Day: February 18, 1974

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Classic Season 2 Tomorrow People

The Blue And The Green – Part 3: The Trojan Horse

Tomorrow PeopleStephen and John scare a group of hostile youths away from Elizabeth by jaunting in out of thin air. The violence among wearers of blue and green badges is growing around the world. John purchases a painting similar to Robert’s from a shop window, only to discover that the owner of the shop is John’s grandfather, though TIM is unable to find any family records pertaining to Robert. TIM also warns against bringing the painting into the Tomorrow People’s home base, but grudgingly agrees to neutrino scan it…until it burns itself to ash in self-defense.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Roger Price
directed by Roger Price
music by Dudley Simpson

Tomorrow PeopleCast: Elizabeth Adare (Elizabeth), Nicholas Young (John), Peter Vaughan-Clarke (Stephen), Philip Gilbert (TIM), Christopher Chittell (Chris), Nigel Pegram (Grandfather), Jason Kemp (Robert), Ray Burdis (Johnson)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Alien Worlds Season 1

The Resurrectionists Of Lethe – Part 1

Alien WorldsDr. Richard Nicholson stops by Starlab en route to an award ceremony on Earth, where he will be honored for a major biomolecular breakthrough. But his celebration is short-lived: a toxic fuel leak aboard the shuttle due to carry him to Earth kills Nicholson as his wife, who had been speaking to him via radio, listens. Nicholson is deemed worthy of being buried on the artificial mortuarty satellite, Lethe, whose administrator, Simon Toddmaster, invites Nicholson’s widow to Lethe, with an unusual promise that she will see her dead husband live again.

written by Ron Thompson
based on an original story by Betty Yulius
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), Hans Conreid (Simon Toddmaster), Susan Brown (Ann Nicholson), George DiCenzo (Dr. Richard Nicholson), Cliff Norton (Burkey), Jack Lukes (Carl), Sally Smaller (Mr. Thorndancer)

Notes: Prior to his stint as the head of the Lethe satellite, Toddmaster had previously served prison time for smuggling glowstone (Night Riders Of Kalimar). From the “vintage 1970s humor” file: former President Richard Nixon is apparently interred on Lethe, and left an “18 minute last will and testament tape”…which Toddmaster is unsurprised to discover is blank. Unusually for Alien Worlds, an exact date is given for this episode (April 28, 2026).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Battlestar Galactica (Classic Series) Season 1

Murder on the Rising Star

Battlestar Galactica (original)Starbuck is accused of murdering an old rival after the two get into a fight over a card game. The warrior insists he had nothing to do with the death, but tests reveal that his laser was the murder weapon. Apollo and Boomer try to clear Starbuck’s name, and unveil a web of deceit that Starbuck’s supposed victim wove to ease his own conscience. The deceased was far from innocent, but the new evidence may not be enough to save Starbuck.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodeteleplay by Donald P. Bellisario, Jim Carlson and Terrence McDonnell
story by Michael Sloan
directed by Rod Holcomb
music by Stu Phillips

Guest Cast: Brock Peters (Chief Opposer Solon), W.K. Stratton (Wing Sgt. Barton), Ben Frank (Chella/Riftis), Lyman Ward (Pallon/Karibdis), Frank Ashmore (Flight Sgt. Ortega), Jeff Mackay (Corporal Komma), Newell Alexander (Elias), Ted Parker (Commentator Zed), Patricia Stich (Newswoman Zara), Ted Noobe (Officiator), Paul LeClair (Guard)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Blake's 7 Season 3

The Children Of Auron

Blake's 7Cally’s twin sister, Zelda, sends out a telepathic distress signal when the planet Auron is ravaged by a plague which has, in fact, been unleashed on the pacifist Aurons by Servalan in an attempt to capture the Liberator and its crew.

written by Roger Parkes
directed by Andrew Morgan
music by Dudley Simpson

Cast: Paul Darrow (Avon), Jan Chappell (Cally, Zelda), Michael Keating (Vila), Jacqueline Pearce (Servalan), Steven Pacey (Tarrant), Josette Simon (Dayna), Peter Tuddenham (Zen, Orac), Rio Fanning (Deral), Ric Young (Ginka), Jack McKenzie (Patar), Beth Harris (CA Two), Ronald Leigh-Hunt (CA One), Sarah Atkinson (Franton), Michael Troughton (Pilot Four-Zero)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 04 Star Trek The Next Generation

