Change Your Image
Mariner719
Reviews
The Guardian (2006)
Pretty good movie
As a Coast Guard veteran and chief petty officer, I couldn't help enjoying this movie. I've been to AirSta Kodiak dozens of times and it was good to see the place again. Of course, anyone who's been there knows that not EVERY rescue takes place in mountainous seas and hurricane-force winds, but that's drama for you. The acting ranged from pretty good to excellent, and the technical facts stayed pretty close to home, with a few concessions to viewer expectations, such as the high-tech Kodiak Operations Center (the OpCen would be well-lit, manned mostly by enlisted personnel, and probably wouldn't have all that video equipment). In all fairness to the Navy, they were sorely misrepresented in the bar-fight scene - the guys in khaki were supposed to be chief petty officers, and most of the Navy chiefs I've known would never hang out in a bar picking fights, especially in those shabby-looking work uniforms. No, my only real complaint is that, once again, the Coast Guard has been represented as a service that seems to make exclusive use of aircraft, particularly helicopters, to make each and every rescue. We have ships! LOTS of ships! Big, highly-capable ships manned by brave crews who fight just as hard against the elements as their aviation colleagues do. And with the exception of USCGC STORIS, USCGC ALEX HALEY, and an unidentified buoy tender, all of which were shown either moored to the fuel pier at Base Kodiak or moving slowly in port, there was no evidence of shipboard activity at all. This movie might have been a real boon to Coast Guard recruiting, and much more realistic, if they might have just slipped in a scene of a helicopter landing to refuel on a 378-foot high endurance cutter in the Bering Sea, for example, because 378's are out there ALL THE TIME, in every season. But, that's show biz.
It's About Time (1966)
The theme song has stuck with me for years!
I remember this show only vaguely, but the theme song was a big hit with the school kids (I was in the 3rd grade when it came out) because we changed it as a joke on our friends. We'd sing: It's about time It's about space It's about time To slap your face (smack!) Then we'd run. Okay, it's juvenile, but we were only 8 years old! Nevertheless, that tune has stuck with me all these years. Did anyone else come up with this variation? For that matter, I believe the actual theme went: It's about time, it's about space, it's about two men in the strangest place...here is the tale of the brave crew, and through some very (ancient?) times they flew...past the fighting minuteman...past the armored knight...past the Roman warrior...to this ancient site. Let me know if I have that wrong, but I think that's how it was SUPPOSED to go, and no face slapping involved!