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It's astonishing how many gorillas turned up on "Gilligan's Island." Gorillas are native to central, Western, and Eastern Africa, so it would be highly unlikely that one would organically find its way to the South Pacific, where Gilligan's Island is likely located. Gorillas, however, were common fodder for 1960s comedy writers, and they were employed frequently. Or rather, actors in gorilla costumes were employed frequently, and created an absurd subset of ape tropes that we, as a culture, still haven't fully and philosophically unpacked. 

Apes were featured heavily in the "Gilligan's Island" episodes "Diamonds Are an Ape's Best Friend", "Beauty Is as Beauty Does" (September 23), "The Chain of Command" (December 2), "Forward March", and "Our Vines Have Tender Apes". It was a profuse plethora of primate pransktership. 

In all of the above cases, the apes were played by prolific Hollywood stuntman Janos Prohaska,...

When Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman isn't thinking about the ongoing battle of the making of Constantine 2 or the epic follow-up to I Am Legend's alternate ending, the acclaimed writer and director has had his mind on the world of legendary '60s sci-fi. Irwin Allen was behind the eclectic retro-futuristic shows like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of Giants, and The Time Tunnel, which happen to be the three shows that Legendary Television has hired Goldsman to recreate for a modern audience.

While it may sound odd that the same visionary writer that brought fans both the moving drama Cinderella Man and the goofy comic book film Batman Forever is now working on a re-imagined retro sci-fi TV universe, Goldsman has always had a diverse portfolio. He has worked on a variety of projects, like the Best Picture winner A Beautiful Mindand the hit...

Get ready to see more of Irwin Allen’s work on the small screen. According to Deadline, Legendary Television is working with Akiva Goldsman to develop three reboots of classic ABC television series based on The Time Tunnel, Land of the Giants, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. All three shows aired on the network during the 1960s.

Read More…...

Prepare to get lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages: a trio of classic science fiction TV series are being revived as part of a new shared universe. The cult classic 1960s series The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Land of the Giants are in development at Legendary Television. Deadline reports that Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman is spearheading the project.

Legendary Television is teaming up with Oscar-winning writer and producer Akiva Goldsman to bring new life to three classic Irwin Allen sci-fi series. Goldsman, known for his work on A Beautiful Mind and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, is set to reimagine Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants, and The Time Tunnel.

The goal is to modernize these iconic shows while staying true to their original appeal. Jon Jashni will serve as executive producer, with Derek Thielges co-producing.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea originally aired from 1964 to 1968 and followed a nuclear submarine on thrilling underwater adventures. The Time Tunnel, which ran for one season in 1966, was about two scientists lost in time. Land of the Giants, airing from 1968 to 1970, told the story of a spaceship crew stranded on a planet where everything was oversized.

Goldsman has a history of reviving beloved franchises, having...

Back in the 1960s, Irwin Allen created and produced the popular sci-fi TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants. Now, Deadline has broken the news that Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), who recently co-created the shows Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, is teaming with Legendary Television for re-imaginings of three of those Allen shows: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants.

Deadline’s sources tell them that Goldsman and Legendary Television are crafting a unified vision for these stories, bringing modern sensibilities to their timeless appeal, and expanding upon his success in revitalizing the Star Trek universe. Jon Jashni serves as executive producer, guiding this effort to reintroduce these popular franchises to a new generation, with Derek Thielges co-producing.

Based on a 1961 film that Allen produced,...

The work of legendary film producer Irwin Allen is getting a second shot at life with a planned series of modern reboots from Legendary Television, Deadline reports this afternoon.

Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman is on board to resurrect the classic science fiction TV shows Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants, and The Time Tunnel.

Deadline notes in today’s exclusive report, “Goldsman and Legendary Television are crafting a unified vision for these stories, bringing modern sensibilities to their timeless appeal, and expanding upon his success in revitalizing the Star Trek universe.”

“Jon Jashni serves as executive producer, guiding this effort to reintroduce these popular franchises to a new generation, with Derek Thielges co-producing,” the report continues.

In Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968), “The submarine Seaview is commissioned to investigate the mysteries of the seas. Usually it finds more problems than answers.”

In...

Exclusive: Akiva Goldsman is developing a new Universe at Legendary Television featuring three reimagined Irwin Allen sci-fi TV series. The Oscar-winning writer, producer and director will draw inspiration for the new TV shows from Allen’s catalog and focus on revitalizing Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants and The Time Tunnel.

Goldsman and Legendary Television are crafting a unified vision for these stories, bringing modern sensibilities to their appeal and expanding upon his success in revitalizing the Star Trek universe.

