I think some of the very best Science Fiction and Fantasy stories ever have toyed directly with the unseen assault that technology has on our bodies.

All one need do these days is consult Google for the plethora of theories (conspiracy or not) worldwide on what the exposure of implementing 5G technology could be doing to ourselves.  Heck, go back a few centuries, and even some inspired writing was focused on what the advent of any other new (back then) but relatively primative (based on today's standards) machinery would have on subsequent generations.  Even a tale as timeless as H.G. Wells' The Time Machine was -- in some ways -- more about the dangers of using it (what we learned of ourselves) than it was anything else, so storytellers have certainly invested in this kind of creative extrapolation whenever an opportunity presented itself.

Lo and behold, 2007's The Signal kinda/sorta did much of the same -- via its Horror construct -- by featuring residents exposed to a silent but deadly frequency that caused confusion if not downright madness as a result.  If you think about it, confusion might push any of us toward the direction of doing something dangerous, but madness?  Well, as you can guess, that had this film's characters teetering on the brink of actions quite deadly.  Essentially, this signal induced an unimaginable level of paranoia, and the players engaged in all kinds of nasty business as a consequence of exposure.

Written and directed by the team of David Bruckner, Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry, the Horror/Fantasy starred Anessa Ramsey, Justin Welborn, Scott Poythress, Sahr Ngaujah, and AJ Bowen.  According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:

"A horror film told in three parts, from three perspectives, in which a mysterious transmission that turns people into killers invades every cell phone, radio, and television."

While audiences can be a bit fickle with themes that tinker a bit too closely with science they don't quite understand, these tales generally garner a bit of acclaim and attention from the artistic community.  As you can guess, The Signal did quite well on the film festival circuit, garnering some popular marks from such institutions as the Sitges - Catalonia International Film Festival, the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival, the Film Independent Spirit Awards, and the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper ... so long as The Signal doesn't get to you!

-- EZ
​

Good morning, and Happy Friday, regular readers!

As some of you know from following my reviews and general whatnot reasonably closely, I've had an ongoing love/hate relationship with Amazon.com.  (No, no, no: this doesn't involve my purchasing history!)  For the better part of a decade and one-half, I was one of the site's frequent contributors, having built my reviews up in stature to the point of achieving their Top 1,000 Amazon Reviewers.  (Think what you will, but that was a pretty significant accomplishment, in its day.)  Then -- not all that long back -- the retailer rather unceremoniously and definitely unprofessionally dumped those of us who for many years had worked alongside them building their identity with absolutely no personal gain from it.  To make matters worse, even once we were following their new rules, the powers that be ultimately decided to remove everything many of us had contributed, banishing our accounts to obscurity and then denying us the opportunity to participate in any way whatsoever ... well, except for still being happy to take our money, that is.

Because I'd been doing it for so long, I had an incredible portfolio of reviews writing over there.  I had started going back and grabbing my stuff once they announced their changes, hoping to save it into my own files for posterity's sake ... but, alas, I wasn't fast enough.  Before I knew it, everything I had posted there was gone.  I can't tell you how frustrating it is to follow the rules and still suffer a culling, and I'm sure those of you who have experienced similar circumstances know all too well of what I'm speaking.  It's ... just ... damn ... infuriating.

Well, lo and behold, I did some digging in some old back-up files over the weekend; and I did manage to locate a good amount of stuff, reviews written from roughly 2012 and onward for a few years.  (I'm still plumbing the depths of old disks and stuff, so I might locate more in the future.)  Yesterday, I posted a few of these old pieces on the MainPage -- reviews for films A Haunting At Silver Falls (2013) and Reversion (2015) -- and it's my intent to eventually get all of the appropriate content blogged here on my own site.  So you will start to see some older reviews mixed in with the current stuff.  I just wanted to warn you to be on the look-out for it.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

​-- EZ

Let me say this without getting into a full review of The Signal, an at best middling exploration of what I think to be is an otherwise good idea: come its big finish, the script really only ended up toying with the audience -- much in the same way it did its characters -- leaving you ultimately feeling full yet empty the way you occasionally can feel after ingesting what you thought was going to be a good meal.

Too harsh?

Meh.

I guess it's that I loved so much of the production, right up until its kinda/sorta disastrous closing, at which point you're left with loosely re-evaluating everything that took place up to the level of absurdity.  In fact, I could suggest that The Signal's story -- as scripted by Carlyle Eubank, William Eubank (who also directed), and David Frigerio -- was truly only getting started when it came to the finale: once you have a complete grasp of the ... erm ... ahhh ... "the storytelling concept," it's only then that I'd now want to see how the surviving players might want to consider their respective places in the wider cosmos at large.  As no follow-up has been delivered, I'm guessing we're all just left at this critical impasse, making of it what we will in the final estimation.

​Generally speaking, I am a fan of features that toy with reality, our perceptions of it, and how we cope with its sometimes fragile nature.  Where a flick like The Signal fails is that it strives very efficiently toward misdirecting viewers away from 'the twist' of its ending -- M. Night Shyamalan is still writing checks on what is essentially a lot of scripts similar in construction but varied in presentation: depending upon how you react to the plight of these characters, you might feel cheated by having spent over ninety minutes getting to know them, savor their struggles, only to have the rugged ripped out from under you (and them) with the reveal.

Sigh.

I did so much want to know what happens next?

That's just how I'm wired.

Here's the plot summary as provided by the good folks at IMDB.com:

"On a road trip, Nic and two friends are drawn to an isolated area by a computer genius. When everything suddenly goes dark, Nic regains consciousness - only to find himself in a waking nightmare."

To the film's credit, it did garner some attention from the BloodGuts UK Horror Awards, a ceremony largely dedicated -- as its title suggests -- to honoring the best in Horror releases annually.  Actor Laurence Fishburne -- a tremendous asset to many genre films -- received a 'Best Actor' nomination for their 2014 roster; and composer Nima Fakhrara enjoyed a nomination in the category of 'Best Soundtrack/Score.'  Furthermore, at the 2014 Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival, The Signal took home top honors in the category of 'Best Special Effects.'
​
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ
​

A good friend and I have a running debate about the nature of horror films that centers around why so many scripts involve protagonists and/or victims of a high school age.  My friend contends consistently that youth of that ripe, young age haven’t quite been spoiled (or is that soiled?) by the cynicism of adulthood, and, as such, ghosts and spirits are drawn to them.  Me?  Well, I tend to think that youth of that ripe, young age are too stupid to know how to handle themselves when ghosts or spirits show up on the scene, and, as such, they make easy victims for both willing heavies, vengeful phantoms, and budding screenwriters.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and characters.  If you’re the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last two paragraphs for my final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
Due to some decidedly tragic events that never quite get a definitive explanation, Jordan (played by comely Alix Elizabeth Gitter whose given an “introducing” screen credit though this appears to be her tenth filmed production) comes to live with her aunt Anne (Tara Westwood) – her mother’s twin – and uncle Kevin (Steve Bacic), a greasy sort whose behaviors harkens back to only the best closeted pedophiles.  After finding a ring close to the nearby Silver Falls, Jordan finds herself suddenly troubled with visions of dead girls – twin sisters killed at the hands of their own father (or were they?).  Faced with no alternative, Jordan desperately tries to convince anyone who’ll listen that these restless spirits only hope to convey a message from beyond: the real murderer is still out there … and now anyone who can see the twins is in danger!
​

For all its narrative stumbles (and there are plenty), A Haunting At Silver Falls tries very hard to buck the trend of the traditional ghost-terrorizing-teens story by more strongly embracing the element of mystery.  The only significant problem with this is that element doesn’t really rear its head until an hour into a 90-minute story, leaving the first two-thirds to feel unnecessary formulaic about – you guessed it – the traditional ghost-terrorizing-teen tale.  Without trying to rewrite the script post-production (mostly because I, too, hate critics who think they turn out a tighter plot), I think director Brett Donowho (don’t know who?) may’ve been better served by having scribes Cam Cannon, Rachel Long, and Brian Pittman give their pages another pass with the single request of amping up the whodunit aspect much earlier.
 
