"Sharknado 5: Global Swarming" premieres 2017

Sharknado 5:Global Swarming, he fifth installment of the crazy, popular Syfy Sharknado series, premiered on August 6, 2017.  In this chapter, the sharknados are occurring across the globe, so Fin and his crew travel all over the world to save it.

Ian Ziering and Tara Reid reprise their roles from the previous four films. It starred Nichelle Nichols, Bret Michaels, Olivia Newton-John, Greg Louganis, Fabio, Al Roker, Kathy Lee Gifford, and Dolph Lundgren.

Sharknado 5 trailer 

Babylon 5 episode "A Voice in the Wilderness, Part 2" airs 1994

The second part of one of my favorite Babylon 5 episodes A Voice in the Wilderness aired August 3, 1994. In the first part, Epsilon III, the planet below the space station, woke up and Babylon 5 officers go to investigate.  Soon, other races lay claim to Epsilon III and threaten to attack the station.  

I really miss this show!

Babylon 5: A Voice in the Wilderness, Part 2 clip 

"Sharknado 4: The Fourth Awakens" premieres 2016

Sharknado 4: The Fourth Awakens, the sequel to the sequel to the sequel to Sharknado, premiered on the SyFy Channel July 31, 2016.  Ian Ziering and Tara Reid reprise their roles for the fourth time. In this movie, the sharknado strikes Las Vegas.

It stars David Hasselhoff, Tommy Davidson, Cheryl Tiegs, Al Roker (again), Garey Busey, Susan Anton, Wayne Newton, Dog the Bounty Hunter, and plenty of beefcake Chippendales dancers.

Sharknado 4 was nominated for a BloodGuts UK Horror Award for Best Prequel/Sequel/Remake

Sharknado 4 trailer 

"Sharknado 2: The Second One" premieres 2014

Sharknado 2: The Second One, the long-awaited sequel to Sharknado, premiered on the Syfy Channel July 30, 2014. This time the apocalyptic storm strikes New York City.  It starred Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, and Vivica A. Fox (who has a birthday today!). It featured cameos by Judd Hirsch, Billy Ray Cyrus, Robert Hays, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Michael Strahan, and the Naked Cowboy.

It referenced other movies such as Airplane! and Star Wars, and the Twilight Zone episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.

Sharknado 2 trailer 

"Robot Monster" released 1953

Best known for being notoriously bad, Robot Monster was released in theaters across the US June 25, 1953. Produced on a miniscule budget, the movie follows a monster in a gorilla suit and a TV set with antenna, who has eliminated everybody on Earth, except for one family. It seems the Robot Monster had feelings for the family's teenaged daughter.

It has been included on many of the 'worst movie' lists, but has gained a cult following.  

"Jurassic Park" released 1993

Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Jurassic Park was released in US theaters June 11, 1993 and set box-office records across the world. Based on the Michael Crichton novel of the same name, the movie follows a billionaire's attempt to regenerate dinosaurs on an isolated island.  

What could possibly go wrong?

Jurassic Park starred Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jeff Goldblum.  It became the highest grossing film at that time.  It reached $100M in a record nine days. It was the first film to gross over $500M overseas.

Jurassic Park won three Academy Awards: Bet Sound, Best Sound Effects, and Best Visual Effects.  Since it was a mix of science fiction and horror, it could not be nominated for Best Picture or any of the acting awards.  Spielberg won Best Directing but for Schindler's List, a drama film.  

Jurassic Park did not receive any Golden Globe awards because the science fiction adventure did not align "with the types of films that were often nominated" for Golden Globes.

It won four Saturn Awards: Steven Spielberg for Best Direction, Best Science Fiction Film, Best Special Effects, and Best Writing.  Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Wayne Knight, Joseph Mazzello, and Arian Richards were nominated for their work.  John Williams was nominated for Best Music, and Jurassic Park received a nomination for Best Costumes. 

John Williams was also nominated for a Grammy Award for his original score. 

"Teenagers from Outer Space" released 1959

Teenagers from Outer Space (or perhaps Attack of the Giant Lobster Silhouette) was inflicted upon US theaters June 3, 1959.  It is considered to be one of the "Z-grade" sci-fi films from the 1950s. 

Written and directed by Tom Graeff, the story follows a young alien played by David Love as a part of a scouting invasion searching for food sources for their giant lobster overlords.  He falls in love with a teenage Earth girl and they work together to prevent his cohorts from carrying out their evil plans.

When Teenagers from Outer Space was released, it was met with negative, but not scathing, reviews.  The silhouette of the giant lobster was described as the least-convincing special effect of the 1950s, but other reviews said "flashes of astonishing sensitivity" "actually quite touching" "the show finds its own humble level of dramatic integrity". 

It was riffed by Joel and the bots on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in June 1992. 

The Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image" airs 1960

Mirror Image, the twenty-first episode of the first season of The Twilight Zone aired February 26, 1960.  It starred Vera Miles as Millicent Barnes, waiting at a bus stop for the bus to Cortland, but due to bad weather, it is half an hour late. 

