Review of
Get Buchanan!
by Jonas Ward
Five out of five stars
While this
element of the Buchanan series has many of the standard features of the others,
it closes on an interesting and unusual note. At least for Buchanan. Years ago,
Buchanan had known a rancher, his wife and infant son. The rancher is now dead,
the son returned from school back east and the widow now a ruthless woman. The
son injured his leg in an accident when he was young and when he returned after
being educated, he possessed what his mother considered unusual ideas that were
worthless in the west.
The mother has
ruthlessly gained control of most of the county, from the businesses in town to
the sheriff that now loves the bottle more than he loves the law. The son has
gone semi-outlaw, stealing from his mother, and giving much of their gains to
the poor. This family feud has now reached the point where she is hiring guns
and wants her son to end his escapades, even if it means he is killed.
Buchanan comes
into town and the mother tries to recruit him to hunt down her son. He refuses
and one thing leads to another with Buchanan joining forces with the son. Polly
Pease is the daughter of the sheriff and the son considers her a girlfriend,
but she has other ideas. She clearly has designs on Buchanan and she acts like
his kind of woman. She rides armed with them against the mother’s forces and
even Buchanan’s horse likes her. The closing hints at possibilities between
Buchanan and Polly.
This is a great
story in the Buchanan tradition, he always tries to avoid killing, but is
ruthlessly efficient when he considers it necessary. He shoots only to wound many
times and once again manages to be on the winning side despite great odds
against.
Review of
The Long Patrol,
episode 5 of the Battlestar Galactica original series
Three out of five stars
Weak tries at unnecessary humor
The story opens
with the newly reopened Rising Star, a space equivalent of a luxury dining car,
hosting Starbuck on a dinner date. He volunteered to go on a solo deep patrol
and as a consequence was put near first on the list of patrons. Since Athena
was scheduled to work, he made a dinner date with Cassiopeia. However, when Athena
is able to cut short her control room duty, both women are there at the same
time. In some sense, he is saved by an urgent call to return to the Galactica. This
is the first try at humor.
He is flying a
modified Viper that is faster than anything else but has no laser generators.
His mission is to examine a cluster of planetoids, looking for life and evidence
of Cylon penetration. The Viper has a new computer system called C.O.R.A. that
is capable of interacting with Starbuck and flying the ship. It has a seductive
human female voice, and this begins a human-machine flirtation sequence that is
the second attempt at humor.
Starbuck
discovers a penal colony where the prisoners make the adult beverage ambrosia
and have for generations. Children of criminals are automatically incarcerated
with their parents. Children of the enforcers (jailers) also become enforcers. Starbuck
upsets this pattern amidst an attack by a Cylon patrol. The patrol is defeated
but there is a catastrophic loss of high quality ambrosia.
The two
attempts at humor are weak attempts and were largely unnecessary. It is logical
that there would be isolated, small human settlements that the Galactica convoy
would encounter. They would be at risk of a Cylon attack and could provide the
Galactica convoy with desperately needed resources. With so much room within
that area, there is no need to introduce a dining three-way or a seductive
computer.
Review of
Who’s In Charge Here, Beetle Bailey,
by Mort Walker ISBN 0448169320
Four out of five stars
Beetle Bailey was
a comic strip that appeared in the local paper when I was a child and I never missed
it. The characters from Beetle Bailey through Sergeant Snorkel and the buxom
Miss Buxley to the idiot Zero were all exaggerated to make the point. The strip
also included the black Lieutenant Flap, he made his first appearance in 1971 and
is presented as just another officer.
This is
demonstrated on the fifth page. The camp chaplain asks Beetle, “Do the men feel
differently about Lt. Flap because he’s black?” Beetle responds, “Heck no, chaplain.
We think he’s just as big a pain as any other officer.” In other words, rank
overpowers skin color. A powerful message for the early seventies.
This book is a
joyous look back at one of the best parodies of army life. Fans of the
television show M*A*S*H will recognize many of the basic points of humor.
Review of
Boltwood of Yale,
by Gilbert Patten
Four out of five stars
Copyrighted in
1914, this book is a look back at the style of books written for young men at
that time. Roger Boltwood is the son of a very wealthy man and he is about to
turn 21. Up to this point his father has supported him and bailed him out of
his misadventures that included getting in automobile accidents. His father has
reached the point where he has had enough and tells him that as of his
twenty-first birthday, he will no longer be supporting him financially.
