Below are images from "RIPLEY", the 2024 Netflix adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel, "The Talented Mr. Ripley". Created, written and directed by Steven Zaillian; the limited series starred Andrew Scott in the title role:
"RIPLEY" (2024) Photo Gallery
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VIEWS ON THE STAR TREK FRANCHISE
Recently, Paramount Plus had announced that "STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS" would end after five seasons. "STAR TREK DISCOVERY" had already ended its fifth and final season during the spring of 2024 saw the final season. Will the endings of these two shows signal the end of the franchise, which began in 1966 with "STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES"? I do not know. But this question led me to contemplate my viewing history of the franchise and my personal opinions of those television shows that I had bothered to watch.
"Star Trek: The Original Series" (1966-1969
Set during the mid 23rd century, "STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES" depicted the adventures of the Starfleet ship, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew led by Captain James T. Kirk. This series lasted for three seasons and later, spawned an animated series in the 1970s and a series of movies between 1979 and 1991.
My father was a big fan of the series. I first saw it after it reached syndication. I might as well be honest. I did not like "THE ORIGINAL SERIES" when I first saw the reruns as a kid. It took the 1980s movies for me to appreciate them. Somewhat. But even after all of these years, I do not have a high opinion of them in compare to some of the other shows. And after years of watching the Trek franchise, I really wish that the franchise's creator, Gene Roddenberry, had never created this rule that humanity had evolved in a space of 200 to 300 years. I found that illogical and in the end, I believe that it proved to be a problem for all future TREK productions. Also, I was not impressed by the series' third season. I still remain unimpressed. The writing for "THE ORIGINAL SERIES" seemed to have spiraled into a decline by this last season.
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994)
During the 1970s, Gene Roddenberry created an animated series for the franchise called "STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES". I never saw it. But I certainly saw the second live-action series, "STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION". Airing between 1987 and 1994, this series depicted the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), during the mid-24th century.
"THE NEXT GENERATION" proved to be easier for me to become a regular viewer. At least for several seasons. I did not like Season One that much. I found most of the writing less than stellar. Once the series had moved past Season One, I became a deep fan. However, there were times when I found Jean-Luc Picard and his crew a little hard to swallow. Like "THE ORIGINAL SERIES", I believe "THE NEXT GENERATION" had went a bit overboard in presenting Humanity as evolved. This was especially conveyed in its portrayal of the majority of the main characters as ideal Starfleet officers. I found it a bit off putting. And I also found it difficult to keep up with the series' last two seasons. Like the first season, I was not that impressed by them. Mind you, I believe Season Seven had provided one of my favorite episodes of the entire TREK franchise - namely (7.24) "Pre-emptive Strike". However, I found many others like the Season Six episode, (6.10-6.11) "Chain of Command", vastly overrated.
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-1999)
Although familiar with both "THE ORIGINAL SERIES" and "THE NEXT GENERATION", the 1993-1999 series, "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE", was the first I had started to view on a regular basis. At least during its first two seasons. Then I became bored with the show and stopped. Why did I become bored with "DEEP SPACE NINE", I do not know. Several years had passed before I gave it another chance and eventually viewed it on a regular basis.
Unlike the other Trek shows, "DEEP SPACE NINE" was set aboard a space station that Starfleet was managing on behalf of the recently liberated homeworld of Bajor. The station, Deep Space Nine, also stood guard to a wormhole that led to the Gamma Quadrant and an alien empire. "DEEP SPACE NINE" was the first TREK series that Gene Roddenberry played no role in its creation. And the series proved to be the first one that starred a person of color, actor Avery Brooks, as Commander-later-Captain Benjamin Sisko.
