First Play Review: indiana Jones and The Great Circle (2024)

In addition to creating Star Wars, the great George Lucas paid homage to the thrilling action adventure serials of the 1930s by creating Indiana Jones, the the fedora-wearing, bullwhip-cracking adventuring archaeologist immortalised by Harrison Ford and defining action/adventure movies of the 1980's and beyond. He is considered with the likes of James Bond, Robin Hood, Superman and Rocky Balboa as one of the greatest characters of all time.

Much like Star Wars, Indiana Jones has also been enjoyed by video gamers since the most early forms of consoles and PCs beginning with a Raiders of the Lost Ark adaptation in 1982 for the Atari 2600 to the highly acclaimed point-and-click classic Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis for the PC, Mac and Amiga in 1992. His 3-dimensional adventures beginning in 1999 with Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine and later games came under increasing competition from Core Design's Tomb Raider franchise with Lara Croft quickly upstaging Indy as gaming's principal antiquity acquisition adventurer.

LucasArts' sequel to 2003's Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb for PC, Xbox and Playstation 2 was to be ready for the 'latest' Xbox360 and Playstation3 consoles by 2006 but missing that deadline meant a new usurper in the form of treasure-hunter Nathan Drake in Naughty Dog's first Uncharted game hit shelves in 2007. LucasArts pulled the plug on Indy, leaving only Traveller's Tales to produce Lego Indiana Jones games to keep the franchise alive to some degree. Bethesda Game Studios honcho Todd Howard pitched an Indiana Jones idea to Lucas in 2009 but as they were working on Skyrim, Bethesda didn't have the resources to develop it, wanting instead to publish, a role only LucasArts would accept for themselves. 

At this point I'd probably mention that despite loving the first three movies, reading about and knowing something about some of the Indiana Jones games, I hadn't actually played any of them. The games weren't the types of games I played during their time of release. Only The Fate of Atlantis ever caught my interest as I liked Interplay's Star Trek point and click games from the same era but never obtained any of LucasArts' ones. It wasn't until the surprise first teaser trailer for a new Indiana Jones game dropped in 2021 that I took note despite not knowing anything about what to expect.

 

In the interim, the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012 shuttered LucasArts before long and Disney/Lucasfilm not intending to remain in video game development instead became open to licensing their IP to external publishers. Howard re-pitched his idea to a now much more receptive audience in 2019 and Disney/Lucasfilm were happy to license Indiana Jones to him and allow Bethesda to produce the first non Star Wars game since the acquisition. 

It is fair to say that in 2021 it was expected by everyone that a traditional 3rd-person action game would be created for Indiana Jones similar to Tomb Raider and Uncharted, especially with both popular franchises essentially dormant and out of the way by then, but that was not the case. With with his own house hard at work on Starfield, Howard enlisted another studio in the Zenimax family, namely Machine Games as developers. It made sense as they had experience with games involving Nazis with the Wolfenstein franchise but their first person shooter experience didn't suggest a 3rd-person action game. Instead, it was fully revealed in 2024 that using an adventure-first inspiration from The Fate of Atlantis with a gameplay structure similar to Metro: Exodus, Machine Games crafted more an immersive sim that leveraged first-person gameplay with 3rd person cinematic-quality cutscenes to create Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to tell one of the most engaging stories in modern video games.

Set in 1937, chronologically between movies Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle casts Troy Baker (The Last of Us, Death Stranding, Metal Gear Solid V) as the titular hero as he embarks on adventure following the theft of an artifact from his university museum by Locus (the legendary screen actor Tony Todd, in his final voice-role) a literal giant speaking Latin. His adventure takes him and plucky reporter Gina Lombardi (Alessandra Mastronardi) to The Vatican in Italy, Gizah in Egypt, and Sukhothai in Siam (now Thailand) among several other locations as he discovers a Nazi operation led by radical archaeologist Henrich Voss (Marios Gavrilis) to harness the power of The Great Circle, a theory which joins a group of mysterious sites around the world for some unknown purpose.

 

Gameplay wise, it did take a little while to get used to. The first-person perspective of a game like this was indeed a little jarring as it's certainly an adventure game not a shooter. You traverse the environments, a mix of both linear and open areas areas puzzle solving, platforming, stealth, and of course combat. As Indy you do sometimes do a bit of shooting but it's not the point of the game, not something Indiana Jones canonically did a lot of and there are so many better, more satisfying and far easier ways of dealing with situations than shooting. Picking up a conveniently placed tool like a shovel or a hammer to beam an enemy with never got old and there's probably a conveniently placed tool for every enemy in the game. Sneaking around and accomplishing your goals without drawing attention (often by just wearing a disguise) is also generously supported. The main tool you have is Indy's signature bullwhip which he uses to attack, distract and just as often help him traverse the environment as well as pulling switches with it to solve puzzles.

Puzzles are revealed though exploration and the environment often pulls you in to exploring it yourself as opposed to pointing the way. One nice touch I recall is when opening an area untouched by humans for centuries, you have to manually illuminate the environment by lighting torches or candles. Too often games or movies feature existing light sources in areas where it makes no sense, and while done for the purposes of the medium, it has always annoyed me. There are other way where the game doesn't insult your intelligence; clues can be based on mathematics, cyphers, shapes etc. and require manual working out (I kept some notes on paper). You pick up a plethora of clues by taking photographs with Indy's camera and finding some note or tablet which points to a solution to a puzzle which is needed to open a door to continue or perhaps reveal treasure which is most often used to enhance Indy's abilities as the game progresses. Your journal is your information hub, it contains all the notes and clues you pick up, acts as your map to aid in exploration or reaching your destination and details your quest log.

Baker's rendition of Ford's Indy was pitch perfect, Indy's on-screen mannerisms were all captured here from the exclamations he makes when something goes awry, his vocal thinking out loud and his pauses for the penny to drop for his revelation moments. In addition to the cast mentioned before, special mentions must go to prolific voice actor David Shaughnessy who lends his voice to Marcus Brody portraying him as the more serious character seen in Raiders as opposed to the comedic turn in The Last Crusade, and Enrico Colantoni (Galaxy Quest) whose voice and likeness were used for Fr. Antonio Morello. Gordy Haab, a composer used to re-orchestrating John Williams' work for the Star Wars: Jedi games did so here for some of the themes including Marian's Theme and the Raider's March, but his original compositions blended in well with the style of the game.

 

Things were made very clear from the intro sequence to the game that this was a game made by people who were certainly fans of the original Indiana Jones trilogy. The intro sequence is a faithful shot-for-shot retelling of the opening to Raiders of the Lost Ark (with some input by you) which introduced the world to Indiana Jones both on screen and now in the game. While the intro is just a flashback and the remainder of the game continues on an original narrative, Machine Games keep the same level of detail and respect for the source material in a way that had been somewhat forgotten by the makers of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and nowhere to be seen by the Dial of Destiny.

