The (Un)necessary Remake Dept – Wing Commander (1999)

Gerry Anderson, it could be argued, was one of the first producers of science fiction to see what a tremendous role hardware design, such as spaceships, could play.  In virtually all his television series and movies, design has been crucial (more often than not, to the detriment of character development).  In fact, the Eagle from Space: 1999, […]

Thunderbirds Are Go! – Trailer

The official trailer for ITV’s The Thunderbirds Are Go! has dropped, and I like the way that they tried to integrate practical sets with CGI people and vehicles. (I also liked what appears to be a shoutout to Gerry Anderson’s Space: 1999, shown below). Unfortunately, despite efforts to make the CGI characters look like puppets […]

Thunderbirds Are Go! Goes Practical (Sort Of)

Gerry Anderson as a producer has always fascinated me.  Despite being behind some of the most innovative puppet (Supermarionation)-based television series, he was never entirely satisfied with working with them, and always wanted to work with flesh and blood actors. That being said, he first time that he did so, in UFO, Journey To The Far Side […]

Black Sea – Review

“Somebody said that the road to Hell…” “…is paved with good intentions.  And apparently, the road to Heaven as well.” Doctor Helena Russell (Barbara Bain) to Ernst Queller (Jeremy Kemp) from the Year One Space: 1999 episode, Voyager’s Return And while he didn’t have a reason to, Queller should have included “beneath the sea” as well. […]

‘Zeroids vs. Cubes’ Coming Soon!

There is no doubt that Gerry Anderson, the creator of iconic series like The Thunderbirds, Terrahawks, UFO, Space: 1999 and Space Precinct, is a creative genius. That being said, I don’t think that he ever really grasped the potential of the Internet, as a creative avenue to enhance his existing series, or introduce new ideas, […]

Gerry Anderson’s ‘Firestorm’ On Kickstarter!

Gerry Anderson, the prolific British producer of shows like Space Precinct, UFO, Space: 1999, Terrahawks and Thunderbirds, died in 2012 but despite that fact he’s in a sense back with a new series, Firestorm, with the initial episodes being funded via Kickstarter. As I said, Anderson embarked upon the greatest adventure two years ago, though before […]

Practically Speaking

If you’re a big fan of movies, particularly horror and sci-fi, you’ve probably taken a position on whether or not movies should use CGI (computer-generated imagery) or practical effects (which include prosthetics, animatronics, models and miniatures). Personally, I am a HUGE fans of practical effects.  That being said, I understand that there are things that you […]

‘Rosemary’s Baby’ Reboot

This is going to sound like sacrilege, but I have to say it:  I never liked Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby.”  There, my secret is out.  It’s treated like some sort of classic of slow-burn horror by most people who have seen it, but from what I could tell, it’s just slow.  In some ways the […]