Chocky Trilogy: TV Miniseries (1984-86)

Chocky Trilogy: TV Miniseries (1984-86)

01. Chocky (1984) | 6 eps, approx 25 mins each is a children's TV drama adapted from the 1968 novel of the same name by John Wyndham.

The series is set in 1980s Britain, and features a young boy named Matthew Gore (Andrew Ellams) who's contacted by the titular Chocky, a highly intelligent extra-terrestrial being.

Chocky speaks only to Matthew, using him to ask unusual questions of the adults. The change in his behaviour soon draws attention to the boy.

I first watched it as a child myself, of about ten or eleven-years-old. It was intriguing and somewhat frightening, and because of that combination it stayed in my memory as I grew older. Since then I've assimilated so much sci-fi that the basic concept no longer seems particularly fresh, but viewing it from an adult perspective, sympathising for the first time with the parents of young Matthew as well as Matthew himself, gave me a whole different insight into what the series was actually about.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Omnibus Editions (2013-16)

LW+C: Omnibus Editions (2013-16)

Author: Kazuo Koike | Illustrator: Goseki Kojima | Page Count: LOTS! [1]

"Good fortune and ill, twisted together like a rope..."

The Railway Children (1970)

The Railway Children (1970)

Dir. Lionel Jeffries

Children's Classics - each generation will find qualifying examples from its own era, but some stories are rediscovered time and again.

In Britain The Railway Children, based on Edith Nesbit's 1906 novel, is an enduring classic from yesteryear that never goes away; nor would I want it to. Set in Edwardian times, it's about a mother (Dinah Sheridan) and her three privileged "suburban children", Roberta, Phyllis, and Peter.

They're forced to move from their comfortable townhouse to a country villa in Yorkshire and live a poor life, without a father. Whilst there, they befriend a proud but kind-hearted station porter named Mr Perks (Bernard Cribbins). 

It's simple in construction but remains as welcome and warming today as it was all those decades ago. The lesson that kindness isn't dependent on social status or material riches is perfectly woven into every relevant part. The ending is a little mawkish, but the journey toward it is direct and smooth, like the train tracks that carry the focus of the faithful children's good nature into their collective midst.

Bathory: Albums (1988-91)

Bathory: Albums (1988-91)

I once heard someone describe the Blood Fire Death (1988) album as a collection of quality songs. The description is certainly valid, but it's also a vast understatement of the truth. BFD is a ground-breaking, momentous human achievement, the importance of which cannot be overstressed. Like the eponymous début album, it delivered something unprecedented that made everyone else sit up and take notice.

The thundering intro, the use of acoustics, the Viking symbolism, the choirs, the cleaner vocals, the pounding drums, the torturing wail of the electric guitars, the Pure Fucking Armageddon heaviness of it all was something that the world hadn't experienced before. In short, it changed the face of metal and made Quorthon a living legend.

The Enshitificatian Continues...

For future me - a marker I can see without being signed in. Now with illustrative cat.

4th Quarter 2025 🐫

Lone Wolf and Child: Assassin on the Road to Hell (1989)

LWaC: Assassin on the Road to Hell (1989)

Dir. Tokuzô Tanaka

Tanaka's film attempts to tell the entire Lone Wolf and Cub story in just 140 minutes, which is an insane undertaking. Nevertheless, it's a valiant attempt and an enjoyable evening's viewing for samurai fans.

Hideki Takahashi stars as the Shogun's one-time executioner, Ōgami Ittō. He does a damned good job at it, able to show compassion when the situation calls for it, but just the right amount because too much might compromise his stoic attitude. He's also deft enough with the dōtanuki to be believable.

Young Daigoro is played by Koji Aeba. It's a wholly subjective view, but for me young kids in Japanese films tend to be much less irritating than young kids are in most American films. Daigoro isn't just a third wheel in the Lone Wolf story, or some kind of amusing gimmick, he's an integral part of the tale and, thankfully, while Koji was likely too young to understand the importance of what he was asked to do onscreen, he at least carried it without fault and without ever being irritating. GJ, kid.

Supernatural: Season 07 (2012)

Supernatural: Season 07 (2012)

23 episodes, approx 42 mins each.

My hope going into Season 07 was that it would be an improvement over Season 06,  even just enough to lift the series out of the shit-heap that showrunner Sera Gamble had put it in, but I don't feel that that happened.

A large part of the reason is the new ongoing threat, first mentioned in the season opener.

Known as Leviathans, the carnivorous bitey things (as pictured on the cover art) were created by God before even the Angels, but for reasons that I won't go into were imprisoned in a holding place that was made just for them. Naturally, they find a way through into the world  of humans. And that's as good as that particular story arc gets.