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Reviews
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Happy Birthday, Buck (1980)
the bitter Col Cornell Traeger escapes 15 years confinement, and vows to slay Dr. Huer.
Happy Brthday, Buck is a decent entry in Season One, I feel, due in part to Col. Treager, one of Buck's more unusual, and deadly opponents. Guest-star Morgan Brittany is a welcome addition of course, gorgeous, as always. I also liked the homesickness that Buck is feeling as his birthday nears for the 20th century, something a person displaced in time like this would no doubt suffer from a good deal.
Col. Treager's ability to transmute objects(or people) into other items, or substances is a nifty idea, although I did wonder when his sunglasses are broken near the conclusion, why he didn't simply make himself a new pair! Having him killed by falling onto his own hand at the conclusion was a bit of a cheap way to dispose of him, I thought. One does have to wonder if his bitterness wasn't at least mildly justified from Dr. Huer's comments; it seems no effort to make sure if he were actually alive, or dead during the fifteen years he was missing had been.
The late Tamara Dobson is better-known to me from her appearances on another sci-fi television series of the time, Jason of Star Command, although she makes an excellent villainies here, of course.
Altogether, a good episode if not one of the very best.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Cosmic Whiz Kid (1979)
Buck helps rescue Hieronymous Fox, child genius & President of alien world from kidnappers.
One's opinion of Cosmic Whiz Kid probably depends on how annoying one finds the late Gary Coleman's guest-starring role to be, I suppose; on Diff'rent Strokes,' he was acceptable, but in many of his other roles, not so much. Still, the notion of letting Buck meet somebody who is actually from the 20th century as well was a nice one, and the added attraction of Melody Rogers as Coleman's bodyguard Dia Cytron makes up for a great deal. Her two piece outfit nearly steals the show from our favorite outer space beauty, Erin Gray this time around, in fact.
The other reviewers have pretty well covered the episode, so I won't add a great deal else. I must say I thought that Buck taking out the super-strong killer sent after him was a bit much to swallow even for this series. Ray Walston did a nice turn as the villain Roderick Zale, though.
I suspect that some of the special effects problems with BRI25C were due to budget restraints imposed by NBC, as well as the state of of special effects in that era.
It is a bit sad watching this for another reason entirely, the unfortunate demise of Mr. Coleman. It seems some television series are cursed almost, such as Diff'rent Strokes, given the tragic demises of both Coleman, and Dana Plato. I know Todd Bridges has also had a number of serious problems in his life since Strokes ended years ago, now. Another series which seemed to have stars pursued by tragedy was In the Heat of the Night," I can think of off-hand.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Unchained Woman (1979)
Buck springs earth woman Jamie Leigh Curtis from alien prison
Unchained Woman guest-stars Jamie Leigh Curtis who was a very hot property at this time in the role of Jen Burton, girlfriend of a criminal which is causing Earth considerable grief. She's taken the rap for him, and wound up in an underground prison which he has(of course) promised to help her escape from. escape she does with our hero Buck's help who arrives after taking the place of a convict on a prison-transport spacecraft, then the two head for a town across the desert landscape.
Unfortunately, they are pursued by Huge, android guard from the prison, who seems almost indestructible; eventually reaching a rather sleazy town where delectable Erin Gray shows up as Wilma to aid Buck; a final showdown with Hugo(played by huge Walter Hunter) seemingly takes out the persistent pursuer, and also results in the capture of the main bad guy, Pantera. Mention must be made of gorgeous Tara Buckman who is Pantara's latest female companion, an extremely sexy(if rather wicked, and not too bright) woman. On the way back to earth, Jen Burton decides to keep the prison tracking wristband; the final scene shows the now-clichéd arm of Hugo returning to "life," presumably to continue his pursuit of her when a spacecraft can be located for him.
This is a fun entry from the first season, as Gerard and Curtis play well off of each other, and Ms. Gray gets to show off another skin-tight body-hugging spandex outfit(how many of those did she go through, I wonder?) Veteran character actor Robert Cornthwaite does a nice job as the rather sad Ambassador Warwick, who has turned criminal, a friend of Dr. Huer's from their youth. I must admit the sand squid is even more fake, and rubbery than some other alien monsters on the series' run, but what the heck? It all went down well to a teenage guy regardless.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Planet of the Amazon Women (1979)
Buck is kidnapped by a race of male-deprived but gorgeous alien women
Planet of the Amazon Women isn't one of BRI25C's better 1st season entries, sorry to say, despite the script being partly the work of D.C. Fontana(OStar Trek, Land of the Lost), who maybe just couldn't bring herself to put much effort into it. That said, Ann Dussenberry is as usual lovely, and we also have Jay Robinson on-hand as the creepy slave-auctioneer. The attraction of this episode has to be all the stunning Zantian women on display - given the quality of the women there, I hardly think it would have been necessary to resort to kidnapping males. No doubt they would have had no shortage of volunteers! One reviewer who hates this installment complained about Hawk not being around, but he didn't show up until the start of Season Two, of course, and actually, I rather liked Hawk.
