean Stockwell), Sam has a lot on his plate this leap, as he has to save the leader…
The Sand Pebbles (1966) – Robert Wise
Robert Wise directs Steve McQueen, Mako, Candice Bergen, Richard Attenborough, James Hong, and Richard Crenna in this adaptation of Richard McKenna’s novel, and my next port of call in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Lawrence of Arabia. McQueen is Jake Holman who has just been assigned to…
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) – Michael Bay
Hasbro and Michael Bay bring the Autobots and Decepticons to the screen for a second outing, as I continue my time with the Transformers in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. This one took a lot of flak for its racist stereotypes illustrated throughout the film even as our heroes both human and robot fight to save…
Quantum Leap (1990) – Miss Deep South and Black on White on Fire
Sam (Scott Bakula) leaps into Darlene Monte on 7 June, 1958 in the first episode up this week. Miss Deep South was written by Tommy Thompson and originally aired on 2 November, 1990. Sam finds himself in a beauty contest, and has to save a fellow contestant, Connie (Heather McAdam) from making a terrible mistake…
Quantum Leap (1989) – What Price, Gloria? and Blind Faith
Deborah Pratt writes her first episode of the series, What Price, Gloria? and becomes one of the strongest voices of the show, so much so that when the new introduction is put in place, it’s her voice selling the show. Airing on 25 October, 1989, the episode finds Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) leaping into…
The Knick – Season 1
HBO, in conjunction with Cinemax, have done it again. Director Steven Soderbergh puts Clive Owen as Doctor John W. Thackery through his paces in this series created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. Now before you ponder the question of why, oh why, we would need yet another medical drama, take a look at the…
The Black Swan (1942) – Henry King
The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for those who enjoyed the Adventures of Robin Hood is this pirate classic from 1942, filled with gorgeous colours, adventure on the high seas, plenty of sword fights, a likeable star in Tyrone Powers and a dastardly villain in George Sanders this one…
The Mind Reels 