First Contact

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate not given: Riker, having undergone facial surgery to look like a Malcorian and beamed down to Malcor III to coordinate other surgically disguised cultural observers from Starfleet, is injured in a riot and taken to a hospital, where his true nature is slowly deduced by Malcorian doctors while Riker remains out of touch with the Enterprise. Picard and Troi try to find open-minded individuals among that planet’s leaders and scientific minds, but discover that, like on late 20th century Earth, such people are few and far between.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Dennis Russell Bailey, David Bischoff, Joe Menosky, Ronald D. Moore and Michael Piller
story by Mark Scott Zicree
directed by Cliff Bole
music by Ron Jones

Guest Cast: George Coe (Chancellor Durken), Carolyn Seymour (Mirasta Yale), George Hearn (Berel), Michael Ensign (Krola), Steven Anderson (Nilrem), Sachi Parker (Nurse), Bebe Neuwirth (Lanel)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 1

Infection

Babylon 5Dr. Vance Hendricks, one of Dr. Franklin’s med school mentors, arrives on Babylon 5 in a cloud of mystery with a collection of pristine artifacts from the planet Icarra, which has been dead for over a thousand years. One of the artifacts takes control of Hendricks’ partner and transforms him into a killing machine designed to eliminate any life form which is not pure Icarran. Since the Icarran race has been dead for centuries thanks to creatures just like this, every living being aboard the station is in danger – a situation which Sinclair decides to take into his own hands despite Garibaldi’s protests.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Richard Compton
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: David McCallum (Dr. Vance Hendricks), Marshall Teague (Nelson Drake), Patricia Healy (Mary Ann Cramer), Sav Farrow (Tech #1), Daniel Hutchison (Security Guard), Sylva Kelegian (Tech #2), Tony Rizzoli (Guard), Marianne Robertson (Tech #3), Paul Teuell (Customs Guard)

Notes: We discover, later in the series, that Interplanetary Expeditions, Hendricks’ employer, is the same outfit that unburied Shadow vessels on Mars and Ganymede.

Infection was the first hour-long episode of Babylon 5 produced.

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Space: Above And Beyond

Toy Soldiers

Space: Above And BeyondNathan West is appalled when a lineup of new recruits includes his younger brother, Neil, who enlisted without saying a word to his older brother. To make matters worse, Nathan quickly finds out for himself that Neil’s CO is gunning for glory – even if it costs him the lives of those under his command.

Order the DVDwritten by Marilyn Osborn
directed by Stephen Posey
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Marc Worden (Neil West), Al Garrett (Donovan), David Barrera (2nd Lt. Herrick), Steven Jang (Intelligence Officer Connor), Michael Malota (Young Nathan), Christian Hoff (Miller), Adam Sutton (Young Neil), P.J. Ochlan (Eichler)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 5

Learning Curve

Babylon 5Delenn summons two of the Rangers’ elders to Babylon 5, while a new arrival Down Below attempts to consolidate control of the underworld. When Tannier, a Ranger trainee, interferes with the criminals’ plans to assassinate Zack, he is gravely wounded. Delenn refuses to allow station security to pursue the attackers – as part of his training, Tannier himself must confront them, and learn the use of terror. Meanwhile, Garibaldi wants more information on Lochley’s background…and so does Delenn, who suspects that there may be more to Lochley’s relationship with Sheridan than anyone is letting on.

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

Guest Cast: Nathan Anderson (Rastenn), Turhan Bey (Turval), Brendan Ford (Tannier), Trevor Goddard (Trace), Brian McDermott (Durhan), Mongo Brownlee (Enforcer), Dawn Comer (Security Guard), Erica Ortega (Teegarden)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 04 Star Trek Voyager

Prey

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate not given: Voyager encounters a lone Hirogen ship adrift in space, with minimal life signs. An away team pays a brief visit to the derelict, finding the ship in ruins and only one member of its crew still barely alive. After the surviving Hirogen is brought aboard, it becomes apparent that his prey – which is also responsible for killing his fellow hunters – has penetrated Voyager’s defenses. The object of the Hirogen’s hunt is a rogue member of Species 8472, the race which almost defeated the Borg. Janeway realizes that she will need Seven’s help to return the creature to its home before more Hirogen arrive, but Seven’s instinct to regard Species 8472 as a mortal enemy may overpower her loyalty to Voyager.

