JG Judgementally Comments...

Telefantasy – Ten Programmes Vital To An Understanding Of The Genre

Exploring science-fiction on the small screen, from its inception right up to the 21st century.

Introduction

Telefantasy (or television sci-fi, or sci-fi on television, or fantasy sci-fi, or any one of many monikers) is one of those terms that covers a wide range of programming and has been around from the mid-40’s in America. The first notable science fiction show was the marvelously-named children’s programme Captain Video And His Video Rangers, and in Britain sci-fi was launched in 1938 with an adaptation of Karel Capek’s almost indescribably influential R.U.R.

Reverse The Polarity Of The Language Flow

A short discussion on how language and its use can be used for good or ill.

Language, it is not a particularly original insight to make, is both one of humanity’s greatest achievements and one of its greatest weapons, and rarely in history have we seen it used more for the second of those than the first. Spluttering headlines about how “YOU… [insert alleged scandal here]” or how “THEY [insert apparent rip-off there]” scream at us from every newsagent, supermarket and even airport gates. It’s tediously inescapable. We live in an era where, at least as far as traditional print media goes, we are rarely informed about the news so much as we are informed of other people’s opinions about the news. And that’s quite a significant deficit.

Tunnel

Korean sci-fi and some groundworks – a recipie for success!

What’s The Show? Tunnel

What’s It All About, JG? It’s a Korean series from 2017 about a detective who, while pursuing a murder suspect in 1986, is transported forward in time thirty years via the titular tunnel. Upon arrival he takes the place of another officer with the same name – Park Gwang-ho – and bluffs his way into his life. That Park Gwang-ho was also a police officer, so Our Hero gets partnered up – in the police sense – with Kim Seon-jae, a contemporary detective who’s investigating a serial killer whose modus operandi is the same as the one Gwang-ho was pursuing when he got caught up in all this. It’s a sort of reverse Life On Mars, in other words, with the detective going forward in time not back, a bit of culture-clash comedy, a genuinely compelling case at the core of the show, and a bunch of soap-opera antics to keep us amused while that main plot ticks away. Will Gwang-ho be able to catch the serial killer and return to the love of his life back in 1986?

The Father

Small-scale, big emotional impact

What’s The Movie? The Father

What’s It All About, JG? What it’s about is Anthony Hopkins giving an Oscar-worthy performance, but more specifically it’s about Anthony, an old man suffering from dementia trying to navigate his way through a life which he sees as entirely rational yet which clearly isn’t. There are details that escape him, sometimes small things like where he’s left his watch, and sometimes much larger things, like failing to remember what happened to his “other” daughter, never explicitly revealed though implicitly she’s dead – there’s reference to an “accident” but little more detail is forthcoming. Sometimes when he’s looking at his daughter he sees a different woman. Sometimes when he’s talking to her… husband? boyfriend? …. he sees different men. We slide in and out of Anthony’s perspective throughout the movie, always seeing things from his point of view, until finally it ends with him in a nursing home being cared for and it’s unclear how much, if any, of the details we have seen have represent reality.

The Equalizer

A revival of a revival of an original – can that possibly work?

What’s The Show? The Equalizer.

What’s It All About, JG? Well, back in the dim and distant days of the 80’s, when bubble perms were acceptable and day-glo was somehow alright to wear for a night on the town, Edward Woodward defended the lost and in-trouble of New York City who had no-one else to turn to. It was all exceedingly 80’s, with a moody synth theme tune, grubby locations and ice-cool Robert McCall as played deadpan-straight by Woodward. Then, in the dim and distant days of *checks date*, erm 2014, the series became a movie, starring ice-cool Denzel Washington as Robert McCall – in other words it was exactly the same. But wait! Now, in the dim but extremely present day of 2021, we have a third go-around, this time starring Queen Latifah, as ice… no wait, that’s not it. She’s exceedingly cool but the ice has gone this time out, instead playing Robyn McCall (no relation) as someone who’s driven to help people but is also balancing a family life at the same time. It is, in other words, every bit as 2021 as the original series was 80’s.

