Not only is this Day 23 of National Podcast Post Month, but it is also the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who! We celebrate this milestone by going back to where it all began. Join Seth and Mark as they bring their signature blend of knowledge and humor to “An Unearthly Child”, the very FIRST episode of Doctor Who!
The bloodline of Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy has been a hot-button for fans since The Force Awakens was released in 2015. Daisy Ridley herself talked about how Rey’s origin changed over the years when she appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
The full pilot episode for the sci-fi series Space Command was posted on YouTube last week. The series, which is created and directed by veteran sci-fi TV writer Marc Scott Zicree, features a cast from several past sci-fi series such as Star Trek and Babylon 5.
The latest inductee into The Lesser Known Geek Hall Of Fame is DC Comics’ rocket pack-wearing scientist Adam Strange. First appearing in Showcase #17 in 1958, Strange was hardly the first hero to don a rocket backpack. However, unlike his movie serial predecessors, Strange is still around today.
The Lesser Known Geek Hall Of Fame #6: Forrest J Ackerman
One of the things we emphasize with the Lesser Known Geek Hall Of Fame is that no franchise, hero, villain, etc. is ineligible except “A-Listers”. This also applies to real-life people as well as fictional characters.
This episode inducts the first real-life person into the Lesser Known Geek Hall Of Fame, Forrest J Ackerman. While the name may be familiar to people, how his name got known in the first place is something they may not know.
Godzilla – Starting off with Big G himself, here are some nuggets placed throughout the film. Many of which go back to the original 1954 Gojira.
Leading into the third act, Godzilla is re-energized by a point-blank nuclear bomb planted by Dr. Serizawa. For a time, Godzilla has glowing red patches all over his body. This is a nod to 1995’s Godzilla vs. Destroyah, which saw Godzilla eventually reach meltdown status and… well… melt.
Godzilla’s Death in 1995’s Godzilla vs. Destroyah
Mothra – One monster that is almost always a heroic, Mothra is usually depicted as one of Earth’s guardians.
In the “Blink and you miss it” moment, Monarch does have a screen identifying her as “Mosera”, which is the original Japanese pronunciation.
Mothra is found in Outpost 61, a reference to 1961, which is the year the first Mothra movie was released.
Ziyi Zhang portrays two characters, Dr. Chen and Dr. Ling. Chen has an in-depth knowledge of Mothra and claims to have ancestors from the same island as the creature. As any Mothra fan knows, she usually has twin fairies, referred to as Shobijin (“little beauties”). They can communicate and translate monster language, as well as call on Mothra for help.
Mothra’s ever present singing twins
In the current movie, Mothra is blasted by King Ghidorah’s dragon breath, and her life essence revitalizes Godzilla. This helps Godzilla come back to finally defeat Ghidorah. A similar scene happens in 2001’s GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, only the roles of Godzilla and Ghidorah are reversed. Mothra revitalizes Ghidorah to take down an evil Godzilla.
Mothra resurrects Ghidorah in GMK (2001)
King Ghidorah – Ghidorah served as the main antagonist in the film. He is arguably Godzilla’s most powerful foe because it often takes multiple monsters working together to defeat him.
Monarch originally refers to Ghidorah as Monster Zero, a name that was given to him in the 1966 film Godzilla vs. Monster Zero.
In another scene reminiscent of GMK, Monarch finds Ghidorah frozen in ice, where he has presumably been for many years. This mirrors his discovery in GMK. In an unexpected twist, GMK marks the first and only time King Ghidorah played the role of a guardian monster.
During a fight, Godzilla bites off one of Ghidorah’s heads. In the post-credits sequence, the severed head is found and given to Jonah Alan. In 1991’s Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, one of the opening scenes is the discovery of a severed Ghidorah head. That head was used to make Mecha-King Ghidorah, who fights Godzilla in the third act. That may not guarantee we get MKG, but it may lead to the three-headed monster’s return in a future sequel.
King Kong – Kong was introduced in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, and will return next year in the aptly titled Godzilla vs. Kong
Kong himself is absent from this movie, though he is seen in some of the monitors in Monarch outposts.
Dr. Houston Brooks was a major character in the 2017 film played by Cory Hawkins. Veteran character actor Joe Morton portrays an older Dr. Brooks in this movie
Rodan – While he is clearly #4 in importance behind Godzilla, King Ghidorah, and Mothra, Rodan still has some memorable screen time in the film.
Rodan emerges from a volcano, much like he did in 1964’s Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster. A film which also saw him team with Godzilla and Mothra to take on King Ghidorah
The volcano is dubbed by Monarch as Outpost 56, a reference to the 1956 film Rodan.
Dr. Serizawa – Portrayed by Ken Watanabe, Dr. Ishiro Serizawa is one of the leading experts on Godzilla. His name is a combination of two people: Ishiro Honda and Dr. Daisuke Serizawa.
Ishiro Honda was the real-life director of several Godzilla films, including the original 1954 Gojira.
Dr. Daisuke Serizawa in the original film was a scientist who developed The Oxygen Destroyer, which was used to kill the original Godzilla.
The 1954 version saw Serizawa sacrifice himself with Godzilla’s destruction. He feared that as long as he was alive, there was a chance he could be forced to develop the weapon again.
In the current movie, the military already has a weapon called The Oxygen Destroyer, which it uses in an attempt to kill both Godzilla and King Ghidorah.
Like the original, this Dr. Serizawa also sacrifices himself. Only it is to heal Godzilla through a nuclear detonation.
Spiga – A giant spider that plays a minor part throughout the film bears a striking resemblance to Spiga/Kumonga, who first appeared in Son Of Godzilla.
Did you see any other easter eggs? Or hints at future films? Sound off below!
The original Battlestar Galactica may have only lasted one season in 1978, but it is still fondly remembered to this day for many fans.
What some fans may not know is Richard Hatch, who played Apollo, was trying to relaunch the series in the early 2000s. The concept was unique because it would have served both as a sequel series and a reboot. Hatch would reprise his role as Apollo, who has assumed his father’s place as the commander of the fleet. The rest of the cast would mainly be a new generation of Colonials battling the evil Cylons.
Sadly, the project was never truly realized before Hatch’s passing in 2017. Sci-Fi channel did of course air their own Galactica reboot developed by Ronald D Moore (Star Trek: The Next Generation) . However, the concept footage of Hatch’s vision is below. If you look closely, you will see Terry Carter reprising the role of Tigh. Also, the late John Colicos as the villainous Baltar.
It is worth noting that this is merely test footage, and no full episodes exist. It was also filmed on a very tight budget because it was never meant to be what the show would look like in the end. Had the show been produced, it likely would have had much higher production values.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXROlSAZYko
What do you think? Could a sequel to the original series have garnered interest? Let us know below!
Doctor Who celebrated it’s 55th Anniversary this week! In honor of this landmark moment, here is a link to the very first Doctor Who episode, An Unearthly Child.
We’ve also linked our commentary track for the story, courtesy our podcast Examining The Doctor. Hosts Mark and Seth bring their signature blend of knowledge and humor to this all time classic story.
Don’t worry, just start the commentary first, and it will tell you when to start the TV episode. If you like what you hear, we have dozens more Doctor Who stories, both Classic and Modern (or “NewWho” to some fans), on our podcast Examining The Doctor.
