Love him or hate him, Keanu Reeves is the face of sci-fi for a generation of movie-goers. He was Neo in The Matrix. He kinda/sorta took over our planet in The Day The Earth Stood Still remake (the original is still better). And he traveled through time, all for the purposes of doing a book report, in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Mr. Reeves remains a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood, and he celebrates his birthday today, born on this day back in 1964. Party on, dude!
Martin Miller nearly amassed one hundred different screen credits in his time on the Earthly plane. Perhaps one of his best remembered roles was as 'Kublai Khan' in Doctor Who's very first season. Though he's no longer with us, Miller was born on this day in 1899. [Source: IMDB.com]
Eileen Way joined Tom Baker aboard "The Creature From The Pit," a late-1970's serial from the BBC's long-running Doctor Who. Though she's no longer with us, Way was born on this day in 1911. [Source: IMDB.com]
That tall fellow? The one in the black head-dress and the frilly curtain about his shouders? The guy standing next to the sneering Klingon? That is none other than Michael Dante in the guise of Maab from the Star Trek second season episode, "Friday's Child." The talented actor also sported appearances aboard Get Smart (1966) and The Six Million Dollar Man (1974). Dante was born on this day in 1931.
"If you're going to be an extra in only a single episode of episodic television, then you damn well better make it a good one." That's what grandma used to say. Grandma always was a little weird. In any event, Robert Chadwick heeded her advice, though he undoubtedly never heard it from my grandma. He had a role in the classic Star Trek episode, "Balance Of Terror," as the Romulan Scanner Operator. He also booked roles in The Outer Limits (1965) and Irwin Allen's Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (1965). Though he's no longer with us, Chadwick was born on this day in 1933.
In an episode of the classic Battlestar Galactica, Ben Frank played one of the meddlers questioning authority in "Murder on the Rising Star." Though he's no longer with us, Frank was born on this day in 1934.
Veteran comic book artist and scribe Walter Simonson celebrates his birthday today. He's contributed to such ongoing comic book properties as Batman, The Hulk, Star Trek, and Star Wars. Simonson was born on this day in 1946.
Despite a relatively high Klingon presence as part of several of the more modern Star Trek television series, I tend to prefer their portrayal in the classic Trek universe (the original program and its movies) far more than these modern age aliens. Call me naive, but the old-school Klingons seemed more authentic. In any event, Rosana DeSoto played a Klingon female to sublime effect as part of Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country. DeSoto was born on this day in 1950.
In the mid-1970's TV program Shazam!, young Michael Gray (above right) played the 'Billy Batson,' the human charged with maintaining custody of the mighty superhero. Gray was born on this day in 1951. [Source: IMDB.com]
Early in his career, Mark Harmon knew something was fishy in Goliath Awaits, a 1981 SciFi telefilm about a group of survivors trapped beneath the sea. Harmon was born on this day in 1951.
With over 100 screen roles to her name, I'm actually quite surprised that the lovely Linda Purl hasn't done more Science Fiction and Fantasy. A review of her IMDB.com profile only shows a few: Time Travellers (1966) and HBO's True Blood. Dang. Purl was born on this day in 1955. [Source: IMDB.com]
No matter how utterly inviting the prospect of seeing Salma Hayek in 3D might sound, I still can't bring myself to watch Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003). Hayek was born on this day in 1966. [Source: IMDB.com]
When writer/director Stephen Sommers rebooted The Mummy (1999) for a whole new generation of fans, he cast the talented Tuc Watkins in the role of Mr. Burns. The actor has also appeared aboard Infested (2002) and Syfy's Warehouse 13. Watkins was born on this day in 1966. [Source: IMDB.com]
The lovely Cynthia Watros was only one of the lovely ladies that made up part of the ensemble at the core to ABC TV's Lost. She hasn't done much genre-specific work since that time, but I for one would welcome her pretty face back any time she likes. Watros was born on this day in 1968.
One of my personal favorites TV-based SciFi programs ever remains Fox TV's Space: Above and Beyond. In it, firecracker-hot Kristen Cloke played space-based fighter pilot Lt. Shane Vansen to perfection. Sadly, the show only lasted a season and ended on a massive cliffhanger, but Vansen lives on in the imagination of fans everywhere. Cloke was born on this day in 1968.
