R.I.P. Michael O'Hare

SF fandom lost a great in September of last year. What little eulogy I have to offer now must seem disrespectful, but I never intended that. Although I knew he was gone, I haven't really been sure what to say. As an awkward, gawky teen often seeking a father figure (and perhaps now as an awkward man as well) I really look up to the larger-than-life heroes of science fiction, and Michael O'Hare was no exception. I had the chance to appreciate his performance again recently.

I'm loving my repeat viewing of 'Babylon 5' little by little with my good friend Ron. We're presently in season 4. Mr. O'Hare originated the role of Commander Jeffrey Sinclair. Sinclair is a sombre but fair-minded man working to overcome his prejudice against his one-time alien foes, the Minbari, and finding new ways to increase the peace in the galaxy at large.

Michael O'Hare, at a mere 60, was the fourth main B5 character of relative youth to pass on since it aired. He was preceded by Richard Briggs, Jeff Conaway, and Andreas Katsulas. All fine actors, all to be missed.

Apart from a bit part in 'The Trial of the Incredible Hulk', I have never seen him perform in anything else. He was active on stage as well, but remained out of the small screen limelight for the last 12 years of his life.

While it's fair to say that I took to his successor as B5 station commander (Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan) with greater affection, Michael O'Hare made a strong impression on me. He's got a lot of good moments in his single season, and his surprising and exciting return to the role in season three is an absolute series highlight.

My great sympathy to his friends and family.

R.I.P. Ian Abercrombie

It's unfortunate that I have only spared the time for this blog sporadically recently, but much sadder that I join you only to mark the passing of a performer I didn't even know by name until yesterday.

English actor Ian Abercrombie was a small but integral part of my genre movie and television history. I don't know if I saw him first on 'The Questor Tapes', 'Battlestar Galactica', or 'Voyagers!', but I enjoyed him in those programs as a boy, and many dozens of other adventures since. 

Seemingly typecast as 'Stuffy and Veddy British' his comic performances enhanced 'Young Frankenstein', 'The Ice Pirates', 'ALF', 'Army of Darkness', 'Wild Wild West' and 'Rango'. To name-drop only a few. If you needed a pompous vizier or nefarious wizard in your genre comedy, you needed to look no further.

Though I couldn't have said who was under the make-up, his role as the smug alien bigot Correlilmurzon on 'Babylon 5' was a season comedy highlight. His farcical sexual escapade with Commander Susan Ivanova was most memorable!

Worst of all for me (and isn't that what matters?) I've lost both his ongoing cartoon voice roles at once. He was well-chosen as the noble Ganthet in 'Green Lantern: The Animated Series' and the scheming Chancellor Palpatine in 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'.

My honest sympathies for his friends and family, as well as those in the audience... who'll miss him as he journeys the realms beyond.

Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

"All Great Stories deserve a little embellishment," claims Gandalf the Grey. And I find I am forced to agree wholeheartedly.

I know at least one Hobbit purist who refuses to pay up front for THREE movies culled from a 300-odd page children's book. In his view, perhaps, the makers are on a cash-grab: stretching the material too thin and inserting too many ideas from author J.R.R. Tolkien's indices and supplementary sources.  I respect this attitude, while personally of the opinion that while there may be such a place as 'too much of a good thing'... I haven't hit it yet!!!

Howard Shore's fine musical backdrop for this lovely fantasy world is a great treat. There's a whole new album out there for you aficionados, and it's very worthwhile. The lyrics from the book are put to music to great effect throughout.

Much is owed for the toil of the basement trolls who make possible the CGI trolls. Not to mention goblins, orcs, wargs, eagles, moths, rabbits, ghouls and what-have-you. Nice job, boffins and weirdos! Your art is marvelous. Making the unreal real surely adds to the beauty and the terrors of millions of our dreams.

I've heard talk of the doubled frame-rate from standard movie 24 frames per second to this first time attempt at 48. This did not impact me negatively when I noticed it at all. (I was impressed by the sharpness and clarity of the image, but then I just got new glasses so I'm saying that about a lot of things.)

The actors are in fine form. Clearly they're all having a splendid time and we get to come along! Martin Freeman is, quite simply, an ideal Bilbo Baggins. I thought he would be, and I was not disappointed. 'Riddles in the Dark' is an absolute highlight. (A lightless highlight? Highlight at night?)

Speaking of bright spots, I was also very, very NOT disappointed when it came to the role perhaps most typical of "additional material". My beloved Sylvester McCoy (he of Doctor Who fame 1986-89) as the obsessively animistic wizard Radagast the Brown was a poop-covered hoot.

Now that there is such a thing as Radagast, I feel like there always should have been.

I can't lie to you, I'd like to go back again. Join me for The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug in 2013 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again in 2014, won't you? (Spoilers: there's a subtle theme in these tales about the futile emptiness of greed. Maybe a little hypocritical from the behind-the-scenes "Battle of Five Armies" that has been happening for nearly a decade to decide whose heirs and what conglomerates get the biggest pieces of Hobbit Pie.)

