Reviews by TrekMedic

No! Just "no!" [Link removed - login to see] was enough of a visual abortion, why try to mind-meld it with [Link removed - login to see] Clearly a pilot for a planned series that everyone with an IQ above a Tribble knew would fail, it was rolled into an incoherent mess and a mockery of all things Trek! Someone give the producers a Vulcan neck pinch if they ever think of making a sequel!

Hey, is there a doctor in this [Link removed - login to see]
If [Link removed - login to see] got admitted, would they still be dead?
The House MD comparisons are obvious:
Genius doctor with crippling injuries? Check!
Former lover now in a position of authority over our medical hero? Check!
Arguing policy with same said lover as a form of sexual tension? Check!
Hero doctor leads a group of young, genius medical fellows, each with their own agendas and backstory? Check!
The conceit of Watson is this: John Watson, companion and chronicler of Sherlock Holmes, is the sole survivor of Holmes' final battle with Moriarty. Recovered from a traumatic brain injury, Watson now leads a Holmes-funded specialty clinic at the fictional University of Pittsburgh Hospital (UHOP), headed by his ex-wife, Mary Morstan.
The episodes are standard medical-related boiler plate issue. Only one episode, [Link removed - login to see] involved an actual crime and introduced us to the Holmesian character, Inspector Lestrade, which leads me to my "Rosencrantz" callback: Holmes' former lover and con artist, Irene Adler, drops by, hinting at the possibility that Holmes survived. Shadowy characters, all being blackmailed by an evil incarnate we're led to believe is Moriarty, bedevil Watson and Co., leading to a season-ending cliffhanger. As we move into Season 2 this fall, we are left to wonder if this show will develop it's own identity or, as said in [Link removed - login to see]: “Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
Exeunt

Set against the economic battles and general anti-Japanese sentiment of the late-80s and early-90s, (even [Link removed - login to see] briefly touched on it before the mayhem ensued), Black Rain and it's nearly-identical plot twin, [Link removed - login to see] stirred the pot, using a veil of mystery surrounding Japanese culture as a plot mechanism, to push a pro-American point-of-view. Dated for it's plot and, given how much the world has opened in the digital age, it's interesting in the way we look at those buried time capsules after they're unearthed.

What the (bleep)?? The movies my daughter and son-in-law watch (I blame her pregnancy cravings)! Did Chucky from [Link removed - login to see] have a sex change, or is M3GAN his offspring with Tiffany from [Link removed - login to see] Either way, Johanlefourbe's [Link removed - login to see] was spot-on with the theme of AI's power in the wrong hands. And, of course, with low-brow stuff like this, the producers will likely milk a few sequels before the glow wears off.

Also known as "Star Trek: The After School Special." In an initial season wracked with production changes and poor scripts, this one stands out for it's Nancy Reagan-esque "Just say no!" theme, as Wesley Crusher gets the "drugs are bad, m'kay" talk and Picard initiates a planet-wide case of withdrawal to preserve the Prime Directive. Trekkies will take note of the casting callback, featuring [Link removed - login to see] and [Link removed - login to see] both playing significant supporting roles in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan!

The epitome of the phrase "video killed the radio star," Romeo Void, a new-wave band out of the San Francisco Bay area, was on the rise with their hit "Never Say Never." The risqué lyrics were sung by their lead vocalist, Debora Iyall, a sultry-voiced, Rubenesque Native American woman. But this was 1981,...no social media support, no Spotify or Apple Music here! Just the radio and an up-and-coming cable channel that played "music videos" 24/7. And thus began the band's downfall. Expecting some svelte eye candy, Iyall's looks proved to be something of a turnoff to many and Romeo Void's popularity tanked, leading to their breakup in 1985.

As with many "prequels" and "origins stories," there's always the inherent pitfall of deviating from canon. In my younger days, I spent many nights in the fire department on nightwatch reading the original Dune and Dune Messiah, and partially completed Children of Dune before love and marriage got in the way. As bitterly disappointed I was with the [Link removed - login to see] bastardization of the novel, I thoroughly enjoyed the first 2 parts of the current remaking of Dune. With that in mind, I never read [Link removed - login to see] and only have the current movies as a framework. Even with the residual HBO "Game of Thrones" vibe (imagine the Harkonnens as a lesser house in Westeros, looking to advance to the Iron Throne), this was a thoroughly enjoyable series and I'm looking forward to Season 2.

Given the current climate in America's higher learning system, I felt it was appropriate to watch this today when it popped up on TV. A little dated and the themes are delivered with a heavy hand, but oh, what a start for some of cinema's brightest stars of the (then) future! Matt Damon and Brendan Fraser offer glimpses of their skills to come, but Ben Affleck (Damon's cinematic partner in crime) was nothing more than background filler here.

Watching this movie, I was reminded of [Link removed - login to see] and [Link removed - login to see] shady characters and bad actors, living in enormous houses of cards. Eventually, a card slips and the houses crumble.

I'm not really into gothic horror in general, but the pacing was too slow for me. The best part, honestly, was watching Telly Savalas with a lollipop in his mouth, in the manner of his titular TV character, [Link removed - login to see]