Final Verdict: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (with The Order of Giants DLC) is a superb adventure with an astonishing amount of player agency giving life to one of the most legendary screen characters ever created. Here a unique new Indiana Jones adventure to compliment the original trilogy and their sense of adventure, humour and heart was delivered through both your actions and more than 3.5 hours of beautifully crafted and expertly acted cinematic cutscenes that make you forget the last two movies - THIS should be considered as the fourth great Indiana Jones adventure.

Technicals: 40.3 hours through Steam on Windows 11 with an RTX5080 @ 3440x1440 175Hz. Average  FPS: 100 on Ultra Graphics Quality, Path Tracing, DLSS Balanced, 2x Frame Generation.

Bugs: There were a number of crashes in the game after playing for several hours while using a system with an i7-12700K processor in January 2025. While I believe the errors with Intel Processors have been mitigated I restarted the game in 2026 with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D system upon which no crashes occurred.

Purchase Options: Available on Steam for €69.99 (Premium edition €99.99 / Order of the Giants DLC €29:99) Review copy (Premium Edition) purchased from Fanatical for €81.47 in Jan 2025.

Indiana Jones PC games with original stories:

• Indiana Jones in Revenge of the Ancients (1987, Mindscape)
• Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992, LucasArts)
• Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures (1996, LucasArts)
• Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (1999, LucasArts)
• Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (2003, LucasArts)
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024, Bethesda)
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants (2025, Bethesda)

Obituary: Troubled actor Tom Sizemore 1961-2023

From the time of this blog's inception as The Colonel's Eagle in 2005 until 2007, actor Tom Sizemore was a regular subject to be reported on, so much so that he even had his own link-label. It wasn't so much for his acting prowess but rather his colourful and nefarious antics that ended a stellar Hollywood career after some 40 major film roles between 1989 and 2003.

Sizemore's first credited movie role was in the Sylvester Stallone starring prison movie Lock Up. From '89 to '91 he expanded his portfolio in movies such as Born on the Fourth of July with Tom Cruise and Point Break with Keanu Reeves. 

I first distinctly recall Sizemore in 1992's Passenger 57 where he plays Wesley Snipes' wisecracking boss. He furthered his career considerably over he next three years by working with some of the greatest directors of the day such as Tony Scott in True Romance, Laurence Kasdan as Bat Masterson in Wayatt Earp, Oliver Stone in Natural Born Killers and Michael Mann in Heat.

After recovering from the 1997 flop The Relic which was also his first leading role, he portrayed one of his best and most memorable roles as SFC Mike Horvath in Saving Private Ryan which would also become his most financially successful project.

Sizemore had a string of flops at the turn of the century with the disastrous misstep Red Planet, narratively flawed Pearl Harbor, and bomb-disposal thriller Ticker for which the director has publicly apologised for.  He had one more hit in 2001 when he played real life U.S. Army Lt.Colonel Danny McKnight of the 75th Rangers as part of an award-nominated ensemble cast for one of the finest war movies ever made, Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down. 

The last movie I recall seeing him in was 2003's Dreamcatcher but it was by this point that Sizemore's Hollywood career had crashed and burned at the foot of his conviction for domestic violence against "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss and repeatedly failing drug tests while on probation. He continued his substance abuse and domestic violence tendencies throughout the following twenty years despite appearing in some 150 low-budget, direct-to-video or short film projects.

After his exile from Hollywood, Sizemore did make a number of Television appearances including CSI: Miami, Crash, Entourage, Hawaii Five-0, Law & Order: SVU, Lucifer, Shooter and Twin Peaks, Season 3. His TV roles ended in 2017 however, following allegations of sexual assault against an 11 year old girl on the set of a movie in 2003.

While my respect for the man waned and turned into morbid curiosity as the 2000's went on, there was a time when I would have wanted him to portray me on screen should there ever have been a movie of my life in the Corps. Few actors could spin from the intensity of my battle-hardened death-stare to my charismatic lady-killing smirk on a dime like Tom Sizemore. That dream was permanently laid to rest on March 3rd when he passed away following a brain aneurysm at 61. 

May he find the peace in death that he clearly hadn't in life.

RIP Robert Forster

RIP Robert Forster [78]. I first remember him as the bad guy in Delta Force [1986] and since then, while never really a lead actor he was also never out of work. He gave life to memorable characters which elevated many movies above their station such as Jackie Brown [1997] and even Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle [2003].

Forster was no stranger to TV appearing in more than 60 roles since the 1960's as a guest star with more substantial parts in Heroes [2007] and recently in the 2017 version of Twin Peaks. He also reprised his character Ed from an episode of Breaking Bad in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie released yesterday, the day of his death. He will indeed be missed.

Forster as General Edward Clegg, a magnificent performance from the sublime cinematic treats: Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen.

In memoriam, 2018

Let us remember those we lost in 2018:

Paul Allen, 65, American businessman and co-founder of Microsoft.

Stanley Anderson, 78, American actor who played the President in both "The Rock" and "Armageddon".

Kofi Annan, 80, Ghanaian diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997–2006), Nobel Prize laureate (2001).

Captain Alan LaVern Bean, USN Ret., 86, American naval officer, naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. The the fourth person to walk on the Moon.

Ken Berry, 85, American actor, "F Troop".

David Bischoff, 66, American novelist and television writer "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episodes "Tin Man" and "First Contact".

Steven Bochco, 74, 10-time Emmy winning American television producer and writer "Hill Street Blues", "L.A. Law", "NYPD Blue".

Anthony Bourdain, 61, Four time Emmy winning American chef, author and television host

Jim Bowen, 80, English television presenter and comedian, "Bullseye".

Peter Brace, 94, British actor and stuntman, "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Batman", "Highlander" and Peter Mayhew's stunt double in "Star Wars".

Staff Sgt. Russell Brown, USA Ret., 96, 82nd Airborne Division. Made every combat jump during World War II.

Barbara Bush, 92, American political matriarch, First Lady (1989–1993) and Second Lady (1981–1989).

President George H. W. Bush, 94, American politician, President (1989–1993), Vice President (1981–1989), Director of Central Intelligence (1976–1977).

Montserrat Caballé, 85, Spanish opera singer, "Barcelona" w. Freddie Mercury.

Joseph Campanella, 93, American actor "Mannix", "Silent Running", "Meteor".

Frank Carlucci, 87, American politician, Secretary of Defense (1987–1989), National Security Advisor (1986–1987).

