17 November 2014

 Birthdays
Lauren Maltby b. 1984 (Zenon)
Harry Lloyd b. 1983 (Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Genie in the House)
Brett Gipson b. 1983 (Knight of Badassdom, Transylmania)
Bojana Novakovic b. 1981 (Devil, Drag Me to Hell)
Rachel McAdams b. 1978 (About Time, The Time Travelers’ Wife, Earth: Final Conflict)
Zoe Bell b. 1978 (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Gamer, Angel of Death, Lost, Planet Terror, Cleopatra 2525)
Stuart Stone b. 1977 (Mutant X, Donnie Darko, Flash Forward, Maniac Mansion)
Brandon Call b. 1976 (Warlock, The Charmings, Something is Out There, I Dream of Jeannie… Fifteen Years Later)
Leslie Bibb b. 1974 (Iron Man 1 and 2, Early Edition)
Ralph Garman b. 1974 (Ted, Sharktopus, Charmed)
Leonard Roberts b. 1972 (Blackstar Warrior, Heroes, Smallville, FreakyLinks, Buffy)
Bjorn Stein b. 1970 (director, Underworld: Awakening)
Salvator Xuereb b. 1965 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Awake, Knight Rider [2009], The Chronicle, Timecop, Alien Nation [TV])
Dylan Walsh b. 1963 (The Lake House, Congo)
Felice Schachter b. 1963 (Zapped!)
David Price b. 1961 (director, NightMan, Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde, Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice, Son of Darkness: To Die for II)
Frank Spotnitz b. 1960 (producer, The X Files, The Lone Gunmen, Harsh Realm)
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio b. 1958 (Grimm, The Abyss)
Pamela Immel b. 1955 died 8 September 2014 (Zombies vs. Strippers)
Dean Paul Martin b. 1951 died 21 March 1987 (Misfits of Science, Deadly Nightmares)
Stephen Root b. 1951 (The Big Bang Theory, True Blood, Idiocracy, From the Earth to the Moon, VR.5, RoboCop 3, Quantum Leap, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Eerie, Indiana, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Ghost)
Bill Lancaster b. 1947 died 4 January 1997 (writer, The Thing [1982])
James Warwick b. 1947 (Babylon 5, Doctor Who)
Steven E. de Souza b. 1947 (screenwriter, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Judge Dredd, The Running Man, V, The Return of Captain Invincible, The Powers of Matthew Star, Knight Rider, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Gemini Man)
Roberta Collins b. 1944 died 16 August 2008 (Death Race 2000, Kolchak: The Night Stalker)
Danny DeVito b. 1944 (Men in Black, Mars Attacks!, Batman Returns, Amazing Stories)
Lauren Hutton b. 1943 (Deadly Nightmares, Time Stalkers, Once Bitten, Faerie Tale Theatre, Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land)
Martin Scorsese b. 1942 (director, Hugo, Amazing Stories)
Peter Cook b. 1937 died 9 January 1995 (Whoops Apocalypse, The Princess Bride, Supergirl, Bedazzled [1967], Alice in Wonderland [1966 TV])
Rance Howard b. 1928 (The Genesis Code, Sasquatch Mountain, Angel, Small Soldiers, Babylon 5, Mars Attacks!, Apollo 13, Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest, Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter, Tales from the Crypt, Universal Soldier, Quantum Leap, Superboy, Creator, Cocoon, Splash, Battlestar Galactica [1978], Village of the Giants)
Robert Brown b. 1926 (Bewitched, Star Trek)
Rock Hudson b. 1925 died 2 October 1985 (World War III, The Martian Chronicles, Embryo)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. Two nearly unspottable Canadians. Rachel McAdams, like Ryan Gosling, is a movie star and doesn't have to get roles on Canadian produced TV shows. The other Canuck is Stuart Stone, who doesn't have a lot of roles on the best known recent Canadian genre TV shows.

2. Zoe Bell. I don't list stunt work, but Zoe Bell is one of the best known female stunt women in the world. All I listed here is her acting credits, which don't include Xena: Warrior Princess, where she was Lucy Lawless' stunt double.

3. Rance Howard. Definitely an Oh That Guy, the father of Ron Howard often was on set when Ron was a child star and his dutiful son regularly finds work for him in the films and TV shows the younger Howard directs and produces. That said, Rance Howard has 260 credits on imdb.com with maybe 10% to 15% due to his son, almost none of it is voice work. That's one hard working guy, and good on ya, Rance.