Still and all, with a Jackson/Tolkien joint in the theaters once again, it really does feel like Christmas!

And lastly, for my part, it was a film to enjoy with a friend. Many thanks to my buddy Ron for his generosity.

My Favourite Characters: A Frantic Fraggle

Once, long ago, Jim Henson did his best to save the world.

The result was five seasons of "Fraggle Rock" beginning when I was a lad of seven in 1983. A joint international effort from the CBC, HBO, and ITV, the program featured adventures and musical musings from the lives of some 20-inch high creatures who dwell in a vast magical cavern behind the walls of human houses. Possibly YOUR house. (Ask your parents' permission before you bash a hole in the baseboards to check.)

I have a pal and confidante who would tell you differently, but the best Fraggle in the Rock is Wembley. I find Wembley very easy to love. I have always been forced to admire those who "feel the fear and do it anyway".

Which is not to say I didn't love the other, lesser Fraggles. After all, much of Wembley's indecisive "Wembleyness" comes from the fact that he easily imagines what it's like to be in the other Fraggle's shoes. Or, well, shirts. Shoes don't seem to have caught on in Fraggle Rock.

Rage-fueled athletes might align with pom-pom headed Red, or pacifist artists with soulful Mokey. Perhaps the perpetually glum among you might appreciate Boober. A rugged outdoorsman and qualified troubadour might find himself appreciating brave Gobo. No matter where your loyalties lie, you owe much to producer Jim Henson and head writer Jerry Juhl (pictured here).

The banana-shirted Wembley was performed by Steve Whitmire and designed by Michael Frith with a character based on a Charles Grodin line from The Great Muppet Caper: "Of course I meant yes. Why would I say no when I meant yes?"

Perhaps his personality is a gift- a special talent he alone possesses. Or perhaps it's a curse- a special weirdness he alone is stuck with.

Wembley has boundless enthusiasm for whatever everyone else is talking about in the moment. He listens to rocks, loves to eat radishes and Doozer Sticks, and he plays the bongos to relax from his job as the fire department siren.

TV Review: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

For normal reasons, I've spent some time over the last two weeks watching a cartoon which apparently aired on NBC Saturday mornings 1981-1983: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Or SMAHAF as the kids are never calling it these days.

Featuring the voices of Dan "Spidey" Gilvezan, Frank "Iceman" Welker, and introducing Kathy "Firestar" Garver. No, not Starfire, the Teen Titan! Wrong company. You tryin' ta get us sued? FIRESTAR! The Girl Who Was on Fire Class of 1981. Take that, Katniss!

Unable to use the Human Torch for the usual overwrought reasons ("My kids always douse themselves in gasoline and dive off the roof!") Peter Parker conveniently found a team-mate with BFF Johnny Storm's firepower plus the looks of Mary Jane. Talk about your amazing friend!

Although, in fairness, neither John Storm nor Mary Jane Watson may exist in what is now known to the Intelligentsia (I mean, the Hyper-Nerds) as Marvel Universe 8107. The cartoon dimension's rules only apply to itself, not the continuity of the mainstream comics (Universe 616, don't cha know).

It's a universe where Wolverine hails from Down Unda, where mutants glow and men chunda. Where Aunt May's boarding house is crammed full of secret, load-bearing escape tunnels and Tony Stark's donated super-computers. Possibly "on loan from Tony Stark" is also the reason The Chameleon has his own island, mansion, and swimming pool filled with alcohol (not for himself, you understand, but to trap and ignite the Sub-Mariner).

And the awards go to:

LEAST FAVOURITE EPISODE: 'Swarm'. See MOST IRRITATING NEW VILLAIN.

FAVOURITE EPISODE: 'The Origin of The Spider-Friends'. Has it all. Narrator Stan Lee. William Marshall as Iron Man. Bobby 'Iceman' Drake and Angelica 'Firestar' Jones holding handshakes uncomfortably long just to make Peter think he's feverish with chills.  And the Beetle: rocking the craziest voice in the world.

HONORABLE MENTION: 'Spidey Meets The Girl From Tomorrow'. This sweetly romantic little episode wants SO BADLY to be Silver Age DC Legion of Super-Heroes. Perhaps even more so than the subsequent episode: where the villain is clearly the Legion's cyborg enemy Tharok.

BEST SEASON: Season 2 is a mere 3 episodes long, and entirely made of origin stories, but the animation is markedly better. Spider-Friends GO FOR IT! (Actual catch-phrase.)

MOST IRRITATING NEW VILLAIN: Swarm. The 1950's-style alien insect invader smart enough to enslave a college campus but not smart enough to say anything but its own name. Over and over.

