By and copyright of Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
“I got outside and realised I only had my hospital gown on which promptly fell off because it wasn’t tied at the back. I was naked…almost. When they do an operation like this, you’re fitted with a catheter. So there I am, naked as the day I was born with a big frigging catheter hanging between my legs. I am scundered, I thought to myself. I tried to remove it but my zombie fingers wouldn’t work.”For far too long zombies have been seen as the monsters they are not so it’s time for a few changes! Welcome to Zombie Blues where you will discover what really goes on behind those dead eyes and shuffling walk. You will meet ten different zombies each with a story to tell. From Vegetarian Zombie to Kidney Trans[plant Zombie to The Zombie who would be King, you will reevaluate everything you thought you knew about the undead. You will finally get to hear their side of the story. What lies behind their tears and how did the apocalypse really begin? Enter if you dare because everything you knew about zombies is about to change.
About half a mile out, the streets were littered with bodies and wreckage to the point I had to abandon the car and go the rest of the way on foot. There was an overturned fire engine blocking the road. I could see an arm moving from beneath it but knew from the guttural sounds it was no longer human. I found a hatchet beside the flailing arm and scooped it up. A woman lurched from a side street. She was no older than Helena but her hair was streaked with silver. She reminded me of a badger despite her pretty aquiline face. She was slobbering like a komodo dragon so I swung at her head. It made a sickening crack as the blade cracked her skull. Her flesh split open and her blood splattered me. I blinked blood spatter from my left eye resisting the urge to throw up. She wasn’t the first person I had killed. I had been in the military and fought for my country but this was different. It was a mercy killing done in self defence but it felt like murder to me. Who was she? What was her name? Did she have a family? Were her children alone in this carnage crying and afraid? I stood chest heaving with the effort just staring down ar her. I could see her brain peeking from the wound on her head and my thoughts flew to all the other people like her. They were my people and I had let them down. But maybe it wasn’t too late to do something about it. I still had a chance to redeem myself. For some reason I heard my mother shouting at me for getting my royal clothes soiled. But I heard Helena equally as loud telling me to fight.
I stormed determinedly down the street.
Another zombie attacked me and another but I managed to fell them all. Without even thinking I smashed their skulls in. The sound of their skulls cracking made me cold but I ignored it knowing the consequences if I didn’t kill them. These were my subjects I was killing. It would stay with me forever but if I got out of it things would be different.
Keeping to the shadows and using the burning vehicles as cover I managed to get to the square.
It was the shambles everywhere else was. Shops and homes were burning or sealed tight, presumably there were some people hiding indoors hoping this would pass. Bodies lay in the flower arrangements blood stained and chewed. The stench of blood filled the air mixed with smoke and fire.
I could hear cries and gunshots in the distance so at least I knew there was still resistance. The city had not yet fallen to these creatures. I desperately looked around. I scanned the bodies, hoping my family were not among them. Surprisingly, I kept my poker face just as my father had instilled in me. But even I could not hold my emotions now. My stomach heaved as I saw people of all ages dead and half eaten. I threw up in revulsion.
They were no longer faceless citizens bathing in my glory. They were the glue that held this country together. They had fought to keep the good name of our nationality alive even in the bad times. They were fighting still.
I called out to Helena and Elise to no response. I could see great plumes of smoke rise above the rooftops like wraith witnesses to this disaster.
If they could speak I would ask them if they could see my family from their viewpoint. Were Helena and Elise seeing what I was seeing? Or were they trying to get back to the palace and we missed each other amid all this chaos? I didn’t want them to get back and find Frederique at the gates. It was bad enough I had watched my own son die. For a mother to see that….I quelled the thought.
I was about to head down one of the side streets leading to Gactica Street when I noticed a shoe. In that second my whole world funnelled into that sight. There could have a horde bearing down on me and I wouldn’t have noticed. My voice stuck in my throat and I managed a squeak.
“Helena?” I pulled the body of a middle aged woman from the pile so I could see who was underneath. My worst fears were confirmed. I had bought her those shoes on a trip to Paris. It was raining but she thought they were the most beautiful shoes in the world. They weren’t expensive. They were practical and suited my Helena. We had all the wealth in the world but it didn’t matter to her. Practical and elegant, she said when she put them on. Just like you I replied. That was my Helena; so generous with no airs or graces. Happiness was all she craved for her people and that’s why they loved her. She was one of the people just as I should have been. I should have strived to be half as good as her but my pompous side never let me admit it or even try. I fell to my knees as I lay eyes on her broken body.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright Universal Pictures
I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.
R.J. MacReady is a freelance pilot stationed at the Antarctic Outpost 31 whose life is plunged into a nightmare along with the rest of the outpost’s personnel. He plays chess and drinks Scotch but we know little else about him. He is no superhero with special abilities. MacReady is just an ordinary man thrown into an extraordinary situation upon which the fate of every man, woman and child rests.
He is a natural leader which comes in handy as the nature of the alien threat is exposed and the rest of the crew panic. He knows how to organise the others using the information they have collected and when push comes to shove he realises that the only person he can rely on in this situation is himself.
In the Thing’s most intense scene, the remaining crew are tied up on a bench so MacReady can perform a blood test so he can reveal who is alien. He knows that any alien blood will not stand pain. The individual cells are part of the greater whole. MacReady has been lost in the snow so it looks like he is one of the aliens but his grit and determination for self preservation makes him the most dangerous person alive. He has no problem shooting a defiant Childs (Keith David). Childs backs off seeing that MacReady is not bluffing. When the hidden alien is revealed, MacReady takes lead to destroy the Thing once and for all before it spreads to the rest of the planet.
It has been constructing a ship and MacReady is left alone to blow it up. There is no hope, no rescue coming as MacReady knows what has to happen. In the burning wreckage of the outpost, he sits drinking scotch as the temperature begins to plummet. He will freeze to death preventing the alien from escaping but suddenly Childs reappears. At this point, there is no point in fighting. They will both freeze to death whether they are human or alien. While the ending is ambiguous and leaves you to make your own mind up as to whether MacReady or Childs is the Thing, you sense that if this was real life then it is an accurate portrayal. While there have been many theories and debates as to who is whom, the story did not end there at least on film.
In the Dark Horse comics, the story continues with MacReady rescued from an icy death but Childs is not with him. He steals a helicopter after making sure he isn’t infected and returns to the outpost to destroy what is left of the Thing. He finds two of them but is stopped from completing his mission when a military task force take him. One soldier touches the remains of the Thing causing him to be infected. Childs arrives with a squad of soldiers and they battle a newly formed Thing aboard a submarine. It crashes and Childs shoves MacReady out an icefield to save him. He is found by soldiers and taken to a base. We have some character development here as Macready is now totally paranoid and suspicious of everyone and everything. The base has a flock of sheep nearby which MacReady begins to slaughter before he is shot with a tranquillizer dart. The pilot is proved right as the Thing has infected a sheep, giving us the second cross species transformation. No life form on the planet is safe from the alien and it will consume everything.