Jon Jashni serves as executive producer, guiding the effort to reintroduce these popular franchises to a new generation, with Derek Thielges co-producing.

Created by Allen, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea premiered in 1964 on ABC based on the 1961 film co-written by Allen and Charles Bennett. It ran for four seasons starring Richard Basehart as Admiral Harriman “Harry” Nelson in the leading role, as well as David Hedison,...

Peter Jason, the prolific character actor best known for his work on Deadwood and his numerous John Carpenter collaborations, died at 80 on Thursday, February 20. Jason's career spanned decades and encompassed everything from Westerns to horror films and video games.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Peter Jason passed away in his West Hollywood home following a long battle with cancer. Jason was born on July 22, 1944, in Hollywood, CA, and began working on stage while he studied drama at Carnegie; his passion for theater continued throughout his life, with participation in over 150 plays. In the 1960s, he began making television appearances with roles in shows including The F.B.I., Cimarron Strip, and Here Come the Brides, with his film debut arriving in 1970, when he briefly appeared in Howard Hawks' western Rio Lobo as Lieutenant Forsythe.

Throughout his decades-long career, Jason amassed over 250 credits across film, television and video games. On screen, Jason often portrayed military and authority figures,...

Peter Jason, the extremely busy character actor who appeared in nine features for Walter Hill and seven for John Carpenter and portrayed the card dealer-turned-reverend Con Stapleton on HBO’s Deadwood, has died. He was 80.

Jason died Thursday in his West Hollywood home after a long battle with cancer, a family representative told The Hollywood Reporter.

Jason amassed more than 275 acting credits on IMDb alone during his seven-decade onscreen career that began in the mid-1960s with a comedy sketch on CBS’ The Red Skelton Show, and he made his big-screen debut in Howard Hawks’ final film, Rio Lobo (1970), where his character died in the arms of John Wayne.

The Hollywood native also was an actor and production associate for Orson Welles on The Other Side of the Wind, which came out in 2018 after 48 years in development.

After working for Hill in The Driver (1978) and The Long Riders (1980), the fun-loving...

Peter Jason, a prolific character best known for his role as Deadwood‘s dim-witted card dealer Con Stapleton and numerous performances in the films of John Carpenter and Walter Hill, died Thursday. He was 80.

A cause of death was not immediately available.

His death was announced Thursday evening by, among other colleagues, Halloween director Carpenter, who called him “one of the great character actors in cinema.” Wrote Carpenter on X, “He was a dear friend and I’ll miss him terribly.”

Other friends and colleagues also shared the news. Actor Billy Zane wrote on X, “My dear, dear friend, the brightest light, most generous soul and gregarious of men, the supremely talented and kind Peter Jason has left the set,” and Matthew Asner, son of the late actor Ed Asner, wrote on Facebook, “I am heartbroken. My dear friend and my father’s best friend, Peter Jason, passed away today.

The following article contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1139.

The Great Pirate Age, the setting of One Piece, began when the legendary King of the Pirates uttered the words that started a treasure hunt to find the legendary One Piece. But Gol D. Roger wasn't alone when he traveled the seas and discovered the world's secrets. Alongside him were some of the strongest and greatest pirates of the old generation. This crew was known as the Roger Pirates.

Together, the Roger Pirates achieved the impossible by circumventing the entire world and discovering the final island, which was then named Laugh Tale. On Roger's right was the powerful Silvers Rayleigh, whom fans got to know in Sabaody Archipelago. On Roger's left is the new arrival to the One Piece crew: Scopper Gaban, who claims to be Roger's left hand.

Everything Known About the Roger Pirates And Their Crew in One Piece...

Jan Shepard, who guest-starred on Rawhide, The Virginian, Gunsmoke and two dozen other TV Westerns and played opposite Elvis Presley in movies eight years apart, has died. She was 96.

Shepard died Jan. 17 at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank of pneumonia brought on by respiratory failure, her son, Hollywood prop master, Brandon Boyle, told The Hollywood Reporter. “She was a good one and will be dearly missed,” he said.

Shepard portrayed Mimi, the sister of Presley’s Danny Fisher, in the Michael Curtiz-directed King Creole (1958) and the wife of Danny Kohana (James Shigeta), who partners with Presley’s Rick Richards in a helicopter business, in Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966).

“The first time, I found him to be just the cutest kid around, a big teddy bear, a lot of fun,” she said in an interview for Boyd Magers and Michael G. Fitzgerald’s 1999 book, Westerns Women. But on their next movie,...

