Month: June 1999

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Spinoff: Crusade

War Zone

CrusadeIn the aftermath of the Drakh War, Earth Alliance ships pursue remnants of the Drakh fleet. The government has moved to Mars, and those trapped behind the Earth quarantine have already begun to surrender to despair. The EA assembles a team of scientists and soldiers to crew the Excalibur and search the galaxy for any clue that may lead to a cure before all life on Earth ends. Despite the government’s attempt to maintain control of this politically delciate mission, two participants in the War are determined to take their place in the effort. On its shakedown cruise, the Excalibur has its first opportunity for action: save a team of archaeologists from an advancing Drakh army, and salvage the Drakh’s fallen ship.

Order the DVDswritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Janet Greek
music by Evan H. Chen

Cast: Gary Cole (Captain Matthew Gideon), Tracy Scoggins (Captain Elizabeth Lochley), Daniel Dae Kim (Lt. Matheson), Carrie Dobro (Dureena Nafeel), David Allen Brooks (Max Eilerson), Marjean Holden (Dr. Sarah Chambers), Peter Woodward (Galen), Alex Mendoza (Trace Miller), Tim Thomerson (Sentator McQuate), Chris Comes (Aide), Maggie Egan (ISN Anchor), Don Fischer (Captain Henson), Mark Hendrickson (Drakh Captain), Elijah Majar (Crew #1), Rebecca Markham (Sam), Brook Parker (Lieutenant Ross), John Sanderford (Mr. Ames), Will Schaub (Jenson), Otto Sturcke (Ensign)

Notes: The episode Racing The Night was originally intended to lead off the series, but TNT insisted that series creator J. Michael Straczynski turn in a script with more action and introductions to the characters (since production delays meant that Crusade didn’t premiere until half a year after the Babylon 5 movie A Call To Arms, which was meant to segue between the two series). As such, the inclusion of elements like the mutiny aboard Gideon’s ship and the obviously 20th century news footage were last-minute additions. Galen and Dureena were both introduced in A Call To Arms, as was the Excalibur herself; Marjean Holden also appeared in that movie, though not in her regular Crusade role of Dr. Sarah Chambers.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer with notes by Earl Green

Categories
Movies

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeTime-lagged super-spy Austin Powers is astonished to discover that his beautiful bride is, in fact, one of Dr. Evil’s fem-bots. And that isn’t the only trick up the evil genius’ sleeve – he has constructed a time machine so he can travel back to the late 60s, steal Austin’s mojo, and place an enormous laser on the moon which will put the entire world in his command, under threat of a powerful blast from orbit. (Why he couldn’t simply do this in 1999 is…well…a matter for another movie.) Austin must also return to the 60s, recover his mojo, and stop Dr. Evil and the diabolically diminutive Mini-Me from taking over the world (and if the opportunity presents itself for a quick round of shagging, Austin won’t hesitate to do that either).

screenplay by Mike Myers & Michael McCullers
directed by Jay Roach
music by George S. Clinton

Cast: Mike Myers (Austin Powers), Mike Myers (Dr. Evil), Mike Myers (Fat Bastard), Heather Graham (Felicity Shagwell), Michael York (Basil Exposition), Robert Wagner (Number Two), Rob Lowe (Young Number Two), Seth Green (Scott Evil), Mindy Sterling (Frau Fabrissina), Verne J. Troyer (Mini-Me), Elizabeth Hurley (Vanessa), Gia Carides (Robin Swallows), Oliver Muirhead (British Colonel), George Kee Cheung (Chinese Teacher), Jeffrey Meng (Chinese Student), Muse Watson (Klansman), Scott Cooper (Klansman’s son), Douglas Fisher (Man), Kevin Cooney (NORAD Colonel), Clint Howard (Radar Operator Peters), Brian Brooks (Pilot), David Koechner (Co-pilot), Frank Clem (Guitarist with Willie Nelson), Herb Mitchell (Sergeant), Steve Eastin (Umpire), Jane Carr (Woman), Kevin Durand (Assassin), Melissa Justin (Chick #2 at party), Nicholas Walker (Captain of the Guard), Steve Hibbert (Guard at jail cell), David Coy, David Crigger, Tom Ehlen, Dennis Wilson (Carnaby Street band), Eric Winzenreid (Private Army Soldier), Tim Bagley (Friendly dad), Colton James (Friendly son), Mike Hagerty (Peanut vendor), Jack Kehler (Circus barker), Kirk Ward (Soldier), Jeff Garlin (Cyclops), Rachel Wilson (Woody’s fan), Jennifer Coolidge (Woman at football game), John Mahon (NATO Colonel), Michael McDonald (NATO soldier), Jeanette Miller (Teacher), Mary Jo Smith (Unibrau), Carrie Ann Inara, Jennifer Hamilton, Ayesha Orange, Natalie Willes (Felicity’s dancers), John Corella, Alison Waulk, Michelle Elkin, Shealan Spencer, Tovaris Wilson (Party dancers)

