Category: Sci-Fi

Starring Margaret Phillips and….?

Tales of Tomorrow was a science fiction anthology show in the early days of live television. On May 1, 1953 episode 80 of the 85 that were broadcast in the series was The Evil Within. It starred the Welsh-born actress Margaret Phillips. The Evil Within opens with no mention of two relatively unknown actors who appear, named Rod Steiger and James Dean. Hulu includes their names in the complete end credits, but to avoid commercials I’m embedding a copy that’s on archive.org that cuts off the last few seconds. Dean appears starting at the 17-minute mark. I’m not so sure Steiger’s rather overwrought style of acting worked well here.

P.S. According to the BLS inflation calculator, one of those $10 Kreisler watch bands would cost $85 today.

All the Whos down in Whoville

Before I took time off from blogging I linked to a delightful and spirited Doctor Who video with the cast and crew before David Tennant left the series. The video was made poignant by the presence of Elisabeth Sladen, who passed away earlier this year. The song is I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Scottish duo of identical twin brothers who call themselves the Proclaimers.

Note: the movie clips are from Benny & Joon, with Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson.

So long, Sarah Jane

I’ve only recently, in the past few months, begun to get caught up on the original Doctor Who series, starting with Tom Baker’s run, and featuring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. From the episodes I’ve seen, including her recent return with David Tennant as the Doctor, I can understand now why the words “beloved” and “iconic” are used by fans when discussing Elisabeth as Sarah Jane. Bismo and I were talking about her just last night.

Elisabeth Sladen died today. The news that she’d had cancer for some time was a sad surprise and a tragic shock to everyone.

http://youtu.be/thjWMWzUa30