REVIEWS & APPRECIATIONS

When people find out that I have written for Star Trek: The Next Generation, I’m often asked which was my favorite episode.  The one that most often comes to mind is the sixth season episode, “Lessons.”  I admit that it’s rather odd, and not a little self-indulgent, for a writer to write a review of his own work.  But, I'm not writing this for glory, but to tell some of the stories that went into producing the episode.  Click HERE to read more.

I’ve had this film on my “must eventually see” list, but for various reasons, never got around to it.  But reading director Elia Kazan’s exhaustive (800+ page!) autobiography A Life, compelled me to move the film into a more prominent place on my list.  

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Though they have title billing, the show is not really about zombies.  Sure, they appear in every episode as the looming threat, but what this show is really about is the living.  And not just about the survival of the living, but what each one of them is willing to do -- what moral compromises they are willing to make -- in order to survive.  And that's what makes it great drama.  Click HERE to read more.

Since I have not read the book on which it was based, I don’t really know how much of the dialogue in True Grit was originated by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.  But, to whoever wrote it, I wanted to say thanks.   

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In Progress Yes, I'll probably review some music, film or TV that I like a lot (following the "Thumper Rule," I'll generally save the negative reviews for others), but... what I think might also be fun (or perhaps painful) is to review some of my own work.  The stuff that leaves your word processor and goes off into the great studio machine, isn't necessarily the stuff that winds up on your TV screen.  What might I find when I explore this particular episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation?  It was my first produced credit, but it was also a something of a lesson... we'll get into it in the future.