On 6 August, 2020, we were introduced to the USS Cerritos, a California-class Starfleet vessel, in the Star Trek franchise’s second animated series, Lower Decks. Written by the series showrunner, Mike McMahan, we are introduced to the crew as they go about conducting a Second Contact with the inhabitants of the planet Galar. Ensigns Boimler…
Tag: support
Northern Exposure (1991) – Animals R Us, and Jules et Joel
Ed (Darren E. Burrows) struggles with his cinematic dreams, questioning whether he can actually make a film or not in Animals R Us. Written by Robin Green this episode first debuted on 14 October, 1991. There are a couple of narrative threads woven into this story, but the main one centers on Maggie (Janine Turner)…
Magnum P.I. (2021) – The Lies We Tell, and Dark Harvest
Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and Higgins (Perdita Weeks) are approached by Elena (Elyse Levesque) to find a murderer in The Lies We Tell. Written by Katie Varney, it was first broadcast on 26 March, 2021. There are complications as Elena reveals that Eddie Benson (Jeff Weisen) she was with was not her husband, and while she…
TIFF ’23: Chuck Chuck Baby
Chuck Chuck Bay is an ebullient experience. A delightful film about love, life, loss and music which brushes against deeper and heavier themes of community, hurt and acceptance but never loses track of the joy of falling in love and how every song seems to be about you. While not quite a jukebox musical, the…
Family Ties (1984) – Go Tigers, ‘M’ is for the Many Things, and Say Uncle
Alex (Micheal J. Fox) is heading up to Princeton by train for an interview with one of the admitting deans. Mallory (Justine Bateman) tags along to see her boyfriend, Jeff (John Dukakis) with unexpected results. Go Tigers was written by Micheal J. Weithorn and it had an original airdate of 12 January, 1984. Back at…
The Full Monty (1997) – Peter Cattaneo
I remember the first time I saw The Full Monty and how much I laughed and got emotionally involved with the film. I haven’t watched it in the better part of two decades so I was quite happy to sit down and watch it again. Robert Carlyle stars alongside Mark Addy, Tom Wilkinson, Steve Huison,…
M*A*S*H (1979) – Period of Adjustment, Nurse Doctor, and Private Finance
Though gone, Radar casts a long shadow over the 4077th, and it has a profound effect on both B.J. (Mike Farrell) and Klinger (Jamie Farr). Period of Adjustment was written by Jim Mulligan and John Rappaport, and first aired on 22 October, 1979. While the camp comes down on Klinger constantly for not being up…
Onward (2020)- Dan Scanlon
Pixar films have been magic for the audience since Toy Story first graced theatre screens, or one could argue, when Luxo Jr., made his first appearance. With their latest offering, Onward, Pixar takes us into the world of magic. It seems magic exists, we’ve just let it slide away because it was too much work…
Toronto After Dark 2019: The Assent (2019) – Pearry Teo
There’s a Barker/Lovecraftian feel to the gritty dirtiness of this entry in the Toronto After Dark film festival. Couched in a house covered in unnerving art, and filled with troubling apparitions and visions there is an aggressive edge to The Assent in the way it is shot, and the way the story unfolds. Mostly. Halfway…
Shadows of the Dark Crystal (2016) – J.M. Lee
I remember being delighted the first time I saw The Dark Crystal in 1982, I even had a movie calendar from Burger King (for 1983) that had one of its months dedicated to the Jim Henson creation. The world (I didn’t know at the time that it was called Thra) appealed to me, and despite…
The Mind Reels 