1. Jaws We almost never lose site of the beach and the ocean in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 timeless film Jaws – over someone’s shoulder, outside the window, just beyond the swing set in the back yard, the threat of the great white is ever present. Far from their home in the Big Apple, Amity Island’s …
Regular followers are probably aware that we here are at Sound on Sight are more than a little fond of an obscure British science fiction program that celebrated an anniversary of some kind last weekend. Anniversaries are always an excellent time to reflect upon and celebrate a show’s history and the lead up to last Saturday’s “The Day of the Doctor” saw the entire Whoniverse coming together to share their thoughts on everything from their favourite episodes, most beloved eras, and of course, “their” Doctor. I just love that a top ten list can be the beginning of a good conversation or a great fight, and I find that the most heat, and some of the best light, is generated when Whovians start talking about their favourite Companions. A Companion is more than just our surrogate, they’re a gateway and guide to the series who helps us find our own way through the barking mad universe that is Doctor Who. It’s no wonder then that our attachments to them are passionate, personal, and gloriously partisan, especially when we try to educate normally well-informed Whovians who disagree with us on just how wrong they are.
When Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccelston left Doctor Who after only one season, he left behind a set of episodes that were a great reintroduction to the classic series but more than anything, they were a springboard for whoever was going to take over the iconic role next. David Tennant’s Tenth remains one of the most memorable and beloved Doctors in the show’s long history. Bolstered by a robust and often deeply moving performance by Tennant, this five year run produced some of the finest Doctor Who stories in the show’s 50 year run. Here are Ten’s ten best stories:
As my Televerse cohost Simon Howell and I discussed in our Top 10 TV Series of 2013 (So Far), this has been a spectacular year for television, with many shows delivering remarkably consistent seasons (or half-seasons) of memorable, moving television. A number of series were in contention for our Top 10 but didn’t quite make …
2013 is only halfway done, but there’s a fair chance that, in a television context, it might well be looked back upon as the year any and all accepted rules of “quality television” became utterly meaningless and the promise of great things arrived in all shapes and sizes, from all directions. Consider Netflix’s House of …
Whether you measure your movies by box office, reviews, or popular appeal, Sony’s $125 million remake of the 1990 Ah-nuld Schwarzenegger interplanetary action fest Total Recall looks like a strike-out. The movie opened with a lethal softness; a $25.7 million first weekend meaning Recall won’t even come close to making back its budget during its …
It’s been such a deathly slow year at the movies so far that attempting to list ten great TV series is far easier than naming ten great films. With the premieres of TV’s two best shows, Breaking Bad (July 15, AMC) and Louie (tonight, FX), imminent, it seemed as good a time as any to …
With Eastbound & Down’s series finale set to air this Sunday and the 2012 MLB season a few weeks underway, baseball is on the brain of many a sports-loving TV fan. With such a long and rich history, and such a strong place in American culture, it’s only natural for so many series to take …
In honor of leap day, those extra 24 hours we get every four years, a time travel list seemed in order. One of the most consistent and popular tropes of genre fiction, time travel opens up worlds of possibility and, when used in well, can allow writers avenues to explore character and story in creative …
It’s Valentine’s Day and, for many, that means date night. In this economy, however, a night on the town can be prohibitive. What’s a TV lover to do? Perhaps this is an acceptable alternative? A quiet night in, with a nice, homemade dinner, a few drinks, and a few hours with the perfect show. Here …
Over the past few seasons, while True Blood became HBO’s #1 show and serialized storytelling hit creative highs with Breaking Bad, Justified, and Game of Thrones, one network series has quietly become a go-to for fans of intelligent, well-made serialized genre television. The Vampire Diaries may not be a perfect show, but it carefully avoids …
A nice house in the suburbs with a picket fence, 2.5 kids, and a dog playing in the yard. For many and for many years, this was the American dream. Interesting that no other kind of pet is mentioned. Not cats, not birds, not fish. Dogs. Though this affinity for canine companionship isn’t shared everywhere …
TV is full of shows set in their own universes, worlds different from our own (sometimes slightly, sometimes drastically) that open up new avenues for storytellers to explore. It can be a lot of fun to ponder what it would be like to live in a particular universe, to explore that different world, but would …
One of the great things about the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror are that they allow writers to break the rules. If a topic is taboo or controversial, put it on a distant planet and it’ll usually get past the censors. If a character needs to confront their issues over a friend’s death, …
The right music can make all the difference in a TV show. It can elevate a scene, imbue it with nuance and meaning, or destroy it, either under- or over-playing the emotion and rendering it lifeless or trite. Many have opinions on the best or most memorable TV theme songs, but far fewer have anything to say …
True Blood is by no means a perfect show, and it does have a history of starting strong and fizzling out at the end of a given season, but it’s still one I enjoy and think doesn’t get enough respect. To that end, here are 10 reasons I’ve stuck with the show and think you …
It’s that time of year when film pundits present their readers with the Christmas gift of their end-of-year choices: 10 Best lists, 10 Worst lists, 10 This and 10 That lists. I can’t do that kind of list. Having two small children, I rarely get to see a movie that isn’t animated or involves talking …
Horror, fantasy, Hong Kong action, animation, strange documentaries, gored-up science-fiction, Japanese Pink films and martial arts flicks are just among the many genres Fantasia has covered in its fourteen years of programming. Famous for being the largest genre film festival in North America, Fantasia is packed with Canadian, North American and worldwide feature-length premieres as …
He He was a cowboy, an outlaw biker, a drug fiend, a madman, a criminal, a gun nut, a hippie, a Republican, and an Obama supporter. Hopper was also a prolific photographer, painter, and sculptor. His painting style ranged from abstract impressionism to photorealism and often included references to his cinematic work and to other …
With the release of the film Hot Tub Time Machine, here is my list of top ten movies that contain titles and concepts that are so ‘naff, ridiculous and shamelessly blatant, they are nothing short of brilliant. 1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Can you get any weirder – or more perfect – than …
#10- Werewolves On Wheels (1971) Directed by Michael Levesque Werewolves on Wheels was produced by Paul Lewis, a frequent collaborator with Dennis Hopper who had only two years before directed the quintessential biker road movie Easy Rider. Werewolves is the directorial debut of Michel Levesque, who would go on to work as Art Director on …
You might be asking yourself what’s the purpose of a list like this? Is there really that large of a body of work dealing with the brave men in blue who trench through neighborhood lawns, dodging the near death encounters with Chihuahuas and lonely old people? Well there probably isn’t. In fact, most of the …
Runner-up: 11) Idiocracy (2006) I initially felt iffy about including Idiocracy on this list, but the more I thought about it critically, and as a work of science fiction, the more I felt it appropriate. Still, I’m only listing it as the runner-up. Created by Mike Judge of many other comedic successes, this time travel …