The late but forever lovely Dorothy Stratten made a rare television appearance in the December 27, 1979 episode of the cult favorite Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. In it, she played -- what else? -- an intergalactic beauty queen named Miss Cosmos who was in danger of being kidnapped from the "Cruise Ship to the Stars." Naturally, Buck gets the girl ... or does he? Check it out on home video if you're so inclined.
A fantastic character actor with over 100 different roles to his name, John Amos was a regular as part of the short-lived Future Cop back in the 1970's. Amos was born on this day in 1939. [Source: IMDB.com]
The venerable Greg Lawson played Sheriff Elmore Leonard (above right) in 2014's lukewarm SciFi thriller, Mutant World. More recently, he's turned up in semi-regular fashion aboard Syfy's Wynnona Earp. Lawson was born on this day in 1957.
Whew! Some days, my job documenting the highs and lows of SciFi ain't easy. You wanna see what I mean? Well, Google pictures of 80's scream queen Barbara Crampton! Initially, I was trying to find a great still of her from Re-Animator, but all I could find were entirely inappropriate for our family-friendly forum! Anyway, Ms. Crampton built a solid career on her assets (pun intended), appearing in such films as the aforementioned Re-Animator, From Beyond, and a little something called Robot Wars. She was born on this day in 1958.
Back in 1983, Maryam d'Abo graced SciFi with her presence with an appearance in the cheesy flick XTro. (For those keeping score, that was her theatrical debut.) In 1988, she did so again, taking a role in Something Is Out There TV series. She's also had stints in Space Precinct and something called Timelock. D'Abo was born on this day in 1960.
In the role of Juanita Jordan, Theresa Randle waited patiently for her husband Michael to save the universe with his high-flying basketball skills aboard the Warner Bros.'s SciFi/Family classic, Space Jam (1996). Randle was born on this day in 1964.
When Supergirl switched from CBS over to The CW for the program's second season, Ian Gomez joined the show in the role of Snapper Carr, crack editor for Cat Grant's publications. Gomez was born on this day in 1964.
Professional wrestlers have long been afforded the opportunity to suit up for some genre projects, and even Chyna did so to headline the SciFi telefilm, Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion (2000). She took up arms against the invading menace once again in 2003 with a role board Alien Tracker. And while others might find mentioning it a bit dubious on my part, the female athlete painted herself green in order to take on the role of the SheHulk aboard a few Axel Braun parodies. (You kids are old enough to Google that one for yourselves.) Though she's no longer with us, Chyna was born on this day in 1969.
A few years after his debut theatrical performance in 1985's Silverado, Thomas Wilson Brown broke through again as one of the ensemble of children with a 'size problem' in 1989's Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. Brown was born on this day in 1972.
When Supernova (2000) brought its threat to the 22nd century, it also brought Wilson Cruz (far left) in the role of Benj Sotomejor as a member of the crew. More recently, the actor has turned up as a series regular aboard CBS's controversial Star Trek: Discovery. Cruz was born on this day in 1973.
For the Heroes franchise, Masi Oka plays Hiro Nakamura, the time-hopping semi-samurai with a penchant for showing up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oka was born on this day in 1974.
In Syfy's TV adaptation of 12 Monkeys, Aaron Stanford plays time traveler James Cole, the man tasked with hoping through the last few decades trying to prevent to collapse of civilization. Stanford was born on this day in 1976.
Somewhere under all that prosthetic makeup and coloring is actress Sinead Keenan: she played the singular Addams in the stellar BBC Doctor Who two-parter, The End of Time, during David Tennant's run. Keenan was born on this day in 1977.
Lovely Lisa Jakub exploded onto the SciFi scene with a wonderful smaller role in 1996's epic Independence Day, and then she lit the indie scene on fire a few years later in the wonderful short flick every Star Wars fan should see, George Lucas in Love. Jakub was born on this day in 1978.
Always a joy to watch, Elizabeth Rodriguez is probably best known for her work as the feisty and conniving Aleida Diaz aboard Netflix's Orange Is The New Black, but she's also put in appearances aboard FlashForward, Fear The Walking Dead, and NBC's Grimm. Rodriguez was born on this day in 1980.
I'm telling you, she has the face of a pixie! The lovely Emilie de Ravin roared onto the scene as one member of the plane crash survivors from ABC TV's super-popular Lost ... and, sadly, she really hasn't done much since. Not that she needs to, but fans would probably love to see her try something else, especially after Lost's letdown ending. Emilie was born on this day in 1981.
2016's Shortwave gave actor Jay Ellis the chance to play inside the realm of Science Fiction; the SciFi/Thriller has proven quite popular on the awards' circuit. Ellis was born on this day in 1981.
Jessica Harmon joined The CW's The 100 in a recurring guest spot through the show's third season. The actress has also booked visits aboard The Outer Limits, Hollow Man II (2006), Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy (miniseries), Kyle XY, Arrow, Supernatural, and iZombie. Harmon was born on this day in 1985.
