James Bond: Never Say Never Again

When I saw that this was being aired again on ITV4, I finally decided to record the unofficial James Bond movie from 1983 i.e. the remake of Thunderball that Kevin McClory was allowed to make as part of the deal that allowed EON to make the original Thunderball... which honestly isn't that good a Bond movie to begin with.

This is simply put a dire film. The direction is awful, the music gratingly inappropriate at times and the so-called comedy is very, very forced. Connery is the best thing in it and even he's sub par...

After half an hour, I asked myself whether I wanted to carry on with this. The answer is 'only if accompanied by Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot...' because this turkey is only suitable as material for a Dr. Forrester experiment i.e. Mystery Science Theater 3000.

I hope no-one involved this piece of foulness is proud of this junk.

0/10 (Automatically awarded for any movie I decline to finish)

Issue #29 of The Burning Question released

After a long break and a change of editor, the latest edition of the Phoenix newsletter is ought, including the latest news and a feature on the Canadian space series Dark Matter. The newsletter can be viewed here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nofd84qeyiy2fn3/April%20-%20August%20newsletter.pdf?dl=0

Six sims close down after founding members leave site

Two of Phoenix's founding members, husband and wife Ash and Deborah Leighton Plom, have retired from the site due to lack of available time. As a result, due to no-one having volunteered to take over the job of running the sims, the following games have closed down:

• Cydonia
• Vermillion City
• Stargate: Beta Site
• Middle Earth
• Invisec
• Accipiter

It is entirely fair to say that their departure leaves a big hole in the site and will be difficult to fill, but Phoenix will go on.

This writer wishes to sincerely thank Ash and Deb for their six years here (and before that in AJJE), wishing them all the best for their future.