Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: A transport plane carrying three passengers crash lands on a remote Caribbean island after picking up a radio signal believed to be from a missing admiral. The men discover and take refuge in a mansion owned by Dr. Miklos Sangre.  Sangre is hospitable but also suspicious and the men soon learn he is both hiding a radio and has been creating an army of zombies that includes his wife, Alyce. Who's in it? The movie stars Dick Purcell , Joan Woodbury , Mantan Moreland , Henry Victor and Marguerite Whitten Review: It's been a while since I last watched a zombie-themed movie, so I decided to give King of the Zombies a chance this morning. After watching it, I would describe it as a film with promise that proved to be a disappointment in no small part because it seemed to have a hard time picking a genre. As far as the main plot goes, it was OK albeit far from original. The island setting, with no apparent means of escape, worked for the zombie theme and I thought ...

Synopsis : A new pharmacist, Ellie Walker ( Elinor Donahue ), comes to Mayberry to help out her uncle. She makes immediate friends with Opie ( Ron Howard ) but winds up butting heads with Andy ( Andy Griffith ) and other townspeople after she refuses to refill pills for Emma Brand ( Cheerio Meredith ) without a prescription. My Thoughts - It's interesting Elinor Donahue got her name mentioned ahead of Don Knotts in the opening sequence. Sure, it's only the third episode of the series, but Knotts' Barney Fife had been part of the show from the beginning, and it wasn't as though he wasn't already just as established as a star as she was. I never realized how much of a role the character Emma Brand had in these early episodes. She was the catalyst for the main conflict between Ellie and Andy and, in Manhunt , was taken hostage. It's sad she only had three more episodes after this one because she is such a funny, colorful character. I blame Ellie's uncle for a...

I have been getting out for my walks before it gets too cold to do so but haven't had a great deal of success photo-wise. Today was better than my last couple outings though and I was able to get some pictures. Here are some of them: ________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (9/24/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (6/4/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (8/14/2026) Morning Walk Photos (6/3/2026)

Synopsis: Looking for some temporary relief from a heatwave, 77-year-old crossword puzzle setter Judith Potts goes for a late- night swim in the Thames, located behind her mansion in Marlow, and hears shouting, followed by a gunshot, coming from the home of her art dealer neighbor, Stefan Dunwoody. When Stefan's body is found with a bullet in his head, the police want to believe it is a suicide, but Judith insists he was murdered and decides to investigate on her own.  It doesn't take Judith long to settle on a suspect, auction house owner Elliot Howard. However, while Judith is convinced Elliott is responsible, he has an iron-clad alibi. Plus, a second murder committed with the same weapon, an antique handgun, seems to have no connection to him. Fortunately, Judith has reinforcements from Beth, a vicar's wife, and a dog walker, Suzie, because her investigation might put her own life in danger. Review: I checked out The Marlow Murder Club from my library because I came a...

Synopsis: When an escaped criminal results in a manhunt near Mayberry, Andy ( Andy Griffith ) and Barney ( Don Knotts ) are ready to do their part. However, the state police don't want their help. Andy, not wanting to lose face in front of his son, Opie ( Ron Howard ) and the rest of the town, decides to help anyway but things only become worse when the criminal (Frank Gerstle) gets Barney's gun. My Thoughts: The first scene with Barney is a good reminder of what Don Knotts brought to this series. His excitement over the escaped criminal followed up with his inability to use the radio correctly was as funny as it can get. It's unclear if the state police never wanted Andy's help or if he convinced them not to ask for it. Capt. Barker (Ken Lynch) wasn't particularly friendly toward him when he and his crew arrived but also didn't seem as though he was going to be opposed to Andy's help until the latter became uncomfortably impressed with the use of magnetic ...

 Here are my thoughts from last night's 23-13 Green Bay Packers win over the Dallas Cowboys: Welcome back Savion Williams. I honestly wasn't expecting him to have that much of a role in his first game back from injury, but he had two big clutch catches on the first drive and finished with four catches and 2 runs. With Jayden Reed out for the season, I think he will be the one they choose to replace him in the offense. Green Bay needs to get their run game fixed. As I told my cat, who was waiting to be fed last night, this game would have been over a lot quicker if the Packers didn't need to pass the ball so much. Head Coach Matt LaFleur didn't give up on the run game but their three running backs only netted 36 yards on 20 carries. Pierre Strong Jr. is making the case as the strongest of the group behind Josh Jacobs. Not so much running the ball because he was equally inconsistent with that, but other than a drop late in the game, he seemed to be a valuable asset as a r...