I listen to the Halloween music channel when it comes to Sirius XM every year. It's not quite as much fun as it used to be. They only run it over the weekend of Halloween (3 to 5 days depending on when it falls) and almost all they run now are scores from horror movies to make "mood music" for adult Halloween parties. I still listen cuz it's still a nice break from normal music but I remember when they ran the channel for a month and encompassed a wide variety of Halloween music. From children's songs to regular metal music to the scores from horror movies and even infusing a scary story once in a while as well as their own vignettes of scary sounds. I guess people got annoyed with Monster Mash... lol. But I thought I'd post my own broad Halloween music samples today. A lot of them they used to play on Sirius. Some they still do.
There's always the classic novelty songs like Monster Mash...
Then there's things like Cockroach which I first heard back when I was growing up on the Dr. Demento radio show. I don't know if they ever played this on the Halloween channel.. I want to say they did once, but I can't be sure...
I know they never played this one on Sirius... I think the story behind it is that their dad paid for studio time to
record them for posterity. I first heard this on a syndicated radio show
on terrestrial radio called The Steve and DC show. They'd cut the first
bit of the first verse out to use for any Halloween segment they were
doing... because it really is melt-your-brain awful and therefore funny
in a nice way.
Sirius would also weave into the rotation more mainstream music that was either a little dark like Ozzy Osbourne or that simply fit the Halloween theme, like Werewolves of London
And we used to get Thriller on that channel every year. They should still play Thriller every year anyway... I mean, it's made for Halloween. And the video is still the best zombie movie ever made.
This is a short example from several years ago showcasing the "Halloween sounds" that they'd play in between songs when giving the name of the station.
These have gotten longer over the years and have taken on a life of
their own. They're no longer just background for calling out the name
of the station, but vignettes set up to run for several minutes in a
row, often titled (i.e. "Train to Nowhere," etc.) The sounds aren't
always random either, but they're set up as a kind of mini ghost story
that takes a person back to the days of radio entertainment before there
was television and you had to fill in the pictures from your
imagination. Footsteps in the grass.. howling... a creaking door
opens... wind blows... It would seem that you've just entered a haunted
house... What does it look like in your mind - a Victorian manor or a
trailer? Is the screaming coming from the attic or just down the hall?
Is it even you or someone you don't like who you think deserves to
suffer through a good horror story? Of course they all end with a lot
of screaming and a snarling or laughing beast winning the day. The
monsters always get to win on Halloween. But I can deny I'm glad these
have gotten longer and more intricate, even if the music rotation is
lacking in variety nowadays.
They'd run this one once or twice on Sirius. I suppose it could be considered "children's" music, but I know a lot of adults that love the Pumpkin King as well.
And I always approve of the soundtracks of movies. I love instrumental scores and they still run these.
And speaking of instrumentals, Midnight Syndicate is a band that's only been around since the late
90's. They produce original "dark themed" instrumental music that has
been adopted in the gaming community. I love instrumentals and I think
their work is very creative. It's good "mood music" for Halloween parties and it's nice to hear original work.
I love and appreciate all of these types of music. There are always songs that aren't as good, or even annoying, but there's a wider selection than most people realize. As a Christian and a thinker, Halloween plays to fears I just don't have, so I'm not into the "spirit of the holiday" looking for a good scare. But I am a music lover and the different music and soundtracks are of interest to me. Happy Halloween!
Star Trek was always looking for creative ways to go back in time and this is one of the most creative. It's certainly different than most time travel episodes. Of course, there are some clichéd similarities as well, but not so much in this first half. They originally weren't going to do a two part season finale but I'm glad they continued the tradition all the way to the end. This was an exciting story.
