Home Video Exclusives

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Girl Power Part I


A new year - brand new entry, a three parter! This outing we get all taaada-taaada-taaada-taaada-taaada-taaada with a reimagining of a sci-fi favorite - that bombed. Welcome the new Jaime Sommers on a different PT in the "Bionic Woman"...



"Bionic Woman: Volume One" was released on home video on March 18th, 2008.

It streeted against "Enchanted", "Revolver" and "The Sickhouse".

This release did not come any slipcover. But it did come with a four page insert. This two disc set came in a standard DVD case. Page one was the episode guide, but failed to list any air dates (I'm sick of the lazy cr@p). Page two is a showcase of "Sci Fi Essentials" DVD sets along with a website for other Universal series titles. Shown are "Battlestar Galactica: Season One", "Sliders: The Third Season", "SeaQuest: Season Two", "Quantum Leap: The Complete Fourth Season", Galactica: 1980- The Original Battlestar Galactica Final Season" and "Eureka: Season One". Page three is coupon for $3.00 off any singular season; 1 - 3 of the reboot of "Galactica". It expired on September 30th, 2008. Page four is an ad for another NBC series, "Life".

- - -

An odd duck. Thought about for some time - to do a write up, it's NOT a part of the official release. Huh?

This was bizarre when it came out - had NOTHING to do with the title it was attached; like an afterthought. They wanted something to add as an exclusive and slapped this on. Did not buy when it came out was stupid. Why would I?

Many and I mean many years later, purchased off Ebay, dirt cheap - acquired since I had then recently bought the series for three bucks at Big Lots!, one of their DVD sales. What am I talking about?



This was attached to the box set for Season One of "Heroes". You see, every major store had their own exclusive for the hit series. And yes, I have them. It was a mess and expensive, but I did it. The only one I didn't bother with was for Circuit City; they offered a free pack of promo cards - for the trading card set to the show.

That was not exclusive at all, seriously, the weakest of them all. At some point I'll do a write up for "Heroes". Would have to break it into a couple or so parts. So much to write.

For this Past Tense I'm linking their exclusive to the TV show - as it should be.



On August 28th, 2007 Wal-Mart offered "NBC Exclusive Bonus Disc", came with its own case, rear packed with "Heroes: Season 1" (2006). This was priced at $35.87. The bonus has the extended trailer to "Bionic Woman" along with interviews which are omitted from the later Volume One release.

Also has the first four episodes for "Friday Night Lights" (2006).

Sure "Friday Night Lights", launched the careers of Adrianne Palicki, Minka Kelly and to a lesser degree Aimee Teegarden, but God I hated this show. Yes, I'm not into sports, but that wasn't the reason.



I enjoyed "Varsity Blues" (1999); own the DVD, the deluxe edition. It's entertaining, a solid flick. But this show ticked me off. Watching those four episodes some fourteen years later has not changed my feelings. It's like the hiring requirement for the camera men was 'must have early stage Parkinsons or inner ear damage'. The camera won't stay still, shifting back and forth or 'semi-functional alcoholic'. That continues to be super annoying. Stop trying to create drama where none exist.

The other reasons is this was an ugly looking show; the image was deliberately too dark and desaturated, muted colors. On top of the mentioned garbage. Somehow it managed to remain on the air for four seasons. Whatever, it wasn't for me.

The bonus for "Bionic Woman" has a run time of 14:46 minutes and is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

Look, I'm not going to say this was an excellent show, it wasn't. But wasn't as horrible as some are claming. On February 8th, 2017 WatchMojo listed the show as one of the "Top 10 Worst TV Reboots Of All Time". It was number five.



From left to right; pre-famous Lucy Hale as Becca Sommers, Michelle Ryan as Jaime Wells Sommers, Molly Price as Ruth Treadwell, Will Yun Lee as Jae Kim, Miguel Ferrer as Jonas Bledsoe, Chris Bowers as Dr. Will Anthros and Mark Sheppard as Anthony Anthros.

The "Bionic Woman" was a decent series, trying to be different - not a rehash of the original, trying to find its legs, but got canceled too early. One of the many shows who got their plug pulled, victims of bad timing.

On November 5th, 2007, the Writer's Guild Of America (WGA) went on strike. No new screenplays or teleplays would be written - it's a union. A bit of background, this show was filmed in Vancouver, Canada and had burned through all their available scripts, all eight of them. There was nothing left to do, but put a pause on production until the strike ended.

The strike ended on February 12th, 2008.

This is where NBC dropped the ball. They should've held onto the show until after the shutdown to add more episodes - which the network was planning. There MORE to this story, I'll get into that in a few. Present the program as mid-season replacement. Giving enough time to fix the problems, even doing a full season of twenty-two episodes.

That's why the DVD is labeled "Volume One" since they were at the time were expecting it would come back for Volume Two, the second half. Nope. Done. Axed.

Let me go here first; the character who got the show in the first wave of trouble and there would be a few. Oh boy!



There exist three different versions of the pilot because of this controversy. Above left is Hale, she wasn't the original, younger sibling, fifteen years old. The role was cast to actress Mae Whitman who played Jaime's... deaf sister - above right is a promo with Whitman.

This first iteration was screen for TV critics and dropped on the internet. This was discovered by hearing-impaired rights groups that Whitman can hear - is not deaf. This cause such a stir. So bad - the character was reworked, recast and reshoot.

I'll say it, Hale's Becca was an upgrade. Whitman's version looks utterly insufferable - and would get a pass since she's deaf.

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - January 26th, 2021


Batman: Soul Of The Dragon
Exclusive figurine; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $32.99

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense


Another brand new entry! This outing we get an old school romcom mixed with the early days of football in "Leatherheads"...



The motion picture opened on April 4th, 2008. It was made with a budget of $58,000,000 (estimated); counting foreign receipts it made $41,348,628. The movie bombed domestically ($31.3 million). The film opened number three at the box office, the following week it dropped to number five.

The feature opened against "The Ruins", "Horton Hears A Who" and "10,000 B.C.".

No slipcover was issued for either versions; widescreen or full screen. There was a single, smaller, double sided insert for Dale And Thomas Popcorn, gourmet popcorn. A $15.00 (paper) gift card, a coupon for use in store or online. Expired on December 31st, 2009. Never used mine, still inside.

