Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture [Comic Adap] (1987)

Masters of the Universe: TMP (1987)

Adaptation: Ralph Macchio (from a screenplay by David Odell) | Illustrators: George Tuska (Pencil) / Art Nichols (Ink) / Evelyn Stein (Colour) | Page Count: 46

"Treachery. Suddenly Skeletor's men were everywhere. Someone must have let them through the defences."

A comic book adaptation of the MotU live action movie (1987) that's illustrated in a style comparable with the minicomics. The basic story is largely the same, but visually it's a million times better than the live action atrocity is. The only exception is Beast Man, who, for some reason, resembles the onscreen version.

I wrote 'largely the same' because there's a few notable differences between the two. I don't know if it was author Ralph Macchio's own doing or if he was working from a screenplay that got further edited in the final cut, but the comic has some interesting scenes that the movie lacks, most of which function as much-needed characterisation and/or attempt to better connect or even remedy the levels of stupid in the story. [1]

Bathory: Albums (1984-87)

Bathory: Albums (1984-87)

It seems that I've not made a single post about Bathory yet! That oversight will now be rectified. In short: No Bathory = No Black Metal.

That's just a widespread opinion that I share, not an established fact.

I know that Venom managed to coin the phrase two years prior, but it took the genius of Bathory's Quorthon (Tomas Forsberg) to turn the phrase into something more than just playful word association; Quorthon gave it life. Bathory shits on Venom from a great height after a week-long diet of prunes and porridge - metal prunes and substantially heavy porridge.

If you're a Venom fan and want to counter by saying that perhaps No Venom = No Bathory, then I won't argue because the jury is (and likely always will be) out on that. But to me, Venom are like Spinal Tap with studded wristbands, in comparison. Bathory is a Storm of Damnation, a Wind of Mayhem, etc.

Death Wish: Films (1974-94)

Death Wish: Films (1974-94)

Dir. Michael Winner / J. Lee Thompson / Allan A. Goldstein

In 01. Death Wish (1974 / Dir. Michael Winner) an average New Yorker named Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) initiates a violent crusade of justice as he takes a stand against the street thugs and muggers that terrorise the good citizens of his city. It might sound lame and clichéd when written down, but in the mid-70s that kind of thing was still pushing boundaries, and Death Wish pushed more than most.

Dir. Michael Winner doesn't shy away from showing the harsh realities of the world in which a walk in the park at night-time is a very dicey activity.

It's a measured transition from law-abiding office worker to law-breaking vigilante, fuelled by a malady that eats away at the character's moral fibre, not an instant, explosive and unrealistic Arnie flick change.

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light (1987)

Visionaries: KotML (1987)

Dirs. Various | 13 episodes, approx 22 mins each

Like many 80s cartoons that were aimed at children the primary goal of Visionaries was to generate interest in a commercial toy line - in this instance the maker of the shelf plastic was toy giant Hasbro.

It wasn't a successful venture for the company. The cartoon lasted just one season (13 episodes) and the figures ceased production after just twelve months, while an equally short-lived bimonthly tie-in comic book published by Star Comics folded after just six issues. The only reason I know of its existence is because I had a couple of the figures as a kid and I bought the comic (when I could find it in stores).

The central gimmick of the toys was a holographic sticker positioned on each character's chest that looked half-cool and half-stupid; at least, it did to me back in the day. But I'm writing now about the cartoon, not the toys, so I'll not dwell on that.

James Bond: Timothy Dalton (1987-89)

The Living Daylights (1987)

Dir. John Glen

In all probability this'll be the last James Bond movie post that I make, unless it comes down to the only Christopher Lee film I've not written about is the Bond one that he co-starred in. But that's damned unlikely, considering he's got 278 credits on IMDB and I'd sooner watch the 277 in which he doesn't have a supernumerary nipple.

I digress; I'm here to talk about Timothy Dalton. I mean no disrespect when I say that Dalton's Bond doesn't have the same level of sex appeal as Sean Connery's. Very few men do. On the plus side he doesn't have the same kind of 'charm' as Moore's. No, instead Dalton brings a moodiness to the role, and a sense of daring that the others had less of.

