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Reviews
Science Fiction Theatre: Jupitron (1956)
I'd buy what Dr. Wykoff was selling because of his English accent
An interesting, kind of off-beat story where a young scientist and his charming wife are trying to settle down for a good necking session on the beach when the fog rolls in and transports them to one of the moons of Jupiter. On that moon, they run into a long-missing scientist who wants to give them some information that could benefit everyone on Earth. Soon, though, they find themselves back on the beach, no worse for wear. Was it all just a dream? Take a look at this episode and see!
Science Fiction Theatre: The Legend of Crater Mountain (1956)
The Teacher Rocks
This was an interesting episode from the standpoint of the actress who played the teacher. At first, she is totally freaked out by the paranormal activity going on around her. Then, when she realizes that she wasn't imagining the activity, she becomes grounded and attempts to use her psychology training to work with the children who have fantastic mental abilities. However, one issue that bothers me is how the father appears concerned about how the outside world might treat his children if it discovers their abilities but the children seemed to show little regard for his concerns and were eager to show off their abilities. This is a story that could have used more time and character development to flesh out the story.
Science Fiction Theatre: Sun Gold (1956)
Great lead actors make the tale enjoyable
An early "Chariot of the Gods" televised tale, the male and female leads are scientists who decide to investigate evidence of ancient nuclear activity in Incan ruins. The male scientist is charming and treats the female scientist as an equal partner. The lead actress sells the fact that the female scientist loves science and is totally professional. The thought of possibly finding gold and treasure doesn't appear to have any appeal to either of them; they are in the adventure to explore the boundaries of science. The episode presents an interesting mystery with a nice conclusion which leads to thoughts of what happens next for our intrepid scientists and the discovery they've uncovered.
Adventures of Superman: The Stolen Costume (1952)
Fits the tone of the First Season but...
*Spoiler Alert*
I agree with most of the other comments on this episode and I won't go deeply into the plot since you can see it in the other reviews. I do recall seeing this episode when I was a little kid and I can tell you it didn't bother me at the time. I suppose back then (early 60s) we saw harsh justice all the time on TV so we wouldn't consider the episode to be dark. The Untouchables, the Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Peter Gunn, all of those shows had heroes who'd kill the bad guys pretty handily and they didn't even show that the bad guys were so bad they deserved to die. In this Superman episode, Superman didn't actually kill the couple but he basically Batman-planned their demise because he knew what they we're going to do since it was in their nature to do it. It could be argued that their expectation that he would behave the way they would if the shoe was on the other foot is what led to their demise. Considering what Ace almost did to Candy, that may have also led Clark to do what he did to them. Looking at it now, though, it is a bit troubling that he seems happy that they're gone for good, especially for that period of time when decent men were supposed to be protective of women. He could have taken them to a deserted island and accomplished the same thing without endangering their lives.
Despite that, the acting in this episode was great and fit the noir character of the first season. You felt bad for Superman and could understand his concern that his life as Clark Kent could be over. All four of the primary actors were superb.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Homeward (1994)
Prime Directive Doesn't Apply Here
The problem with this episode is that Picard clearly misinterprets what the Prime Directive is all about. The Prime Directive is about non-interference with a planetary society's culture. However, it says nothing about allowing an entire species to become extinct because of forces outside of that society's control (such as the natural disaster threatening to extinguish life from the surface of the planet in this episode). Essentially, his view would be that if a culture hasn't developed space flight capability on its own and a planetary disaster falls upon them, they should be allowed to die off.
Clearly, that view flies in the face of the Original Series episode "All Our Yesterdays" where the Enterprise tried to save some of the people of the planet Sarpeidon when its sun was going supernova. Star Fleet had ordered Kirk to rescue at least some of the people there, people who had not developed space flight capability.
So with the precedent already established in the Original Series, Picard's strained view simply doesn't hold any water especially since Worf's brother came up with a fairly ingenious way to transport the people without impacting their culture.
Castle: Reckoning (2015)
This two parter actually felt like a great thriller movie!
With '3XK', 'Kick the Ballistics', 'Probable Cause', 'Disciple', 'Resurrection' and now 'Reckoning', the Castle writers have managed to keep us on the edge of our seats for several years on how Castle and company could possibly beat a pair of villains who knew how to manipulate the police procedure used by the NYPD.
In Reckoning, we find out how the heroes manage to overcome this challenge and see an unlikely someone who's slowly become a fan of Castle to step into the mentor role to get him to approach the problem by using his strengths rather than his emotions (as his Dad had to chastise him for before in Season 5 and 6) or the procedural process Beckett might use. In this episode we see Castle be a typical badass action hero (which doesn't get him any results) then a deductive reasoning, mystery writer badass (which does).
Finally, we get a glimpse of the rarely tapped Xena-Warrior-Princess-murderous-rage badass nature of Beckett in all of its terrifying glory. The tiny portion we see along with its aftermath is effective because it leaves it to the viewer's imagination to envision the lengths that Kate would go to survive and how the realization of that horrifies her.
By far, this episode rates as the best of Castle and should be watched starting with '3XK' throughout to this satisfying finale of the arc.
Science Fiction Theatre: The Other Side of the Moon (1956)
An episode that actually has some science with its fiction
The premise of this episode is interesting from the standpoint that it is similar to a good sci-fi short story. A scientist who has created an amazing instrument that can take fantastic photographic images of astral bodies has discovered evidence of activity occurring on the dark side of the moon. However, instead of being hailed for the technical and scientific achievement he has made, he is ridiculed by the scientific community, is thrown to the wolves by the dean of the university, and is harangued by his wife who doesn't support his work and wants his attention all to herself. Fortunately, even against all these odds, he preservers.