Best to leave the brain in neutral for this one, but if viewed in the right frame of mind, still fun(pun intended).
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Planet of the Slave Girls (1979)
Buck and Wilma help foil a plan to poison Earth's food, and also invade it
Planet of the Slave Girls(I guess for the sake of PC, it would be Slave Women today) is one of the first season's more enjoyable episodes. Sure, the title is not accurate, and of course, the effects are dated. As others here have pointed out, modern-day viewers need to keep in mind the period in which Buck, and other sci-fi series of the time were made, no CGI, no cable networks devoted to science fiction and horror, and so on. It is campy by modern standards, a little more than usually intended I imagine for these reasons.
This two-part episodes deals with evil mutant Kaleel(Jack Palance) and his plan to first poison earth's defense fighter pilots, and then invade the weakened planet with enslaved fighters of his own. The plot discovered, Buck, Wilma and Major Duke Danton(David Groh( along with Leutient Willis )travel to Vistula to set matters right. A number of other veterans genre fans know are here as well, Don Marshall, Roddy McDowell(in a wasted part as the Governor of Vistula), and of course, original Buck Rogers, Buster Crabbe as Brigadier Gordon- a real delight. I enjoyed the rivalry between Buck, and Duke who played well off of each other and it's a shame Major Danton wasn't used again. he could have made either an on-going rival of Buck's for delectable Erin Gray's attentions, or a good male-bonding friend for him. possibly.
I must mention the sequence where lovely Brianne Leary, and Wilma are sent to perish in a furnace room of sorts which is heated by what appears to be a boiling mud-spring - Erin Gray hot and sweaty in that slave-girl outfit isn't to be missed! Of course, I realize many women probably do not like this series precisely because it featured so many beautiful women usually in quite revealing outfits of one sort or another. It should be kept in mind that such television series' main audience was younger males, and BRI25C was clearly aimed mostly at the teenage guys segment of viewers. Although I'm sure the women didn't find Gil Gerard objectionable, either, for what it's worth.
I would say that Jack Plance did maybe "ham it up" a bit too much a couple of times, but he was never noted for restrained performances, to say the least.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Space Vampire (1980)
Buck and Wilma encounter a space-age vampire
Space Vampire is Buck Rogers vs. Dracula, really, but done well, I think, with Nicholas Hormann doing a fine job as the Vorvon, a soul-draining vampire-like being from an alien world.
Arriving at space station Theta, Buck and Wilma are planning to leave Twikki there for some repairs when an out-of-control spacecraft crashes into the station ending up stuck there like a knife. Everyone aboard the craft seems to be dead with two odd bruise on their throat. Space Staion Commander Royko(Christopher Stone) is convinced it's all the result of a virus from a world the cargo ship has visited which can cause hallucinations. Buck, of course, realizes something much stranger, and creepier is going on but fails to convince the Commander.
Setting its sights on Wilma(Erin Gray is even sexier than usual in a nifty two-piece outfit which bares her fine midriff), it pursues her doggedly. Gray gets to show some genuine fear as she senses the creature closing in on her(as well as being able to see it when others cannot, a nice touch). Generally, Wilma is a fearless, strong lady, of course, so this was different. Finally, the Vorvon traps our heroine, and transforms her briefly into his space-vampire companion allowing Gray to become a wonderfully evil, seductive vampire. Buck, of course, saves the day in the end using a variation on a standard method of disposing of earthly vampires.
I recalled this one from my teen age years for a long time before seeing it again when a local independent station ran the series in repeats for a time circa late 1980s/early 1990s. It's good to have the series available on DVD now, of course, although some interviews, or commentaries would have been nice extras.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: A Dream of Jennifer (1980)
Buck discovers a young woman who is an exact look-alike for Jennifer, his 20th-century love.
A Dream of Jennifer is a decidedly different episode of this series, a much more emotional tale, and a darker one as well. Buck spots a beautiful young woman(lovely Anne Lockhart) who looks exactly like his lost girlfriend of the 20th-century, Jennifer. Pursuing her to the City-on-the-Sea(the 25th century New Orleans), Buck discovers it's a cruel hoax as part of a plot by aliens to help them conquer a distant world with Buck's aid. The young woman, Leile Markison ,proves to be not such a bad type, and tries to help Buck against the aliens, - Buck is willing to give her a chance. Holding Leila as hostage to make sure Buck destroys a cargo ship of weapons on its way to the world these aliens wish to conquer, Buck(with Wilma's help) returns, and tries to rescue Leila - who dies by taking an energy pistol charge meant for Rogers in what must have been a surprise for everybody who watched this series regularly. Thus, Buck loses Jennifer again after a fashion in a decidedly downbeat turn of events.