Bunny Carr, 91, Irish television presenter (Quicksilver).

Debbie Lee Carrington, 58, American actress and stunt woman "Return of the Jedi", "Total Recall".

Reg E. Cathey, 59, Emmy winning American actor "House of Cards", "Luke Cage".

Colonel Joseph Gordon Clemons, Jr. USA Ret., 90, American soldier, subject of "Pork Chop Hill".

A1C Adrian Cronauer, USAF Ret., 79, American disc jockey, subject of "Good Morning, Vietnam".

L-R: Professor Stephen Hawking, Margot Kidder, John Mahoney

Steve Ditko, 90, American comic book writer and artist "Spider-Man", "Doctor Strange"
Sir Ken Dodd, 90, English comedian.
Rear Admiral Alene Duerk, USN Ret., 98, American Navy admiral, first female admiral in U.S.Navy.
John M. Dwyer, 83, Oscar/Emmy nominated American set decorator, "Star Trek", "Star Trek: The Next Generation" movies "Star Trek IV, V, Generations, First Contact, Insurrection" and "Nemesis".
Ssgt. (Hon GnySgt.) R. Lee Ermey, USMC Ret., 74, American drill  instructor and actor "Full Metal Jacket", "Toy Story"
Carlos Ezquerra, 70, Spanish comics artist,"Judge Dredd", "Strontium Dog"
Michael D. Ford, 90, Oscar winning English art director and set decorator "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "The Empire Strikes Back".
Miloš Forman, 86, Oscar winning Czech-American film director, "Amadeus".
Gary Friedrich, 75, American comic book writer, "Captain Marvel", "Iron Man" #45–46, co-creator of "Ghost Rider".
Aretha Franklin, 76, 18 time Grammy winning American Hall of Fame singer, "Respect"
William Goldman, 87, Oscar winning American author "The Princess Bride" and screenwriter "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".
Leslie "Dirty Den" Grantham, 71, English actor "EastEnders" and convicted murderer.
Korvettenkapitän Reinhard Hardegen, 105, German U-boat commander (Battle of the Atlantic).
Stephen Hawking, 76, English theoretical physicist, professor (University of Cambridge) and writer "A Brief History of Time".
Brig. Gen. Anna Mae Hays, USA Ret., 97, American military officer and nurse, first female U.S. General.

L-R: Derrick O'Connor, Tim O'Connor, David Ogden Stiers

Tom Jago, 93, British liquor executive and distiller, creator of Baileys Irish Cream.

Jóhann Jóhannsson, 48, Icelandic film composer, "Arrival".

Mickey Jones, 76, American drummer and actor.

Ingvar Kamprad, 91, Swedish retail furniture-home design executive and philanthropist, founder of IKEA.

Gloria Katz, 76, American screenwriter and film producer, "American Graffiti", "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", "Best Defense".

Margot Kidder, 69, Canadian-American actress, "Superman"

Richard H. Kline, 91, American cinematographer, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture".

Sonny Knowles, 86, Irish singer.

Charles Krauthammer, 68, Pulitzer Prize winning American political commentator (Fox News) and writer (The Washington Post).

Gary Kurtz, 78, American film producer, "American Graffiti", "Star Wars".

Stan Lee, 95, American comic book writer and publisher (Marvel Comics).

Sondra Locke, 74, American actress, "The Outlaw Josey Wales", "Sudden Impact".

John Mahoney, 77, English-American actor, "Frasier".

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 81, South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, MP.

Al Matthews, 75, American actor, "Sgt. Apone" in "Aliens".

Bill Maynard, 89, English actor

Sen. John McCain, 81, American politician and Navy officer, member of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Chuck McCann, 83, American voice actor, "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero", "Iron Man".

Capt. Ernest Medina, USA Ret., 81, American army officer, commander of unit responsible for the My Lai Massacre.

Donald Moffat, 87, British-born American actor, "The Thing", "Clear and Present Danger", "License to Kill".

Derrick O'Connor, 77, Irish actor, "Lethal Weapon 2", "Daredevil".

Tim O'Connor, 90, American actor, "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century"

William O'Connor, 47, American artist, "Dungeons & Dragons", "Magic: The Gathering".

David Ogden Stiers, 75, American actor "M*A*S*H".

L-R: Soon-Tek Oh, Donnelly Rhodes, John Young

Soon-Tek Oh, 85, South Korean-American actor, "The Man with the Golden Gun", "Missing in Action 2", "Death Wish 4", "The Muta-Do" in "Babylon 5".

Dolores O'Riordan, 46, Irish singer and guitarist, "The Cranberries".

Richard Arvin Overton, 112, American super-centenarian, oldest living World War II veteran in U.S.

Roger Perry, 85, American actor "Star Trek" episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" as "Captain John Christopher".

Burt Reynolds, 82, Emmy winning American actor, "Smokey and the Bandit", "Boogie Nights".

Donnelly Rhodes, 80, Canadian actor, ""Doc" Cottle" in "Battlestar Galactica (2004)".

Robert Scheerer, 89, Emmy nominated American director, "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager".

Frank Serafine, 65, American sound designer and editor, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", "Tron", "The Hunt for Red October".

Marie Severin, 89, American Hall of Fame comic book artist, "Iron Man"#82–83, 85 (inker), #108 (colorist), G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" #28 (penciller), co-creator of Spider-Woman.

Jon Paul Steuer, 33, American actor "Alexander" in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Reunion".

Dudley Sutton, 85, British actor, "Lovejoy".

Verne Troyer, 49, American actor, "Austin Powers".

Dame June Whitfield, 93, English actress, "Terry and June".

Scott Wilson, 76, American actor, "The Walking Dead".

Celeste Yarnall, 74, American actress, "Yeoman Martha Landon" in the "Star Trek" episode "The Apple".

Capt John Young, USN Ret. 87, American astronaut (Apollo 16, STS-1).

May they rest in peace.

Review: Atomic Blonde

After avoiding a tonne of crap at the cinema this year like Life, The Great Wall, Ghost in the Shell, Transformers 5, whatever nonsense Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out and Valerian last week, I didn't want to break my bullet-dodging streak with Atomic Blonde, an action spy movie starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy when I found out it had a less than stellar opening at the US box office. Despite reservations I said I would chance it as it was from one of the directors of the glorious John Wick, it's set in the closing years of what I like to call "The good ol' days" (The Cold War) and critics was praising the stylised violence despite the daft plot (or lack of it).

