This year marked the third for the relative newbie convention Comic Con Revolution, which is in three cities (Chicago, West Palm Beach, Florida and Ontario, California). The Ontario CCR just wrapped up today (as of this writing, Sunday May 19th), and it has grown exponentially since its humble beginnings. In 2017, my wife and I…
Twilight Zone S1.8: “Point of Origin” makes a slightly muddled point…
****SPOILERS!**** The Story. Eve Martin (Ginnifer Goodwin) is the walking/talking cliche of a privileged, upper-middle class suburban wife/mother. During our introduction to her, she is planning a big PTA mixer in her mansion-esque home in what looks like a Tim Burton vision of 1950s Connecticut. Eve’s longtime housekeeper Anna (Zebrena Guevara), a Guatemalan immigrant, humbly…
“What We Left Behind: Looking Back At Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”…
Last night, May 13th, was the one-night only showing (at TCL’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood or AMC’s Fathom Events) of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine documentary “What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (2018), co-directed by former DS9 writer/producer/show-runner Ira Steven Beher and David Zappone. I’ve seen a lot…
“The Invaders” (1967-1968)… in COLOR!
In January of 1967, a new TV show debuted called “The Invaders.” It was “a Quinn Martin production” and it was “In color” as the announcer would boldly proclaim. Color TV was new in those days, and it was a big deal (like HD and 4K in recent years). While prolific crime drama producer Quinn…
The Twilight Zone, S1.7: “Not All Men” addresses toxic masculinity…
****SPOILERS!**** The Story. Annie Miller (Taisa Farmiga) is a promising young newbie in a lab office. We see her tackling new projects with zeal, despite a lack of self-confidence. She’s invited by coworker Dylan (Luke Kirby) for lobsters, drinks and watching the Perseid meteor shower from his backyard later that evening. She semi-reluctantly accepts. The…
“Star Trek: The Experience” (1998-2008) at the Las Vegas Hilton; “Surely, the best of times…”
Star Trek: The Experience opened in January of 1998, during Star Trek’s 1990s heyday. Early 1998 was a time of Trek plenty… there were two Star Trek TV series (“Voyager” and “Deep Space Nine”), a forthcoming movie (“Insurrection”) and tons of merchandise, including the now semi-legendary toy line from licensee Playmates. I really wanted to…
For its 40th anniversary, “ALIEN” lands in New Jersey as a high school play!
Way back when I was in high school (right around the time of the first cave paintings) I was in our school’s drama club. Even though I had no real intention of ever becoming an actor (though one of my classmates did), it helped me build a little self-confidence and overcome a fear of public…
Peter Mayhew (1944-2019), remembering the gentle giant behind the mighty Chewbacca…
This May the 4th, Star Wars Day (get it? May the 4th…?), I usually try to get a little Star Wars something published. Last year, I did a bit on the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. This year, it’s with a heavy heart that I found myself doing a memorial. The actor who gave life…
The Twilight Zone’s “Six Degrees of Freedom” fails to fly…
****SOME SPOILERS**** A near-future mission to Mars, sponsored by the “Whipple” company is on the launchpad and ready to take off for the red planet. With less than a few minutes to launch, the crew, led by Commander Alexa Brandt (DeWanda Wise) gets word from Flight Control that incoming North Korean missiles have hit the…
Star Trek III: 35 years of “The Search For Spock”…
The end of my high school junior year (June of 1984), a question long simmering in my Star Trek-obsessed brain was about to be answered; will the late Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) come back from the dead in the new Star Trek movie? Of course, even at 17 I knew the obvious answer was yes….
“Avengers: Endgame” (2019): Spoiler-free musings…
****NO SPOILERS!***** This particular entry of “Musings…” is going to be a challenge for me, as I’m not writing a plot synopsis, and I will resist the temptation to drop any spoilers (which would be impossible if I wrote a synopsis). Instead, I will try to give you the overall gestalt of the movie through…
The Orville, S2.14: “The Road Not Taken” offers a familiar yet enjoyable ride…
****BLACK-HOLE SIZED SPOILERS!!**** The Orville continues to revisit ‘roads not taken’ with various Star Trek story elements, while executing them with enough panache, humor and entertainment value to make them well worth revisiting. Last week’s episode, “Tomorrow…” was a nearly scene-specific remake of Star Trek: The Next Gen’s “Second Chances” (both saw First Officers dealing…