4. Die young much? We have five people on today's list who didn't make it to sixty years old. That's a lot.

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


TV specials aired
The Star Wars Holiday Special, premiered 1978

The Picture Slot: Last year, when I hadn't done as much research, I had a poster of The Thing, written by deceased birthday boy Bill Lancaster. This year is the 36th anniversary of The Star Wars Holiday Special and it has to be acknowledged. I doubt I'll be able to keep this blog going through November 2018 because it's hard to find enough predictions, so you are looking at the newspaper ad in The Picture Slot today.

You're welcome.

Next year, the competition is between Harry Lloyd from Game of Thrones, Danny DeVito from Batman Returns and Peter Cook from The Princess Bride.
  

Predictor: The OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Recent research hopes that prostaglandin (PG) based drugs will finally be the breakthrough in the treatment of migraine headaches.

Reality: OMNI Future Almanac quotes some researchers from the early 1980s who were looking into PG-based drugs. Looking online, a paper in 2013 still holds out hope, but in the past thirty years, the hoped for breakthrough into the treatment of migraine has yet to materialize.

Looking on day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The next to last excerpt from FM-2030 will be published tomorrow. A word to the wise is sufficient.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

16 November 2014

Birthdays
Noah Gray-Cabey b. 1995 (Heroes, Lady in the Water)
Kimberly J. Brown b. 1984 (Halloweentown)
Michael Faustino b. 1979 (A Gnome named Gnorm, Alien Nation [TV], The Monster Squad)
Maggie Gyllenhall b. 1977 (Nanny McPhee Returns, The Dark Knight, Donnie Darko)
Gigi Edgley b. 1977 (Quantum Apocalypse, Farscape, BeastMaster, The Lost World [TV])
Missi Pyle b. 1972 (Captain Fantastic, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Warehouse 13, Heroes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Tick, Roswell, Galaxy Quest)
Martha Plimpton b. 1970 (Fringe, Surface)
James Parks b. 1968 (True Blood, Jericho, Threshold, House of the Dead 2, Star Trek: Enterprise, Stargate SG-1, Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, The X-Files, Buffy, House of Frankenstein [1997 TV movie], Apollo 11, Alien Nation: The Enemy Within, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Space: Above and Beyond)
Tammy Lauren b. 1968 (Wishmaster, Deadly Nightmares, The Stepford Children, Mork & Mindy)
Lisa Bonet b. 1967 (Angel Heart, Tales from the Darkside)
Dean McDermott b. 1966 (Earth: Final Conflict, WW 3, My Secret Identity, Friday’s Curse, Graveyard Shift II)
Mark Benton b. 1965 (The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Doctor Who, Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible)
Harry Lennix b. 1964 (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, Dollhouse, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded)
Marg Helgenberger b. 1958 (Species I & II, The Tommyknockers, The Hidden Room, Tales from the Crypt)
Dan Shor b. 1956 (The X Files, Star Trek: Voyager, Doppleganger, Solar Crisis, Beauty and the Beast, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, TRON)
Griff Rhys Jones b. 1953 (Aladdin [TV movie], Jack and Beanstalk [1998 TV], The Adventures of Pinocchio, Morons from Outer Space)
Miguel Sandoval b. 1951 (Oculus, Real Steel, The X Files, House of Frankenstein [1997 TV movie], Lois & Clark, Jurassic Park, Beauty and the Beast [1990 TV], Howard the Duck, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, Voyagers!)
David Leisure b. 1950 (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Perversions of Science, Lois & Clark, Goddess of Love, ALF)
Barbara Leigh b. 1946 (Mistress of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk, Terminal Island)
Steve Railsback b. 1945 (Plaguers, King of the Lost World, Supernatural, Charmed, The X Files, Alligator II: The Mutation, Twilight Zone [1986], Lifeforce, Deadly Nightmares, Escape 2000)
Guy Stockwell b. 1934 died 6 February 2002 (Quantum Leap, Werewolf [TV], Knight Rider, Ark II, It’s Alive, Land of the Giants)
Clu Gulager b. 1928 (Piranha 3DD, Teen Vamp, The Hidden, The Offspring, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Return of the Living Dead, Space, Automan, Mystery in Dracula’s Castle)
Barbara Payton b. 1927 died 8 May 1967 (Bride of the Gorilla)
Jose Saramago b. 1922 died 18 June 2010 (author, Blindness)
Royal Dano b. 1922 died 15 May 1994 (The Dark Half, Spaced Invaders, Ghoulies II, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, House II: The Second Story, Amazing Stories, The Right Stuff, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Planet of the Apes [1974 TV], Moon of the Wolf, Lost in Space, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao)
Ellen Albertini Dow b. 1913 (The Invited, Good vs Evil, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Carnival of Souls, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Space Case, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Freddy’s Nightmares, Beauty and the Beast [1987 TV], Munchies, Twilight Zone [1986])
Burgess Meredith b. 1907 died 9 September 1997 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Clash of the Titans, The Manitou, The Amazing Captain Nemo, The Sentinel [1977], Beware! The Blob, Batman, The Invaders, The Twilight Zone)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Burgess Meredith from one of his Twilight Zone appearances, this year it Gigi Edgley from Farscape. Next year, I'm not sure, but Missy Pyle from Galaxy Quest is certainly in the mix.

