Good morning, gentle readers, and welcome to On This Day In Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror History for March 25, 2024!
How was everyone's weekend?
I know, I know, I know. It's Monday, and nobody really wants to talk about the weekend any longer because it's over. You just want to crawl back in bed for a few more minutes instead of buckling back down to what we have to do during the week to make the weekends possible. I'm sorry to each and every one of you for bringing it up, but it's kinda/sorta what I do every Monday, my friends. I give you a recap, and then I do try to set the stage for what's up'n'coming in our collective existence. It's the only way I know how to do what I do in this space, and I'm sorry if it's a slog in any measure for any of you.
So ... welcome back, whatever the case!
Quiet weekend for yours truly. Very quiet. The wifey had a few events she had to attend to all of her own, which left me with some open time on the schedule to putter, mostly. I did manage to squeeze in a few classic films that I had stored up on my DVR -- I'll likely pen a review on one or the other, not entirely sure which just yet -- and some relaxation. I also listened to a few podcasts for good measure, something I just don't do as much as I probably should. But I'm back into the business of looking at the week this morning, and I thought I'd pop by with a few items worthy of note for us to champion.
How was everyone's weekend?
I know, I know, I know. It's Monday, and nobody really wants to talk about the weekend any longer because it's over. You just want to crawl back in bed for a few more minutes instead of buckling back down to what we have to do during the week to make the weekends possible. I'm sorry to each and every one of you for bringing it up, but it's kinda/sorta what I do every Monday, my friends. I give you a recap, and then I do try to set the stage for what's up'n'coming in our collective existence. It's the only way I know how to do what I do in this space, and I'm sorry if it's a slog in any measure for any of you.
So ... welcome back, whatever the case!
Quiet weekend for yours truly. Very quiet. The wifey had a few events she had to attend to all of her own, which left me with some open time on the schedule to putter, mostly. I did manage to squeeze in a few classic films that I had stored up on my DVR -- I'll likely pen a review on one or the other, not entirely sure which just yet -- and some relaxation. I also listened to a few podcasts for good measure, something I just don't do as much as I probably should. But I'm back into the business of looking at the week this morning, and I thought I'd pop by with a few items worthy of note for us to champion.
Ay, carumba ...
Sometimes, you have to take the bad with the good, and -- for what it's worth -- one of Star Trek's all-time worst outings ever aired on this day all the way back in 1989 when a Season Two adventure better known as "The Royale" came to (cough cough) life.
This was one of those stories that honestly felt like it never quite had a chance with resonating, only because it was such a huge, huge, huge throwback to a time when Science Fiction and Fantasy was endlessly simplistic. The script from Tracy Torme saw Riker, Data, and Worf beaming down to the surface of a planet ... well ... we thought they were beaming down to the surface of a planet, anyway. In reality, what they were doing was beaming into a recreation of a very bad pulp novel; and they were trapped there basically while the events of the bad book have to play out so that they can leave.
I mean ... ouch.
Back in the days when Syfy was the SciFi Channel, they'd occasionally do these Star Trek TNG marathons of best and worst episodes, and The Royale almost always came in as one of the all-time low points in the Next Generation's history. "There are stinkers, and then there's The Royale" is what I'd always say about the hour. I think I've even read somewhere's that its writer -- Torme -- had completely disowned the installment ... and that's not a bad idea.
Why celebrate it?
Well, we don't often get chapters this obviously bad, and that's saying something. Know where the low bar is, folks, so that way we never ever get close to it again.
Sometimes, you have to take the bad with the good, and -- for what it's worth -- one of Star Trek's all-time worst outings ever aired on this day all the way back in 1989 when a Season Two adventure better known as "The Royale" came to (cough cough) life.
This was one of those stories that honestly felt like it never quite had a chance with resonating, only because it was such a huge, huge, huge throwback to a time when Science Fiction and Fantasy was endlessly simplistic. The script from Tracy Torme saw Riker, Data, and Worf beaming down to the surface of a planet ... well ... we thought they were beaming down to the surface of a planet, anyway. In reality, what they were doing was beaming into a recreation of a very bad pulp novel; and they were trapped there basically while the events of the bad book have to play out so that they can leave.
I mean ... ouch.
Back in the days when Syfy was the SciFi Channel, they'd occasionally do these Star Trek TNG marathons of best and worst episodes, and The Royale almost always came in as one of the all-time low points in the Next Generation's history. "There are stinkers, and then there's The Royale" is what I'd always say about the hour. I think I've even read somewhere's that its writer -- Torme -- had completely disowned the installment ... and that's not a bad idea.
Why celebrate it?
Well, we don't often get chapters this obviously bad, and that's saying something. Know where the low bar is, folks, so that way we never ever get close to it again.
There are a good number of readers who show up to the Daily Citation Pages solely to learn about obscure movies that have kinda/sorta been lost to history; and I occasionally get a charge out of highlighting a few of these for much the same reason.
That said, 1982's Turkey Shoot is a Dystopian/Thriller that comes up a good deal in my research into similar properties. It's a flick I've yet to see -- a fairly recent DVD release is still a bit pricey for this semi-retired blogger -- but hopefully I'll have a chance to dive into its dark goodness one day so that I can speak more intelligently about it. While I'll admit I've never read anything overly fond of the production, it still falls into a subject matter that interests me personally, so I do hope to see it.
Here's the film's plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"In a dystopian future where deviants are held in "re-education" camps, a freedom fighter and an innocent prisoner try to survive their decadent oppressors' game of kill-or-be-killed."
I want to say that, at one time, I'd read something about the film that suggested it was all actually based on a novel of some name that escapes me right now, but a quick look over at IMDB.com and Wikipedia.org doesn't support any such claim. In fact, most mentions in those spaces about the film and its subject matter suggest this one is a bit undercooked with poor performances ... but, hey, who doesn't like a good 'kill 'em if you got 'em' thriller every now and then to cleanse the palate?
I could sure use one right about now!
That said, 1982's Turkey Shoot is a Dystopian/Thriller that comes up a good deal in my research into similar properties. It's a flick I've yet to see -- a fairly recent DVD release is still a bit pricey for this semi-retired blogger -- but hopefully I'll have a chance to dive into its dark goodness one day so that I can speak more intelligently about it. While I'll admit I've never read anything overly fond of the production, it still falls into a subject matter that interests me personally, so I do hope to see it.
Here's the film's plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"In a dystopian future where deviants are held in "re-education" camps, a freedom fighter and an innocent prisoner try to survive their decadent oppressors' game of kill-or-be-killed."
I want to say that, at one time, I'd read something about the film that suggested it was all actually based on a novel of some name that escapes me right now, but a quick look over at IMDB.com and Wikipedia.org doesn't support any such claim. In fact, most mentions in those spaces about the film and its subject matter suggest this one is a bit undercooked with poor performances ... but, hey, who doesn't like a good 'kill 'em if you got 'em' thriller every now and then to cleanse the palate?
I could sure use one right about now!
Of course, there's more -- a good deal more -- and this is the point wherein I encourage you to head on over to the Daily Citation Page for March 25 to check it all out. Do your own study. Make up your own mind about what's worth celebrating. This is why I bring you to this place -- so that you can now 'build your own adventure' -- and make something of it. Here's the link:
As always, thanks for reading ... thanks for sharing ... thanks for being a fan ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
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