The Enterprise is called to Earth on a priority mission because it is discovered that extraterrestrials may have been on Earth in the 19th century. Picard and Data are at an archeological dig site underneath San Fransisco looking at all of the antiquated objects.. a gun, a timepiece, bifocal glasses. Data takes some tricorder readings that indicate the presence of triolic waves which are foreign to Earth in any century. What I love the most about the later years of TNG is that the characters would always keep things in perspective instead of jumping to some melodramatic conclusion immediately. In this case, Picard, although concerned, points out the there is no need for the Enterprise when the scientific teams on Earth are equipped for solving this sort of mystery. And then we see why the Enterprise may have a very personal stake in this place as the scientist taking them on the tour shows them Data's severed head which had been dated to be the same age as the other artifacts. Of course, everyone is upset by this discovery and each react in their own unique mannerisms. Riker is outraged at Data's calm demeanor while Picard tries to find another explanation. He asks Data if this could perhaps be Lore's head. Data knows that it isn't because of a minor but distinct difference in their positronic brains and can identify the head as his own. Geordi meanwhile uses the information gathered to form a theory about the kind of lifeforms that are unaffected by triolic waves and suggests that they may be shapeshifters. He also finds a microbial fossil that is native to a planet called Devidia II. Really, these are the sort of lines for a science officer, not an engineer. Data is, for all intents and purposes, the science officer even though he doesn't have a blue uniform, but giving all these lines to him would've probably been overkill for that character in this particular instance. I don't bring it up as something that bothers me, only as an observation that TNG lacked a proper science officer like Spock or Dax. I often forgot that the blue uniforms also represented other scientific branches besides medical when watching this show. Anyway, because it's in two parts they have an appropriate amount of time to devote to the hurt everyone feels over the prospect of losing Data. Data's detached view of his own mortality is actually not a bad way to look at death, no matter what your spiritual leanings are. Data has no feelings so his perspective is, as always, unique and awkward for everyone but him. So it's emotional, but it's not without levity... the look on poor Geordi's face as Data explains how he expected to outlive his present friends as well as all the new friends he would make is funny. Then Guinan moves in to find out what's going on from Geordi and after he's gone she utters a cryptic thought about coming full circle. Data also notices how everyone stops talking suddenly when they see him as Riker and Troi do when they enter a turbo lift to find him standing there. The audience doesn't really need another reason to love Data at this point, but his innocently logical view of friendship is just another heartwarming moment to make the coming conflict even more of a hook.
They arrive at Devidia II and Picard sends an away team down with everyone but Data. This doesn't go unnoticed by Data so he asks to speak to Picard privately to make note of this discrepancy in procedure. Picard wants to play it safe though and Data does understand. On the planet,Troi can sense terrified humans in the cave the away team has gone to and confirms that in his analysis of the temporal phenomenon a synchronic displacement of infinitesimal proportions would make the Devidians invisible because they're slightly out of phase... just like Ro and Geordi were two episodes ago. Geordi tells them that they could compensate for that displacement and be in phase with them but they'd need a very sensitive phase discriminator and Data just happens to have built into his positronic system. So Picard reluctantly agrees to allow Data to go down to the planet to attempt to get into phase with the aliens. He makes all the arrangements and then assures everyone that they will be able to hear him because his com badge will communicate one way. He slowly phases out into invisibility and begins to describe his surroundings and the aliens inside.
I love this scene. It's a great teaser. All you get is a verbal description of these creepy aliens that appear to have mouths in their foreheads ingesting energy fragments that are coming from a container in the center of the room. There's a great thrill in leaving things to the imagination, if only temporarily. He then tells them that there is a snake (an ophidian as he scientifically refers to it) in a force field and that two Devidians go over and release it. He describes how they have opened a temporal distortion to pass through and speaks of following them. Everyone listens helplessly. They can't communicate with him and they're hoping that he'll have the sense to just stay put. But they see a flash and the phasing device that Data was holding appears and falls to the floor. He's transported to 19th century San Fransisco which he easily discovers after reading about a cholera outbreak in a local paper.
He gets a lot of funny looks and jeers and people referring to him as a Frenchman. He falls into talk with a beggar who gives him tips on pan handling after he realizes that Data has no money. It's always best to start out with comedy in these situations. He then tries to speak about getting a room with a bell hop who is nice at first but isn't immediately helpful with Data's request to work for the money required to stay. He complains of having to do all the work, but he's also quite proud of it. He then makes idle gossip about a distraught looking man leaving the building discussing his bad luck in drawing a straight. Data immediately perks up to learn that a poker game is going on. He then gets himself in on it. This is a great Data episode and all of these scenes are a wonderful example of how Data's character has developed over the seasons. From earlier when Data responds to Riker's use of Data's own wordy definition of friendship with the more intimate notion of being fond of him, to this situation where he now lands beautifully on his feet. He readily adopts the "Frenchman" persona as an excuse for why he looks peculiar and since he can speak hundreds of languages, he spits French right back at the gambler that speaks it at him as a kind of test. He also puts his com badge up for an ante in the game without even a second thought since he is already thinking of survival. He spent no time in any real confusion about his situation and is already planning on how to return to Devidian II. I admit, I always suspected he cheated a little in this game to ensure that he'd have the sufficient funds to secure the equipment he needs and space to work. Data knows enough about American history to know that he fit in by telling the bell hop he's an inventor and smoothly transitions into acting this part. See, just picture how first season Data would've reacted to any of this, and you just know his presence in 19th century Earth would be far more problematic - akin to the way Spock stuck out like a sore thumb in the fourth movie. The bell hop, named Jack London (who is supposed to go on to be the novelist Jack London who wrote Call of the Wild, etc,) is now sucking up to Data since he's got a lot of money. It takes him a minute to make him understand that a gratuity is expected, but once Data realizes it he's always very generous. So Jack offers to get him anything he wants. It then cuts back to the homeless and sickly 49er who is resting from begging in an alley. He's approached by a respectable looking couple. The man has a snake-head cane and the woman has a bag. When she aims it at the old man it emits a beam which seems to drain his life away and he dies, alone, anonymous, and unnoticed by anyone.
