May 21, 1980. It's a date that'll live in infamy of its own sorts. That's the date when Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back rocked the world of fandom to its core. That's when sci-fi fans learned a secret that no one saw coming, and it changed the way we looked at George Lucas's space western.
In the three long years since Star Wars opened our eyes to the possibilities of what could be done on the big screen, fans had grown a bit older, a bit wiser. What Lucas did -- along with many creative artists who contributed to TESB -- was to show us that our films can mature nicely as well, and boy did they deliver on that premise.
In the three long years since Star Wars opened our eyes to the possibilities of what could be done on the big screen, fans had grown a bit older, a bit wiser. What Lucas did -- along with many creative artists who contributed to TESB -- was to show us that our films can mature nicely as well, and boy did they deliver on that premise.
Cinema baddie Ross Hagen leaves behind a legacy of almost one hundred different screen credits, but I'll never forget his work aboard the mildly clever SciFi/Exploitation flick Star Slammer (1987). Though he's no longer with us, Hagen was born on this day in 1938. [Source: IMDB.com]
The first season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century actually had some great one-off characters (people who showed up once and then never again), and perhaps one of the best was David Groh. In the first two-part episode -- "Planet of the Slave Girls" -- Groh played Major Duke Danton, a competitor against Buck for the reigning title of the 25th century's leading Alpha Male. (As happens in episodic TV, the two eventually bonded.) Groh also boasted appearances aboard Tales from the Darkside, M.A.N.T.I.S., Last Exit to Earth, The X-Files, and Black Scorpion. Though he's no longer with us, Groh was born on this day in 1939.
Though he's no longer with us, actor Richard Hatch (above center) was born on this day in 1945, and, so far as fandom is concerned, he came to fame in the role of Captain Apollo, the dashing and handsome Colonial pilot serving aboard the Battlestar Galactica under command of his father, Adama. He was also given the chance to contribute to Syfy's new Galactica incarnation by signing aboard as the politico Tom Zarek, who made things tough for both Adama and the new government.
Netherlands-born Renée Soutendijk broke into genre entertainment in a big way when -- back in 1991 -- she played dual roles as Dr. Eve Simmons and Eve VIII in the Terminator-inspired Eve of Destruction. The lovely Soutendijk was born on this day in 1957.
On this day back in 1971, Escape from the Planet of the Apes took our loyal simian friends Cornelius and Zira and saw them sped to Earth in the past, where they come face-to-face with a kind of bigotry that threatens their very survival.
On this day in 1976, Rock Hudson and Barbara Carrera starred in the horror/sci-fi thriller Embryo. Here's the summary from IMDB.com:
"A scientist doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days. However, the "adult" fetus turns into a homicidal psycho and looks for a new formula to prevent her from aging further."
"A scientist doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days. However, the "adult" fetus turns into a homicidal psycho and looks for a new formula to prevent her from aging further."
On this day in 1981, a sequel emerged that vastly surpassed its original when Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior premiered theatrically. Max was back ... and back with a vengeance. (Little known bit of trivia: in the picture above, that's Mel Gibson being held at arrow-point by none other than Virginia Hey ... who'd eventually turn up two decades later in Syfy's Farscape!) Here's the film's summary from IMDB.com:
"In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline rich, community escape a band of bandits."
"In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline rich, community escape a band of bandits."
I have a vague, vague recollection of seeing this when it came onto home video, but I completely missed Carnosaur when it screened theatrically on this day in 1993. (I was suitable unimpressed with the video; that's all I recall from it.) Still, here's the plot summary, as provided by IMDB.com:
"A genetically manipulated and very hungry dinosaur escapes from a bioengineering company and reeks havoc on the local desert town."
Maybe you should call it 'Jurassic Lark,' eh?
"A genetically manipulated and very hungry dinosaur escapes from a bioengineering company and reeks havoc on the local desert town."
Maybe you should call it 'Jurassic Lark,' eh?
On this day in 2009, Terminator Salvation opened theatrically. From what I can recall, fans weren't all that impressed with this outing, but I liked it just fine. To be perfectly honest, I think I've found something of value in each of the Terminator movies. According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:
"In 2018, a mysterious new weapon in the war against the machines, half-human and half-machine, comes to John Connor on the eve of a resistance attack on Skynet. But whose side is he on, and can he be trusted?"
"In 2018, a mysterious new weapon in the war against the machines, half-human and half-machine, comes to John Connor on the eve of a resistance attack on Skynet. But whose side is he on, and can he be trusted?"
On this day in 1955, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet aired "Ambush In Space." According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's that adventure's plot summary:
"Roy Cowan, a disgraced Solar Guard captain, breaks out of prison and, with two henchman, hijacks a space freighter to use as bait to destroy his old adversaries on board the Polaris."
"Roy Cowan, a disgraced Solar Guard captain, breaks out of prison and, with two henchman, hijacks a space freighter to use as bait to destroy his old adversaries on board the Polaris."
On this day in 1979, Battle Of The Planets aired "The Space Rock Concert." This served as the thirty-fourth episode of the program's first season, and here's the plot summary as provided by TV.com:
"The Team is relaxing at a Dirty Name 5 concert when Spectra appears! The entire band is kidnapped and forced to play. Their music is used as a sound weapon, literally shaking apart whatever it is directed at. The G-Force team have to rescue the band and stop Zoltar from succeeding in his plan."
