Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 7: Dagger of the Mind

Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 1.09 Dagger of the Mind (11-03-66)
Rating:  4.5/5
Redshirt Status: surprisingly 0/16 (not counting non-crew members)

Notable Guest Stars:

James Gregory – Dr. Tristan Adams. Gregory was a popular character actor. I recognized him from the 1963 film PT 109 which is a biopic about John F. Kennedy’s time in the service.
Morgan Woodward – Dr. Simon Van-Gelder. You may recognize him from Gunsmoke, or Dallas.
Marianna Hill – Lt. Helen Noel. She appeared in several tv series and films, including a recent one in 2016. She also appeared in several of Elvis Presley’s films.
Eddie Paskey – Lt. Leslie. Lt Leslie is the TOS version of SG-1’s Sitler. He shows up often, but somehow isn’t a main character.

Review:

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Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 5: What are Little Girls Made of?

Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 1.07 What are Little Girls Made Of (10/20/66)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 2/18 (does not include non-crewmembers like Kirby)

Notable Guest Stars:

Michael Strong – Dr. Richard Kirby. Strong doesn’t have an extensive filmography, but he is the main episodic character for this episode.
Sherry Jackson – Andrea. She played the daughter of Danny Thomas on the Danny Thomas Show for five years.
Ted Cassidy – Ruk. You might recognize him as Lurch from The Addams Family.
Harry Basch- Dr. Brown. Basch did several televisions shows, notably Falcon’s Crest. He also wrote several travel guides.

I would have added Majel Barret, but since I know she is in the show frequently, I have decided she is a main character, abit more minor then others.

Review:

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Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 4: Mudd’s Women

Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 1.06 Mudd’s Women
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 0/16

Notable Guest Stars:

Roger C. Carmel – Harry Mudd. Mudd would be a reoccuring character through out TOS and the Animated series.
Gene Dynarski – Ben Childress. He would appear as various other characters over the series.
Karen Steele – Eve McHuron. She was a popular character actor on television.

Review:

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Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 3: The Naked Time

Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 1.03 Naked Time (9/29/66)
Rating: 3/5
Redshirt Status: 1/16 (not counting non-crew members death unless its a major character in the episode)

Notable Guest Stars:

Bruce Hyde: Lt. Kevin T. Riley. Lt. Riley is a recurring character on TOS
Majel Barrett: Nurse Christine Chapel. Majel Barrett is a mainstay in the Trek universe, playing not only Christine but also the ship computer and Lwaxana Troi on several series. Christine Chapel is also a recurring minor character, appearing in several episodes and seasons, including the films and animated series.
William Knight – Crewman. He is known for his voice acting, including several Anime and video games.

Review:

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Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 2: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 1.03 Where No Man Has Gone Before (9/22/66)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 11/15/15

Notable Guest Stars:

Gary Lockwoord – Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell. He starred in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey
Sally Kellerman – Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. She was the original Margaret Houlihan in M*A*S*H

Review:

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Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 1: The Man Trap

Welcome to the first of my ongoing series watching and reviewing the Star Trek universe in its entirety prior to Discovery. As that show is under a pay wall, as well as some questionable choices by the writing/production staff I haven’t chosen to watch that or Picard. Maybe one day. For now, let’s start with The Original Series. I am watching this via Prime Video but I believe Star Trek is readily available on various streaming platforms.

Series: Star Trek (TOS)
Episode: 1.01 The Man Trap (9/8/1966)
Rating: 3/5

Notable Guest Cast:
Jeanne Bal – Nancy Crater.
Alfred Ryder – Dr. Crater. He often made appearances in various genre series of the time.
Michael Zaslow – Crewman Darnell. He would later be known for his role as Roger Thorpe on Guiding Light.

