Random Musings

Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. Ariel warns Scott Bernard about a new threat to humanity. Original Release Date: Aug. 25, 2006. Running Time: 88 minutes. Screenplay by: ...

New Review: Robotech - The Shadow Chronicles. The war with the Invid ends, just in time for a new threat: an enemy that can turn humanity's technology against them. I don't love the animation or the mismatches in continuity with the series, but it's entertaining as an action movie. bit.ly/472pt46

The Ghosts of N-Space 6 episodes Running Time: Approx. 143 minutes. Written by: Barry Letts. Directed by: Phil Clarke. Produced by: Phil Clarke. THE PLOT: ...

New Review: Doctor Who audio - The Ghosts of N-Space. The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith go to the aid of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart when his Sicilian uncle is threatened, and soon find themselves hopping between the events of three different time periods to stop a disaster. bit.ly/4txQcPH

2005: Dirty Love. Rebecca (Jenny McCarthy) visits a psychic. Release Date: Sept. 23, 2005. Running Time: 91 minutes. Written by: Jenny McCarthy. Producers ...

New Review: Worst Picture 2005 - Dirty Love. A photographer (Jenny McCarthy) finds her boyfriend in bed with another woman, setting off an odyssey of bad dates and other misadventures, most of them involving bodily excretions. Cheap, gross, and - worst of all - unfunny. bit.ly/49WLtzl

The Paradise of Death 5 episodes. Running Time: Approx. 143 minutes. Written by: Barry Letts. Directed by: Phil Clarke. Produced by: Phil Clarke. THE PLOT: ...

New Review: Doctor Who audio - The Paradise of Death. 1993 BBC radio play has the 3rd Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, and UNIT investigating an amusement park, only to get whisked away to an alien planet. It's wonderful to hear the Season 11 cast; I just wish the actual story was stronger. bit.ly/4qUzMzi

At the Midpoint: A Backward Glance at Best Pictures from 1927 to 1975. A scene from 1927's Wings , which won the award for Outstanding Picture at the first Academy Awards. With my review of One Flew over the C...

Best Picture tie-in post: At the Midpoint - A Backward Glance at Best Pictures from 1927 to 1975. A quick look back at the first half of my Best Pictures review series, a superficial overview of some film history and some of my personal thoughts and reactions. bit.ly/4qWln5C

8-12. Second Chances. 2 episodes. Running Time: Approx. 68 minutes. Written by: John Dorney. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Perform...

New Review: Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles: Second Chances. The final installment of the Zoe/memory arc sees her given a chance to save the crew of a doomed space station - but not everything is as it seems. A superb finale that is cleverly plotted and surprisingly emotional. bit.ly/3LSvRnd

7-2. The Uncertainty Principle. 2 episodes. Running Time: Approx. 64 minutes. Written by: Simon Guerrier. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Perf...

New Review: Doctor Who audio - The Companion Chronicles: The Uncertainty Principle. The 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe investigate the death of a young scientist, which puts them in the path of creatures of electricity that can kill with a single touch. bit.ly/458eTI5

I don’t think I’ll even bother with the novels, since the film didn’t rise above “passable time waster.” Without original episodes as a basis, the writing just wasn’t there. And I agree - the “indestructible“ cats were hilarious. Along with the Invid now looking like giant snakes, because “evil.”

Robotech: The Sentinels. The wedding of Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes, who have received a copyright-safe makeover between seasons. Also Released as: Robotech II - Th...

New Review: Robotech - The Sentinels. Rick Hunter prepares for two terrifying events: a mission to an alien world, and his long-delayed wedding to Lisa Hayes. Direct-to-video movie edited together from what would have been the first three episodes of Season Two. bit.ly/456DZHk

6-3. The Memory Cheats. 2 episodes. Running Time: Approx. 65 minutes. Written by: Simon Guerrier. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Perf...

New Review: Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles: The Memory Cheats. An older Zoe, still a prisoner of The Company, relates the time she, the Doctor, and Jamie investigated missing children in post-World War I Uzbekhistan - but Zoe's story may not be the whole truth... bit.ly/4qcvLGa

More Doctor Who - probably mostly audios, since my Classic series rewatch has just entered the Fourth Doctor era, and I already reviewed Seasons 12 and 13 years ago. I'll post if I change my mind on a story and write a new review from scratch, but not when I just do touch-ups to old reviews.

More Star Trek reviews - more Voyager and the first season of Discovery, and I think it might be time for me to cover the Kelvinverse trilogy.

I'll finish off the remaining Robotech movies across the first half of 2026. After Robotech is done, I'll begin my long-gestating Studio Ghibli project, starting with reviews of films known to have been early inspirations for Isao Takahata and/or Hayao Miyazaki before moving on to their early work.

Best Picture reviews will finish out the 1970s and enter the 1980s. Worst Picture reviews will continue into the 2000s.

Happy New Year! It's time for my standard annual post, where I summarize the plans for my reviews this coming year.

S7, S18, S1, S14, S5, S26, S2

5-2. Echoes of Grey. 2 episodes. Running Time: Approx. 77 minutes. Written by: John Dorney. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Perform...