While MacReady and soldiers destroy the Things who are again building an escape ship, one escapes which is destroyed by Childs and a squad carrying flamethrowers. They quickly restrain the soldiers for testing including MacReady. To his horror, MacReady’s blood jumps from the dish when tested. But he escapes only to be confronted by Childs later who reveals he is a Thing and falsified the test. The escape ship is almost complete but the military destroys it and a massive spider like Thing. They do not know if the Thing has really been killed once and for all so MacReady warns the survivors to be vigilant.
But sure to form in Eternal Vows, the Thing has survived. MacReady follows a trail of suspicious murders to a Wallace Harbour New Zealand, MacReady is at first arrested by a policeman, Rowan before they team up. They track down a Thing which MacReady burns. As it does the Thing as it shows all the forms it assimilated before it does. Both men recognise a local woman, Jenny, who was not one of the murder victims. Before long the town is infested and the Jenny Thing burns the town down to kill her competition. Rowan saves MacReady by giving his life. He gets aboard the trawler ship Gettysberg where he finds another Thing which he destroys by blowing up the ship. Part of Jenny Thing attacks him on the beach but he manages to destroy it before falling and knocked unconscious when he hits his head on a rock.
And that’s where we leave it. We never know what happens to MacReady. Did he survive or become a victim while unconscious?
MacReady in the movies was realistic as the world would never know the sacrifice he made to keep us safe but the comic gave us an unsung hero that never receive a medal for protecting the human race.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright Mutant Enemy
It is traumatising enough to lose a loved one but when you are the one that finds them dead, it is an experience that never ever leaves you. I won’t say it will haunt you for the rest of your life but you will consciously and subconsciously go over it in your head forever trying to make sense of it.
In a show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, death is a constant but it is a different kind of death. Usually deaths in Sunnydale are at the hands or claws or scalpels of some supernatural force. Living like that, characters thoughts will automatically go to the supernatural explanation when they hear someone has died.
But in the fifth season episode The Body, Buffy gets a stark reminder of the realities of life and that outside the supernatural drapings, normal life goes on as it has done for centuries. Death does not discriminate and when Buffy comes home to find her mother lying on the sofa dead, her immediate thoughts are that some villain or bounty hunter has targeted the Slayer by killing one of family.
In a world where death is an almost every day occurrence, the realisation of a normal death is an oddity.
Buffy comes home and calls for her mother before realising she is prone on the sofa. You can see the adult Buffy revert to the child Buffy when the word “Mom” becomes “Mummy”. Joyce has raised her daughters alone since their dad walked out on them so she is Buffy’s world. I remember when my parents died; it’s the shock that numbs you straight away. I remember my sister trying to get my dad to wake up. The burning tears as your head tries to reconcile what you are seeing; waiting for an ambulance, the stumbling words.
Joss Whedon wanted to do this specifically to show the impact of losing a loved one. You are just a kid again trying to conceive that your mummy or daddy has gone and will no longer be around. You need to phone people, the family just so someone else can share in this horror. Maybe they have the answer; maybe thy can give you an answer. You have no power; you have physically no power at all. You rely on the ambulance men or the police. In your head you still see them. They are going to wake up any second.
An unexplained death will throw you into a deeper limbo as it my take time to carry put that autopsy before you can take the body home in order to give your final farewell. Or the undertaker will arrive to take this corpse that hours or minutes before was laughing and talking. The would is spinning and yet it is from in time. You look at others and wonder why this is not happening to them. Why me? Why us? What do we do? What are we going to do?
Anya sums it up beautifully. She doesn’t understand what she should be doing? She’s watching the others to see what is the best thing? Should she change clothes a lot? Will they cut the body open? Why is Xander crying a lot and not speaking? How does someone go from living to dying without warning? No one can explain why? There must be something wrong a doctor may have missed. They must have an underlying condition they never knew about. We look for reasons in sudden death and take comfort that they died to go to a better place after suffering. If they die in their sleep then it is a relief they went peacefully. If it is a tragedy then we seek to lay blame.
Your loved one is now a body rather than a person. If it’s your mother, she changed your nappy and fed you as a child now you cannot do anything except stand and watch while others make them presentable for the coffin. You touch their face or hands while you are waiting and suddenly you know what cold is. This isn’t the cold of a winter’s morning; it is the cold of future days gone where you will walk alone only with the memories of your loved one. You scramble to recall every memory you can; wonder where the photos are and home videos.
But there are so many photos but not enough. Even they betray an ephemeral existence because once you find the last photo that is it. And you think I should have taken more photos and not rushed out the door. I should have rang every day; I should have texted more. Oh shit did they remember the day i snapped at them? Did I hurt them more than i thought? Did they die with that memory?
When things like this happen, people will tell you your stories. It is an attempt to make you feel you are not alone but it doesn’t help. That was their loved one; they could not possibly understand how their loss can be compared to your loss. It’s your limbo, gold gilded just for you.
It is almost like the world is spinning round you as you stand in the eye of the storm. Everyone is helping but your head is shattered into a thousand places.
You will look at this cooling body trying to think of all the sandwiches to be made and that the house needs cleaned because you know how fussy they were over the state of the house. Imagine the neighbours coming in and seeing dirty cupboards; they talk forever. Your head fills with these because it is better than imagining the moment that lid will go on the coffin forever. It is better than imaging them lying under the ground and what happens to things that are no longer alive. What if they wake up and die of suffocation because we got it all wrong. Could it be a coma from a bee sting? A puffer fish?
In the end you ask where did they go? Are they watching and proud of the choices we are making for their send off. Aw, sure they would have said, light a match and throw me out the back, they laugh. Wheel me to the graveyard in a shopping trolley. Your face creases into a smile but it is a mask as this turmoil storms behind your eyes. Others will examine how grief stricken you seem and criticise you for not wallowing 24 hour tear fests. Even then when you think you have no more tears to cry, you will break at some point. The slightest thing will trigger it and you will be overwhelmed. After that you will carry it with you forever when it will surface from time to time.
Standing over the open grave as the coffin is lowered, your heart thuds still waiting for that spark of hope that they will tap that coffin lid or a misdiagnosis will suddenly appear reversing everything. As the family toss single flowers down the hole before handfuls of dirt are tossed in, the crowd are a dull drone in the background. Your grief is a solo trip where others will hold your hand if you let them. You are alone yet surrounded by love; it just depends if you put a wall up and keep that loving help away.