On the Enterprise, they're not going to give up on Data and plan to make a their own phase discriminator and go get him. Of course, nobody points out that if they could've done this in the first place why did they have to use Data the first time? Lol.. but you know me, always blowing holes in the plot even when I like it. You'd think that some of them would've felt guilty after deciding that they could definitely get themselves phased into the Devidian's space even if it's not as precise as Data's ability. Meanwhile Guinan calls Picard to Ten Forward. Always unusual, but it's been established that when Guinan feels the need to insert herself, there's usually a good reason. She's mixing a complicated drink and asks Picard if he's going down with the away team when they go after Data. He says he's not and then, cryptically again, she states that if he doesn't go along they may never meet. She refuses to say anything more. But Picard has always taken her at her word. Back in the past, Jack is bringing Data more things. He begins to lift the anvil he brought him with one hand but then catches his mistake and pretends that it's almost too heavy to carry... more of that improved improvisation technique that I love! Jack also gets him free things like food in order to make sure that Data remains a good tipper and hands him a treat wrapped up in a newspaper. When Data sees a picture of Guinan over the headline of a literary reception he immediately determines to go.
At the reception Guinan is seen talking to Samuel Clemens and other noted writers about the Earth and whether or not it's the only inhabitable planet in the universe. Such topics were always of interest in any century and especially back at the turn of the twentieth since the industrial revolution was at hand and science was making leaps and bounds. Mark Twain had written of time travel as well, so it seems reasonable to see him having this discussion. Data bursts in uninvited and while the doorman is offering to get a police officer to throw him out he calls to Guinan, which is her name in this time as well. She doesn't know him. So, nothing more is actually revealed about Guinan's strange race in this episode, but again most people, myself included, don't really seem to care. Why does this Guinan not seem to know that she's an alien? Who knows. Not everything needs a solid scientific explanation. Sometimes permanently mysterious characters work just as well as anything else. Data starts to claim that they knew each other on a ship. When he says it's a star ship she's intrigued and immediately pretends that she recognizes him and pulls him away to talk in private. Data realizes that she doesn't know him and seems confused about a remark he makes about her species being long-lived, but confides to her anyway that they served together in the 24th century and he assumed that she'd followed him back in time. They can't get away from Clemen's nosy presence though and he overhears all of this bizarre conversation.
Then it's time for the climax of the first part and the big reveal. Picard beams down and sends Worf back. This just makes sense because there's no way they could hide him in the 19th century. Geordi sets up a subspace field that will get all of them phased over and they proceed. We then get to see the scary looking Devidians as they sit there unbothered by the presence of the crew. They look around and then see what must have been the respectable couple from before reenter the cave. One is carrying, not a snake-head cane, but a staff with some kind of living viper at the top now. They deposit a container of energy bits. They watch as the aliens sit sucking in the bits of energy through the orifices on their foreheads. Those bits of energy came from the lives of people that died in terror and that's what Troi had been sensing. There's a blinding flash of light as the Devidian pair reopen the portal and leave through it. The crew realizes that they can do nothing but follow if they want to find out what happened to Data, so they march on through. To be continued.
Like I said, it's a good Data episode, and a good time traveling episode. Worf earlier brings up the point that if perhaps they were fated to die in the past with Data that their remains wouldn't have been found, so that lends validity to the progress of the story since they weren't on some kind of mission involving a major historical event that their presence would interfere with. And that fact alone makes it refreshingly different. It's another perfect episode and excellent cliff hanger that I loved dearly so I'll go with five stars on this one.
Grab the tissues. This is one of the best episodes of the series and even someone like me who isn't easily moved to tears is touched by this one. I classify it as a "Roddenberry Classic" episode related closely to "The Paradise Syndrome."
