Hey_Sweden

John Fords' incredible Technicolor / Vista Vision Western is truly a landmark among Westerns, telling the story of an epic journey that spans a couple of years. Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns to his brothers' (Walter Coy) homestead three years after the end of the Civil War. But soon, the peaceful lives of the family are shattered by a Comanche tribe on the warpath; they slaughter most of the family and abduct Ethans' youngest niece (Lana Wood). In the company of a family friend (Jeffrey Hunter), Ethan spends the next five years determinedly tracking down his kin & his quarry.

Complemented by its excellent color photography (by Winton C. Hoch) and wonderful music by Max Steiner, "The Searchers" boasts an impressive cast of familiar faces, and is able to combine drama, comedy, and action into one irresistible whole. I love the way that this story spans a number of years, with many stops for The Duke & Hunter along the way.

The Duke is typically commanding, and apparently this was reputed to be his favorite project - right down to the fact that he named his own last real-life son Ethan after his character. The handsome Hunter provides a solid sidekick, while Ward Bond, Vera Miles, Harry Carey Jr., Henry Brandon (as a tight-lipped villain with scant screen time), and Hank Worden contribute standout supporting turns. Lanas' older sister Natalie plays the same character when Ethan & Marty finally catch up to her; The Dukes' son Patrick is amusing as a bumbling young Cavalry lieutenant who arrives late in the picture.

Top entertainment from beginning to end; don't let complaints about it being "too long" or "too slow" deter you from seeing it. The opening and closing shots, in particular, are famous for a reason.

Nine out of 10.

After they have taken on board a propulsion system expert (Stanley Kamel, 'Monk') and his alien assistant (Eric Menyuk, "The Air Up There"), the Enterprise crew are taken for a Hell of a ride, ending up *millions* of light years away from their own galaxy. While Picard & the adults have Kamel correctly pegged as a phony, it is Wesley who is first to notice that the alien - a.k.a. The Traveler - is the real article.

Here we get a major dose of real science fiction, in an episode considered by fans to be the spot where the series started to truly gel. Hearkening back to the kinds of provocative & intelligent ideas we saw on the original series, this manages to entertain while also allowing us to think about the powers that our thoughts can have. (For one thing, some of the crew have visions of pets they had as children.)

Guest star Kamel is fun as a jerk with an inflated ego, but it is fellow guest star Menyuk (who was in the running to play Data) who truly shines. He gives his character a wonderfully ethereal quality, dignity, and a heart. But the whole cast is strong, and it's notable that here Wesley has an important role to play, and is proven to be useful.

The visual effects are also stunning, especially on Blu-ray, and in general this is an interesting episode with a great deal of poignancy.

Also guest starring Herta Ware ("Cocoon") as Picards' mother, and Biff Yeager ("Repo Man") as the obviously Scotty-inspired "Argyle", one of several characters to go through the revolving door of supervising Engineering.

Eight out of 10.