Otherwise, Haunting ends up feeling too predictable.  It’s populated with just the right amount of troubled teens for the casual viewer to see through the usual narrative trickery (the first half plods along with a heavy ‘been there done that’ attitude), but kudos to them all for giving it a decent try.  Granted, there were hints that something more was afoot – the Sheriff’s son seems to know the story of the twins’ deaths isn’t what most people think, but he’s relegated so strongly into the background that he never comes off as more than Jordan’s would-be stalker.  Westwood and Bacic’s performances as the doting, adoptive aunt and uncle feels like they have something to hide, and – lo and behold – before it’s all over, they do!  They do have something to hide!  Those are the kinds of ‘gimmes’ that could’ve been lessened with a meaner, leaner draft.  Shot as it is, Haunting feels somewhat like they were making it up as they went, so maybe they were.
 
And that’s a disservice to some respectable work by “newcomer” Gitter as well as James Cavlo’s underused role as Larry, Jordan’s kinda/sorta boyfriend.  These two fresh faces did they best they could with their time and skills to deliver serviceable performances surrounding youths in trouble.  If more attention had been paid to the script’s ‘trouble,’ then their work might not have felt so wasted.  There’s an ambiguity in their final screen moment that shouldn’t be there; I’ll take that as further evidence of scriptwriters struggling to define definitively what was actually going on here … plus the obligatory and expectable big finish tells me they watched one too many horror flicks in their time and just sought to mimic the polish.
​

A Haunting At Silver Falls (2013) is produced by Enderby Entertainment and Tony-Seven Films.  DVD distribution is being handled by Inception Media Group, LLC.  As for the technical specifications, the film is smartly produced with some very solid cinematography and some impressive sound editing.  Alas, there are no special features to speak of – a shame in this day and age.  Minimally, I would’ve liked to know just how much of this “inspired by a chilling, true story” was actually inspired by a chilling, true story, but methinks it wasn’t meant to be.
 
Mildly recommended.
 
While not entirely predictable, A Haunting At Silver Falls remains plagued by too many elements already explored by other vastly superior films.  What’s disappointing about that is it ends up wasting some solid work by its two young stars as well as leaves other more interesting narrative possibilities completely unexplored.  In horror, not all is what it seems.  In fact, rarely is ‘all’ what it seems.  Had Haunting dabbled more heavily in those parts of its script, it may’ve had a better chance at being discovered.  This tale inspired by “a chilling, true story” needed less truth and more chill.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Inception Media Group, LLC provided me with an advance copy of A Haunting At Silver Falls for the expressed purposes of completing this review.

​-- EZ

Memories can be powerful instruments to drive personal change.  They teach us.  They guide us.  They serve as cautionary speed bumps as we travel down the road of life, always present to remind us of where we’ve been as well as what we did that caused us pain, remorse, happiness, and even unbridled elation.  But the sad sorry truth is that, inevitably, recollections of events not only help shape us into the people perhaps we were all destined to be but also not necessarily that who we wished we were.
 
This is the realm which writer/director Jose Nestor Marquez fathoms with his melodramatic SciFi potboiler – Reversion – which opened theatrically on October 9, 2015 (in the U.S.).  In it, actress Aja Naomi King (ABC TV’s How To Get Away With Murder) stars as Sophie Clé, senior marketing executive to her father’s company on the verge of revolutionizing the tech industry with the release of the Oubli, a wearable device that highlights and deeply enhances a positive personal memory of the user’s choosing.  By amplifying all the best that remembrance has to offer, the tool becomes a means to perfect the individual’s ability to achieve a kind of personal harmony, thereby maximizing the possibility to lead a better life.
 
