Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched

[Eric Paddon]

Battlestar Galactica-"Saga Of A Star World"
Battlestar Galactica-"Lost Planet Of The Gods"

Time for me to give my favorite sci-fi show of all time a new look from the beginning on through. Because Galactica is a show that gave us an ongoing storyline over the course of its season in which characters changed/matured etc. and there was considerable forward momentum from where things started, it's not the kind of show that you can just watch a random episode of to appreciate it, in contrast to how Star Trek is something you can watch randomly out of sequence all the time or other shows with little forward momentum after their pilot episodes (Logan's Run, Planet Of The Apes etc.). The first five-six episodes of "Lost In Space" is really the only thing remmotely comparable for sci-fi shows from the "golden age of TV" as I define it.

The storytelling still holds up magnificently IMO. The epic feel of a larger-than-life adventure that "Star Wars" had done cinematically translates very well to late 1970s TV. The acting and writing presents a universe of characters you can believe in because even in moments of humor, it doesn't come off like the silly camp that could undermine a show's credibility as we could see in the Irwin Allen shows (or in the godawful "Galactica 1980" a year later). Galactica had its flaws, but it never degenerated into the absurdity I've seen in too many other shows (and which yes, even existed in more episodes of Trek TOS than people like to think).

The DVD supplements with the deleted scenes and outtakes remains a fascinating set of bonus materials ten years after this DVD release took place. The outtakes for "Lost Planet Of The Gods" even reveals a first attempt to shoot two scenes a certain way and then a script rewrite in the final version led to a total reshoot (the wedding scene between Apollo and Serina). Universal may have bastardized Galactica's legacy in that other show I will not acknowledge, but I thank them for treating the original series with care in this DVD release with materials that no other vintage Universal TV title ever got.

[AndyDursin]

SLEEPY HOLLOW

Very slick, quite entertaining new Fox series premiered to great ratings (10 million viewers) Monday, serving up what looks like a Buffy-esque supernatural mystery with a "reanimated" Ichabod Crane and a young police detective -- in the present day -- teaming up to stop the Headless Horseman, who's part of an apparent apocalyptic plot to raise the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Len Wiseman directed and Kurtzman & Orci scripted the plot, which offered guest star turns from Clancy Brown and John Cho, but, more importantly, good chemistry between leads Tom Mison (Crane) and Nicole Beharie as the African-American detective he's "partnered" with.

Good fun to start -- and visually stimulating to boot. If the series can develop the characters, tap back into the Revolutionary War-era historical component, and add in more humor, this might be a breakout success. Certainly it's no TERRA NOVA, and that's a good thing!

[mkaroly]

SLEEPY HOLLOW

Very slick, quite entertaining new Fox series premiered to great ratings (10 million viewers) Monday, serving up what looks like a Buffy-esque supernatural mystery with a "reanimated" Ichabod Crane and a young police detective -- in the present day -- teaming up to stop the Headless Horseman, who's part of an apparent apocalyptic plot to raise the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Len Wiseman directed and Kurtzman & Orci scripted the plot, which offered guest star turns from Clancy Brown and John Cho, but, more importantly, good chemistry between leads Tom Mison (Crane) and Nicole Beharie as the African-American detective he's "partnered" with.

Good fun to start -- and visually stimulating to boot. If the series can develop the characters, tap back into the Revolutionary War-era historical component, and add in more humor, this might be a breakout success. Certainly it's no TERRA NOVA, and that's a good thing!

I wanted to watch this but American Ninja Warrior was on and one dude was two jumps away from making it to Mount Midoriyama....I really wanted to see the premier episode, so hopefully they will repeat it next week or something.

[AndyDursin]

I wanted to watch this but American Ninja Warrior was on and one dude was two jumps away from making it to Mount Midoriyama....I really wanted to see the premier episode, so hopefully they will repeat it next week or something.

Fox is re-running it Friday night at 9. Set your DVR!

Ratings were great -- Fox's highest rated drama premiere in 6 years, excellent demo and 10 million viewers. Hopefully they can keep it going but it was, at least, much better than some of the mediocre reviews lead me to believe.