The luminous (pun intended!) Lily Cole played the role of the Siren aboard Doctor Who's "The Curse of the Black Spot" in 2011 on the popular BBC program. Cole was born on this day in 1987.
Olivia Cooke seemingly burst onto the scene with a breakout performance on A&E's Bates Motel, but SciFi fans might recognize her better from 2014's The Signal. Cooke was born on this day in 1993.
Oh, what a talent! And at such a young age to have already acted in two of SciFi's biggest franchises! In 2010, Laurence Belcher appearead alongside no less than Matt Smith in the delightful "A Christmas Carol" episode of Doctor Who; and then in 2011 he appeared on the big screen as the youngest incarnation of Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class. Belcher was born on this day in 1995.
On this day in 1951, Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere premiered theatrically. A motion picture serial, Captain Video starred Judd Holdren in the lead role, and here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:
"Space hero Captain Video battles the evil Vultura on the planet Atoma."
"Space hero Captain Video battles the evil Vultura on the planet Atoma."
On this day in 1995, the James Glickenhaus written & directed Timemaster premiered. The SciFi/Western starred Pat Morita and Joanna Pacula, and here's the premise from IMDB.com:
"Young Jesse travels through time trying to stop a bunch of evil, virtual, fight managers from destroying Earth."
"Young Jesse travels through time trying to stop a bunch of evil, virtual, fight managers from destroying Earth."
On this day in 1963, The Twilight Zone aired "Ring-A-Ding Girl" as part of its fifth and final season. Here's the episode summary from IMDB.com:
"Movie star Bunny Blake receives a ring from her hometown which is giving her warnings to come home while she flies cross country."
"Movie star Bunny Blake receives a ring from her hometown which is giving her warnings to come home while she flies cross country."
On this day in 1985, Misfits of Science aired "Grand Theft Bunny." This served as the tenth episode of the program's only season, and here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"When a fellow scientist of Dr. Hayes takes a bunny from the test lab she broke into, the Misfits are faced with a race against time to stop the outbreak of a deadly new plague."
"When a fellow scientist of Dr. Hayes takes a bunny from the test lab she broke into, the Misfits are faced with a race against time to stop the outbreak of a deadly new plague."
On this day in 1995, SeaQuest 2032 aired "Second Chance." This served as the tenth episode of the program's third season, and here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:
"A reactor accident sends seaQuest back in time to an alternate 1962, where the Cuban Missile Crisis turned to nuclear war. The only chance to put things right again is to travel further back in time and prevent the first shots from being fired."
"A reactor accident sends seaQuest back in time to an alternate 1962, where the Cuban Missile Crisis turned to nuclear war. The only chance to put things right again is to travel further back in time and prevent the first shots from being fired."
On this day in 2000, Starhunter continued charting a course through its first season, airing an hour entitled "Order." According to Wikipedia.org, here's the plot summary:
"The Tulip crew watches as a religious cult flies a suicide course into the sun, but at the last second a shuttle emerges from the ship bearing the cult's leader "Brother Thirteen" along with his wife Marina and bodyguard Jacob. Dante picks up the shuttle and arrests the leader accusing him of letting his followers die. While taking the survivors to the authorities on Mercury, Thirteen enchants Luc with his psychic brainwashing power and promises to help her find her path to the Divinity Cluster if she helps him take over the ship."
"The Tulip crew watches as a religious cult flies a suicide course into the sun, but at the last second a shuttle emerges from the ship bearing the cult's leader "Brother Thirteen" along with his wife Marina and bodyguard Jacob. Dante picks up the shuttle and arrests the leader accusing him of letting his followers die. While taking the survivors to the authorities on Mercury, Thirteen enchants Luc with his psychic brainwashing power and promises to help her find her path to the Divinity Cluster if she helps him take over the ship."
On this day in 2016, Titan Books released The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume 3, a collection featuring the previously-published novels "Rogue" (by Sandy Schofield) and "The Labyrinth" by S.D. Perry. Here's the product summary as provided by Amazon.com:
- Rogue: Welcome to the former penal colony of Charon, where a labyrinth of underground tunnels offer shelter to an Alien hive. Professor Ernst Kleist rules—a paranoid tyrant whose speciality is making humans disappear. Captain Joyce Palmer is bound for Charon. Only she and a few hand-picked Marines can stop Kleist in his tracks. Only they can stop the professor’s most insane creation—the Rogue.
- The Labyrinth: On the space station Innominata the infamous Dr Paul Church has built a maze of tunnels. Church is hiding the results of his latest experiments. His aim: to bring human and Alien together as one being. Colonel Dr Tony Crespi has one ambition—to work with Church. But one by one the men on Innominata have been dying in the attempt to meld Alien and man. When Crespi finds his way to the heart of the labyrinth he discovers a chamber of horrors—will he ever be able to find a way out?
