I'm chomping at the bit myself. For probably the last month and a half, I've been getting together with friends every Friday and we've been binging The Mandalorian ​​​​. Unfortunately, we finished the last episode last Friday. I do still have ideas for watches as well as listens though. For one thing, I have an Audible subscription now, and am currently listening to Dragonlance: The Second Generation.

I've also been on the fence about picking the Toho Collection, which has all of the Millennium era Godzilla movies in one set.

Same here on the patience part. I'm going to re-watch Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond.

Like always I have more than a few new acquisitions for this challenge. Some new-to-me and quite a few upgrades (DVD to BR). I have *no* idea just what I'll start with. It's mostly organized, I just have to look over what's there and sequence a bit.

The only thing I *do* know is at some point this weekend I'll watch a new BR of Close Encounters of the Third Kind a friend on another forum (HTF) kindly gifted to me after I'd commented I'd ordered *two* used copies from different MP vendors on Amazon and *both* had sent copies of Gravity on DVD! Just so happens he had a copy he was about to take to Goodwill (after upgrading his to 4K) and sent it to me instead. Since it has all 3 versions of the film I may watch all 3 back-to-back. I don't think I've ever seen the "Collector's Edition" so may start with it - I just know I've seen 2 versions for sure. The original theatrical and the 1980 edit which shows the inside of the alien spaceship.

I just hope it lives up to expectations at this point!

Well, all 3 versions would count for the checklist/watchlist, if that helps...but talk about bad luck, 2 copies of the SAME wrong film?

Yeah... I couldn't believe it and would have thought Amazon sent the same item back to me but one vendor was in FL and the other in CA. PLUS the first incorrect copy was on its way back to FL (with the "pick slip" in the case) when the incorrect one from CA was shipped by Amazon. The FL one sent from their stock while the CA one was "Fulfilled by Amazon." If I'd not been so annoyed it would have been funny (kind of *is* funny now). Even then, what are the odds?!?

My start will be delayed a little. I’m in the middle of a watch party for The Last Kingdom tonight, and one more episode will be up tonight after the one we are on now.

I watched all 3 versions of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was interesting doing that back-to-back and noting all the differences. My 19yo grandson joined me for the CE (DE?) in a first time viewing for him. He saw lots of issues and discrepancies but commented that he enjoyed it overall. I still feel the same as I've always felt about this one - it's mostly pretty good until they head for the mountain and it then kind of falls apart due to major plot/script issues (my grandson commented about several of those himself). The additional sequence showing the inside of the alien ship in the SE was kind of interesting, unneeded, and added nothing to the film (I actually chuckled when they played "When You Wish Upon a Star" in that sequence). The Gobi Desert sequence, which was used in the CE/DE (and should have been cut there as well), adds absolutely nothing but run time. I *do* prefer the CE/DE as the majority of changes/additions help pacing and story but there's no fixing the sequences as they make their way to the landing zone and the whole aliens arriving/"talking"/ending. Additionally, just about any scene/sequence featuring the 5 note music bit falls completely flat for me - especially the India and following press conference sequences.

I wanted to watch something fairly mindless tonight, so I decided to watch Battlestar Galactica (1978). It's a first time watch and while definitely dated, was more engaging than I thought it would be. I don't know that I'll be interested in watching any more of it (the tv show or the newer movie) but I'm glad to at least have seen it once.

Hopefully you'll get a chance soon to get started on the challenge!

I give you credit for watching it 3 times in a row! That's dedication. I've only sat through it once, and it definitely wasn't high on my favorites list. It definitely lost me towards the end.

I just saw that the new Indiana Jones movie is only listed at IMDb.com under action/adventure. Having read the summary, I'm pretty sure it counts as sci-fi/fantasy, so feel free to count it in the challenge this year. I plan on seeing it soon (hopefully before the end of the month), so will give a definitive answer at that point, but if the summary I just read is at all accurate, it'll count.

Battlestar Galactica was somewhat an event when it first aired, coming on the heels of Star Wars and sporting vfx superior to any that had been seen on TV before. It didn't take long for it to become like most all other SF TV series of its time - a kidified mess with rather generic scripts. Still, it holds lots of nostalgia for people who were age 7-14 or so in those years. I vastly prefer the 2004 re-imagined series (I'm guessing that's what you're calling the "newer movie" - which was actually a mini-series that lead to a regular series). It's far more mature in its approach and actually tells the story rather than falling back on standard, generic, TV tropes.