- - -

Can imagine that this happened since they thought this was going to be a hit. It's a George Clooney movie, how can it bomb?

Yup.

There was a single exclusive when it streeted on home video on September 23rd, 2008 - from Wal-Mart. Before I go further I want to address this - price.



Could not find the retail price on release week for the exclusive. So I had to extrapolate, based on another store exclusive with the same set-up (side packed with the bonus that came in its own DVD case), "Quarantine" (2008). This example was the closest in my archive to 9/23/08, that set streeted on February 17th, 2009, five months later. Based on this - I'm saying the exclusive for "Leatherheads" was also $22.99. This is the best I can do.

It is quite reasonable to believe this was available for widescreen. As mentioned many times over - the early years Wal-Mart gave their bonus discs to full screen only. Since this came out in 2008, that was no longer in practice. The movie was however also released as full screen... 2008 and still selling full screens of widescreen made movies and TV shows. *shakes head*

This was an exclusive that took me close to a decade to acquire. Yup, I'm a long haul collector. The movie was bought in 2009 or so. When bought, I was happy the insert was included. Only to shortly thereafter - learn that there was a bonus disc. I made various efforts and could not find the DVD on Ebay as if it never exist.

So I made various efforts, on and off for a decade. That changed on December 27th, 2020 when I saw it. The bonus 'Buy It Now' separate, still sealed. Wow! That can be so rare. Price was excellent $2.75 plus $2.80 for shipping. Yes. Yes, I want this. Ordered that night ($5.76 total with tax), it arrived on January 5th, 2021, this month.



The bonus disc has extras presented in anamorphic widescreen; minus "The Whistle Stop Tour" which used movie footage as an old time news reel. The bonus DVD has a run time of 33:05 minutes.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

As said, this bombed - so I feel I should. What is this movie about?



The year is 1925; we follow the exploits of team Captain Dodge Connolly (Clooney), a football player trying to keep his burgeon new sport alive. There is an audience, but rules and venues were in flux. Not helping his team was losing their... only sponsor. Thinking on the fly Dodge - cons a college football star, Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) as well as a corporate tycoon, C.C. Frazier (Jonathan Pryce) to foot the bill. It works, he's a slick willie.

Krasinski is best known as Jim Halpert from the long running NBC series, "The Office" (2004).

The Duluth Bulldogs get the popular player, "The Bullet" and serious money behind them. They now have more than one ball.

But that success is on a short lease, unknown to Connolly, two things are afoot. One - The Chicago Tribune has assigned a female reporter, Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger) to expose their star. The young man is too good to be true. Rutherford is a WWI hero who got a whole squad of Germans soldiers to surrender all by himself without a single fire shot. The story has holes in it.

Lexie embeds herself as a reporter covering the football circuit, the intent of finding proof that his heroics were a sham. She does this by gaining Carter's attention and accidentally Dodge's too along the way.



This turns the men into off-field rivals for her affections.

Two - Frazier is witnessing football actually becoming a national sport and quite profitable, packed stadiums. He's working behind-the-scene to exploit Rutherford's fame and successes by removing him from Bulldogs for another team who has more media potential. Leaving Dodge with his ragtag team now going against Carter and his new crew.

Lexie discovers the true story in a moment of weakness and presses forward, unmasking the deception - it was more like a misunderstanding that took a life of its own. Carter had no reason to refute it, he was making serious money on the fiction. The news send shock waves across America.



The popular sport was making an obscene amount of money based on a fraud; Washington gets involved. The investigation puts Connolly in a precarious position because his game has now changed, the newly appointed congressional commissioner (Peter Gerety) has made rules of conduct for the sport which will be enforced. Dodge in particular - is guilty of pulling improvisational antics for the audiences and his own amusement. Those days are now gone.

He's one stunt away from being expelled from the sport he was trying to legitimize. But at this point, he did it - he proved it can work.

The big game, Bulldogs can not win against "The Bullet". So in one last hurrah, Capt. Dodge Connolly pull the stunt of all stunts to win - using Rutherford's deception on himself. That twist I didn't see coming. Made me smile.

As expected he's given the heave-ho, but not empty handed. He won the heart of Miss Littleton. And he did make a lot of money with his team before and after Rutherford switch sides. Did I spoil it?

No.

This movie is a throwback, an old school romantic comedy; excellent, funny dialog and a series of adventures involving Lexie and Dodge. You got the plot here, but not the feature. See it, you won't be disappointed. The film was a blind buy, glad I made it. As said in the last Past Tense, I'm not into sports. But this is one of the few sports features that I enjoy. Should be noted...

I got the movie in 2009 found out about the bonus and got bummed - didn't watch the DVD until earlier this month. Yeah, had the film on the 'to watch' pile for eleven years! Not the longest, I still have titles I bought in 2005 still waiting to be seen. *shrug*



This movie was stuck in development hell for practically fourteen years at Universal Pictures - was written in 1993. The movie only happened because George Clooney got attached as the star and... as director - because of producer Steven Soderbergh gave him the script. The story was right up his alley.

Favorite part? Easy, early on when Dodge and Lexie first meet on the train, the dialog was rich and charming. He was being a smarta$$ and reveling in it, she wasn't sure how to respond to his hijinks.

Bits of trivia; Connelly was based somewhat on a real football player, Johnny "Blood" McNally from the 1920s. He was a character off and on the field. Rutherford was loosely based on Harold "Red" Grange. And his agent Frazier was based on Grange's real agent, C.C. Pyle.



By the way, the motorcycle that Clooney rides isn't vintage, but a replica of the 1918 Indian bike. It is an electric motorcycle, custom-built. That's pretty sway. Leatherheads? Because back in the day, football helmets were made of leather, not padded plastic composites.

My only gripe - a minor one was with casting - Zellweger was somewhat too old to play Lexie. But that's even addressed in the movie. Again, a minor gripe.

There you go, another new post for you guys. Not one of my biggest, but hits the spot. Come back here on February 11th, 2021 for another NEW entry. And yes, I did get that import DVD set - which will be talked about.