This is what happens when you lose someone you love; welcome to Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode, The Body.
If you identify with this and need to talk, reach out; there is always someone there ready to listen. Watch the episode because you will see yourself in it. No matter where we are or whom we lose, grief is universal; tears are all transparent like an opens sky where our loved ones are looking down from; you hope.
Message me if you want; you’ll be helping me as much I’ll be helping you. Stay strong.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright Disney
So as of episode four of the Acolyte, I will not be reviewing it. I had no idea of the behind the scenes rubbish about R2D2 being a lesbian and C3P0 being gay. Lead actress Amandla Stenberg seems to think all Star Wars nerds are gay; at least the ones she knows. The amount of disrespect I am seeing towards long time fans is disgusting. I am rarely shocked or taken aback by anything but those attitudes just suck. The more Disney does with Star Wars, the more it diminishes the magic of the originals and I count the sequels in that sphere.
Apparently the Acolyte was described by critics as the gayest Star Wars yet but I never saw that. All I am seeing is something that started promisingly but had reduced to lazy writing, cliché and woke claptrap. If ever there was a saga that real world agendas should never be allowed in, Star Wars is it. There is a timeless fairy tale quality about it that dissolved the minute Osha asked was their tracker creature a he or a they. It jarred so badly and brought the galaxy far, far away slap bang into our front doors.
But the purpose of this article is to highlight that these writers and directors actually have no idea what they are doing. When the idea of a Jedi Wookie was put to Director Leslye Headland she was all for it. It is also something fans have wanted to see as it would be fascinating to see how a volatile Wookie fits into the Jedi way.
The idea of a Wookie Jedi in live action is pure gold but, like the actor Charlie Barnett that plays Yord who thinks that Anakin Skywalker blew up the Death Star as does his co-stars who never corrected him, it is clear the writers and director had no idea what to do with such a character
We have had Wookie Gungi who has appeared in the animated shows The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch. But the idea of a live action Wookie Jedi is too good to resist. Given the anticipation we were sure that the showrunners would deliver in spades.
We should have known better.
Kelnacca played by The Force Awakens Chewbacca, Joonas Suotamo is mentioned and revealed as a Wookie early on in the show. Now the smart money would have been to keep his Jedi heritage a secret and just promote that there would be a new Wookie character. The drama and reveal would be carefully drip fed until he whipped a sabre out in battle but sadly no. He was just there. Other characters spoke about the Wookie Jedi openly spoiling the secret. If it was meant to get us excited then it failed badly. We learn that after the events of Brendok, Kelnacca cleared off in shame to the planet Kohfar to get away from people because of his shame.
The photos released gave the impression of a wise Jedi master different in nature to Chewbacca from the design alone. A trait they did share we would discover is that Wookie’s are good mechanics. These photos merely stirred the pot. however his first appearance at the end of episode two fell flatter than a pancake.
We see scavengers looting from some type of settlement before Kelnacca runs out of the forest and scares them off by using the Force. The audience, including me got excited as would meet him in a fully fleshed manner in episode three but that didn’t happen. Kelnacca is one of four Jedi being hunted and murdered by Mae for what happened on Brendok; something so terrible that Kelnacca went into self imposed isolation. Mae is on the way to find him as are Osha, Sol, Yord and other Jedi but episode three was a flashback to the events on Brendok. Kelnacca is finally seen in full Jedi robes yet contributes nothing to the story at all. He is simply wallpaper. Ok we thought, episode four will put him front and centre.
All we get is finding his dead body sitting upright slain by a lightsabre. And that’s it.
Never have I seen such a wasted opportunity to create a character that will impact the Star Wars universe. Why was Leslye Headland so excited about this inclusion yet did nothing with it? The writers delivered nothing new, creative or never been done before with a character that has never been done before in live action. We have seen Chewbacca, his family in the Holiday Special and the Wookie army in Revenge of the Sith. Kelcanna was a character that could open up the Wookie species even more letting the audience explore and learn about a new aspect of their existence.
But am I surprised? No not really. The Acolyte writers have done a lazy job on the show; pace and the buildup of drama is sorely missing. We have cliché after cliché with twins divided by good and evil, space witches that cackle just like the ones out of Hansel and Gretel and the Jedi council who refuse to act even though they know there is something brewing out there that is killing their kind. It is very sloppy and in Kelnacca’s death episode characters switch purposes at the drop of a hat.
Are the writers not excited by the possibilities to do something new and evocative? Do they see Star Wars characters in a certain way and are afraid to let them step outside what has gone before? Or have they been censored in some way to keep things as fans “expect” them to be? Sorry but just having a Wookie walk in wearing a Jedi robe and adding nothing or participating in the action is criminal. We know Disney’s vision of Star Wars has been sinking fast under a wave of woke nonsense, causing them to lose billions with the Mandalorian being only the real runaway success story. Ahsoka also suffered from plodding storylines that led to a end of season cliffhanger that nobody got excited by. But at least their characters get to do things.
Poor Kelnacca got to do nothing and his onscreen time in four episodes has been less than ten minutes, if he returns in flashback in the remaining episodes it will be case of so what?
A Wookie walking the line between following the Jedi way and their volatile nature is TV gold. What would that lightsaber battle look like? Down to basics, it is Bigfoot using magic. Shame on you Disney and shame on you headland and co for showing the world just how little you know about interesting characters and creating drama.
Kelcanna the Jedi Master Wookie: rest in peace. You were nothing but an unfulfilled promise.
Amendment: Kelnacca did indeed return in flashback in episode 7. He cooked and did a spot of metal detecting. He was also possessed by the coven and tried to kill Sol and Torbin in a sabre fight. I thought for a moment I had been premature in my article but no. The chance was there to see a Jedi Wookie in full bloodthirsty battle mode being controlled by witches but it wasn’t taken. It was just a standard sabre fight with nothing spectacular about it. Now if it had been Kelnacca that slayed every witch in a possession gone wrong because they underestimated a Wookie’s rage then I would have deleted the above. If nothing else episode 7 proved my point. I rest my case.
So one day when I was heading towards the Titanic Quarter, we were driving across the dual carriageway when I looked down to my left and saw Princess Leia looking up at me. I had seen other celebrity faces there before notably Jack Nicholson on another trip.
I had to see it close up simply because of the Star Wars connection so made a point of finding out exactly what part of the city this mural was in. And lo and behold it was closer than I thought. So I finally got down and had a look for myself and was surprised to find she was joined by another Star Wars legend, Harrison Ford and some other legends. These murals are the work of the talented students up at the Art College. Check them out on Corporation Street Belfast. Check the photos out below and vissit if you can but be warned, do it on a quiet day as there are cars parked in front of them during the week making it hard for photographs.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors ad Zombie Blues
Photo copyright bbc
So who didn’t ask the question during the 60th anniversary, where the hell is Martha Jones?