Kim’s Convenience

Can Canadians do sit-coms?

What’s The Show? Kim’s Convenience

What’s It All About, JG? It’s a Canadian sitcom about a Korean-Canadian immigrant family who run a convenience store in Toronto. It’s all very traditionally sitcom-y, with the patriarch of the family, Appa, running the titular store and family life revolving around it. That family life includes a n’er-do-well son trying to make things right after a spate of petty teenage crime led to a rift between him and his father, a loyal daughter trying to do the right thing by her family which trying to assert her independence, and Umma, the matriarch who, at least on the surface, feels more grounded yet can spin out just as easily as anyone else given the right circumstances. In other words, it’s a family sitcom. What that summary fails to do, though, is sum up how unutterably charming and delightful the show is. Which may be a bit of a spoiler for what’s coming up…

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Spock’s dead! But don’t worry, it won’t last. Uh… spoilers?

What’s The Movie?Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Pre-Existing Prejudices:
It’s the first of two films to be directed by Leonard Nimoy, who carved out a niche for himself as a director after this. It’s also the first time we have the chance to tackle “the curse of the odd numbered movies”, the true-in-popular-culture idea that when it comes to Star Trek films, the even-numbered ones are good, the odd-numbered ones are not (though if we follow numerical sequence, that would make Nemesis – the least beloved of just about any Trek movie – Star Trek X: Nemesis, where I suspect most fans might suggest this theory goes a bit wrong). I haven’t seen this is a good couple of decades, maybe longer, and my residual memories of it are very variable, so I’m looking forward to revisiting it.

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

Can Khan still captivate or is it time to can the Khan?

What’s The Movie? Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

Pre-Existing Prejudices: It’s a sequel to godawful TOS episode “Space Seed”, so it’s got that baggage to carry. It’s got Ricardo Montalban giving the kind of subtle, understated performances that Ricardo Montalban is known for (he’s still amazing). But, more than anything else, it’s The Wrath Of Khan, fanboy favourite and beloved franchise restorer after the misfire of The Motion Picture. I wonder if it will live up to its reputation? Mmm.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The slow-motion picture! But does the crew’s first outing deserve its slow and ponderous reputation?

What’s The Movie? Star Trek: The Motion Picture

So here we have the debut cinematic outing for the original crew of the Enterprise as the band get back together for their first venture onto the silver screen (plus a couple of session players, it seems). But does the movie live up to its slow, ponderous reputation?

Pre-Existing Prejudices:
Well, there’s that ponderous reputation for starters. The film is often referred to as The Motionless Picture or The Slow-Motion Picture, and has a standing that suggests “good attempt, didn’t work out” is about as generous as one could be. Putting that aside I know the Riker/Troi relationship from TNG is basically a carbon copy of the Dekker/Ilea one from this movie. I doubt I’ve seen this in… twenty-five years though, so I am going in as open-minded as is possible.

Godzilla vs Kong

Monkey punch lizard punch monkey punch lizard. For two hours. What more do you need to know?

What’s The Movie? Godzilla vs Kong

What’s It All About, JG? If you can’t work it out from the title, I’m not sure what I can do to help, really. Monsters fighting monsters (but then also fighting a robot). Surprise, right? Anyway the technically-there plot is that Godzilla attacks a research base unexpectedly while Kong, who has been taught basic sign-language by a deaf girl, is transported from Skull Island to help get into the Hollow Earth. Midway there, there’s a big slap-fight between Godzilla and Kong, then Kong does indeed get inside the Hollow Earth where there’s a throne-room where his people once ruled from (I guess?) and big-ass axe made from a previous Godzilla’s dorsal fin. Some people – all the humans, from the little deaf girl to major characters are all just “some people”, really – have built Mechagodzilla and it’s down to our deaf friend to convince Kong to stop fighting Actual Godzilla and team up to defeat the robot one. Which, in a vastly destructive Hong Kong sequence, they do. The movie ends with the two Titans going their separate ways and Kong ruling once more beneath the Earth.