tv review
Reviewing insightful and thought provoking science fiction TV and technology.
Rewatching... Star Trek: The City At The Edge Of Forever
"I see you've noticed the ears." Thursday 6 April 1967 Straight into the action again this week, as the Enterprise is going through some turbulence. Suddenly there's a bang and a flash at Sulu's control panel and he ends up on the floor unconscious. This looks like it's going to be a Sulu episode.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Original 'Westworld' Movie Vs HBO Series
HBO's Westworld has become one of the biggest science fiction shows in recent memory—so big, in fact, that many forget that it is a reimagining of a small 1970s film. Michael Crichton's directorial debut, following the success of the film adaptation of his novel The Andromeda Strain achieved cult-classic status in the science-fiction starved early-70s.
By Anthony Gramuglia9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... Doctor Who: The Macra Terror – Part 4
"Confusion is best left to the experts." Saturday 1 April 1967 Jamie is trapped by giant crabs (the Macra of the title) and if that's not enough he has to contend with poison gas as well. The gas is what keeps the Macra active and at the moment the supply is being maintained, under the control of Control, by Officia the official. He's actually in charge of sending people into the mines. Nobody's keeping an eye on the Doctor and Polly though, which is lucky as it enables them to mess about with the controls and stop the gas flow, thus rendering the Macra docile and saving Jamie.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... Star Trek: The Alternative Factor
Thursday 30 March 1967 This one starts out very promisingly. A quite gripping prologue in which the Enterprise passes through some kind of magnetic field, and as Spock puts it, reality momentarily "winks out". We get some classic Enterprise turbulence acting this week, as the crew on the bridge do some synchronised staggering as the ship lurches back and forth. I don't think I've seen much of that (if any) in the series so far. Spock also reports that at the exact moment of this 'winking out', a man suddenly appeared on the previously lifeless planet below them.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... Doctor Who: The Macra Terror – Part 3
Saturday 25 March 1967 Crabs are unlikely creatures to use as an enemy, even in a sci-fi fantasy series. I can only see glimpses, so it's difficult to tell how convincing they are but it's hard to imagine something so rigid and bulky being particularly threatening. And crabs are not the speediest of creatures so I presume one could just walk away from them briskly. But ok, these are space crabs so maybe they move like lightning. And they're rather large. Of course in the 21st century version of this programme we'll see animal-based aliens all the time: space rhinoceroses, space wasps, space pigs, space whales, space cats, space giraffes...and indeed a return of the Macra, but in 1967 this is a bit of a novelty. Ok, maybe not space giraffes.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... Star Trek: Errand Of Mercy
"...we Klingons play to win" Thursday 23 March 1967 There's this race of aliens called the Klingons, and Kirk doesn't like them. They're warlike and brutal; Starfleet has just advised that negotiations with them have broken down, and ordered the Enterprise to fly to a planet called Organia and protect the inhabitants.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... The Avengers: Never, Never Say Die
"I've killed him again!" Friday 17 March 1967 Ah, one of my all time favourite episodes. A close up of a pair of smart shoes. They are soon muddy shoes and we see a tall man walking towards a main road. It's only Christopher blimmin' Lee! He steps in front of a car, is killed and in-hospital pronounced dead on arrival. Gosh, what an opening! But the prologue isn't over yet: as the medics walk away the man's feet start to twitch, and suddenly he gets up and marches out of the hospital. Zombies...on The Avengers??! That was a superb pre-title scene, and also one of my favourite episode titles.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... Star Trek: The Devil In The Dark
"I'm a doctor not a bricklayer" Thursday 9 March 1967 As far as boldly going and seeking out of new life and civilisations goes, mankind seems to have been doing a pretty good job of it already, judging by the number of Earth colonies we see in Star Trek. This week the Enterprise crew have been beaten to a 'new life' discovery by a colony of miners who've discovered something lurking in the caves they're working in.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... Doctor Who: The Moonbase – Part 4
“…we’ve got enough madmen here already.” Saturday 4 March 1967 There are really impressive numbers of Cybermen in this. They march across the lunar landscape and begin to assemble a weapon. I count eleven onscreen at the same time. With others inside their ship you really believe they are a credible threat.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... Star Trek: This Side Of Paradise
Thursday 2 March 1967 "Who wants to counteract paradise, Jim boy?" There are two things I especially like in Star Trek. One is when the crew all start going out of their minds, and the other is when it's set on a familiar Earth type planet. So I enjoyed this week's episode.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
