UPN's Shockwave Cinema is a Science Fiction Hoot

Travis's disbelief doesn't last long, though. After Lloyd's arrest on suspicion of slaughter, he discovers a strange giant claw at the murder scene. He gets the pretty blond waitress at the local diner -- Jill, the doctor's daughter -- to drive him to the quarry. There, in a blood-spattered hole, he finds scratch marks that match the claw.

Caught in the cycle of the stories, Travis has to find a way to kill the monster and save the town. He's pretty much alone -- once the deed is done each time, no one else remembers it ever happened. What's worse, the monster's new power is regeneration. Blasted into barbecue, it sprouts from its ashes like a multi armed phoenix. The Rules no longer apply.

So, Travis changes The Rules.

The November 26 show was Airtight, which had great fun not only with the cliches of hero-driven SF like Robocop and Time Cop but played with the hard-boiled detective movies of the forties as well.

The future is bleak. Nuclear disarmament failed sometime in the past and destroyed the air. People live in multi-level skyscrapers where the rich have room and the poor cluster like rats in the basement. Instead of police and fire departments, accidents and crime are handled by the "Air Force," a bunch of people with names like Flyer and Spudsy and Lou.

In fact, our hero is a Rat -- Rat Lucci. When his adored adoptive father, Flyer Lucci, dies in a mysterious "accident" while exploring the maze of airducts called the Labyrinth, Rat goes looking for the truth.

Meanwhile, a scientist named Escher is kidnapped by goons in the employ of Ed Conrad, a rich industrialist. Escher had invented a way to extract the oxygen from sea water and provide clean air for everyone. Conrad sees a profit. The fate of the little people of the world hangs in the balance as Rat and his Air Force buddies try to rescue Escher and stop Conrad from cornering the market on breathing.

What makes both of these films work is that they don't take themselves seriously. They are what they are meant to be -- playfully tongue-in-cheek and intentionally corny. By having the action in Monster take place at night and/or in unlit locations, director John Lafia and photography director ? Capture the feel of the old black and whites. Airtight's

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