It starts with the Enterprise approaching a probe while in the middle of a survey. It emits a beam that connects with Picard and knocks him out. He faints on the bridge and wakes up to a strange woman tending to him and calling him Kamin. As he comes to his senses it's like coming out of a dream that is fading fast. He insists that he isn't Kamin but can't remember his name. He knows he doesn't belong there, but can't remember where exactly he was before. He asks the woman if he's a prisoner and finding out that he's not he leaves immediately even though the woman is genuinely worried for his health and safety.
He walks through the town and meets a counsel man named Batai who knows him as Kamin. He explains that Eline (eh-LEEN) is his wife and that she'd been caring for him for a week while he's been sick from a deadly fever. Picard learns that he's a resident in this community on a planet called Kataan and that this guy is his best friend. Batai is as worried as Eline at his amnesia and what would seem to be delusions of a life in space. There's even a humorous moment when Batai notes that if he can't remember that Eline is his wife then he'd probably better not go home. It reinforces the fact that these people see him as a person they are familiar with and that there's not much chance that they're aliens with a malicious motive for keeping him trapped in an illusion against his will. Batai does suggest that he try to rest more, but Picard leaves the town and wanders the surrounding area to see if it's all real and to see if there is any evidence of his existence in space which now appears more and more like a dream. He ends up going back to Kamin's home late in the evening because he has nowhere else to go and plies Eline with a lot of questions about "his life." He learns that he's an iron weaver who never really learned how to play his flute and that the people of Kataan have never made contact with any aliens outside of their planet. Uncomfortable questions for this poor woman. And then we see the connection as he notices her necklace which is a miniature of the probe they encountered. Although Picard no longer remembers the probe, it is a familiar sight. It's then that you see everyone on the bridge of the Enterprise huddled around Picard to learn that he is in a coma and that everything he's experiencing as Kamin is the actual dream. So, so far, the beginning isn't much different from other Star Trek
episode. When Crusher arrives on the bridge she advises against breaking the connection with the probe because it may cause more damage like pulling a knife out of a person who has been stabbed.
However, this is where the episode takes an unexpected turn. A seasoned Star Trek fan would expect Kamin-Picard to be solving the mystery of his new placement on Kattan within a few hours or days, inadvertently teaching lessons to all the people in town about space travel, good liberal morals, and even finding a way to meet with them for real. But when we go back to Picard's dream you see that several years have passed. Picard is Kamin now and he's fully integrated into the society. He's living happily with Eline. One has to assume she's been very patient and understanding over the years since, even though he's accepted his life, he's been forever changed by becoming obsessed with astronomy and geology and still occasionally talks of his vivid dream of coming from space. But these new hobbies have benefits as well. The planet is dying and I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see that they didn't write it as dying from "global warming" or other man-caused nonsense. This part of the story was centered around the natural consequences of a sun slowly going nova and burning up all of the planets in its system in the process. Batai is explaining to the head administrator that to stay hopeful during the extended droughts the community planted a tree and keeps it alive by everyone donating some of their water rations. Kamin, although he now has no memory of his former life, still has his education and suggests atmospheric condensers. The administrator turns down this idea in a political, roundabout way but Batai is happy to see Kamin participating in the community again like he used to. You can see that Picard didn't just give up on finding out about his existence in just a few weeks, but after five years time Kamin has finally come to care for his friends neighbors as he studies the ecological decline of the planet. He is now living in the present instead of his dream world that he'd been chasing. After dinner one evening while he's playing simple tunes on his flute and getting better at it, he decides that it's time to grow his family like a normal man and reward Eline for her unwavering support while he's chased that dream. She is delighted as he asks for permission to build a nursery in addition to his telescope and laboratory and everything else that had come of his life changing fever.
Back on the Enterprise they're getting impatient. They launch a probe and figure out a way to disrupt the beam that is connected to Picard so they start making preparations. When next we see Kamin he and Eline are having a naming ceremony for, not their first, but their second child. Kamin named his son Batai after his friend who is passed away now, and his flute playing has improved considerably as he plays the tune that everyone now recognizes from this episode. It's a blissful family scene as they try to keep the older daughter, Meribor, still while the ceremony is being conducted and inviting the guests to refreshments. Then, as sometimes happens in the course of life, Kamin collapses from a heart attack. Of course, we know why before the cameras even get back to the Enterprise to see that they've successfully cut off the beam. Severing this tie is affecting Picard's heart as well. Crusher tries all of her modern medical techniques, but they ultimately need to reestablish his connection to the probe, which they do only just in time.