As a Science Fiction film, Reversion rather easily taps into a world “just around the corner,” familiar enough to encourage a more mainstream audience to take notice but willing to ask more than a few cerebral questions about reality that’ll keep the nerdier of us interested.  In fact, the Oubli operates via an APP interface on the user’s tablet or SmartPhone not all that unlike the Bluetooth-enabled ‘fitness’ tech that’s all today’s consumer rage.  Marquez’s script is smart and timely, offering audiences a glimpse into one of the popular ‘what if’ scenarios that drives so much of the better stories that dabble in futurism.  At all times, this tale remains one with a decidedly human focus, but it’s a yarn that relies on the technological inclusion in order to unfold the way it does.
​

From the publicity materials:
“Reversion centers on Sophie Clé, a delighted user of the Oubli, a wisp of high-tech jewelry that wraps behind the ear and uses neuroscience to help users experience their most joyful memories as if they were happening for the first time.  In addition to being the head of marketing for the company that makes this revolutionary memory-enhancing wearable device, she is also the daughter of its inventor, Jack Clé (Colm Feore).  Sophie’s most joyful memory is the last day she saw her mother alive, fifteen years earlier.  But on the eve of the Oubli’s worldwide launch, a stranger named Isa (Jeanette Samano) kidnaps Sophie, setting off a chain of events that remind us all, you can’t escape what you can’t forget.”
 
In traditional mystery fashion, Sophie finds herself drawn further and further into what appears to be a case of mistaken identity behind a fateful occurrence between her parents.  On this quest for the truth, her only confidante remains Ayden, her company-provided chauffeur and bodyguard.  Ayden is played by Gary Dourdan, formerly part of the ensemble of players aboard CBS TV’s powerful CSI franchise.  For my tastes, Dourdan was pretty perfectly cast as the soft-spoken outsider who knows more than he’s willing to let on; as he begrudgingly realizes Sophie will stop at nothing to reveal facts she finds in conflict with reality (or even what she believes it to be), all he can do is walk that fine line between service and loyalty even at the risk of his own life.
 
As a potboiler, however, Reversion isn’t perfect, much like the science it depicts.
​

While the premise remains solid, Sophie rarely drives the story forward with her own convictions.  Instead, her character is more often the recipient of other’s efforts – she practically stumbles into revelation after revelation here rather than uncover anything organically – always playing the victim instead of a detective hell bent on getting to the bottom of it … whatever ‘it’ may be.  And actress King occasionally looks perhaps a bit too young at times to convincingly pull off all shades of Marquez’s troubled creation.  Still, that lends itself well to the infomercial-like portrayal Reversion gives to the Oubli: she’s always the beautiful, wrinkle-free face of consumer-sought blissfulness.
 
Both Feore and Dourdan’s performances are reliable – if not occasionally predictable – as it’s clear fairly early on that their motivations were always intended to remain suspect from start-to-finish.  Are they the guilty parties, or are they merely covering up some even darker secret?  As an actor, Feore has always maintained a workmanlike charm even in his more obscure roles; and – though the tabloids have had a field day with his personal struggles – Dourdan remains a bankable talent who easily inhabits alpha males with a tortured undercurrent like his ‘Ayden’ here.  Personally, I’d love to see both of them get more work, but the industry it what it is.
 
In the end, Reversion reverts to what some may find to be solutions all-too-easy, but I’d argue that’s exactly the human condition the film best explores: in our core, we’re all creatures of habit, and those habits will always (always!) take us back to moments of clarity … much like the Oubli’s central purpose.  What we choose to do with that information will define as well as haunt us because we can never fully escape the humanity – or inhumanity – that’s as much a part of our past as it is our future.  Thankfully, there’ll never be an APP for that.

​-- EZ

OK, haters, get this straight: I don't dislike Babylon 5 or any of its derivatives.  My issue with it is entirely from outside the (TV) box in that I just don't get why the program meant so much to so, so, so many.  I've watched the whole series -- I've avoided the subsequent movies, of which Babylon 5: The Legend Of The Rangers is included, mostly because some ardent fans told me that they were a frustrating experience.  I've always said that -- while I found it quite good and with an incredible cast -- it just didn't resonate with me the way other shows have.  In some ways, those sentiments are kinda/sorta like folks from the late 1960's who watched Star Trek in its original run while the rest of mankind ignored it, only to discover it in television syndication later.  Just because this franchise doesn't mean as much to me doesn't dismiss any of its strengths and/or weaknesses ... so let that (hopefully) be the end of that debate.

In any event, it was on this day back in 2002 that series' creator J. Michael Straczynski sought to bring it back to the airwaves in the form of an all-new serial, but The Legend Of The Rangers failed to gain any traction with audiences.  As can often happen in the business of broadcast television, I think it's safe to suggest that the SciFi Channel (now Syfy) is as much to blame as anyone in this missed opportunity (there's a solid summation of Legend's history on Cancelled Before It Began right here, so I won't relive it), and I'd definitely agree with any like-minded thinker who suggested that perhaps the Rangers might very well have been the best opportunity to bring B5 back, especially given that it had really only disappeared a few years previous.  Such a narrative focus could've played out in a variety of ways ... but, as they say, it wasn't meant to be.

Written by Straczynski, the telefilm was directed by Michael Vejar, a proven veteran of TV production.  The project starred Dylan Neal, Alex Zahara, Myriam Sorois, Dean Marshall, and Enid-Raye Adams; and there's absolutely no doubt that a long-term series could very well have meant returning and/or recurring guest stints from any of B5's regulars.  (In fact, Andreas Katsulas was on board for the pilot.)  Here's the premise as provided by the good people at IMDB.com:

"A disgraced Ranger takes command of an old, possibly haunted, ship on an escort mission that encounters deadly peril from a new enemy civilization."

I have read a bit of review/reaction to the telefilm online, and -- without getting into some of the particulars -- it does seem as if B5's core fandom wasn't all that impressed with this fledgling property.  While some of that might be owed to the obvious push into territory that may've left too much of the established mythology behind or 'on the back burner' as it were, we all know that Straczynski -- with his skills as a storyteller -- could likely have 'righted that ship' if the prospect had been picked up and given life as an ongoing serial.  It didn't ... and this is where it all ended, to a great degree.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ
​

Having seen so many independent entries into the realm of Science Fiction and Fantasy over the years, I have lost count of them but occasionally one resonates and will remain active in some distant corner of my brain.  2008's Sleep Dealer is one of those features: while I don't distinctly recall all of its details, I fondly remember thinking it was exactly the kind of smaller flick that indie types should be spending their time with ... a compelling yarn with science and commerce gone a bit awry firmly against an examination of the human condition.

Alas -- if IMDB.com is any indication -- writer/director Alex Rivera really didn't ride the wave of success to anything reasonably similar in reputation.  (Folks, that's not an insult; it's just that people like me who write about these projects for a living do hope to see budding auteurs ascend even higher with the next and their next and their next forays into films, and methinks we're honestly surprised when that doesn't happen.)  Dealer definitely put the man on the creative map; in fact, I do recall thinking at the time it was the kind of yarn that Hollywood might very well get its mitts into and attempt to rework -- albeit with a bigger budget and grander marquee names -- but that I'm aware of no such remake/rehash/reboot has come to pass.  That's a shame to a degree, though I also wonder if more money thrown at a great idea might only cheapen the experience.

In any event, here's the plot summary for the SciFi/Thriller as provided by the good people at IMDB.com:

"The near future. Like tomorrow. In a world marked by closed borders, corporate warriors, and a global computer network, three strangers risk their lives to connect, break through the barriers of technology, and unseal their fates."

