Sci-Fi History: Star Trek (1966)

The network panned the original Star Trek pilot, but commissioned a second. By this point, Jeffrey Hunter bowed out and was replaced by William Shatner. In fact, only Leonard Nimoy returned from the original pilot. The new pilot was more action packed and was picked up. The Original Series lasted three seasons and recounted the adventures of the Starship Enterprise. The show tackled many topics other shows avoided. The episodes made it past the censors because they took place in outer space. Star Trek dealt with not only science fiction topics such as eugenics, but the Vietnam War, Cold War, racism, and other hot button issues. The show was cancelled after three years, but revived in reruns leading to a successful film franchise and several spin off TV shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdjL8WXjlGI

Sci-Fi History: Star Trek The Cage (1965)

Gene Roddenberry promised NBC a “Wagon Train to the stars” and delivered a pilot for Star Trek. The initial episode starred Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike. In the episode, Pike is captured by Talosians who have mastered the art of illusion. Their powers worked as a narcotic and the addicts lived vicariously through other species as their world died. The Talosians hoped to enslave Pike and another human to save their society and species. NBC brass thought the pilot too cerebral and ordered another pilot. Hunter would not return, so Roddenberry turned to William Shatner and Pike became James T. Kirk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4crko7wIbpw

Sci-Fi History: The Twilight Zone (1959-64)

Rod Serling created the first great Sci-Fi television series in 1959. The anthology series ran for five seasons and depicted unusual, or strange events, that generally ended with some sort of morality tale. Serling wrote or co-wrote 60% of the shows 156 episodes. On top of this, the guest stars featured either establish Hollywood types such as Burgess Meredith or up and coming actors like William Shatner, Robert Redford, and Robert Duvall. Two episodes, “To Serve Man” and “It’s A Good Life” rated in the TV Guide’s Top 100 Episodes of All Time. Several other episodes could have made the list. The show also featured a creepy theme song which automatically alerted viewers they were leaving this dimension. There were attempts to revive the series in 1985 and 2002.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b5aW08ivHU

Greatest Movie Heroes: Honorable Mentions

This is the first of three posts with my list of greatest movie heroes. These are the honorable mentions!

Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart)

The Omega Man (Charlton Heston)

Han Solo (Harrison Ford)

James T Kirk (William Shatner, Chris Pine)

Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster)

Robin Hood (Errol Flynn)

William Wallace (Mel Gibson)

Top 10 Twilight Zone Episodes

These are some of my faves. I guess I like the apocalyptic and time travel scenarios...

1. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Imagine being trapped in a tube at 20,000 feet with some creature determined to sabotage your flight. On top of this, no one believes your story. That is what makes this episode so effective. The claustrophobic environment, the helplessness, the knowledge that no one could help, and the monster itself. Having a young William Shatner, aka James T. Kirk, in the title role furthers the ambient fear.


2. Time Enough At Last: Burgess Meredith stars as a man that wants to be left alone with his books. He falls asleep in a bank vault as nuclear explosions signify the end of the world. Meredith awakens to find his dream has come true and then breaks his glasses.

3. Back There: Russell Johnson (the Professor from Gilligan’s Island) finds himself teleported back to the night Lincoln was shot. After some initial confusion, he desperately tries to alert the authorities and comes to the attention of John Wilkes Booth. In the end, Johnson can not change history on the macro level. However, he does manage to change the fortunes of a porter in his high society club after an encounter with the man’s ancestor. When he returns to 1961, the porter is now a rich club member.

4. The Dummy: Before Chucky, there was Willie. A ventriloquist (Cliff Robertson) believes his dummy (Willie) is alive and evil and locks it in a trunk. Why do wooden dummies scare people? Well, in the Twilight Zone, the evil Willie ends up switching places with the ventriloquist. The episode is made especially creepy by the mood lighting, shadows, and Willie’s cackling laughter.