Wasn't quite 3 times in a row... I *did* watch another movie between the theatrical and SE - plus the viewings were on different days (one on Friday evening, the last 2 on Saturday).

Your comment about it "definitely lost me towards the end" is the first time I've read or heard someone with that opinion (other than me and my grandson). A few others have said the ending isn't that good or it's "pretty good" but most people seem to rave about the film calling it one of the greatest SF films ever made (IMHO, it's not even close). It's just one of many from Spielberg that convinced me he has no business writing or directing SF movies. His SF films kind of work on a mass appeal level (i.e. people who typically don't care for SF) but all hit the exact same beats (formulaic type affairs) to manipulate the audience on a schedule as the film progresses.

Later this month I'll watch the *one* SF film from Spielberg I actually like. It's possible I mentioned this film before - don't remember for sure. It's absolutely not one most people would select as their favorite SF from his ovure.

I cleared two movies off of my DVR today. And purely by coincidence, they were both Ron Perlman movies. This morning, I watched Alien: Resurrection, and just now, I finished watching Season Of The Witch. No relation whatsoever to the John Carpenter Halloween III movie.

I'll have to check. I have it digitally and it's just listed like it's a movie, so I assumed it was. The effects did remind me a lot of the original Star Wars, I figured it was because they were of the same era/same inspiration. I think you may have convinced me not to watch more though!

I have only watched it once. I honestly don't remember a lot about it, other than mashed potatoes. And I'm half convinced I'm mixing it up with ALF and the scene where the neighbor molds Alf out her potatoes instead of the Alf scene being an homage. So for me, it really wasn't that memorable! That might be sacrilege but what can I say? Maybe by the time I had watched it the first time, I had already watched better films so it didn't leave a lasting impression? But I agree with you, I've seen better. Could be one of those films that at the time, it was better when it was made, but as better movies were made, it began to pale in comparison...

Okay, I'm curious, which SF of Spielberg's do you actually like?

Nice! Clearing movies out of the watch list is always a plus!

The effects remind you of Star Wars because they were done by John Dykstra and a team who'd worked for ILM during the production of Star Wars. Lucas moved the effects studio north and Dykstra and his team stayed behind, creating a new company. They also used the equipment Lucas left behind to do those effects which prompted Lucas to recover said equipment with Lucas threatening legal action.

I saw it during its original run and, outside having little faith in a SF movie from Spielberg - after all, it was his first film in the genre, haven't changed my mind since that time.

Minority Report. Surprisingly, he didn't mess up the central theme of the short story from Phillip K. Dick (a favorite author) too much (although it *is* quite different). I also consider it to be one of Spielberg's best films.

While channel surfing tonight, I came across a movie that I thought was just going to be a copy of Kung Fu Panda ​​​​​​, on one of the MGM+ channels. The movie was Paws Of Fury: Legend Of Hank.

As the movie progressed, I kept noticing nods to Blazing Saddles. At first, I didn't think anything of it, other than possibly trying to copy the movie. Towards the end, I see Mel Brooks was not only in the movie, but he also both wrote and was executive producer. I never even knew he did an animated movie.

That's makes a lot of sense. I wondered if it was some of the same people...

Hmm, may have to check that one out too this month. I have not seen it yet.

I think at least 50% of kid's movies have at least some nods for the adults. I've watched films where I know I'm laughing more than the kids it was aimed for because of the adult humor in it (adult as in for older people, not sexy times).

Because I'm mostly a completest I recently purchased the 5 film "Scorpion King" series on BR (I already owned the first 4 on DVD) to go along with the "Mummy" franchise BR set. I watched all 5 over the past couple of days... and it was kind of a slog. The first is passable enough but after that they mostly devolve into generic fantasy action films, essentially remade (basically hit the same/similar plot points) 4 more times. I only paid ~$10 for the set and that was about $8 too much...

