Hulk Hands

Big Bang theory is pretty clever.  Even though I totally geek out, I never loved the show, but it has really grown on me and continues to win me over especially since The One To Be Pitied, surprisingly, loves it more than me.  It's a bit like Seinfeld for geeks.

The Courtship Of Eddie's Father S1 Ep4: The Littlest Kidnapper

This is the first entry in The Courtship Of Eddie's Father series to recycle opening footage and thus the reason the theme is not included here.  Still, for those with an equally nostalgic fondness for the warmth and charm of Bill Bixby and the cast of the classic series I hope these little flashbacks to The Courtship Of Eddie's Father offer you a brief moment of solace in those complicated and busy lives as they do me.

In The Courtship Of Eddie's Father, Season One, Episode 4, The Littlest Kidnapper, Eddie is feeling particularly sad for Mrs. Livingston and feels she is all alone. Eddie, played by Brandon Cruz, has his father. Tom Corbett, played by Bill Bixby, has Eddie. Eddie suggests his father pollinate Mrs. Livingston like a bee does a flower, but it falls on deaf ears.  Thus, Eddie feels action is required.






On the way home from school, Eddie decides to bring an Asian boy home with him. He dubs the little boy, Frank, hoping he'll be Mrs. Livingston's son, and brings him home essentially kidnapping the boy so that Mrs. Livingston will no longer be alone.

Tom does everything to make sure Frank is returned to his parents since the unexpected abduction of Frank by Eddie.



Eddie discovers, through the arrival of Frank's divorced parents, that all is not perfect in Frank's world as his parents argue. Eddie soon discovers that the affections he has toward Mrs. Livingston and through her relationship with he and his father that she is perhaps not as alone as he originally believed. Life is pretty good.  As someone affected and surrounded directly and indirectly by the wake of divorced families in the 1970s, this is indeed a very poignant episode and spoke to many of us at a time when the D word seemed so relative, prevalent and damaging.

And speaking of survival, there was so much to love about the way things were once upon a time, such as driving in the front seat.  It may not have been politically correct and it may not have been as safe as driving is today for kids, because God knows we've learned a thing or two, but there was something pretty special about sitting next to your Mom or Dad in the front seat sometimes even leaning against the dashboard.  You have to love the retro look back at these simpler, but sometimes special times.



Pat Morita [Happy Days] guests as Frank's father.
The Littlest Kidnapper.  Writer: Carl Kleinschmitt. Director: James Komack.

Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic 5th Anniversary! (A Five Year Mission)

I actually kind of missed the moment.  I was so busy I didn't even take time to mark the event that was Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic's five year anniversary/ birthday.  WOW!  It's hard to believe I've been at this since October of 2007.

October was a pretty hectic month and November isn't much better so far, but I thought I would simply mark the milestone of my five-year mission.  I remember scoffing at the idea that I might make it five months so five years is something of an accomplishment.  If I'm honest with myself I would admit I've always likened myself to something of a strong starter.  Finishing strong is much more challenging.  It's something I try to hold my feet to the fire on as I've grown older.

The Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic blog has opened many doors along the way.  It's incredible really.  I've met many bright, articulate and kind people here.  You know who you are.  The fact that you have taken time out to write from time to time on this journey with me means a great deal.  The blog has given me the necessary canvas with which to express myself, find my voice and write and do so at my own pace.  I'm grateful for that freedom.



It's rather insignificant in the big scope of things, but I do enjoy this special place in that vast universe of ideas and hope to continue writing. Perhaps we'll be here to mark a ten year anniversary somewhere down the road.

At this point, there are 74 loyal readers.  I've published 712 posts in all with roughly 140 posts a year.  Time restraints certainly restrict my hopes for a more prolific outlet, but as long as the quality is there I'll make every effort to keep doing it.

My sincere appreciation to those who visit Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic regularly and enjoy stopping here. I do thank you and I am humbled.  We shall continue boldly going.

The E-Day Files

The day has finally arrived.  It's Election Day.

It is indeed a very important day in our lives where every one of us has the opportunity to decide who will lead the nation from our President to our local leaders to the bonds we support and how money will be spent that will directly impacts our lives.  I don't believe for a minute that it doesn't matter.  I'm not tired of the process.  I don't subscribe to the idea that we should just get it over with for the sake of expediency.  People need time to figure it out.





