In the 1974 made-for-TV movie and series pilot “The Questor Tapes“, freshly minted android Questor has three days to locate his creator, Dr. Vaslovik. Failure is not an option. Short on time and information, Questor basically kidnaps Dr. Vaslovik’s mentee,…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Enemy Mine
Wolfgang Petersen—Das Boot (1981) In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak (1995), Air Force One (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000)—took over Enemy Mine in 1985. It would be his first English-language film. Enemy Mine was more futuristic melodrama than sci-fi…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Soldier
Writer David Peoples gave us Blade Runner, Unforgiven, and 12 Monkeys. He and director Paul Anderson–Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon–delivered Soldier. Essentially Shane in Space, this Science Fiction, One Man Army actionfest starred Kurt Russell. Critics and audiences hated it. My…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Dragonriders of Pern Game
For over thirty years, master storyteller Anne McCaffrey entertained us with her epic science fantasy series the Dragonriders of Pern. The settings intrigued us, the characters grabbed us, and the stories–oh the stories. Two trilogies initially, two short story collections…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Dollhouse
Dollhouse was called “The best action show on network television.” It was. They said “The Actives are all young hot women.” They weren’t. Fans complained “Fox is marketing this thing like it is Cathouse.” Fox was. Picture the ‘Eliza Dushku…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Fans of The X-Files, of Fringe owe some of our enjoyment to the trail of conspiracy crept in the 70’s by the Night Stalker. Rotten Tomatoes gives Kolchak: The Night Stalker a solid 86%, and 97% of the often overgenerous…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Green Slime
Man has looked out to space in wonder For thousands of years. Sometimes thinking that life could be somewhere And now — now it’s here! Green Slime!!! One of the best worst movies ever. Kind of sacred ground, if you…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? 7 Days
3 seasons on UPN. A plucky team of super secret scientists launch a snarky NSA agent (with an eidetic memory and some issues that make him able to handle the multiple alternate realities only he remembers) back in time seven…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Gerry Anderson’s UFO
Gerry Anderson’s classic series UFO had a lot going for it. The first live action foray by Sylvia and Gerry, it contained the iconic miniature props and models we’d come to expect. Unlike a lot of other science fiction shows…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? The Starlost…
Like it or not, there is big money in old shows/ideas. In remaking them, specifically. It’s one of those ‘face it and embrace it’ facts of life. Growing up, I was a huge fan of the (now admittedly rather lame) original Guardians of the Galaxy. So when I heard it was being rebooted, I cringed. Turns out I had nothing to worry about.
Don’t get me wrong. I will probably *never* see the Rocky Horror Picture Show remake. Ever. But what about The Starlost?