[sprocket]

Battlestar Galactica-"Saga Of A Star World"
Battlestar Galactica-"Lost Planet Of The Gods"

I recently saw the theatrical movie on Blu-ray and I was favourably impressed by how well it was done. The acting was good and it moved along at quite a clip. I enjoyed the non-CGI effects, even if they aren't as slick as what we have today.

I wasn't too impressed with the plot, though. Watching the original run in the 70s, I remember thinking it was just so-so, although they seemed to find their feet a bit in later the episodes.

Hopefully, they'll remaster the series for blu. I'd definitely be interested.

[Eric Paddon]

THe theatrical cut will always have the problem of being about a half hour shorter and missing a lot of important character exposition. Unfortunately for a lot of people over the years, the theatrical cut became their template for trying to "understand" the series and that was really misleading in the extreme IMO.

I hope the full series makes it to Blu-Ray as well though I have to wonder if all the great extras would make it. I sincerely hope the original elements for the extras (the outtakes) are still around post-2008 fire.

[John Johnson]

THe theatrical cut will always have the problem of being about a half hour shorter and missing a lot of important character exposition. Unfortunately for a lot of people over the years, the theatrical cut became their template for trying to "understand" the series and that was really misleading in the extreme IMO.

That's pretty much how it was in the UK. For several years, the theatrical cut was the only thing available. Home video was really in it's infancy. As I recall, the series didn't air in the UK until after the theatrical release of Mission Galactica. Even then it wasn't networked. ITV originally bought the series and it eventually filtered through to the other parts of the country. Even when the series did air, the two part story Living Legend was not part of the package. Fans had to put up the theatrical version. It wasn't until the BBC bought the rights in the late 80s, (I think),that The Living Legend was finally shown. On a side note, Living Legend opened the same week as The Empire Strikes Back. Both films were shown in Leicester Square.

[Paul MacLean]

Just finished Archangel, and excellent 3-part BBC series from 2005. Daniel Craig stars as a university professor wrapping-up a lecture tour in Moscow, when he is told of a long-buried document that once belonged to Josef Stalin. I don't want to give too much away, but Craig quickly runs afoul of both Russian government agents and the communist party, as he attempts to trace the origin and significance of the document. Good score by Rob Lane too. Highly recommended!

[Eric Paddon]

Tarzan S2 The 1966-68 Ron Ely TV series has its second and final year now out from Warner Archive and I've been going through the remainder of S1 episodes I hadn't watched as well as beginning this one. Ely's "intelligent" take on the character is refreshingly different and works but the real problem of the series is the thoroughly annoying character of boy sidekick Jai (Manuel Padilla, Jr.) who is constantly getting himself into trouble, and then often becoming the focal point of many episodes because Ely's injuries from doing all his own stunts would often keep him sidelined for stretches. I've never understand why, if they were going to give us a substitute for Boy, that they just didn't go the extra mile and keep the character of Jane since as it turned out, they never really in the course of the series made adequate use of female guest stars as would-be romantic interests (this despite having a number of names like Suzy Parker, Barbara Luna, Gia Scala, Antoinette Bower etc. pass through).

The second season they really went out of their way to increase the action quotient and we see Tarzan get into more fistfights than in the previous season. Also, after going through two different themes in S1, for S2 they brought in Nelson Riddle to do a new theme and all the underscore and Riddle, who left "Batman" to do this work is still in that show's mode as I could hear a number of Batman cues recycled in new arrangements here (even right down to stinger cues during a fight scene that only needed a POW graphic!).

The show was a respectable entry in the overall history of Tarzan projects but the formula IMO can get too predictable after awhile.