On a more pleasant note, my 19yo grandson joined me yesterday for a viewing of my new BR of Earth Girls are Easy. In spite of it being a (quasi) musical, he really enjoyed it (and I found it better than I'd remembered - always a plus). After discovering Monty Python and the Holy Grail has a fantasy tag I pulled my BR of that one for him to watch with me as he's expressed an interest in seeing it. Worst part is his work schedule the next few days pretty much rule it out until Sunday or Monday... bummer... AND - I think he's possibly interested in watching 12 Monkeys. I ran through 8 or 9 SF/Fantasy titles I thought he might like, he commented "It's nice to finally be old enough to watch really good movies!" and I pulled out the ones he expressed an interest in watching.

The discussion thread compelled me to rewatch the Battlestar Galactica miniseries which I haven't seen in many years. It's one of my favorite television shows, but I haven't rewatched it in its entirely in at least 12 years. I'm a bit nervous about revisiting it, but the miniseries is brilliant. It's brooding and grim without being maudlin and sets up a fantastic cast of extremely flawed characters. I was entirely in the bag for the series and remember arguing about it with friends who were fans but saw "missteps". When it first aired, it spoke to me as a person with a then undiagnosed depressive disorder as well as someone who was in the process of leaving a very evangelical church. I'll eager to see if how it plays to me now.

I'm still a fan of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica and feel it improved on the original in almost every aspect. From what I recall, the biggest, loudest, objectors didn't like Starbuck being cast as a woman. I thought it worked marvelously well. I was also perfectly fine with the ending and saw it coming well before it was revealed. IMHO it was the only, proper, way to conclude the series and worked well within the context of history. I really need to rewatch the series as it's been at least a couple of years since my last viewing.

The last couple days I've not been up to watching a lot, so I browsed Disney+ until I found Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. These were only about 15 mins apiece and would certainly be easy to watch all in one sitting. Took me an episode or two to get into the series, but I did enjoy them.

I was a big fan of the new BSG, especially the miniseries. I watched that on DVD, then at some point transitioned to “live” broadcast viewing. Unfortunately that was before the enlightened days of “hey, we have enough material for 10 episodes—let’s show them in 10 weeks” so it became a tedious March of one new episode, two weeks off, a recap episode, then another new one. I re-bought the series on BD from Amazon UK then again digitally, but haven’t made the plunge to do a complete rewatch.

If LJG has a BSG movie, I wonder if it could be Razor, which aired as part of the series but sold at retail as a stand-alone movie. I remember liking it but don’t know how it plays apart from the series.

Razor plays OK but it really helps to know more about the main series. It's kind of stand alone in that it tells of a different Battlestar that made it out and has been living on its own for some time. It's been a while since I've seen it so don't recall much - just that it felt a bit out-of-place as well. A kind of side story to the main story in the series and almost like a backdoor pilot of sorts - but not. I'd forgotten that got a separate release.

There's also "The Plan" - I really don't recall much about that one. I own a copy - it's still in shrink (I don't think it was included in any of the series/season releases).

I've seen The Plan. I watched it on Hulu one year a few years back. It's basically a retelling of the entire series, from the point of view of the Cylons. Hence the title of the movie.

My viewing this weekend will be much lighter than normal... This afternoon I'm joining my son and middle grandson (age 9) for a "Board Game Weekend" at a AirBnB located around halfway between our houses (couple of hours away). The facility *does* have a TV and wifi so I could do some streaming - but board games are top priority and anything I watch will be after we've tucked in for the night, unless my grandson wants to watch something (unlikely - he's as much of a board gamer as me and his dad and we *always* play a few games any time we're together). Best part is my grandson has no idea I'm coming - he thinks it's just him and his dad.

Distribution of the series has always been a bit of a nightmare. "Complete" collections never contain all of the media. The BD releases leave out featurettes and other extras from the DVD sets. Neither the US or UK sets that I've owned contained BSG: The Plan, and according the Wikipedia, the webseries featuring Gaeta (and the series' most overt queerness) only got a physical release in Japan.[/b]

Sounds like awesome family time! The challenge can wait till you get back.

That sounds like a lot of fun! Enjoy your weekend!

I had to look and it's Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome from 2012. Not on my list to watch as it does seem like you should be familiar with the series before seeing it, sort of like the add on movies for Stargate.

I saw Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny today. Was a fun romp in the universe for the most part. Not the strongest film by any means, but fun anyway. The CGI for the beginning part with Ford was well done. I also caught quite a few nods to the past films. It is sci-fi/fantasy, though it really only comes into play in the last 15 minutes or so, so my decision from earlier stands: it counts for the challenge even if it's not listed in the genres.