:: theLogBook.com DVD Reviews ::

What a long, weird road these movies have had. Originally released in Britain in 1965, Doctor Who And The Daleks is a lightweight retelling of the first appearance of the dreaded Daleks in the BBC’s most famous SF series. The movie, since it revamps the show’s mythology a little bit (making the Doctor not a Time Lord but an absent-minded human scientist, though it’s important to remind ourselves that even by BBC-TV standards, the Doctor wasn’t a Time Lord until 1969, and wasn’t noticeably non-human until 1966). And out of necessity, it also rehashes some of the ground covered in the first episode as well. Cushing is about as different from William Hartnell’s Doctor as any of Hartnell’s TV successors were, but Cushing - most often identified with Hammer horror flicks and Grand Moff Tarkin - brings his own unique charm to the role. (more…)

I still remember reading those great Cinefantastique Magazine articles on each successive season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, wherein Mark A. Altman and company would wax enthusiastic on the past year’s adventures and talk extensively with the behind-the-scenes crew about how they were made. Much was made of Michael Piller and the writing staff strutting their stuff since season 3, and while I’ll admit that season 3 was my favorite, I felt season 5 wasn’t far behind - and with the addition of future Voyager co-creator Jeri Taylor, I also felt the writing was sharper. (more…)

featuring the episodes Premiere and I, E.T.

Farscape is a show that has always made a favorable impression on me, based in large part on its production design and the chemistry and likeability of many of its cast members. On the other hand, the writing itself has never been strong enough to pull me into becoming an every-week viewer or taper of the show. The DVD release of the first season has let me watch the show at my own pace, which is nice - but my initial views on the series inevitably color my opinions on the DVD and its features. (more…)

Recorded during ELO’s legendary week-long stand at Wembley Stadium during its 1978 tour in support of the best-selling Out Of The Blue, this concert - well-circulated on VHS over the years and an easy candidate for an early DVD revival - is a somewhat controversial document of ELO’s live act among both fans and critics. Put simply, there are many places where - even taking into account the multi-keyboard wizardry of Richard Tandy - there are more instruments pouring out of the speakers than there are on the stage. ELO was one of the first rock acts to invoke a debate on the merits of backing tapes during live shows, and on at least one number (the set-opener “Standing In The Rain”, no less), the video is simply overdubbed with the corresponding studio track. Nobody said this was Zoom Tour Live. (more…)

The first season of Red Dwarf premiered early in 1988 on BBC2, and it was a revelation - a buddy comedy that just happened to be set in deep space. While some sitcoms have used SF as a setting successfully (Quark) and less than successfully (the later UPN flop Homeboys In Outer Space), Red Dwarf was the first to hit the nail on the head, balancing the SF elements and some masterful character comedy. If not for Red Dwarf, it’s doubtful that more recent entities like Lexx would exist. (more…)