Author Archives: Roger Pocock

About Roger Pocock

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

Legend of the Sea Devils

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Roger Pocock

The Sea Devils are among the second flight of Doctor Who villains, but it feels like a refreshing change to have them back after so many years. The constant return of the big hitters, particularly the Daleks, has been starting … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, Thirteenth Doctor | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Chobits

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Predictions of the near future date badly, very quickly. I’m still waiting for my hoverboard from Back to the Future, for a start, and I should have had that by now. That weather control station on the moon from Doctor … Continue reading →

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

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries: The Double (Review)

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Roger Pocock

The sub-one-hour format of these Edgar Wallace Mysteries often necessitates a compressed form of storytelling in order to fit everything in. Some writers handled that better than others. For The Double, screenplay writers Lindsay Galloway and John Roddick start their … Continue reading →

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

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

Posted on April 16, 2022 by Roger Pocock

What happens when your heart’s desire conflicts with your responsibilities? Buffy is obviously going to be a series that explores teenage issues, but it can do more than that, because Buffy is the Slayer, and that’s a job and a … Continue reading →

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

The Twilight Zone: The Last Flight

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Well here’s an episode of The Twilight Zone that does not get a lot of repeats to the best of my memory and I can’t understand why.  I think it’s a damned good episode.  And clearly I’m not alone since … Continue reading →

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

Star Trek: Elaan of Troyius

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Roger Pocock

French actress France Nuyen… yes, her first name identifies her nationality… very convenient… plays the titular Elaan of Troyius in another one of Trek’s forays into sexism.  Yeah, yeah, I’m being unfair, I know, but for a show I remembered … Continue reading →

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

Shakugan no Shana S OVA Series

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Roger Pocock

At the end of the second season of Shakugan no Shana, we were left with a cliffhanger of sorts, with the love triangle between Yuji, Shana and Kazumi about to be resolved. It was pretty obvious which way Yuji was … Continue reading →

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The Edgar Wallace Mysteries: Ricochet (Review)

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Roger Pocock

When a husband finds out that his wife is having an affair, he could be expected to be somewhat aggrieved about that. Not so for Alan Phipps (Richard Leech), who instead decides to team up with his wife’s boyfriend John … Continue reading →

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

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Teacher’s Pet

Posted on April 9, 2022 by Roger Pocock

This week, Xander is mesmerised by an unattractive middle aged woman. Is something magical going on, or is this simply a representation of a teenage boy who is a slave to his hormones? Actually, it’s both, one literal and one … Continue reading →

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

The Twilight Zone: The Fever

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Franklin.  I know times were different back in 1960 when the Franklin Twilight Zone aired, but by franklin, was this a tough episode to watch.  Conceptually, The Fever is franklin good because it speaks of the dangers of addiction but … Continue reading →

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

Star Trek: The Empath

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Roger Pocock

I had been waiting to get to this episode because my memory of it was very positive but The Empath, like so many Trek episodes, does miss the mark more than I remembered.  It’s always a shame when that happens; … Continue reading →

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

Nekomonogatari Black

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Roger Pocock

This short series in the Monogatari saga runs for just four episodes and focuses on a single arc, adapted from one book in the light novel series. Anyone who has watched a few anime series will have probably picked up … Continue reading →

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Columbo: A Deadly State of Mind (Review)

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Dr. Mark Collier is smooth, handsome and a little bit creepy, so George Hamilton is the perfect choice for the role. Collier also does not deserve the title of “doctor” because he specialises in hypnotherapy, and is pushing the practice … Continue reading →

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

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Witch

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Roger Pocock

When I first watched Buffy I found the first season entertaining enough to keep watching, but on repeat viewings I’ve always felt it doesn’t quite reach the standard of what followed later. I think that’s probably because it feels so … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, Television | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Twilight Zone: The Hitch-Hiker

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Roger Pocock

The Hitchhiker: it’s a staple of The Twilight Zone, a quintessential episode shown during every marathon.  It’s eerie and yet relatable and has a whopper of a punchline.   Inger Stevens plays Nan Adams, a young woman driving cross country when … Continue reading →

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

Star Trek: Wink of an Eye

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Back in 1966, Star Trek was so new and unusual, most of the ideas were novel.  The stories were interesting and strange and often quite deep.  Creating new and compelling ideas must have been so much fun for the writers.  … Continue reading →

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

Zombie Land Saga Revenge

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Zombie idol group Franchouchou are back for this second season of the excellent Zombie Land Saga, and we start with a massive failure that could have spelled the end for any lesser group. The girls play at a huge venue, … Continue reading →

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

Columbo: Playback (Review)

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Columbo’s enemies are often very rich men, and wealthy people love their latest gadgetry. This often throws the lieutenant into a world of strange marvels, that haven’t always dated well (let’s not mention the robot), but this week it’s all … Continue reading →

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

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Harvest

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Roger Pocock

The resolution to the previous episode’s cliffhanger is very weak, but to be fair it was originally intended only to follow an advertisement break, with the two episodes shown back to back on first broadcast. A bigger problem is how … Continue reading →

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

The Twilight Zone: I Shot an Arrow into the Air

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Roger Pocock

When I was a kid, I had a late night line-up for our nights at our summer home.  11:30pm: The Honeymooners.  I didn’t love it as a kid, but my grandfather did so I’d watch because he was awesome and … Continue reading →

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