The Young and the Restless spoilers for Friday, January 3, find Victor throwing his traditional round of threats at Ian. Could The Great Man have finally met his match?

Land of the Giants

Victor (Eric Braeden) is king of all he surveys. He knows all, he sees all, he controls all—even when all have no idea they are simply dancing to his prefabricated tune. That’s why the idea that Ian (Ray Wise)—not to mention Jordan (Colleen Zenk)—may have been out in the world, doing things not merely unapproved but unknown by Victor, deeply, deeply upsets The Mustache—and the rest of him.

He expresses his distress via yelling. At Ian, this time. But anyone else wandering into his field of vision is fair game, too. Ian didn’t fool Victor! Ian will never fool Victor! Ian will do what Victor says from now on! You got that?...

With the official arrival of the Straw Hat crew at the Kingdom of Elbaph, the One Piece manga has entered another exciting arc. Fans have been waiting for this moment for years, as the Land of the Giants has been hinted at being vital for the story for more than a decade. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the series, gave fans a few hints of what they can expect moving forward.

During Jump Festa 2025, the celebration where some of the biggest announcements about the world of anime and manga are released, the author gifted fans with a cryptic message, as he does every year. In his letter, Oda implied that the current peace the Straw Hats experience will soon come to an end, as an ominous force looms over them.

Luffy’s Next Challenge Approaches Oda Suggests Fans Prepare For What Comes Next ã€å...

Spoiler Alert !!!The following article contains spoilers for Chapter 1132.

Since its debut in 1997, Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has become a social phenomenon that has become the most popular name in the Shonen genre. The series that flaunts over 1100 chapters and episodes in manga and anime form has become the most cherished and successful series that has grown immensely close to the fans.

Monkey D. Luffy. Credits: Viz Media

During this 27-year-long journey, the grand series has showcased all sorts of characters, from ambitious to intellectual; the distinct personalities have only added to the allure of the title. The series is now in the final saga and has been slowly unraveling many of its secrets whilst featuring some of the biggest names.

The recent chapter has teased a name mentioned 1,017 chapters ago. Sadly, the mention has been for nothing because the mangaka has refrained from featuring him in person and...

Alan Hale, Jr. became a performer as part of his family's legacy. His mother was actress Gretchen Hartman who appeared in dozens of films in the 1910s, while his father, Alan Hale (real name: Rufus Edward MacKahan) racked up hundreds of credits in the silent era, typically as a reliable sidekick to Errol Flynn. Hartman retired from acting in 1929, and Hale, Sr. continued to work until his death in 1950. Alan Hale, Jr. first appeared on the screen as an infant, "starring" opposite his mother. Hale made his Broadway debut in 1931, when he was only 10, appearing in a very, very short-lived show called "Caught Wet" (it opened and closed in the same month). In 1933, Hale played uncredited role in William Wellman's Depression-era drama "Wild Boys of the Road," and it may be the first movie a casual observer would recognize him in. 

Staring in 1941, Hale began his acting career in earnest,...

Warning: Spoilers For One Piece Chapter #1127

One Piece's newest storyline finally brings Luffy and his Straw Hat crew to Elbaf, the land of giants, and even though the first chapter had them defeat and eat a god, the next part of the final saga will only get more intense from there. The post-Egghead arc started without a slow introduction to the giant's home island and its people's customs and instead featured a nostalgic throwback for One Piece fans that saw the original members of Luffy's crew topple one of the giant's gods.

Author Eiichiro Oda has said that the story of One Piece was entering its final saga when Luffy's crew reached Egghead Island. It was an arc filled with surprises, revelations, and confrontations many fans had waited years to see develop. The fact that the series has begun to raise its stakes towards the climax of the long-running series is exceptionally apparent.

Herman Rush, a veteran television producer best known for licensing Till Death Us Do Part, the UK sitcom that Norman Lear turned into All in the Family, died Dec. 12 at 94 of natural causes in Los Angeles, according to several news reports.

Rush began his career in 1951, working in sales for Official Film. He later purchased Flamingo Films, a television syndication firm, growing it into a major independent syndication company.

Up into the 1970s, Rush was with Creative Management Associates as the president of the television division, playing a role in the agency’s entry into television packaging. Some of the shows he was placed on networks included The Perry Como Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Kraft Music Hall and The Hollywood Palace.

H also represented producer Irwin Allen for TV hits Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost In Space, The Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants.

Herman Rush, who produced several television shows and was the former president of Columbia Pictures Television, has died. He was 94.

Rush died on Dec. 12 of natural causes in Los Angeles, his daughter Mandie told The Hollywood Reporter.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1929, Rush grew up in a show-business family, with his uncle Manie Sacks being Frank Sinatra’s first manager.