Now when she left the Doctor in The Last of the Time Lords, we met up with her in The Sontaran Strategem where the Doctor had arranged for her to join UNIT. When we met her again for the last time in the End of Time, she was out alien hunting with one Mickey Smith, her now husband. Many hoped she would make an appearance as Kate Stewart began a new programme of recruiting the Doctor’s old companions to work for UNIT and help defend the Earth.
And now we finally get to see her again in the brand new spin off The War Between the Land and the Sea (a working title apparently). We can only speculate as to whether Kate Stewart, Mel, Ace, Tegan or Donna join her for this limited series. The story will be set in a small English town when the Sea Devils raise their aquatic heads again to claim back their world. I cannot be the only one excited by this.
While Martha has already met Donna but not the others. Having Martha fight alongside Ace, Tegan and maybe bring Graham back too given he fancies Ace, would be heaven. Tegan has already met the Samurai version of the Sea Devils in the far future along with the Silurians so surely we need her expertise. Not forgetting Jo Grant of course who battled the monsters alongside the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee. The opportunity to do these types of things should not be squandered so let’s hope it delivers as well as Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures did.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright Paramount
Mental health is such a huge issue and for men, especially these days, a subject that to a degree remains taboo. Many do not feel “Manly” by admitting their feelings and issues. Revealing to someone that you, the man, are breaking down mentally and feeling like life is no longer worth living is difficult to admit. But it is vital. Everyone has been there. I have been there. Some days I still am and to a degree I am a hypocrite because I will put on the mask and bury this pain until it goes to sleep; at least until it wakes up again.
Suicide leaves scars that never heal especially when it is so unexpected that we spend the rest of our lives wondering were there signs we missed? We feel responsible for not seeing the pain in someone we may see every day and love so much. But mental health is very good a hiding behind the clown.
Chat shows, podcasts, social media and adverts tell us all to take off the mask and open up to someone, anyone. Television shows, especially the soaps, run storylines highlighting the issue and put up adverts at the end credits telling you that if you are affected to contact certain organisations. Sci-fi is equally a vital platform for this and to be honest I can’t recall many. Two stand out though; Doctor Who’s The Doctor and Vincent brutally explored Van Gogh’s mental health illness. Tony Curran is superb as the troubled painter and the Doctor is visibly thrown by the switching moods. One minute he is screaming at the Doctor in tears, the following morning Vincent is all smiles.
But the one that stands out for me is the Star Trek Deep Space 9 episode Hard Time. Dublin born Colm Meaney gives the most heart wrenching masterclass in portraying someone on the very edge of suicide. It is ridiculous that sci-fi shows do not get the recognition they deserve because this is a prime example of a performance that makes you cry and at the same time delivers the message without ramming it down your throat. When a performance on screen makes you feel uncomfortable because you see something of yourself or someone you know/love in it, it is time to listen.
So let’s go back to the beginning. Chief Miles Edward O’Brien is the everyman of science fiction. He is a grafter, loves a beer, goes to work everyday, loves his family and is the man you can depend on in a crisis. He is loyal, honest and the best friend you can ever have. Ask Julian Bashir. O’Brien is the one most likely to swear in front of the captain; the one that will cheer Bashir up by taking him to Quark’s holosuite for a visit to the Alamo or the Battle of Britain. He befriends the underdog like Rom the Ferengi.
He is the Chief. And that word alone conveys to everyone on Deep Space 9 and on the Enterprise that he is the rock they can depend on.
In Hard Time the Chief wakes up believing he has been in prison for 20 years. Accused of spying, he undergoes an alien mind therapy that lets him serve out his sentence in his head. In reality a few hours have passed but for O’Brien life in Starfleet is a long lost dream.
When Kira brings him back to the station, it is clear that O’Brien is disorientated. His memories of the prison and the reality of being back in the real world throw his perception. While Kira tries to reassure him that the prison was fake, he tells her it was real to him. His best friend Doctor Julian Bashir keeps everyone away when O’Brien returns to the station. When Julian asks did he interact with anyone in the prison, O’Brien says he was totally alone. In reality via flashback we see he had a cellmate, Ee’char played by Craig Wasson. Ee’char is funny, amiable, delighted to have someone to talk to after 6 years of isolation and teaches O’Brien how to draw patterns in the dirt floor to pass the time and let his mind free itself from the cell.
Bashir tells Keiko, O’Brien’s wife that what her husband experienced was intense and are memories as real as the ones he had before the therapy. Here we get to see the assumption that O’Brien will be fine because he has been through a lot previously. Bashir lists the Cardassian war, when he was taken by the Paradans and his kangaroo court trial at the hands of the Cardassians. Bashir says O’Brien has always survived. He will be fine with time.
How often have you heard that in your lives? We see that the person has survived that or gotten through that. They are made of strong stuff and could have been worse but at the end of the day, just because someone survives something doesn’t mean it hasn’t scarred them. It can fester in the background coming to the fore in those quiet moments. It can be triggered by the slightest of things.
When O’Brien asks the replicator for Cheelesh fruit, the machine does not recognise it. It was something he ate in prison. O’Brien is shaken and when he meets Keiko again, he has forgotten she is pregnant with their second child. He cannot even return her embrace at first. The pain on his face as they hug is obvious. He is sullen and quiet.
O’Brien is sent to counselling but it is clear he is lying to everyone even Keiko. When she remarks that it must be strange to have a family again he answers that he was alone for so long again perpetuating the lie to the outside world when inside is a very different story.
But his actions again betray that his head is not quite there. At the dinner table he begins hoarding food in a napkin because he was literally starved in prison. He doesn’t even realise he is doing it until Keiko mentions it. He even sleeps on the floor without realising it.
Does that ring any bells with any of you? Does someone you know suddenly act out of character? I don’t mean by exploding and shouting but subtle small gestures that they are not aware of. Again this is a sign that something else is going on inwardly.
Worf spends time with him playing darts and offering to go kayaking but the fun isn’t there for O’Brien anymore. He begins to see Ee’char on the station. Bashir is watching him closely as both his friend and doctor. When he pulls O’Brien for not attending his counselling sessions, O’Brien yells at him. He turns on him angrily telling him he hasn’t missed his smug, superior attitude. He warns him that if he knows what’s good for him, Bashir will stay the hell away from him. These two are best buddies, like brothers so to see O’Brien threaten Bashir is disturbing. Meaney looks like he could actually hit him as all the frustration and anger boils up inside him. he just wants to be left alone.
