Capping off the 40th anniversary year of Doctor Who, The Three Doctors takes us back to the 10th anniversary – bringing Patrick Troughton and, at least on film, William Hartnell together with the then-current Doctor, Jon Pertwee. In the commentary, producer Barry Letts mentions that this was less the product of brilliant inspiration and more a case of bowing to public pressure – hardly a day went by that someone didn’t suggest uniting the various personae of the Doctor. In hindsight, this may actually be the most successful multi-Doctor outing of them all. (more…)

An interesting king-sized episode, The Two Doctors takes the normally rather contrived multiple-incarnations-of-the-Doctor plot and runs with it, free of the trappings of having to celebrate any particular anniversary of the show. In this case, it takes on a slightly bittersweet quality, as Patrick Troughton died about a year after filming it, as did writer Robert Holmes, both of whom had played essential roles in the history of Doctor Who. (more…)

It had to wind down sooner or later, didn’t it? After breaking just about every possible mold of the Star Trek franchise, Deep Space Nine reached its final year, and still managed to pack quite a few surprises. Quite a few fans were incensed by Terry Farrell’s somewhat surprising exodus the previous year – unable to negotiate a raise for herself with Paramount, the actress left Deep Space Nine for greener pastures and joined the cast of a new CBS sitcom called Becker – but it’s hard to argue that the almost Time Lord-ian replacement of Jadzia Dax didn’t offer plenty of new opportunities for stories and relationship shake-ups. At the risk of angering Ms. Farrell’s legion of fans, the change probably should’ve happened a year earlier. (more…)

featuring the episodes Mirror, Mirror and The Deadly Years

Few elements of Star Trek have been so eagerly spoofed as the Mirror, Mirror universe – everything from comedy knockoffs to Mystery Science Theater 3000 have made fun of it. Now that’s funny; what was less funny was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s appropriation of the mirror universe as its own annual “stunt.” Compared to those future outings, the original Mirror, Mirror is sublimely subtle by comparison. (more…)

A bunch of shiny round things about a search for a shining beacon called Earth? Count me in. Though my somewhat jaded adulthood has made me question at times whether or not Battlestar Galactica was even remotely original or engaging in any way, there’s something about just watching the show that makes all of that skepticism melt away. For its time – 1978, only a year and a few months after a little movie called Star Wars raised the bar on what science fiction should look like in a motion picture medium – Battlestar Galactica was the pinnacle of television SF in the 70s to many viewers. Its effects alone stole the crown from Space: 1999, Blake’s 7 and Doctor Who, and it reeled fans of literary SF in with the ambitious promise – one not always paid off – of an over-arching storyline spanning the entire series. (more…)