Category Archives: Fantasy

The Dresden Files Remains Magical

March 27, 2012   Dr. Monstrosity   No comments
The_Dresden_Files-logo

The Dresden Files (2007)
Episode 3

Dresden Files #3 Hair of the Dog continues the show’s high entertainment value, making me wonder yet again, why was this show cancelled after only one season?  Interestingly, all three episodes were written by different writers and directed by different directors, yet the quality remains high.  I hope the quality remains steady because the creative teams varied all season long.

Dresden is a down and out wizard for hire, trying to make ends meet by tagging along on the more mysterious police cases or doing investigative work for the possessed.  The show is based on the series of novels by Jim Butcher.  Dresden #3 was the best Dresden yet.  There’s some personal bias talking here because this episode was all about werewolves and I love werewolves!

Bob and Dresden

In this episode we meet a young lady whose friend has been killed.  Turns out she got mixed up with some lycanthropes.  Dresden (Paul Blackthorne) and his ghostly buddy Bob (Terence Mann) jump on the case and we’re in for some lycanthropic excitement.

I like the wicked method in which the lycanthropes can escape their curse introduced in this episode.  The plot is generally pretty engaging.  There’s also some great acting by all three guest stars involved.  And, the low budget special effects end up being quite effective in their intent, to creep you out!  It’s another well written, well-acted Dresden episode.  I’m bailing out on the cloying Being Human but I’ll be sticking with my wizard friend Dresden.

The Dresden Files Episode 1 Review
The Dresden Files Episode 2 Review

Read More

Dresden Files: Discover What You Are Missing

February 15, 2012   Dr. Monstrosity   No comments
dresden-files

The Dresden Files
Season 1, Episode 2

Dresden is no one trick pony.  The second episode of the Dresden Files was another successful one; and by that I mean, I liked it!  The plot employed the familiar ghost story tropes with a mysterious Egyptian magic twist.  I found Dresden’s ghost friend “Bob” to be much less annoying this time around.  Perhaps I am getting used to him.  Actually he’s not Dresden’s friend, Dresden apparently owns him but they don’t make that exceedingly clear in the show.  Bob also “lives” in a rune covered skull; nice!  What makes the show shine however, is Paul Blackthorne.  Besides having the name Blackthorne, which pretty much makes him born to play a wizard, he exudes just the right balance of clever detective, desperate loser, and powerful sorcerer.

Ghost story fans should appreciate this clever episode in which the ghost of a young lady is haunting her dad; with apparently no cause.  Her killer is already dead.  Therein is the twist and Dresden has to play detective, cracking open a long cold case to free this ghost and allow her to float off to whatever ghostly place she’s supposed to float off to.

The Dresden Files has me interested and entertained.  I hope to see more of the workings of his wizard culture and The High Council they allude to here and there.  It’s a shame the show only lasted one season, but that still gives me 10 more episode s to enjoy.

Read More

Kolchak: What the X-Files was Trying to Be

February 06, 2012   Dr. Monstrosity   2 Comments
kolchak

Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Episode 1: The Ripper

Finally after all these years I, Dr. Monstrosity, have watched Kolchak: The Night Stalker.  What took me so long you ask?  The thing is that supernatural stuff has never really been my thing.  Being a purveyor, practitioner, and perverter of actual science, science fiction has always been nearer to my heart.  But, with Netflix streaming service, many shows are so easily accessible; and there was Kolchak sitting in the queue, my wife being a big fan.

Kolchak aired in the mid-seventies and is glorious in its grooviness.  It’s based on Kolchak of Jeff Rice’s novel The Kolchak Papers.  It was originally adapted by none other than Richard Matheson, as a TV movie that received record setting ratings in 1972.  After a second movie, also penned by Matheson, a series was finally developed which went on the air in 1974.

One thing that really struck me about episode 1 was how funny it was.  The interplay between Kolchak (Darren McGavin) and his editor Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) was a crack up.  The show was a win based on these characters alone, but the story concept was also worthy.  The episode, titled The Ripper, was an interesting take on Jack the Ripper as a superhuman force that propagates through the years.  It reminded me of the Star Trek episode The Wolf in the Fold which had a similar ripper theme.  The Trek episode was written by Robert Bloch and based on his short story “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper.”  Ironically this ripper theme was reportedly rejected by Richard Matheson as the premise for the second Kolchak TV movie because… it was too similar to Robert Bloch’s story!  Then they go and rip off Bloch’s story a year later for the premiere episode.  Wow!  Anyway, the ripper in the Kolchak episode is portrayed as a guy who looks like a magician and has abilities like a superhero but is of course totally evil.  It’s pretty neat.

Ultimately, the show’s greatest asset is the character of Kolchak, who is so cool and well-acted by McGavin that he deserves to be the show’s namesake.  When he gets interested in a case there’s no stopping him.  I wish I could meet Kolchak and transplant his brain into one of my nuclear powered robots so his essence could last forever.  Maybe that way we wouldn’t have had to deal with the insufferable X-Files; which, although inspired by Kolchak: The Night Stalker, was a poor substitute.

Read More
« Older posts