2. Actor note, the 1st: Ellen Albertini Dow. Yes, she was born in 1913 and yes, she is still with us, bless her. 102 credits on imdb.com and she didn't start working in front of the camera until the 1980s.

3. Actor note, the 2nd: Steve Railsback. On film, he's played Ed Gein and Charles Manson. One of his biggest budget films is The Stunt Man, where he plays a fugitive who does stunts for director Peter O'Toole. Casting directors sure think he looks criminal, but he's a senior citizen now and his rap sheet is... zero. Good on ya, Mr. Railsback.

4. Actor's notes, the 3rd: The Oh That Guys. Royal Dano, a great tall odd looking Oh That Guy. Clu Gulager, an Oh That Cowboy. Miguel Sandoval, an Oh That Hispanic Gentleman. David Leisure, an Oh That Joe Isuzu. James Parks, a craggy faced Oh That Guy who has been in a lot of stuff I've seen, but hasn't quite made an impression on me.

5. The unspottable Canadian. Dean McDermott was born in Canada, but he works out of Los Angeles. He is best known for his real life role as Tori Spelling's creepy husband.

6. Actor note, the last: Harry Lennix, mensch. I've like the work Harry Lennix has done on screen, but my favorite story was when Stephen Colbert did the comedy routine at the White House Correspondent's Dinner. Colbert scorched the media, but afterwards everyone was being civil to him. It was his friend Lennix who heard what people were actually saying behind Colbert's back, pulled him aside and said. "These people are all phonies. C'mon, let's get out of here." Good on ya, Harry.

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


Movies released
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone released 2001
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 released 2012
 

Predictor:Larry S. Todd, The Warbots, published in Galaxy magazine, October 1968.

Prediction: Describes a series of increasingly formidable robot-like fighting machines, the earliest of which detonates an atomic bomb when attacked. It is used in China in the year 2000.

Reality: Again, it's nuclear fiction, so my thanks go to Paul Brians and his great database.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The 36th anniversary of an unforgettable TV special. Many have tried to forget, but none have yet succeeded.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

Never to be Forgotten:Glen A. Larson 1937-2014

Glen A. Larson (pictured on right, or let's be honest, the not pretty one) died on Friday at the age of 77 from complications from cancer. The genre shows he produced are Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider, NightMan, Automan, Manimal, Conquest of the Earth, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Six Million Dollar Man: Solid Gold Kidnapping and The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women and War.

He can be compared to Irwin Allen. Larson was the guy pumping out popular if not high quality sci-fi on TV in the 1970s and 1980s, in the fallow era between the first two Star Trek shows. Unlike Allen, I have not given him his own label, but his show Battlestar Galactica does get a label because of the 21st Century reboot. 

Best wishes to the family and friends of Glen A. Larson, from a former fan. (I watched when I was a kid.) May he never be forgotten.