Appearing as themselves: Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Woody Harrelson, Willie Nelson, Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Jerry Springer

LogBook entry and review by Earl Green

Review: Previously, I waxed rhapsodic about the uneven Pleasantville, asking myself if it was a brilliant chunk of celluloid or if it was a big mess. No such quandary with Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. This film is a big mess – a very funny mess at times, but still a mess.

I’ll confess up front that I passed on the first Austin Powers flick, as Mike Myers just really isn’t my cup of tea. But after a number of friends recommended it to me as the funniest thing they’d seen in 1999 (obviously, they hadn’t seen Bowfinger), I splurged and got the DVD.

Mike Myers’ over-the-top performance is charming in a lot of places, and it has to be in order to carry the whole movie along. The script, though it has its moments, is thinner than the paper on which it was printed. The real highlight of the movie is Dr. Evil and his secret plot to use a giant laser – dubbed “the Alan Parsons Project” (just one of many throwaway jokes about which a great deal of noise is made, in direct proportion to how funny the joke actually is). The bizarre dynamics of the bad guys is incredibly amusing, so much more so than the protagonists. The honest truth is that Michael York is the funniest of our heroes, mainly because this is just about the last movie in which one would expect him to be involved. Heather Graham got a lot of buzz from this movie, but she was much better in Bowfinger.

There’s barely a plot to the whole thing, so the main question is: is it funny? Well…sort of. Almost. In places…not at all. For example, the basic premise that Austin would accidentally drink Fat Bastard’s stool sample is amusing (disgusting, yes, but still funny), but the gag-inducing gag is drawn out for such a long time, with such an obvious conclusion, that it loses more belly-laugh potential with each passing second. Now, had Austin taken a swig of the “tea” and then proclaimed that it tasted like shit…that would’ve been funny. Still very sophomoric and predictable humor, but the impact of the moment would have compensated for it a little. Several potentially hilarious jokes are ruined in a similar fashion throughout the movie.

There are two scenes that keep me in stitches every time, though: a pair of montages in which Clint Howard, as a NORAD operator tracking Dr. Evil’s strangely phallic escape rocket, sets off a chain reaction of various short scenes and cameo appearances in which almost every possible colloquialism for the male reproductive organ is exhausted. While it’s still pretty juvenile humor, it still gets a big laugh out of me every time.

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me – hopefully the spy spoof’s stopping point rather than the jumping-off point for a new franchise – is good for a laugh if you’ve had a long day and your brain is already shut down for the evening. Trust me, you won’t need to use it to watch this one.

Categories
Farscape Season 1

That Old Black Magic

  • By Dave
  • June 11, 1999

FarscapeWhen a stranger appears to Crichton and claims to be a magician, Crichton is skeptical. When the stranger demonstrates his knowledge of Crichton’s predicament and offers to help him settle things with Crais, however, skepticism turns to interest. The deal is not quite what it seems, however – while the stranger does bring Crais and Crichton together, he does so by separating their spirits from their bodies, trapping the former in his stronghold. Crichton seeks to enlist Crais’ help in overcoming their captor, but Crais’s thoughts are only on revenge – and his corporeal form is a price he’s more than willing to pay. Crichton’s only hope may be in Zhaan reconnecting with a part of herself she hoped she had left behind for good, one that could cost her her very way of life.

