Pat Gorman Movies

E. L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime was a sprawling fictional account of American manners and mores in the years between 1900 and 1913. Among the mosaic of colorful factual and fictional characters in the novel were escape artist Harry Houdini and radical Emma Goldman. Both characters are all but eliminated in the film version, which only concentrates on three of Doctorow's many plot threads: The story of an immigrant artist (Mandy Patinkin) who becomes a movie director; the saga of "Gibson Girl" Evelyn Nesbit Shaw (Elizabeth McGovern), for whose sake playboy Harry K. Thaw (Robert Joy); kills architect Stanford White (Norman Mailer) and a lone black man's (Howard Rollins Jr.) quest for justice when his car is destroyed by a racist fire chief (Kenneth McMillan). This last subplot consumes most of the film's running time, to the overall detriment of the pacing. There are also several scenes involving an unnamed upper-middle-class family (headed by James Olson and Mary Steenburgen) who are evidently meant to be the audience's eyes and ears, but are frankly not terribly interesting. Back in 1981, Ragtime was given plenty of press coverage as the "comeback" picture for James Cagney, after twenty years in retirement. The problem is that Cagney's character (a police commissioner) isn't in the book, and his inclusion not only throws the story off balance, but necessitates the removal of several potentially interesting characters and events. Another detriment is the gratuitous (and illogical) nudity in the Evelyn Nesbit scenes, which earned the film its "R" rating. An ornate misfire, Ragtime is of interest today only for its remarkable cast of veterans and stars-to-be, including Pat O'Brien and Eloise O'Brien, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Allen, Moses Gunn, Jeff Daniels and Fran Drescher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the six-part story "The Armageddon Factor," the Doctor (Tom Baker) offers to assist Princess Astra (Lalla Ward) of Atrios in her ongoing war with twin planet Zeos. His motives are not entirely altruistic; by helping Astra, the Doctor hopes to retrieve the sixth and final missing segment of the Key to Time. He does not yet realize that he is under the careful scrutiny of the Black Guardian, who has vowed that the Key will never be reassembled. Originally telecast on February 3, 1979, "The Armageddon Factor, Episode 3" was written by Bob Baker and David Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the four-part story "The Invisible Enemy," the infectuous space virus known as the Swarm has escaped the Doctor's body and is prepared to conquer the Universe. Fortunately, the miniaturized clones of the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Leela (Louise Jameson) have successfully cured the real Doctor, who is thus able to set a trap for the killer virus. This Doctor Who adventure served to introduced the character of robotic dog K-9 (voiced by John Leeson). Written by Bob Baker and David Martin, "The Invisible Enemy, Episode 4" originally aired on October 22, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the six-part story "Genesis of the Daleks," the crew of the TARDIS is diverted in space and ends up materialized on Skaro, the homeworld of the dreaded mutant Daleks. The good news is that the Doctor (Tom Baker) and his friends have traveled so far back in time that the Daleks have not yet been created. The bad news is that it is up to the Doctor to prevent that creation, a task which may bring his own life to a sudden and violent conclusion. First telecast on March 15, 1975, "Genesis of the Daleks, Episode 2" was written by Terry Nation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the six-part story "Invasion of the Dinosaurs," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) have returned to London, only to find the all-but-deserted city under martial law. The reason? A herd of dinosaurs is running amok through the London streets, spreading terror and destruction in their path. Now that the Doctor knows what's going on, the next step is to find out why. Written by Malcolm Hulke, "Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Episode 2" was first telecast on January 19, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the six-part story "The Sea Devils," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) has apparently smashed the efforts by the reptilian Sea Devils to destroy mankind. This, however, does not entirely eliminate the perpetrator of the present crisis, the Doctor's old nemesis the Master (Roger Delgado). Nor is the Doctor able to prevent mankind from getting itself into future scrapes of this nature! Originally shown on March 25, 1972, "The Sea Devils, Episode 4" was written by Malcolm Hulke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the six-part story "The Sea Devils," the Master (Roger Delgado) has broken out of prison and headed out to the high seas. Here he hopes to summon a race of bipedal earth reptiles called the Sea Devils. The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) must prevent these creatures from helping the Master eliminate all human life on earth -- though, at present, he isn't quite sure what is going on beneath the waves. Originally shown on March 4, 1972, "The Sea Devils, Episode 2" was written by Malcolm Hulke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the six-part story "Colony in Space," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) takes time off from mediating an argument between the Earth colonists of the planet Uxarius and the Interplanetary Mining Corporation to investigate the whereabouts of the planet's original inhabitants. He learns that the local natives worship a machine maintained by the Guardian, the last remaining vestige of a once-great civilization. The machine turns out to be a "doomsday device" -- and this fact will, in weeks to come, prove beneficial for the Doctor's longtime enemy, the Master (Roger Delgado). Written by Malcolm Hulke, "Colony in Space, Episode 3" first aired on April 24, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The titular colony in this six-part Doctor Who adventure is located on the planet Uxarius in the year 2472 A.D. Traveling through space and time in the temporarily reactivated TARDIS, the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Jo (Katy Manning) hope to retrieve a Time Lord file stolen by the Doctor's perennial nemesis, the Master. Arriving on Uxarius, the time-travelers soon find themselves mediating an argument between the colonists and the Interplanetary Mining Corporation. Written by Malcolm Hulke, "Colony in Space, Episode 1" first aired on April 10, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the fifth episode of the six-part story "Colony in Space," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) tries to persuade the Guardian (Norman Atkyns) of the planet Uxarius to destroy a doomsday machine that is worshipped as a god by the local natives. But he is thwarted in this pursuit by the Master (Roger Delgado), who intends to use the machine for his own nefarious purposes. Written by Malcolm Hulke, "Colony in Space, Episode 5" first aired on May 8, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the four-part story "Terror of the Autons," the Master (Roger Delgado) steps up his plan to take over the world with the aid of the Nestene Consciousness -- not to mention the Nestene's dreaded Autons. Aware that the Master, as a fellow Time Lord, is savvy to his bag of tricks, the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) deploys two different weapons to save Mankind: A radar telescope and a healthy dose of psychological warfare. Though good wins out over evil, the ending of the episode makes it clear that Evil has not yet been completely counted out. Written by Robert Holmes, "Terror of the Autons, Episode 4" originally aired on January 23, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide