Be Seeing You…?

An interesting article in the NY Times today about an upcoming miniseries. On November 15, the new, updated version of The Prisoner will premiere on AMC. To be frank, I have many more misgivings about this than about the remake of V.

The original production, starring Patrick McGoohan, was a wild, psychedelic allegory on the place of modern man in what was then a society undergoing profound technological and social change. We are experiencing similar social change now, but is the medium of allegory going to be usurped by the necessities of commercial success? Is it possible for a TV series to end on such an ambiguous note as the 60s series did? Is the viewing public intelligent and open minded enough to cope with the profound questions raised in the original, such as ‘what is the individual’s role in relation to society?’ ‘What is the true meaning of freedom?’ ‘To what extent must individual liberty be sacrificed for the good of the community?’

I think the answers will come too easily, the typical drama formula superseding the spirit and intent of the original. Plus, my cable company doesn’t carry AMC, which pisses me off. Only time will tell whether my questions will be answered, keeping in mind of course the Village philosophy:

“Questions are a burden to others, answers a prison for oneself.”

Be seeing you.

The Visitors Return…

Tonight on CTV, the pilot for the newly re-imagined “V” debuts, and I, quite frankly, am looking forward to it, albeit with some reservations.

The original 1980s miniseries (and to a lesser extent the second miniseries, and best not to dwell too long on the short-lived weekly series), in retrospect, is a slice of pure mid-’80s television cheese, but with a surprising amount of thoughfulness about it. Granted, the story begins to become predictable after a short time, but, well, there’s eeeevil Visitor leader Diana for the men to enjoy, a pure, unadulterated meanie who would feel right at home on a reptilian version of Dynasty.

As always, I’m a little leery of remakes or re-imaginings (although Star Trek did a lot to change that), but, as a fan of TV sci-fi, I’ll give it a chance.

Let’s hope I don’t feel like this tomorrow

So, stop by tomorrow, and I’ll share my views – I’m looking forward to yours as well.

P.S.: I’m inclined to disregard this advance review in the New York Times and judge for myself.

Goodbye Life….

Those bastards at SurfaceScape have just come up with the ultimate reason to look forward to Microsoft’s new touch-screen Surface – a true fusion of Table-Top RPG’s with computers:

Of course, the only problem with this is that in order to afford this, you need money, which means devoting time to work, and between this and the fact that Sid Meier is bringing Civilization to Facebook, time for work may be something we are definitely short of (of course, I *could* probably get by on 1 hours sleep a night….).

Comment? I Can Do Better than That…

In response to the previous post – this was the first place I saw/heard this song, and I’ve been a fan of They Might Be Giants ever since…

Some More Craig Ferguson Greatness

If this doesn’t draw a comment from Flash, nothing will….

There’s a Signpost Up Ahead: Next Stop, The Twilight Zone

50 years ago today, Rod Serling’s original Twilight Zone debuted on CBS. The impact of this series, and its influence on popular culture, has been amazing, and the episodes are still interesting and occasionally terrifying a half-century later.

I give you the classic opening theme and narration:

A ‘condensed’ version of one of my favorite episodes, “To Serve Man”, starring Canadian Lloyd Bochner:

And, of course, one of the appearances of the great thespian William Shatner, combined with the storytelling of my favorite author, Richard Matheson, creates the absolute classic “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”. This is part 1 of 3:

We salute you, Mr. Serling, and your contribution to geek history!

Why Craig Ferguson Might Be the Most Underated Talk Show Host…

‘Cause who else would have commemorated the Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing with the theme song from one of the more obscure SuperMarionation shows?

‘Tis the Season…

In memory of Patrick Swayze, and, although a bit out of season, well worth watching… Enjoy!

Just one more brilliant bit of comedy from Mystery Science Theater 3000. Lots more Here!

Movies – From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

Two movies trailers for you folks today – the first, ‘Solomon Kane’ is the adaptation of one of the less well-known characters of Robert E. Howard of ‘Conan’ fame:

Maybe sublime isn’t the right word for this – but hey, what’s not to like about a man who can kick ass wearing a Puritan hat? Besides, considering it’s a film based on a Robert Howard character, James Purefoy looks to be doing a better job of acting than ‘The Governator’…

The second trailer – all I can say is that sometimes you look at something and the only word that comes to mind is “WHY?” - in all the posts Flash has done on this blog regarding the original, I can’t ever recall thinking ‘you know, with better SFX, this would make a great film”

In This Time of Mourning

In this sensitive time, as people commemorate the 8th anniversary of 9/11, let us not forget an even greater tragedy, one that befell the whole world 10 years ago this Sunday, September 13, 1999.

Who can forget where they were the day the Moon, due to an explosion in one of the nuclear waste disposal areas, was blasted out of orbit, cursed to wander forever in space. Whatever became of the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha?

What was the ultimate fate of Commander John Koenig, Dr. Helena Russell, technician Sandra Benes and Astronaut Alan Carter? Was the mystery ever solved of the mysterious disappearances of Professor Victor Bergman, second-in-command Paul Morrow or technician David Kano? It was as if they were there one moment, then, like the change of the seasons, they were gone. Personally, I miss Tania, the hot German chick who also vanished inexplicably…

Hot, German and bearing coffee. What more does a man need?

Moonbase Alpha brought us many important things in the nearly sci-fi free days of the 1970’s, such as:

Science!

Exploration!

Space babes in futuristic bikinis!

Yes, let us not forget the brave men and women who forged on despite their isolation, despite their hardships, despite low ratings. Their spirit lives on in all of us, at least those of us who wasted their childhoods in front of a TV set.

Godspeed, Moonbase Alpha!

Season 1 intro:

Season 2 intro:

Special Update!

This message just received from the farthest reaches of space!