Tweedledee and Tweedledum perhaps, but not always, and the race for the President is indeed a significant trial and undertaking.  It is no small feat.  I honestly have to say that I do have a great deal of respect for any candidate willing to take on such a massive physical and psychological war of attrition. Their lives probed for every mistake and misstep in the hopes of devaluing their humanity. The modern political campaign is indeed an ordeal and one I do not envy for the candidates or voters to navigate intelligently.  Do these people do drugs to stay fresh day in and day out?  Amazing.



Today is like the spring of the political world where potentially new beginnings are born on a national, state and local level.  Good luck everyone in making these important decisions even when the process tends to make us skeptical or people's inflexible attitudes and lack of respect for one another's choices shakes our belief in our fellow countrymen sometimes to the core.  All it takes is one person to make a difference.  Trust me, I have to remind myself of these things and talk myself off the jaded precipice from time to time too.  I must believe in what unites us and find the common ground even when we disagree.  This is what will sustain us.  Vote and feel the weight of an Americna campaign lift from your backs and shoulders.  Good luck all.



"I believe that people who do not vote in this country have no right to complain about the government that we are now living under." -Bill Bixby [source unknown]-



"There is so much political correctness now. I want to keep government out of people's lives. I don't vote Democrat. They want you to get a free house, free car, free college education, free healthcare -oh no, you don't need to pay for any of that. Ridiculous!" -Dirk Benedict [SciFiNow #25, 2008]-



"Conservatives say 'Trust Us'." Carter pointed to the slogan, "Trust No One" as inherently "libertarian." He declares The X-Files really says, 'Don't trust anyone.' That summarizes my political views in a nutshell." -Chris Carter [The Official Guide To The X-Files].









"The citizens of the United States have to take hold of it. That’s what elections are about. And you’ve got to elect the people you think are sensible. That’s what you’ve got to do.  We’re all guessing. But we know that what you’re doing now isn’t working. So let’s try something else. Your solution may be just as good as mine, as long as it’s not following exactly what we’re doing now, because what we’re doing now is not working." -William Shatner [Glenn Beck Interview 2008]-

"Did everyone forgot what democracy is about or do we just shut our eyes when the government no longer listens to the democratically elected representatives of the people just because we love the characters. And by the way I love both these actors and the character they play too the fact is they broke as many laws as they claim Zarek did.  ** People only took what Adama said about him as God's truth but if you really study his actions you would see that he never did anything that wasn't for the reason of supporting his idealistic vision of a true democracy where the government is accountable and this government was definitely not accountable.  ** The government of Adama and Roslin, as much as we love, these characters broke every constitutional rule or law to stay in power and to assert their will, regardless of their positive motivations they had destroyed a true democracy on the Galactica and yet Zarek is looked upon as the power hungry bad guy because he was one of the few to stand up and challenge them.  ** And why, because he believed that just because we have a 9:11 type holocaust you don't shut your eyes and turn over your power to the government because that's the surest way to lose your rights and what we as a people have fought many wars to protect.  ** In truth Zarek, Adama and Roslin all wanted power for the same reason, to make a positive difference but Zarek still idealistically believed that the government should always be accountable to the people.  ** Democracy is a fragile institution and can easily be lost if we don't make our governments accountable." -Richard Hatch on character Tom Zarek from Battlestar Galactica[an abridged version from the Chicago Tribune 2009]-







"... a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of government remain unknown to you, then I suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked."

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

"Words offer the means to meaning, and, for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?" -V from V For Vendetta-



"We were all conservatives on that show, which was unusual for Hollywood. At parties liberals would come up to me and they would whisper, 'I watch Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team.' But they didn't want anybody to hear them say it." -Dirk Benedict [SciFiNow #25, 2008]-



"Patriotism is usually stronger than class hatred, and always stronger than internationalism."

"One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes a revolution in order to establish a dictatorship."

"So much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot."

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."

"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." -George Orwell-






"False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil."

"I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live." -Socrates-

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

With Halloween behind us [though it was postponed in some parts until this weekend] and the apocalyptic events of Hurricane Sandy just beginning [yes, I was one of the fortunate ones and I am grateful], it seemed a fitting opportunity to close out scary October with the appropriately titled Resident Evil: Apocalypse [2004], a film originally intended for release on Halloween in October 2003.

