Television

Abominable Snowman’s Writer Dies

One of the most influential television writers of the 20th century and the writer of one of the most important motion pictures in Yeti cryptofiction has died. Earlier this year, I noted that director Val Guest died on May 10, 2006, in California. Now, Nigel has passed away. That would be Nigel Kneale, here pictured from the 1950s. At the Hammer Film’s site, in a remembrance there, writer Robert Simpson shares the sad news: Tom Kneale (better known as Nigel Kneale) died on Sunday 29 October 2006 aged 84. To many he was the godfather of television science fiction, a [...]

Halloween TV

As most of us have noticed, Halloween is a great time to catch up on all those documentaries or reality programming we didn’t see all year – or even for decades. Craig Woolheater’s image and mine have been rebroadcast all week, especially on the “Weird Travels” repeats. Here’s a few more to watch while you are waiting for the local trick or treaters to come around, or helping your own kids eat their candy. Monday, October 30, 2006 Travel Channel Weird Travels: Creepy Creatures 7:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2006 Travel Channel Weird Travels: Creepy Creatures 2:00 AM Tuesday, October [...]

Rich Dolan Comments On “Mothman”

As a comment to my review of the “Sci-Fi Investigates” program, one of the program’s four investigators, Richard Dolan, sent in a comment to my blog. I wish to bring his insights to a higher level of blog-awareness by posting it separately today. Richard M. Dolan Hello everyone, I’d like to extend my greetings to everyone and just say that I often enjoy reading the entries in here. I agree with other commentators that the absence of John Keel on this show was very unfortunate, as was the absence of Loren Coleman. I asked the producers about getting Keel on [...]

Sci-Fi’s Mothman Non-Investigation

On October 26, 2006, "Sci-fi Investigates" broadcast their "Mothman" episode. While it had a few moments that are pure entertainment and certainly funny, it had little or nothing to do with "investigating" Mothman or unexplained phenomena. The program was a forensic failure. Eyewitnesses were interviewed, sites were visited, group discussions were recorded, and more eyewitnesses were interviewed. The archival footage was interesting, but the repeating images of the collapsed bridge and created Mothman-in-flight scenes were visibly boring after their third time through. Come on, did they run out of b-roll so quickly? Skepticism and Ridicule Are Not the Same Thing [...]

Days of Mothman Malaise

Despite strange dark clouds on the horizon, there does seem to be more promising news on 76-year-old John A. Keel’s slow recovery from his heart attack. Keel, as this Mothman time of year rapidly approaches, is recuperating nicely, still in a New York-area hospital. He may be released today or tomorrow, and then be admitted to a rehab center for a few days of physical therapy. Details are still emerging about the recent events. Figuring out an exact date for Keel’s heart attack is developing into a mystery unto itself. He apparently had a covert one a few days before [...]

Mothman and Boston Rob

Looking ahead to next Wednesday’s "Mothman" episode of "Sci-Fi Investigates," here is today’s guest blog from John Frick, one of the cofounders of the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It has little to do with cryptozoology, but much to do with how this television program approached the subject. John Frick writes: On October 25, at 10 PM Eastern is the debut of the Mothman episode of "Sci-Fi Investigates" on the Sci-Fi channel. One of the principal investigators on the show is Boston Rob from "Survivor" fame, and he represents the critic. My brother, Tim, and I, once again [...]