5. The Howling Man: World War I devastated Europe. David Ellington (H.M. Bryant) is wandering through the postwar countryside and gets lost. He stops at a castle for help and collapses. The monks help Ellington who discovers they are holding a man captive. The man begs Ellington to help him escape, but Brother Jerome (John Carradine) warns that the captive is the Devil and if he is set loose, the world would suffer. Ellington does not believe Jerome and sets the Devil loose to launch World War II. Years later, Ellington tracks the Devil down and locks him up. It is his turn to warn his housekeeper to leave the man locked up, but she curiously removes the bar from the door.

6. The Midnight Sun: The world is ending. Earth is flinging itself toward the sun. Or is it? Just as it appears the world is going to be burned to a cinder, it appears that it is actually hurdling away from the sun. The Twilight Zone loved the apocalypse and this episode was prescient in that it predated the global cooling craze which was followed by the global warming craze.

7. The Masks: A dying millionaire makes his family wear masks to supposedly celebrate Mardi Gras. His real aim is to make them wear masks representing their horrid personalities. He forces them to keep the masks on until midnight or be disinherited. They acquiesce and when they remove them, they find that their faces have morphed into their masks.

8. The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms: Three national guardsmen from the present day end up in 1876 at the Little Big Horn. When their comrades search for the missing men, they find their names on a monument to the fallen.

9. A Stop at Willoughby: A poor, overworked, henpecked businessman wants to get away from the modern world. He sleeps on the train ride home from work and is transported to a pleasant turn of the century small town called Willoughby. The people are friendly and life is quiet. He longs for peace and rest. Eventually, he decides to stay in Willoughby rather than wake up. The townspeople embrace him and he goes off happily. His smiling body is found by the train conductor. The man jumped off the train in his sleep and was killed. Willoughby was the funeral home that took his body.

10. A Hundred Years Over the Rim: Another time travel episode…only this one has a happy ending! Cliff Robertson is a pioneer from 1847 and his son is sick with a high fever. So, he sets out searching for water and lands in the 1960s. While there, he procures the medicine that saves his son’s life. As a result of his time travel, the boy becomes a famous doctor.

The Greatest TV Episodes of All Time #71-80

71. Mythbusters: Escape from Alcatraz (2003): The Mythbusters break out of Alcatraz proving that it was possible for Frank Morris and the Anglin Brothers to escape. However, with the currents in San Francisco Bay, it is unlikely they survived.


http://www.metacafe.com/watch/196488/alcatraz_escape/

72. Bewitched: Little Pitchers Have Big Ears (1964): Samantha helps an insecure little boy make the neighborhood baseball team.

73. The Tonight Show: Carson’s Final Show (1992): Carson was the king of late night for 30 years. In 1992, he retired. His last show was an event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z84F6t-26Y

74. Beavis and Butthead: No Laughing (1993): Principle McVicker decides to bust Beavis and Butthead. So, they are not allowed to laugh in school. Naturally, the faculty decide to hold Sex Education classes that day.

75. Boston Legal: Last Call (2008): Denny and Alan get married so Alan can inherit when Denny dies. Gay and Lesbian groups protest and file an injunction to stop the wedding. They lose and the two marry with Justice Scalia present.

76. The A-Team: The Big Squeeze (1985): The A-Team open their own Irish Pub, the Naked Lady, to take out a mobster demanding protection money from area businesses. Hannibal playing the pub owner, Sean O’Shay is killed, but comes back to life at the funeral home.

77. The Simpsons: The Springfield Files (1997): The Simpsons spoof the nineties sci-fi and paranormal craze. Leonard Nimoy, Chewbacca, David Duchovny, and Gillian Anderson guest star.

78. Married with Children: No Ma’am (1993): When the women get a bowling night and the strip club becomes a woman’s coffee house, someone must take a stand. Al forms the National Organization of Men Against Amazon Masterhood and takes on “the masculine feminist” Jerry Springer.

79. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: I, Done (1996): Uncle Phil puts the house up for sale and the Jeffersons and Arnold and Mr. Drummond come to look it over. George Jefferson ends up purchasing it.

80. South Park: Cartman Gets an Anal Probe (1997): The very first episode of South Park featured Cartman’s abduction by aliens. This episode drove people nuts for its crude imagery. Canada was particularly offended and cut out the “offensive” material. In the end, the aliens determine cows are the most intelligent species on Earth.