After the claustrophobic confines of the original Resident Evil [2002] relegated entirely within the Umbrella Corporation's Hive facility filmed in hues of anti-septic, basement-like blue and highlights of sterile, metallic whites and reds, Resident Evil: Apocalypse opens the action of the latest chapter within the dark enclosure of an urban nightmare a la John Carpenter's classic Escape From New York [1981].




Sadly, Resident Evil: Apocalypse enjoys the prestigious allocation of being the most underappreciated of the first four films. Is that fair and by what measure?  Was it a lack of zombies?  The film has often been discarded as the least original of the four films and despite the nods to the 1970s, a period of film Anderson readily cites as influential to his film maker's eye, no one would dare argue it to be a better film than the John Carpenter classic, but make no bones about it, there's plenty in tribute here to the days of post-apocalyptic streets and decay complete with zombies and other undead things.





Personally, I wouldn't hazard to defend Resident Evil: Apocalypse as approaching an influential classic like Carpenter's film, but I appreciate its respect for the vibe of that earlier film.  Though Carpenter's film arrived at the dawn of the 1980s, it very much captured the spirit of films made popular throughout the 1970s, a time of American decay and disrepair. Thus, I continue to defend Resident Evil: Apocalypse as a unique chapter in the franchise that also makes some efforts to create some semblance of story structure for the action unleashed.  Newer entries in the franchise would approach an even more video game-like aesthetic emphasizing action over story.  But this sophomore effort still feels like a fairly well-defined, self-contained chapter within the series.




None of the Resident Evil films are particularly strong on the narrative level, but the first two films execute more like stories based on video games rather than straight video game actioners with a first person shooter visual style. What they all share is the common thread of viral-zombie apocalypse and its heroine Alice.  So despite the lack of love or affection by many for the film [it retains the esteemed lowest splatter at 21% at Rotten Tomatoes], Resident Evil: Apocalypse is no less worthy of the franchise than any other film.





Does Resident Evil: Apocalypse deserve exclusion for paying tribute to a film made over two decades ago?  Resident Evil: Extinction unapologetically taps into the artistic flair of films like The Road Warrior and yet director Russell Mulcahey mostly succeeds for his efforts.  Why does director Alexander Witt, or better yet writer Paul W. S. Anderson, receive such scrutiny over his efforts to ape Escape From New York? Even the score by Jeff Danna makes efforts to channel the classic in its compositions.  The music tonally captures the mood of that film's war torn streets.  Admittedly, though he's partly responsible, Anderson, too, has suggested he was not a fan of Witt's handling of the second installment's execution.



With The Hive reopened, the T-virus and its many re-animated inhabitants escape into Racoon City.  With the intention of closing down the city Umbrella acts quickly to retrieve a number of high level targets for extraction.  One high level target, Dr. Charles Ashford, creator of the T-Virus, awaits his daughter's safe arrival.  She remains alive following a car crash within the city and thus the set up begins to save her life in a hostile new world in the form of the walled off Racoon City.



Thirteen hours later and Racoon City is in shambles as the dead walk, people fight, flee and die.  Jill Valentine, a now suspended S.T.A.R.S. [Special Tactics And Rescue Squad - a special arm of the Racoon City law enforcement unit] super cop, is introduced with cartoonish swagger, a tight-fitting outfit and legs that won't quit.  She quickly reveals she's a crackshot with a gun and unloads on all infected zombies.  Played by Sienna Guillory, Jill Valentine nearly shares the spotlight with Alice for the second film.



Meanwhile, Project Alice is revealed and Umbrella suspends all hospital operations on Alice bringing us precisely to the point with which the original Resident Evil film had ended.  In fact, any genuinely new Milla footage doesn't actually appear until the near thirty minute mark save for a very short scene.

Racoon City is entirely sealed off with only the Raven's Gate Bridge as an exit point, reminding us yet again of the concepts employed for Escape From New York.

Along with Jill Valentine, Carlos Oliveira, played by Oded Fehr, is introduced as a mercenary within Umbrella, both characters, unlike Alice, directly extracted from the Resident Evil video game series.



Dr. Ashford is looking for someone to help find his daughter and locates Alice alive within the city. As you'll recall, both Alice and Matt Addison were taken by Umbrella scientists at the close of Resident Evil.  Matt was mutating genetically and placed within the Nemesis Program.  Matt is the man who would be Nemesis.  Alice, too, was also used for experimentation but the virus has not impacted her physical appearance.  Milla Jovovich looks as good as ever of course.  No need for genetic mutation there, but the program has given her a new found superhuman strength.  Of course, she's going to need it.