Roger is
planning on going back to Yale in the fall, even though he had an extremely
poor academic performance the past year and did not formally move to the next academic
level. Instead of pouting, Roger decides that he is going to make it on his own
and plans accordingly. He is fortunate to win an auto race that gives him
enough money to register for fall classes.
Once back on
campus in the cheaper dorms with a roommate, Roger applies himself and is
convinced to try out for the football team. At first, he is a lower level
scrub, but through injuries to those ahead of him and diligent work, he reaches
the point where he gets into the lineup on occasion. He has to deal with his
former friends, some enemies and a dishonest roommate, but at the end he gets
into the big game against Harvard.
While the story
itself is not that exciting, it is interesting due to the style of the writing.
Some of the words are outdated in usage, for example a man is referred to as a “gay
fellow.” I enjoyed it as a look back in time, something that all people should
do as long as they are willing to accept words and phrases that some now find
objectionable.
Review of
The Lost Warrior,
season 1 episode 4 of Battlestar Galactica
Four out of five stars
Old genre slightly recast
This episode
uses one of the most used scenarios in American entertainment. The western
drama was once a staple of television, with the most popular being Gunsmoke
that ran for 20 years. Most were based on the hero willing to stand in the
street and engage in a gun duel with the evil entity. Battlestar Galactica was science
fiction with ships in space and robotic aliens, but this episode is essentially
a remake of many previous events in the western genre.
Captain Apollo is on a solo patrol when he encounters
a group of Cylons. He leads them away from the fleet until he runs out of fuel
and crash lands on the planet Equellus. It is populated by humans that farm, raise
livestock and dress like people in the old west. Most men also carry firearms
that fire projectiles and the dueling code is still active. In other words, two
men can engage in a fast draw.
The local
village has been taken over by a man called La Certa, his strength comes from a
Cylon called Red Eye that accepts his commands. Since Red Eye is impervious to
kinetic weapons, they must comply when La Certa demands tribute in livestock
and crops. Once Apollo understands that Red Eye is isolated and not part of a
Cylon contingent, he is free to challenge him in a classic western duel.
Apollo is very
much the stranger that comes into town and becomes the hero, rescuing the
village from the tyrant before departing. Seen many times before without the
robot and laser pistols, it is an old story that works fairly well.
Review of
Faberge Treasures Jigsaw Puzzle Book,
ISBN 0810911868
Five out of five stars
Exquisite artwork in jigsaw puzzles
Decades ago, I
had the privilege of touring the Hermitage Museum in what is now St. Petersburg.
While there I am certain that I saw replicas or work created in the Faberge
style and may have even seen one or two originals. Suffice to say that they
were some of the most impressive works of art that you will ever see.
This book
contains images of eight of the works in the form of four small two-sided
jigsaw puzzles. The puzzles themselves have only 12 pieces, so there is no real
challenge to putting them together. Two pages are reserved for brief descriptions
of the depicted works. An art book expressed as a puzzle book; this is an
excellent gift for people that enjoy both.
Review of
Captain America: Civil War,
DVD
Five out of five stars
Super friends battle over principle
When superheroes
battle their evil counterparts, there is almost always major collateral damage.
It is a rare occasion when they meet in a remote area such as the Sahara
Desert. These battles also often include the deaths or serious injury of
innocent bystanders. Concerned about this, governments around the world have
banded together under the United Nations banner to write a series of regulations
governing the superhero group the Avengers.
Captain America
(Steve Rogers) is opposed to signing the new law while Iron Man (Tony Stark) is
strongly in favor. This creates a major rift in the Avengers with the others
being forced to take sides. At first the conflict is verbal only, but there is
an incident where it breaks out into open conflict. Hence the term “Civil War.”
It is superhero against superhero in a battel that shatters unity and leads to
hostility and serious injury. Tony Stark is torn when he visits the penal
facility where some of the Avengers are being held under special and very
restrictive controls.
The action is
intense with a great deal of hand-to-hand fighting. It would seem unlikely that
Captain American would stand a chance against the armored Iron Man, but he
holds his own. Punches and other items are thrown, bodies fly and there is some
literal blood drawn. The dialog is also very good, while there are a few
instances where a cliché is dropped, they are very rare.
Two high points
of the dialog were very amusing. When Tony Stark is trying to convince Peter Parker
(Spider-Man) to leave town and aid him in his task of rounding up the renegade Avengers
his response is, “I can’t, I have homework.” The second is the cameo by legend
Stan Lee. He plays a deliveryman with a package for “Tony Stank.”
