Author Archives: Roger Pocock

About Roger Pocock

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

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Some Assembly Required

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Roger Pocock

This might sound like heresy, but Frankenstein is a bit of a silly story, and that’s with a genius of a scientist creating life from body parts. When the scientist of the story becomes a couple of nerdy teenagers, trying … Continue reading →

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The Twilight Zone: The Big Tall Wish

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Roger Pocock

The genius of The Twilight Zone is that it can introduce a few characters each week and make us care about them then pulls a fast one with some element of the fantastical.  It’s an interesting storytelling technique because we … Continue reading →

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Star Trek: The Savage Curtain

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Roger Pocock

I find myself frequently asking a very important question when watching Star Trek: did the writers intend for that to be funny?  This episode has one of my top 5 funniest moments when Kirk, determined to show that good is … Continue reading →

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Onimonogatari (Review and Fanservice Debate)

Posted on June 13, 2022 by Roger Pocock

We have reached the penultimate arc in the second season of Monogatari, a four-episode story titled Shinobu Time. It is an absolutely magnificent run of episodes, for reasons I will enumerate later in the article, but first I need to … Continue reading →

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Columbo: A Case of Immunity

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Due to a mix up of names, Columbo ends up assigned to a security task force at the Suari Embassy, during the visit of the King of Suari, and it’s lucky that he happens to be there because a murder … Continue reading →

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: When She Was Bad

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Roger Pocock

When Buffy says, “hey guys, miss me?” at the start of this episode, she might as well be addressing the viewers. We did miss her, but we don’t actually get her back, at least not until the end of the … Continue reading →

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The Twilight Zone: Execution

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale; the tale of a fateful trip, that started on this tawny horse ‘longside this hangman’s noose…  (Well, nothing’s perfect…) When The Professor (Russell Johnson) from Gilligan’s Island plays with a time … Continue reading →

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Star Trek: The Cloud Minders

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Roger Pocock

This is one of those episodes that never seems to turn up in reruns.  It’s like that forgotten gem that even the networks overlook.  But make no mistake, like so many episodes of season three, this one is important.  I … Continue reading →

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Otorimonogatari

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Roger Pocock

After a little detour to watch Hanamonogatari, we are back with Monogatari: Second Season for a four-episode arc titled Otorimonogatari. The title loosely translates as “Decoy Story”, although as is often the case there are subtleties in the use of … Continue reading →

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Columbo: Forgotten Lady

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Grace Wheeler used to be a star, but that was a long time ago, and now she is deluded and trying to recapture the magic of her youth. If you’ve ever seen the classic Twilight Zone episode The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine, … Continue reading →

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

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Prophecy Girl

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Near the start of this finale episode we get some actual vampire slaying and it feels like a rare treat, because the first season has strayed far from who Buffy is and what she does. You can kind of see … Continue reading →

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The Twilight Zone: People Are Alike All Over

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Roger Pocock

I’ll dive right in here to say I’ve always liked Roddy McDowell.  It was because of his portrayal of Cornelius in Planet of the Apes that made me like him so much.  I’d seen that ages before I knew about … Continue reading →

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

Star Trek: The Way to Eden

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Good God if there is one Trek episode I can’t stand it’s The Way to Eden.  I’ve no doubt that has to do with the time of my birth.  I came into existence in 72, by which time the hippie … Continue reading →

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Hanamonogatari

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Roger Pocock

Regular visitors to the Junkyard will remember that I have been watching the second season of Monogatari, and have so far written about Nekomonogatari (White) and Kabukimonogatari, which leaves three arcs still to watch. I have paused from that season … Continue reading →

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The Man in the Back Seat (Film Review)

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Roger Pocock

The bonus film on the fifth volume of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries DVDs takes us back to 1961, for a Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice adaptation of an Edgar Wallace thriller. This is a film noir effort, which showcases what … Continue reading →

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Out of Mind, Out of Sight

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Roger Pocock

This week on Buffy the Anything-but-vampires Slayer we have another well-worn horror idea: the invisible… girl. Swapping genders from the usual way this story is done is a good starting point. Xander actually says what the usual plot would be … Continue reading →

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The Twilight Zone: Long Live Walter Jameson

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Roger Pocock

I’m thinking Long Live Walter Jameson was intended as a dramatic story, but I’ve got to tell you, I found it intensely funny.  Let’s go over the plot: Walter Jameson is a really old dude who happens to look like … Continue reading →

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

Star Trek: Requiem for Methuselah

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Roger Pocock

“We put on a pretty poor show, didn’t we?”  You said it, Jim!  Requiem for Methuselah is another of those “significant” stories that really looks at the human condition and I am not sure if it’s a great analysis, or … Continue reading →

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Kabukimonogatari

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Roger Pocock

The second season of Monogatari continues with Kabukimonogatari, a four-episode arc. If Nekomonogatari (White), which proceeded it, felt like there was not enough story to stretch to five episodes, this is quite the opposite. A complex butterfly effect plot is … Continue reading →

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The Edgar Wallace Mysteries: Five to One

Posted on May 22, 2022 by Roger Pocock

What’s the moral of this story? Something about the best laid plans? No, I think it’s the importance of knowing when to quit. Alan Roper is the leader of a gang of small-time crooks, and he is thinking big. We … Continue reading →

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