Order the DVDswritten by Richard Manning
directed by Brendan Maher
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Lani Tupu (Captain Bialar Crais), Chris Haywood (Maldis/Igg/Haloth), Grant Bowler (Liko), Christine Stephen-Daly (Lt. Teeg), Jake Blundell (Lt. Om), Wadih Dona (Tauvo Crais), Vic Rooney (Admiral Josbek)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Spinoff: Crusade

The Long Road

CrusadeSome time ago, Earth colonists discovered a planet whose water supply contains an anti-viral agent. An EA destroyer sets up a mining operation near the planet’s major settlement, a group of humans who voluntarily live with 1800’s-era technology. The locals, however, are opposed, and somehow they are causing all sorts of mischief – including the appearance of a giant golden dragon – to impede the effort. The destroyer captain enlists Gideon’s aid, and Galen arranges for him to meet the locals’ protector, an exiled Technomage named Alwyn. Before they can reach some agreement, the locals take hostages, and the captain sends troops. With no one willing to compromise in the resulting standoff, Alwyn resolves to take matters into his own hands, and forces Gideon to decide whose lives are to be saved.

Order the DVDswritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Mike Vejar
music by Evan H. Chen

Cast: Gary Cole (Captain Matthew Gideon), Tracy Scoggins (Captain Elizabeth Lochley), Daniel Dae Kim (Lt. Matheson), Carrie Dobro (Dureena Nafeel), David Allen Brooks (Max Eilerson), Marjean Holden (Dr. Sarah Chambers), Peter Woodward (Galen), Edward Woodward (Alwyn), Alison Lohman (Claire), Scott Paetty (Lieutenant Meyers), Mik Scriba (Barkeep), Marshall Teague (Captain Daniels), Michael O’Connell (Worker #2), Sophia Santi (Worker #1), Rex Ryon (First man)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Farscape Season 1

DNA Mad Scientist

  • By Dave
  • June 18, 1999

FarscapeZhaan, D’Argo, Crichton and Rygel enlist the aid of Namtar, a famed genetic researcher whose database of 11,000 species might include star charts back to their home worlds. While Earth proves beyond even Namtar’s reach, he offers maps to the other three for a small price – one of Pilot’s arms. To Crichton’s shock and Pilot’s consternation, they agree, taking the limb by force. When the data crystal with the maps arrive, however, the three discover that Moya’s computers can not handle the avalanche of data, and that the only way to salvage even one of the maps is to destroy the other two. While Zhan, Rygel and D’Argo scheme with and against each other, the prospect of anyone returning home reminds Aeryn of her isolation from the Peacekeepers, and asks Namtar to find her a Sebacean colony somewhere where she might fit in. Instead, the scientist uses Aeryn as a test subject for a new genetic graft, by which he intends to assimilate Pilot’s multitasking abilities into himself. Crichton must find a way to rescue Aeryn before someone wins the battle of wills, and Moya departs the Uncharted Territories forever.

Order the DVDswritten by Tom Bloquist
directed by Andrew Prowse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Adrian Getley (Namtar – Movement), Julian Garner (Namtar – Voice), Sarah Burns (Kornata)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Spinoff: Crusade

The Well of Forever

CrusadeAn investigator from the Department of Telepathic Integration arrives on the Excalibur to examine Matheson. This Mr. Jones is particularly eager to find a flaw in Matheson, whose part in this prestigious mission has made him something of a role model to telepaths. Galen asks Gideon to bring the ship deep into hyperspace in search of the Well of Forever, which Galen promises holds the answers to whatever questions the crew might hold in their hearts. Dureena suspects Galen’s motives, while Eilerson doesn’t care as long as something profitable may lie at the end of the journey. When the ship arrives at Galen’s coordinates and finds nothing there, Gideon resolves to turn back…prompting Galen to betray his trust, and possibly the ship’s safety, in order to fulfill a promise.

Order the DVDswritten by Fiona Avery
directed by Janet Greek
music by Evan H. Chen

Cast: Gary Cole (Captain Matthew Gideon), Tracy Scoggins (Captain Elizabeth Lochley), Daniel Dae Kim (Lt. Matheson), Carrie Dobro (Dureena Nafeel), David Allen Brooks (Max Eilerson), Marjean Holden (Dr. Sarah Chambers), Peter Woodward (Galen), Michael Beck (Mr. Jones), David A. Saunders (Navigation), Joe Wandell (Communications officer)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Season 03 SG-1 Stargate

