Crusade (1999)

Crusade: The Complete Series (1999)

13 episodes, approx 44 mins each

The first failed spin-off from Babylon 5. In the year 2267 an alien race known as the Drakh, one-time servants of the Shadows, release a plague upon the planet Earth in a final defiant act of douche vengeance. Consequently, all life on the homeworld will terminate in approximately five years if a cure isn't found and successfully administered in time.

Earth Gov orders the destroyer ship Excalibur to scour the galaxy, dig beneath alien rocks and generally make themselves a pain in the butt of everyone else in order to find the magic cure.

The series managed thirteen episodes before being canned. In truth, it wasn't due to the poor quality of the series, it was the TNT network being interfering bints. Listen to the episode commentaries and you'll discover that J. Michael Straczynski had big plans for years 2-5: leftover Shadow tech; government cover-ups; the return of everyone's favourite bad guy behind a badge, Alfred Bester; a magical sword; and something called an Apocalypse Box, which you'll understand if you watch the show. Things could've turned out good.

Dennis Potter: Three Television Plays (1980)

Cream in My Coffee (1980)
Dir. Gavin Millar

If the traditional British ‘summer holiday’ ever really existed outside of postcards and creative nostalgia, then by the year 1980 it was long into retirement.
Nevertheless, the hotels endured and it’s to one of them that an ageing married couple return, having spent time there together in 1934.

Past and present weave together to form a bigger picture, and through extrapolation we can write the forty-six summers that fell in-between.

Potter's venomous wit lightens some scenes, but mostly it’s a serious study of the destructive nature of secrets, the ennui that often follows marriage and the promises that love makes to please itself.

Lionel Jeffries is good as the old man who wants to live in the here and now but can’t help referencing the past. Peggy Ashcroft is hand on heart amazing as the sympathetic wife who fears to ruffle feathers.

Escape from New York: Volume 1 (2015)

Escape from Florida (2015)

Author: Christopher Sebela  |  Illustrator: Diego Barreto  |  Page Count: 112

Comics publisher BOOM! Studios are doing good work carving a niche in the market for people who enjoy seeing cult movies from yesteryear get more love.

They have at least half a dozen collected editions currently available that I'm interested in, but the money-tree the pikey sold me failed to grow and the golden goose turned out to be male, so I need to be selective with purchases. However, Escape from New York was one that I definitely couldn't pass up.

Like the continuation of their other Carpenter and Russell pairing, Big Trouble in Little China (2015), it picks up the story just after the film ends. It's not as good as Big Trouble, but it's still better than Carpenter's own sequel to his cult classic, namely the Escape from L.A. (1996) movie, and for that I'm at least thankful.

Gamera: Shōwa Era Films: Part Two (1969-80)

Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)

Dir. Noriaki Yuasa

NOTE: Shōwa Era: Part One is HERE.

Film number five features a trio of plucky under-tens investigating a spaceship that landed not too far from their location. The 'plot' develops and after much chicanery the blade-nosed Guiron goes pointy-head to turtle-head with the titular, heroic kaijū, who spends more time getting to the actual battle location than he does engaging in it.

There's flame-breath, boyish heroics and city destruction for kids; space-ladies in figure-hugging polyester for dads; and, no, there's nothing much of note for moms, unless reinforcing the belief that moms are the only women you can trust counts.

Short Peace / Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day (2013)

Short Peace (2013)

Dirs. Kōji Morimoto (intro) and four short animations from Shūhei Morita, Katsuhiro Ôtomo, Hiroaki Andô, and Hajime Katoki, respectively.

Each of the four shorts (and one intro) take a different thematic approach to its subject, but all in some way represent Japan and capture a little of what makes it unique.

Subjects include, but are not limited to, culture, religion, passion, folklore, noble sacrifice, and post-war concerns, set as far back as the Sengoku Era and as far forward as the near future.

They're all created digitally, but animation styles differ from one to the next. The first is the only one that looks awkward, being too digital in nature. In contrast, the second is a loving nod to emakimono, even down to the stylistic perspectives used.

Dennis Potter's Cold Lazarus (1996)

Cold Lazarus (1996)

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

The second part of the final work requires you to have seen all four episodes of the first part. I won’t drop ruinous spoilers about CL’s plot but I'll need to refer to Karaoke, so please think carefully before reading anything beyond this point if you've any interest in watching Karaoke and have yet to do so.

As we saw previously, armed with the knowledge of his failing heath, Daniel Feeld prepared for the future of the people he felt close to. In contrast, the author was unprepared for what awaited him in his own future, 374 years after his death.

The introduction of cryogenics into Karaoke’s plot may have seemed odd in isolation, but it makes sense when you consider CL. Scientists unearth the frozen remains of Daniel and plug him into a machine that translates the activity in his brain into visual images that can be recorded and analysed by a people who've lost sight of what it means to be human. Their society is in chaos and, for reasons that aren't fully explained, their historical records are inadequate. They believe that memories of a person from the past may help them better understand their present.

La Jetée: Ciné-roman (2008)

La Jetée: Ciné-roman (2008)

Author: Chris Marker | Designer: Bruce Mau | Page Count: 258

Chris Marker’s La Jetée (1962) is a short experimental film composed almost entirely of still images, with a V/O narration telling the story from an unusual point of view.

The black and white stills used in the film’s composition are faithfully reproduced in the ciné-roman book, with the relevant text accompanying each image. The text is in both French and English (because the original short film was a French production).

If you’re familiar with the original it’s an odd experience having the voice of the narrator replaced by your own inner-narrator. The inflections are different, the pacing is different and the edit is different. Nevertheless, if you can immerse yourself fully in the experience then it’s equally as profound and equally as unsettling.