[Eric Paddon]

Night Gallery (1969). The pilot movie which features among others, Spielberg's first professional effort with the "Eyes" segment starring Joan Crawford. The rawness of a future legend in the making is what makes it fascinating to study. Spielberg was under orders from Serling not to alter a word of his dialogue and that, according to the making of book, would pose problems given Serling's penchant for writing dialogue that actors wouldn't find particularly natural. Even so, the end results were quite effective. Spielberg's device for the climax to suggest Crawford's fall to her death, using the zooming in on a falling piece of plate glass shattering to the ground below made such an impression on the film editor that two years later it was used by the same editor for the first season "Columbo" episode "Death Lends A Hand" to suggest the moment when Robert Culp's murder victim has struck her head fatally against a glass table.

The segment that comes off least of the three is the final one "Escape Route" with Richard Kiley as the Nazi war criminal seeking refuge inside a pastoral looking painting. The story itself is fine but it has more visible flaws compared to "Eyes" and the chilling opening story "The Cemetery". The biggest flaw is Sam Jaffe as the almost sneering concentration camp survivor whose role frankly wasn't necessary IMO given the script and drags it down (he's really there only to give Serling's lofty speeches; as a character he does not serve the vital role of Joseph Schildkraut in the similary themed TZ episode "Deathshead Revisited"; not to mention the fact that Jaffe's performance is one-dimensional and poor).

Billy Goldenberg's score is eerily fantastic. It's too bad that when Night Gallery became a series we had to see the intrusion of unwelcome elements like producer Jack Laird's obsession with totally unfunny comedic blackouts akin to those of "Love American Style" and stories that were more uneven in tone. Had every "Night Gallery" been just like the pilot it would be as well remembered as TZ is.

[Paul MacLean]

Night Gallery (1969)

Oddly enough I have never seen this show. I loved The Twilight Zone but Night Gallery never seemed to be carried by stations in my area when it was in syndication.

I only ever saw one episode, about a man who falls in love with a mermaid, which had incredibly disturbing twist at the end.

[Eric Paddon]

Yes, I know the one you mean. Stuart Whitman was the sea captain in that one.

I think the series is worth a look on DVD despite its uneven quality. You even get to see some actors like Pat Boone play wonderfully against type.

[John Johnson]

Fox is indeed hot on remaking that for the U.S. I'm watching it also, I'm 2 episodes in so far (it's tough because it's a show you have to pay attention to, and it's not exactly "light" viewing at bedtime).

David Tennant to Reprise 'Broadchurch' Role for Fox Reboot

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-f ... ole-641578

[Eric Paddon]

The Lieutenant (1963-64)
-Discovering this series on DVD through Warner Archive has been a pleasant surprise. People have heard of it only because this was what Gene Roddenberry created and produced before Star Trek, and that Gary Lockwood had been the star, explaining his presence in "Where No Man Has Gone Before." But as the show ran for only a single season before being cancelled it never was seen again its original run until being made available at last on DVD.

-Although the packaging touts Roddenberry's role, those who look at this expecting to see Star Trek foreshadowings will come away empty handed because this is really not a Roddenberry type show. He produced it but he only wrote the pilot episode and the rest of it was the work other authors. The show it most resembles is executive producer Norman Felton's other series for MGM television at the time, "Dr. Kildare" because in many respects "The Lieutenant's" human drama stories are like those of Kildare in a military setting with Lockwood giving us the young professional just as Richard Chamberlain's Kildare was.

-And from a philosophical standpoint, this show is probably the most conservative show Roddenberry was ever associated with. Unquestionably, the necessary cooperation obtained from the USMC to do this series meant ceding some levels of creative control, but even so, it's so refreshing to see so many dramas play out with philosophical messages that go totally against the grain of what so many other 60s shows, especially as the decade progressed, became noted for. There are episodes like "The Art Of Discipline" where young Lieutenant Rice decides that he can get more out of his foul-up unit by listening more to their input during war games sessions and in effect allowing for greater "democratization" in the unit. But then Rice gets a chewing out from his superior (Robert Vaughn, in a regular role; Vaughn's involvement with this show is why Norman Felton then immediately cast him for "The Man From UNCLE" once he knew "The Lieutenant" would not be renewed) who points out to him that in a REAL war, there is no room for this kind of deference and that soldiers are expected to do things without questioning the orders that came from higher-up. The seeming impersonality of the military and how it conducts its business is presented in a realistic and believable fashion, in which all the characters, enlisted men and officer, are allowed to be multi-dimensional figures without the kind of crude stereotyping that we would later get from shows like "MASH" (and I'm especially referring to the MASH that tried to be "serious"). Granted, the fact that this was made just prior to the beginning of the Vietnam War accounts for this greater level of "pro-establishment" thinking, but given the avalanche of "anti-establishment" shows and films in the years to come it's refreshing to see well-written stories from a different perspective.

