4 September 2014

Birthdays
Ellie Darcey-Alden b. 1999 (Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2)
Caitlin and Amanda Fein b. 1992 (The X Files, Deep Impact)
Carter Jenkins b. 1991 (Aliens in the Attic, The 4400, Surface)
Wes Bentley b. 1978 (American Horror Story, The Hunger Games, Underworld: Awakening, Jonah Hex, Ghost Rider)
John Ruby b. 1977 (Touch, The Event)
Kai Owen b. 1975 (Torchwood, Being Human, Rocket Man)
Jason David Frank b. 1973 (Power Rangers, V.R. Troopers)
Francoise Yip b. 1972 (Sanctuary, Fringe, Caprica, Blood Ties, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Flash Gordon [TV], Andromeda, Blade:Trinity, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Smallville, Jeremiah, Mindstorm, RoboCop: Prime Directives, Earth: Final Conflict, Futuresport)
Richard Speight Jr. b 1970 (Supernatural, Jericho, Big Monster on Campus, Menno’s Mind, Hypernauts, Amanda & the Alien, Freddy’s Nightmares)
Noah Taylor b. 1969 (Edge of Tomorrow, Game of Thrones, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Vanilla Sky)
Kristen Wilson b. 1969 (Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, Dr. Doolittle, Dungeons & Dragons)
John DiMaggio b. 1968 (Futurama, Princess Mononoke, Adventure Time, among many others)
Phill Lewis b. 1968 (Wizards of Waverly Place, What Planet Are You From?, Buffy, Starman [TV])
Michael Bent b. 1965 (Threshold, Firefly)
Todd Sherry b. 1961 (Eastwick, Alien Autopsy, Charmed)
Damon Wayans b. 1960 (Blankman, Earth Girls Are Easy)
Domiziana Giordano b. 1959 (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles)
Patricia Tallman b. 1957 (InAlienable, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager, Dark Skies, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Army of Darkness, The Flash, Night of the Living Dead [1990], Hard Time on Planet Earth)
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs b. 1953 (Weird Science, Homeboys in Outer Space, Alien Nation)
Alan Blumenfeld b. 1952 (Touch, Heroes, Stargate: Atlantis, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Dark Side of the Moon, The Munsters Today, Beauty and the Beast [1988], Innerspace, Jason Lives, The Twilight Zone [1986], WarGames)
Judith Ivey b. 1951 (Rose Red, The Devil’s Advocate, Frogs!)
Michael Berryman b. 1948 (Apocalypse Kiss, Army of the Damned, Necrosis, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Conan, The X-Files, Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, Wizards of the Demon Sword, Guyver, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Aftershock, ALF, Saturday the 14th Strikes Back, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Barbarians, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, My Science Project, Weird Science, The Hills Have Eyes, Voyage of the Rock Aliens, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze)
David St. James b. 1947 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Donnie Darko, My Favorite Martian [1999], Alien Avengers II, Alien: Resurrection, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Space: Above and Beyond, The Invaders [1995 TV movie], Lois & Clark, Monolith)
Bob May b. 1939 died 18 January 2009 (Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel)
Nicholas Worth b. 1937 died 7 May 2007 (Star Trek: Voyager, Starforce, The X Files, Sliders, Deep Space Nine, Timelock, Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II, Darkman, Hell Comes to Frogtown, Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, Swamp Thing, Coma, The Invisible Man [1975], The Six Million Dollar Man, Scream Blacula Scream)
Dick York b. 1928 died 20 February 1992 (Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
Howard Morris b. 1919 died 21 May 2005 (It Came from Outer Space II, Transylvania Twist, Splash, The Munsters’ Revenge, Space Academy, Twilight Zone)

Think of how many times a young woman has been told "You're really pretty, you should go to Hollywood and become an actress." But how many times has someone been told "You are really disturbing to look at, you should go to Hollywood and play monsters, mutants and aliens." I don't actually know if Michael Berryman got such advice during his life, but damn if it didn't work. I'd say his level of fame is at Oh That Guy, or more precisely Oh That Creepy Guy. I have to admit that listing his credits was tricky, as I don't have hard and fast rules as to which horror movies count and which ones don't. From everything I've heard, Michael Berryman is a very nice guy and is always happy to meet fans. Good on ya, Michael, and I hope you keep getting work.

As for the Picture Slot candidates, wow, there are a lot. I used Patricia Tallman from Babylon 5 last year because I'm a JMS nerd, but for iconic, I'd say Dick York, Bob May (the guy inside the robot on Lost in Space), Noah Taylor from Game of Thrones, Wes Bentley from The Hunger Games and John DiMaggio as Bender are all excellent choices that might show up next year. I might even go with Damon Wayans from Earth Girls Are Easy. Like I said, lots of choices, so all I can promise in 2015 is no repeats.

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

Predictor: The Masque of Mandragora series from Doctor Who, aired September 4-25, 1976

Prediction: The Fourth Doctor predicts the Mandragora Helix will attack earth again in 1992.

Reality: Okay, it's Doctor Who. Reality isn't part of the equation, is it?

Fans of the show will know that The Fourth Doctor was Tom Baker, who played the role longer than any other actor and is often the winner in "Who is your favorite Doctor?" polls, though David Tennant has won a few times as well.

And, okay, I'll say it, the reality is we haven't been invaded by aliens.

Yet.

As far as we know.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Tomorrow will be the swan song for Edgar Cayce, and unsurprisingly, his prediction is absolute crap. But I promise it's crap of a type we haven't seen before and may never see again.

Looking one day ahead... IN THE FUTURE!