"The Team is relaxing at a Dirty Name 5 concert when Spectra appears! The entire band is kidnapped and forced to play. Their music is used as a sound weapon, literally shaking apart whatever it is directed at. The G-Force team have to rescue the band and stop Zoltar from succeeding in his plan."
On this day in 1979, Salvage 1 aired a two-part season finale, which was essentially two separate stories strung together for the purposes of making it more of an 'event.' The first hour was titled "Energy Solution," and here's the premise from IMDB.com:
"Melanie plan to develop a method to create crude oil literally backfires, resulting in a raging underground inferno."
The second hour of the two-part event was titled "Confederate Gold," and here's its premise from IMDB.com:
"While trying to locate gold from the Confederate States of America, the Salvage 1 team is captured by greedy townspeople and forced to work for the locals."
"Melanie plan to develop a method to create crude oil literally backfires, resulting in a raging underground inferno."
The second hour of the two-part event was titled "Confederate Gold," and here's its premise from IMDB.com:
"While trying to locate gold from the Confederate States of America, the Salvage 1 team is captured by greedy townspeople and forced to work for the locals."
On this day in 2000, Code Name: Eternity aired "The Mission." This served as the second episode in the show's first (and only) season, and here's the plot summary as provided by TV.com:
"Ethaniel and Laura, having been wrongly implicated for murder, are forced to flee from the authorities, as well as Banning and Dent, while trying to clear their own names."
"Ethaniel and Laura, having been wrongly implicated for murder, are forced to flee from the authorities, as well as Banning and Dent, while trying to clear their own names."
On this day in 2003, the creative powers that be behind-the-scenes on the struggling Star Trek: Enterprise decided to up the stakes by finally giving the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise somewhat of a mission. The twenty-sixth episode to the second season -- and serving as the season's finale -- was titled "The Expanse," and it introduced a new villain worthy of a season-long conflict that would populate stories for the next viewing year. Here's the plot summary as provided by TrekCore.com:
"An alien probe unleashes an assault upon Earth. Enterprise is recalled, and along the way home Captain Archer acquires information that the perpetrators come from a mysterious region of space known as the Delphic Expanse."
"An alien probe unleashes an assault upon Earth. Enterprise is recalled, and along the way home Captain Archer acquires information that the perpetrators come from a mysterious region of space known as the Delphic Expanse."
On this day in 2005, Doctor Who aired "The Empty Child." This served as the ninth episode to the (restarted) program's first season, and here's the plot summary as detailed by IMDB.com:
"Rose and the Doctor find themselves in 1941 London when the TARDIS receives an emergency signal from another time-traveling vehicle. While the Doctor tries to determine where the object may have landed, Rose goes off in search of a child she can hear calling for help. When she gets herself into a precarious situation, she's rescued by the rather handsome RAF Captain Jack Harkness, who owns a time machine of his own."
"Rose and the Doctor find themselves in 1941 London when the TARDIS receives an emergency signal from another time-traveling vehicle. While the Doctor tries to determine where the object may have landed, Rose goes off in search of a child she can hear calling for help. When she gets herself into a precarious situation, she's rescued by the rather handsome RAF Captain Jack Harkness, who owns a time machine of his own."
On this day in 2010, A Good Knight's Quest aired the thirteenth episode of its only season. According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:
"The Chosen One has become quite the nuisance and Agent 2 needs to bite his tongue."
"The Chosen One has become quite the nuisance and Agent 2 needs to bite his tongue."
On this day in 2011, Doctor Who aired "The Rebel Flesh." (Gotta say -- in brief -- I just didn't care for the storyline.) This served as the fifth episode to the program's sixth season, and here's the plot summary compliments of IMDB.com:
"The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in a future Earth where a small group of humans operate a plant extracting highly dangerous chemicals. To minimize the danger to themselves, they create clones made of a plastic-like substance, 'gangers' (short for doppelganger) who do the actual work. While forming their clones however, the Earth is struck by massive solar flare activity that transfer the humans' emotions and memories in addition to their technical abilities. As they all try to deal with what has happened, the gangers are clearly no longer prepared to accept the limited status they previously had and insist on being treated as sentient beings in their own right. As it turns out, others have been affected as well."
"The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in a future Earth where a small group of humans operate a plant extracting highly dangerous chemicals. To minimize the danger to themselves, they create clones made of a plastic-like substance, 'gangers' (short for doppelganger) who do the actual work. While forming their clones however, the Earth is struck by massive solar flare activity that transfer the humans' emotions and memories in addition to their technical abilities. As they all try to deal with what has happened, the gangers are clearly no longer prepared to accept the limited status they previously had and insist on being treated as sentient beings in their own right. As it turns out, others have been affected as well."
On this day in 2014, things were looking very dark indeed for the Earthbound survivors on the CW's The 100 as Murphy returned to the camp but with something along for the ride no one expected. This was the tenth episode of the program's first season, and here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"Murphy returns to the camp carrying a horrific virus created by the Grounders to weaken the camp. After learning the Grounders plan to attack the next day, Bellamy, Finn and Raven come up with a plan to delay them."
"Murphy returns to the camp carrying a horrific virus created by the Grounders to weaken the camp. After learning the Grounders plan to attack the next day, Bellamy, Finn and Raven come up with a plan to delay them."