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - February 9th, 2021


Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (available now)
Exclusive box set; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $229.99

Jaws (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $17.99

1917 (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD combo $17.99

Frozen (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $24.99

Beauty And The Beast (1991) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $29.99

Beauty And The Beast (2017) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $29.99

Mulan (1998) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $24.99

Toy Story 3 (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $24.99

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - A Different Kind Of Football Part II


The next to be added is an underage girl; juvenile delinquent, Gloria "Glo" Dinallo (Courteney Cox, pre-famous). She has controlled telekinesis, it's underdeveloped though. But at seventeen she can't do much of anything unsupervised and is on parole. Which means the next add on has to be her parole officer, Jane Miller (Jennifer Holmes). Who was at one time Billy's girlfriend, dumped him for being immature. Some may remember her as Leslie Vanderkellen on the first season of "Newhart" (1982; CBS).



The last member to be added - upon the rescue was a subject taken from them when the show started - Arthur Beifneiter (Mickey Jones). HIT was given this man who was found in a cryogenic pod, made by Howard Hughes in 1937. Beifneiter actually dated Amelia Earhart. The pod was put away at a self-storage business and long forgotten till he was discovered by late night security crew. Found when his pod failed and Beifneiter was revived. He was changed. He can make things freeze. But his body, like Mr. Freeze, must be kept at chill temperatures or he'll die. A special insulated suit is made for him.

X-Men in an ice cream truck.

- Andrew Hoffmann

The mission is to break into a military base and get their guys out. But there isn't a van or large truck they have access to to carry everyone. Make do with what they have - they can get an Ice Cream Truck, yeah - one of those independent ice cream/treat sellers who drive around. It's better than nothing. The truck becomes their car of choice since it took such a beating, but still kept going.

Turns out our big bad is a rogue general with ties to Humanadyne - Dr. James Strickland (Edward Winter). This is how Gen. Theil (Larry Linville) knew of Beifneiter and Momquist. Turns out he forced Momquist to build his wonder weapon, the Neutron Beam. Think of it like a phaser cannon from "Star Trek". It can vaporize objects without any nuclear fallout. The device exist and will be used. Each of the misfits use their talents for a righteous cause to get Beifneiter and Momquist free.

Now out - Billy and El know that this machine must be stopped; Theil will rule the planet with it. So they ask their co-conspirators to join them on one more adventure to save the world. Breaking into a top secret facility under a mountain to destroy that machine.

Yes they do. Their exploits are caught on camera; the world now knows 'super heroes' are real. What follows is their continued misadventures - wanting to do more since for the first time, these people feel like they have a family. The ever persistent Hayes wants to do more than lab work.

These tales included discovering a long lost Mayan civilization under Beverly Hills; stopping a plague from being unleashed; helped a Russian gymnast's defect to America; helping a marine biologist and his machine that talks to dolphins and helping a New Guinea, Aborigine lost in Los Angeles. As well as discovering a fellow scientist hasn't made First Contact, but is communicating with A.I. system part of the U.S. nuclear program; he mistakenly started WWIII. Oh yeah and helped a bionic CIA operative who lost his confidence.

Arthur Beifneiter only appeared in the pilot. He's never mentioned again in the series. Probably due to their budget; can only do so much each visual effects per episode. He was replaced with Dick Stetmeyer played by Max Wright which was HIT's supervisor - who was ineffectual at his job. There was a point in the show where Stetmeyer appeared before the board of directors of Humanadyne and asked a simple question - on why they should continue to fund the basement lab. "What exactly do they do?" His answer is - complicated.

Jane was dropped later on. But that makes sense, Glo was seventeen when this started. As the show continued, her character turned eighteen, didn't need supervision.

You can search online. The pilot only; one of the side characters was "Donna", a fellow scientist that Billy was trying to hit on, but wouldn't give him the time of day. The actress was K.C. Winkler, an attractive lady. She appeared in the September 1989 issue of Playboy in a pictorial - not a Playmate. "Misfits Of Science" wasn't her first genre appearance; she did two episodes of "Automan" (1983). Those roles were credited as 'The Model' and 'The Blonde'.

One of the running jokes was Miss Nance (Diane Civita) their semi-working secretary. The various phone calls she gets while in the background. 'The invisible man was here, but nobody saw him so he went home'. Plus these two background bit players whom various HIT researchers were experimenting on. No clue why they were there. One time had plastic bag hats, another time holding cricket balls. ??? Another time sitting in a kiddie pool.

Some additional bits; Kevin Peter Hall did some acting, but most of it was centered on his height. He was however so right for man-in-suit jobs. Hall was the guy in the alien suit, the original "Predator" (1987) and its sequel "Predator 2" (1990). He also played the friendly sasquatch in the movie, "Harry And The Hendersons" (1987) and the subsequent series of the same name (1990). He died in 1991 from AIDS, not like that.

He was in an automobile accident and was given a blood transfusion - this was at at time when blood banks and hospitals didn't screen their blood. He got infected at the ER. He was thirty-five when he passed on April 10th, '91 from AIDS related pneumonia.

Both Winter and Linville worked with each other a few times on M*A*S*H* (1972; CBS).

- - -



Back in December 10th, 2020 PT for "Dead Or Alive" I spoke of "Wrong Turn: Foundation". The next film in the franchise was announced completed on April 25th, 2020. Then squat.

I now have a street - the film, simply titled "Wrong Turn" will come out on home video on Febuary 23rd, 2021 for both DVD ($19.98) and Blu-Ray ($22.98).

A group of friends is surprised to found a native mountain people while hiking on the Appalachian Trail. The natives aren't friendly, and they prefer their life of seclusion, worrisome of strangers and new faces. The team of friends struggles to survive their run in with the native mountain people calling themselves "The Foundation". The Foundation attempts to save their way of life by eliminating the hikers; the group of friends is simply trying to survive what started out as a fun vacation in the mountains.

- new official synopsis

I plan on getting it, the DVD. But I'll be honest, that cover is weak - it's generic, should stand out.

- - - - - - - - - -

Just Because.



Not common at the period to cast an age appropriate actress in the role. Most of the time, the person would be in their mid to late twenties, playing a teen. Just look at the cast from the original "90210" (1990). Suppose teen, actress Gabriella Carteris was twenty-nine... playing fifteen as Andrea Zuckerman. Sorry. 'Aun-drea' Zuckerman. *pausing* She was my favorite, thought she was nerd hot.