15 November 2014

Birthdays
Shailene Woodley b. 1991 (Allegiant, Insurgent, Divergent)
Laci J Mailey b. 1990 (Falling Skies, Continuum, Evil Feed, Arrow, Supernatural, Captain Starship)
Gemma Atkinson b. 1984 (Night of the Living 3D Dead, Night Wolf)
Susie Abromeit b. 1982 (Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys, Supernatural, Mysterious Island [2012], Battle Los Angeles, Mothman)
Yaya DaCosta b. 1982 (TRON: Legacy)
Samantha Shelton b. 1978 (Rise: Blood Hunter, Charmed, Roswell)
Sean Murray b. 1977 (Hocus Pocus)
J. C. Brandy b. 1975 (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Kindred: The Embraced)
Sydney Tamiia Poitier b. 1973 (Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D, Knight Rider [2009 TV])
Jessica Stevenson Hynes b. 1972 (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Doctor Who, Shaun of the Dead)
Jonny Lee Miller b. 1972 (Dark Shadows [2012], AEon Flux, Dracula 2000, Doctor Who)
Jay Harrington b. 1971 (Star Trek: Voyager)
Rachel True b. 1966 (Sharknado 2: The Second One, Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys, The Craft, Embrace of the Vampire)
Kevin J. O’Connor b. 1963 (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Flight of the Living Dead, The Others [2000 TV], Van Helsing, The Mummy, Deep Rising, Virtuosity)
Roberta Weiss b. 1961 (Deadly Nightmares, Tales from the Darkside, The Dead Zone)
Ray McKinnon b. 1957 (The X Files, Apollo 13, Roswell [1994 TV movie], The Stand, Needful Things)
Beverly D’Angelo b. 1951 (Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills, Tales from the Crypt, High Spirits, The Man Who Fell to Earth [TV], Faerie Tale Theatre)
Bob Gunton b. 1945 (Daredevil [2015 TV], Bats, Roswell [TV movie], Star Trek: The Next Generation, Demolition Man)
Roger Donaldson b. 1945 (director, Species)
Sam Waterston b. 1940 (Amazing Stories, Capricorn One)
Yaphet Kotto b. 1939 (The Puppet Masters, SeaQuest 2032, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, The Running Man, Alien)
Gloria Foster b. 1933 died 29 November 2001 (The Matrix, Leonard Part 6)
J.G. Ballard b. 1930 died 19 April 2009 (writer, The Drowned World, The Burning World, Crash)
Ed Asner b. 1929 (Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Elf, The X Files, The Invaders, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
John Orchard b. 1928 died 3 November 1995 (Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Time Tunnel)
Barbara Cason b. 1928 died 18 June 1990 (Mork & Mindy, Exorcist II: The Heretic, Tabitha, House of Dark Shadows)
Lewis Stone b. 1879 died 12 September 1953 (The Mask of Fu Manchu, The Lost World [1925])

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. On Wednesday, I noted it was rare that I use the youngest person on the list in the Picture Slot, but here it has happened again, since Shailene Woodley is the star of a series of movies now and she is the poster girl, not unlike Jennifer Lawrence. Last year, I used Yaphet Kotto from Alien and next year's best bet is Gloria Foster as the Oracle from the first two Matrix movies.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are two, both born after 1960. The younger is easy to find, the older a little more difficult. Answers later in the day.

3. Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys?!? A quick check of my birthday database shows that I had never typed in the name of this movie before and today there are two folks with birthdays who were in this piece of cheese. That's a weird coincidence. I will say that the mouth of the lamprey is one of the scariest things in the vertebrate kingdom with that creepy circle of sucker teeth.

4. Ed Asner and Sam Waterston in genre? I actually saw Capricorn One, so I wasn't so surprised about Sam Waterston, but only two roles in genre in such a long career says something about the roles he picks. As for Asner, he does a lot of voice work and if I counted all of it, he would have a list five or six times as long as the one he has, but I knew nothing about the 1960s shows he was on and I might have seen one or two. I guess that isn't so surprising, since he wasn't famous when I saw them and I don't think The Invaders or The Outer Limits made it into syndication so I would get that "Hey, it's Ed Asner!" moment.

5. Born 1879? Yeah, Lewis Stone, best known for played Judge Hardy in the Andy Hardy movies, was in a silent sci-fi and the 1930s Fu Manchu movie is list on imbd.com as sci-fi. Go figure.

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

Movies released
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets released 2002
 

Predictor: John Habberton (1842-1921), Author of Helen's Babies and other light fiction, predicting life in America in 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago

Prediction (Reality in parentheses): All soil worth tilling will receive the best possible attention. All the forests will be gone. (Yeah, chop it all down. Why not?)

