Author Archives: Roger Pocock

About Roger Pocock

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

Star Trek: By Any Other Name

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Roger Pocock

Replying to a distress call, Kirk and crew find themselves on a stunningly colorful planet. They encounter humanoids that can immobilize them for some classic 60’s “stand still” action. Kudos to the cast for really sticking with it and not … Continue reading →

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Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul (Review)

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Roger Pocock

You might have reached this point by watching the first series of the anime, or you might have watched the two compilation films that proceed it. Either way, this feature film is the continuation of the Made in Abyss story, … Continue reading →

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The Box of Delights Episode 4

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Roger Pocock

“The Spider in the Web” The “spider” of the title presumably refers to Abner, but what flies has he caught, and what will he do with them? There is a theme of capture and escape this week. We get confirmation … Continue reading →

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

The Avengers: Death Dispatch

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Roger Pocock

Some poor quality stock footage signals that this episode takes place in Jamaica, at least to start with, and from there becomes a bit of a globe-trotter for Steed and Cathy, with Steed posing as a courier delivering important dispatches … Continue reading →

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The Outer Limits: The Premonition

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Roger Pocock

I had a premonition that The Premonition was going to be a lame duck episode and was pleasantly surprised to find it was actually very good.  While it’s again about an experiment that goes wrong, a common theme in the … Continue reading →

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Doctor Who Flux: Survivors of the Flux

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Roger Pocock

We should have had more faith. When Chris Chibnall wrote UNIT out of Doctor Who in Resolution it seemed like sacrilege, but the man had plans. Survivors of the Flux shows us the Grand Serpent’s interference in UNIT’s history, right … Continue reading →

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Star Trek: Patterns of Force

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Roger Pocock

Some Star Trek episodes are hard to watch.  I’m looking at you, Space Hitler.  Patterns of Force had the decency to explain that the Nazi regime was wrong but hey, they were controlled by bad men and they didn’t intend … Continue reading →

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Love Live! The School Idol Movie (Review)

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Roger Pocock

What better way to conclude a successful anime series than with a movie, and this feels very much like the last word on the story of the original line-up. Unlike a series where the storylines can be divided evenly between … Continue reading →

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

The Box of Delights Episode 3

Posted on November 28, 2021 by Roger Pocock

“In Darkest Cellars Underneath” If you thought there was a weak cliffhanger to the end of the previous episode, it does at least lead to a very important scene at the beginning of the third. There are a couple of … Continue reading →

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

The Avengers: The Big Thinker

Posted on November 27, 2021 by Roger Pocock

We start with a slow pan around an impressive studio set, and I don’t blame the director for that. He was probably very pleased with the designer’s work for this one and wanted to show off what he had to … Continue reading →

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The Outer Limits: The Brain of Colonel Barham

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Roger Pocock

Here’s all you need to know about The Brain of Colonel Barham.  Col Barham is a really smart dude, but he’s dying of an incurable disease.  As part of an experiment to colonize Mars, the powers-that-be decide they could remove … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, The Outer Limits | Tagged | 2 Comments

Alice’s Adventures Underground

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Roger Pocock

On this day in 1865, one of the most remarkable books ever written was first published, but its genesis can be traced back to the summer of 1862.  On 4th July that year, Dodgson went on one of his many … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Doctor Who Flux: Village of the Angels

Posted on November 25, 2021 by Roger Pocock

These are the days where writing doesn’t come easy. Why? Because the episode I have to write about is just too good, and there’s nothing particularly interesting about pointing out how good something is. You’re probably not interested in my … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, Thirteenth Doctor | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Star Trek: Return to Tomorrow

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Roger Pocock

For having one of Star Trek’s best remembered quotes, Return to Tomorrow is a dreadfully slow affair that offered the chance for greatness and delivered mediocrity.  Conceptually, this is an episode about godlike beings who just want a favor.  That … Continue reading →

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Mysteria Friends (Anime Review)

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Roger Pocock

Originally titled Manaria Friends, but retitled Mysteria Friends by Sentai Filmworks for the international market, this short anime series combines slice-of-life with fantasy. It is inspired by a chapter from a computer game that also spawned its own anime, but … Continue reading →

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

The Box of Delights Episode 2

Posted on November 21, 2021 by Roger Pocock

“Where shall the ‘nighted Snowman go?“ We start this episode with Kay slicing at some wolves with a sword and stabbing one to death. OK, we never see the blade make contact with anything, but it’s still pushing things a … Continue reading →

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

The Avengers: Traitor in Zebra

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Roger Pocock

At the start of this episode I thought I had put the disk in for Doctor Who: The War Games by mistake, with the opening shot of General Smythe looking thoughtfully out of the window, but it was actually not … Continue reading →

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The Outer Limits: Counterweight

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Roger Pocock

There are a number of things I don’t understand about the episode Counterweight.  I always let the Control Voice finish his monologue at the end before stopping the episode, but noticed this one had extra time, because there was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, The Outer Limits | Tagged | 1 Comment

Star Trek: A Private Little War

Posted on November 17, 2021 by Roger Pocock

There have been countless articles and comments over the years about Star Trek’s season 2 pro-Vietnam episode, A Private Little War.  This isn’t going to be about that.  As readers, we’ve been there, done that.   This is my experience with … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Television | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Doctor Who Flux: Once, Upon Time

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Roger Pocock

The Dark Times: so far little more than a cool sounding idea, a vague notion of a scary, distant past. This is the playground that Chris Chibnall is choosing to play in, and it’s surprising that no writer has really … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, Thirteenth Doctor | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment