Tag Archives: 1970s

Elton John: Never Too Late

Posted on by

Elton John is one of the greatest musicians from the 1970s and early ’80s, and there have been several versions about his life from A Life in Song to Rocketman. The latest Elton John documentary came to Disney + this month called Elton John: Never Too Late.

Fans of Elton John should love this documentary. The music is a highlight as they use some of his greatest songs as a soundtrack for the doc. There are moments in Elton John’s life that could have had more details developed within the doc.

Some of my own personal favorite parts of the doc included the section involving John Lennon, the details surrounding Elton John’s suicide attempt and his initial relationship with Bernie Taupin.

I also enjoyed how the doc used animated sections to visualize a series of interviews or tape recording that were used in the doc for the first time. Some of the pain from Elton John’s life was tough to hear and I appreciate how he was willing to go into the story for the doc.

I did enjoy the new song, ‘Never Too Late’ with Brandi Carlile, that played over the credits of the documentary.

This was an engaging documentary, but it could have gone into more depth than it did. However, it does touch on some things that are intriguing and the music is fantastic.

3.85 stars

Man from Atlantis S1 E4

Posted on by

Spoilers

“The Disappearances”

This is the fourth and final TV movie of the series, which was actually entitled “Man from Atlantis IV: The Disappearances.”

It is interesting that I remember this being one of my favorite TV shows when it was on back in the 1970s, but after watching the first four TV movies, I do not remember anything about them.

I enjoyed this fourth movie of Man from Atlantis quite a bit. In fact, it might be my favorite of the four.

According to IMDB, “Elizabeth is kidnapped, one of dozens of scientists held prisoner on the island of Felicitos, controlled by special mineral springs that render their victims completely happy and compliant. Dr. Smith is using them to build a rocket to take her away from our troubled planet in search of some better world, and Mark must find a way to counter the brain-washing and free the captives“

I really do like this show. There are problems, of course. The acting is not what I would call great, but for the 1970s TV, it is acceptable. They have the most conveniently placed cameras around the sub and areas where people can watch what is happening on monitors. That is just a weird bit that doesn’t really affect anything. In a show about a man with webbed fingers who can breathe underwater, having cameras in places that make no sense should not be the biggest drawback.

I did like the Dr. Smith villain of this episode. She was quite brutal and cruel, yet I could understand why she was doing what she was doing. It could be an episode that features a debate on climate change, even before it became a real thing.

Mark was a real hero in this episode. He came up with solutions for everything from the torpedo to the mind-control. I thought the look of Mark when he was trapped in the shed without water was great for the special effects of the time. His underwater scenes were excellent as they always are for this show. Those scenes underwater were well done and looked great. I am not a huge fan of the manner in which Mark always swam, but that would be the way a real person would swim. Today, he would be more CGI and could look like he was swimming faster. Still, I liked the realism of the shots.

Moving ahead, the show starts its regular series run of 13 episodes, which was all the show would get. This is actually a pretty decent sci-fi series and, despite some flaws, has been a fun watch so far.