30 March 2015

Birthdays
Cassie Scerbo b. 1990 (Sharknado, Bering Sea Beast)
Marley McClean b. 1987 (Serenity, Star Trek: Voyager)
Tessa Ferrer b. 1986 (Extant)
Simon Baker b. 1986 (Journey to the Center of the Earth, I, Robot, DreamKeeper, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven)
Helena Mattson b. 1984 (Iron Man 2, The Legend of the Seeker, 666 Park Avenue, Surrogates)
Jason Dohring b. 1982 (The Messengers, The Tomorrow People, Supernatural, Roswell, Deep Impact, Moonlight)
Lindsay Parker b. 1980 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Shocker, Critters 2, Beauty and the Beast [1987 TV])
Jose Pablo Cantillo b. 1979 (Constantine, The Walking Dead, Elysium)
Rupert Evans b. 1977 (The Man in the High Castle, Hellboy, Lexx)
Matt Doran b. 1976 (Battle of the Damned, Star Wars II: The Attack of the Clones, Farscape, The Matrix)
Mili Avatal b. 1972 (666 Park Avenue, Haunted, Arabian Nights, Minotaur, Stargate)
Mark Consuelos b. 1971 (American Horror Story, My Super Ex-Girlfriend)
Roland Kickinger b. 1968 (Terminator Salvation, Team Knight Rider)
Juliet Landau b. 1965 (Monster Mutt, Angel, Buffy, Millennium, Theodore Rex)
Ian Ziering b. 1964 (Sharknado, Lava Storm, Tyrannosaurus Azteca)
Maurice LaMarche b. 1958 (Futurama, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Adventure Time, Dilbert, Pinky and the Brain, The Tick)
Paul Reiser b. 1957 (Aliens)
Lisa Harrison b. 1956 (Superman Returns, Invasion [2006])
Robbie Coltrane b. 1950 (Harry Potter, Van Helsing, From Hell, Alice in Wonderland [1999 TV], Blackadder’s Christmas Carol, Krull, The Crystal Cube, Luna, Flash Gordon)
Gabrielle Drake b. 1944 (UFO, The Champions)
Kenneth Welsh b. 1942 (Haven, Survival of the Dead, Bionic Woman, Stargate: Atlantis, The Covenant, Smallville, Category 7: The End of the World, The Fog, The Day After Tomorrow, Witchblade, The X-Files, The Twilight Zone)
John Astin b. 1930 (Betaville, The Frighteners, Harrison Bergeron, Killer Tomatoes Strike Back, Eerie, Indiana, They Came From Outer Space, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Teen Wolf Too, The Charmings, Otherworld, Batman, The Addams Family, Twilight Zone)
Richard Dysart b. 1929 (Back to the Future III, The Thing, Gemini Man, The Terminal Man)
Ray McAnally b. 1926 died 15 June 1989 (High Spirits)
Turhan Bey b. 1922 died 30 September 2012 (Babylon 5, VR.5, SeaQuest 2032)
Herbert Anderson b. 1917 died 11 June 1994 (Bewitched, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. In previous years, the Picture Slot featured Robbie Coltrane from Harry Potter and Juliet Landau from Buffy and Angel. With those two worthies removed, my choice for the next most iconic role betrays my geezerhood as we look at the picture of John Astin as Gomez Addams. If I had been feeling like a dirty old man instead of just an old man, I might have had Gabrielle Drake in one of her ridiculous outfits from UFO, a Gerry and Sylvia Anderson live TV show that was actually worse than Space: 1999.

2. Spot the Canadians! The actors taking advantage of the 21st Century boom in genre production tend to be in theirs 20s, 30s or maybe 40s, but today we have three with a wide age range. Kenneth Welsh is celebrating his 73rd and is the actor with the most Canadian looking resume. Maurice LaMarche is 57 and his resume is not a giveaway, since he is one of the biggest stars in voice over acting, most especially cartoons. Simon Baker turns 29, which is more in the usual age range, but his credits do not make his Canadian heritage obvious.

3. Nepotism FTW. Juliet Landau is the daughter of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. Tessa Ferrer is the daughter of Gabriel Ferrer, who really is not much involved in show business, and Debby Boone, who had that awful hit song so many years ago. Ms. Ferrer's well-known grandparents are Pat Boone, Rosemary Clooney and Jose Ferrer.

4. The Guy at the Door. The oldest living person on the list is Richard Dysart, who turns 86 today, and no one younger than him is dead. Most folks probably remember him from L.A. Law, but for me, his big genre role is in the John Carpenter version of The Thing. As always, special best wishes to the person who is in this particular demographic situation.

5. Obviously, cancer has been cured. My dear friend Mina, seeing that a lot of money was being spent on something monumentally stupid, used to say "Obviously, cancer has been cured." Sadly, Mina died of cancer back in 2006, so it falls on me to plagiarize her.

There are now three Sharknado movies. Obviously, cancer has been cured.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, most notably Richard Dysart, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.


Movie released
Spy Kids released, 2001

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published in 1982

Prediction: Small scale hydrofoil buses will be in use as ferry services in many locations in the near future, including Puget Sound, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. With top speeds of 50 knots in good weather and 40 knots in bad, they will trim commute times dramatically. 

Reality: Not a bad prediction, but the top speeds are seriously over-estimated. The hydrofoil ferry in San Francisco is somewhat bigger than 30 passengers and has a top speed of about 27 knots.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We get another prediction from the 1936 book A Short History of the Future, a source of bold and often wrong prognostications.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!