When she asks the station clerk about when it will arrive, he scolds her for constantly asking him, even though she thinks it's the first time she's asked him.  When she goes into the ladies' room, the cleaning woman suggests she was just in there.  She sees a bag that resembles hers behind the counter.  The gripey clerk insists she just checked it, but when she turns around her back isn't there.

Creepy things continue to happen.  Then a man, played by Martin Milner, tries to help her figure out what's going on.  Until strange things start happening to him.  

Do we all have an evil doppelganger?

"King Dinosaur" released 1955

Bert I. Gordon's directorial debut, King Dinosaur, was released upon American audiences June 17, 1955.  It was the first of his "low-budget special effects extravaganza" and was not received well.  Its a story of four astronauts sent to investigate a planet that has entered the solar system.  They discover a host of Earth-like creatures, many of them much larger than their terran counterparts.  Stock footage was included, but the quality it was as poor as Gordon's movie.  

Joel and the bots riffed King Dinosaur during the second season of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

I want to know is, if they escaped from the "King Dinosaur", why blow it up?  If you're already clear, and he isn't coming after you, get in your rocket and leave.

"Tentacles" released 1977

Tentacles, one of the first of many knock-offs of Jaws, was released in US theaters June 15, 1977.  It focuses on another deep-sea creature run amok. In the fashion of It Came from Beneath the Sea, a giant octopus rises from the depths to terrorize a California seaside town.  

It was an Italian production which starred Shelley Winters, Henry Fonda, and Claude Akins.  Although it was a box office success at the time, grossing $3,000,000, but critics were not kind.  It received a 0% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

"Monster from the Ocean Floor" released 1954

In another movie in a rash of "radioactivity creates a monstrosity" films, Monster from the Ocean Floor was released into theaters May 21, 1954. It was the first time Roger Corman produced a film.  He would go on to produce almost 500 movies over his career.  Director Wyott Ordung went on to produce only one  more film in 1956.

It's a slow moving film like Monster from Green Hell, with only a few scenes that were intended to be scary.  All deaths happen off screen so there is virtually no gore or jump scares.  The actors are mostly unknowns.  Ordung and Corman each have a role in the movie.

Monster from the Ocean Floor was released to mixed reviews, mostly negative, with a rating of 3.8 on imdb.com.  

It isn't a movie to watch for horror or science fiction fans, but it can be enjoyable if you're into the B&W 1950s B-movies. 

"Monster From Green Hell" released 1957

Another "radiation-created-giant-monster" and "big bug" movie, Monster From Green Hell, following Godzilla (1954), Them! (1954), and Tarantula (1955), was released in the US, May 17, 1957.  It starred Jim Davis, who would go on to find bigger fame as Jock Ewing in Dallas in the 1970s and 1980s, and directed by Kenneth Crane. 

The film tells of the creation of giant wasps in the African wilderness by a atomic satellite, launched from the US and crashed into Africa.  Most of the film is stock footage from Stanley and Livingstone from 1939. In fact, the confrontation with the giant wasps takes place only ten minutes from the end of the movie.  A very slow build-up with little suspense.

It was not received warmly by critics or audiences.

"The Beast Of Yucca Flats" released 1961

Although this movie screams Roger Corman or Bert I. Gordon, The Beast of Yucca Flats was brought to us by Coleman Francis, who wrote and directed.  But like Corman and Gordon, his movies ended up being riffed on Mystery Science Theater 3000. 

Released May 2, 1961, The Beast of Yucca Flats tells the story of a Russian scientist, played by Tor Johnson, who is transformed into a monster after being exposed to an atomic blast.  It could or could not be the inspiration for the Incredible Hulk.  

The movie opens with a nude woman (in some cases, the bare breasts have been censored) being strangled by what we are to believe is the Beast.  Yet, the movie follows the Beast's movements after his exposure, and the scene with the naked woman is never included or explained.

Another problem is Coleman Francis filmed the entire movie without sound, and added dialogue and narration in post-production, which becomes hilariously obvious in many places.

With a whopping 1.9 rating on imdb.com, it is considered one of the worst movies ever made.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Stephen Graham Jones, Native American (Blackfeet) horror/mystery writer

Stephen Graham Jones, born January 22, 1972 in Midland, Texas, is a Blackfoot Native American author of horror, crime fiction, and science fiction.  He earned a BA from Texas Tech University and then earned his Master of Arts degree in English from the University of North Texas in 1996. He completed his Ph.D. from Florida State University in 1998.

He wrote The Fast Red Road as his dissertation and it was published in 2000 as his debut novel.  He's won the Jesse Jones Award for Fiction in 2005, and the Bram Stoker Award for Long fiction in 20217.

He contributed an X-Men story to Marvel Comic's Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices #1.  

I've included hm since my co-author Max Griffin have used him as the inspiration for our character, Montana Psionic Officer Graham Keller, who will be featured in the upcoming novel, Out of the Ashes.

"Battle Beyond the Stars" released 1980

Talk about two hours of my life I'll never get back.  Battle Beyond the Stars has got to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Clearly an effort to cash in on the Star Wars success, Roger Corman directed this train wreck, which was unleashed on the populace September 8, 1980.  Its only redeeming qualities are John Saxon and Robert Vaughn.  It also stars a poorly cast Richard Thomas as the Skywalker-type hero, and although George Peppard is a great actor, he doesn't sell the cowboy image.  

Thomas plays Shad, who is trying to recruit allies against the evil forces threatening his planet.  Along the way, he meets a number of colorful characters.  It was produced on a low budget and the quality of the "special effects" shows it.  

The movie did help with the careers of James Cameron, who worked on the special effects, and Bill Paxton, who worked on movie sets as a carpenter and painter.

"The Lost Continent" released 1951

The black and white, stop motion, science fiction, action movie The Lost Continent was released in theaters August 17, 1951.  It starred Cesar Romero as Major Joe Nolan in the lead role and Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver Robert Philips, a minor role.  

When a nuclear missile goes missing, Nolan, his crew, and a team of scientists go in search of the wayward missile.  They track it down to a mysterious, uncharted island.  They have to climb to the top of a mountain to reach the rocket, and the rock-climbing sequence takes up much of the movie.  It became the source of critics' ire. The film could've been shortened considerably had this section been shorter and replaced with more action sequences.  As one critic mentioned, you can see all the action in the trailer.

The men find the rocket in the midst of a lush tropical forest inhabited by dinosaurs.  Many of the team become dinosaur food before they manage to retrieve the data from the rocket.  Then, they have to climb back down the mountain and escape before the entire island blows up from a dormant volcano which has begun to erupt.

Joel and the bots skewered this one on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.  I remember this being fun to watch, despite the lag in the middle.  I'm reminded of Congo with Laura Linney and Ernie Hudson, where they had to escape from an erupting volcano.  In both movies, they ran through an abandoned village and some had to crawl over a river of lava on a downed palm tree.

I think it's worth a watch.

Babylon 5 episode "Babylon Squared" airs 1994

One of my favorite episodes of Babylon 5, Babylon Squared, first aired August 10, 1994.  Babylon 5's predecessor station, Babylon 4, reappears after it vanished mysteriously four years prior.  I've only seen it once, so I need to go back and re-watch it. I do remember that Babylon 4 and its disappearance figured prominently throughout the series.  

It was the twentieth episode of the first season of Babylon 5, so Michael O'Hare was still on cast as Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, and Andrea Thompson as Talia Winters, although she did not appear in this episode.  J. Michael Straczynski wrote the episode.

Star Trek episode "The Omega Glory" airs 1968

The 23rd episode of Season 2 of Star Trek, The Omega Glory, first aired on March 1, 1968.  The USS Enterprise encounters the USS Exeter in orbit above Omega IV, abandoned.  The entire crew had been infected with a deadly virus that removed all the water from their bodies, leaving behind only piles of crystals.  Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy, and one red shirt Lt. Galloway beam down to the surface of the planet and discover that Captain Tracey of the USS Exeter has been violating the Prime Directive and interfering with the planet's inhabitants' war.

Although Lt. Galloway (David L. Ross) is killed by Tracey, he appears in two subsequent episodes, with no explanation for his resurrection.  Lt. Uhura and Lt. Sulu appear in the episode, but Scotty and Chekov do not.

I suppose this episode is one of my favorites because of the surprise twist at the end when the character enters holding the American flag.  Also, Spock uses his telepathy to call for help in a manner not seen before or since.

"The Stepford Wives" released 1975

Spooky and controversial thriller, The Stepford Wives, was released in US theaters February 12, 1975.  Based on Ira Levin's 1972 novel of the same name, it is the story about a woman who relocates with her husband and children to a picturesque, idyllic town in Connecticut, where the women are the "perfect wives".  By 'perfect', they mean 'completely submissive'.  

Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, and Tina Louise appear as some of the wives in Stepford.  

Feminist groups were not pleased with the movie for its misogynistic tones, but many applaud it for its satire of domestic homelife, where men only want women with big breasts, frequent sex, and delicious meals.  

Katharine Ross won a Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films for Best Actress.  The Stepford Wives was nominated for a Saturn for Best Science Fiction Film but lost to Rollerball.

Star Trek episode "Arena" airs 1967

One of the classic episodes from the original series Star Trek, Arena, first aired January 19, 1967.  Outpost Cestus III has been destroyed and the crew of the Enterprise retaliates against the killers, a reptilian race known as the Gorn.  As the ships battle, another alien race, the Metrons, stop them and place Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and the Gorn captain on a planet to solve their dispute one-on-one.

It is the first episode to feature photon torpedoes and the first to establish transporters cannot beam through deflector shields. 

Ted Cassidy of the Addams Family provided the voice of the Gorn.

The Mythbusters investigated the diamond cannon Kirk used to defeat the Gorn, and found it to be implausible.  The bamboo used to make the cannon would have been destroyed in the explosion and killed Kirk.  But the episode takes place on an alien planet so you never know.