For years, I thought "DEEP SPACE NINE" had the potential to be the best within the franchise. It featured multiple-arc narratives that permeated with politics and moral ambiguity. But I had noticed a few things. One, it reminded me too much of J. Michael Straczynski's science-fiction saga, "BABYLON 5". When I heard accusations that it had plagiarized the latter show, I was inclined to believe those accusations. I still do. More importantly, I think "BABYLON 5" handled its ambiguity and multiple story arcs a lot further and with better writing than "DEEP SPACE NINE". And once the series dove into the Dominion War arc during the last two seasons, I found it increasingly difficult to stick with the series. There were aspects of that arc that I enjoyed, but there were other aspects that I found frustrating . . . including the Dominion's occupation of Deep Space Nine in early Season Six. I also felt frustrated by the transformation of the Cardassian character Gul Dukat from a multi-complex villain to a one-dimensional antagonist by late Season Six. Despite being promising and a genuinely first-rate series, I do not believe "DEEP SPACE NINE" had ever really fulfilled its potential.
"Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001)
Like the previous TREK series, "STAR TREK: VOYAGER" made history with its own first. It became the franchise's first series to feature a woman as the lead character. Actress Kate Mulgrew was cast as Captain Kathryn Janeway, the commanding officer of the USS Voyager (NCC-74656). An alien named the Caretaker forced Voyager, Janeway and her crew into the Delta Quadrant, while they were searching for her Security officer, who had volunteered to act as a spy aboard a Maquis starship, commanded by a former Starfleet officer. As it turned, not only did the Caretaker draw Voyager into the Delta Quadrant, but also the Maquis crew. After a violent encounter with a race called the Kazon, the Maquis ship is destroyed and both crews merge under Janeway's command, as they set out to return to the Alpha Quadrant, some 70,000 light years away.
Unlike "THE NEXT GENERATION" or "DEEP SPACE NINE", I did not watch "VOYAGER" from the beginning. In fact, I had avoided the series like the plague for several years, due to the fandom's negative opinions of it and my own struggles to keep up with "NEXT GENERATION" and "DEEP SPACE NINE". But during the beginning of the series’ Season Five, a relative had convinced me to watch one of the series' episodes. I did . . . and became immediately hooked. While watching Season Five, I also began watching the show’s earlier seasons on Syndication. And I became even more of a fan. I can honestly say that "VOYAGER" was not the franchise's best series. But I thought it was still pretty damn good and viewed it just as good and bad as "NEXT GENERATION". Do not get me wrong. I thought "DEEP SPACE NINE" had the potential to be the franchise's best series. But I believe it had never lived up to that potential and in the end, struck me to be just as good as "NEXT GENERATION" and "VOYAGER".
"VOYAGER", like the other shows, had its share of flaws. Season One tried to portray most of its characters like those from "NEXT GENERATION". Once the series stopped trying to portray the Voyager crew like ideal Starfleet officers (aside from a few), and stamped them with their own brand of craziness and ambiguity, I managed to really enjoyed the series. I have also enjoyed the show's two-part episodes and their Holodeck/Holosuite episodes more than any other series. Aside from Season One, the only other series I am not that fond of was Season Six. That season had featured a handful of excellent episodes. But in the end, the series during its sixth season seemed to be going through the motions. Thank goodness I enjoyed the other five seasons, especially Season Seven. "VOYAGER" is the only TREK show in which I actually enjoyed the series finale.
"Star Trek: Enterprise" (2001-2005)
Following the end of "STAR TREK VOYAGER", the TREK franchise decided to create a series that served as a prequel to "THE ORIGINAL SERIES". Set in the mid-22nd century, during the 2150s, "STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE" depicted the adventures of Captain Jonathan Archer and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise (NX-01), during the years right before the creation of the United Federation of Planets. "ENTERPRISE" proved to be the only TREK series that used a pop-influenced song as its theme.
In the end, I tried to enjoy "ENTERPRISE". I really tried to embrace this show. I had no problems with the series being a prequel to the other shows. I enjoyed the relationship between Enterprise's First Officer, Sub-CommanderT'Pol and its chief engineer Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker. I also liked the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Phlox. There were a handful of episodes that I enjoyed very much. I really enjoyed the Xindi story arc of Season Three. I just hated it ended with the ship being thrown back into Earth’s past . . . again. I loathed Season Four, but loved the Mirror Universe two-part episode, (4.18-4.19) "In a Mirror, Darkly". To this day, I regard it as one of the best TREK episodes I have seen. But overall, I never really became a fan of the series. It had failed to grab me the way the three TREK shows between 1987 and 2001 did. And when the media had announced its cancellation after four seasons, the announcement did not exactly come as a blow to me.
