The end

Thanks for reading over the years, but I think I have gone as far as I can with this blog. I have enjoyed doing it, but just don’t have the time to give to doing reviews. I may start a new blog on 1970’s Football Cards some time soon to cover another interest.

Take care!

The attempted spinoff episode

It doesn’t happen too often anymore, but there was a time when this odd variety of an episode would show up on your favorite show. You’d be watching and something odd would happen, a character who was obviously only meant for this episode had a major part where they almost took over the episode like and alien showing up on Happy days to battle the Fonz or a time traveling dude with different gizmos trying to one up Kirk and Spock in the 1960’s. Even stranger was when the regulars from your show were hardly in the episode like the Brady Bunch where the Brady’s were barely in it, but instead we saw a couple adopting three boys or the MacGuyver where he quickly goes away and the episode instead focuses on a pair of bounty hunter brothers. Sound weird? It should, these often well established shows decided to focus on another character in the hopes of getting a great audience response and getting the network to agree to give the character their own show. For Mork it worked, but for most others they didn’t get their own and instead just stick out like a sore thumb when you watch the whole show. In the case of the Brady Bunch and MacGuyver it came in the last season and you have to wonder if the creator knew the show was nearing it’s end so they used it as an outlet to pitch a new show hoping they could pick up and start that one off in the next season instead. Feel free to add in the comments any others you can think of. I hope to review some of these episodes soon. Likely it will be Star Trek, Happy Days and MacGuyver.

So long Chris Wiggins

Numerous sources are reporting that actor Chris Wiggins passed away on 2-22-2017 at the age of 86. He was born in England, but lived in Canada for a long time. An actor and voice actor he had a career that spanned seven decades. Probably his most known role was that of world traveler/adventurer/studier of the occult turned cursed antique finder Jack Marshak in Friday the 13th the series. He was my favorite character in that show and often seemed the backbone of the group. He had a great voice so it’s no wonder he voiced cartoons for decades including the 60’s Spider-Man, The Care-Bear Family, Franklin and many more. I knew he was still around, but was saddened to hear of his passing. I’ll be watching some episodes of Friday the 13th the series this weekend for sure.

Upcoming junk and stuff

Definitely hoping to review The bloody pit of horror and The last woman on earth next week. I have started writing both so I think it will happen.

If you get ME-TV remember that Svengoolie is showing Godzilla films every Saturday night this month.

Take care!

Jules Verne movie posters

Jules Verne was one of the first sci-fi authors I go into and he of course was one of the first to touch and define the style. His writing was in some ways more on the science part and indeed many of the things he wrote came to be fact not all that long after he wrote about them. His stories were turned into films well when film was still new. Around the 50’s and 60’s in the midst of all kinds of monster and alien films the stories of Jules Verne were turned into films again. Some were hit and some weren’t while some were strongly founded on Verne’s work and used the ttitles but took a lot of librerties. Here are a few posters of some of those films.

Coming soon

I have not had a lot of time to write, but I have had time to watch movies. Hoping to have reviews of all of these films up fairly soon. Hang in there, I hope to have something up next week.

 

Be back soon

Yeah, yeah I know, I hardly post as it is so expectations are low. I won’t be posting for at least a week because of the holidays. Hope to be back to posting next Thursday. It may not be just empty promises this time as I am actually well into writing reviews for The last woman on earth, Project Moonbase and Circus of Horrors and I watched Terror of the tongs recently and hope to write that one up soon. Don’t write me off yet, I still hope to be back with more reviews very soon. Have a great holiday and take care!

The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler

1971/1972

Before there was a Night Stalker show there were these two made for TV movies. The first one was…

The Night Stalker

Someone in Las Vegas is killing young women. Despite the attempts by the police to keep details of the murders quiet an overenthusiastic report named Carl Kolchak finds out the bodies have been drained of blood and begins to put together that the murders may have been done by the same person. Then someone begins stealing blood from blood banks. He, who is don this a vampire? Well, it’s beginning to look that way. Eventually the killer is not only seen while stealing blood and killing, but he is confronted by police yet they can’t stop him physically or with guns. Kolchak again brings up the idea of a vampire and the higher ups growl at him. They do identify him as a guy who is over 70. Eventually Kolchak discovers the killers lair and confronts the yes, vampire. Of course Kolchak gets his tail kicked, but he manages to stake the vampire and end this reign of terror. Kolchak then writes about the vampire was the killer and he was staked, the article was printed and everyone was happy. Oh, wait he did write that, but the higher ups tell him they will arrest him for murder if he doesn’t get out of town. They instead run a story that tells how the police killed the murderer in a shootout and they live out anything about him being a vampire. Kolchak grudgingly leaves, but swears to get his story heard one day.

 

The Night Strangler

Kolchak ends up in Seattle where someone else begins killing young girls. Much to the chagrin of the Seattle police Kolchak begins finding out details that suggest the killer has rotting flesh and has been killing a few woman over a course of a few weeks in the Spring every 21 years for over a hundred years. However the police tell him this is crazy talk and suggest a few holes in the previous killings that make it seem not as connected as Kolchak start. Still Kolchak believes the killer just has a few more killings to do and then he’ll vanish for another 21 years. With the help of a researcher Kolchak pins down the killer as a former Civil War officer who founded a medical center in Seattle and never seem to age. The police try to get the killer, but he overpowers them and then vanishes. Kolchak begins to think the killer is staying in the semi buried ruins of what was old Seattle before a fire in the late 1800’s. He gets a belly dancer friend to go with him. In the end it’s Kolchak who finds the killer and yes again gets his tail kicked. The killer tells him how he kills to make and elixir to stay young every 21 years. He know has what he needs for this batch, but Kolchak smashes it before he can take it. The bad dude instantly ages and the police arrive in time to see him in his state and then he expires. Kolchak writes about the 150 year killer who stayed young fixing a cocktail out of liquids from the bodies of the woman he murdered. Yeah, he writes it but the printing is stopped by the cops and turned into a more normal murder gets his due story. Kolchak is kicked out of Seattle as are his editor and his belly dancer friend.

Both films are strong made for TV movies. The first one has an okay story, but cast get the most of it. the second one has a better story and an even better supporting cast plus some nice visuals. I have only seen these and never seen the show, but ME-TV is getting to read put it into their new winter line-up so I cannot wait to see all the episodes.

Upcoming junk and stuff

Obviously I have not written much the past few weeks. My dad has had some health problems and I have been helping him along with the regular stuff so writing time has been limited. I’m still hoping to get back into it. The good news might be that I have watched Terror of the tongs and Circus of horrors recently so I just need to review them soon. Once I get those done I still owe like six Halloween themed reviews of TV episodes. If I can get those done then maybe I’ll finally get at some Gamera and Godzilla reviews plus other films I have been promising forever like Five and The man who turned to stone. Hang in there and take care!

Star Trek Christmas round 2

When two of my favorite things come together.