The film boasts a fairly intense church sequence as Jill Valentine and others attempt to survive a handful of Lickers on the loose.  The CGI has improved but the mind numbing dialogue has not.  "Who the fuck are you?," inquires Valentine when Alice ["I'm Milla flippin' Jovovich"] finally arrives by motorcycle within the church to save the day with her sensationally comic book-like acrobatics.  The horror-like realities of the original are quickly slipping away in favor of action pieces.  Further, the sexy red dress look of the original film has been traded for a Lord Of The Flies, 1970s UFO-inspired fishnet look that does nothing to truly enhance the beauty of the star of the series unfortunately.  It is the least enticing or inviting outfit of the series. Could the lack of male stimuli be partially why this entry has been rejected almost purely on a level of visual gut reaction?  Nevertheless, Milla raises the bad-to-the-bone bar first set in the second portion of the original film.



Following the activation of Project Alice, Project Nemesis is executed minutes later unleashing the monstrous centerpiece of the film's mutant baddies.  Umbrella has their creature so well-designed and programmed a chopper drops in all manner of weaponry [Gatling/ rail gun and rocket launchers] for the creature to use to take out the S.T.A.R.S. members and anything that stands in its way. It's not made entirely clear why Umbrella is so determined to destroy S.T.A.R.S. other than for shits and giggles within unfortunate events.  For Umbrella, it would seem the experiment continues.  Umbrella mercenary team members arrive in the hospital to retrieve the dropped boxes only to discover the weapons were clearly meant for something else entirely.




Held up at a police station are twelve members of S.T.A.R.S. who are quickly wiped out by the unstoppable killing machine that is Nemesis.  Nemesis put simply is one seriously bad ass creature design and, at the time of the film, one of the best I had seen in some time.  The creators of Nemesis are truly underappreciated for their prosthetic and design work here.




Dr. Ashford locates Alice and Jill by camera and pay telephone.  He strikes a deal to save them if they can save his daughter who is hiding out at a school.  The group must take the deal or be the recipients of an incoming 5 kiloton precision tactical nuclear device.

Before long it's project versus project.  Alice versus Nemesis.  The action is indeed one of the highlights for those with an appetite for guns, firepower, destruction and general comic book violence with an impressively realistic vibe.




Jill Valentine locates young Angela.  The British voiced cutie and daughter of Dr. Charles Ashford is clearly the template and model for the artificial intelligence that was the Red Queen inside the Hive of the original film.  Actress Sophie Vavasseur didn't actually handle the voice of the Red Queen in the first film, but this is clearly the intent of the Angela character here.

The group of survivors makes their way to city hall [now that's not how Escape From New York ended] and their one chance to be airlifted to safety by chopper.




In a nifty sequence Alice runs down the side of city hall via cable and becomes a one-woman wrecking machine.  The team commandeers the chopper intended for the return of Nemesis, but Alice and company are apprehended by the remaining Umbrella soldiers as Nemesis awaits new orders.

Thus begins Alice and Nemesis Mortal Kombat match two.  Alice is informed she must fight Nemesis [her old friend Matt] or die.  Dr. Ashford is killed to make a point that they mean business.  Both are equally matched in strength, skill, speed and agility. Brother and sister. Beauty and the beast. Friends torn apart by corporate manipulation and power.




The battle commences and ultimately Alice pins Nemesis against a spike.  She is overcome with emotion for her old friend.  Overwhelmed by emotion, Alice is unable to finish off her old friend as flashbacks to his humanity torment her and the realization of this new reality sets in.  Of course, there is not a great deal of emotional depth or truly logical emotional depth to the series.  This cursory and shallow display is one of the series' glaring problems with most critics.  Scary to think Resident Evil: Apocalypse may be one of the less icy, more expressive and affecting in tone.

To Umbrella, the largest commercial enterprise on the planet, Alice is not a mutation but "evolution."  She has bonded with the T-virus on a cellular level.  She will not kill Nemesis though he is deemed expendable by Major Timothy Cain, in charge for Umbrella.