What is kind of interesting is that the scientific world is shown as being somewhat cut throat back then as it is now when someone comes out with new theories or scientific proof (can we say the detractors against climate change, anyone?) So the episode hits the mark there.
Skip Homeier (from Star Trek fame - Patterns of Force and This Way to Eden) also hits the mark as a typically geeky scientist who somehow lucked out(although that's debatable) by marrying the attractive Beverly Garland, whose character, unfortunately turns out to be a shrew. Unfortunately, as with most of Sci-Fi Theater's episodes, the pay off at the end is weak and leaves the viewer somewhat unsatisfied. However, it's not bad for twenty minutes of Youtube time.
Science Fiction Theatre: The World Below (1955)
Don't bother watching this 'voyage to the bottom of the sea'
I'm surprised that an actor as good a Gene Barry would have been in an episode this poorly conceived.
The 'mystery' is so badly depicted by the 'photographical evidence' in the episode that any person who didn't immediately notice a problem with it should be drummed out of their profession.
Although Hitchcoc in his review notes that the series seems to subject scientists who challenge the status quo to ridicule and censure. the idiots aboard this submarine deserved to be subjected to scorn and had no business being on any mission outside of the old Disneyland Submarine ride in the first place!
Science Fiction Theatre: Y..O..R..D.. (1955)
An episode that's more "Outer Limits" than "Sci-Fi Theater"
This episode is somewhat unique in comparison to the other Science Fiction Theater episodes because the military apparatus here seems more interested in trying to assist the alien spacecraft and its occupants rather than blowing them out the sky as a potential risk to our world's security.
A young Deforest Kelly (Star Trek's Dr. McCoy) plays a military physician in this story, too! So it's worth it just to see him in a similar role as his most famous character.
Rather than succumb to the suspicion of anything alien or communist as do most of the characters in the other episodes, this little outing, although somewhat disappointing in the pay-off at the end of the show, is a worthy effort for this period of time on television.
Science Fiction Theatre: Time Is Just a Place (1955)
An Old School Sci-Fi Tale from the 50s!
This story was written by the great Jack Finney (author of the classic novel "The Body Snatchers") and had the great Warren Stevens from "Forbidden Planet" and "Star Trek" as an unusual neighbor who supposedly has invented a kind of "Roomba" robot way before the twenty-first century's home appliance is on the scene. Yet, this 'inventor' doesn't know how to unlatch the hood of his car and look for loose wires on his distributor cap.
The basis for this story fits the pattern of the 'Amazing Tales' type of sci-fi stories that showed the introduction of something either a little extraordinary or a bit weird in the midst of our every day lives from writers like Finney, Knight, Heinlein, and Sturgeon. The story translates well to the television screen and is stark in its presentation yet tidy. The only problem with the story is that it doesn't really have a twist at the end. It's extremely linear from beginning to end, so the viewer knows how it's going to turn out way before he/she gets to the end of the episode.
So to sum up: it's effective but could have been better.
Science Fiction Theatre: Hour of Nightmare (1955)
American Jingoism at its finest
Several things I find amusing about this entry in the series is: how it kind of flies in the face of the evidence later entries in the series presented that most UFO sightings were due to lights shining on inversion layers; the incredible way that it tries to show the stubborn American as a hero when, in fact, his stubbornness puts the Mexican guide in a bad spot, and how the American guy's wife does nothing to try and call him on his terrible behavior.
The American comes across as a total tool; however, his wife seems charming and attractive in a normal way rather than a Hollywood way. The Mexican guide also comes across well but the story kind of seems to say he deserves what he gets in the end while the American guy who really causes all of the trouble gets away Scot free even after not being truthful to the cops.
All in all, a weird episode, basically saying as long as American lives aren't at stake, it's okay to lie when you think no one will believe the truth.
Science Fiction Theatre: The Strange People at Pecos (1955)
Effective Episode showing Cold War Era
*Potential Spoiler Alert*
I agree with Brian's take on the episode. Here, you have the 50's where everyone was expected to conform and not stand out because of the fear of "the other" (communists, aliens, African-Americans, etc.) and a family of non-conformists with a daughter who certainly didn't fit in with the other children. Of course, innocent things like children who have wild imaginations or a father who encouraged his daughter's flights of fancy can take on a sinister light when their neighbors, who are so concerned about making certain everyone 'fits in', focus on their differences.
I like the ambiguity of the piece and the declaration about the little girl's condition by the host at the end of the show as being rare but entirely true. I also like how subtle it was about getting its message of tolerance and communication across. I agree with Brian that Serling would have hammered you across the head with the message in a heavy-handed way if he'd written the story; but the subtle writing made the story and its message far more effective.
If I have one nit with the story, its with how the parents of the two boys were not as strict with dealing with their boys' poor behavior as parents in the 50s should have. Part of 'fitting in' was having children who 'were seen, not heard' and who played well with others or followed social norms. Seeing the kids badger the young girl (when bullying a girl by a boy was a no-no back then) and having one of the boys being a peeping tom would have had the parents embarrassed and spanking the kid for putting the family in such a socially uncomfortable situation.
Other than that, the episode was well done!