Government will have disappeared. The people will tolerate nothing more than an administration, on business principles, of such general interests as are too great or complex to be intrusted to private management. (Umm, no.)

Medicine will be practiced at police stations and among outcasts, for respectable people will have resolved that illness not caused by accident is disgracefully criminal. (What? He lived into his late seventies, well past the average of his time. I find myself hoping he died from something lingering and painful.)

Temperance legislation will be a long dead issue. Proper cooking and improved physical habits will have neutralized the desire for stimulants. (Yeah, and you got my weight and astrological sign wrong too, buddy.)

All marriages will be happy, for the law shall put to death any man or woman who assumes conjugal position without the proper physical, mental and financial qualifications. (What a creepy fascist this guy is.)

Perhaps I am wrong in some of these prophecies, but if so I shall not be here to be twitted with it - now will I? (No, Habberton, you aren't here, but I am glad to pull your nearly forgotten corpse out of the ground and give several well-deserved whacks.)

(Though to be fair, nice moustache.)

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

 Another Sunday, another nuclear war scenario.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
  

Reality:

14 November 2014

Birthdays
Dimitri Leonidas b. 1987 (Sinbad, Doctor Who)
Brian Gleeson b. 1987 (Snow White and the Huntsman, Primeval)
Laura Ramsey b. 1982 (Venom, The Covenant)
Russell Tovey b. 1981 (Being Human, Doctor Who)
Michala Banas b. 1978 (Scooby-Doo, BeastMaster [TV], The Lost World [TV])
Chris Demetral b. 1976 (The Zeta Project, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Lois & Clark, Dolly Dearest, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Felicity Mason b. 1976 (Undead)
Olga Kurylenko b. 1979 (Vampire Academy, Oblivion)
Delphine Chaneac b. 1978 (Splice)
Gene Farber b. 1978 (X-Men: First Class, Virtuality)
Marcy Leeds b. 1977 (Beauty and the Beast [1989 TV], Near Dark)
Dana Snyder b. 1973 (Venture Brothers, Saul of the Mole Men)
Josh Duhamel b. 1972 (Transformers, The Picture of Dorian Gray)
Florina Kendrick b. 1966 (Dracula [1992])
Patrick Warburton b. 1964 (Ted 1 & 2, The Venture Brothers, Men in Black II, The Tick, Quantum Leap)
Harland Williams b. 1962 (RocketMan)
Laura San Giacomo b. 1962 (The Apocalypse, The Stand)
D.B. Sweeney b. 1961 (Touch, Swamp Shark, Universal Dead, Jericho, Harsh Realm, Spawn, Fire in the Sky)
Paul McGann b. 1959 (Doctor Who, Vampire Killers, Queen of the Damned, Alien 3)
Nannette Brown b. 1958 (Swamp Thing)
Sandahl Bergman b. 1951 (Sorceress II: The Temptress, TekWar: TekJustice, Freddy’s Nightmares, Programmed to Kill, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Hell Comes to Frogtown, Red Sonja, Conan the Barbarian, She)
Gary Grubbs b. 1949 (Left Behind, Battleship, Wizards of Waverly Place, Angel, The Astronaut’s Wife, The X Files, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Time Trax, The Greatest American Hero)
Robert Ginty b. 1948 died 21 September 2009 (Programmed to Kill, Knight Rider, Warrior of the Lost World, Project U.F.O.)
Wendy Carlos b. 1939 (Composer, TRON, The Shining)
Kathleen Hughes b. 1928 (I Dream of Jeannie, It Came From Outer Space, Cult of the Cobra)
McLean Stevenson b. 1927 died 15 February 1996 (The Astronauts, The Cat from Outer Space)
Brian Keith b. 1921 died 24 June 1997 (Deep Space Nine, World War III, Meteor)
Ann Way b. 1915 died 13 March 1993 (Brazil, Jabberwocky)
Rosemary DeCamp b. 1910 died 20 February 2001 (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Time Machine [1978 TV], 13 Ghosts)
William Stieg b. 1907 died 3 October 2003 (author, Shrek)

Last year, I used a picture of Brock Samson, voiced by the great Patrick Warburton. This year, actors who played the Doctor are trump, so we get the 8th Doctor Paul McGann. Next year, I'll probably go with Laura San Giacomo from The Stand or Sandahl Bergman from Conan.