New Review: Doctor Who audio - The Companion Chronicles: Echoes of Grey. The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe find themselves in a lab running some particularly dangerous experiments. Standard runaround, but entertaining. bit.ly/4s8Ngs1

6-12. Blink of an Eye. Astronaut Gotana-Retz (Daniel Dae Kim) prepares to rendezvous with the mysterious ancient sky ship... Voyager . Original Air Date: Jan. 19...

New Review: Star Trek Voyager 6.12 - Blink of an Eye. Voyager is pulled into a planet that experiences time at a greatly accelerated rate, with days on the ship translating to centuries below. Probably my favorite Season 6 episode so far. bit.ly/4aXUZ6a

7-1. The Ark. 4 episodes: Buttercups, Puffball, Camellias, Golfball. Running Time: Approx. 135 minutes. Written by: John Lucarotti. Adapted by: Jonatha...

New Review: Doctor Who - The Lost Stories: The Ark. The Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry arrive on a space station that houses humanity's last survivors. It has fallen under the control of an alien who plans to take over the world! Based on the scripts that became The Ark in Space. bit.ly/4oXFPB7

1975: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) feigns insanity to avoid prison. Release Date: Nov. 19, 1975. Running Time: 135 minutes. Screenplay by: ...

New Review: Best Picture 1975 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) tries to get out of a prison work detail by feigning insanity, only to end up in a battle of wills against the domineering Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). As great as its reputation. bit.ly/44WVJVd

3.4: The Sontarans. 4 episodes: The Sontarans, The Descent, The Blind City, The Rule of War. Running Time: Approx. 68 minutes. Written by: Simon Guerrier. Di...

New Review: Doctor Who - The Early Adventures: The Sontarans. The Doctor is roped into a mission to blow up a Sontaran cannon before it destroys a fleet of refugees. The narrated format allows for an action-heavy story, and for once the Sontarans actually come across as formidable. bit.ly/48GtxHy

1.4: An Ordinary Life. 4 episodes: An Ordinary Life, The Unalike, The Sleeping Army, The Enemy Without. Running Time: Approx. 123 minutes. Written by: Matt Fitt...

New Review: Doctor Who - The Early Adventures: An Ordinary Life. A disoriented Doctor abandons Steven and Sara in 1950s London, leaving them to live out their lives in a time and place where they don't belong - even as their neighbors are gradually replaced by an alien intelligence. rb.gy/34it0g

6-7. The Anachronauts. 4 episodes: The Island, The Door, The Wall, The Betrayer. Running Time: Approx. 131 minutes. Written by: Simon Guerrier. Directed by: Ken...

New Review: Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles: The Anachronauts. After colliding with another ship inside the Vortex, the Doctor, Steven, and Sara Kingdom wake up on a beach, alongside the other crew. The TARDIS is nowhere to be found - and these time castaways are not alone... bit.ly/3KbEokq

Bonfire Night. Publication Date: 2002. Written by: James Mitchell. Published by: Severn House. 192 pages. THE PLOT: Callan has basically won at Li...

New Review: Callan novel - Bonfire Night. An aging, wealthy Callan falls in love, even as he's targeted by an old enemy. Final novel for both author James Mitchell and his spy character Callan. Sadly not very good, though there are excellent individual moments scattered throughout. bit.ly/3LSbhmK

2004: Catwoman. Catwoman (Halle Berry) prepares to take revenge on the villains who murdered her. Release Date: July 19, 2004. Running Time: 104 minutes....

New Review: Worst Picture 2004 - Catwoman: Meek Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) is murdered after discovering that her employer is about to distribute Evil Face Cream. She is reincarnated as Catwoman to take revenge... eventually. Truly awful, but I actually had some fun with it. bit.ly/4r7FwWI

X. The Five Companions. 1 episode. Running Time: Approx. 57 minutes. Written by: Eddie Robson. Directed by: Ken Bentley. Produced by: David Richardson. THE PL...

New Review - Doctor Who audio: The Five Companions. During the events of "The Five Doctors," the 5th Doctor finds himself trapped in a pocket dimension with five of his past traveling companions - and also with dinosaurs, Sontarans, and Daleks. Pure fanservice, but fun. bit.ly/4oxo6kX

I just double-checked, and you’re right. Given his negative feelings about the movie, I doubt he’d have wasted his time re-editing it anyway. Editing to fix, thanks.

Thanks for the catch. For whatever reason, I had a mental block and kept typing “Armstrong” when writing the review. I thought I’d caught them all, but apparently a couple slipped through.

Robotech: The Movie. Mechanic Mark Landry acquires the top-secret MODAT-5. Also Released as: Robotech - The Untold Story. Original Release Date: July 25, 198...

New Review: Robotech - The Movie. Mechanic Mark Landry is drawn into a conspiracy that pits him against an evil clone sending data to the Robotech Masters. A re-edit of "Megazone 23" with a bunch of "Southern Cross" footage added. What can you say, other than, "That's a Cannon movie!" bit.ly/3JKXcqs

That explains why Part 2 felt so much more slapdash than the original. Thanks for the info!