Despite the corny red-facial make-up for the alien warriors, this must be one of the program's best entries from Season One. Anne Lockhart as Jennifer/Leila manages a touching performance(and resembles her mother June a great deal when June was in her own prime). The darker tone to this episode includes a bit more for Tim O'Connor's Dr. Huer other than giving Buck and Wilma assignments when he discusses his own grief over his late wife. O'Connor has always been a fine character actor, and it's nice to know he still is acting at times.
One of the in-jokes which many probably missed is in the shuttle port when "Captain Christopher Pike" is paged on the intercom, I notice. The bit at the end with the copy of Jaws discovered in the archives which Huer gives Buck was no doubt to lighten matters up some at the conclusion. Still, this entry in the series really shows that Buck is a man alone forever in so many ways(Wilma notwithstanding).
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Ardala Returns (1980)
Princess Ardala kidnaps Buck Rogers in order to create robotic duplicates of him, and try again to win his love as well
I certainly don't wish to slight Erin Gray at all in discussing BRIN25C, as she's also one of the sexier women who could be found on television in the 1970s/1980s, especially here. Unfortunately, her outfits were usually not quite as sizzling as those Ms. Hensely got to display as Aradla! The ladies's infatuation with Buck was not terribly realistic, I agree, but did make for an occasionally amusing plot device as here with Gil Gerard's hammy fun doing the "zhygots"(his robot duplicates). I would add that after the Princess fails yet again even with the duplicates to romance her, it's maybe the only time one feels a touch of pity for gorgeous, but so-alluring Draconian princess.
All in all, not one of the series better entries from Season One, I have to agree.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Awakening (1979)
20th Century astronaut Buk Rogers awakens after being in suspended animation for over 500 years in his spacecraft
I was one of those of saw "Awakening" in its theatrical run prior to the television showing. so was primed for the debut of the series. At age 13/14, I wasn't disappointed with the likes of Erin Gray and stunning Pamela Hensley on-hand by no means. Ms. Hensley must be one of the hottest women to grace American television (and a few films )in the 1970s and 1980s. I won't repeat much of what others have said here about "Awakening," since they have covered it pretty well - I also liked the theme song 'Suspension' played during the opening credits as Buck cavorts with several nice space beauties in his mind over the glowing title of his name while he slumbers(not a bad way to spend eternity had he never been found).
I did find the business of Buck being able to sabotage most of the Draconian fighters single-handedly a bit much; then, as noted, nobody took the project overly-seriously which did help matters in this case. The sequence where Buck dumps Tigerman(# 1) into bed with Princess Ardala is still hilarious, and I think Ms. Gray does a fine job as the jealous/scorned woman when she thinks Buck has chosen Ardala over her near the conclusion.
Ms. Hensley seems to be somewhat embarrassed by this series, or part, which is unfortunate given how many fans it won her(although I enjoyed her on 'Matt Houston' as well in the 1980s) after which she seems to have retired from the screen.
All in all, Buck Rogers... may never be counted as great television, but Gil Gerard did fine in the title role, and there are certainly worse examples of science fiction on U.S. television.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Cruise Ship to the Stars (1979)
Buck and Wilma board luxury starship to protect Miss Cosmos, genetically perfect woman
Cruise ship to the Stars is an okay episode of Buck Rogers in the Twnty-Fifth Century marked by the ill-fated Dorothy Stratten's appearance as the stunning beautiful Miss Cosmos, who is pursued by kidnappers planning to slice her luscious body up for sale on the black market due to her perfect genes. The writers maybe knew better, but it would have been far simpler to simply take some of her blood, and clone the genes from that rather than abduct, and murder Miss Cosmos, but then, there would have went the episode, of course.
Sabrina/Allison, a female Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde variation was an interesting touch, although they should indeed have used a single actress to do both arts - Ms. Noble is considerably better of the two actresses. It does show its 1970s cheesiness with the disco dancing, and clothing, but still makes for some mindless entertainment, and a bevy of gorgeous women around certainly dosen't hurt, at least for those of us who were teenage guys at the time, for sure.
Silver Bullet (1985)
werewolf stalks small North Carolina town in the mid-1970s
Silver Bullet is probably one of Stephen King's better filmmatic adaptions, especially as the two best, the original Salem's Lot(1979), and the original Carrie(1976) were scripted by others. At least, in my opinion, of course.
Tarker's Mill, a small town in eastern North Carolina(the flatlands. that is) is being stalked by a slasher-type killer during the full moon(for the most part, that is). Only paralytic Mary Coslaw(Cory Haim) seems able to realize the killer is actually a monster, a werewolf. His sister Jane(Megan Follows) eventually agrees, and they try to convince their Uncle red(Gary Busey in a great humorous part which may not be that far off of his actual personality) with little success. Marty manages to wound the beast by shooting him in the left eye with a fireworks rocket which Uncle Red has bought for him(since the annual carnival, and fireworks have been canceled due to the creature's activities). During the summer, the monster also slays Marty's best friend, in addition to causing his girlfriend to leave town after it butchers her louse of a father.
On Halloween night as it proves, matters reach their climax with Marty, Jane, and Uncle Red attacked by the creature at Marty's house where it is, of course, finally slain.
The story follows traditional werewolf lore fairly-closely, although in some legendary accounts, only a weapon made of silver can wound a werewolf, so the rocket strike should've healed up quickly, at the very least. Most such accounts say a round into the heart is needed to slay such a monster also, I would note.
Some have complained about Marty being able to climb well with his arms; many paralytics are strong enough to get around well with use of their arms, like those who played the drones in Silent Running, for example.
I enjoyed the love/hate relationship between Marty and Jane, seems realistic to me.
Also found the non-CGI wolf man effective, and quite powerful the way he tosses Gary Busey around, etc. All in all, a good horror film if not one those jaded by modern CGI-effects will cheer loudly for. It is a little sad viewing it today given Corey haim's premature demise.
The Monster Squad (1987)
group of kids take on Dracula and other classic monsters
For years, well, ever since it was released, The Monster Squad has generally been treated as something of a joke among most serious monster movie fans. I didn't see it until some years later, but can't help wondering why this little film gets dumped on so much? Sure, most 1980s kids were fans of slasher-type horror, but the notion of some being into the monsters from the classic era is not a bad idea. Having them save the day in the end is a nice touch as well, though granted, this movie isn't going to be a contender for one of th best such ever made.
The story is more or less a reworking of the Universal monster rallies of the 1940s with the kids in the Monster Sqaud opposing the creatures; it does not take itself too seriously in doing so, and I feel it has just the right mix of humor and some creepy moments as well. The Gill-Man and mummy don't get a lot to do unfortunately, but Tom Noonan's portrayal of a friendly Frankenstein monster is a plus. Dracula and the Wolfman are suitable ferocious(although the wolf man unwillingly so).
I think fans of 1980s cinema would like this little movie better than what many of them seem to I would add.
All in all, a nice family film/monster picture with some nice revisions of several classic film monsters.
The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)
two sailors from 1943 get thrown into the future during a military experiment
The Philadephia Experiment is a decent time travel/action film with some romance thrown in for the ladies, which I often don't really like, but since it's Nancy Allen, I won't complain. Ms. Allen had a nice run of sci-fi and horror films in the 1970s and 1980s starting with the original Carrie(as the meanest of the tormentors of Carrie White even if most the "tennage" cast for that film were already a bit too old) on to some other classics, Strange Invaders, the Robocop series, and so on. I missed the in-joke here about her character's name "Allison Hayes," who was a gorgeous 1950s sci-fi and horror scream queen.
The film itself is based on the possibly-true experiment to "cloak" naval ships during World War Two; differing versions exist of the experiment, but it at least seems possible. All sides were trying to develop secret weapons during the conflict.
Anyway, Michael Pare' plays David, one of two sailors tossed into then-present year 1984 where another try at the same experiment is proving to be a really bad idea. He becomes involved with Allison fairly-quickly, and they go through several near-fatal adventures before he agrees to go back in time, and try to set everything right then, and in the 1980s. The conclusion seems to have been designed for the sake of the "romance" crowd, but all in all, this is a decent enough film which works on several levels, I think.
For those interested, a good deal of material is available from various sources on the Experiment. Meantime, I can certainly recommend this movie to sci-fi fans easily enough, or fans of Ms. Allen, of course.
Duel (1971)
driver in small automobile vs. crazed driver of a huge truck
By this point, most everybody knows the plot of Duel very well, so I won't go into it very much. I didn't realize there is a longer version which played overseas - hope this will be on a DVD of the movie, if it hasn't already been included.
That said, almost all of us have had somewhat similar experiences on the roads, more as time passes, it seems, given how frequently road rage incidents appear in the news. Hopefully, not to this extent, of course. The late Richard Matheson said he based this story on a real-life incident which happened to himself, and fellow-author Jerry Sohl the day President Kennedy was assainated, and while some have pointed out similarities to another tale( a television episode, I think), I see no reason to doubt Matheson's word. Road rage has probably been around in one form or another for as long as automobiles have been - there are just so many more short-tempered drivers out there today. One can certainly see signs of JAWS here though, and it was, indeed, very smart of Spielberg to keep the driver hidden almost entirely.
I was another of so many who expected the big rig to explode at the end; this may be about the only car chase sort of film where the wreck at the end does NOT blow up, in fact. Tanker must have been empty, all right.
The 1970s were the golden age for made-for-television sci-fi/horror/suspense films, and Duel simply helps prove my case. True, Dennis Weaver comes off a a bit on the prissy side, but his character would obviously have been no match for a big truck driver even if this had been played down a bit. Weaver was a World War two veteran, and this is just another example of what a fine actor the man was, I believe.
The Night Stalker (1972)
down-on-his-luck reporter Carl Kolchak encounters true-life vampire in Vegas
I somehow seem to have missed The night Stalker when it first aired way back in 1972, very unusual for me; years later, when I did catch up to it, though, I wasn't disappointed. Janos Skowzeny(Barry Atwater) is a very frightening vampire in a mute, animal-like performance. He gives an example of what it would really be like for police to encounter supernatural terror in his easy wipe-outs of the Las Vegas law enforcement units. The sequence in the enclosed swimming pool where he's shot about fifty times remains very memorable.
I agree that Kolchak's girlfriend Gail Foster(Carol Lynley) does not quite seem to fit with the reporter's crusty personality, but one never knows, of course! This seems to be only one of maybe three time overall where our hero had some help against the creature, this time in form of his friend FBI agent Bernie Jenks(Ralph Meeker) who certainly saved Kolchak from the vampire in the climatic final battle. I haven't looked at all of the reviews here, but the "living blood bank" Skorzeny makes of one of his victims is one of the most hideous aspects of the movie.
Some others have mentioned Mark Dawdizak; his original book on the series/films, "Nightstalking;A Twentith Anniversary Companion" is well worth locating for fans - a 25th Anniversary edition was published in 1997.
One 1970s-era book which I'm sure would also interest most here is by Gary Gerani, "Fantastic Television," 1977, Bounty Books(I think), which has a section on TNS, + episode guides to Outer Limits, One Step Beyond, Twilight Zone, etc. Books like this, and magazines like Starlog were about it for we fans of that now-distant "prehistoric" time before the internet.
Seeveral have commented on the mid-200's remake of TNS; I must say I didn't watch any of the aired episodes as it seemed to deviate so much from the original concept. From all I have heard, it was more like The X-Files than TNS, although I may certainly be somewhat unfair in my judgment of it. This later version does not seem to be highly-thought of from most comments, however.
The Night Strangler (1973)
Carl Kolchak is in Seattle on trail of another supernatural killer
The night Strangler is a better film in ways than 1972's The Night Stalker, and, of course, is the second TV-film featuring Darren McGavin as the seedy but ever-determined reporter Carl Kolchak. This film set up the comedic elements more strongly which carried-over into the TV series the following year. I must admit that Jo Ann Pflug is a heroine more to my taste than Carol Lynley(if something of a motormouth). she does seem a bit old to be a psychology undergraduate, not that it shows a bit in her belly-dancing scenes, of course.
As others have noted, Richard Anderson's Dr. Malcom Richards is perhaps his best role, if fairly-brief - I do tend to think he is a somewhat sympathetic villain, much more so than Janos Skorzeny in the first film. He seems to have started out with a noble goal in mind before madness overtook him. His elixir of life does seem to make him bulletproof as well as giving him superhuman strength, and agility, else many of Seattle's police force are remarkably poor shots.
In the novel by Rice, it is strongly hinted at that Richards is much older than in the film, and probably the historical figure Count St. Germain. Germain was an alchemist believed by some to have perfected something similar which extended his lifespan several times over a normal range for those interested in looking into him.
I have wondered what it was Kolchak tosses throw Vincenzo's office window near the climax - a desk clock? To give Vincenzo credit, he did, indeed, try to publish the real story this time, though - I think in the series, only other instance of this was in "Primal Scream." have to love the closing scenes with Louise in the car along with Carl, and Tony! Clearly they never made it farther east than Chicago, but always wondered where Louise ended up...
Sledge Hammer! (1986)
ultra-violent "always right" cop wages war on crime
It's good to know that Sledge Hammer! is out on DVD now; I happened across a cheap VHS of HAMMERED:The Best of Sledge" and found it as hilarious as when first aired in the mid-1980s. Ultra-right-wing types will not like it no doubt but for those who can appreciate the irony, and satire(wonder what Eastwood thought of it?) this is a true gem of a series.
For some odd reason, I did not see the show each week, strange, as this sort of off-center parody appeals to me a great deal. In the above collection, it's difficult to pick a favorite of those four episodes, although the take-off on Fatal Attraction is spot-on. The one ripping the God-Father is also ecellent, but I can see why Sledge wouldn't have a chance of getting on the air today, as Politically-incorrect as it was, which is too bad all around. Anybody who enjoys Petter Sellars's Inspector Clouseau films will get a blast(pun intended) out of Sledge Hammer! Go buy the DVD set today! I would be remiss by not mentioning beautiful Ann-Marie Martin as Hammer's partner, and sane sidekick/foil to his sexist attitudes(although yet another parody in themselves which many seem to have missed originally).
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
seedy reporter Carl Kolchak encounters bizarre killers on a weekly basis
Kolchak:the Night Stalker is my favorite "fantstic genre" type of TV series of them all. Undoubtedly, it is somewhat dated by modern standards, but it did originally run in the mid-1970s, folks. What the program lacked in quality make-up was more than made-up for by the sheer creepiness of it all! And the fact that Kolchak, the marvelous Darren McCavin, rip, was a past-50 something ordinary mortal who quite often became terrified almost out of his mind by these creatures made him the more endearing, I think.
As most here know, the two previous TV-films, THE NIGHT STALKER(1972), and THE NIGHT STRANGLER(1973) led to the series itself. The original TV-film was the highest-rated TV movie for several years, in fact. And the series was an ancestor of both BUFFY and THE X-FILES as noted.
I was nine when K:TNS began its one-season run on ABC, and caught many of them either on their first-airings, or in the summer-rerun phase(the network did cut some scenes for the prime time repeats for those jaded enough by today's product to think Kolchak wasn't creepy!) When CBS began to run the series on the "CBS Late NIGHT" schedule in 1979, I was thrilled. In those days, short-run TV series were not often played in syndication. The program gained a large cult following which continues today as CBS ran the program into the early 1980s on its late-night schedule, late Friday, I believe.
Can't add a whole lot to the wonderful love/hate relationship between McGavin and Simon Oakland's Tony Vincenzo, other than it added a good deal to the series' charm. To answer some here, Carl did turn in routine-type reporting articles along the way(although they sometimes tended to get INS sued as Tony wasn't slow to point out!). For the record, there was an actual INS at one time - it's mentioned once in the classic 1954 film "Them!", for example.
My favorite episodes are probably again, "Horror in the Heights," The Vampire," "The Spainish Moss Murders," and "Demon in Lace," in no particular order. I would have to say the final five minutes or so of "Zombie" are almost beyond endurance! It's hard to pick a true favorite, "The Ripper" was excellent as well, I must say, even "Choper" was quite good if one forgives the poor-quality headless motorcycle rider.
There were to have been at least three more episodes, possibly four has the series not ended its season slightly ahead of the usual length for TV programs in the 1970s. Fan-magazines of the 1990s like "it couldn't happen here" (which I contributed to some) ran material on those un-produced programs - I have wondered if both "The Norliss Tapes, and "Curse of the Black Widow," two more 1970s Dan Curtis supernatural-detective type TV films weren't also meant originally for "TNS.
For the fans interested the most, "Fangoria" # 3 in 1979 ran a nice episode guide, and article on TNS, although with some mistakes in the piece. The mid-1970s Marvel satire comic "Arrgh!" ran a nifty"Kolchak" parody in issue # 4 which also featured Kolchak on the cover. Another fanzine type publication was "The Kolchak Chronicle" out of Texas as well. The TV films were published as paperbacks by Jeff Rice from Pocket Books around the same time the TV series began, and other items are out there for those who wish to search for them, i.e., comics, other novels, even model kits.
Forbidden Planet (1956)
starship crew searches planet Altair 4 for previous expedition missing for 20 years
The plot of Forbidden Planet is so well known to most I won't go over it much here. I have to say that FP is certainly one of the two, or three best sci-fi films of the 1950s. It Came from Outer Space and This Island Earth are two more which a strong argument for being "the best" can be made.
True enough, some of the effects are a bit on the hokey side by modern standards, but this was 1956, after all, remember.
It is good to have some examples of Leslie Nielsen playing serious roles around, and this film is one of his best. I do think some of the dialog is a bit too much like a World War Two film at times, but WW II was only eleven years in the past when Forbidden Planet was produced. And like most, I cold have done as well without the comedy of Earl Holliman's cook character - I can understand why the movie isn't one of his favorites, for this was a thankless role.
