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Alien Worlds Season 1

The Starsmith Project – Part 2

Alien WorldsRushed to the sick bay aboard Starlab, Professor Starsmith is dying. A voice that isn’t his begs for Starlab’s doctors to save his life, and even tells them how to prepare an atmosphere that will allow him to recover. The being that had been masquerading as Starsmith is a refugee from Nikona, and asks for the ISA’s intervention to save his planet from Emperor Mika’s insane reign. But any Earthman setting foot on Nikona will be marked for death the moment the Emperor sees him.

written by Mike Hodel and Lee Hansen
directed by Lee Hansen
music by Jim Kirk

Cast: Roger Dressler (Narrator / Commissioner), Linda Gary (Maura Cassidy), Bruce Phillip Miller (Captain Jon Graydon), Corey Burton (Jerry Lyden), Chuck Olsen (Captain Buddy Griff), Richard Paul (Professor Starsmith), Byron Kane (Matib), Francis Bay (Emperor Mika), Lester Fletcher (Starsmith’s Assistant), Carol Bilger (Ariana), Gail Murphy (Dr. Rossiter)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Battlestar Galactica (Classic Series) Season 1

The Man With Nine Lives

Battlestar Galactica (original)Two strange arrivals coincide almost suspiciously – the arrival of a man claiming to be Starbuck’s father, and a group of Borellians enlist to join the ranks of Galactica’s Viper pilots. What no one suspects is that the man insisting that Starbuck is his son is a con man – and the Borellians are hot on his trail. But will the evidence be uncovered before Starbuck sacrifices his life for someone he believes to be his father?

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by Donald P. Bellisario
directed by Rod Holcomb
music by Stu Phillips

Guest Cast: Fred Astaire (Chameleon), Anne Jeffreys (Siress Blassie), Lance Le Gault (Maga), Robert Feero (Bora), Anthony deLongis (Taba), Bruce Wright (Corporal Lomas), Dan Barton (Crewman), Patricia Stich (Newswoman Zara), Ted Parker (Commentator Zed), Leann Hunley (Warrior), Alex Hyde-White (Warrior), John Holland (Waiter), Lynn Halpern (Pyramid dealer)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Blake's 7 Season 3

Dawn Of The Gods

Blake's 7Orac, curious about an unusual black hole, takes control of the Liberator and swings her too close. The ship is swallowed up by the black hole, and it is discovered that this particular black hole is indeed unusual because it is artificial constructed by an outcast “god” from Cally’s home planet of Auron who seeks a powerful ship, brilliant slaves – and Cally.

written by James Follett
directed by Desmond McCarthy
music by Dudley Simpson

Cast: Paul Darrow (Avon), Jan Chappell (Cally), Michael Keating (Vila), Steven Pacey (Tarrant), Josette Simon (Dayna), Peter Tuddenham (Zen, Orac), Sam Dastor (The Caliph), Terry Scully (Groff), Marcus Powell (The Thaarn)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 04 Star Trek The Next Generation

The Wounded

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 44429.6: Captain Maxwell of the U.S.S. Phoenix has severed contact with Starfleet and the Phoenix has been raiding the vessels of Cardassians, a race once at war with the Federation but now peaceful under an uneasy treaty. Picard discovers that Captain Maxwell believes he has good reason to continue these attacks.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Jeri Taylor
story by Stuart Charno & Sara Charno and Cy Chermak
directed by Chip Chalmers
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: Bob Gunton (Captain Ben Maxwell), Rosalind Chao (Keiko), Marc Alaimo (Gul Macet), Colm Meaney (O’Brien), Marco Rodriguez (Glinn Telle), Time Winters (Glinn Daro), John Hancock (Admiral Henry)

Notes: This episode introduces the Cardassians, who would later be seen in Ensign Ro and Chain Of Command, and would become central to the mythology of the spinoff series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 5