There’s an old saying, you take it out on the ones you love. When you are hurting it is inevitably and always the people you love most you lash out at. We as the audience know O’Brien has a secret that is killing him mentally and is not coping even though he is back to work.
In flashback we see O’Brien beginning to crumble under life in the prison. He shouts at Ee’char just as he did Bashir, threatening him and destroying his sand drawings. We get to see that his mental health began to deteriorate while in the fake scenario.
O’Brien’s mental health continues to spiral as he attacks Quark, threatening to break his arm for not serving him quick enough and almost hits his daughter, Molly. He has conversations with Ee’char. He pushes him away just like everyone else but Ee’char insists he needs him more than ever, Ee’char tells O’Brien he is worried about him but the Chief insists he is fine. When Ee’char pushes as to why he is here, O’Brien tells him he doesn’t know nor care. Distancing himself from life and people is getting the Chief attention he does not want. He is running away from everything including what’s in his head.
Sisko knows that O’Brien is worse than he appears to be and insists he get to counselling and is fooling no-one except himself putting him on medical leave. Sisko is frustrated but that echoes real life. The people that are around us notice and denial and pushing them away are not a solution. It leaves them in a limbo when they know the person they care about is sinking but cannot do anything about it. All they want is for them to say ‘help me’. Here O’Brien angrily confronts Bashir again and tells him he never asked for his help. When Bashir snaps that he didn’t need to ask because he is his doctor and friend, he doesn’t realise that Ee’char is standing behind him urging O’Brien to ask for help. O’Brien explodes that he is not his friend anymore because the O’Brien he knew died in the cell. Bashir thinks he is talking to him but O’Brien is using the same anger to push Ee’char away as he is using on his best friend.
None of them can see what O’Brien sees. His world doesn’t match the one they are in so he is floundering, drowning in his own confusion. Isn’t that how we all feel sometimes? That people don’t see what we see; that they don’t understand and that the best thing to do is go away. In our heads we no longer fit to be in anyone’s company because the person they knew is not there anymore. So what is the point if we are the only voice in the world? Guilt is destroying O’Brien’s world and when he and Ee’char clash we discover that O’Brien is pushing Bashir away because friendship now means pain. In his head, O’Brien is protecting his brother from another mother because O’Brien no longer knows himself or trusts himself so how can he expect Bashir or anyone else to know and love him? In his damaged perception O’Brien is a danger to them all and he needs to go. He is trapped by his own thoughts and no avenue to vent them except on those around him. Even Dax gets it in the neck and she adores the Chief.
Lost especially after roaring at and nearly hitting Molly, O’Brien smashes up a cargo bay. He snaps and sets a phaser to maximum to blow his head off. Bashir finds him with the phaser under his chin ready to die. He is going to kill himself to keep everyone safe from this new dangerous version of O’Brien. Meaney actually looks like he’s crying here as he finally admits to the existence of Ee’char and how O’Brien murdered him. They were starving; O’Brien was going crazy with hunger. They go to sleep for the night but he sees Ee’char taking food from a secret hiding place. He attacks him calling him out for not being a friend and kills him accidentally. He doesn’t realise Ee’char only did it at sleep because the guards would not be about to take it from them.
Ee’char was O’Brien’s best friend as is Bashir. He hates himself for being an animal. He took a life for a scrap of bread. Bashir talks him down. If the old O’Brien was truly gone then he wouldn’t be feeling as he does. That is why Ee’char is appearing to him because O’Brien’s mind is trying to save him. And isn’t that part of the dangers of mental health; what they see is not what is in front of them. Their perceptions see a false reality they cannot cope with causing them to meltdown. Meaney here would bring tears to a stone. Ee’char finally says goodbye as O’Brien comes to terms with what he did.
Bashir stops his friend from taking his own life because O’Brien finally admits what he is going through. If he had died then his family and colleagues would have forever wondered why. They would have been haunted by a million ‘what-ifs’ and ‘could have beens’. It echoes life as the person suffering keeps it all in and has no self worth. That lack of self worth projects on to their nearest and dearest with bouts of anger and rage directed at whomever is in the way because it is not what the person with the issue has. Taking that first step to talk is so important but sadly not everyone has a Bashir to check up on them and prevent a tragedy from happening. Someone once said never underestimate the size of the hole you will leave in the lives of those those you leave behind. I know one time I was ready to go, someone said to me that if I did anything stupid, a lot of people would miss me. I couldn’t see it and still can’t really but I appreciate those around me. I love those around me. Sometimes a few words is all it takes to break a dark spell. We have people all around us desperate to help. Kirk once said that the most important three words in the English language are not “I love you” but “let me help.” If the friendship is strong enough then all it takes is a nod of the head; there won’t always be hugs because a lot of people still don’t hug especially men but that bond is strengthened by the smallest of acknowledgements.
The shocker is that ordinary Joe Bloggs Miles O’Brien is not beyond mental collapse. He has so much to live for; strip away the sci-fi trappings and you have a working man who has a young daughter and a pregnant wife. He has a good job and friends that love him. There is nothing there he can complain about. No one is immune from this; it can affect anyone at any time even those you think have a perfect life. But that is part of the false perceptions; living fake lives to make the mundane reality feel good.
And yet when he has a breakdown, none of that matters. He believes that they would all be better off without him in their worlds. His secret is such a dagger into who he is as a person that he can’t cope with it. His self worth is destroyed because he did something he never thought he would do; murdered his best friend over a piece of bread. O’Brien prides himself on being a loyal friend and yet he commits this act.
How many times have we said that in real life? How many suicides have there been where you just cannot understand why because there were no signs. O’Brien is lucky because his friends know him better than he does right now. There are warning signs. Look at the people you care about, maybe not love but work with and laugh with because you never know.
Now there is no perfect solution here. There is no reset button. O’Brien is prescribed drugs for his condition and they use the word depression. In the 24th century they can cure cancer and fly through the stars but depression is still very much an issue and still very much the reason we should take a moment to take stock. When I went to kill myself there was no plan, no list; I just snapped and went to do it there and then and nothing was going to stop me. What did stop me was the fact that there were no tablets to take for an overdose that night.
Now this is just one aspect of mental illness; it is not the whole spectrum and circumstance but it contains the elements that we need to look at and discuss. There are people that display on outward signs. So it is important check on your circle regularly.
Show this to someone, anyone and see if anything triggers with you about it. At the story’s end O’Brien has a long way to go and you are left in no doubt that it is going to be a long road. But now he recognises that he has a network round him that will love and support every time he falls. Look around you and for the first time see, really see those that will take your hand and save you from drowning.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright Paramount Pictures
I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.