And there you go. Look man, I only had so much to write about "RED 2". It had an exclusive that some people had access to. *shrugs* If it has to be asked - "Retired Extremely Dangerous", a designation on potential, hostile ex-spies.

I have an idea on what I want to write about next Past Tense, but I'm waiting for it to arrive. Lets say, it's a special thing. See you here on February 25th, 2021. Indeed.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - A Different Kind Of Football Part I


Yet again, a brand new entry! Have a second slice with Frank, Sarah, Marvin and Victoria in "RED 2"...



The motion picture opened on July 19th, 2013. It was made with a budget of $84,000,000 (estimated); counting foreign receipts it made $141,507,355. The movie bombed domestically ($53.2 million). The film opened number five at the box office, the following week it dropped to number six.

The feature opened against "Monsters University", "R.I.P.D." and "Despicable Me 2".

All were issued non-embossed slipcovers; DVD and BD/DVD combo. It came with an insert; Digital Copy instructions. It expired on November 26th, 2014. There was a second insert for the exclusive below - additional instructions for CinemaNow.

- - -

There was a single exclusive from Best Buy.



They offered a combo set with additional exclusive content on their streaming service, CinemaNow. I have no idea what that featurette was. This was NOT on the discs, internet based.

This streeted on November 26th, 2013 for $19.99. There was a second offer - if you pre-ordered their exclusive you could access that bonus featurette on 11/17. Sorry, I don't know if that was bonus was anamorphic widescreen.

Not much more to write - that exclusive is unknown to me. Just so you know, CinemaNow bombed; Best Buy dropped the service in 2014. Does that mean, that featurette is lost? Could be.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.



The movie is exactly what you expect it to be, a decent popcorn action flick. Like comfy shoes you're getting the characters from the first film plus a few more in another tale - this time global peril. The humor between Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) and Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones) was good.

What's more to say? I like it. It's part of my collection. Having Anthony Hopkins as Bailey was a nice add on.

As you read, it bombed domestically - did make good money internationally. Why not a third film? Was going to happen, but got pulled In May of 2013 Lionsgate was seeking another entry, even signed Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber to write the next script. The Hoebers wrote both movie adaptation of the comic book characters (by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner).

What happened? The movie bombed.

Then in 2015 there was a second attempt, but for the small screen. NBC wanted a TV series based on the movies. Some work was done, they got the Hoebers to return along with Mark Vahradian and Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Then nothing, stuck in TV development hell.

Given a choice I think I would prefer another movie. I have serious apprehension that they'll screw up the chemistry with poor casting and the obvious - the quality of stories will drop. How many time can Frank and Sarah get put in mishaps? You will run out of reasons for any of it to happen. It's a nice idea, but not sustainable.

- - - - - - - - - -

Tangent.

Back in the December 24th, 2020, Past Tense for "Mad Men: The Final Season [7] Part 1", I made mention of an import I had bought from Germany. An item ordered off Ebay on November 3rd, 2020. I paid $26.89 with shipping, a solid deal. It arrived on January 15th, '21.

I was super lucky, the set is mint. Quite a distance to reach me; one of the discs nearly popped out, but didn't. Like I wrote - was lucky. All discs checked and cleaned as well the case.



I'm talking about the sci-fi misadventure TV series, "The Misfits Of Science" (1985; NBC). It ran for one season, seventeen episodes - one unaired. This has all the episodes plus the pilot.

As you read this is a German import, can't play on U.S. DVD players, Region 2. Back in September of last year I bought a region free player. I'll cover that machine in a future PT. It was bought for my first import DVD release, another TV series set (United Kingdom).

Sadly the show has yet to be released in America; importing the set is the only way to own it. The audio? Yeah that was a concern as was subtitles - as in you can't get them off the screen. No worries. It's not explicitly stated, this has the original English stereo audio and all the music intact. I can only guess that German laws are different for music rights. They had named talent singing their hit songs such as Thomas Dolby to Phil Collins to Kim Wilde.

That probably happened since NBC had a deal with Universal Music to get good deals on music licensing. Used heavily for their other series, "Miami Vice" (1984). Anyhow, there are no German subtitles embedded on the screen. The show was dubbed in German.



The translation: "Misfits Of Science, The: The 80s Cult Comedy Mystery Fantasy Sci-FI Action Series - For The First Time Completely On DVD".

The box set was released from Koch Media on January 25th, 2008 for 39.95 Euros. This is where things went bummed for me. Then doing the research was good. You see, I don't have the '08 release. I have the 2010 re-release, same price. I was wondering why this had no booklet, the episode guide. The menu screens for each episode carries that info in... German.

I was searching for the prices, original and re-release found both - same. I found a review (translated) on the first release.

Unfortunately there is nothing besides the picture gallery. Disappointing when you consider that Koch Media often offers great booklets.

- MovieMan

I'm not missing anything. Sway! The gallery is on the last DVD, disc five. The quality? There was no remastering done. All the shows are watchable - far better than the stuff found on YouTube over the years. It's an upgrade.

I was a fan when this first aired, still am. But can imagine most are in the dark. This was created by James D. Parriott. One of the episodes ("Twin Engines") was written by Timothy Kring. The name is familiar to genre fans; Tim Kring creator of "Heroes" (2006). Which was the same thing - only far more dramatic with a larger budget also for NBC.

The show was about the tiny research facility in the basement of the large think tank, Humanadyne. They are barely in operation, but are working within their restrictions. And doing incredible things wanting to be more than rejects.

HIT; Human Investigative Team is lead by Dr. Billy Hayes (Dean Paul Martin - son of Dean Martin) and Elvin 'El' Lincoln (Kevin Peter Hall). They seek and specialize in unique human peculiarities. More odd folks and society rejects, like themselves. Hayes rises up and becomes the leader of a poor-man's "A-Team".

Dr. Lincoln is seven foot, four inches tall; been taunted for years over height and can't play basketball. He went behind Hayes back and experimented on himself to lower his stature. It backfired, creating a new gland behind his neck; it releases a substance that changes his body, transform him for a limited time to the size of Ken doll. This was unknown to everybody until El made it known - was embarrassed he screwed up so badly. And for being reckless, since he's quite reserved.