The Canadian on the list has no telltale roles. Harland Williams works out of Los Angeles, mostly in comedies.

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

Predictor: H. G. Wells in his 1902 book Anticipations

Prediction: There is, however, one conceivable means of transit that is not simply frequent but continuous, that may be joined or left at any point without a stoppage, that could be adapted to many existing streets at the level or quite easily sunken in tunnels, or elevated above the street level, and that means of transit is the moving platform, whose possibilities have been exhibited to all the world in a sort of mean caricature at the Paris Exhibition.

Reality: Ah, moving sidewalks! It's been a couple months since we've had a moving sidewalks prediction, and my answer is as always, ah hellz no!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We jump back to 1893, a time of facial hair, optimism and nearly no understanding of the environment.


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

13 November 2014

 Birthdays
Devon Bostick b. 1991 (The 100, Hidden 3D, Haven, Survival of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Odyssey 5)
Lara Amersey b. 1984 (Warehouse 13, Monster Warriors, Land of the Dead)
Michael Copon b. 1982 (Night of the Demons, Power Rangers Time Force)
Marit Velle Kile b. 1978 (Blade II)
Ashley Palmer b. 1978 (No Ordinary Family, Paranormal Activity)
Kim Director b. 1977 (Gotham, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2)
Aisha Hinds b. 1975 (Under the Dome, Star Trek Into Darkness, True Blood, Dollhouse, Stargate SG-1, Lost, Invasion)
Jordan Bridges b. 1973 (Bionic Woman [2007], Charmed, Frequency)
Noah Hathaway b. 1971 (Troll, The Never Ending Story, Mork & Mindy, Battlestar Galactica)
Gerard Butler b. 1969 (Gamer, Nim’s Island, Beowulf & Grendel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Reign of Fire, Dracula 2000, Tale of the Mummy)
Timothy E. Goodwin b. 1968 (John Dies at the End, The Low Budget Time Machine, Bubba Ho-Tep)
Steve Zahn b. 1967 (Captain Fantastic, Robodog, Knights of Bassassdom, From the Earth to the Moon)
Rick Roberts b. 1965 (Salem Falls, Haven, Plague City: SARS in Toronto)
Neil Flynn b. 1960 (Nigel & Oscar vs. the Sasquatch, ImagiGARY, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Smallville, Sliders)
Caroline Goodall b. 1959 (Dorian Gray, Hook, Quantum Leap)
Rex Linn b. 1956 (Zombeavers, The Walking Dead, The Postman, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
John McConnell b. 1958 (Nigel & Oscar vs. the Sasquatch, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Jonah Hex, Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat, Mutant Species, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles)
Whoopi Goldberg b. 1955 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, 666 Park Avenue, Monkeybone, The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns, Alice in Wonderland [1999 TV], Cinderella [TV movie], Bordello of Blood, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Ghost)
Tracy Scoggins b. 1953 (Babylon 5, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Saurian, Highlander [TV], Deep Space Nine, Lois and Clark, Manimal, Tucker’s Witch)
Frances Conroy b. 1953 (American Horror Story, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, Catwoman, The Twilight Zone [1986])
Art Malik b. 1952 (John Carter, The Wolfman [2010], Year of the Comet)
Joe Mantegna b. 1947 (Thinner, The Twilight Zone [1987], The Greatest American Hero)
Tom Atkins b. 1935 (Xena, Night of the Creeps, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Escape from New York, The Fog)
Gary Marshall b. 1934 (writer/producer, Mork & Mindy)
Richard Mulligan b. 1932 died 26 September 2000 (Babes in Toyland [1986 TV movie], Twilight Zone [1985], I Dream of Jeannie)
Adrienne Corri b. 1930 (Doctor Who, Vampyre Circus, A Clockwork Orange, UFO, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man, Devil Girl from Mars)
Oskar Werner b. 1922 died 23 October 1984 (Fahrenheit 451)
Jack Elam b.1920 died 20 October 2003 (The Aurora Encounter, The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite, Twilight Zone)
Robert Sterling b. 1917 died 30 May 2006 (Twilight Zone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Topper)
Alexander Scourby b. 1913 died 22 February 1985 (The Stuff, Twilight Zone)
Hermione Baddeley b. 1906 died 19 August 1986 (C.H.O.M.P.S., Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, Journey to the Unknown, Batman, Mary Poppins)
Robert Louis Stevenson b. 1850 died 3 December 1894 (author, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year, it was Whoopi Goldberg, this year it's Traci Scoggins. As popular as the fabulous babes are, my guess is that next year my love for Jack Elam will trump all other considerations.