Time itself was changed in season two of Star Trek Enterprise. Earth is attacked by an alien weapon that cuts through Florida killing seven million people including chief engineer Trip Tucker’s (Connor Trinneer) sister Elizabeth. Originating from an area of space called the Expanse, the Enterprise led by Captain Archer (Quantum Leap’s Sam, Scott Bakula) must track down and prevent a second weapon being launched by this new mysterious enemy called the Xindi.
The third season would be a continuing story as the crew race to save Earth. It had massive balls with Archer going against everything he believed in to ensure the mission succeeds, Trip’s breakdown over the murder of his sister and T’Pol becoming addicted to Trellium D.
It also took the enemy in a new unexpected direction. The Xindi were not a singular species but a conglomerate of several species; the aquatics, the extinct avians, the humanoids/primates, the arboreals, the Insectoids and the reptiles. They have been lied to by interdimensional aliens called the sphere builders aka the Guardians. These aliens have built massive spheres all through the Expanse which generate matter and mind altering random anomalies. They can destroy a ship and at one point cause Archer to lose his long term memory in Twilight where the Xindi have reduced humanity to several thousand hiding refugees.
The sphere builders have convinced the Xindi council that Earth will wipe them out in the future and they must strike first. Degra, the humanoid that built the weapon has doubts as he wonders how many of the dead were children as his own third child died of a disease. However before Archer manages to convince them that the spheres will actually destroy the Expans leaving the Xindi dead and their space terraformed to allow the the sphere builders to live there, they are united in their decision to destroy Earth. They do not believe that their home will be turned into a transdimensional wasteland. As Archer points out later, the sphere builders, the Guardians, have not shown them where the new Xindi homeworld will be.
Commander Dolim leader of the reptilians is the most stoic in protecting their heritage against the humans. He picks one of his own men to pilot the first weapon that kills seven million, something he is proud of; a suicide mission. The reptilians are more powerful physically than humans and their hatred for them knows no bounds. In Carpenter Street Archer and T’Pol are sent back to present day Detroit by time agent and former crew member in the Temporal Cold War Daniels.
The reptilians have sent back a squad with the help of the sphere builders to take samples of all human blood types in order to release a virus that will destroy a percentage of the human race so they cannot destroy the Xindi in the future. It is certain Dolim has known about this operation and fully endorsed it. While Dolim believes his resilience is a testament to reptilian loyalty to the Xindi legacy, it actually shows how easily the sphere-builders can manipulate him. All they need to do is feed his fear about losing everything they hold dear and they will do anything to ensure their own interests are maintained even if that means the genocide of an entire species. Nor does he have any qualms about murdering any Xindi that waver in the face of killing all humans. They are not held back by doubts like Degra is. Dolim is ensuring that no children of the reptilians or any of the other Xindi are killed under the heel of human brutality.
In Twilight we see what happens when the Xindi weapon succeeds in destroying Earth. All human colonies are wiped out by the Xindi forces leaving just a few thousand in hiding. The Xindi have been relentless in eradicating the humans while keeping peace with the likes of the Vulcans and Andorains.
There is no doubt Dolim led these forces keeping his promise to kill all humans no matter where they were. In Azati Prime Archer goes to face the Xindi and plead his case. Daniels showed him the future where the Xindi are part of the Federation and fighting the treacherous sphere builders. He gives Archer a Xindi badge from the future that will sway them to his cause that the sphere builders have lied all along. Tortured and beaten, Archer manages to persuade the other council members that he is telling the truth and finally the pieces begin to fall into place to the Xindi about the sphere builders. All that is but Dolim who has ordered an all out attack on the Enterprise. In a stunning sequence and cliffhanger, the Enterprise is reduced to a damaged hulk with critical losses. Dolim’s brutal treatment and questioning of Archer brings the other Xindi to stand against Dolim’s methods and override his orders. His assurances are dismissed as his previous behaviour has shown otherwise. This defiance only fires Dolim’s determination to destroy Earth. He sees his fellow species falling under the influence of Archer especially Degra but Dolim refuses to believe the evidence shown to him which even carbon dating proves is genuine. The false future shown to him by the sphere builders is one step closer to happening. It is not surprising Dolim fears it and will do whatever he takes to save his society.
He murders Degra for treason and takes control of the launch of the weapon. Dolim defies the other council members and launches the weapon. He steals Hoshi (Linda Park) from the Enterprise to use her linguistic abilities to complete the weapon’s codes. Again her treatment shows Dolim’s brutality as she is nearly mentally fried. He orders her operated on seeing her strong will as something of a challenge to be conquered. She is injected with parasites that will reconfigure her brain and Dolim actually thanks her for her assistance before she spits in his face. Dolim is a master strategist and with the insectoids on his side, his plan is close to succeeding. The reptilians are as ruthless in battle as he Jem’Hadar were in Deep Space 9. They will stop at nothing to succeed. He has risked civil war between the Xindi without a care for the consequences. It is something he throws in the sphere builder’s face when he challenges her just how convenient her ability to see timelines are whenever it suits her. Despite his suspicions given Archer’s evidence, Dolim is still intent on his mission. It seems by his very nature he covers all bases regardless of other Xindi’s voices.
With such seething hatred for humans and especially Archer, Dolim is on board the weapon as it finally comes in range of Earth while the captain sabotages the weapon before it can fire. Facing an enemy like Dolim brings to the surface in Archer his own base urges. He can no longer maintain a Starfleet standard while fighting Dolim. They go hand to hand but Dolim is bigger and more powerful than his human foe. The fight is bloody and brutal but Dolim’s arrogance quickly dissolves as he realises he has underestimated Archer. The captain cannot defeat the reptilian with force so slips a magnetic bomb on his armour. Dolim is blown apart moments before his moment of glory realising that his glory is now like him; in pieces.
Scott McDonald played Dolim and has appeared in Deep Space 9’s first season as Tosk (Captive Pursuit), a Romulan, a Jem’Hadar and was able to appear with no makeup in Voyager’s pilot, Caretaker. While Tosk is his most sympathetic role in Star Trek and a great partner for Miles O’Brien, Dolim is the most ruthless of all. But every villain is more than just a one dimensional character. Dolim is just someone that is protecting everything he holds dear and being a being of duplicity and doubt, he sees it everywhere. Even when the evidence indicates otherwise, there is still a chance things could go wrong. He sees anything that can derail his plans as interference and if necessary blow it out of existence before it impairs him. As we learn throughout the season, there was a great war in which the reptilians lost their homeworld and saw the airborne avians as their brothers. Dolim has always believed the reptilians should have been the dominant species in Xindi culture so he is pleased the sphere builders have chosen them to carry out the destruction of Earth. With that world destroyed the reptilians will head a brand new Xindi empire led by Dolim. Plus any species that eats mice live is never ever to be trusted; yes I’m talking to you Diana and co over at V the mini series.