The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari

Babylon 5Lennier must decide how best to follow the calling of his heart now that Delenn has married Sheridan – stay by their side, or return home? Meanwhile, Londo’s heart wants a word or two with him…and amidst possible glimpses of the future, he must find a way to free himself of the burdens of his past, or lose all hope of redemption.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by David J. Eagle
music by Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (President John Sheridan), Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Tracy Scoggins (Captain Elizabeth Lochley), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander), Peter Jurasik (Londo), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), David Kettle (Ruell), Akiko Ann Morison (Med Tech)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 03 SG-1 Stargate

Urgo

Stargate SG-1SG-1 steps through the gate, believing they’re about to visit a planet with a tropical paradise that they’ve just seen transmitted back via MALP, only to return through the gate instantaneously. But General Hammond tells them they’ve been gone, with no contact, for 15 hours, and has them report to the infirmary. Everything checks out normal at first, but they begin to notice that their senses are heightened – even to the point that the base’s standard-issue cafeteria food actually tastes good. A closer examination reveals that each member of SG-1 has received a kind of brain implant, and this device’s purpose becomes clear when they begin to collectively hallucinate a man named Urgo – who no one else can see. Urgo can’t control their actions, but he can make fairly powerful suggestions…and it appears that he can’t be removed. When SG-1 begins trying to figure out who created Urgo, though, he frantically warns them that his creator could be more of a threat to their lives than he is.

Order the DVDswritten by Tor Alexander Valenza
directed by Peter DeLuise
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Dom DeLuise (Urgo), Teryl Rothery (Dr. Fraiser), Nickolas Baric (SF Guard), Bill Nikolai (Technician)

Notes: Guest star Dom DeLuise is the father of frequent-flyer Stargate director Pete DeLuise; the younger DeLuise is also an actor who has appeared with his father and brothers in such shows as seaQuest DSV and 3rd Rock From The Sun.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Farscape Season 1

Family Ties

FarscapeRygel decides that it’s time to save his own skin, and takes a transport pod to Crais’ Command Carrier to trade his life for the rest of Moya’s crew. Rygel quickly realizes he is dealing from a position of weakness – but so is Crais, who soon loses command of his crew to Scorpius. Crais and Rygel escape back to Moya, where Crichton and the others are decidedly less than thrilled to see them. Crichton decides to buy time for Moya to escape by piloting a transport pod full of explosives directly into the Gammak base, knowing that Scorpius won’t kill him before he has the chance to access the wormhole equations in Crichton’s mind. D’Argo chooses to assist Crichton, and while the crew hatches a plan to try and bring everyone back alive, they know it’s a long shot at best. When Crais takes Moya’s offspring – newly christened Talyn by Aeryn, in honor of her father – the odds get even longer.

Order the DVDswritten by Rockne S. O’Bannon and David Kemper
directed by Tony Tilse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Lani John Tupu (Captain Bialar Crais), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), David Franklin (Lt. Braca)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Season 08 SG-1 Stargate

Prometheus Unbound

Stargate SG-1Daniel has been ready to join the Prometheus mission to Atlantis for some time, but O’Neill flatly refuses to let him go, insisting that he needs Daniel at the SGC. But both of them are surprised when General Hammond pays a surprise visit and makes it very clear that the decision has been taken out of O’Neill’s hands: Daniel will be joining the Atlantis mission, at the insistence of the Prometheus’ commander…who just happens to be Hammond himself. Between the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies, the Promtheus picks up a distress call, supposedly from a human, and responds, finding a Goa’uld ship instead. Once many of the crew are aboard the other ship as a landing party, Prometheus is ripe for a takeover. A single supersoldier takes the Prometheus easily, but Daniel manages to remain aboard, discovering that the armed hijacker is a con artist named Vala Mal Doran. Daniel retakes the Prometheus, but Vala has locked the ship’s controls on a heading of her own – she was hoping the Prometheus’ firepower would look convincing enough to help her conduct a shady deal for a shipment of naquadah. Even with Vala in the brig, Daniel is left with little choice but to conduct the deal himself. Vala insists that her help will be needed, and when the deal turns out to be a disastrous double-cross, even her help may not be enough.

