Part 2: “You’ve just crossed over into…” In “60 Years of Shadow and Substance” Part 1,” I covered seasons 1 through 3 of Rod Serling’s classic TV series, “The Twilight Zone” (1959-1962): https://musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog/2019/12/04/rod-serlings-the-twilight-zone-60-years-of-shadow-and-substance-part-1/ For Part 2, I’m going to discuss “The Twilight Zone” seasons 4 and 5 (1963-4), and and a little about how the…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 5: “The Gunslinger” gives plenty of ‘new hope’…
*****BANTHA-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!***** The latest chapter of DisneyPlus’ The Mandalorian series, “The Gunslinger,” is streaming this week. Co-written and directed by series co-creator Dave Filoni (“Rebels” “The Clone Wars”) there are many nods, easter-eggs and homages to the original 1977 Star Wars (aka “A New Hope”) in this chapter, most of them taking place on…
Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone”: 60 years of “shadow and substance”, Part 1…
In The Zone. The hardest part about revisiting Rod Serling’s classic series, “The Twilight Zone”, was deciding where to start. There have been books (see: Marc Zicree’s brilliant “The Twilight Zone Companion”, now in its 5th edition, which I’ll cover in part 2) and videos (as well as DVD/blu-ray bonus features) chronicling how Rod Serling…
Dorothy Fontana (1939-2019): A trailblazing writer who went where no woman had gone before…
The Star Trek family suffers another great loss this year. Writer/story editor Dorothy Catherine Fontana, who helped shape early Star Trek into a warmer, more character-driven series, has passed away at the age of 80. She is survived by her husband, Oscar-winning special effects artist Dennis Skotak (“ALIENS”), whom she married in 1981. In the…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 4: “Sanctuary” offers another recycled classic western story…
DisneyPlus has released the 4th chapter of its new Star Wars streaming series, The Mandalorian, which continues to homage the early inspirations of Star Wars, namely the films of Akira Kurosawa (1961’s “Yojimbo”) and classic westerns (in this case, 1953’s “Shane” and 1967’s Italian-made “A Fistful of Dollars”). This week’s chapter , “Sanctuary”, was once…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 3: “The Sin” is fully committed…
Chapter 3 of “The Mandalorian” is now on DisneyPlus, and it’s the one that changes everything. The Madalorian (aka “Mando”) commits a ‘sin’ that alters the course of his life… *****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** The Sin. Mando (Pedro Pascal) has finally acquired his ward-won prize; a 50-year old ‘child’ of the same species as former Jedi Master…
“Doctor Sleep” (2019); a sequel to “The Shining” we didn’t want or need, yet it works…
*****SHRUB-MAZE OF SPOILERS AHEAD!!***** The Shining (1980). Full disclosure: the late, great director Stanley Kubrick made one of my favorite movies of all time (“2001: A Space Odyssey”), though I’m not as in love with his 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Shining.” For clarity, I don’t hate it, either; in fact, I much admire…
“The Macra Terror”: Another classic Doctor Who story is regenerated…
Animated Regenerations. In November of 2006, BBC home video two animated versions of missing (i.e. deleted) Doctor Who serials of the classic Second Doctor story, “The Invasion.” Cosgrove Studios had produced the newly animated segments, which have paved the way for the BBC to reconstruct segments of other missing classic stories, such as “The Tenth…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 2: “The Child” matures quickly…
Clocking in at little over half an hour, the second chapter of The Mandalorian (“The Child”) has debuted on DisneyPlus, a few days after the premiere of Chapter One. This new chapter packs plenty of event into its brisk running time, as the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal, in an amazing faceless performance) and his Ugnaught companion…
Star Trek Short Treks, 2.3: “Ask Not” offers a no-win scenario…
****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!**** The latest Star Trek “Short Trek” has come online from CBS-All Access. Written by Kalinda Vasquez and directed by Sanji Senaka, “Ask Not” sees yet another non-regular cast character getting a spotlight, as she faces a no-win scenario. Story. The story opens with Starbase 28 under an unseen attack by the Tholians (crystalline…
Star Wars’ “The Mandalorian” is a space western that earns its bounty…
****BANTHA-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!!**** The new streaming service Disney Plus (Disney+) has launched, and it’s let loose with a brand new, live-action Star Wars series that evokes the subtle world-building and strong visual narrative of the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Behind its exotic aliens, laser blasters and starships, “The Mandalorian” is spiritually an old-fashioned western… as…
“Star Trek: Discovery” Season 3 trailer breakdown…
****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!**** The season 2 finale of CBS All Access’ “Star Trek: Discovery” (“Such Sweet Sorrow” part 2) saw the crew of the titular starship following ‘red angel’ Michael Burnham forward in time 930 years to the late 32nd century… truly ‘going where no (Trek series) has gone before.’ Last month, at New York…