Hayes discovers that mentor was kidnapped when Dr. Telford Momquist (Eric Christmas) escape from his confines to call about his abduction, then blacks out from the sedatives used on him. Billy has a general idea on where Momquist is being held, but can't get him out alone.

He's gonna need a team of unique individuals. The first recruited for the rescue is Johnny "Johnny B." Bukowski (Mark Thomas Miller). He used to be rock singer of some fame, but called it quits when he got electrocuted while performing at a concert. It changed him. He now attracts electricity, like a capacitor and can expel it - shoot lightening. When he was being 'helped' by HIT, Billy was being an ass and taunted him with a squirt gun - water is like acid to him. He can clean with a moist towel, but it burns. Naturally does not want to help, but is told that Momquist has been taken. Momquist was kind to him.

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - February 16th, 2021


Lovecraft Country: The Complete First Season
Exclusive steelbook; BD/DC combo $32.99

Beauty And The Beast (1991) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $29.99

Jaws (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $19.99

Mulan (2020) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $24.99

Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (available now)
Exclusive box set; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $229.99

[JohnIan101]

Target - February 23rd, 2021


The Croods: A New Age
Exclusive gallery book packaging; BD/DVD/DC combo $24.99

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - February 23rd, 2021


Mulan (2020) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $27.99

Beauty And The Beast (1991) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $27.99

Beauty And The Beast (2017) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $29.99

Men In Black Trilogy: 20th Anniversary Edition (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $34.99

Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (available now)
Exclusive box set; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $224.99

The Arrival (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD combo $19.99

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Catch The Blue Wave Part II




Yet more. Excalibur was so cheap in producing these DVD-Rs. The wraparound is quite generic. Above is the front and rear images. WTF? Why did they photo shop Porsche Lynn's face onto that blonde? Unless most of the rear covers have that same body, just insert face on head? Can't say, could be. And the disc is as generic as the cover art, it has a printed bar code on with text.

To be safe, I've blurred out the web and street addresses. Also made sure there was zero nudity in the release montage on the cover. And yeah, those cover images do repeat.

I made an effort to find the original trade ad for "Maxine", no luck. How? I have a collection of "AVN" (Adult Video News) magazines. For those who don't know - it's an industry mag for video stores and adult shops to know what XXX inventory to buy; seeing various reviews and new releases. Turns out my collection misses most of the 1980s, no '88s. It's beyond my reach.

Why bring it up then? I saw something in those old issues from the early 1990s and a bit of the ladder 80s - the advertising. Yes there was nudity, sure. But a good chunk of it was not - made so that video stores could have them out for display, sometimes from behind the counter on the wall, the bolder stores.

These adult ads and subsequent VHS covers have porno chic, glamour. Yes, glamour. They appear like magazine covers - what you would find in "Cosmopolitan", "Vogue", "Allure" or "Elle". These images could be framed as art. They took the time to make them attention getters, elegant. Dressed in sexy lingerie, swimsuits or nude having strategically placed objects WITH accompanied backgrounds and props.

The ad for "Sand Dunes" would make a great poster for framing. It stars Savannah, dressed in a baby-blue one piece, semi-sheer swimsuit, high cut. She's laying down on desert sands, there are various waves in the dunes. It's sexy and graceful. None of that is around today. All about getting in your face, the more blatant the better.

*shakes head*

I can't find it. It's like "Sand Dunes" never existed. True I have the magazine, but I have since put it away back in storage which was a pain to get to - and restore. Not doing it again to scan the ad. I can't find a listing anywhere for that adult vid. It's not for sale on DVD. If I recall proper, this was a Plumb Production porno. It could very well be that Plumb no longer exist and their entire catalog has... evaporated.

When folks talk about The Lost Hollywood, they speak of all the movies and cuts which have been lost to time. Shot on nitrate stock, the masters and copies dusted. Or was not popular enough at the time and was trashed to make room for more marketable flicks. Or was just the victim of a studio that faded - taking away with them all their movies. A ton of lost features and shorts from the 1920s, '30s and '40s. Not even talking about all the silent titles, lost.

What is seldom talked about is the other side of that disappearance - XXX releases. So many blue flicks, more than imagined from the 1970s and 1980s are gone - and early 90s. The stuff from the '70s was NOT shot on video, but on film. These were treated as disposable entertainment and improperly stored. And often shot on discarded stock - to get it cheap. Done by studios which didn't survive the transition from film to video tape. Gone.

You may not care, but it's a part of cinema history. What remains today is still on VHS somewhere in someone's aged collection. Add "Sand Dunes" to that pile - that dead format is the only way to watch. If you care about films, you care about this too. It's sad.

There I go again, sounding like I went to finishing school... on a teamster's scholarship.

- Maxine

*long pause* Okay.

Music here was done by the The Mentors. They were quite metal - poorly crafted heavy metal. You know; you're in the teens and have some band equipment or access and decided to start a band. But nobody can actually sing and all the songs composed are juvenile - that's The Mentors.

Songs used for the production; "Suck It Fu¢k It, Cook & Clean" [sung twice], "Do What You Do", "Sandwich Of Love" [sung twice], "Adultery", "Find Her, Feel Her, Fu¢k Her, Forget Her" and one instrumental.

There were seven actions scenes. The movie has eighteen chapters and a run time of 1:17:06 minutes.



Had to do a zoom on that picture. She 'appears' to be showing a bit of her areola, nope - nothing exposed. The black bra has a lacy trim; the shadow seen was from the lace. But to play it safe, I cropped it out. Anyhow, long story short, yes. Much of this blue flick is cringy. What makes it even worse is few edits were used on Maxine, so Lynn had to do her own stuttering.

And yes, you can see the boom mike in shadows and just about the performers heads. The film concludes with a notice "To Be Continued - Maxine: Head Reporter, Part 2" a part two that didn't happen.

- - -

This needs to be covered since I can imagine so many are in the dark. What was the source of that porn parody?

Before you say; no - this show existed BEFORE the role playing book game, "Cyberpunk" existed. That happened in 1988, the series came out in 1987. Max and "Blade Runner" (1982) inspired that playable universe.