There's a feeling that he's worked hard to earn his 007 Licence, whereas for the others it came easy.

Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos (1987)

Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos (1987)

Authors: Jo Duffy / Howard Mackie | Illustrators: Steve Ditko / Jon D'Agostino / Alex Saviuk

"They're called nunchakus, and Chuck Norris himself taught me how to use them..."

The Karate Kommandos (1986) cartoon series lasted for five episodes, but it had a life beyond that in both an action figure line by Kenner and a comic book courtesy of Star Comics (an imprint of Marvel) that managed just four issues, but it's somewhat surprising that it existed at all, given how little success its parent series achieved.

The gang's all present, which means friend and mentor Chuck (obviously); twins Pepper and Reed, who spend much of their time together bickering like real siblings; the extremely polite sumo wrestler Tabe, who has an appetite as big as his heart is kind; the Japanese swordmaster Kimo; Wolf (an actual canine); and Chuck's adopted teenage son, the peculiarly named Too Much, who isn't as annoying as he could be, thankfully.

The youth wants to be just like Chuck when he grows up, which is presented as a positive thing. It's likely supposed to relate to Chuck's martial arts success, but is the star of violent action B-Movies really a good role model for school kids?

Mayhem: Deathcrush (1987)

Mayhem: Deathcrush (1987)

Owing a huge debt to early Bathory albums, the first Mayhem E.P. has gone down in history as being the first commercial release from the Norwegian Black Metal scene. The eerie production makes it sound like hell is opening up in your front room.

It's full of screeching voice, fuzzy guitars, brutal bass and some early Black/Thrash motifs that would be put to better use on their first full studio album. Drums are by Kjetil Manheim, because Hellhammer hadn't yet joined. It's a classic and if you've any interest in the genesis and evolution of the Black Metal genre, then it's definitely worth your time.

The A-Team: Complete Series (1983–87)

The A-Team: The Ultimate Collection (2007)

98 episodes (5 Seasons), approx 47 minutes each, split over 27 DVD discs.

I discovered some years back that being asked "Why do you watch that crap?" makes me less inclined to validate the reasons for my choices, and instead wonder at the agenda of the person who's asking the question. Sometimes it's not a genuine inquiry, but a thinly disguised insult.

With that in mind, my heartfelt sympathies go out to any individual who didn't have weekly episodes of The A-Team to entertain and inspire them as a youth. I'm not being melodramatic. I really do mean it.

Not having Sergeant First Class 'B.A.' Baracus, Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith, Lieutenant Templeton 'Face' Peck and Captain 'Howling Mad' Murdock to provide escapism and feed the imagination is like having an integral part of a happy childhood denied you. It's like having never played with LEGO, or having never tasted strawberry sherbets.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: Films (1984-2003)

01. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Dir. Wes Craven

Prior to re-watching the first of the Elm Street movies recently, it had been well over a decade — perhaps even closer to two — since I'd last seen it, but I remembered almost every scene as if it was yesterday. It's because I'd watched it many times on an ex-rental VHS as a teenager. In all honesty, and accounting for nostalgia, it holds up rather well.

If you're not familiar with the set-up, it's the story of a group of teenagers, all of whom reside on the titular Elm Street, whose dreams are haunted by a killer with blades on one gloved hand. The killer's reasons for doing what he does are part of the film's plot, so I won't delve any deeper than that.

One of the movie's strengths is its atmosphere, and by polluting the safety net of the unconscious, by turning a place of retreat into a realm of pure terror for the story's protagonists, it sticks in the mind.

Knights of God (1987)

Knights of God (1987)

13 episodes, approx 26 minutes each.

Dirs. Andrew Morgan (7 eps) and Michael Kerrigan (6 eps)

The fists and crossed swords symbol used by the Knights is a simple but striking and highly evocative design, wordlessly communicating to a viewer that the guiding credo of the order isn't benevolent preservation or protection, it's one of militaristic strength and aggression nestled within the colours that are historically associated with fascism.