For what it's worth, I saw the project as tinkering a bit with classism the way Science Fiction can smartly do from time-to-time, showing us an entire class of people made faceless as workers who were taxed with essentially keeping our world running but being constantly denied the benefits of those labors.  (Yeah, yeah, yeah: I realize that sounds a bit Communist in many ways, and yet it's an authentic aspect of many, many great stories.)  I don't recall all the specifics regarding the main character's personal struggle -- there was an element in his past history that kinda/sorta felt a bit too 'preachy' that I won't go into -- but the film was still a quick trip into a nightmarish prospect for the near-future ... the one lurking in wait just right around the corner.

Well done.
​

Though my review of Cooties (2014) is nowhere posted on SciFiHistory.Net presently, I know that I've seen it.

​Back in 2014, I was posting the bulk of my reviews as an Amazon Top 1,000 Reviewer over on the popular merchant site; but once they unceremoniously changed their rules without so much as a notice, they dumped my content ... and I've since struggled to recover from the vastness of properties I've reviewed.  When I have a few moments here and there, I do search my archives ... but, in the meantime, I'm going off of some fuzzy memories when I say that while I found this flick funny I just saw it as forgettable as well.  I think it was too much secondary melodrama surrounding the teachers and their private lives, but I could be mistaken.  It was clever ... just not clever enough to endure longer than the original viewing experience.  A 'one-off,' if you will.

In any event, Cooties was first unveiled to the world at large -- according to IMDB.com -- at a screening for audiences of the Sundance Film Festival on this day back in 2014.  It was picked up for distribution -- as are many of these quality features -- and it found general domestic release late in 2015 (after playing at other festivals here and abroad).

Written by the team of Leigh Whannell (who also starred), Ian Brennan (who also had a part), and Josh C. Waller, the feature was directed by the team of Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion.  Milott  and Murnion went on to direct Becky (2020), a reasonably dark revenge picture about a teenager extracting her own form of justice on a small band of convicts who murder the girl's father.  They cast such known commodities in big roles such as Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, and funnyman Jack McBrayer; and -- to their respective credit -- they do all seem to have a grand ol' time releasing the stress of being a teacher on the flesh-eating urchins intent on making the staff part of their next meal.

Here's the film's plot summary as provided by the good people at IMDB.com:

"A mysterious virus hits an isolated elementary school, transforming the kids into a feral swarm of mass savages. An unlikely hero must lead a motley band of teachers in the fight of their lives."

I'd be remiss in my duties as a genre influencer if I failed to mention that Cooties was the recipient of some small praise.
​

• For the 2015 Fright Meter Awards, Leigh Whannell was awarded the 'Best Supporting Actor' trophy for his work in the flick while co-star Rainn Wilson had to settle with the honor of being nominated alone in the same category.
• For the 2016 iHorror Awards, Wilson was nominated again -- this time in the category of 'Best Male Performance - Horror Movie' -- alongside the project as a whole in the grouping of 'Best Indie Horror Film.'
• Lastly, relative newcomer Armani Jackson scored a nomination in the category of 'Best Supporting Young Actor - Feature Film' at the 2016 Young Entertainer Awards.
  

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ

While I cannot say this for certain, I'm willing to make the educated guess that -- based on the advertising materials and what little I've read about the Italian production The Island Of The Fishmen -- this was a project greenlit and rushed into production almost entirely based upon the popularity and box office of Steven Spielberg's Jaws.  In short, there were quite a few imitators brought to life in the years following that tale of the Great White Shark, and this looks to be little more than the variation on a theme.

​I do know that this Island saw distribution in the United States after being picked out by Roger Corman and his New World Pictures.  IMDB.com reports that -- as happened with Corman's pick-ups from time-to-time -- the producer had some new footage shot and added to the film in order to properly 'Americanize' it for audiences, an effort that commonly included added some known marquee faces to the existing story with these added vignettes.  In that respect, IMDB.com asserts that Mel Ferrer, Jim Alquist, Cameron Mitchell and a few others only appear in New World's version of the production.

