Babylon 5: The Movies (1993-2007)

The Gathering (1993)

Dir. Richard Compton

A feature–length pilot that's notable mostly for setting up large chunks of the story arc that would help make Babylon 5 one of TV's best ever sci-fi series in subsequent years, although no one but series creator J. Michael Straczynski and the producers really knew back then because such long-running continuity wasn't the norm at the time.

Some of the acting is weak, but a few of the cast were replaced when the series went into production.

If you know B5 already, then The Gathering is worth hunting down, despite its flaws.

If you're new to the station, however, or not sure if a plot-heavy sci-fi show is really for you, it might be better to start with Season 1 of the TV series instead, even though it means missing out on some crucial back-story for certain characters. You can fill in the gaps later, but be aware that there are a number of notable differences between what was planned and what eventually came to pass.

Hardware (1990)

Hardware (1990)

Dir. Richard Stanley

Over the years and after repeated viewings I've grown to really love Hardware even though the things that are wrong with it are probably equal in number to the things that are right.

By that logic, it should be little more than an average movie, but Richard Stanley put so much of himself into the film that it's as if the inner-workings achieved a kind of semi-life of their own, making even the flaws interesting viewing.

From the mystery figure in the opening scene, shown walking through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, scavenging for whatever he can turn into profit in a decaying economy, through to the city, itself a different kind of wasteland, right to the very end credits it’s a film that feels strangely familiar but simultaneously, mysteriously unreal.

Dennis Potter's Karaoke (1996)

Karaoke (1996)

Dir. Renny Rye | 4 episodes, approx 50 minutes each.

The first part of Potter’s final work was broadcast two years after his death. He wrote it with the full knowledge that he was dying, which makes viewing it a deeply poignant experience.

You might expect the situation to have pushed him towards tapping into the bleaker side of his talent, but there’s a huge amount of darkly wry humour in the script. There’s also a feeling that inevitability can’t be conquered, so it should instead be thoroughly mocked as best we can.

The main protagonist is a screenwriter named Daniel Feeld. Daniel, played with intensity by Albert Finney, is diagnosed with the same painful medical condition that killed Potter in real life, so it’s fair to assume that it’s at least partly autobiographical in nature. His most recent work is causing grief for both himself and the director of the TV adaptation (Richard E. Grant). It’s fiction but, as is already established, fiction often has a modicum of reality in it.

Gamera: Shōwa Era Films: Part One (1965-68)

Gamera (1965)

Dir. Noriaki Yuasa

All eight of the original Shōwa era Gamera films are available on Blu-ray for a very affordable price thanks to Mill Creek Entertainment. They're split over two volumes, of which this is the first, with each release containing four remastered Japanese originals on one Blu-ray disc. Four films on one disc would ordinarily make me cringe, but the truth is they look just fine. What's equally important is that, even though it states on the reverse that they're Region A, they are in fact Region FREE.

Created to cash in on the success of Toho's Gojira (Godzilla) franchise, the first Gamera movie contains within it enough unique elements to differentiate it from Godzilla.

Burzum (1997-99)

Dauði Baldrs (1997)

Regardless of how you or I feel about the man behind Burzum, there's no denying that he made some of the finest Black Metal in his time.

Dauði Baldrs is different. It was the first release composed while sat in a prison cell. Being denied a guitar meant it had to be constructed on a PC and as a result it's mostly synth.

It tells the story of Baldur, Loki and the coming of Ragnarök. There are no lyrics, so you'll need to read the accompanying booklet or research the story elsewhere. It's not hard to find.

The atmospheric repetitiveness of his earlier works sometimes translates well, but it occasionally comes across as a weak imitation of the real thing. Consequently, it will likely either find a responsive trance-like niche in the listener's head after repeated listens or it will infuriate and/or disappoint.

The Yellow Wall-Paper (1892)

The Yellow Wall-Paper (1892)

Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman  |  Page Count: 55

"It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide—plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions."

If you hear the name Charlotte Perkins Gilman spoken outside of critical circles, then it'll more than likely be in reference to The Yellow Wall-Paper. Her most famous work, it constantly overshadows all the others.

It's a short but deeply engaging first person narrative from a woman who, in the eyes of her physician husband, has fulfilled her main role as wife. Being of the weaker sex means she should quietly do as she's told for her own well-being. Confined to an attic room, with nothing to occupy her sharp intellect, her state of mind slowly deteriorates.

Her husband's cure for her sickness, one that he believes is of her own making, does more harm than good. Left alone she reads, writes and draws comparisons that wouldn't have existed had she been allowed to walk free. The patterned wallpaper is ever-present; its malignant influence is inescapable.

Videodrome (1983) : Arrow Video Limited Edition (2015)

Videodrome (1983)

Dir. David Cronenberg

Seeing is believing. Until we see something in its physical aspect then its reality is questionable.

What then of television? The device is visible but the transmission invisible. The pictures enter our mind the same way as everything else, but their 'reality' can be entirely fictitious. Sure, we're programmed to know the difference, but what if the programming changes or the difference slips away? Is seeing really believing, then?

By the same token, at what point does violent sex become sexual violence? When does flesh and distinction cease to follow the accepted rules?

Torture. Murder. Mutilation. Videodrome.

Director David Cronenberg's masterpiece.