In post-civil war Britain (the year 2020 AD) the self-proclaimed Knights rule with force, guns and border patrols, killing any who dare resist their control. It's a children's TV show but the killing doesn't happen off-screen. There's more hard-hitting acts of violence shown than you'd expect to see in a production with such a classification.

In today's culturally sensitive climate it would probably be either heavily cut or labelled as YA.

RoboCop: Film Trilogy (1987-93)

RoboCop (1987)

Dir. Paul Verhoeven

I don't know how it was in the rest of the movie-watching world, but in my small corner of it the RoboCop poster was an almost permanent fixture in VHS rental stores in the early 1990s, and consequently I'd an image burned into my brain of how I thought the film's protagonist would be onscreen long before I saw the actual film.

As it turned out, despite the B-Movie-esque title and violent and gimmicky exterior it exceeded my youthful imagination, mostly because lurking beneath the imagery is a semi-sophisticated drama staged by Dir. Paul Verhoeven and brought to onscreen life by a perfectly cast Peter Weller in the title role.

I use the term 'semi-sophisticated' because parts of it haven't aged well, particularly the OTT comic book villains, but the scathing script and emotional heart of the work more often than not make up for any failings elsewhere.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: TV Movies (1987-94)

Star Trek: TNG: The Complete TV Movies

Dirs. Various / 10 feature-length TV Movies / 835 mins (approx total)

I've covered the individual seasons of The Next Generation elsewhere on The 7th and Last blog, but in order to keep those posts at an acceptable length I didn't dwell too much on the two-parters; aka the TV 'movies'. This post indulges my desire to give them a little more attention.

There are ten in all, and because there's some TNG moments in Deep Space 9's pilot episode I'll add it, too. Naturally, given the number, it'll be longer than my usual post length.

Doctor Who: Sylvester McCoy (1987-89)

Doctor Who: Sylvester McCoy (1987-89)

The Seventh Doctor | 42 episodes, approx 25 mins each.

Given the name of the blog that you're presently reading it seems fitting that I should give Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy's incarnation of Doctor Who a post of his own, seeing as how he was the Seventh Doctor and, as it was believed at the time, the last.

But you can't keep a good Time Lord down, and it turned out that he was merely the last incarnation in what's since become known as the 'Classic Era' of the show, which began in 1963 with English actor William Hartnell.

McCoy's introduction was atypical in the series history because he was introduced at the beginning of a new season (Season 24), rather than at the end of a previous one.

But that's the only noteworthy aspect of his arrival. The actual regeneration scene, in which he transforms from a fatally injured Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) is damned awful.

Knightmare (1987–94)

Knightmare (1987–94)

8 Seasons, 112 episodes, approx 25 mins each.

As a young Faustus I loved all things fantasy and supernatural: HeroQuest gaming sessions; Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy books; the many Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels; etc, so it's no surprise that Knightmare fit perfectly into my life.

Four adventurers (kids under sixteen) entered the Castle of Confusion in the hope of conquering its dungeon. One wore the Helmet of Justice, which limited what he/she could see, and entered the dungeon proper. The remaining three stayed behind to act as guides, able to see on a screen where their Dungeoneer friend was, to direct and attempt to keep them from falling into imaginary pits of doom and suchlike.

The rules of the game were overseen by a Dungeon Master named Treguard of Dunshelm (pictured right), a noble(ish) born Saxon knight, he would give occasional clues and hints to either encourage a train of thought, help solve a puzzle or feed the team's nervousness. Among Knightmare fans, Treguard rocks!

Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987)

Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987)

Dirs. Donald G. Jackson / R. J. Kizer

The 'Hell' of the title refers to Sam Hell, an independent man in a post-war world run by women. The war left the majority of the population sterile, but not Sam. He's not filled with blanks. Sam has the highest damn spermatozoa count on record! So he's tasked with seeking out fertile women and, calling upon his record-breaking potency, impregnating them... for his country, of course. Good work if you can get it. Except, it's not, because it means venturing into the dusty wasteland.