Nicholas Pinnock's acting portfolio continues to grow. Genre fans might recognize him from work aboard The Deep, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and Monsters: Dark Continent (2014). Pinnock was born on this day in 1973. [Source: IMDB.com]
Though it looks as though her career steers more toward conventional programming, the lovely Tiffany Hines did manage to squeeze a role into the SciFi/Miniseries Meteor back in 2009. Here's hoping she finds a few more right up our alley! Hines was born on this day in 1983. [Source: IMDB.com]
Terra Nova was one of those programs that had great promise: methinks the problem was it was shackled with a creative crew who had absolutely no idea of how to tap into it. That isn't for a lack of talent in front of the camera, though. Allison Miller played Skye to some fan acclaim. Miller was born on this day in 1985.
Young Yani Gellman (pictured above left) faced the real 'Final Frontier' along with the nefarious Jason Voorhees when that franchise zipped forward to the 25th Century with Jason X. Gellman was born on this day in 1985.
Young Austin Abrams tried to be a force to reckon with in the Fantasy-themed The Walking Dead for AMC; sadly, few folks get out of that show alive. Abrams was born on this day in 1996. [Source: IMDB.com]
On this day in 1957 (in Sweden), the Horror/SciFi hybrid The Deadly Mantis tried to sink its teeth ... er ... arms ... er ... claw-things into mankind. The feature starred Craig Stevens and William Hopper, and here's the premise compliments of IMDB.com:
"A giant prehistoric praying mantis, recently freed from the Arctic ice, voraciously preys on American military at the DEW Line and works its way south."
"A giant prehistoric praying mantis, recently freed from the Arctic ice, voraciously preys on American military at the DEW Line and works its way south."
On this day in 1983, the SciFi/Actioner Stryker dropped into theatres. The film starred Steve Sandor and Andrea Savio, and here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:
"The world's water supply has dried up due to some sort of apocalypse. A beautiful woman holds the secret to where one of the last springs being guarded by a group of Amazons. A "Road Warrior" like crew captures her and tries to make her talk through brutal torture. The hero (Styrker) unites with some of the remaining "good guys" and the Amazons and frees the woman. They go on to a "Road Warrior" type of concluding battle with the bad guys."
"The world's water supply has dried up due to some sort of apocalypse. A beautiful woman holds the secret to where one of the last springs being guarded by a group of Amazons. A "Road Warrior" like crew captures her and tries to make her talk through brutal torture. The hero (Styrker) unites with some of the remaining "good guys" and the Amazons and frees the woman. They go on to a "Road Warrior" type of concluding battle with the bad guys."
From what I can tell, most folks really hate the whole 'found footage' flick format, but I kinda/sorta dig it. There's a rawness to the storytelling that I appreciate, but I hate the herky-jerky camera work as much as the next person. Still -- on this day in 2011 -- Apollo 18 gave us a look at the real reason (wink wink) behind the end of the American exploration of the moon, and I found that definitely an entertaining bit of 'found footage.' Here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:
"Decades-old found footage from NASA's abandoned Apollo 18 mission, where two American astronauts were sent on a secret expedition, reveals the reason the U.S. has never returned to the moon."
"Decades-old found footage from NASA's abandoned Apollo 18 mission, where two American astronauts were sent on a secret expedition, reveals the reason the U.S. has never returned to the moon."
All hail Robotropolis! Well, maybe not so much "hail" but just try not to laugh at it! Opening on this day in 2011 (in the United Kingdom, no less), Robotropolis starred Zoe Naylor and Graham Sibley, and -- according to our friends at IMDB.com -- here's what all of the fuss was about:
"A group of reporters are covering the unveiling of a new facility that is completely maintained by robot prototypes. When one of the robots goes haywire, the reporters find themselves not just reporting on the malfunction, but fighting for their lives."
"A group of reporters are covering the unveiling of a new facility that is completely maintained by robot prototypes. When one of the robots goes haywire, the reporters find themselves not just reporting on the malfunction, but fighting for their lives."
On this day in 2016, Scott Free Productions released the Artificial Intelligence thriller Morgan to the general public. The film starred Kate Mara and Anya Taylor-Joy, and here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:
"A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being."
"A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being."
- If you want to know more, then check out SciFiHistory.Net's review of Morgan right here.