And life goes on for Kamin of Kataan. His children are grown now and his daughter is more interested in being a scientist than dating. Witnessing the final decades of this planet, Kamin would rather see her have a family than examining soil samples and worrying about the planet. He advises her to to live for now because tomorrow isn't guaranteed. To tie the two parts of the story together, Geordi is on the Enterprise tracking the path of the probe back to an uncharted region of space that has no habitable
planets and whose star went nova a thousand years ago. In the only real goof of the
show, they name it as the Kataan system, but nobody notices as we see Kamin dealing with his grown son as well. He's not as happy with him. Batai seems to have no focus in his life except making music. So Kamin reluctantly green lights Batai's decision to make music his career, but is also content with his happiness since he's convinced that their world isn't going to be around much longer. Kamin is on the counsel now and expresses this fear to the administrator who tells him that their scientists had come to this conclusion years ago. So Kamin begs for the evacuation of at least a small portion of people, but the administrator points out that they are only just now capable of small missile technology. He tells Kamin that there is a plan in the works to preserve a part of Kataan forever. But before he can find out more, Batai calls him back home. Eline is dying. It's a natural death, not specified, and Kamin is devastated at having to say goodbye to his wife of over 30 years now. I still call Kamala my favorite Picard romance because I don't consider Eline to be one of his "romances." Picard got more than a woman in this episode. He got the whole domestic and civil experience, joys and woes alike - a life he'd not chosen for himself in his real world that Eline was only a small part of. And that's what makes this scene all the more heart wrenching, not just because his love is dying.
Kamin's long life continues and finally we see him chasing a grandchild around. He still has his wits, but he's turned into a doddering old man all the same. Meribor and Batai are trying to get him into his sun hat to go out and see "the launching." In that sweet and funny way that's familiar to anyone dealing with an elderly parent, he doesn't really care and is insulted at being led around like a child. But he goes along anyway and they find a nice alcove for him to sit comfortably in while he watches the rest of the community gathering around. With the general forgetfulness of a senior citizen, he asks what the launching is all about. Then it's time for the illusion to end. Meribor explains that he's already seen what they're launching. He's confused, but then he sees a vision of his old friend Batai, as he was when we first saw him at the beginning of the episode, sitting next to him and continuing to explain that with this missile they'd hope to make contact with someone in the future who could learn about their lives and teach about them to others. It finally dawns on Kamin that the missile will be a probe and that person the probe finds is him and that it has something to do with his old dream of living in space. A vision of Eline in her prime appears as well and his family stands together petitioning him to remember them and how they lived so that they would continue to live on. I mean, it's the reason we procreate and pass stories and history down through the generations anyway... it's as close as we come to eternal life on Earth. It's a very emotional moment. Then we see the missile launch which would be the probe the Enterprise encounters.
The beam from the probe terminates on its own and Picard wakes up. He's disoriented, but it doesn't take him long to remember who and where he is. Then he learns that only about twenty five minutes have passed and he's alarmed to realized how many years he'd experienced over that short period of time. But he's also happy to be back in his real life. Later Riker appears in Picard's quarters to show him the only item that was found on the probe after they'd searched through it. It is a box that contains Kamin's flute. Picard, awash with a lifetime of memories plays the song from Batai's naming ceremony.
I consider this episode to be an improvement on "The Paradise Syndrome" in which Kirk, with amnesia, takes on the life of a medicine man and marries with intent to start a family. That life is tragically taken from Kirk and Spock helps him to forget in the end. But in this episode, Picard is allowed to live his alternate life out naturally before he's gently removed back to reality where he then has to live with those memories. And even the writers realized afterwards how an experience like this could deeply change a character even though all they were looking for was just a good hour of T.V. It's every bit as invasive and life altering as his experience as a Borg. Instead of taking his life as the Borg did, this probe gave him an additional life to cherish, and it's also a lot to work through psychologically. The image of Captain Picard living as an average, "nobody" type of man who
is not a leader of significance or fulfilling any kind of "chosen one"
role had a more powerful impact than anyone could've expected for both the character and the audience. And it wouldn't have worked as well for any other character.
It's kind of a shame that they had to utilize one of my big bugaboos about alien races having "mind control" technology and no other comparable military technology, or in this case space travel capabilities. I also have to assume that the real Kamin must have been in on the creation of the probe's programming since it's his life that the Picard's free-form hallucination takes on, and yet there's no indication of this happening in Picard's experience as Kamin. However, in this case it was the best way to handle a story like this and all of it is easy to overlook in such a beautiful episode. I don't really need to say it, but obviously it's getting five stars.