In 1951, Rush began his career in television, working first as a salesman for Official Film before moving up to several different leadership positions. He later purchased Flamingo Films, a television syndication firm, in 1957 and turned it into a major independent syndication company.

Throughout the ’60s and early ’70s, he was with Creative Management Associates as the president of the television division. He also worked for CMA’s predecessor organization, General Artists Corporation, now known as International Creative Management, and played a huge role in the agency’s entry into television packaging.

Exclusive Interview: Gary DeJidas (Night Of The Insolent Vermin)

What was the first film that you saw that made you want to get into filmmaking and how did you go from film fan to filmmaker?

I’ve always filmed things since the age of 8 or 9, but I can remember being Very inspired as a pre-teen amateur filmmaker by fantasy/adventure movies like Goonies, Star Wars, Home Alone, Clue, but growing up I had an obsession with all the Classic Horror Films, Universal Monsters, and Classic Sci Fi TV Series have a big impact too, such as The Twilight Zone, Lost in Space and Land of the Giants.

I spent countless hours filming remakes and versions of Clue, and Home Alone, until puberty hit and I started writing my own scripts. Wanting to kiss cute girls may or may not have had an equal influence on my post-puberty storylines.

But in those early days,...

The film world is still reeling from the recent loss of actor Rick Dalton, whose passing was first announced on May 19th, 2023 by The Video Archives Podcast's official Twitter account. Dalton, who passed away at his Honolulu, Hawaii home (shortly after celebrating his 90th birthday in April), is survived by his wife, one-time Italian starlet Francesca Cappucci.

The Video Archives Podcast, created and hosted by filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary, aired an episode on May 22nd that is apparently part one of a multi-episode run that revolves around the directors' memories of Dalton and his work.

While other friends and fans of the actor such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt have yet to make any official statements or remembrances, Tarantino has made sure that Dalton's name isn't fading into the ether like so many stars of yesteryear. The "Pulp Fiction" director made sure to include a tribute to...

Quentin Tarantino announced via series of tweets last week the death of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s leading man, Rick Dalton. He made the announcement via The Video Archives podcast, which he hosts with Pulp Fiction cowriter Roger Avary, and indicated that today’s podcast would be “a memorial episode designed by Quentin that features some of Rick’s best roles.”

The director made good on that promise.

“On May 19, 2023, actor Rick Dalton passed away peacefully in his home in Honolulu, Hawaii,” announces Avary’s daughter Gala — who produces the show — at the opening of the podcast. “He is survived by his wife, Francesca. Dalton was beloved by fans of Bounty Law, where he played bounty hunter Jake Cahill for five seasons and also for his iconic role as Eddie Karpinski, the flamethrower-wielding vigilante in The Fireman, The Fireman Part 2, and The Fireman 3: CIA Crackdown. But he...

The finale of CNN+’s “Land of the Giants: Titans of Tech,” titled “The Netflix Effect,” launches Thursday, perfect timing for an entertainment industry that is both reeling amid Netflix’s shocking Q1 subscriber miss, poor second-quarter outlook and the wait to see if CNN+ can find its groove as quickly as it might need to in order to survive.

Based on the “Land of the Giants” podcast from Vox Media’s Recode, the CNN+ docuseries explores the complicated histories of Meta (a.k.a. Facebook), Apple, Amazon, Google and now Netflix. The final episode focuses on Netflix’s origins and its founder and CEO Reed Hastings, who on Tuesday revealed he is finally open to creating a lower-priced, ad-supported option for the streaming service, which lost 200,000 subscribers by the end of March.

Vox Media Studios president Marty Moe and chief creative officer of Vox Media Studios Chad Mumm, told...

Nehemiah Persoff, an actor who went from the uncredited role of a cab driver in On The Waterfront‘s iconic “coulda been a contender” scene to become one of the busiest character actors in television and film for five decades, died Tuesday at a rehabilitation facility in San Luis Obispo, California. He was 102.

Persoff had retired from acting in recent decades after suffering a stroke and other health issues. His death was reported to Deadline by a family friend.

Born in Jerusalem, Palestine, Persoff and his family moved to the United States in 1929, and after serving in the U.S. Army in World War II he relocated to New York to pursue a career in theater. He became a member of the famed Actors Studio in the late 1940s, studying with Elia Kazan, who would pay him a reported 75 to play the silent cab driver in Waterfront.

Persoff was also performing...

Jerry Douglas, the actor best known for playing patriarch John Abbott on the long-running soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” died Nov. 9 in Los Angeles after a brief illness. He was 88.