Redshirt Count: Episode: 4 Season: 4 Series: 4

Review:

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Posted in book reviews

Bookit Review: More then ‘Just’ Friends

Title: More then Just Friends Author: Mia Ford Edition: Ebook (Kindle Unlimited) Publication Date: July 6,2019 Grade: C Bookit # 33 This novel turned out to be one of those with a lot of promise but not so good follow through. I feel with a strong editor many of my issues with this book could be solved. The premise is not horrible. The story is of Jay and Naomi, who end up having a casual relationship. She wants it because she has issues with his job (he is in the military and the idea of putting herself in the position to maybe loose him is not something she wants to do), and he agrees because he wants something more and sees this as a step in that direction. The issues are more with the flow of the book. This book has many many time jumps. It also has parts that are overly detailed (the first chapter for one) and parts that are under developed. There are a few scenes where you find yourself randomly in the middle of a scene you hadn’t expected after the last scene. It makes the book feel like it was a bunch of scenes written and no time was spent on making them flow together. It also takes away from the story of the romance, which since this is a romance novel is quite important. Its hard to see anything developing when you skip over large periods of time. There are two subplots in this story that also seem disconnected with the rest of the story. Jay dealing with his PTSD and the fact he is randomly a MMA fighter in his spare time. The MMA storyline doesn’t start till halfway through the book when randomly his dad shows up with a gambling problem and Jay has to fight one more fight. It seems like an unnecessary plot line that maybe was bigger in an original outline but wasn’t as developed in the final product. The PTSD was brief and easily fixed which seems…unlikely. Naomi also has a second love interest in Tucker, but that seems to disappear after a bit, which like the MMA fighting seems to be a plot arc perhaps dropped in the final product. Overall, it was not unreadable, but I feel it needs a turn with a good editor and some time with the author without hurrying for a deadline. The Author is quite prolific but I haven’t read any of her other novels (that I remember) so perhaps it is just this particular one.
Posted in Television shows

TV Review: Andromeda 1×01

A friend of mine in my writing group got me interested in this TV show that aired in 2000, and I decided to watch and review it as I go, especially as Orville is going to be done soon (review wise, it already aired its finale) so I’ll need another TV show to post about while we are in the hiatus til season 3. Still a Sci-fi/Fantasy show.

 Episode Title:  Under the Night 
Original Airdate: October 2, 2000 (watched 2019 via Prime)
Grade: B
Notable Guest Stars/Directors:

Since this is the first episode, I’m going to include the main cast in the Notable section

Kevin Sorbo (Dylan Hunt)-  I honestly have never really seen anything he is in except maybe an episode of Xena when I was younger, but I did know who he was before watching.  His big claim to fame is playing Hercules on the show of the same name.

Lisa Ryder (Beka Valentine) – I am not as familar with Ms. Ryder’s work as other actors in this series.  She appears as a regular character on the 1996 series Forever Knight, as well as a few other Canadian programs.

Keith Hamilton Cobb (Tyr Anasazi)-  Mr. Cobb’s filmography is oddly short, with his last IMDB credit being in 2007.  I knew him From the Young and The Restless (oddly enough, he had that role after his role on Andromeda)

Gordon Michael Woolvett (Seamus Harper) –  He was on the recently canceled iZombie (a show on my list of things to watch).  I don’t know much about the other items on his filmography

Brent Strait (Rev Bem) – He seems to appear on various shows I am familar with  (no doubt with less makeup).  However I don’t recognize him so I may have missed those episodes.

Lexa Doig (Andromeda/Rommie) –  Lexa was the main draw to this series (along with it being a Gene Roddenberry show) as I had first seen her as Dr. Carolyn Lam on Stargate SG-1.  

Steve Bacic (Gaheris Rhade) –  He has appeared on several TV shows I watch, including as a Gaould on Stargate SG-1 and as the Dark Archer in Smallville.  He plays a recurring character, but will appear as a regular (but different) character later in the series

Notable Quotes:

Seamus Harper: I’m telling you, the guy is huge. He’s like some kind of Greek god or something. 

SPOILERS BELOW

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