Dlim was a great villain especially in one of the most pivotal and successful seasons of Star Trek. It’s a fitting he died as any return would have eventually diminished the power of his status as one of the best villains in Star Trek history.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright BBC
If you think that fandom is divided these days over Doctor Who, then you should have been there in the 80s. Compared to then what is happening now is a tea party.
Back then fans did not like where the show was heading, they hated Colin Baker’s outfit and there were fanzine campaigns, some quite personal against people involved in making the show both behind and in front of the camera. Even the BBC controller Michael Grade hated the show and wanted it gone. The claims that the show was becoming kid unfriendly and too violent was as we know now bullshit so the first cancellation was quickly changed to a hiatus to revamp the show. But as we now know the producer John Nathan Turner was forced to stay at the helm of Doctor Who. He was the one forced to sack Colin Baker from the role of the Doctor making him the scapegoat for failing ratings. The Trial of a Timelord was going to fail no matter what. This sea of hate was ridiculous and confined to one section of fandom.
When Bonnie Langford was brought in as new companion Melanie Bush, the fans went mental. Her introduction had never been done before and her reputation as a former child star was all certain people could see.
She was unfairly dissed by fandom at the time as another example of John Nathan Turner’s predilection for star names in the show. Rumours say JNT wanted a red-haired companion and Bonnie fitted the role. However a lot of JNT’s ideas are used today. Bottom line was the BBC didn’t want the show any more. Ironic given it is one of their biggest money makers. It just shows if the wrong man is at the top of an organisation that doesn’t like you then you’re screwed.
Bonnie was not given a chance at all by certain very vocal fans, which at the time I thought was pathetic and I still do. Indeed she and Sylvester McCoy went on Open Air to be told by some spotty teenage Doctor Who fans the show sucked.
Actions like this only harm the show and helped executives to end it once and for all (almost). When fandom and certain individuals think their opinion matters in the making of the show it’s time to tell them where to go and that unfortunately was what Bonnie wandered into. I remember the late Barbara Windsor being hurt at the late Leslie Grantham’s comments at her casting as Peggy Mitchell which was not good as it knocked the reality of the show. As Babs said, she’s an actress that needs to earn a crust and Bonnie was the same. By the way, a webcam ended Leslie’s time on EastEnders and Babs went on to leave a successful reign in EastEnders in a blaze of glory and sensational storyline. Not bad for someone that affected the “reality” of the show.
One of the spotty teenagers on Open Air was future showrunner Chris Chibnall. Jump forward to today and how things have changed. Chibnall is universally hated for his piss poor era and Bonnie is back gaining a new generation of fans as the 21st century Mel.
Bonnie was a veteran of stage and screen with an exemplary CV at a young age and a victim of one of her roles – which I’m not going to mention as everyone knows it – and it’s not fair to be labelled just for that one role. Fandom can be so blinkered and narrow-minded when it comes to actors because that’s what they are – actors! Thank God that sort of fandom has been pushed to the background by a new generation of open-minded fans. They are still there, licking their wounds, but since Stephen Moffat has stated he would cast anyone if they suited the role, virtually vindicating JNT’s policy of putting well known people in his era. Remember Nicholas Parsons as the vicar in the classic story Curse of Fenric? He was known as a game show host but had a substantial movie resume and he absolutely shone in the Fenric arc. Watch it for yourself. Nuff said!
Bonnie had an unusual entrance for a companion. She was first seen in a future adventure where it was established she had been travelling with the sixth Doctor for a while. Her background was that she was a computer genius from Pease Pottage who first met the Doctor when the Master tried to commit some scheme and she saved the day with her skills earning her the chance aboard the Tardis. Mel was a health nut trying to help the Doctor get fit which echoed real life as Colin was losing weight to raise money for a cot death charity.
She was pulled out of time by the Master along with Sabalom Glitz to help with the Doctor’s defence to stop the Valeyard. She ended up back on the Tardis but sloppy writing did not make it clear if she continued from that point in time or had returned to her proper place in time so she could meet the Doctor again and let time flow as it should. Thankfully the BBC novels and Missing Adventures series sorted that plot point out for the sake of continuity. She was also one of the few that oversaw a regeneration when the sixth became the seventh.
Mel was a screamer, the first to have her pitch added to the cliffhanger to tie in with the theme music but she had, pardon the expression, balls. She and the Doctor had a great time together; her fitness element dropped quickly as they battled the Rani, Kroagnon in Paradise Towers – where she was almost eaten by cannibal pensioners – and killed by robot crabs and battled the Bannermen in a 1950s Butlins camp before deciding to leave in Dragonfire to travel with Sabalom Glitz. This strange last-minute departure made no sense character-wise but was necessary to make way for Ace. It had to do with behind the scenes negotiations and Bonnie decided to go.
This was resolved in the novel Head Games where it was revealed that the Doctor, having realised that Ace was part of Fenric’s trap, telepathically made Mel leave to protect her which she wasn’t happy about especially as she later died, shot to death in a future book.
However, like everyone else, she has been redeemed in both books and especially in the Big Finish audio stories where she is portrayed as the companion she should have been, even being tricked into working for Davros and together Mel and the sixth Doctor shine. Now fans love her.
Then in the Jodie Whittaker finale story Power of the Doctor Mel turned up with a host of other companions. It was the eve of the sixtieth anniversary and we knew that Mel would be returning to battle alongside Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor. Mel is now working for UNIT, recruited by Kate Stewart. When she meets the 14th Doctor it is beautifully underplayed. She hands him a file before he notices it is her. We get to hear that once Sabolom Glitz died after slipping on a whiskey bottle she decided to return to Earth. With her family dead, Kate brought her into the UNIT family alongside Ace and Tegan. She faces the Toymaker and becomes the one that brings the 15th Doctor into the world.
Mel is now an active agent working undercover to discover the secret of Susan Triad. It is Mel that makes the 15th Doctor run from Sutekh and saves them both from the dust of death. Along with Ruby and the Doctor, Mel enters the memory Tardis where she hugs the sixth Doctor’s coat. It is a nice moment reminding us where she started. But as Sutekh begins to possess her, it is a shock moment to see the lovable Mel an acolyte of Sutekh with her skull face. Mel is such a three dimensional character now but it shows that with the right writing Mel shines. She was always plucky nd brave and as part of UNIT, even more so now.
She is a fully fledged member of the Noble family, mad Aunty Mel. How lovely that it is Mel is the companion that bridges the generations and is able to be part of the 14th Doctor’s life even travelling with him again in the Tardis. You cannot underestimate just how vital that is given she is part of the group that is there to help the Doctor heal from all his trauma by being his family. She used to look after his physical health and now she is helping his mental health. That is lost for many fans who never really saw her tenure the first time round with the 6th Doctor.