2. Spot the Canadians! There are three, all born after 1960. Hint: Neil Flynn, best known as the janitor from Scrubs, is NOT Canadian, his appearances on Smallville and Sliders to the contrary. 

Best wishes to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
2012 escaped 2009
The Running Man released 1987

 In the year 2000!

Predictor: Lee de Forest, "The Father of Radio", predicting the world of 2000 in the 17 January 1960 edition of the Sunday supplement American Weekly.

Prediction: Blankets no longer will be necessary indoors; a radiant ""canopy"" over your bed will replace them. Instead of a picture window, there will be an invisible ""curtain"" of moving air to divide your living room and patio.

Reality: Two words, Doc. Energy costs.

Three more words. Single quotation marks.
 

Never to be Forgotten: Warren Clarke 1947-2014

British actor Warren Clarke, best known for playing Andy Dalziel on Dalziel & Pascoe, died yesterday at the age of 67. He is remembered here on the blog for his roles in Firefox, Hawk the Slayer and A Clockwork Orange, where he played Alex's droogi pal Dim, pictured here second from the left, resting his milk glass on his codpiece.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Warren Clarke, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our returning Friday regular H.G. Wells' make his predictions from his 1902 book Anticipations.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

12 November 2014

Birthdays
Anne Hathaway b. 1982 (Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises, Alice in Wonderland, Ella Enchanted)
Daisy McCrackin b. 1981 (The Unseen, Halloween: Resurrection, Angel)
Ryan Gosling b. 1980 (Young Hercules, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Frankenstein and Me)
Yvette Rachelle b. 1979 (Alien Encounter)
Ashley Williams b. 1978 (Warehouse 13)
Johnny Hawkes b. 1978 (Zombie Strippers!, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: the TV Show)
Radha Mitchell b. 1973 (Surrogates, Pitch Black)
Robert Lawrenson b. 1971 (Primeval: New World, Underworld: Awakening, Sanctuary, Smallville)
Craig Parker b. 1970 (Sleepy Hollow, Legend of the Seeker, Power Rangers, Lord of the Rings, Xena: Warrior Princess, Young Hercules, The Tommyknockers)
Harvey Stephens b. 1970 (The Omen [1976 and 2006])
Daz Crawford b. 1968 (Star Seed, Grayson: Earth One, Hammer of the Gods, Blade II)
Alex Carter b. 1964 (Beauty and the Beast [2012], Haven, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Jericho, The Island, Veritas: The Quest, Earth: Final Conflict, Dark Angel, Early Edition, War of the Worlds [TV series])
Sam Lloyd b. 1963 (The Nightmare Room, Galaxy Quest, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Flubber [1997])
Karen Sheperd b. 1961 (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, America 3000)
Megan Mullally b. 1958 (Monkeybone, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Tall Tales and Legends)
Rhonda Shear b. 1954 (Earth Minus Zero, Frogtown II, Spaceballs, Galaxina)
Max Grodénchik b. 1952 (Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Insurrection, Sliders, Rumplestiltskin, Apollo 13, Tales from the Crypt, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Rocketeer)
Michael Bishop b. 1945 (won 1983 Nebula for No Enemy But Time)
Julie Ege b. 1943 died 29 April 2008 (The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, The Last Days of Man on Earth, Creatures the World Forgot)
Wallace Shawn b. 1943 (Vamps, Eureka, Jack and the Beanstalk [2010], Southland Tales, Stargate SG-1, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, My Favorite Martian [1999], The Meteor Man, Mom and Dad Save the World, The Princess Bride, Nice Girls Don’t Explode, Strange Invaders, Simon)
Dave Cockrum b. 1943 died 26 November 2006 (comic book artist, creator of Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler)
Michael Ende b. 1929 died 29 August 1995 (writer, The NeverEnding Story)
Kim Hunter b. 1922 died 11 September 2002 (Project U.F.O., The Evil Touch, Planet of the Apes and sequels)
Paul Maxwell b. 1921 died 19 December 1991 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Aliens, UFO, It!, How to Make a Monster, Blood of Dracula)
Richard Quine b. 1920 died 10 June 1989 (director, Project U.F.O., Bell Book and Candle)
Ray Kellogg b. 1919 died 26 September 1981 (The Invaders, The Addams Family, My Favorite Martian, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)
Liam Dunn b. 1916 died 11 April 1976 (Young Frankenstein, The Girl with Something Extra, Genesis II, Captain Nice)