Also, I think it bears mentioning that director Sergio Martino (who also contributed to the script) considers this film the second installment of what has been dubbed his 'Adventure Trilogy.'  (This information appears on IMDB.com's Trivia Page.)  His first -- 1978's Slave Of The Cannibal God -- is an (ahem) delightful piece of bloody shlock starring Ursula Andress -- more like 'Ursula Undress' for this picture as it's revered for her nude body -- along with the great Stacy Keach, Claudio Cassinelli, and Antonio Marsina.  The final chapter -- 1979's The Great Alligator -- stars Barbara Bach (who appears in Fishmen as well) along with Mel Ferrer and Claudio Cassinelli.

Interestingly enough, Fishmen's script appears to have been original derived from a story credited to the great H.P. Lovecraft.  Again, IMDB.com indicates that Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" served as inspiration for the tale.  Though I'm unfamiliar with the tale, various Google citations indicate that the novella does indeed busy itself with the exploits of some sea devils on the shores of a Massachusetts' coastal village.  Here's the film's plot summary as provided by the good folks at IMDB.com:

"After their prison ship sinks in the Caribbean, a group of prisoners and a doctor wash ashore on a seemingly deserted island. They soon discover a strange couple, who invite them to stay at their house. While the prisoners try to plan an escape, the doctor does some investigating, and soon finds out just what the pair are really doing, and why the prisoners keep disappearing mysteriously."

If that isn't enough proper fodder to interest you souls in venturing into this bizarre exploit, then how about the charm of a lovely lady?  The lovely lady -- who went on to be a 'Bond Girl' for Roger Moore in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me -- got her start in the role of 'Nausicaa' for an Italian television miniseries adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey" ("Odissea") and continued to find work in projects afterwards.  If her pretty face -- alongside these gruesome sea creatures -- isn't enough reason to enjoy this production, then I'll leave you to your pursuits.
​

Alas, I do tend to avoid 'fish stories' -- if you catch my meaning -- but this looks interesting enough that I might someday explore it further.  In the meantime, I'll leave this one to the Bucket List.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ
​

Alas, dear readers, I’m honestly not been able to locate that much information on The Electric Grandmother, a Science Fiction and Fantasy telefilm that first aired on this day (in the United States) back in 1982.  Wikipedia.org indicates that it originally aired on NBC as part of something dubbed the ‘Peacock Project’ (never heard of that before), and then IMDB.com indicates that being the only release/broadcast of record.  Scanning the web, I do see some artwork claiming to be DVD and/or VHS artwork for subsequent home video releases; and yet I’m not seeing anything that looks entirely “official,” if you catch my drift.
 
In any event, IMDB.com does indicate that this particular Grandmother is based on The Twilight Zone episode “I Sing The Body Electric” from 1962 that was penned by the legendary Ray Bradbury.  It looks like this modern retelling was crafted by Bradbury himself along with Jeffrey Kindley.  (A glance at Kindley’s IMDB.com profile shows a fair amount of children’s programming to his record, so that definitely seems legit.)  It was directed by Noel Black, a veteran of many television productions.
 
As for the starring line-up?
 
E.T.’s Robert MacNaughton looks to be the central kiddie along with supporting players Tara Kennedy and Charles Fields.  Edward Herrmann starred as the trio’s dear ol’ dad, and the late Maureen Stapleton filled in the central role as the electric elder herself.
 
Here’s the movie’s premise as provided by the good people at IMDB.com:
 
“Three children and their father get a very special robot grandmother to assist them.”
 
Though there’s not a great amount of information regarding the project on the Information Superhighway, I do see that the project garnered a bit of love on the awards circuit.  In 1982, it was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in the category of ‘Outstanding Children’s Program,’ though it lost out to 1981’s “The Wave,” a decidedly darker program dealing with the threat of socialism in schools.  Still, scribe Bradbury and Highgate Pictures were awarded the 1982 Peabody Award (along with several other entries) by that august organization.  Lastly, at the 1983 Young Artists Award, emerging starlet Tara Kennedy was nominated in the category of ‘Best Young Actress In A Movie Made For Television’ for her work in the project.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

​-- EZ