Douglas was a mainstay of CBS’ top-rated daytime serial for more than 30 years in the role of the square-jawed cosmetics magnate and pillar of “Y&r’s” fictional Genoa City. He also racked up dozens of TV guests shots and supporting roles in movies over his long career, ranging from “The Bionic Woman,” “Barnaby Jones” and “The Streets of San Francisco” to “Arrested Development,” “Cold Case” and “Melrose Place.”

Douglas was a regular on “Y&r” from 1982 to 2006. Even after his character died, Abbott appeared in flashbacks from time to time, most recently in 2006 when he returned as a ghost to guide his children from the afterlife.. “Y&r” has been a mainstay of CBS’ daytime lineup since 1973. The serial topped the 20,000-episode mark last year.

Master of Horror Greg Nicotero takes us on a stroll through some of his favorite movies, as well as a trip through every home video format you’ve ever heard of… and some you haven’t.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Outbreak (1995)

Creepshow (1982)

The Howling (1981)

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Horror of Dracula (1958)

The Time Machine (1960)

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

From Russia With Love (1963)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Frankenstein (1931)

The Wolf Man (1941)

Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The Towering Inferno (1974)

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)

Thunderball (1965)

Broadcast News (1987)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Citizen Kane (1941)

Star Wars (1977)

Jaws (1975)

Bad Day At Black Rock (1955)

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989)

What’s Up Doc? (1972)

Logan’s Run (1976)

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Dragonslayer (1981)

Aliens (1986)

1917 (2019)

Gravity (2013)

Alien (1979)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein...

The makers of Veep bring human error to outer space as Avenue 5 takes off on a three year mission.

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This Avenue 5 review contains no spoilers.

Set your phasers on fun when you watch Armando Iannucci's new HBO series Avenue 5. While it may not be quite the replacement for Veep as it intends, it is as effectively improved over "Avenue 3" as Plan 9 from Outer Space was better than the previous eight plans which were dropped for cult classic status. The series will not be as weighty as the cutting political satire of Veep, but weight factors heavily into the show's arc. Captain Ryan Clark, played by Hugh Laurie, is a lightweight skipper on a recreational space vehicle.

Space tourism is finally reaching America. Next year, Nasa will let private citizens walk around the International Space Station. It will cost about $35,000 a day and...

Film-score buffs had a bonanza of riches to choose from in 2018 — notwithstanding the fact that the soundtrack business is almost unrecognizable from what it was even a decade ago. Instead of farming out their new scores to the traditional soundtrack labels, most studios now retain them for their own in-house labels and generally release them digitally. Meanwhile, the labels that once relied on current films for their bread-and-butter releases are focusing more on the niche market for classic film scores: re-releasing old ones with new material, finding worthy titles that somehow never got released, and in some cases even re-recording classic scores.

It’s a complicated business, label executives say. Not only must they track down the best available audio (studios and production companies don’t always retain the elements or sometimes can’t find them), they have to clear the rights (and sometimes the music publishing details have changed). And,...

Celeste Yarnall, a busy episodic TV and film actress primarily of the 1960s and ’70s and remembered by fans of the original Star Trek series for her one-time appearance as Yeoman Martha Landon, died October 7 at her home in Westlake Village, CA. She was 74.

Her death followed a battle with ovarian cancer and was first reported on the website StarTrek.com. In 2014 and 2015, Yarnall wrote several guest columns for the website about her diagnosis.

Yarnall, a familiar presence in later years on the Star Trek convention and autograph circuit, also has a firm, if small, place in Elvis Presley history: In 1968’s Live a Little, Love a Little, the actress — beautifully decked out in a glittery silver mini-dress and, briefly, a white fur coat — played a party-goer who draws Presley’s single-minded attention. He sings “A Little Less Conversation” to her in perhaps the film’s most memorable scene, a...

Academy Award-nominated art director and production illustrator George Jenson died of melanoma cancer in Henderson, Nev., on May 25. He was 87.

He was the production illustrator on 1983’s “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.” Jenson received his Oscar nomination for visual effects on “2010” in 1984.

Jenson began his career in the film industry in 1964 as a production illustrator/storyboard artist at 20th Century Fox Studios, working for producer Irwin Allen’s series “Lost in Space,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” “Time Tunnel,” and “Land of the Giants.” He moved to Filmation Associates as a layout artist and illustrator on the animated TV series “Star Trek,” “Mission: Magic,” “Lassie’s Rescue Rangers,” and “My Favorite Martian” during 1972-75.