Boy was I glad I did! It has five major hooks:

1. Despite the general unrealistic nature of the fight scenes (possibly stemming from it's graphic novel origins) which often involved near-immortal enemies, the various characters use of benign objects like skateboards, garden hoses and shoes to harm foes with is inventive, especially Charlize Theron's use of a corkscrew.

2. Headshots! Painting a nearby surface with the crimson contents of an enemies head due to ballistic projectile forcefully introduced to (preferably) the face, is too often a misunderstood art-form. There's not a huge amount of it here, but adequate and when it happens it's gloriously perfect, truly sublime.

3. A too-short but hot girl-on-girl sex scene with "proper" nudity.

4. Classic 80's era hits on the soundtrack including Queen, Bowie, George Michael and The Clash (remember back when music was good).

5. While Stoli vodka is consumed like water from beginning to end, the winning goal here is that Atomic Blonde is the largest, borderline vulgar, on-screen product placement/advertisement for Jack Daniels I've ever seen on film. One character even referring to it as coming "straight from the Virgin Mary's tit," and let's be honest - he's not wrong.

So basically about as far removed from a John LeCarre novel as you can get while still being a Cold War spy movie. So if none of the above interest you, then avoid this - but if they do, off you go to the cinema.

*****

In memory of Martin Landau

New York born actor Martin Landau dated Marilyn Monroe, was friends with James Dean, turned down the role of Mr. Spock and worked with Hitchcock. He was just as at home on the small screen in Space: 1999 and Without a Trace as on the big in Cleopatra and The Greatest Story Ever Told. Despite being awarded an Oscar for Ed Wood and a Golden Globe for Mission: Impossible among many other awards and nominations, Landau was not above lending his voice to the Spider-Man animated series and The Simpsons.

My favourite Martin Landau performance however is in the 1979 disaster movie "Meteor" in which he plays Major General Adlon, the U.S. Air Force commander of an underground control centre for Hercules, an orbital nuclear missile launcher. The movie itself is awful; it is rated only 5% on Rotten Tomatoes and has been selected by John Vaughan for inclusion in his world famous Video Vault of Horror presentation. It is however an important precursor for ideas brought to the screen decades later with more technical superiority (and more money) in Armageddon and Deep Impact. 

 

In Meteor, Landau despite obvious hamming, easily delivers the best performance over Sean Connery, Karl Malden, Peter Fonda, Natalie Wood and Brian Keith, and convincingly expresses the frustration of a dedicated and decorated military commander sidelined to pander to scientists - alas a feeling I have known all too well.

Landau died Saturday, at the age of 89 at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, Los Angeles, California; he had been briefly hospitalized and, according to his representative, died of "unexpected complications." May he rest in peace.

Game Over Man! Game Over! RIP Bill Paxton

Tomorrow we will wake up in a world knowing it's without Bill Paxton, one of the most recognised actors of some of the greatest movies of the 80's and 90's and a more recent star of Television.

You may not remember his appearance in The Terminator in 1984, or in Commando in 1985 but if you don't know his first iconic role of Colonial Marine Private Hudson who famously uttered "Game Over Man! Game Over!" in James Cameron's Aliens which earned him a Saturn Award then you probably shouldn't be even reading this page.

Paxton had many subsequent roles, he was Floyd "God" Dane, the sniper in Navy SEALS in 1990, Detective Jerry Lambert in Predator 2 (earning him a distinction shared with Lance Henrickson of facing a Terminator, Predator and Alien on screen), Morgan Earp in Tombstone, Bill "The Extreme" Harding in Twister and portrayed astronaut Fred Haise in Apollo 13 earning him a SAG award as part of the cast.

He also had roles in True Lies, Titanic, U-571 and Vertical Limit to name but some of many. More recently he appeared in 2 Guns, The Edge of Tomorrow and in 2015 he lent his voice and likeness to the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Exo Zombies video game. Paxton had a long running role in TV with five seasons of HBO's Big Love and was nominated for an Emmy and a SAG award for his role as Randolph McCoy in Hatfields & McCoys. He most recently appeared in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and was currently the lead in a TV adaptation of Training Day. 

Paxton died on Saturday from complications after heart surgery. He was just 61, but his body of work immortalises him for eternity. May he rest in peace.

“By Grabthar’s hammer, by the Sons of Warvan, you shall be avenged!” – RIP Alan Rickman

The death has sadly occurred of London-born actor Alan Rickman at 69 due to cancer. Rickman was a Tony Award nominated member of the Royal Shakespeare Company who achieved significant notoriety for his silver screen acting performances winning Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG awards.

He first found significant fame as Hans Gruber, nemesis to Bruce Willis’ John McClane in the 1988 classic Die Hard. Rickman's Gruber was an evil and sardonic foil to to Willis' wisecracking hero cop and the character was ranked by the AFI as the 46th best villain in film history. Rickman continued to master a portrayal of evil by becoming the Sherriff of Nottingham in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves delivering perhaps the most over the top performance of his career. He objected to being constantly referred to a villain up to his later years citing that he hadn't actually played one since the Sheriff.

Rickman was someone as much at home with serious drama as he was with comedy delivering dozens of roles since the 90's. In 1996 he delivered a well acted albeit almost entirely inaccurate portrayal of Éamon de Valera in Neil Jordan's Micheal Collins which loosely depicted the events surrounding Ireland's struggle for independence from Britain. Later in 1999 he had comedic roles - as The Metatron in Kevin Smith's Dogma and a somewhat self-parodying role as the fictional method actor Alexander Dane who in turn portrayed the alien Dr. Lazarus on a fictional TV show Galaxy Quest.

In the 2000's Rickman adopted his most most common role and for which he acquired legions of fans; during the 10 year period of the Harry Potter film adaptations from 2001 to 2011. Rickman played the somewhat enigmatic Prof. Severus Snape in eight Harry Potter adventures for which his performance garnered universal praise.

Rickman will appear in and lends his voice to two projects which have yet to be released. Gavin Hood's suspense drama Eye in the Sky due for release in April and he most recently completed voice work for a reprisal of the character Absolem, the Caterpillar in Through the Looking Glass the sequel to the 2010 movie Alice in Wonderland. 

May he rest in peace.

And now we say goodbye to 2015. A year that redefined marriage as The Supreme Court of the US makes same-sex marriage legal while in Ireland a marriage equality referendum is passed in a landslide victory that hammers yet another nail in the coffin against the most archaic and outdated form of the Catholic establishment which will soon fade into history.

It was also a year of terror attacks felt notably in Kenya and France, of migrant swarms, Iran's nuke deal, Hilary's E-mail, an Earthquake in Nepal and Volkswagen's lies. Bruce becomes Caitlyn, Trump dominates Election 2016, Germanwings 9525, Kogalymavia 9268, the U.S. shakes the hand of Cuba and Ramadi is retaken.