I also was knocked out by Anne Francis like every other male who's ever seen this film, even if she perhaps a bit too old for portraying a twenty-year old. She has a number of genre credits, including two classic appearances on the original Twilight Zone, by the way.
Some have complained of the fact that cruiser C-57-D was a flying saucer(the first ever shown with a human crew, I believe), but the 1950s was the heyday of UFOs - the ship does fine to me.
I do feel the preaching at the end was a bit corny perhaps by modern standards; movie audiences of the period were generally much more of the "there are some things man(or here, Krell) were not meant to know" school of thinking, as were most scriptwriters, of course.
Not much else to add save that Robby the Robot remains probably the best film robot to date - he appeared on the Twilight Zone as well as numerous other TV shows at least into the 1970s, including Wonder Woman, I believe.
For those interested in novelizations, one was published in '56 as Forbidden Planet by W.J. Stuart, at a time when this wasn't often done.
Search for the Gods (1975)
search for artifacts to prove alien visitation to Earth in the distant past
I have only seen Search for the Gods once, or twice since the 1970s, and that was some time back. All the same, from what I do remember, it was a good pilot for a Kurt Rusell series which would have made a decent sci-fi program.
The ancient astronaut theme was very popular in the 1970s, bringing forth many books, and a number of documentary films. It also helped launch the long-running, spooky documentary series "In Search Of..' from Alan Landsburg, and Leonard Nimoy. SFTG itself seems to have largely been overlooked by present-days fans despite it starring Russell, and having good support from people like Ralph Bellamy, and Raymond St. Jacques. My memory is sort of fuzzy on details, but I seem to recall that the complete medallion led to an alien base, or possibly aliens in suspended animation within a mountain in the western U.S. desert regions. I think the medallion was then stolen, obviously to lead into the never=produced TV series - least, I think that was largely how the film ended.
Good-quality sci-fi type shows rarely get "green-lighted" by the networks,though; had this come along a little later, post- 'Star Wars,' it might have stood a better chance.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)
20th century astronaut Rogers wakes up after being frozen in space for over 500 years
I was always on the watch for science fiction in the 1970s, and thanks to the late, lamented Starlog magazine, it wasn't hard, really, to do so even in that "stone age" period. So, I was able to see the pilot film in its theatrical release, and was quite eager for the series to begin. I wasn't disappointed in the show as Gil Gerard made a fine Buck, Erin Gray a beautiful, sexy Wilma Deering, and Pamela Hensley as Princess Ardela was a dream come true for teenage guys in 1979, I can assure you. The episodes which featured Ardala always resulted in the most comments among the guys at school, not surprisingly! I've often wondered how NBC got by with the outfit(or lack there-of) which Ardala usually wore, as it wasn't much above being nude, really.
The episodes of the first season can't compare to Star Trek by any means, but were fun adventures which had the good guys disposing of the bad on a regular basis. The show also featured numerous other beautiful women in quite revealing outfits(if of a disco-like nature), and few guys complained about this, either. I did find Twkii quite annoying at times, especially the way his voice was usually done, no fault of Mel Blanc's.
The second season I found interesting as well if not quite as enjoyable as the first - I did like Thom Christopher's character Hawk. Feel he added a needed "male buddy" for Buck something like Kirk & Spock. Suspect the series would have found a firmer- footing had it ran longer, but NBC's track record with fantastic genre television has never been exactly first-class.
One note many here don't seem to be aware of concerns the Star Gates used in the first season so often. In the mid-1970s, an author named Stephen Robinett, now deceased, wrote a novel called Stargate. It can be found in a hardback from St. Martin's, and some Ace paperback editions also. I read the magazine version, and the concepts are almost identical as best I can recall, although I don't believe there was ever any lawsuit over it. Quite possibly, Mr. Robinett was unaware of the use of the device in this show, although it could have simply been coincidental, of course.
All in all, a good series fondly remembered, and recommended for any who are fans of 1970s-era science fiction
Futureworld (1976)
two reporters investigate the theme park Futureworld, make ominous discoveries
Futureworld is the sequel to Michael Crichton's 1973 Westworld, which is the better of the two film by a considerable degree. That said, Futureworld is a good film in itself, if the first half is a little slow(especially for modern viewers, I'm sure). Chuck Browning(Peter Fonda), and Tracey Ballard(Blythe Danner) are investigative reporters who get a tip that something seriously amiss at Futureworld, their source being killed before he can fully deliver his goods to them.
