Mission: Impossible (1969) – Submarine, and Mastermind

Donald James pens an exceptional episode of Mission: Impossible, Submarine, which was first broadcast on 16 November, 1969. Phelps (Peter Graves) and his IMF team are working with a ticking clock. They have to kidnap former SS officer, Kruger Schetlman (Stephen McNally), and learn the location stolen Nazi funds, before the local military police track…

The X-Files (1996) – Grotesque, and Piper Maru

Howard Gordon delivers a script for Grotesque, a monster of the week episode, that won the series an Emmy for cinematography, and gives us a moody piece that first aired on 2 February, 1996. Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) are requested by Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) to help the head of the Behavioural Unit,…

The X-Files (1995) – End Game, and Fearful Symmetry

Frank Spotnitz who would become essential in helping to craft the mythology of The X-Files, wrote this episode that debuted on 17 February, 1995, and continued the story begun in Colony. Mulder’s (David Duchovny) sister, Samantha (Megan Leitch) is the cost for the Bounty Hunter (Brian Thompson) to release Scully (Gillian Anderson) after appearing in…

James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – Christopher Wood

Christopher Wood who penned the screenplay for Roger Moore’s The Spy Who Loved Me, also took it upon himself to write the novelisation, with the expanded title, ‘James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me’ in order not to be confused with the original Ian Fleming title. The adaptation is a curious blend of the Bonds…

The World is Not Enough (1999) – Michael Apted

Pierce Brosnan’s third outing as Ian Fleming’s James Bond is the next 007 film for me to view following my reading of For Your Eyes Only, having previously reviewed all the preceding 007 films to that point. This one is a mixed bag as it has perhaps the worst female lead casting for a Bond…

Gorgo (1961) – Eugene Lourie

What would happen if England got in on the Godzilla craze? Well, I found out as I explored DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book and came across Gorgo as I continue to explore the chapters on dragons and dinosaurs. When a group of sailors capture a strange beast off the coast of Ireland and…

The Land That Time Forgot (1974) – Kevin Connor

The next film to be explored in DK Canada’s hugely enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book as I continue my sojourn through the chapter on Dragons & Dinosaurs is this 1974 film that not only the land forgot, but time too. I can’t say I ever heard of it, and it should have been the…

Above Us the Waves (1955) -Ralph Thomas

The next title on the What Else to Watch list in DK Canada’s exemplary The Movie Book following its recommendation of the submarine classic Das Boot takes us below the surface again as we join British sailors during World War II as they attempt to destroy a German battleship, Tirpitz, in a Norwegian fjord. Commander…

Das Boot (1981) – Wolfgang Petersen

The next big title in DK Canada’s highly enjoyable The Movie Book is the Oscar winning German film Das Boot from prolific director Wolfgang Petersen. This has always been a great film, and I love that I got to settle in and watch this film play out on my screen (again). Set during World War…