The FCC reclassified retail broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service, a victory for Net Neutrality for now. New Horizon flies by Pluto, Birdman wins Oscars but The Force Awakens wins all.

Many greats are lost including Harve Bennett at 84, producer and writer, the man who saved Star Trek. Leonard Nimoy, 83, actor and director best known for his portrayal of Mr. Spock in many incarnations of Star Trek. Herb Trimpe at 75, a comic book artist who visualised The Incredible Hulk and G.I. Joe and co-created Wolverine. Sir Christopher Lee at 93 the British actor known as Dracula, Saruman and Count Dooku. And most sadly James Horner, untimely at 61, Oscar-winning composer of musical scores for "Titanic", "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", "Aliens" and "Apollo 13".

We also remember others we have lost this year.

Hugh Ambrose, 48, American historian and author ("The Pacific")

Gen. Earl E. Anderson USMC, 96, American Marine Corps general who at 53 became the youngest active duty Marine to be promoted to the rank of 4-star general in the history of the USMC

Howard A. Anderson, Jr., 95, American visual effects artist ("Star Trek")

Murphy Anderson, 89, American comic book artist (Superman, Green Lantern), creator of Zatanna

Sir Michael Beetham GCB, CBE, DFC, AFC, DL, 92, British marshal of the air force, Chief of the Air Staff (1977–1982)

Theodore Bikel, 91, Austrian-born American actor (Sergey Rozhenko "Star Trek: The Next Generation")

Admiral Sir John Jeremy Black, GBE, KCB, DSO, captain of the HMS Invincible during the Falklands War

General Sir Edward Burgess KCB, OBE, 87, British army general, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1984–1987)

Wesley Burrowes, 85, Irish playwright ("Glenroe")

George Cole, 90, English actor (Arthur Daly "Minder")

George Coe, 86, American actor ("Star Trek: The Next Generation - "First Contact"") Voice Actor (Wheeljack "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" / Doctor Godera "Star Wars: The Old Republic" / various "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim" and "Guild Wars 2") and original SNL cast member.

Douglas S. Cook, 56, American screenwriter ("The Rock")

Yvonne Craig, 78, American actress ("Batman", "Star Trek") 

Derek Davis, 67, Irish broadcaster

Jim Diamond, 64, Scottish singer-songwriter ("I Should Have Known Better")

Rick Ducommun, 62, Canadian actor ("The 'Burbs", "Die Hard", "The Hunt for Red October")

Brett Ewins, 59, British comic book artist (Judge Dredd, 2000 AD)

Chuck Forsberg, 71, American computer programmer, developer of ZMODEM

Col. James L. Fowler USMC, 84, American military veteran, founded the Marine Corps Marathon

Brian Friel, 86, Irish dramatist ("Philadelphia, Here I Come!", "Dancing at Lughnasa")

Gen. John Galvin U.S. Army, 86, American army general, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1987–1992)

Alan Howard, 77, English actor (Sauron [The Lord of the Rings])

Maurice Hurley, 75, American television writer and producer ("Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Miami Vice")

Bruce Hyde, 74, American actor (Lieutenant Kevin T. Riley ["Star Trek"])

Sgt. Einar H. Ingman, Jr. U.S. Army, 85, Medal of Honor recipient (Korean War)

George Clayton Johnson, 86, American writer ("Logan's Run", "The Twilight Zone", "Star Trek", "Kung Fu")

B.B. King, American blues singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer

Alan Kupperberg, 62, American comic book artist (Robocop #1, Transformers, Star Wars, Iron Man) 

Joseph Lechleider, 82, American, inventor of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology

Grace Lee Whitney, 85, American actress (Yeoman Janice Rand ["Star Trek"])

Lemmy, 70, English rock musician (Motörhead)

Robert Loggia, 85, American actor ("Mancuso: FBI", "Independence Day")

Mick Lynch, Irish indie rock singer (Stump, Bernard)

Don Mankiewicz, 93, American screenwriter ("Star Trek" episode "Court Martial")

Patrick Macnee, 93, English-American actor ("The Avengers", "A View to a Kill")

Bob Minkler, 78, American sound mixer ("Star Wars", "Tron")

Warren Murphy, 81, American author and screenwriter ("Lethal Weapon 2")

John Forbes Nash, Jr., 86, American mathematician (subject of "A Beautiful Mind")

Lt.Gen. William O'Callaghan (DSM), 91, Irish army officer,  Force Commander (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

Maureen O'Hara, 95, Irish-American actress and singer ("The Quiet Man")

Bill O'Herlihy, 76, Irish sports broadcaster 

Jerry Parr, 85, American Secret Service agent, extricated Ronald Reagan during assassination attempt,

Roddy Piper, 61, Canadian professional wrestler and actor ("They Live")

Wayne Rogers, 82, American actor ("M*A*S*H")

Pvt. George T. Sakato U.S. Army, 94, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient

Lt.Col. Edward Saylor USAF, 94, American World War II veteran, member of Doolittle's Raiders.

Omar Sharif, 83, Egyptian actor ("Lawrence of Arabia", "Doctor Zhivago")

Roger Slifer, 60, American comic book author (Co-creator - Lobo) and Animation writer ("G.I. Joe Extreme" / "Transformers")

John Stephenson, 91, American voice actor (Kup, Alpha Trion ["Transformers"] / Hawk, General Flagg, General Franks ["G.I. Joe"]),

Percy Sledge, 74, American R&B, soul, gospel, and traditional pop singer.

Rod Taylor, 84, Australian actor ("Inglourious Basterds", "The Birds")

Nigel Terry, 69, British actor ("Excalibur", "Troy")

Fred Thompson, 73, American politician and actor ("Die Hard 2", "Law & Order", "The Hunt for Red October"), U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1994–2003)

Tom Towles, 65, American actor ("Miami Vice", "The Rock", "Star Trek: Voyager")

Mary Ellen Trainor, 62, American actress ("Lethal Weapon", "Die Hard")

Francis Tsai, 48, American comic book, film and video game concept artist (Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Spider-Man, TMNT, Myst 3)

Dick Van Patten, 86, American actor ("Spaceballs", "Robin Hood: Men in Tights")

Daniel von Bargen, 64, American actor ("Shaft", "The General's Daughter", G.I. Jane")

Jason Wingreen, 95, American actor ("Star Trek") and voice actor (Boba Fett - "The Empire Strikes Back")

Bernard Williams, 72, British film producer ("Daredevil", "Flash Gordon")

Christopher Wood, 79, English novelist and screenwriter ("Moonraker", "The Spy Who Loved Me")

Robert Z'Dar, 64, American film actor and producer ("Maniac Cop", "Tango & Cash")

May they rest in peace.