MOST IRRITATING NEW HERO: Francis "Wishing I Was Woody Allen" Byte AKA Videoman. News Flash: Playing Pac-Man and involuntarily transforming into an 8-Bit paper-thin goblin doth not a super-hero make.  Even if you do end up at the Xavier Academy despite no evidence that you are a mutant.

GREATEST BREAKOUT STAR: Ms. Lion. Angelica's Lhasa Apso, fobbed off on Aunt May the same way Videoman is fobbed off on Professor X. Ms. Lion saved the lives of her superhero pals several times over, despite being a lapdog of average intelligence. The puppy even outshines the All-Seeing Eye of the Vishanti, which in any normal dimension would prevent Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange from being duped. Ms. Lion, 30 years later, is a beloved member of the Pet Avengers, successfully making the transition from cartoon back to the comics that inspired it. Just like Firestar did! Except Firestar's in the actual Avengers. Not the Pet Avengers.  The Pet Avengers are PETS. Just saying.

Speaking of amazing, I gotta say I'm loving Netflix. Real life has never been so avoidable.

Movie Review: Star Wars Saga on Blu-Ray

O.K., fine, so I haven't exactly watched ALL of it yet. There's like a solid WEEK of features, if I watched it from the bathroom and watched Star Wars instead of sleeping! Which I am no longer willing to do.

Like that crazy old wizard out beyond the Dune Sea, I'm getting too old for this sort of thing.

But what can I possibly say that anyone who knows me won't expect? Episodes 6, 4, and 5 are my top three favourite movies OF ALL TIME. Episodes 3,2, and 1 are inching lower with every revision I make to my TOP 100 List, but I should point out that they are still in my top THIRTY. Take that, Hitchcock's Vertigo! (Not under consideration)

So what would surprise you? Because this blog has been lying nearly fallow all year, I should mention that I bought a BLU-RAY player, after avoiding it as utterly unnecessary for quite some time. And it still is. But it's SOOO SHINY!!!

Sooo... I bought the Star Wars movies. Used. $72. Then, over the last few weeks, I watched them. They are wonderful. Worth every damn nickel.

The first thing I checked out was the Nelvana Cartoon with the first appearance of Boba Fett. Go, Canada! Dripping with nostalgia, I can tell you it is a rare delight. Since I'm not a child anymore, I can't bounce off the walls with glee. Except in my heart!

Then I watched the deleted scenes: Biggs and the Anchorhead Chums, Wampas Amok, and the much-too-unfinished and now unfunctional Sandstorm Farewell scene. Wizard!

Also a 2.5 hour scene called 'The Phantom Menace' which I hear everyone on the Internet wants deleted. Me? I'm fine with it. Episode One Yoda looks much better in CGI. But is it too late to colour over Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christiansen?

I couldn't spot any tweaks at all in 'Attack of the Clones' or 'Revenge of the Sith'. But they are better than ANY TEN OTHER FILMS!!! Well, maybe not ANY. But most.

There is no reason at all to change the sound Kenobi makes to scare off Sand People, but George did. Maybe it's the sound his tummy makes when he's full of cheese bought with his billions?

Greedo and Han shoot nearly simultaneously, but Han's split-second flinch looks a little less dodgy, pardon the pun. The albino dianoga is keen. 'Empire''s AT-AT's  and 'Jedi''s rancor are exactly as they should be, classic stop-motion but with black matte-lines removed. Freakin' sweet, is the term, I believe?

I still love the 'Return of the Jedi' Special Edition, Joh Yowza, 'Weesa FREE!', and all. Only now Wicket and the Ewoks blink. It's simultaneously adorable and unsettling. In other words, PERFECT.

There's still lots to enjoy and explore. I'll get my money's worth in the years to come. Thanks to Carlos for loaning me his copy for the nonce, and (paying it forward), you're all welcome to borrow mine. When you pry it from my cold, dead, Jawa hands!

R.I.P. Michael Clarke Duncan

Damn.

I'm really going to miss him.

You'll have your favourite performances from Mr. Michael Clarke Duncan. Me?
I thought he was awesome as the Kingpin. AND as Green Lantern Kilowog. He was the bright spot of plenty of popular, GOOD movies also.

I always enjoyed hearing his booming voice: whether in Kim Possible, Teen Titans, or Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. Probably you'll know him from 'The Green Mile', rather than as Starkweather Two Delta in 'The Island'.

But despite who I am, namely a Sci-Fi otaku with a thing for comics and cartoons, it was for a non-genre t.v. program that I admired him most:

His role as Leo Knox on 'The Finder' was my favourite. He played the rational sidekick or more correctly handler of the quirky lead character. He was wise and kind and powerful. Like a Big Black Florida Gandalf.  It was a brilliant show that ended too quickly. And I'm so sorry we lost the man so early, too. Michael Clarke Duncan was more than a figurative giant and our fantasies are going to be less safe without our biggest bodyguard.