Notes on the birthday list
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Harvey Stephens, Damien in The Omen. This year, we have the rare combination that the youngest person on the list is an honest to Odin movie star, one with iconic roles in genre movies and a fabulous babe to boot, so happy birthday Anne Hathaway. As for next year, I'm leaning towards Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride, still one of my favorite films.

 2. Spot the Canadians! There are four, all guys, but only one has a C.V. that gives his nationality away. The oldest, the late Paul Maxwell, did a lot of voice work for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, including Thunderbirds Are Go! and Fireball XL-5. Some folks, mainly Brits, are crazy with nostalgia for those puppet shows. They just creeped me the hell out.

I'll give the answers for the other three in the comments in the afternoon.

3. The Guy at the Door. Wallace Shawn turns 71 today, not particularly old by today's standards, but the two other folks who share the exact same birthday, comic book artist Dave Cockrum and fabulous Norwegian babe Julie Ege, did not make it to 71. Everyone younger than Shawn is alive and everyone older is dead.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, with special best wishes to Wallace Shawn, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
 

Predictor: Anonymous writer in the New York World, predicting the year 2011 in 1911

Prediction: (Continuing the story of the exploration of the moon, starting in 1950): He opened the way. Crowds ventured to make the terrific voyage. Many never returned. Visionary persons suggest that, as weight counted for nothing in the ethermobile, tons of solidified air should be transported to be liberated on the moon, where, held by the attraction of gravitation, it would little by little form an atmosphere. Such a task would have taken centuries and impoverished our own supply of air. Instead of this, chemical reagents were employed which stated a chemical revolution on the moon and liberated vast quantities of oxygen that had been combined with minerals.

After many voyages and many experiments, a thin stratum of breathable air spread over the lower places on the surface. Slender though it was, it sufficed for vegetation of humble plants such as mosses and lichens, and though natural chemistry form vapor. From that time the dead moon was reborn; its atmosphere increased in volume through the sole agency of the respiration of the plants. Little by little the inhabitants of the earth noticed changes in the appearance of their satellite, now covered by fine, misty flakes, which broke up the light into exquisite twilight tints. It was at last possible to live there. The higher plants were now beginning to grow; the decay of vegetable matter was forming soil. A few small animals were taken there; then a whole Noah's Ark. These, by supplying organic matter, were contributing to make the moon at some later day habitable to man.

Matters have reached this stage now (2011), when John Smith is listening to the story in the Museum. If man has not yet taken possession of his colony, he has made many excursions to it and is accustoming himself to its severe climate. The species of animals that are now extinct upon the earth, save in a few zoos, are developing at liberty and transforming themselves naturally to adapt themselves to their new conditions of existence.


Reality: Getting real, we haven't tried to terraform the moon, but the writer has a pretty good idea of what the process would be like. The word terraform is said to have been coined in 1942 and one of the first scholarly attempts to nail down the process is written by Carl Sagan in the 1960s, but our scribe from 1911 gets high marks for vaguely describing something which has become real science in our day, though we haven't attempted it on any off world body yet.
  

Never to be Forgotten: Carol Ann Susi 1952-2014

An obit appeared yesterday for Carol Ann Susi, the voice of Howard's mother on The Big Bang Theory. She had a brief illness and died at the age of 62. I usually don't count voice work, but I do make exceptions and her role certainly is worth an exception. In front of the camera, she had roles in the genre productions Journeyman, Cats & Dogs, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Death Becomes Her and the 1970s TV show Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Best wishes to all the family and friends of Carol Ann Susi, from a fan. She is never to be forgotten.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Could we get two consecutive days with a fabulous babe in the Picture Slot? The signs look good.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!