Taking a "vacation" there themselves, the two enjoy some of the park's attractions while investigating, including holographic chess, as well as a device Danner uses which is able to record one's dream. This is where Yul Brynner's Gunfighter from the Westworld shows up in Tracey's dream in a silent cameo although he is given some top billing.
In time, the duo learns that the DELOS Corporation is replacing various important figures with duplicates, and eliminating the human originals, not overly original even in 1976. Star Trek had used the plot some years before for example, but the idea is well-handled. These duplicates would appear to be closer to genuine androids than more-simple robots with biological elements in their design.
I did find the handguns used unusual, as they seem to fire something closer to an "energy bullet) than normal bullets.
Of course, our pair finally escapes, and reveals this plot at the end.
I wouldn't call Futureworld one of the best 1970s science fiction films, but it is certainly a good one which raises some other points I haven't mentioned here, and issues as well. Anybody who enjoys sci-fi films form the 1970s will like this one, although I agree that Peter Fonda was often rather bland in his earlier films.
Space Cowboys (2000)
four now-elderly former test pilots fly into space to rescue falling satellite
I should say upfront that I don't especially like Clint Eastwood that well, either as actor, or as a director, for various reasons I won't go into here.
That said, Space Cowboys isn't a bad film despite some problems in logic, or plausibility. Basically, Eastwood(Frank Corvin) is called upon to help keep a falling Russian "communications satellite", ICON, from plunging to earth. Having been part of Project Daedalus in the late 1950s, test pilots who were to have been the first U.S. astronauts until policy was changed, and NASA officially formed, Corvin insists on his old teammates being brought into the mission as the price for his help.
ICON turns out to be in reality an orbiting nuclear missile platform left-over from the Cold War, and after near-disaster in orbit, "Hawk" Hawkins who has just learned he has terminal cancer, manages to fly the missile platform all the way to the Moon disposing of the missiles into deep space, apparently, on the way, as the last scene shows his body on the lunar surface amongst the ICON debris.
There is also some doubt about whether Eastwood and Co. can return or not as their shuttle was damaged in orbit, but they do, of course. This film was produced before the shuttle Cloumbia disaster, so we now know they would not have been able to return safely with that much surface damage in all probability.
Ther are some other problems, as I'm not entirely sure there was enough rocket thrust on ICON( and the extra oxygen tanks as well? If I understood Hawks answer right) to break out of earth orbit. It is a movie, of course, and we're willing to make some allowances for the sake of the pathos this action by Hawk gives the movie.
I'm not sure if Daedalus itself actually existed, but I believe it is correct that the test pilots of the various rocket planes, and such of the late 1950s were, indeed, meant to be our first astronauts until the policy change.
In any case, James Garner, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland all seem to have enjoyed doing this film a great deal, and there have been far worse such made.
The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)
Peter Parker is bitten by radioactive spider, become super-hero
I am a little surprised that this series is remembered by even the relatively-few people it seems to be; as a 12 year-old fan in 1977, I caught what episodes of this series as I could, although I must have missed some due to it being yanked all over the schedule like it was. Of course, kids, we only had TV Guide, and the local newspaper television supplements to help us, you know, in those "prehistoric" days.
I have seen a couple of the television movies made from episodes tacked-together lately, the nostalgia value is still high even if the series' production vales weren't so great. Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker/Spider-Man was really too old for the part, but that said, he was clearly a good-hearted, kind fellow one could accept as a super-hero sort of person. I missed more elements from the comic book like Mary Jane, for example, but they did adapt the clone saga from the mid-1970s era of the title which was nifty. Robert F. Simon did well as J. Jonah Jamison even if he didn't look anything like his comics counterpart.
I think CBS mad another error by not having super-villains to oppose Parker, as this undoubtedly turned off many of us then-young fans. I suppose the fellow with psychic powers in the Curse of Rava was about the nearest thing to one.
All this aside, it wasn't as bad a show as many seem to think, given the limitations of 1970s action/super-hero television effects. I'm not sure if this is out on DVD yet or not, but hope it will be so in time if it isn't.
Lucan (1977)
boy raised by wolves until age 10 tries to rejoin humanity
I honestly don't recall a great deal about this series, Lucan, except that i did watch some of the few episodes which were shown in the 1970s. I am glad that some others recall the program even existed, though! From I can recall, it was good program which, like many others, wasn't given a chance to find an audience. I seem to recall he did have some limited super powers though which was just enough to call the series science fiction - it is listed as such in some sources, in any case.
Many short-run TV series of the 1970s now seem to finally be in the process of being released on DVD, and hopefully this show will as well. For the record, there are some well-documented cases of this kind of "feral children" in the real world.