Overall, Mel was a victim of politics, bad writing and full-of-themselves fandom but real fans gave her a chance and have come to adore her as her character was expanded and deepened in the plays. But now she is back, better than ever and proving that Mel is one of the most pivotal companions in all Doctor Who history. It’s wonderful to see her back nd kicking ass again.
Welcome back, Bonnie, this house always loved you and now everyone does. It’s about time.
Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Copyright
To honour the first anniversary of the death of actor Julian Sands we look back at the 1989 time travelling magic feature Warlock starring Richard E Grant as Redferne and Julian Sands as the titular Warlock along with Fame star Lori Singer as Kassandra. The Warlock has murdered Redferne’s wife and has been captured and sentenced to death. However Satan intervenes sending the Warlock forward to the 20th century to find the Grimoire, a book of great power which contains the name of God. If God’s true name is spoken backwards then all of creation will be unravelled allowing Satan to rise upon the Earth. Redferne and Kassandra race against time and across country to stop Hell from being unleashed on Earth.
Warlock is a great little movie that still stands the test of time. Sands and Grant as adversaries are pure magic. Sands’ voice is just smooth as silk as he murders his way across the country to find the book. Grant on the other hand with his thick Scottish accent is, switching from manic to the most human soul of all in a split second. His language is so charming and of his time that this fish out of water story makes for endless entertainment.
He is a passionate and emotional man driven by the grief of being a widower who has the chance to avenge his wife. More so when he learns of the Grimoire, the stakes are even higher. The initially skeptical Kassandra slowly realises that Redferne is their only hope and not a madman especially when she finds herself aging to death thanks to a Warlock spell. Now she must join forces with an ancient Scottish warrior in order to save not only herself but the entire world. While Kassandra starts off as a stereotypical character, all mouth and attitude, the further the movie progresses the more she moves beyond the stereotype and into a woman of action who can fight for herself. It is she who breaks the aging spell as she fights the Warlock. She now sees that the world is bigger than she thought and that it is something she just can’t ignore. In essence she ends up being the one that protects a very confused Redferne against 20th century idiosyncrasies. She has to get him over his fear of flying so they can locate the last piece of the Grimoire and keep him focused on the mission.
In return Redferne educates her in the ways of magic and how the Warlock operates. When they end up at a Mennonite farm, she learns that the farmers there know all about the ways of magic and have been waiting for the day the Warlock came to darken their door. Kassandra realises that this battle between good and evil has been going on all around her and through the centuries while the world trundled on with its McDonalds, MTV and staged chat shows that kept the human populace distracted. This is best shown when they find Redferne’s grave and it throws him. She does have a soft spot for Redferne but ultimately knows it will go nowhere as he must go back to his own time having avenged his late wife. Kassandra evolves from an eighties chick to a young woman that strides into the world with new eyes.
It is no wonder that Richard E Grant has been touted as and did play Doctor Who (in the animated Scream of the Shalka and Curse of the Fatal Death). He is utterly convincing as a mad Highlander in his pursuit of the Warlock. He is manic but this suggests that he has seen the full force of the Warlock’ evils somewhere in the past. One can only imagine how he found his wife’s body after the Warlock has murdered her. Their battle has clearly been going on for a while and see each other as mortal enemies. It is inconceivable to Redferne that the 20th century is not aware of the dark ways of the Warlock even though it is all around them. It is a relief to him when he finally meets the Mennonite family who are fully versed in the ways of magic. As a fish out of water, he is terrified of airplanes and cannot fathom how much women have changed from his century. He is a man of intense curiosity as well as faith. He queries why Kassandra needs to wear makeup as his wife was beautiful enough not to need such paint. You can tell he is a very simple living man with a deep compassion for others. When he learns that a boy has been murdered by what the locals believe is a coyote, he knows better. He finds the mother and tells her he grieves with her over her loss. Such is his demeanor, the mother confirms that her son was not baptised. Redferne emotes an air of comfort and reassurance that despite his strange clothes and manner of speaking the woman confirms such a personal detail to a complete stranger.
But such a hero needs an equally worthy enemy and that is the Warlock personified. Julian Sands made this role his own returning to the role in the Grantless sequel Armageddon. He is pure evil, promised to become the AntiChrist when reality is rewritten. Warlock will sit by the Devil’s hand. He has no care or compassion for anyone, just a desire to cause chaos wherever he goes in order to satisfy his own dark needs.
Visually he is striking. That angular face with brown eyes, immaculately dressed in ornate black with his long blond hair tied back in a ponytail is not the typical villain’s image. As Clive Barker would say he speaks eloquent evil, the deceiver. Blond hair is usually associated with the good guys but through his actions from the very beginning of the movie there is nothing good at all about the Warlock,
He murders and tortures as casually as you would pick up a apple from a grocery store shelf. He murders Kassandra’s room mate Chas before going to see a fake psychic. He watches her fake display of spirit channeling with mild amusement before Satan possesses her instructing the Warlock to assemble the Grimoire. Once done with her he pulls her eyes out, using them as compasses to locate the three parts of the book. Sands is so cool and collected when commiting such acts that he steals the show lighting up the screen. He and Grant are electric together in their battle scenes yet apart they both still hold their own.
Equally, he tortures as casually by cursing Kassandra with an aging spell and a glib turn of phrase like many stars of eighties movies.
Reportedly, Sands wanted to go even further with the wickedness of the character when he murders a boy so he can drain his body of fat. This will enable him to fly as the boy was not baptised. Sands wanted the audience to see him suck the fat from the dead body but it was deemed too much. The image alone of this conjured in the audience’s mind is enough to clue the audience into how sick he is. Imagine how easy children were as prey to him in the olden times without the trimmings of the 20th century. His unique British accent delivers the lines so eloquently that the poor kid has no idea what is going to happen to him. Even when he tells the boy that not all witches are females, he does so like a kindly stranger. But when Kassandra manages to bash nails into his footprints and cripple him, we see the demonic fury beneath his milky bar kid exterior. Similarly the Mennonite farmer is struck by the Evil Eye before she can shackle the monster and even threatens to cause a priest’s wife’s miscarriage if he does not get what he wants.
He is as determined as Redferne to accomplish his goal but not even a Warlock can survive salt. He underestimates Kassandra who fills her insulin pen with salt water and injects him in the neck causing him to burst into flame.
Warlock stands the test of time with great characters, a solid story and a solid story. It put Julian Sands on the super villain playing fields and together with Richard E Grant left us a great pairing right up there with Holmes and Moriarty. Magic.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 