"Star Trek: Discovery" (2016-2024)
Despite the negative comments I had heard about "STAR TREK DISCOVERY", I was determined to watch the show. Eleven years had passed since the cancellation of "ENTERPRISE" and my curiosity had to be appeased. Like "DEEP SPACE NINE" and "VOYAGER" before it, "DISCOVERY" made history by its casting. The series featured the second female lead. However, it also featured the first woman of color as the lead. "DISCOVERY" also made history by featuring a biracial, LGBTQ couple as part of the cast.
I watched the first season of "DISCOVERY". And I loved it. The series started out in serialized form from Day One by following the narrative formula of "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" - a multiple episodes arc within one season. Most of the characters struck me as ambiguous, including the leading lady. I also loved how that first season set up the conflict between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. I do wish that leading character Michael Burnham had served as Discovery’s commanding officer from the beginning. Instead, her rank as a Starfleet Commander underwent changes, due to her role in the Federation-Klingon War. However, if Burnham had started out as Discovery's captain, I wonder if I would have enjoyed her Season One arc as much as I did. The casting of Martin-Green as the series' star proved to be controversial on many levels. Certain fans resented her position as the show's lead. They especially resented the revelation of her character, Burnham, as Spock's adoptive sister. These fans accused the showrunner of forgetting that the half-Vulcan/half-Human officer had never mentioned an adoptive sister in previous TREK productions. Yet, they had forgotten Spock's penchant for never discussing his family, unless circumstances forced him to do so.
Despite the hullaballoo over Burnham's character and the series' serialized arc, "DISCOVERY"'s Season Two featured another season-long arc - the Federation's conflict with a a rogue artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, this season featured Captain Christopher Pike as Discovery's temporary captain and the unnecessarily long presence of Spock, thanks to some contrived writing. Although many fans and critics enjoyed Anson Mount's portrayal of Pike, I found it dull and pretentious. Pike seemed to reek of what many regarded as the traditional Star Trek leading man, but without any real spark. Matters grew worse when the showrunner made the decision to send Discovery and the series into a new direction - namely 900 years in the future. Why? I had already written about that decision in another article. Needless to say, this decision changed the series' style and tone, making it difficult for me to enjoy the rest of the show's run. I tried to stick with "DISCOVERY" during its third and fourth season . . . and gave up. The only good that came from this period was Burnham's promotion to the starship's captain.
Other Trek Series (2020-Present)
Between the second and third seasons of "STAR TREK DISCOVERY", the franchise's showrunners released "STAR TREK: PICARD", a sequel to "STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION". Set around the beginning of the 25th century, the series focused Jean-Luc Picard dealing with his retirement from Starfleet and aging. I honestly thought this was going to be a limited series. Instead, "PICARD" lasted three seasons. Unfortunately. I enjoyed Season One, although I found the season finale badly written. I tried to give the series' second and third seasons a chance. Season Two proved to be some badly written mess involving time travel and an exploration of Picard's childhood. Season Three was more or less a convoluted nostalgia trip featuring "THE NEXT GENERATION" cast, the shapeshifting Changelings from the Dominion War and the Borg.
In 2022, the franchise released "STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS", a spin-off of "DISCOVERY". The series featured the adventures of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), while under the command of Christopher Pike. The same Pike from Season Two of "DISCOVERY". The series managed to impress a great number of Trek fans and television critics. It had failed to impress me, aside from a handful of episodes. "STRANGE NEW WORLDS" seemed nothing more than an updated version of "THE ORIGINAL SERIES", only with the very dull Pike in command. Although it has not finished its run, I gave up on the series before the first season ended.