Order the DVDswritten by Damian Kindler
directed by Andy Mikita
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Claudia Black (Vala), Don S. Davis (General Hammond), Ellie Harvie (Dr. Novak), Gary Jones (Chief Sgt. Walter Harriman), Eric Breker (Colonel Reynolds), Morris Chapdelaine (Tenat), Christopher Pearce (Hayworth), Geoff Bidemap (Alien), Dan Payne (Super Soldier)

Notes: Claudia Black portrayed Officer Aeryn Sun for all four years of Farscape, as well as the concluding miniseries Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. The first broadcast of this episode came just a few weeks after the announcement that Black’s former Farscape co-star, Ben Browder, would be joining SG-1’s regular cast in the ninth season. Black also returned to the character of Vala in several episodes of season 9, eventually joining the regular cast in season 10. Ellie Harvie’s Dr. Novak resurfaces on Atlantis after joining the crew of the Daedalus full-time.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stargate Stargate Atlantis

The Defiant One

Stargate AtlantisSheppard, McKay and two scientists explore one of the other planets in Atlantis’ solar system in a jumper, finding an enormous but dormant weapons platform in orbit, possibly the Ancients’ last line of defense for Atlantis. They find a crashed Wraith ship on the planet’s surface, along with a startlingly well-preserved dead Wraith on board – one which seems to have been fed upon by another Wraith, a behavior that hasn’t been observed before. They also find a chamber with hundreds of coccooned human bodies – a sign that other Wraiths may be nearby, stockpiling food for reasons unknown. Sheppard takes this as a sign that it’s time to return to the jumper, but it’s too late – one of the junior scientists becomes the Wraith’s latest victim, and the other is captured and coccooned. Sheppard and McKay find their surviving team member, and Sheppard arms McKay and leaves him to guard the wounded man. In the meantime, Sheppard races to return to the undefended jumper, only to find that the Wraith has already discovered it – and its weapons. Sheppard can’t call for help, and even when Dr. Weir becomes worried enough to send Lt. Ford and Teyla in charge of a backup team, help is over 15 hours away.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Peter DeLuise
directed by Peter DeLuise
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Richard Cox (Gaul), Paul Magel (Abrams), James Lafazanos (Wraith), Joseph May (Markham)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Enterprise Season 04 Star Trek

Babel One

Star Trek: EnterpriseCaptain Archer puts a polish on his worst manners to welcome aboard a delegation of Tellarites. The Enterprise is ferrying the Tellarite ambassador and his staff to a peace conference with the Andorians on the planet Babel. En route to the summit, however, the Enterprise receives a distress call from an Andorian ship and responds as quickly as possible. When the Enterprise gets there, the ship has been destroyed, and only a few life pods remain. Captain Shran, Archer’s occasional ally, was commanding the doomed vessel, and claims that a powerful Tellarite ship was behind the attack. He’s also incensed to discover that there is a Tellarite delegation aboard the Enterprise, and the Andorian captain makes is clear that he’s out for blood. The Enterprise itself is soon attacked by an Andorian ship, but T’Pol spots something unusual in the sensor readings – this Andorian attacker’s energy profile matches the readings given off by the Tellarite warship that destroyed Shran’s ship. The Enterprise puts up a fight and eventually the Andorian ship breaks off and falls back. Archer doubles back to confirm his growing suspicions, and the ship that the Enterprise eventually finds is neither Andorian nor Tellarite – and it seems to have no life support or crew. Trip, Reed, and a small squadron of MACOs board the damaged ship in environment suits, but when it appears that the ship is undergoing repairs and beginning the move again, the MACOs are beamed back to the Enterprise – and Trip and Reed are stranded with only the breathable air in their suits.