The series took place - "Twenty Minutes Into The Futue", a world dying - pure dystopia. A world covered in rampant poverty run by corporations. Few tech is new, most are repurposed, mods, retrofitted to function. Like using old typewriter keyboards as computer keys. Or having a tiny monitor using a big magnifying glass to see. Unlike "Blade Runner" no flying cars. Among the many big businesses which rule is network television. TV shows and channels are sold and bought on their stock market.

We follow the exploits of tele-journalist, Edison Carter (Matt Frewer), his hit show, "What I Want To Know". The pilot was remake of the Channel Four program. Working on a story, he uncovers a conspiracy involving his boss at Network 23, Ned Grosburg (Charles Rocket). They've been experimenting with a new kind of commercial to pack more ads per program. The problem is it's killing some viewers. He sets out to expose it, but is caught. It's decided to kill him, but he's on the most popular show they have. Their tech supervisor, Bryce Lynch (Chris Young) has an idea - create a virtual copy of Carter, have it continue to do the show.

Edison's brain is scanned into their massive mainframe and generated, but it's a mess. He was in a motorcycle accident trying to flee his abduction. The last thing he saw before blacking out was being thrown off his bike and flying into border rail - "Maximum Headroom" - Max Headroom. To their shock, Max's A.I. have weaved itself into their entire network. You can't take him out unless you pull the plug on everything - killing their company. They attempt to use a virus hunter to eradicate Max, but he's jumping in and out of airing program and nodes to evading their efforts.

For the adult parody; its a hotel room - our reporter is reading the sign outside the door before being taken; "Room 12 Maximum Bedroom Occupancy 4 Adults".

Max IS Carter's alter ego and has no buffer. Think of him as a comedic commentator with a dark streak. Edison is dropped, left for dead for organ harvesters - legal here; mainstream venders that take in bodies, no real questions asked ("Nightingale's Body Bank"). He is rescued and nursed back to health by his Controler, Theora Jones (Amanda Pays).

Controller?

This was before Suri; Jones' job is to guide Edison to various places, avoiding dangers - scanning metropolitan blueprints and hacking secrurty cams that litter the city. Few places had privacy. She guides him and provides computer skills as needed.

Edison has the damning footage in his camcorder, those big units from the '80s, but can't get it out of the busted camera. He can still exposed the scheme, wanting to know if he can - or truly get himself and Jones killed, contacts their network vice president, Ben Cheviot (George Coe) hoping he's not part of it.

The loss public trust and revenue would be massive, but Cheviot agrees. You see - Max isn't just video on a screen, he can see through any TV he's on. And televisions are everywhere. In fact - later in the series, it's revealed that having an off button on a television is life time prison sentence. You put something over the box to cover the screen and lower the volume, never off.

They use Max to watch the footage that Edison recorded, broadcasting it to the world. Grosburg is fired and arrested, Cheviot is installed as network president. Max can't be undone and having him proves to be a postive thing as he comments on the shows they air = more viewers, higher ratings. And he talks to viewers, one on one conversations.

This is a whole messed up world to explore and the series ran with it. One of the things that set it so apart, besides the visuals is the writing; they wanted it to be memorable. True - at times the show feels dated with obsolete tech, the dialog remains fresh. The more I think on it, Edison Carter was a video blogger for Network 23.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Catch The Blue Wave Part III




Among my "Max" stuff is this book based on the original program. Man, "Max Headroom" had a long road to become an iconic part of the 1980s.

20 minutes into the future, television is the only growth industry as the networks grapple with one another in an unrelenting ratings battle. Network 23 has become the top station due to the creative genius of its manipulative producers, who have developed the mind-blowing Blipverts. But Edison Carter, crack reporter, aims to expose the deadly side effects of Blipverts. Follow Edison through his nightmare journey to the truth and into his future as the world's first computer-generated TV host, Max Headroom.

- back cover

This book was published twice. First for the United Kingdom market from Corgi Book in 1985, the source nation. And later in America by Random House, Inc. in 1986. I own that; retailed for $5.95.



From left to right; Max on screen, Edison Carter (Frewer), Bryce Lynch (Young), Theora Jones (Amanda Pays), Murray (Carter's TV producer; actor Jeffrey Tambor) and Network 23 President Ben Cheviot (Coe).

For the TV series, Bryce was made an unwitting victim of Grosburg who redeems himself. In the original program, Bryce (Paul Spurrier) he was just as wicked as his boss and was arrested too.

The road...

This whole thing started as a telefilm (well one hour long with commericals) in England on Channel Four; aired April 4th, 1985 (fifty-seven minutes long). This was so different and popular at the time, an original. Naturally it would come to America. The cable channel, Cinemax bought the U.S. rights and ordered more footage - twenty-six minutes of new scenes were added, bringing to mostly feature length at eighty-three minutes.

Cinemax didn't air it as a movie; they broke it into four episodes. These parts aired on October 16th, 23rd and 30th with the last on November 6th of 1986.



No joking this was highly popular - viewers didn't know how it was done. It''s an actor with a glued on foam head with vinyl, partial, two part - business suit top, above. That arm isn't his. That's the make-up person, sealing up the seam, material on their hand. As you can see, the top hasn't been cleaned up yet. Add to this simple effect was the moving, CGI multi-colored wireframe in the background (added in post, a blue screen) to complete with reflective contact lenses. His speech and motion were jumbled, like losing a video connection on your mobile.

After the program aired in England in 1985; Max was given his first show - a music video program where he was the virutal host who would interrupt and jump into various videos giving his commentary. This ran two seasons on Channel Four, a total of nineteen episodes. For the second season, Max interviewed artists and bands, a precursor to his later talk show. Sadly, it appears all those episodes were lost.

The second show happened in 1986 and it happened again, but this time, some episodes survived, some. Max's talk show was co-produced by Channel Four and Cinemax and aired on both. It ran for two seasons with a Christmas special; eighteen shows.



Something I discovered while researching - when "Max Headroom: The Original Story" was released in American from Lorimar Home Video (VHS, Betamax and LD - above left) in 1986 it wasn't the expanded version. But the original fifty-seven minute program. As far as I can tell in my research it was never given a home video treatment. Yes - that Shout Factory box set, does not include the original program. The laser disc above had a price tag of $24.95, CLV single side. I have that LD. The same version was also released on laser disc in Japan in 1987 from TDK Super Video (above right), CLV too - sold for 9800 JPY.