Into The Fire

Stargate SG-1One of the other SG teams returns to General Hammond with news from the Tok’ra about SG-1’s capture. The General finds no shortage of volunteers willing to mount a rescue mission. On his own after taking his leave of the SGC, Teal’c tries to go home to Chu’lak through the gate and finds Master Bra’tac of the Jaffa resistance, tortured and starved; Bra’tac tells Teal’c that even without Apophis, the Free Jaffa movement has faltered. Aboard Hathor’s ship, Hathor decides O’Neill will become a Goa’uld host, and Daniel and Carter are powerless to do anything but watch. Moments after the symbiote burrows into the Colonel’s neck, SG teams arrive on the ship and begin taking out Hathor’s mixed force of Serpent and Horus guards. Hathor leaves to personally take command of her guards, and one of O’Neill’s caotirs reveals herself to be a Tok’ra operative – and promptly subjects him to the cryogenic freezing process again, claiming it will prevent the symbiote from integrating itself into his consciousness. But O’Neill is on his own – when Colonel Makepeace loses contact with his men at the planetside stargate, he orders Carter and Daniel to join his team and leave O’Neill behind. On the planet, they find themselves overwhelmed by Goa’uld forces. When General Hammond is able to briefly make contact with the team before the MALP relaying his transmission is destroyed, he discovers his people are in trouble – but when he tries to follow Teal’c to Chu’lak to ask for help from the Free Jaffa, he finds that Teal’c is struggling to keep the resistance alive, let alone organized as a fighting force.

Season 3 Regular Cast: Richard Dean Anderson (Colonel Jack O’Neill), Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson), Amanda Tapping (Major Samantha Carter), Christopher Judge (Teal’c), Don S. Davis (General Hammond)

Order the DVDswritten by Brad Wright
directed by Martin Wood
music by Joel Goldsmith
main theme adapted from music by David Arnold

Guest Cast: Tony Amendola (Bra’tac), Suanne Braun (Hathor), Tom Butler (Trofsky), Colin Cunningham (Major Davis), Samantha Ferris (Raully), Gary Jones (Technician), Steve Makaj (Colonel Makepeace), Kelly Dean Sereda (Lieutenant), Oliver Svensson-Tan (Marine), Alicia Thorgrimsson (Jaffa)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Farscape Season 1

They’ve Got a Secret

  • By Dave
  • June 25, 1999

FarscapeIn the midst of another search for hidden Peacekeeper devices, D’Argo triggers an explosion that hurls him outside Moya. Aeryn retrieves him in her Prowler and Zhaan revives him, but the injured Luxan suffers from hallucinations, believing his shipmates to be his family. Moya also seems to recover poorly from the accident, as life support and other systems begin to fail, the DRDs begin to attack the crew and Pilot himself loses consciousness. While the crew tries to unravel the mystery of Moya’s behavior, D’Argo’s delusions gradually reveal his own secrets, including the true nature of his crimes.

Order the DVDswritten by Sally Lapiduss
directed by Ian Watson
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Alison Fox (Lo’Laan), Grant Magee (Jothee)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Spinoff: Crusade

The Path of Sorrows

CrusadeThe crew brings a seemingly-imprisoned alien aboard the Excalibur. Although it is completely cut off from physical contact with anyone, Gideon discovers that it is able to communicate. It forces him to relive first his abandonment by his ship as it unsuccessfully fled a Shadow vessel, and then his winning of a strange box in a poker game from a man who seemed happy to lose it. Expecting the creature to use this information against him, he is surprised when it instead offers forgiveness. Matheson also receives forgiveness for an episode from his past – his inadverdent role in the destruction of a Psi Corps base during the Telepath War. Galen, however, accuses the creature of feeding off the others’ pain and refuses to accept that it values forgiveness. Seeking to discover why, the creature and Galen relive the slow death of his lover, betrayed by other technomages and stranded without any of their technology and equipment. In his grief, Galen denies the possibility of any plan or order to the universe, unable to believe that any design would include her death, and Isabell promises to prove him wrong. After the creature is returned to its home, for other travlers to find, Matheson offers Galen a hint that the promise has ben fulfilled…if he can believe in the impossible.

Order the DVDswritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Mike Vejar
music by Evan H. Chen

Cast: Gary Cole (Captain Matthew Gideon), Tracy Scoggins (Captain Elizabeth Lochley), Daniel Dae Kim (Lt. Matheson), Carrie Dobro (Dureena Nafeel), David Allen Brooks (Max Eilerson), Marjean Holden (Dr. Sarah Chambers), Peter Woodward (Galen), Mark Blankfield (Jenson), Gary Graham (Bruder), Sophie Ward (Isabelle), Dawn Stern (Allison), Daniel Guzman (XO), Kevin Major Howard (Officer), Matt O’Toole (First man), Patrick St. Esprit (Captain Ross)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer