James Goldstone (1931–1999)

A young, recently divorced women is found dead in the surf, covered in dog bite marks with a large Doberman standing over her. It looks like an open-and-shut case but Detective Abel Marsh (James Garner) is suspicious and works out that the woman was actually drowned. He opens a murder investigation that reveals a sordid, kinky underbelly to the small town of Eden's Landing, with suspicion soon pointing towards Marsh's love interest, Kate (Katharine Ross). The overall story has some interesting elements but on the whole this is a flawed murder mystery that comes across more as a study of small town life. The script by writer Lane Slate has the requisite red herrings and misleading clues, but it is never fully engages and concludes in a needlessly contrived manner. James Goldstone's direction is straight-forward and uninspiring and it's left to James Garner to carry the film. Despite his character being sullen and given to jarring, dated quips, Garner's easy charm and energy gives the film a certain style and momentum. Unfortunately Katherine Ross is rather bland opposite him; the only really interesting thing about her being the fact that her lab coat is longer than her mini skirt. Best performance in the film, however, possibly falls to Murphy the Doberman who livened things up considerably every time he appeared.… (altro)

Although there are only a handful of great episodes this season, and the mediocre episodes are a lot worse than they were in the first season, I just have too much love for the show to give it less than an A. There's a marked downturn in quality after "Tribbles" - I suppose the popularity of that episode encouraged them to not take things as seriously. Sadly, when Star Trek's sense of humor is off, it's way off.

Concept: A
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: A
Acting: C
Music: A

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 2.9/4… (altro)

A giant space ship flies around the galaxy, ostensibly exploring but usually running errands.

Better on average than the first season, but much more uneven. When it's good, it can be pretty clever. When it's bad, it can be completely awful. There are even a couple episodes in season two that are bad enough that they're not even fun to watch, which is really something coming from me.

Concept: A
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: D

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.3/4… (altro)