And now 

H A P P Y  2 0 1 6

RIP General William Grey, USMC

The death has occurred of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General William Grey [Ret.] U.S. Marine Corps. General Grey famously served as CJCOS during a particular overt attack on the planet from extra terrestrial forces in 1996.

General Grey co-ordinated Air, Ground and even Space assaults against the Extra Terrestrial adversary and famously issued the command: "Get on the wire and inform the squadron around the world. Tell them how to bring those sons of bitches down!"

General Grey's awards included The Navy Cross, The Defense Distinguished Service Medal, The Navy and Marine Corps Distinguished Service Medal, The Silver Star [x2], The Navy and Marine Corps Medal, The Bronze Star [with combat 'V'] and campaign awards for Vietnam and Southwest Asia.

After his retirement General Grey was appointed as a senior military consultant to UNETIDA, the United Nations Extra Terrestrial Invasion Defence Agency [now SPEARHEAD] until 2001 when he made his retirement permanent.

* * * * *

Sadly veteran character actor Robert Loggia, former U.S. Army Lieutenant and star of Mancuso F.B.I. with roles in Scarface, Big, Independence Day and Jagged Edge for which he was Oscar nominated has died at 95. May he rest in peace.

James Horner 1953 - 2015

James Horner [61], one of the most prolific film score composers of the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s tragically lost his life yesterday in an aircraft accident.

He was best known as the composer for two of the world's highest grossing films, Titanic and Avatar - both of which earned him Oscar nods, a win in the case of Titanic as well as it's song “My Heart Will Go On”. He would receive another 7 Oscar and three BAFTA nominations as well as winning two Golden Globes, three Saturn Awards and three Satellite Awards throughout his career.

Horner had little issue composing scores for impressive works in the field of motion pictures such as Glory and Braveheart, family favourites like Jumanji and Casper, period epics like Troy and Legends of the Fall, balls-out action movies like Commando and Red Heat, for animated movies including The Land Before Time and An American Tail, comedy such as Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Hocus Pocus, thrillers including Ransom and Patriot Games and even for comic-book heroes The Rocketeer and The Amazing Spider-Man. With over 100 scores under his belt he was one of few composers who catered for everybody and any type of movie.

In an interview in 2010, Horner said that scoring Avatar was the toughest assignment he had taken on and he needed time to get it out of his system, so he had done little of note since but he was collaborating with James Cameron in providing music for the director's Avatar sequels over the course of the next few years.

Horner was one of the first composers whose work I listened to daily. His compositions along with those of John Williams, Danny Elfman and the late Jerry Goldsmith were the four cornerstones of my musical tastes for many years. Among my favourites from Horner are Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan [‘82], Aliens [‘86], Willow [‘87], The Rocketeer [‘91], Braveheart [‘94], Apollo 13 [‘94], The Mask of Zorro [‘98] and Enemy at the Gates [‘00].

Horner was often mocked for lifting sequences and musical motifs - as well as almost entire segments from one of his own scores and adapting them to fit the musical scores of other movies he was assigned to. Throughout the years his audience became more accepting of this quirk and when recognised upon listening it can only bring a smile to the face of his true fans.

Many of Horner's detractors were critical of his use of the works of classical music composers such as Orff, Elgar and Wagner and labelled his works as derivative - but if anything he spotlighted the works of the classical greats he admired and cherished the works of, and helped them to be discovered by successive generations. I have no doubt that in the future, composers of scores will even use Horner's own cues in the same way he did, and make it part of their work as a homage and  as they take us on a new musical journey of their making.

Thank you James Horner for over 100 gifts to us over the years and may you rest in peace.

Sir Christopher Lee 1922 – 2015

He was Scaramanga - The Man With the Golden Gun, he was Saruman - Head of the White Council & Lord of Isengard, he was Count Dooku/Darth Tyrannus - Sith Lord of the darkside and when one thinks of Dracula himself - it is the rumbling voice and menacing black and white visage of Christopher Lee you should think of.

A former intelligence officer for the RAF during WWII, Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ brought many silver screen characters to life in a career that spanned seven decades and was a favourite baddie of both young and old movie-goers alike. 

Lee died on Sunday 7th June from heart failure, he was 93.

2014 - The Year in Review

We say goodbye to 2014, the 70th Anniversary of D-Day and 75th for Batman, a year of Ebola, ISIS, The Ukraine, Frozen, Ferguson Missouri and where Colbert "won" Television.

Where the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Germany won the World Cup and Luis Suárez was hungry. 

When Boko Harem were prompted to Bring Back Our Girls. Crimea was annexed by Russia. Israel and Palestine fought again and the Syria crisis worsened. 

A year of the Ice-Bucket Challenge, the Pistorious verdict, Irish Water charges, when Scotland is united yet divided, MH370 is lost, MH17 is shot down and QZ8501 crashed.

Kim Kardashian's huge oiled ass didn't break the Internet, but we landed something on a fucking comet [which you can even listen to] - there is hope! 

It is time to remember those we have left behind in 2014...

General Carl E. Mundy Jr, former USMC Commandant, former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, outspoken Northern Irish Unionist politician Ian Paisley, Shirley Temple the child actress who would grow up to be come a U.S. ambassador, Ralph H. Baer engineer, inventor and pioneer of video gaming, author Maya Angelou, artist H. R. Giger, announcer and movie trailer voiceover artist Hal Douglas, TV producer Glen A. Larson, actors Eli Wallach, Mickey Rooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, James Garner, Bob Hoskins and Lauren Bacall. Comedians Joan Rivers, Harold Ramis, Rik Mayall and Robin Williams. They changed the world and our lives.