Roddy Piper does what Roddy Piper did best (other than rowdy wrestling, I guess), which is be the downtrodden hero in a world that's gone to shit. He may not have been a natural actor, but Roddy was a natural entertainer in his own unique way.

Masters of the Universe (1987)

Masters of the Universe (1987)

Dir. Gary Goddard

I suspect that prior to helming MotU its director Gary Goddard had nurtured a dream of making a Star Wars film, or perhaps he was under instruction by the studio to do his best to emulate it, secretly. Either way, the end result is the same.

If you're wondering how those two franchises could ever fit together... they don’t, and yet the plot, camera angles, costumes and music are all painfully reminiscent of Star Wars. (There's some of Williams’ Superman in there that's even more ill-fitting). I'm not a lover of Lucas' light space opera, so the similarities didn't make me smile.

It's fitting that they dropped the 'He-Man' name from the title, because he's hardly in it. If that wasn't bad enough, most of the story doesn't even take place on Eternia! Insult to injury.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 1 (1987-88)

Star Trek: TNG: Season 1 (1987-88)

26 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

I remember people saying it was a ridiculous idea making a new Trek, that it was an insult to The Original Series (TOS), but I think having Gene Roddenberry as creator helped smooth the transition for a lot of them. I was too young to feel the nostalgia burn (I was only 11), so I embraced The Next Generation one hundred percent.

The pilot episode is recognisably Roddenberry. It's easy to imagine TOS crew in place of TNG crew.

However, from episode two things begin to change. It's amazing how quickly it settled into a new and unique identity. The actors seemed to bond and a very real sense of camaraderie surfaced. It still paid homage to TOS (Deanna Troi in her "cosmic cheerleader" outfit, and orange skies on alien worlds, etc) but at heart it became a series of quality sci-fi scripts wrapped in a shiny new Trek aesthetic.

Dennis Potter's Visitors (1987)

Dennis Potter's Visitors (1987)

Dir. Piers Haggard

One of only two standalone TV Plays written by Potter for the BBC's Screen Two programme (see NOTE at bottom of page for additional info on Screen Two). Visitors was an adaptation by Potter of his own stage play, titled Sufficient Carbohydrate. There are reportedly a number of changes, such as the setting having been moved from an island of Greece to a place in Italy.

The story revolves around two couples, one of which has a son in his late teens. The couples are Jack and Elizabeth Barker (John Standing, Nicola Pagett) from Britain, and Eddie and Lucy Vosper (Michael Brandon, Glynis Barber) from the United States. It's the US couple who have a son, Clayton Vosper (Robert McNaughton). Eddie is Clayton's father, Lucy is his stepmother.

The Evil Dead Trilogy (1981-92)

The Evil Dead (1981)

Dir. Sam Raimi

I'll never tire of watching The Evil Dead. It wasn't the first film to use the isolated cabin in the woods scenario, but it remains one of the most successful in the horror genre.

Raimi doesn't waste time with a traditional slow build-up. He goes straight to horror town with the use of low, rushing camera movements. The way it interacts with the environment, even knocking parts of it over, places us as viewers directly into the action.

The point of view shots showing the same scene from different angles, pursuer and pursued, accompanied by subjective audio was a genius idea. It shows that both subjects (or objects) are in the same location but suggests they’re slightly out of sync, like the real and reflected or the breaking of a different kind of fourth wall from the wrong side.

The Sisters of Mercy: Official Albums (1985-93)

First and Last and Always (1985)

In my experience, the first TSoM album is a love it or hate it event for most people; indifference is rare.

The nihilistic sounding 80s rock music engulfs the listener, but only really works its magic when played in the right environment. Like Joy Division or Bauhaus it's infused with a gloomy, repetitive atmosphere that can either depress or elate the individual. If you can embrace that, connect with it, it'll never leave you.

It's the album that's most responsible for the 'goth' label that dogged the band for years afterwards, a classification that they hated.

If you buy it new on CD you'll more than likely get the 2006 'Remastered and Expanded' version. That's generally considered a good thing because the previous edition had an inferior sounding mix that was the same as the Japanese vinyl pressing.