Those old VHS and Betamax copies had a gate folded box; it opened up to show scenes from the program.

What remains of this talk show was released exclusively on laser disc in Japan, a few episodes each on four three. Plus a 'Best Of' from those episode pool.

1986 was the year of Max. He reached media awareness with a series of national commeircals for Coca Cola, the virtual personality became their cyber spokes person. His catch phrase, "Catch The Wave, Coke". This was for "New Coke". Many of these commericals can be found on YouTube.

Then comes 1987 and ABC aired the sci-fi show, expanding the universe. The show was so ahead of the curve. It predicted the internet, crypto-currency, terrorists become reality TV stars even had an episode with a rival network trying to create a false flag for ratings. It had something else, the instant ratings on media, plus for profit news. And of couse 'reality TV'.

There was a short return - one more time; 2007, four commercials on Channel Four; an elderly Max telling folks about the upcoming switch to digital only TV broadcasts. Somewhat bitter he's been left being when he was on the forefront of the video revolution.

There is something that I discovered while researching. There were three scripts made before the plug was pulled on the show. The entire cast is still alive. Why not just animate it? Could be life-like CGI or flat like "Archer". "Theora's Tale"...

As a corporate shooting war breaks out in Antartica between Zik Zak and Zlin, Theora is missing and Murray tries to calm Edison and get him aboard a special Air Corridor shuttle to cover the story. Theora has, in fact, been kidnapped by mercenaries of the Video Freedom Alliance who have found out about Theora's true identity and are demanding a huge ransom for her release.

- internet synopsis

I would love to see that.



He was so popular even appeared on the cover of "Mad Magazine", their March 1987 issue ($1.35).

- - - - - - - - - -

Footnotes.

For the 1989 Adult Video Awards - the XXX version of the Oscars. "Maxine" was nominated for six awards. But won just one, "Best Art Direction".

It was nominated for "Best Actress for Shot-On-Video Feature" - Porsche Lynn; "Best Actor for Shot-On-Video Feature" - Robert Bullock; "Best Suporting Actress for Shot-On-Video Feature" - Sharon Mitchell; "Best Shot-On-Video Feature" and "Best Video Editing".

The feature was directed by Joseph F. Robertson a.k.a. Adele Robbins with a story by Arthur King; written by King and Steve Sayer.

Why was a shot on film movie, nominated for Video Editing? All the 'Maxine' footage was pre-recorded on cassette to play with the actors to interact with. Plus the complex editing done for the SexVerts. But to be honest, the flick is so amateur, shouldn't gotten any noms, let alone wins.



Well this was different - an exclusive for a porno, what a time to be alive. And yeah, she doesn't wear those sunglasses in the movie. In a couple of scenes you can see early Apple computer products. On the desk of Packard is an early Macintosh computer. And the trailer of "Sex Wars" is every porn cliché wrapped in a poorly produced sci-fi package. Back in the day - was anybody convinced? Roger Corman had better production values. *nods* Come back here on March 11th, 2021 for something different - not another Past Tense, but a cinematic comparison. Been wanting to do that for a long time.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Catch The Blue Wave Part I


Another band new entry and quite unique - in the nine years I've done this (current and previous iteration), never did a write up for such an exclusive. This outing were gonna be talking about a parody, a porn parody that was "Maxine" (1988)...



This shot on film XXX feature came out in 1988. My data is quite limited. Have no budget stats or box office numbers. Yes, this was shown on the big screen back in the day at Pussycat Theatres. Many moons ago porn was show in specialty theaters. Can't imagine how terrible it was to be the clean-up person in between screenings. My city had one in the downtown area; was in business till the early 1990s.

I have some data, can tell you this came on DVD on April 30th, 2002.

It streeted against (yes, keeping it clean) "After School Asians", "Booty Talk 26", "Covergirls 3" and the double feaure "Totally Nude Yoga & Tai Chi". I have "Totally Nude Aerobics" by the way, directed by Ron Harris.

This is a Manufacture On Demand release; official DVD-R. There was no slipcover or insert issues.

- - -

Look guys, I wrote a lot - not so much on the exclusive itself, it's hard to find info. That's why it's in three parts.

As stated, this came out on DVD in 2002 - it is an exclusive to the adult video (DVD and BD), marital aid and lingerie online store, Excalibur Films. NOW don't think it, unless you're over eighteen. Play nice!

Man did this title took me days to research. So little is availble online, bits here and there - collating the relevant trivia. The most obvious bit went over my head - why is this an exclusive?

The blue movie was released in '88 from Excalibur Films, the same company who reinvented itself as an online adult store (no longer making skin flicks). So it makes sense that they would hold this as an exclusive.

I ordered the DVD through the mail on February 3rd, 2021 and arrived on February 12th. It was sold for $8.94, but has an original retail price of $19.95.



I've been a great fan of the ABC TV show. I own the complete series on DVD that was released from Shout! Factory in 2010 for $49.97. The first pressing came with a lenticualar slipcover and an insert booklet; episode guide and extras listing. Hell, I even have the limited, foil trading card sticker set from 1986, thirty-three cards from Topps/Chrysalis.

Man, I highly recommend this science fiction series. But know what year you're getting. You want the '10 release. The box set was re-released in 2020 with a lower price, $34.99. They made it so by taking out the fifth disc (where the extras were) and removing the slip and book. It's basic. Don't fall for the reduction.

The set includes an episode that didn't air on ABC during its original run.



Yes - at one point in U.S. history, before home video - if you wanted to see a porno, you had to have a projection room; old school home theater OR go to your local Pussycat Theatre. That was it. Above is an image from 1973; Fairfax, California. The song "Girls On Film" by Duran Duran pops to mind. God, all the seats must have been gummy. *shutter*

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

Like I wrote, I am a fan of the show. At the time I was a teen, having my mom rent for me movies on tape from the local video rental shops. I had the cinema bug back then too. Back then video stores didn't often have an adult section. So they had 'the binder'. A binder filled with cut outs from VHS slipcases, the front. Flip through the binder and rent XXX titles that way. One day I saw this open and my mom was looking elsewhere so was the owner. It was open to that page.