-My impressions of Gary Lockwood as an actor changed with this show. Before, I knew him only for his stiff-as-a-board performance in "2001" or his constant string of TV guest shots as the psycho of the week. I never thought of him as someone who could be a credible lead, but he does the job wonderfully here bringing Lieutenant William Tiberius (yes, this is where Kirk's middle name first came from!) Rice to life as a character who also over the course of the season evolves and adjusts to his duties and what it means to be a Marine. He never had better work than this.

[Eric Paddon]

Maverick-Season 2 (1958-59)

-I've been watching several episodes of this classic series and one of the reasons why I feel compelled to report on this is that I am to be honest still shaking after seeing one of the most disturbingly effective episodes from TV's Golden Age I have ever seen in terms of giving us a portrait of a total psychopathic individual and the ensuing effects it has. For people who usually think of "Maverick" as a light comedic western it's a very shocking kind of departure.

-A little context though. We associate the series with James Garner's Bret Maverick but of course half the episodes were also for Jack Kelly's Bart Maverick (borne out of necessity because of the long shooting schedules to get just one episode done). I always found Kelly to have a weaker presence when carrying an episode solo compared to Garner, though whenever both brothers appeared together the results were pure gold. Kelly's more serious approach meant he would get stories that had a darker, more serious tone than anything Garner would have tackled at this point in his career, and that is especially true of the S2 episode "Prey Of The Cat". This episode comes just two weeks after the most famous episode of "Maverick", "Shady Day At Sunny Acres" which many call the inspiration for the movie "The Sting" and gives us the brothers Maverick, in conjunction with all of the great recurring guest stars of the first two seasons including Dandy Jim Buckley (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) and con lady Samantha Crawford (Diane Brewster) appearing one last time on the show to help Bret turn the tables on a crooked banker who cheated him out of $15,000. This episode shows the light side of Maverick and its great characters at their finest. And six weeks later came the hilarious parody of "Gunsmoke", "Gun-Shy" where Bret has to deal with the problems of running afoul of "Marshal Mort Dooley".

All of which makes an episode like "Prey Of The Cat" so unexpected sandwiched between these comedic gems. This is a brother Bart episode. While recovering 12 weeks from a broken leg in the home of a kindly rancher, an attraction develops between Bart and the rancher's wife (Patricia Barry-who was also in several episodes of "Thriller" and two TZ episodes). When it results in a kiss, Bart is anxious to push it off as a mistake, but the wife is clearly interested in more. Bart wants to leave as soon as he's well but the rancher who likes Bart, gets him to stay for a hunting trip to kill a dangerous mountain lion nearby. On this trip, the rancher is shot dead, apparently accidentally as a result of a ricochet. But the townspeople, who already suspect Bart of hankie-pankie with the wife, are prepared to think he killed the rancher on purpose. For now though, the wife is backing him up......and then Patricia Barry, who started out all attractive and sweet at this point then slowly drops the facade and reveals that she killed her husband on purpose to have Bart. And if he won't stay, she'll claim he killed her husband on purpose. He is trapped in a situation where he can't leave and will face either the possession of an unstable lunatic of a woman or the angry wrath of townspeople who hate him.

I shouldn't reveal more (the climax is disturbing in its own right and barely gives you time to catch your breath when the story ends), but I have seldom seen a better performance by an actor or actress at communicating a slow, nuanced descent into outright chilling lunacy the way Barry does in this. And its a reminder to me again how television was NOT a "vast wasteland" in this age regardless of what the uber-arrogant Newton Minnow thought.