Tag: NBC
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STAR TREK REWIND: “How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth”
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” I remember reading an article in the old Trek fanzine published and then re-printed for a paperback compilation in which writer Russell Bates was required to defend himself on charges of stealing the central idea of the second season episode, “Who Mourns…
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STAR TREK REWIND: “Albatross”
“Jim, if I’m ever in jail again, don’t send that Vulcan to release me. Just let me rot!” I love how the inhabitants of Dramia wait for the Enterprise to finish delivering necessary medical supplies before they put McCoy under arrest for charges equivalent to genocide. Pretty sneaky, Sis! This brings out the anger in…
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STAR TREK REWIND: “The Practical Joker”
“Come on Spock, where’s that Vulcan sense of humor?” Chuck Menville was a name virtually synonymous with ’80s children’s entertainment. Menville wrote for Land of the Lost, The Real Ghostbusters (not to be confused with the ’70s live-action series starring Larry Storch), as well as The Smurfs, and Tiny Toon Adventures. His material was characterized…
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STAR TREK REWIND: “Bem”
“Mister Spock, something funny is going on.” David Gerrold returns to pen “Bem.” The titular character, voiced by James Doohan, is a bit of an annoyance for Kirk and crew as he insists on accompanying the landing party to the mysterious alien planet of Delta Theta III, populated by aborigine natives. He also seems to…
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STAR TREK REWIND: “The Pirates of Orion”
“Blasted Vulcan, why can’t you have red blood like any normal Human?” I don’t understand why there are outbreaks of disease on starships. I remember being told one time that vaccines are usually kept at airports in case they have to make a long trip to another location in the event of an epidemic. I…
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STAR TREK REWIND: “The Jihad”
“My people are cautious, what you would call ‘cowards.’” The Soul of Skorr sounds like a talisman in a video game, a Myst-like (remember Myst?) connotation that requires the unlocking of boxes, scanning of maps in order to locate the lighthouse that reflects the Sun’s rays to pin-point the exact location of the Ark of…
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Monkees Vs. Macheen: “The Audition” aka “Find the Monkees”
“Life is so strange” This is one of those episodes that hits all the high points for me. It’s incredibly funny, it deals with The Monkees trying to make it as a band, and the characters are all working together to achieve a goal. And then there’s the guest cast. The two actors supporting the…
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Monkees Vs. Macheen: “Son Of A Gypsy”
“Everybody Wants to be in Showbiz!” “Son of a Gypsy” was written by the team of Gerald Gardner & Dee Caruso and Treva Silverman. I really do enjoy the ones that Silverman wrote. The story is about a gig gone wrong, but it is also a wildly improbable, high adventure territory as their opponents in…
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Monkees vs. Macheen: “Monkee See, Monkee Die”
“And Then There Were Four” “Monkee See, Monkee Die,” directed by James Frawley, first aired September 19, 1966 on NBC. Episode writer Treva Silverman wrote some other very funny Monkees episodes: “I’ve Got a Little Song Here”, “One Man Shy”, “Son of A Gypsy”, and “A Nice Place to Visit.” According to the IMDB, she…
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Monkees vs. Macheen: “Royal Flush”
“This Is Supposed To Be About A Band, Right?” The Monkees television show debuted 49 years ago, and as the 50th anniversary approaches, I wanted to write a little bit about each episode of this amazing show that makes me laugh as much now as it did when I first saw it in syndication as…
Misadventures in Blissville 