Conclusion
Although I had enjoyed Season One of "STAR TREK DISCOVERY" very much, a part of me wondered if it had been wise for the TREK showrunners to allow the franchise to continue. I am sorry, but I feel that aside from "DISCOVERY"'s first season, the franchise seemed like a ghost of its past. I think the franchise should have ended after the cancellation of "STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE". Or perhaps after "STAR TREK: VOYAGER" had ended its run, four years earlier. I believe author F. Scott Fitzgerald had been right when he had proclaimed in his most famous novel that one cannot repeat the past.
"THE LOVE LETTER" (1998) Review
Twenty-seven years ago, CBS's "HALLMARK HALL OF FAME" anthology series aired a television movie titled "THE LOVE LETTER". This movie was an adaptation of Jack Finney's 1959 short story of the same title and has become a big favorite of many television viewers over the years.
"THE LOVE LETTER" begins when a computer games designer named Scott Corrigan and his fiancée Debra Zabriskie stumble across an old desk at an antiques store in a suburb outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Being a Civil War history buff as well, Scott buys the desk and later, discovers a letter written in 1863, hidden inside a secret compartment. The letter's writer is a woman in her late 20s named Elizabeth Whitcomb, who conveys her secret feelings and desires to no one in particular. Scott shows the letter to his mother, who believes he may actually be able to communicate with Elizabeth across time. Mrs. Corrigan encourages him to reply with his own letter. She also gives Scott a postage stamp from the mid 19th century, and suggests he mail it from a local post office that had been constructed back in 1857. After Scott follows his mother's suggestions, Elizabeth receives his letter from the local postman, setting in motion a line of communication and developing emotions between them that crosses the boundaries of time.
I might as well put my cards on the table. I am not into television movies from the "HALLMARK HALL OF FAME" series. In fact, I can only think of two or three productions that I found interesting. By the time I had come around to watching "THE LOVE LETTER", I did it for only two reasons - I love time travel stories and I am a Civil War buff. Despite having Cameron Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh in the leads, I did not have any high hopes for this production. I also discovered that "THE LOVE LETTER" was not a faithful adaptation of Finney's short story. Instead of being set in and around both 1998 and 1863 Boston, Finney's story was set in and around 1959 and 1880s Brooklyn, New York. Whereas the Scott Corrigan character was engaged in the 1998 movie, the lead in Finney's story was a single man. Finney's tale also lacked a mother character for his leading man . . . whereas the 1998 television featured a mother character. The Elizabeth Whitcomb character was plagued by headaches and Finney's leading lady was not. In the 1998 movie, Elizabeth was an aspiring character. But the Elizabeth Worley character in the short story was not.
However, I never found it important for a movie or television series to be completely loyal to its source material, especially if the production in question managed to capture its true essence. Being just as good or even better also helps. I have never read Finney's short story, but I have read the synopsis. Personally, I believe the 1998 movie proved to be just as good as the former. Dare I say . . . perhaps slightly better? I believe the additions created by James S. Henderson's screenplay had added more oomph to Finney's tale. Changing the 19th century from 1880s Brooklyn to 1863 New England and making the leading man a Civil War buff really appealed to my sense of history. But what made this movie even more poignant for me was the addition of lookalikes for the two leads in the story. Scott eventually met Elizabeth's lookalike, a dog owner with whom he becomes acquainted in the movie's end; and Elizabeth met Scott's doppelgänger, Union Army officer Colonel Caleb Denby during the movie's second half. Is it any wonder that I was not surprised to learn Henderson had won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted.
But what made "THE LOVE LETTER" really worked for me was the developing romance between the two character via the exchange of letters. I also enjoyed how their letters affected their lives. Elizabeth's correspondence with Scott had encouraged her reconsider a marriage proposal from one of her father's neighbors - a man she did not love. Their correspondence also led Scott to reconsider his feelings for his fiancée, a very nice woman with whom he seemed to be going through the motions. After Scott's mother had pointed out that his correspondence with Elizabeth seemed equal to emotional cheating, the movie featured one well-done but painful scene in which Scott revealed the true nature of his obsession with the desk to his fiancée. "THE LOVE LETTER" featured other memorable scenes - Scott and Elizabeth sensing each other's presence on the staircase, inside the Whitcombs' house; Scott's biking accident; Elizabeth's romance with Caleb Denby; the old post office fire in 1998, Elizabeth's journey to Gettysburg, and the battle's aftermath; and Scott's first meeting with Elizabeth's doppelgänger. But the after effects of the protagonists' correspondence is what I remembered most about this television movie.
