Author Archives: Roger Pocock

About Roger Pocock

Co-writer on junkyard.blog. Author of windowsintohistory.wordpress.com. Editor of frontiersmenhistorian.info

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Roger Pocock

We come now to what I consider the finest of the Trek movies.  But to understand that, I need to rewind to 1991.  I’m 19 and at this point in our lives, my friends and I start every weekend with … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews, Science Fiction, Star Trek | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Koyomimonogatari

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Roger Pocock

At first this season feels like an odd backwards step for the Monogatari franchise. We begin with a prequel to Bakemonogatari, with Koyomi and Tsubasa investigating a minor mystery concerning a shrine in their school’s gardens. It all seems oddly … Continue reading →

Posted in Anime, Entertainment, Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries: Who Was Maddox?

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Roger Pocock

This is a rare treat: an Edgar Wallace Mystery that is actually a mystery. Writer Roger Marshall manages to pack a lot of story into 60 minutes, but I never found it difficult to follow, despite a complicated plot with … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: What’s My Line (Parts 1 and 2)

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Buffy has been complaining about not being able to be a normal girl right from the start, and that is reinforced again here. There is a “career week” at school, but she doesn’t see much of a future for herself. … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Television | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Twilight Zone: The After Hours

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Marsha White is in search of a gold thimble that she saw advertised in the local department store.  It’s a sign of the times as much as last week’s Mr. Bevis, who gets a raise to $10 a week!  Did … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, The Twilight Zone | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Roger Pocock

The year is 1989; 10 years after Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Rumor is, this is the final Star Trek movie.  I’m 17 and I have a brainwave.  I thought, for the tenth anniversary, I should see if my grandfather … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews, Science Fiction, Star Trek | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Dive!!

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Roger Pocock

I stumbled across this anime series on Amazon Prime, looking for something that was safe to watch with the children around. There is a lot of anime that’s free to watch if you have Amazon Prime, but their age guidance … Continue reading →

Posted in Anime, Entertainment, Reviews, Television | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries: We Shall See

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Roger Pocock

It’s strange that this series of B movies was promoted as mystery thrillers when they are almost always nothing of the sort. In We Shall See there isn’t even a crime committed until there are only four minutes of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Dark Age

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Last week Buffy learned a tough lesson in life, summed up by Giles’ ironic speech at the end of the episode: there isn’t always going to be a clear line between the heroes and the villains. Sometimes that line will … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Television | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The Twilight Zone: Mr. Bevis

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Mr. James B. W. Bevis is a likable man who is perhaps a little too genuine for the modern world.  He’s lost six jobs in a year and eleven in a year and a half.  He’s just lost his car, … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, The Twilight Zone | Tagged | 1 Comment

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a lighthearted Trek movie and as a result, may be one of the very best.  Another tubular Doomsday Machine is on a direct course to earth.  This is taking ideas from the classic … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews, Science Fiction, Star Trek | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Citrus

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Roger Pocock

For the benefit of newcomers to the world of anime, there is a fairly popular subgenre of anime known as yuri, which focus on lesbian relationships. These tend to be gentle affairs, but this 12 episode series from 2018 is … Continue reading →

Posted in Anime, Entertainment, Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries: The Verdict

Posted on July 24, 2022 by Roger Pocock

We’ve been here before with the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series of B movies: a story of the battle between two groups of criminals. Previously this has tended to be big, organised crime vs small time crooks, but this time we … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lie to Me

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Roger Pocock

In Lie to Me, Buffy finds out that life is tough. She is betrayed by an old friend, who she discovers is dying, and that has driven him to horrific extremes. He is a member of yet another teenage cult, … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Television | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Twilight Zone: A Passage for Trumpet

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Growing up in the 70s and 80s meant you couldn’t see Jack Klugman without seeing Oscar Madison.  I wasn’t even a big fan of The Odd Couple, but seeing Klugman conjured only that one character: a grouchy, slovenly sports reporter … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, The Twilight Zone | Tagged | 1 Comment

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Star Trek III is, in many ways, the flip side of the coin that was Star Trek II.  In the former, we get a good old spaceship battle akin to the classic episode Balance of Terror (which itself was basically … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews, Science Fiction, Star Trek | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Tsukimonogatari

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Roger Pocock

The title of this miniseries in the Monogatari franchise is a tricky one to translate, with an ambiguity of meaning that is probably beyond the understanding of somebody trying to dip a toe into the Japanese language like me, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Anime, Entertainment, Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries: Downfall

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Nadja Regin is back for her third appearance in an Edgar Wallace Mysteries B-movie. It had been a good couple of years since Number Six and Solo for Sparrow, because she had become a Bond girl, appearing in both From … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Halloween

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Once the premise of Halloween is established we basically get a lot of running around until Ethan’s spell is reversed, and that follows a slow build-up to the moment people get turned into their costumes. Despite this, it’s a strong … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Television | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Twilight Zone: The Chaser

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Roger Pocock

I’ve always thought I’d seen the bulk of the Twilight Zone episodes, barring a handful from season 5, but I have been truly surprised by the sheer number of episodes that I’d never seen before.  Take The Chaser, for example; … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, The Twilight Zone | Tagged | 1 Comment