Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner

Star Trek Time Travel Tomorrow Is Yesterday

I don’t claim to be an authority on the matter, but it seems like in the original “Star Trek” series, the Starship Enterprise went back to Earth like every other week. But mostly it was the crew encountering worlds that, for whatever reasons, developed into parallels of different periods of Earth’s history. So we got replica-Earths populated by plague-resistant children, Kirk and Spock battling Nazis, and Vic Tayback as a gangster in pinstripes.

But the first time the Enterprise went back to 20th century Earth for REAL (don’t worry, I know it’s fiction) was in the first season episode “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” (1967). Not to spoil anything, but this is the episode that introduces the “slingshot effect,” a convenient physics loophole later exploited in the movies.

Roy and I will attempt to perform the maneuver, in order to erase your memory of our original plan to cover “The Day After Tomorrow” (1975) – Gerry Anderson’s TV pilot that went nowhere – and to give the illusion that we are thorough, thoughtful programmers. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be a lot easier just to employ a Jedi mind trick?

Be that as it may, we’re changing the program and moving it to a different night this week. I hope you’ll join us in the comments section for a discussion of “Tomorrow Is Yesterday,” on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. We’ll still be screwed up from the time-change, when we livestream on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, this SUNDAY EVENING AT 7:00 EST!

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PHOTO: Who needs Jedi, when you’ve got crafty Kirk to play mind games?

November 10, 2022
Back to the Future Discussion and Space 1999 Preview

Time got away from us last night, as we realized we were cresting two hours in our discussion of “Back to the Future” (1985). There’s got to be some irony in that. And there was still plenty left on the table.

This last of a golden age of summer blockbusters was the time travel movie we didn’t know we needed. Now who would want to do without it?

You can watch the entire conversation, with viewer comments, at the link. And make a mental note to change your clocks tonight, as we “fall back!”

Whereas this week’s show went by like a flash of lightning meeting a DeLorean tearing down Main Street at 88 m.p.h., next week may wind up being a bit of a slog – at least for Classic Ross Amico, who is no big fan of “Space: 1999.” Gerry Anderson’s “The Day After Tomorrow” (1975) looks to be cut from the same cloth.

At least it’s directed by Charles Chrichton, who directed “The Lavender Hill Mob” and “A Fish Called Wanda,” and surely anything with Brian Blessed is worth watching. It’s only 47 minutes long – actually a pilot for a projected TV series – so hopefully I’ll be able to make it through, provided I can find it streaming anywhere.

My enthusiasm is not assured on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Please bring your insights to the comments section, so Roy has something to play off of, when we livestream on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, next Friday evening at 7:30 Eastern STANDARD Time.

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November 5, 2022
Back to the Future on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner

When we have to turn the clocks back on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, we do so in a big way. Join us this week, when we put pedal to the metal in Doc Brown’s tricked-out DeLorean for a time-traveling discussion of “Back to the Future” (1985).

Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s tight, Academy Award nominated screenplay is a clever inversion of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Also, it celebrates a kind of knowing affection and fosters empathy across a generational divide. Incredibly, no studio wanted anything to do with it. It was finally Steven Spielberg who produced, after the success of Zemeckis’ and Gale’s “Romancing the Stone.”

The film sports career-defining performances by Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and especially Crispin Glover. All the predictable summer movie set pieces are there, but this is one blockbuster that is genuinely driven by characters and story.

With just the right balance of innocence and sophistication, “Back to the Future” capped a golden age of Spielberg summer movies that began with “Jaws” in 1975. It’s an era that, without a time-traveling DeLorean, will never come again.

It’s a reminder to “fall back” this weekend, as we pick up an extra hour. We’ll “make like a tree and get out of here,” on the next “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.” Biff will join you in the comments section with the Turtle Wax (two coats!), when we livestream on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, this Friday evening at 7:30 EDT!

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November 3, 2022
The Munsters Halloween Discussion & Spooky Drinks

It was a slow trek toward relevancy last night during our discussion of “The Munsters” (1964-66), on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. But things got a little more interesting once the spooky libations started to take effect, by about ten minutes in. Thank you to Mike (a.k.a. Buzz) & Marybeth (a.k.a. Catwoman) from SciFi Distilled for joining us for what has become a holiday tradition.

We hope to see you next time, when Father Roy and I discuss… ??? We’ll have a topic for you soon. It’s a busy weekend, and the spirits are clouding our thoughts. But you can feel free to start preparing your comments for when we next livestream on Facebook – and Twitter and YouTube – next Friday evening at 7:30 EDT!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween “Munsters” World Series roundtable

Past shows

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October 29, 2022
Munsters World Series Watch Party & TV Retrospective

Hey, if we could do “Rollerball” opposite the Super Bowl, we can do “The Munsters”(1964-66) opposite the World Series!

I hope you’ll join us during commercial breaks on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, when the Phillies face off against the Astros, as we throw out the first pitch on Halloween weekend with a salute to the classic TV series. What’s more, for the third year in a row, we’ll be joined by Mike and Marybeth of SciFi Distilled.

For anyone weaned on the black-and-white Universal Pictures monster movies of the 1930s and ‘40s, “The Munsters” was line-drive entertainment for much of its two-season run; but the streak was finally stopped short by the saturated color camp of “Batman.” Even so, Herman, Lily, Eddie, Marilyn, and Grandpa rose again in syndication, as a staple of afterschool television during the 1970s and ‘80s, and they’re still flitting around on cable, on stations like Cozi TV.

Revisiting “The Munsters” is very cozy indeed. Sure, it’s the same old schtick – generally, someone trying to get over on the residents of 1313 Mockingbird Lane, or the guileless Herman trying to perform a selfless act – either of which invariably culminates with anyone outside the family fleeing the macabre mansion – but that’s what makes it cozy.

There are two kinds of jokes: jokes that are funny because the punchline comes out of nowhere; and jokes where you see the punchline coming from a mile away, but still experience a kind of satisfaction in seeing it land. “The Munsters” made a specialty of the latter. In a pinch, Al Lewis could spin comedy out of the most gossamer of situations.

The cast was ably supported by a bullpen of veteran character actors, comedians, and familiar faces of classic television, such as Foster Brooks, Charlie Callas, John Carradine, Richard Deacon, Dom DeLuise, John Fiedler, Bonnie Franklin, Pat Harrington, Harvey Korman, Paul Lynde, Gavin MacLeod, Gary Owens, Don Rickles, Charlie Ruggles, Dick Wilson, and Jane Withers, among others, and an omnipresent, chortling laugh-track.

A subversive take on the wholesome American sitcom family from the writers of “Rocky and Bullwinkle” and the creators of “Leave It to Beaver,” “The Munsters” provides ample material for in-between-plays World Series chatter.

The hosts and guests will be in costume – with spooky libations, for when the Phils score (or not) – on the next “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.” Bring your hexes to the comments section. Grandpa will be in the dungeon, working on a potion to bury the Astros, this Friday evening at 7:30 EDT!

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October 27, 2022

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