I certainly did not have a problem with the movie's production values, much to my surprise. Although the 1990s did feature some period television movies with decent production values, I never really considered them top notch. One had to turn to television miniseries for that. And although I found the production values for "THE LOVE LETTER" pretty decent, they did not exactly blow me away. I must admit that I found Dorothy Adams' costume designs very impressive. I was also impressed by Bill Blunden's editing, as he alternated the scene shifts between 1998 and 1863 with such ease. I was especially impressed by Blunden's handling of the sequence, which alternated between Scott's biking accident and Elizabeth's first meeting with Colonel Denby.
As much as I had enjoyed "THE LOVE LETTER", I did have a few issues with it. I had a minor issue with the hairstyle worn by actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. I had no problems with her costumes. But why on earth was her hair worn in such a loose and vague fashion . . . as if the movie's hairstylist tried to create some hybrid fusion between 1860s and 1990s hair styles? I really hate it when a production crew tries to infuse modern fashion, dialogue, music and yes, even hair styles in a period setting. But my main issue with the film focused on Scott's communication with Elizabeth. All the latter had to do was write a letter and shove it inside the desk's special compartment in 1863. As the desk's current owner, Scott was bound to discover it. But Scott's method of communicating with Elizabeth struck me as . . . well, contrived. Thanks to his mother's instructions, he had to use a 19th century U.S. stamp on his letters' envelopes and mail them through an old post office constructed in the mid-19th century. This method enabled his letters to magically transport back to Elizabeth in 1863. I realize that the movie's screenwriters had adapted this method of time traveling from the original short story. But why utilize such a contrived method in the first place? Scott was not a wealthy man. The movie made this clear when he found himself bargaining with an antiques store owner in order to purchase the desk. Nor was he a business owner. Scott was an employee at a video game design company. An unused 19th century stamp would have probably be worth a good deal of money, even in 1998. Considering the number of letters that Scott had sent to Elizabeth, I can only wonder how much money he had spent to purchase more 19th century stamps. Would it have been easier for the screenwriters (or even Jack Finney, who wrote the original short story) to allow the desk or its secret compartment to be some kind of magical entity that allowed objects - including letters - transport through time?
But there is one thing I had no complaints about was the movie's cast. "THE LOVE LETTER" featured some solid performances from the likes of David Dukes, Kali Rocha, Myra Carter, Laurie Kennedy and Richard Woods. But I must admit that I found myself especially impressed by supporting performances from Daphne Ashbrook, Estelle Parsons, Irma P. Hall and Gerrit Graham. But why beat around the bush here. The pair who really carried the film . . . who really made this story worked were the movie's leads, Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh. I thought Scott (the actor) did an excellent job in conveying his character's penchant for hiding or suppressing his passion for history, along with his growing obsession toward and love for Elizabeth with subtle reactions and a dry wit. Scott also had the additional task of portraying Colonel Caleb Denby, the Union officer who managed to woo Elizabeth with a charismatic charm. Leigh had never received the opportunity to delve into the personality of Elizabeth's 1998 doppelgänger. But I thought she gave a superb performance as the more openly emotional Elizabeth, who reacted with surprise and joy at the idea of corresponding with a mystery man who understood her, and who found herself struggling with a loving family determined to keep her constrained within a social straight jacket.
Over the past two-and-half decades, "THE LOVE LETTER" has become something of a cult favorite among fans of science-fiction/fantasy and period drama. After my recent rewatch of this television drama, I can see why it has remained very popular. I thought director Dan Curtis and screenwriter James S. Henderson did an excellent job in adapting Jack Finney's short story. And their efforts were enhanced by the excellent performances from the cast led by Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason-Leigh.
Below are photos from "THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS", the 2009 adaptation of Jon Ronson's 2004 book. Directed by Grant Heslov, the movie starred George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey:
"THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS" (2009) Photo Gallery
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