Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The Blog of John Kenneth Muir

Today I have something a little different: A shout-out for a blogger who excels at reviewing and analyzing films and television programs, old and new. His name is John Kenneth Muir and his daily writings can be found here.

In addition to maintaining his blog, John is the author of several books on past television programs, including Doctor Who, Blake's 7, and Space: 1999. These books are not of the typical episode-guide and superficial overview type, but are in-depth treatises.

What I like about Mr Muir's blog postings is that, like the best film critics, which would include Toronto's own Geoff Pevere, he relates and compares the discussed work to the culture of the time -- when the 'art' was produced. This should be a very important component in critical reviews of an art form, especially a commercial one. What was happening culturally, politically, technologically, when something like The X-Files or King Kong hits the marketplace?

JKM's reviews are of 360 degrees.

John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV


2 comments:

Tibor said...

A friend of mine is a big "Blake's 7" fan. I never saw it at all on tv. Who carried it?

Simon St. Laurent said...

I think the first series (season) of "Blake's 7" is outstanding. I've barely touched the later series' but I understand they are a bit different. Paul Darrow is great as "Avon".

I first heard of "Blake's" back in 1978 but did not see an episode till one Sunday morning in 1991 when PBS played it.

Believe it or not the show has not seen a Region 1 DVD release. There are fans over here but no B-7 home-vid action.