Order DVDswritten by Michael Sussman & Andre Bormanis
directed by David Straiton
music by Paul Baillargeon

Guest Cast: Jeffrey Combs (Shran), Lee Arenberg (Gral), Brian Thompson (Valdore), J. Michael Flynn (Nijil), Molly Brink (Talas), Kevin Brief (Naarg), Jermaine Soto (MACO Crewmember)

Note: Mere days after this episode aired, UPN announced the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Battlestar Galactica (New Series) Season 1

Act Of Contrition

Battlestar GalacticaAn impromptu celebration ensues on the hangar deck when one of the pilots makes his 1,000th successful landing. During the celebration, though, a loose strap on a munitions rack leads to the tragic loss of several of Galactica’s most experienced pilots. After the dead are buried, Adama instructs Starbuck to begin training new pilots immediately. The usually uninhibited Starbuck doesn’t seem to be looking forward to the challenge, however – the very thin field of candidates has absolutely no combat flight experience, if they have any flight experience at all; when she asks if someone else could handle the training, Starbuck learns that the only other qualified flight instructors in the remaining Colonial fleet don’t have combat experience either. Adama makes it clear that despite the death of his son Zak – who died in an accident in a Viper fighter after Starbuck passed him for basic flight training – he trusts Starbuck to shape Galactica’s next group of fighter pilots. But Apollo forces a revelation to the surface that may cost Starbuck the trust she has earned from Adama.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle
directed by Rod Hardy
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Aaron Douglas (CPO Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Paul Campbell (Billy Keikeya), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Gaeta), Sam Witwer (Lt. Crashdown), Lorena Gale (Priest Elosha), Donnelly Rhodes (Dr. Cottle), Jill Teed (Sgt. Hadrian), Tobias Mehler (Zak Adama), Colby Johannson (Flat Top), Beill Meiler (Caprica Cleric), Bodie Olmos (Costanza / Hot Dog), Luciana Carro (Katraine / Kat), Terry Chen (Perry / Chuckles)

Notes: Actor Bodie Olmos is the son of series star Edward James Olmos. The writing team of Bradley Thompson and David Weddle worked with executive producer Ronald D. Moore on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Original UK Airdate: November 8, 2004

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Big Finish Spinoffs Doctor Who The Audio Dramas UNIT

Snake Head

UNIT: Snake HeadA mysterious death and a mangled body on a beach at Southend gets UNIT’s attention, and Colonel Chaudhry and Colonel Dalton arrive to investigate. What starts out looking like an investigation best handled by immigration officials takes a more sinister turn when a recorded emergency call repeatedly refers to “vrkolak” – a particularly nasty Armenian vampire legend. Chaudhry finds clues about how the illegal immigrant found dead on the beach arrived in Britain, and traces those clues back to a man who artfully dodges almost all of her questions about bringing illegal immigrants into the country as laborers. Dalton, in the meantime, finds another man just smuggled into the U.K. from Kosovo – a man who claims to be a professional vampire hunter, on the trail of the vrkolak (a claim which the still-skeptical Dalton finds incredibly had to believe). Dalton, despite now having caught up on UNIT’s past, can’t bring himself to accept that he and his officers are participating in a vampire hunt; he also accuses Chaudhry of believing in the unexplained far too readily. But before the sun rises again, something may happen to forever change Dalton’s mind.

Order this CDwritten by Jonathan Clements
directed by John Ainsworth
music by David Darlington

Cast: Siri O’Neal (Colonel Emily Chaudhry), Nicholas Deal (Colonel Robert Dalton), Ian Brooker (Dr. Hendrick), Robert Curbishley (Lt. Will Hoffman), Ian Hayles (Kevin), Toby Longworth (Goran), Jane MacFarlane (Anni)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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8th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

Phobos

Doctor Who: PhobosOn Phobos, one of the moons of Mars, tourists engage in a wide variety of extreme sports. Key to the thrillseekers is bungie-jumping into a wormhole found on the surface. But there’s a problem: tourists keep disappearing or winding up dead. Kai, who runs the place with his longtime girlfried Eris, says it’s all caused by monsters from the wormhole and tries to warn everyone away, to no avail. But tensions among the guests begin to run high and even Kai himself seems somehow tied in to the danger. When the Doctor and Lucie show up, things begin to come to a boil and it’s anyone’s guess who’ll come out alive.

