ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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We all have fond memories of TV shows we watched that were NOT science fiction, and below you’ll find a few which you might remember as well as I do.

But what the heck, I threw on one fairly rescent sci-fi series that barely got started before it was cancelled . . . unfortunately.
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Westerns

Found a website with this picture and this caption.
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If these aren't rare, then I don't know Cap Guns at all. The two Johnny Yuma Rebel (from the TV Show) scatterguns on the top are Classy and the one underneath is by Marx with the original tag showing designer was Roy Ahlgreen, along with its bear claw necklace & Rebel hat.
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It confirmed by recollection that Mr. Yuma's weapon was a sawed-off shotgun -- which strikes me as a firearm that could easily hit the broad side of a barn -- and the outhouse way off to the left, too.

The only way you could miss with this gun was to not load it . . .

I also found this picture of Steve McQueen's weapon-of-choice, which had a cocking lever similar to Mr. Connor's handy rifle.



And this is what he carried it in, which explains why Steve often said, "No thanks, I'd rather stand," when asked to sit down.



Jim West, on the other hand (no pun intended) might have felt nervous about shaking hands with a thing like this up his sleeve.



I wonder if that every actually happened in the series. The villain makes a promise that Jim West knows he won't keep, and West says, "Give me your word on that," as he holds out his right hand.

Bang. One gut-shot bad guy.
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Perry Mason (1957 - 1966)

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This is another show that Bulldogtrekker and I often share with synchronized DVDs and a little help from Facebook. When the plot gets too complex and we get mixed up on who murdered who with what weapon because of what motive, we start swapping info and straightening out those pesky plot twists.

Meanwhile we have fun spotting the actors we recognize from beloved 1950s sci-fi movies ("Oh, look! The judge is Morris Ankrum, the general who got his brain uploaded in Earth vs the Flying Saucers!")

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There's always at least one familiar sci-fi alumni among the guest stars in each episode, and sometimes there are three or four.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit that Perry Mason episodes are about as close as you can get to 1950s sci-fi without it being science fiction.

The defense rests.

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Bionic Woman (2007)




I was so disappointed when this show was cancelled back in 2007.

I was so surprised when Bulldogtrekker and his lovely wife sent me a box filled with DVDs for my birthday recently.

And I was so pleased when one of them was a two-disc DVD set containing the eight Bionic Woman episodes that were produced -- especially since I didn't even know a DVD of the series had been released!

The critics didn't have many nice things to say about the series -- and I'm quite sure I don't know why. The first 20 minutes of the pilot prove that the show was extremely well written, well directed, and well acted.

The rapid pacing and the slick style (with great FX) make it look like a big budget movie instead of a series pilot.

How many series that were successful did not have a great pilot, much less eight exciting episodes right out of the starting blocks?

High points: Jaime Sommers escapes from the secret underground complex and flees into a forest -- where she discovers she can run really fast. What we get is a fine special effect of her streaking through the woods at 60 mph.

What we don't get is a slow-motion shot that's allegedly super-speed running, while we're treated to reverberated electronic sounds that go "nee-nee-nee-nee-nee-nee!"

This is clearly not your father's Bionic Woman . . .

At the 30-minute mark, while Jaime is working as a bartender, there's a well-done scene of her suddenly discovering that her bionic eye and ear have started working. And two minutes later, when she's threatened by a knife-wielding punk in an alley, Jaime deals with him very efficiently.

An awesome ten-second action scene.

By the time you get to the 40-minute mark you know you're a fan of this show and you hope it runs for years.

And then the pilot concludes with a battle on a rooftop at night in the pouring rain between Jaime and an evil blond bionic woman who was the first to receive the robotic parts and implants. It drove her crazy and made her scary-mean.

The rooftop battle does NOT look like something filmed for a television series.

It's awesome.

How did this series not succeed?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)