David Cranmer's Blog, page 7

Mystery Fanfare: Before I was Cozy: Guest Post by Clea Simon

Mystery Fanfare: Before I was Cozy: Guest Post by Clea Simon: After three nonfiction books and 22 cozy/amateur sleuth mysteries, Clea Simon returns to her rock & roll past this fall with World ...

Zager & Evans - In the Year 2525

Do Some Damage: Death in the Classic Position

Do Some Damage: Death in the Classic Position: I've been watching the television ads for the new adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, with Kenneth Branagh both directing the film and playing Hercule Poirot, and it's made me ask myself a number of questions. For starters: why are they...

Assignment: Earth (1968)

The Enterprise is in 1968 conducting historical research. Specifically to learn how the planet survived the volatile era when they cross paths with the enigmatic Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) claiming to be a guardian of the Earth. He has been sent from a secretive planet (unknown even in the 23rd century) that wishes to prevent humans from destroying themselves. When a rocket with a nuclear warhead can only be stopped by Seven, Kirk (William Shatner) isn't so sure Seven is the good guy he claims to be.  "Assignment: Earth" was a proposed TV series that never materialized though Gary Seven adventures have continued in various books which  I have heard are quite entertaining.

I've always wanted to like this episode more than I do. It's an interesting premise in Seven, his shape-shifting cat Isis, and the quirky Roberta (Terri Gar) but it all ads up to an intriguing oddity at best. Suspense is nil because of heavy stock footage usage that doesn't flow seamlessly with the actors' reaction shots. And after two episodes (Tomorrow is Yesterday/Edge of Forever) of time travel where interaction with the past is careful as not to disrupt the timeline, this episode bebops everywhere with little regard. At one point, two police officers are beamed to the Enterprise and back without concern over what ripples in the current it could cause. "Assignment:Earth" is an unfortunate misfire.

Next: the final time traveling adventure of the old series, "All Our Yesterday's."

Rough Edges: Now Available: Best of the West

Rough Edges: Now Available: Best of the West: Grab a cup of coffee and settle down into your easy chair to ride the range with some of the most exciting tales of the Old West you’ll...

Lost Love?

Until a few years ago it was accelerator to the floor fiction. It started early in my timeline with a curious monkey named George and straight through '08 when I created the BEAT to a PULP webzine to promote a wide range of genres. Recently, I find non-fiction tipping the scales and I can't pinpoint why the abrupt change of interest. Possibly chalk it up to the sign of the times—bit harder to escape to frivolous worlds (at least for me) when a North Korean dictator is threatening annihilation of your own—or maybe like my great-Uncle Charlie use to say, "too much of anything good for nothing." Admittedly, after hundreds (thousands?) of crime novels and Western shoot-outs, narratives begin to repeat, grow stale, though, when something fresh crosses my desk, like Frank Bill's soon to be released The Savage, I'm thoroughly invested.

Current ways of rekindling affection includes pirouetting to classic literature, via graphic novels, like Kafka's The Trial and Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment, watching remastered Star Trek 60's episodes reigniting childhood awe, and slowing down with my book reviewing—being just a bit more selective though when you count on it for a significant part of your bread and butter you can't be too picky. Delving into some Harlan Ellison short stories helps. Man, can that cantankerous bastard write, and I've added some Werner Herzog movies to my queue including Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Queen of the Desert, and one of his documentaries Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World. Lastly, I'm editing a new work by Chuck Regan and he always delivers fresh, bold horizons.

Fingers crossed. Hate to permanently turn my back on first love.

Alan's Electronic Scrapbook

If I could divert your attention to Alan's Electronic Scrapbook for just a minute. Many of you go back with me quite a distance and have similar interests in reading, music, and pop culture overall. Alan has many of those same likes (recently he joined me on a months long reread of The Dark Tower series) plus is an outdoors buff—like many of us—with a passionate look at gardening. He writes, "I support organic fork to fork growing and producing, as well as being self-sufficient and cooking from scratch."

Wholeheartedly recommend following Alan if you get a chance, well worth your time. Oh, he's also at the other haunts like Twitter as well.

FROM DUNDEE'S DESK: Another Look: THE LAST COMMAND (1955, starring Ste...

FROM DUNDEE'S DESK: Another Look: THE LAST COMMAND (1955, starring Ste...: I first saw this film when it aired on TV (probably WGN out of Chicago) in the late Fifties. Since then it has been little seen and large...

The City on the Edge of Forever (1967)

McCoy (DeForest Kelley) is accidentally injected with a drug that makes him delusional of his surroundings. Escaping from "assassins," he beams to a nearby planet where he leaps through a sentient time portal altering all of human history—Kirk (William Shatner) and his landing party are marooned without a future since the Enterprise no longer exists. Kirk and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) cross the portal's transom in an effort to locate the drugged out doctor. They arrive in 1930's America before McCoy shows up and over a period of days Kirk falls in love with a social worker named Edith Keeler (Joan Collins). Interfacing a crudely constructed machine with his tricorder, Spock learns that Edith is the focal moment in time and was saved from dying by McCoy. He tells an emotionally gutted Kirk that Edith must die in order to realign time.

As a teen, I first watched this on VHS tape with my buddy Erik at least seven times over a 48 hour period absolutely mesmerized by the moral dilemma facing Kirk. His thousand yard stare upon returning to the future coupled with "Let's get the hell out of here" is unforgettable. I still think it is the best episode of the original series though I probably could be persuaded that "The Menagerie" is tied. "The City on the Edge of Forever" was written by legendary (oh so cranky) writer Harlan Ellison and in the 2008 documentary Dreams With Sharp Teeth he offers a detailed look at how his original script differed from the filmed version.

Next up: "Assignment: Earth" that guest stars Gary Lansing and Teri Garr.

Judging Books By Their Covers

Judging Books By Their Covers: Jason Diamond analyzes his obsession with Vintage Comtemporaries paperbacks from the '80s.