Y is for Yet More...

What a rich vein of material from this particular genre! Here are just a few more names which I could have mentioned in this month's A-Z. I leave you to sift through this list of possible contenders, as you plod down memory lane... perhaps I'll mention one of these in a future blog?

Spenser (Robert Urich)
Banacek (George Peppard)
Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck)
Jim Rockford (James Garner)
Sledge Hammer (David Rasche)
Harry O (David Janssen)
Steve McGarrett from 'Hawaii Five-0' (Jack Lord)
Inch High, Private Eye (Lennie Weinrib)
Regan and Carter from 'The Sweeney' (John Thaw and Dennis Waterman)
Cagney and Lacey (Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly)
Joe Friday from 'Dragnet' (Jack Webb or possibly Dan Ackroyd?)
Starsky and Hutch (Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul)
McMillan and Wife (Rock Hudson and Susan St James)
Holmes and Yo-Yo (Richard B. Shull and John Schuck)
Hart To Hart (Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers)
McCloud (Dennis Weaver)
A Man Called Ironside (Raymond Burr)

Dempsey and Makepeace (Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber)

And The Award Goes To...

By now, the stars and the paparazzi will be making final arrangements for all of the glitz and glamour of the Oscars this Sunday - but some the best of this weekend's awards will be announced tonight. Yes, it's the Razzies!

I first started following the Razzies about a dozen years ago, when I was hunting for news material for the science fiction newsletter that I used to help edit. Four times a year I submitted twenty or thirty pages of copy related to science fiction and fantasy productions in film and TV. Oscar season gave me little to work with, but the website run by the Golden Raspberry Awards team gave me plenty of material. You see, they give out awards for the worst in the field - worst film, worst actor, etc.

If you have been following my own 90% rule reasoning, you'll realise that there's so much more material to work with! Particularly with some SF 'masterpieces', some of which are often quite awful. The most memorable of the Razzies' awards ceremonies was when Halle Berry won Worst Actress for her portrayal of Catwoman (2004). Bless her, she proudly turned up to personally accept her award.

Further details on this year's awards can be found at

http://www.razzies.com/

Burning Brightly

It's the day after 'Bonfire Night' and I'm recovering from 'keeping the home fires burning' by stoking the bonfire lit in my back garden for the evening, whilst Andrew set off the rather large pile of fireworks that we had amassed to entertain those gathered.

And once again the 90% rule seemed to be in force, with only a few of the pyrotechnics giving the crowd a chance to go 'ooooh' and 'aaahh' at their beauty. Sure, the display was fine and well-executed, but at the end of the day it was only the spectacular ones that we remembered.

I want to be spectacular and to burn brightly, too.

Psalm 18:28 (New International Version)
"You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light."

...and the point of all that was...

Many thanks to those of you who gave feedback to my brief A-Z of science fiction. Some wondered why I did it. Here's some of the reasons why:

1. I wanted to commit myself to a regular series of blog posts, even if I was away with the family camping (thank heavens for posting options). After some negative comments lately from those supposedly close to me I needed to prove to myself I could set my own deadlines and complete the task. I've always enjoyed writing - even wanted to do it professionally once - so there's still that part of me that hankers for that lifestyle.
2. I needed to try and find some use for the SF trivia that fills my brain and dominates much of my non-christian history. During my time as an SF fan I've met many who embrace the genre because it's the closest they have found to real friendship and love. So many fans are dismissed as being 'geeks' but I've met many different types - including those who experiment with drugs, sex and even the occult. Although a fan of the genre since my pre-teens, I only started attending fan conventions in the late Eighties and thankfully by then I had - and still have - Christ in my life to steer me right. Although science fiction is still my preferred style of entertainment it is while I was an SF fan that Christ called me, and despite the views of some of my Christian peers I don't feel challenged by Christ to give this up - yet. One Salvation Army officer once said it was possibly my mission field!
3. I needed to identify that SF is such a broad topic, embracing much of what is now regarded as popular culture. There is a difficulty in defining what science fiction is - just try and Google it and you'll see. Damon Knight once said that "science fiction is what we point to when we say it". Norman Spinrad said that "science fiction is anything published as science fiction". Society seems to think it's all stories about robots or rocket ships. It's not - it's about exploring possibilities, using an fantastic premise to tell a tale that will tell us something about our own lives today. Yes, it's about keeping an open mind, or perhaps having your mind opened...
4. It's sometimes that looking at these examples that you see yourself, or 'sides' to yourself. The optimistic side of Colin is like Michael Knight, the hero who knows that 'one man can make a difference'. Often I'm like Sam Beckett, feeling like he's been dropped by God into a situation and having to work out what to do. Most of the time I'm Phil from Groundhog Day, reliving the same day over and over again until I can get it right!
5. Another reason for my slight change in the blog was that I needed to spend some time to explore things with God - to keep an open mind and search with Him for where He needs me to be right now. Over the last fortnight I've done quite a bit of 'wrestling with God' and have got a bit more to do. I expect I'll reveal more on this later. I'm now well aware of what I need to improve so I can beat the 90% rule and start to live for the 10%!

Y is for Yaaagh!

As we have discovered, science fiction has produced some meaningful work - but I'm a great believer in what I call 'the 90% rule'. That's the belief that nine times out of ten something is either just OK or in fact fails to make the grade - it's only one of of every ten that actually becomes a classic. Just look at any list of TV programmes - the hit parade - books. In fact, out of my 26 entries I've written for this bit of my blog you'll probably only thought that 2.6 were good, if my 90% rule applies. So, here's a list of some SF films and shows that were less that outstanding. 'Plan Nine From Outer Space' has already got a mention, but I don't apologise for ranting on again about this next film:

The Avengers (1998) - Radio Times film reviewer Alan Jones said of this turkey: "Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman couldn't be more miscast as John Steed and Emma Peel, here trying to stop villainous Sir August De Wynter (Sean Connery playing himself again) holding the world's weather to ransom and freezing London to an Arctic standstill. Ruthlessly edited before release and packed with arch one-liners, bad puns and vulgar double entendres, this is misguided and misbegotten to a simply staggering degree, while Jeremiah Chechik's mannered direction screeches the action to an unexciting halt at every flat turn. Terrible special effects and zero chemistry between Fiennes and Thurman make this notorious disaster a total waste of everyone's time and energy."

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964) - a staggering tale about Martians who set out to Earth to kidnap Santa so he can make Martian children happy. However, Santa and two cute Earth kids turn the tables on the Martians. Yes, really...

Catwoman (2004) - generally reviled film version of the DC Comics character. Memorable because star Halle Berry personally accepted her Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for this film!

Batman and Robin (1997) - highly criticised because of its ridiculous plot and awful performances (despite stars like George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger). This film single-handedly brought Warner's billion-dollar Batman franchise to a halt for nearly a decade, until 2005 and the release of Batman Begins. Clooney even said that he would personally refund anyone who saw the film.

Mac and Me (1988) - a film about a boy in a wheelchair who befriends an alien. Clearly inspired by 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial', the film is little more than a vehicle to promote Coca-Cola and McDonald's. Ronald McDonald even gets a credit in the cast list of this turkey!