Warner Bros. Television J. Michael Straczynski’s “Babylon 5” began its life as a two-hour TV movie called “Babylon 5: The Gathering” which aired on February 22, 1993. There was some controversy about the series, however, as Straczynski pitched his space station series to Paramount as early as 1989. Paramount turned …

20th Television In the “Futurama” episode “Amazon Women in the Mood” (February 4, 2001), the blustering misogynist Zapp Brannigan (Billy West) takes control of a space-bound restaurant and pilots it through dangerous areas of space, merely because it’s more adventurous that way. Naturally, the restaurant is damaged during its voyage …

Universal Pictures Louis Leterrier’s “The Incredible Hulk” was released in August of 2008, a year before Disney made their notorious $4 billion purchase of Marvel Entertainment. Once the Disney purchase was finalized, the company announced its plan to build out the then-new Marvel Cinematic Universe, which was novel at the …

Here is Culp’s letter in its entirety. We have published the letter as it was supplied to us without correction.  An Open Letter to Marvel Studios Dear Marvel Studios, The reason why the last three film versions of Marvel’s The Fantastic Four have never been as successful as hoped is because …

Paramount Ensign Pavel Chekov, played by Walter Koenig, first appeared in the “Star Trek” episode “Catspaw” (October 27, 1967), the first episode of the show’s second season. The appearance of a forthrightly Russian character, and a hero at that, communicated to Trekkies that the Cold War of the 1960s was …

Columbia Pictures Television Dashing, magnetic superstar Ricardo Montalbán got his start in the 1940s, appearing in numerous notable hit films in his native Mexico, playing a variety of roles in romantic dramas, historical comedies, and other swashbuckling adventures. His natural dazzle and ineffable “it” qualities caught the eye of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in …

Isaiah Trickey / Getty Images Norman Jewison, the celebrated film director, has died. He was 97. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker passed away at his home on Saturday, January 20, 2024. Jewison had a long and varied directing and producing career that was peppered with accolades. His films …

Universal Pictures After John Carpenter made “Halloween” in 1978, the director wasn’t terribly interested in making a sequel. When it came time to write the screenplay for “Halloween II,” however, a reluctant Carpenter sat in front of his typewriter, hammered on beers, kind of at a loss as to where …

Paramount+ This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” In the “Star Trek: Lower Decks” episode “No Small Parts” (October 8, 2020), the characters make a cute reference that served as a wink to the Trekkies watching.  “Lower Decks” is, of course, replete with …

Focus Features Joel and Ethan Coen exploded onto the indie filmmaking scene in 1984 with the terse crime film “Blood Simple,” a bloody and raw picture that was unlike the genre films that surrounded it on either side. When their film “Raising Arizona” was released in 1987, it was clear …

Michael Gibson / Paramount+ When “Star Trek: Discovery” debuted in 2017, many Trekkies agreed to have an open mind. This was, after all, the first canonical, TV-bound piece of “Star Trek” media since the cancelation of “Star Trek: Enterprise” in 2005. It was the first Trek to appear on a …

Paramount The U.S.S. Enterprise is, as any good Trekkie could tell you, a vessel of research, diplomacy, and exploration. Whichever “Star Trek” series you prefer, each Enterprise is going to be equipped with state-of-the-art computer systems, high-powered engines that allow it to travel many, many times the speed of light, …