shuvcat

I bought this as part of the MST3K series (a show I've recently become completely addicted to). And while I always love Mike and the bots' riffing ("Help, the road is attacking meeee!!"), I'm also kind of glad for the DVD inclusion of the original, uncut movie. Is it okay to admit I kind of actually *liked* this old clunker??

That's not to say it's completely undeserving of sneers. There's the just-can't-buy-it notion of a head being able to talk and breathe and laugh and *act* with no oxygen (no lungs!!) There's the overacting to painful degrees by both supporting actors (a Noel Coward song once begged Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage Mrs. Worthington-- but in Leslie Daniels' case the opposite might be begged; there are some actors that really oughta just stay on the stage, where the overdramatics would play better). And of course there's the hokey monster at the end. However, there's also performances of genuine creepiness from both leads, especially Virginia Leith as the undead head. Between her raspy voice (you try talking distinctly with *your* vocal cords sheared in half) and her honest amusement at the frightened lab assistant, she actually manages to be believable and menacing. Both she and Jason Evers as the power-drunk doctor/boyfriend get to transform through the movie from cutesy lovers to truly deranged evildoers. It even touches on the timeless question of, if you had to decide between life in a paralyzed (or bodyless) state vs. dying, which would you choose? Just imagine what a more rounded cast and a more pro director might have come up with.

Recently Showtime regurgitated several B-movie titles with modern day stars and effects (with mixed results). This is one I wish they'd try to revamp. It's bad, yes.... but as other fans of other movies roasted by the SOL might argue, it's not all *that* bad.... Bottom line, thanks MST3K for introducing me to this one!

Another series NBC brilliantly decided to cancel before people had a chance to see it. Why even bother producing a series, if you're just going to cancel it before showing half the episodes??

It was easy to dismiss as another X-Files copy, and true, some of the later episodes do resemble bad Twilight Zone eps. But the better installments of the series had all the bittersweet heart and clever invention of more successful genre shows. You have the concept of moving around in and altering the dreamscapes of sleeping minds at least two years before The Matrix came along. And the idea of a man building a whole clinic and a new branch of scientific research simply so he can communicate with his comatose wife is sweet, to say the least.

I don't understand why NBC hasn't at least thought of putting the nine episodes on disc. A few eps have been released overseas, in Germany and Hong Kong. What with Naomi Watts becoming a superstar thanks to "The Ring" and all the other top stars in the cast ("Thirteen Days"' Bruce Greenwood, "ER"'s Abraham Benrubi, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"'s Harry Groener), and what with all the other questionably "successful" titles being given the box-set treatment (did people actually watch "My Big Fat Greek Life" on TV?), you'd think they'd at least consider putting this one out there.