Matt is still somewhere inside Nemesis and even after receiving orders to kill Alice he refuses knowing she would not kill him after receiving same said orders to do so from Umbrella.  Nemesis reaches deep within to find Matt's humanity and goes rogue against Umbrella. In Richard "Jaws" Kiel, Moonraker-style Nemesis ironically proves not to be the archemeny of Alice becoming one of the good guys.  Nemesis begins killing all of the Umbrella soldiers.  Matt/ Nemesis is eventually killed but not before saving his old friend Alice. Of course they just met in Resident Evil but who is counting the hours of genuine human contact here really?  Nevermind both have been in coma stasis for most of their relationship.






With zombies incoming, Cain gets his comeuppance and is left behind to die.  Even a now zombified Dr. Ashford gets revenge on him. The helicopter escapes but the city is nuked.  The aftershock downs the helicopter too.  All are, in essence, believed to be  killed.  Even Alice appears to be deceased following the tumultuous escape.

In the end, we are led to believe Umbrella manages to spin events in their favor despite their extreme malfeasance.  The simple message is corporations are truly evil.






Epilogue:  Like a comic book, three weeks later in an Umbrella Medical Research Facility, Alice is essentially reborn.  She is alive and based on the discussion of her "recovery," she is not a clone.  Her escape reveals that Alice is a quick learner. Recollecting her past she is now stronger than ever and one scene indicates she now has immense psychic powers. She is rescued by Oliveira and Valentine with Angela Ashford suggesting that all were nursed back to health, reunited and somehow escaping. These final minutes are admittedly vague.  Upon their escape from the medical research facility it is clear that Umbrella's Dr. Sam Isaacs orders his soldiers to stand down and allow the group be free to exit.  In his mind, all is in place.  Project Alice has now become Program Alice.  Now activated it is suggested that the Umbrella Corporation is in full control of their greatest weapon. As the camera pulls back from the planet and a satellite circles with the Umbrella Corporation logo it is clear this corporate entity and the story's underlying message is that corporations are indeed evil, in charge and are ruling us all while we ignorantly live our pathetic lives.  This is clearly the harsh message of Resident Evil.



Familiarity with the set up and plot points aside, Resident Evil: Apocalypse executes well as a fun hybrid between zombie, viral quarantine and action film with no shortage of excitement.  Witt and company take a variety of sequences directly from a number of the Resident Evil video games.  Zombies, killer dobermans, mutant Lickers and the video game's infamous Nemesis generates enough of a nightmare to keep Resident Evil fans, err, licking their chops for more. Nevertheless, with a host of different characters introduced in this less confined, much more sprawling environment, the film feels a little more disjointed and not as tight as the original.  That works against it, but it feels like an entirely different story in many respects and in this Resident Evil: Apocalypse at least avoids the pitfall of repeating the original.




Please don't misunderstand, director Alexander Witt's film doesn't come close to the auteur touch of one John Carpenter.  Anderson's writing and the direction lacks the somber, grim, truly believable post-apocalyptic vibe of Carpenter's 1981 classic.  The end of the world never felt more real and comfortably uncomfortable than it did in Carpenter's visionary hands.  Resident Evil: Apocalypse is by no means a classic, however within the franchise thread of heroine Alice's tale and modern day journey through the proverbial rabbit hole of genetic mutations, it works well and presents an urban nightmare that is unique while offering an alternative chapter within the series.  Witt's sense of excitement and pacing is arguably well-staged, which may be why the Chilean filmmaker has worked as a second unit director on the Mission: Impossible film series, as well as James Bond films' Casino Royale [2006] and Skyfall [2012].  Action seems to be something that comes fairly natural to the director even if it lacks a certain artistic vision or trademark panache or flair.  So while imperfect, Resident Evil: Apocalypse delivers a hearty bit of action and changes things up remarkably from the first picture and on that level this one has its explosive moments.





As a chapter in the tale of Alice, the film works and logically [most of the time] realizes the natural evolution of the story and her character even if things get a little crazy.  But this is Resident Evil people, good old mindless zombie fun, and these are but mere quibbles between friends, which would lead me to the entirely fitting and unoriginal pronouncement to those who could possibly reject it - "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?!" *// Resident Evil: Apocalypse: B.





Coming Soon: The desert. Hot sands. Hot Ashanti. Hot Ali Carter. The scorching hot Milla.  More zombies. And The Mad Max-like homage that is Resident Evil: Extinction.