Jenson worked as a production illustrator on live-action feature films including Disney’s “Escape to Witch Mountain” and MGM’s “Logan’s Run.” He joined Steven Spielberg’s Amblin for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind...

George Jenson, an Oscar-nominated art director and production illustrator who worked on such films as Return of the Jedi, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, has died. He was 87. The Art Directors Guild said today that he died May 25 of cancer.

Jenson began his four-decade career as a production illustrator and storyboard artist at 20th Century Fox Studios, working for producer Irwin Allen.s series Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants. He then segued to Filmation Associates, where he was a layout artist and illustrator on the TV toons Star Trek: The Animated Series, Lassie.s Rescue Rangers, Mission: Magic! and My Favorite Martians from 1972-75.

Pivoting to big-screen fare, Jenson worked as a production illustrator or storyboarder on a number of hit films ranging from Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind...

Actress Deanna Lund died on June 22 at her home in Century City of pancreatic cancer. She was 81.

Lund played one of the seven castaways trying to survive in a world of large, unfriendly people on the 1960s ABC series Land of the Giants. Her Valerie Scott was a selfish party girl on the Irwin Allen-created series, which aired for two seasons, from September 1968 until March 1970.

Set in the year 1983, 20th Century Fox's Land of the Giants revolved around the crew and passengers of the spaceship Spindrift, which on the way to London crashed on a planet whose humanoid inhabitants were hostile and unbelievably huge. The show was extremely expensive to make, costing a reported $250,000 an episode.

The sexy Lund had appeared as a redheaded lesbian stripper opposite Frank Sinatra in Tony Rome (1967) and as Anna Gram, a moll working for The Riddler (John Astin), on ABC's Batman, leading...

Deanna Lund, who starred in the late-’60s sci-fi series Land of the Giants and went on to appear in dozens of films and TV shows, died Friday. She was 81.

Lund played the heiress Valerie Scott on Land of the Giants, the 1968-70 cult drama credited by pre-disaster movie producer Irwin Allen, who was coming off the science fiction series Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas. It followed a group whose flight encountered a time warp and dropped them into mid-1980s London. The kicker was that they were normal size but everything they encountered was gargantuan: All of them could lounge on a breakfast plate, and a housecat was a hissing behemoth. The series didn’t really click with viewers, though it certainly gave its prop crew some enjoyable work.

Before her big break on network TV, the native of Oak Park, Il, had...

Deanna Lund, who played one of the seven castaways trying to survive in a world of large, unfriendly people on the 1960s ABC series Land of the Giants, has died. She was 81.

Lund died Friday at her home in Century City of pancreatic cancer, her daughter, actress and novelist Michele Matheson, told The Hollywood Reporter. She was diagnosed in September.

Lund starred as Valerie Scott, a selfish party girl, on the Irwin Allen-created series, which aired for two seasons, from September 1968 until March 1970.

Set in the year 1983, 20th Century Fox's Land of the Giants revolved around the crew and ...

Deanna Lund, who played one of the seven castaways trying to survive in a world of large, unfriendly people on the 1960s ABC series Land of the Giants, has died. She was 81.

Lund died Friday at her home in Century City of pancreatic cancer, her daughter, actress and novelist Michele Matheson, told The Hollywood Reporter. She was diagnosed in September.

Lund starred as Valerie Scott, a selfish party girl, on the Irwin Allen-created series, which aired for two seasons, from September 1968 until March 1970.

Set in the year 1983, 20th Century Fox's Land of the Giants revolved around the crew and ...

What makes a good Satanic Panic flick? Is it the urbane, dark humor of Rosemary’s Baby (’68), perhaps the outsized biblical insanity of The Omen (’76), or the insidious paranoia that infuses Race with the Devil (’75)? The answer for me is all of the above, and what a treat it is to come across another that brings something a little different - The Brotherhood of Satan (’71) offers a sense of quiet displacement before unleashing a torrent of blustery brimstone and hellfire.

Released by Columbia Pictures in early August, The Brotherhood of Satan even received some decent notices; Roger Greenspun of The New York Times proclaimed that the film “displays bold, direct, relatively uncomplicated acceptance of its supernature”, which is definitely one of its strengths – the evil is ingrained in the small town structure and those within are resigned to its nature. Hey, it was the ‘70s! Were you really expecting upbeat?...

