Discovering good movies, one bad movie at a time

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Return to the complete Columbo index History remembers the 1968 telefilm Prescription: Murder as the de facto pilot episode of Columbo, one of television’s most beloved detective series, but this was neither the intent nor, really, the function of the movie. And its path to its first airing on NBC, on 20 February 1968, in no […]

Other than the made-for-television movie Prescription: Murder, all reviews of Columbo are exclusive for Patreon subscribers. Click here to support Alternate Ending through Patreon. Prescription: Murder (20 February, 1968) A- Pilot Ransom for a Dead Man (1 March, 1971) B Season 1 (1971-1972) Murder by the Book (15 September, 1971) A Death Lends a Hand (6 […]

A review requested by Harold, with thanks to supporting Alternate Ending as a donor through Patreon. Do you have a movie you’d like to see reviewed? This and other perks can be found on our Patreon page! We cannot say of the 2002 miniseries Dinotopia that it has small ambitions. Packed into its three parts, […]

Every week this summer, we’ll be taking an historical tour of the Hollywood blockbuster by examining an older film that is in some way a spiritual precursor to one of the weekend’s wide releases. This week: Baz Luhrmann directs his first feature in nine years, Elvis. Elvis being Elvis, this isn’t even the first film […]

Return to the complete Party Down index First Airdate: May 22, 2009 Written by John Enbom Directed by Bryan Gordon The final episode of Party Down season 1 is, naturally, a sea change for the series. In addition to throwing a wrench into the group dynamics at the core of the series, this episode gives us our […]

Categories: television

Other than the pilot episode, all reviews of The X-Files are exclusive for Patreon subscribers. Click here to support Alternate Ending through Patreon. Season 1 (1993-1994) Pilot (10 September, 1993) B Deep Throat (17 September, 1993) B+ Squeeze (24 September, 1993) A- Conduit (1 October, 1993) A- The Jersey Devil (8 October, 1993) C Shadows […]

Why make a feature film based on a TV show? Sometimes, it’s an act of resurrection: Star Trek, Twin Peaks and Veronica Mars all got movies inviting viewers to spend more time in their respective worlds (though David Lynch gave casual fans much more than they bargained for). If the show is ongoing, a big-screen […]

Categories: animation, television

Return to the complete Party Down index First Airdate: May 15, 2009 Written by Russell Smith Directed by Fred Savage Two episodes before its season 1 finale, Party Down was rocked by a major upset. Jane Lynch got a gig on a little Ryan Murphy show called Glee, in which she would play the vicious cheerleading […]

Categories: television

If one has the directing bug, a bit of money burning a hole in one’s pocket, and a name that will sell a series to the BBC – for instance, Hugh Laurie – it would definitely be easy to decide to adapt an Agatha Christie novel. That’s just what you do. However, it’s what you […]

Categories: mysteries, television

Return to the complete Party Down index First Airdate: May 8, 2009 Written by John Enbom Directed by Bryan Gordon I have good news, then bad news, then good news again. First off, this is – as promised – the best episode of season 1, perhaps of the entire series (I know I’m backtracking but I […]

Categories: television