Teen me: "Max Headroom has a porno? I want to see this."

But couldn't was underage, the end.

The time is 69 minutes into the future and there's been a dramatic increase in population copulation. Enter Allison Karter, ace investigative reporter for Network 30 [XXX]. Ms. Karter quickly discovers that the culprit is the SexVerts being aired on her very own channel. But, in head of her investigation, she is captured by a goon squad sent after her by the SexVert advertising conglomerate. They commence to take erotic advantage of her till Alllison is in a state of sexual delirium. Network 30, fearing the loss of ratings if Allison Karter doesn't come around, decide to dump her memory into their mainframe - and she begins the erotic computer life of her alter-ego, Maxine Bedroom!

- VHS back cover

Well... that sounds kinda rapey. Things were different back then.

Okay, lets break this plot into non-porn, normal speak...

Network 30's premier reporter, Allison Karter (Porsche Lynn) uncovers a conspiracy at her work over gaining additional ratings by having erotic zipped commercials (subliminal manipulation) to keep people watching (and get frisky), plus add new viewers. The increase in ratings was so out of the norm, Karter investigates. Before she can broadcast her story, Karter is kidnapped by network executives; Helena Rox (Sharon Mitchell) and Blaze Packard (Robert Bullock) who want this kept a secret. Their plan backfires as she is incoherent from their attempt to intimidate.

Thinking on the fly, opt to make her into a virtual copy of her to keep up appearance and to have this duplicate under their thumb. It also backfires badly. Her digital copy, Maxine Bedroom can't be commanded even as they attempt to out maneuver and assassinate their creation. Maxine promps nationwide shenanigans and helps Allison back to her senses to expose the network for their nefarious scheme.

Now this sounds like a serious plot. A serious plot in a porno! Yeah, you're gonna be disappointed. This is pretty much a meat and potato blue flick. It's a decent-ish homage to the vanguard cyber punk TV series, "Max Headroom" (1987). Which I'll get into in a few.

Over the years tried to remember the name. For decades thought it as "Maxine Bedroom" or "Maxine Legroom", no luck. And no luck for good reason. You can't find this anywhere other than from Excalibur Films. Flash forward to late January '21. Was looking for an original retail price on an adult DVD I bought. Yes, I do buy and collect XXX titles; true ownership.

I use their website since they have original prices listed; used for my collection price index. I went wrong and hit their home page by accident. And there it was - the cover pix with the text "Exclusive Classics" under it. WTF? *click* There it is. And is affordable. It was ordered a few days later. Only when doing my research waiting for it to arrive did I discover this is not a pressed disc. Damn it.

Looking about that web page, discovered other exclusives from such 1980s XXX studios as Essex Home Video, AFV, Hollywood Video, Arrow Films, VCA Video, Seduction Productions and a few others. To be honest, not much I want to see. Lots of garbage, "Maxine" being the exception.

Some might recall another blue movie spoken about in the Past Tense for "Bring It On: All Or Nothing" (2006). How finding a lost title to me was NOT a trip down nostalgia. The flick did not age well at all, various shades of cringe.



The 1985 porno, "Amber Aroused" from Caballero. Bought the DVD and regretted it. My would-be memory was far superior to the actual film. Here?

Man, restoring that poster image above took me far longer than I want to admit.

Didn't have much expectations for "Maxine" - it was a product of its time. Yes - it is definitely dated. But still hold just enough nostalgia to be a bit entertaining. Just. There is no menu, it just plays. By the way, Lynn is trying way too hard to act, emote. Acting isn't her strenth.



My biggest grip is that feature wasn't remastered or something, something done to improve the picture. The quality is watchable, but should have been better. It's like it was ported from an old VHS copy, above. Look, this was a big money maker at Excalibur. That said, I made zero effort to improve the image quality. What you see above and examples is what you get.

Their release is practically bare bones, not even the trailer is included.

She talks in stereo, she sounds so good to me.

- Gary Myrick

Another gripe - the movie was shot in stereo, but is presented here in mono. Was the original audio tracks lost? That's bizarre. The only extras are two trailers. Before it starts - has the trailer for "Ten Little Maidens" (1985) and finishes with "Sex Wars" ('85).

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - March 2nd, 2021


Beauty And The Beast (2017) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $29.99

Beauty And The Beast (1991) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $29.99

Mulan (1998) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $32.99

The Arrival (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD combo $19.99

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - March 9th, 2021


Beauty And The Beast (2017) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $29.99

Beauty And The Beast (1991) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $29.99

Mulan (1998) (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $32.99

[JohnIan101]

Lingering Thoughts - A Comparison Part II



Jurassic Park - The mysterious island of Isle Nublar.


The Towering Inferno - The not mysterious, non-island of San Francisco.


Jurassic Park - The craft flies above the trees.


The Towering Inferno - The craft flies above the trees.


Welcome to Jurassic Park.


Welcome to the Glass Tower.

Now you may be asking what about the screen writers - same person? Nope.

"The Towering Inferno" had its screenplay by Frank M. Robinson (based on the novels, "The Tower" by Richard Martin Stern and "The Glass Inferno" by Thomas N. Scortia & Frank M. Robinson). "Jurassic Park" had its screenplay by Michael Crichton and David Koepp (based on the novel of the same name by Crichton).

A bit of trivia for you guys, "Inferno" inspired the television syndicated mini-series, "Condominium" (1980). Anybody remember that? A newly opened apartment complex in Florida gets bashed by a massive hurricane, trapping the tenants inside. Inside a poorly made structure. Oh noes!!!

They don't get rescued, most get killed when the building crumbles from the storm. It's too bad that's not out on DVD, haven't seen it since it aired in syndication. Can't remember which came first; was a book then mini-series or mini-series then novel adaptation.



The poster for each feature.

Sorry about the day delay. Was suppose to go up last night, but it was heavy rain - as if the power would go out at any moment. The only thing missing was thunder and lightening; better just unplug my computer and put her to sleep. I can do this the next night.

There you go folks; food for thought - not much more than junk food. It is interesting though. Come back here on March 25th, 2021 for beloved animated series with a "Star Trek" connection.