By Darren Allison

Before inheriting the title "Master of Disaster", a perfectly justified honour for his reputation of creating some of the greatest disaster movies of the 1970s, Irwin Allen was also the man responsible for some of the classic TV shows to emerge in the 1960’s. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants have all survived the test of time and become immortalised among the best in terms of cultural importance. However, above all others, Lost in Space (1965-1968) is arguably the series that endured. Very loosely inspired by Johan David Wyss's classic 1812 adventure novel “Swiss Family Robinson”, the premise for the show was fairly uncomplicated and followed the adventures of the Robinson family, a crew of space colonists who encounter a number of strange and otherworldly situations after their ship is sabotaged and thrown off its original course. A great...

Nick Aldwinckle Sep 14, 2017

Our round up of horror and genre DVDs and Blu-rays returns, with some solid titles, and The Jerk sequel...

So, whilst Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump are comparing the size of their nuclear weapons and super-storms are battering the world’s coastlines, the head of Nato is describing the present moment as the “most dangerous in a generation”. With any luck, the inevitable apocalypse may bring with it some fun real-life zombie larks to bring some light to the fast-approaching nuclear winter: what more prescient documentary-drama could there be, therefore, than Re-Animator cult hero Brian Yuzna’s Return Of The Living Dead 3?

Resurrected this month on Blu-ray as part of the gloriously tacky Vestron Video Collection, the second sequel to Dan O'Bannon’s classic eighties comedy horror adopts more of an angsty nineties tone as the monster-making Trioxin chemical returns to cause havoc all over again,...

You can’t judge a book by its cover, but in comics we do. That’s what sells it. Oftentimes, comics retailers need to make pre-ordering decisions based largely on just a comic’s cover.

Comics, like people, should be enjoyed for what’s on the inside. Corny but true. But like the B-side of a vinyl record, sometimes there’s glory on the flipside, like with comic book back covers.

Emil Novak, Sr. runs a great store in Buffalo called Queen City Bookstore. It’s overflowing with comics and lost treasures, most reflecting Emil’s ravenous appetite for great comics. During my last visit there, I stumbled across The Spirit: The First 93 Dailies reprint comic from 1977. The front cover sported a heroic Eisner Spirit image, but the back cover, showing an exhausted Spirit collapsed in the snow was the cool part. And the courageous use of negative space really stood out.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

The Los Angeles Comic Book And Science Fiction Convention presents Classic Movie Poster Artist Robert Tanenbaum, Jean Hale (In Like Flint), Sharyn Wynters (The Female Bunch), and Donna Loren (Bikini Beach) at the August 20, 2017 Show.

Robert Tanenbaum is a Movie Poster Artist with an over 50 year career illustrating every film genre such as Science Fiction, Horror, Comedy, War, Drama and Martial Arts. Robert has illustrated such Classic Movie Posters as A Christmas Story, Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, Cujo, Five Fingers Of Death, Black Christmas, Super Fly, The Color Of Money, My Bodyguard, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, The Iron Cross, The Eagle Has Landed, Ransom, Cleopatra Jones And The Casino Of Gold, Hot Potato, Mel Brooks High Anxiety and Silent Night, Evil Night. Robert’s art is featured on the first announcement that Jaws was being made into a Movie.

Horror fans will be reunited with their favorite Good Guys doll when Cult of Chucky is released on home media beginning October 3rd, but those attending Horror Channel's FrightFest 2017 can encounter the deadly doll on August 24th when the seventh film in the Child's Play franchise makes its world premiere:

Press Release: Back in the heart of London’s West End for its 18th ‘adults-only’ anniversary, the world renowned horror and fantasy film festival will take place at the Cineworld Leicester Square and The Prince Charles Cinema from Aug 24 - Aug 28 2017, taking over five screens to present 64 films including 20 World, 22 European and 18 UK Premieres. Fourteen countries are represented spanning five continents, reflecting the current global popularity of the genre.

The opening night attraction is the global premiere of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment’s criminally entertaining Cult Of Chucky, with writer and director Don Mancini and stars Jennifer Tilly and Fiona Dourif in attendance,...

As a first time filmmaker, it takes a lot of courage to not follow the trends. The early ‘80s were flooded with slashers, and for good reason; they were, for the most part, instant ATMs to the studios. Thank God then (or Satan, your florist, a masseuse, whatever floats your boat) for Frank Laloggia, a New Yorker in his mid-20s who decided to go epic out of the gate with Fear No Evil (1981), a parable on Good Versus Evil, capital letters, with a strong Catholic bent filtered through Carrie’s prom dress.

Filmed in 1979 with initial funding coming from Laloggia and the rest from Avco Embassy (who ended up releasing it), this January release found little love from critics (except for Variety) but did pick up the Saturn Award for Best Low Budget Film – and well earned, indeed. Fear No Evil boasts high production values, (more or less) solid performances,...

