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Favorite 1990s Live Action TV Series

November 12, 2024 / Zander

In chronological order.

Twin Peaks (1990-1991)
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996)
Babylon 5 (1993–1998)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)
NYPD Blue (1993-2005)
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005)
3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001)
Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

Playing Old CRPGs Again: Eye of the Beholder Trilogy

November 5, 2024 / Zander

Eye of the Beholder (SSI, 1991) was the first computer game that I felt represented the spirit of the tabletop Dungeons & Dragons (which, at the time, was in its AD&D 2nd Edition). Another advantage for me was that the story happened beneath the city of Waterdeep, a famous location for fans of Dungeons & Dragons. Khelben Arunsun, one of the Lords of Waterdeep, tasks our group of adventurers to go investigate what’s wrong in the city sewers, and that’s just the beginning of a large dungeon expedition. The game was somewhat similar to the first The Bard’s Tale but

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Favorite 1980s Live Action TV Series

October 29, 2024 / Zander

In chronological order.

Hill Street Blues (1981)
‘Allo ‘Allo! (1982-1992)
Cheers (1982–1993)
Blackadder (1983)
Moonlighting (1985–1989)
L.A. Law (1986-1994)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
Seinfeld (1989-1998)

Traveling with Sinbad and Ray Harryhausen

October 22, 2024 / Zander

The stop animation of Ray Harryhausen has always fascinated me. That sword fight against skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963) will forever have a place in my heart. So, when I recently had the chance to watch three of his films, I didn’t hesitate. None of these are great movies, but even the worst of them has some good moments. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (Nathan Juran, 1958) is a classic in the realm of fantasy cinema. At that point, it was a significant leap forward in visual effects, establishing itself as a milestone for stop-motion animation

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Favorite 1970s Live Action TV Series

October 15, 2024 / Zander

In chronological order.

Columbo (1971-1977)
M*A*S*H (1972-1983)
Kojak (1973–1978)
The Six Million Dollar Man (1973-1978)
Planet of the Apes (1974)
Fawlty Towers (1975 & 1979)
The Incredible Hulk (1977-1982)
Battlestar Galactica (1978–1979)

Playing Old CRPGs Again: The Bard’s Tale Trilogy

October 8, 2024 / Zander

Ah, how many hours I spent roaming the streets of Skara Brae with a party of underdeveloped and underequipped adventurers, just trying to get enough experience to be able to explore the catacombs under the city. The Bard’s Tale was the first computer game where I got the sense of playing an RPG, instead of just fighting against weak design and poor mechanics. For this rerun, I got the remastered version launched by inXile Entertainment in 2018, The Bard’s Tale Remastered Trilogy, which is fantastic. It revamps the graphics without losing the flavor of the original, unifies the mechanics of

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Favorite 1960s Live Action TV Series

October 1, 2024 / Zander

In chronological order.

The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
The Addams Family (1964-1966)
Bewitched (1964-1972)
The Munsters (1964-1966)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968)
I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970)
Lost in Space (1965-1968)
Batman (1966-1968)
Mission: Impossible (1966-1973)
Star Trek (1966-1969)
The Time Tunnel (1966-1967)
Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969-1974)

Six Terminators

September 24, 2024 / Zander

How many Terminator movies can you watch in a single day? Well, if you are a geek like me and happens to be stranded at home feeling a bit sick, you can watch all of them. At the time of this writing, there are only six Terminator movies out there, so I was able to fit the whole 722 minutes (that’s a bit over twelve hours) into my totally not busy schedule for the day. The Terminator (James Cameron, 1984) started everything. A near-unstoppable cyborg assassin (Arnold Schwarzenegger), is sent from a future dominated by machines, to kill Sarah Connor

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A Few Scattered Thoughts About Lists

September 17, 2024 / Zander

Lists can be used for many purposes, some more practical (like a shopping list) and others more literary (like Vladimir Nabokov’s inventory of tourist attractions in Lolita), some more serious (like the articles of the United States Constitution) and others more lighthearted (like Benjamin Franklin’s 228 synonyms for drunkenness). Lists can also be an entertaining format to communicate tastes and preferences, and these are the ones that always intrigue and entertain me. Here are the main reasons why I enjoy making lists of favorites and looking at other people’s lists of favorites. Organized, of course, as a list. 01 –

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Learning to play chess: my first fifty games

September 10, 2024 / Zander

Well, it didn’t take long. The first five games necessary for getting my rating on chess.com, all victories. The sixth game, a defeat. I was rated 1264 and got paired against a 1313 player. That’s what I expected from the beginning, advancing to a rating that reflected my abilities and then being held there by being paired against stronger opponents. So after fifty games my rating is not much different than after five games. I managed to cross the 1300 barrier, but was sent back down by a few defeats. I am now at rating 1276, with 27 games won

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