Elaine Stritch and Donald Sinden both starred in the British ITV comedy series Two's Company from 1975-1979, both legends passed away in 2014 only 8 weeks apart

We also lost the following people from the world of entertainment:

Elaine Stritch, 89, American award-winning actress (30 Rock, Two's Company)
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE FRSA, 90, English actor (The Day of the Jackal, Two's Company) Roger Lloyd-Pack, 69, English actor (Trigger in Only Fools and Horses)

Hal Sutherland, 84, American animator (Star Trek: The Animated Series), co-founder of Filmation

Sarah Marshall, 80, British actress (Janet Wallace Star Trek: TOS, "The Deadly Years")

John Cacavas, 83, American television score composer (Kojak, Hawaii 5-O, The Bionic Woman, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)

Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk MBE, 85, English clarinetist ("Stranger on the Shore")

Campbell Lane, 78, Canadian actor (Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Richard Bull, 89, American actor (Mr. Oleson in Little House on the Prairie, The Doctor in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)

Ralph Waite, 85, American marine and actor (The Waltons, NCIS)

Cliff Bole, 76, American television director (MacGyver, T.J. Hooker, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Christopher Malcolm, 67, Scottish actor (The Empire Strikes Back, Highlander)

Jimmy Murakami, 80, American animator and film director (The Snowman), co-founder of Murakami-Wolf Films

Malcolm Tierney, 75, British actor (Lieutenant Childsen in Star Wars, Braveheart)

Aaron Allston, 53, American game designer (Dungeons & Dragons) and sci-fi author (X-Wing)

James Rebhorn, 65, American actor (Independence Day, Homeland)

David A. Trampier, 59, American fantasy gaming artist (Dungeons & Dragons)

Arthur Smith, 93, American musician and songwriter ("Duelling Banjos" from Deliverance)

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., 95, American actor (Alfred in Batman: The Animated Series and related shows/video games)

Terry Richards, 81, British actor and stuntman (Arabian Swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, James Bond movies)

Casey Kasem, 82, American radio jockey (American Top 40) and voice actor (Shaggy in Scooby-Doo)

James Shigeta, 85, American actor (Takagi in Die Hard)

Patsy Byrne, 80, English actress (Nursie in Blackadder II)

Bob Hastings, 89, American actor (Commissioner Gordon in Batman: The Animated Series and related shows/video games)

Joe Viskocil, 61, American visual effects artist (Independence Day, Star Wars) Oscar winner (1997)

Cassandra Lynn Hensley, 34, American model (Playboy Miss February 2006)

Arlene Martel, 78, American actress (T'Pring in Star Trek: TOS "Amok Time")

Stephen Lee, 58, American actor (The Negotiator, Chorgan in Star Trek: The Next Generation "The Vengeance Factor")

Brian G. Hutton, 79, American actor and director (Kelly's Heroes, Where Eagles Dare)

The Rt Hon. The Lord Attenborough [Richard Samuel Attenborough], CBE, 90, English award-winning actor, producer and director (Gandhi, The Great Escape, Jurassic Park)

Buster Jones, 71, American voice actor (Blaster in The Transformers, Winston in The Real Ghostbusters and Lothar in Defenders of the Earth)

Polly Bergen, 84, American singer and actress (Rhoda Henry in The Winds of War and War and Remembrance) Emmy Award winner (1958)

Geoffrey Holder, 84, Trinidadian actor (Baron Samedi in Live and Let Die)

Jan Hooks, 57, American comedienne and actress (Saturday Night Live, Batman Returns, 30 Rock)

Carol Ann Susi, 62, American actress (Mrs. Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory)

Richard Kiel, 74, American actor (Jaws in the James Bond movies)

Christine Cavanaugh, 51, American voice actress (The Critic)

John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE ("With a little help from my Friends", "Up Where We Belong")

Maximilian Schell, 83, Austrian-Swiss Oscar-winning actor (A Bridge Too Far, Cross of Iron)

Elizabeth Peña, 55, American actress (The Incredibles, Modern Family)

Mike Nichols, 83, German-born American director (Catch-22), Oscar winner (1968)

Don Pardo, 96, American radio and television announcer (Saturday Night Live)

Menahem Golan, 85, Israeli director and producer (Operation Thunderbolt, The Delta Force, Masters of the Universe), founder of Golan-Globus and the Cannon Group

Edward Herrmann, 71, American actor (Nixon, The Lost Boys, The Aviator)

The Ultimate Warrior, 54, American Hall of Fame professional wrestler (WWE)

Warren Clarke, 67, British actor (Firefox, Top Secret!)

Dennis Lipscomb, 72, American actor (Under Siege, Wiseguy, In the Heat of the Night)

Jimi Jamison, 63, American musician (Baywatch theme, Survivor "Burning Heart")

Lee Marshall, 64, American radio personality, professional wrestling announcer and voice actor (Tony The Tiger)

we appreciate the legacy of their talents and creativity.

Jackie Healy-Rae, charismatic former Fianna Fáil politician who left the party to become an Independent TD and founded a political dynasty.

We also acknowledge those who died in 2014 who devoted much of their lives to military, scientific, industrial or public service:

Vicente T. Blaz, 85, American USMC general and politician, delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Guam (1985–1993)

Captain John J. McGinty III, 73, American Marine Corps officer, recipient of the Medal of Honor

Major-General Patrick Guy Brooking CB CMG MBE DL, 76, former Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin [1985]

John Carty, 63, Irish politician, FF TD for Mayo (2002–2007), Senator (2007–2011)

Captain Dale Gardner, 65, American naval officer and astronaut (STS-8, STS-51-A)

Valeri Kubasov, 79, Russian engineer and cosmonaut (Soyuz 6, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project/Soyuz 19, Soyuz 36)

Lieutenant Walter D. Ehlers, 92, American World War II soldier, recipient of the Medal of Honor

Major Kurt Chew-Een Lee, 88, American military officer, first Asian-American officer in the Marine Corps, recipient of the Navy Cross

Staff Sergeant William Guarnere, 90, American World War II non-commissioned officer and author, key figure in Band of Brothers

Leutnant Hermann Schleinhege, 98, German Luftwaffe ace during World War II [97 aerial victories]

Colonel Ola L. Mize, 82, American army officer, Korean War recipient of the Medal of Honor

James R. Schlesinger, 85, American government official, Director of the CIA (1973), Secretary of Defense (1973–1975), Secretary of Energy (1977–1979)

Rear Admiral Jeremiah Denton, 89, American politician and naval officer, Senator from Alabama (1981–1987), recipient of the Navy Cross

Colonel James H. Kasler, 87, American Air Force officer, three-time recipient of the Air Force Cross

General of the Army Vladimir Popovkin, 56, Russian military officer, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency (2011–2013)

Avraham Shalom, 86, Austrian-born Israeli security official, Director of the Shin Bet (1980–1986), commander in the capture of Adolf Eichmann and the Bus 300 affair

PFC Chuck Tatum, 87, American WWII Marine, Iwo Jima combatant, provided source material for The Pacific

Denis Lyons, 78, Irish politician, FF TD for Cork North Central (1981–1992)

Colonel Henry Hartsfield, 80, American air force officer, NASA astronaut and test pilot (Columbia), commander for Discovery and Challenger missions

Major Theodore Van Kirk, 93, American military officer, navigator and last surviving crew member on the Enola Gay

Sergeant Major Jon R. Cavaiani, 70, American NCO and prisoner of war, Army Special Forces, recipient of the Medal of Honor

Yitzhak Hofi, 87, Israeli general, Director of Mossad (1974–1982)

Colonel Anatoly Berezovoy, 72, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz T-5)

Lieutenant General Lincoln D. Faurer, 86, American air force officer, Director of the National Security Agency (1981–1985)

Flight Lieutenant Bill Green, 97, English Battle of Britain RAF fighter pilot

General Ramsey Muir Withers, CMM, CD, 84, Canadian army officer, Chief of the Defence Staff (1980–1983)

Jackie Healy-Rae, 83, Irish politician, fmr FF, IND TD for Kerry South (1997–2011)

Ariel Sharon, 85, Israeli politician and general, Minister of Defense (1981–1983), Prime Minister (2001–2006)

Karl Albrecht, 94, German billionaire grocery executive, co-founder of Aldi

Brian Farrell, 85, British-born Irish broadcaster and journalist

we thank them for their service to their respective fields.

I must also mention the passing of Angalifu, a Sudanese-born American rhinoceros, and was one of two remaining male northern white rhinoceros, Julia O’Donnell, “Ireland’s most famous mammy” mother of singer Daniel O’Donnell who died at 94 and O Sang-hon, a 50 year old North Korean deputy security minister in the Ministry of Public Security, who was bizarrely executed by flamethrower in the political purge. May they rest in peace.

And now we look forward to

2015

Happy New Year

81 million views and counting...

Shatner and Nimoy in new Star Trek III?

Zachary Spock Quinto confirmed recently that the third new Star Trek movie will be released in time for the 50th Anniversary of the franchise in 2016 and thusly will go before cameras within six months. That's great!

What I don't think is great however is that Robert Orci who "has the conn" for Star Trek III [2016] is more of a Trekkie than J.J. Abrams and is apparently planning on having both Spock prime [Leonard Nimoy] and Kirk prime [William Shatner] in the new universe! That's right, William Shatner could once appear canonically in Star Trek III [2016].

Now I'm sure that to some people this is great news, but I'm on the other side of that fence entirely. As much as I love the Shat, I think he's done all he can/needs to do with Kirk including a somewhat flat death scene in Star Trek: Generations, that despite not being the "best" way to say goodbye to the character, it has been accepted for 20 years now [Fuck, is it 20 years!!!???] as Kirk's endgame.

I didn't mind Spock prime's appearance in Star Trek '09, it was a successful passing of the baton, but Star Trek Into Darkness' Spock prime cameo served a pointlessness and a cheapening of the contribution of Nimoy's famous character to the franchise. While I adored Into Darkness, many saw it as just a poor rehash of the original Star Trek II and in turn rejected it's majesty without truly opening their minds to it's genius.

The character development we saw in Into Darkness could only have happened if we didn't have Spock prime there once again being all mystical and armed with future knowledge. His cameo threatened that but in the end it wasn't major enough to do character perception damage. I fear if both Shatner and Nimoy's characters are injected into the third new Star Trek movie it will considerably stunt that same character growth which was on schedule to be even more than evidenced between Star Trek ['09] and Into Darkness.

Also I loved the original Kirk and Spock et al when they were in their prime and maybe a little after, but Shatner is much to bloated now and poor Nimoy looks like he's about to drop dead any minute now (and how many fucking times is he going to declare retirement anyway?). We've got new actors now and a new timeline for them to work in. This is Trek for a new generation. Not ours. It's a timeline that doesn't need more goddamn time travel and alternative universes. They'll risk alienating any new fans they've picked up by delving into this misplaced nostalgia.

Having Nimoy and Shatner around will be like having your parents present while you're getting to 3rd base. No, put the new crew into space Robert and let them do what their counterparts originally did a generation ago without interference from future / alternate selves and give us something more original than a rehash of a classic or the Star Trek franchise will be exiled and lie dormant for another few years.

Source: Bruce Russel via Nerdist

Robin Williams 1951 - 2014

Last night I learned of the sad news that comedian and actor Robin Williams passed away yesterday at only 63. To add to the shock of losing such a master craftsman we learned that it appeared that he took his own life. I hope that I will never truly understand the terrible disease that is substance addiction and the depression he sought help with but I cannot condone his choice which I regard as an act of utter selfishness.

Nevertheless, one cannot deny the contribution that Williams gave to the entertainment industry and the world of comedy over the past 40 years. Williams was firstly a stand-up comedian and performed on stage every chance he got all throughout his professional career. His big break was in 1978 when he portrayed the alien Mork in an episode of Happy Days. The character was such a hit he soon had his own spin-off TV Series Mork & Mindy which lasted four seasons and made him a household name.

Williams made dozens of movies throughout his illustrious and prolific career. He made family favourites like Hook, Jumanji and Mrs. Doubtfire. He delivered 4 Academy Award nominated performances including Dead Poets Society and won for his performance in Good Will Hunting. Like most actors who have worked as long as he did, he also made some monumental disasters like Popeye and Cadillac Man. He explored his darkside in Insomnia and One-Hour Photo. He lent his voice to dozens of animated characters from Aladdin to Happy Feet. Two of his final roles will be as U.S. Presidents - Eisenhower in The Butler and Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

Everyone who watches movies has their own favourite Robin Williams movie. Mine is Good Morning Vietnam. Despite what I think is Williams' greatest performance for which he received his first Oscar nomination, the movie taught me about censorship [and why it's needed] and that no matter how shitty the job is, even if it's against your personal beliefs - if you're the best at it, you have to do it.

In life, Williams was a D&D and tabletop RPG player and an avid video gamer playing Battlefield 2 and and World of Warcraft. He named his daughter after Princess Zelda and it's believed his son Cody is named for the character in Final Fight.

There have been many tributes on TV, online and in the press today from actors, comedians, writers, directors and even President Obama but one that I was most surprised to see was when I read today's Press Releases from the Pentagon and among the usual DoD and military announcements issued daily was official note from the Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel:

IMMEDIATE RELEASE     No. NR-424-14
August 11, 2014
Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the Passing of Robin Williams

The entire of Department of Defense community mourns the loss of Robin Williams. Robin was a gifted actor and comedian, but he was also a true friend and supporter of our troops. From entertaining thousands of service men and women in war zones, to his philanthropy that helped veterans struggling with hidden wounds of war, he was a loyal and compassionate advocate for all who serve this nation in uniform. He will be dearly missed by the men and women of DoD - so many of whom were personally touched by his humor and generosity.

I know other entertainers who have died in recent years have done USO shows but I honestly can't say I recall reading an official DoD press release for someone who has not served in uniform or in office for the Department of Defence, so this is truly special, just like he was.

RIP O Captain! My Captain!