Don Kaye Apr 10, 2017

The director of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is taking on Michael Crichton’s final novel, Micro...

As the buzz around the upcoming Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales continues to grow ahead of its May 26 release, co-director Joachim Rønning is already lining up his next job. He’s in talks with Amblin to direct Micro, the final novel written by Michael Crichton, and if all goes according to plan he’ll begin shooting this fall.

See related Quiz: Can you recognise these movie cats? Men In Black: David Schwimmer on turning down the lead role

Micro follows a group of graduate students who are lured to Hawaii to work for a mysterious biotech company, but instead find themselves miniaturized and left in the rainforest, with only their scientific expertise and wits to help them survive. Think Land of the Giants...

Alex Westthorp Sep 19, 2016

We revisit Tom's Midnight Garden, Moondial, The Chronicles Of Narnia and a few lesser-known UK children's TV series...

Read our look-back at UK kids' fantasy dramas 1980 - 1984 here.

By 1985 British TV's children's drama had really hit its stride, achieving "a balanced diet of programmes" as Edward Barnes, the head of the BBC children's department observed. The late 80s, arguably, saw a new golden age for spooky and magical kids drama. Excellent production values, improved significantly by well-honed special effects work using Quantel, Paintbox and Harry, and moreover some interesting casting - often of very talented newcomers - produced some of the most memorable dramas of the era.

The second half of the decade saw the BBC riding high on the back of the success of their state-of-the-art adaptation of John Masefield's Box Of Delights. Meanwhile, anthology series Dramarama was going from strength to strength on ITV.

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...

WWE.com

In the Rock ‘n Wrestling Era, it was Andre the Giant, Big John Studd, and King Kong Bundy. Into the nineties, The Undertaker, Psycho Sid, Yokozuna, and Diesel dominated main events. Undertaker held over well into the Attitude Era and beyond, standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Kane and The Big Show. Undoubtedly, the Vincent K. McMahon-era of WWF/E has been haven to a number of memorable goliaths, colossal immortals presented on the merit of immensity and intimidation factor.

Since the closing of the Attitude Era, however, WWE has failed to yield many brand new monsters with lasting power. Brock Lesnar and Batista qualify to an extent, but they’re also promoted with human qualities. If you’re talking ‘larger than life’ in the sense of going beyond human qualities, you can add Umaga to the list of successes, as well as to a very small degree,...

Sad news for comic book and vintage TV fans today. Yvonne Craig, who played Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) on the original 1966 Batman TV series, passed away on Monday night at the age of 78. Her family confirmed the actress' death on her official website, YvonneCraig.com. Fans were so stricken with grief, that they actually caused the website to crash shortly after news began to spread. Hopefully it will be back up and running later in the day.

Yvonne Craig passed away at her home in Pacific Palisades, surrounded by her immediate family and comforted by Hospice yesterday night. She died from complications brought about from breast cancer that had metastasized to her liver. She is survived by her husband, Kenneth Aldrich, her sister Meridel Carson and nephews Christopher and Todd Carson. A private service is being planned with no date set at the present time. In lieu of flowers, fans...

Rip our beloved Bat Beauty! A punch in the gut to Batfans. A first crush for men of a certain age, the beautiful Yvonne Craig has died at the age of 78.

Yvonne was born on the 16th of May 1937. In her early life before her television career she trained to be a ballet teacher. She gradually moved into acting during the 1950s. Before appearing on television she starred in a few films including; The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story, Ski Party, and High Time. She even played alongside Elvis Presley in Kissin’ Cousins and briefly dated the King. During the mid-1960s Yvonne moved from film into television, where she appeared in many shows including Man With a Camera, Wagon Train, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. More famously she played “Marta” (a green skinned Orion) in the third series Star Trek episode entitled “Whom Gods Destroy” in 1968.

1967 she was...

“Face front” all you Marvel-maniacs! The movie universe is expanding by actually getting…smaller. When we last visited the studio mega-franchise, just about ten weeks ago, metallic maniac Ultron ( a really major fail from Stark Industries) was out to destroy humanity until the Avengers (lead by the big heavy-hitters like Thor and the Hulk) pulled the plug on his plans. And story lines were in place for a new cosmic menace. But this new entry is not set way, way up there like last Summer’s surprise smash Guardians Of The Galaxy. Our new hero is more down to Earth (many times he’s a fraction of an inch from Earth). Non-comics fans may be surprised that he’s actually one of the earliest Marvel characters, almost pre-dating the age of heroes by his introduction in the Sf suspense story titled “The Man in the Ant Hill” from the anthology...