Order this CDwritten by Eddie Robson
directed by Barnaby Edwards
music by ERS

Cast: Paul McGann (The Doctor), Sheridan Smith (Lucie Miller), Katarina Olsson (Amy / Headhunter), Timothy West (Kai), Nerys Hughes (Eris), Ben Silverstone (Drew), John Schwab (Hayd), Tim Sutton (Farl)

Notes: Nerys Hughes previously appeared in the Doctor Who adventure Kinda.

Timeline: after Immortal Beloved and before No More Lies

LogBook entry & review by Philip R. Frey

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Battlestar Galactica (New Series) Season 3

Taking A Break From All Your Worries

Battlestar GalacticaCaptured by Tyrol at the temple on the algae planet, Baltar is now in the hands of the Colonial fleet. While many would happily see him dead – indeed, a suicide attempt in his cell is only narrowly averted – President Roslin wants to use this opportunity to find out more about the attack on Caprica and Baltar’s involvement in it, something she’s never been able to prove. Adama approves the use of a hallucinogenic interrogation drug that may be of more use in breaking Baltar’s resolve than Roslin’s shock tactics, over Doc Cottle’s objections, but even under intense questioning in an altered state, Baltar doesn’t surrender the information that his captors are hoping for…

written by Michael Taylor
directed by Edward James Olmos
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Tigh), Aaron Douglas (CPO Tyrol), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Michael Trucco (Anders), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Kerry Norton (Paramedic Ibhay), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Tom Bower (Joe), Steve Lawlor (Guard), Graeme Duffy (Adrien Bauer), Jason Dryden (Knucklehead Dragger #1)

Note: On its original broadcast, this episode included a “bonus scene” just before the end credits – with absolutely no context for placing it within the rest of the story – of Roslin questioning the captured Number Six.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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6th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

The Curse Of Davros

Doctor WhoA year after her brief encounter with the Doctor, Flip and her boyfriend Jared witness the crash of a Dalek ship in London. As police surround the wreckage, Flip and Jared find the Doctor among the debris, acting strangely disoriented. Naturally, the Daleks are close behind, along with humans under their control, looking for the Doctor. Flip is startled to witness the Doctor displaying a casual disregard for those around him, and is powerless and speechless when the Doctor surrenders himself to the Daleks. Aboard the Daleks’ mothership, the Doctor is brought before Davros, and only then does she learn that the Doctor’s mind is trapped in the body of the gnarled Kaled scientist, and vice versa. The Doctor performed this dangerous swap with Davros’ own technology to thwart a plan to change Earth’s history by turning the Battle of Waterloo in Napoleon’s favor… but now he’ll need Flip’s help to finish the job and return to his own body.

Order this CDwritten by Jonathan Morris
directed by Nicholas Briggs
music by Wilfredo Acosta

Cast: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Lisa Greenwood (Flip Jackson), Terry Molloy (Davros), Ashley Kumar (Jared), Jonathan Owen (Napoleon Bonaparte), Rhys Jennings (Captain Pascal), Granville Saxton (Duke of Wellington), Robert Portal (Marshal Ney), Christian Patterson (Captain Dickson), Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks)

Notes: The Daleks employ “mind exchange” technology here, and the portrayal of it by the cast is reminiscent of the Dalek-possessed humans seen in television episodes such as Asylum Of The Daleks and The Time Of The Doctor; additionally, the mind-swapped Jared is armed with Dalek weaponry, which lines up handily with the palm-mounted Dalek guns seen on TV… all of which is an especially good trick considering that The Curse Of Davros was recorded nearly a full year prior to Asylum‘s premiere.

Timeline: after Industrial Evolution and before The Fourth Wall

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green