Order the DVDswritten by Brannon Braga
directed by Allan Eastman
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: Tony Todd (Alpha-Hirogen), Clint Carmichael (Beta-Hirogen)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Red Dwarf Season 08

Back In The Red Part I

Red DwarfStarbug has returned home to Red Dwarf, but somehow it’s just not the same Red Dwarf. Now, setting aside for the moment the fact that Red Dwarf is far too large and then begins shrinking, and setting aside a rather unpleasant incident involving mammoth rodentia, the real problem with the nanobot-reconstructed Red Dwarf is its crew. They’re perfectly alive and well, and really don’t seem to appreciate Lister and Kochanski – along with a couple of unknown stowaways – crashing a Starbug through their ship. The ship’s psychiatrist tries to psychoanalyze Kryten, only to be baffled by the revelation that Kryten is, technically, from his future.

Lister is imprisoned and quickly finds that Rimmer is still alive aboard this Red Dwarf too. Not the more seasoned Rimmer who recently left to become Ace, but the overzealous, trumped-up, incompetent vending machine repairman with a Napoleon complex…the Rimmer of old. (Granted, the above could serve as a description of Rimmer at any time, but let’s not dwell on that.) Lister’s only hope of proving his story – that Red Dwarf is, in fact, over three million years away from home, and that its crew has been mechanically recreated – is to trust Rimmer to bring the evidence to Captain Hollister. Unfortunately, that evidence includes the sexual magnetism virus, which Rimmer decides to try for himself.

So much for Lister’s defense…

Season 8 Regular Cast: Chris Barrie (Rimmer), Craig Charles (Lister), Chloe Annett (Kochanski), Danny John-Jules (Cat), Robert Llewellyn (Kryten), Norman Lovett (Holly)

Order the DVDswritten by Doug Naylor
directed by Ed Bye
music by Howard Goodall

Guest Cast: Paul Bradley (Chen), David Gillespie (Selby), Mac McDonald (Captain Hollister)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 03 SG-1 Stargate

New Ground

Stargate SG-1On a world previously unvisited by SG-1, a stargate is unearthed by indigenous archaeologists. When the gate opens and a MALP rolls through, they’re stunned; Daniel speaks to them via two-way radio built into the MALP unit, and asks if SG-1 can visit. But as soon as they’re through the gate, the team learns that there’s a war on between two fundamentally different belief systems – and the very presence of humans from another world will cause that war to heat up even more. O’Neill, Carter and Daniel are captured, while Teal’c goes into hiding to bide his time for a rescue attempt. A close encounter with one of the armed locals leaves the Jaffa blinded and all but defenseless. O’Neill and the others quickly learn the gravity of their situation: they will most likely be executed, the gate reburied, and the entire incident covered up, all to protect the belief system of one of the planet’s dominant nations. But when the archaeological dig uncovers the gate’s DHD, there’s also an opportunity for the “heretics” to escape.

Order the DVDswritten by Heather E. Ash
directed by Chris McMullin
music by Joel Goldsmith and Kevin Kiner

Guest Cast: Richard Ian Cox (Nyan), Daryl Shuttleworth (Rygar), Teryl Rothery (Dr. Fraiser), Desiree Zuroski (Parcy), Jennifer Copping (Mallin), Bill Nikolai (Technician), Finn Michael (Soldier)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
8th Doctor

The Chimes Of Midnight

The Chimes Of MidnightThe TARDIS lands in the well-stocked larder of what appears to be an Edwardian-era house. As Charley and the Doctor explore the house, they find numerous recent signs of life, but little or no evidence of the occupants. Gradually, Charley hears the voices of the people living in the house – and, for a moment, sees and speaks to one of them. Nothing the time travelers do or move stays permanent. When they’re suddenly able to communicate with the house’s occupants, the clock strikes and one of those occupants turns up horribly murdered. Far from being considered suspects, the Doctor and Charley are instantly “recognized” as London’s greatest amateur sleuths by the servants and staff. Another murder happens when the clock strikes eleven – and the victim of the previous slaying seems to have been erased from the memories of everyone except the Doctor and Charley. And so continues a horrifying, never ending cycle of life and death, a paradoxical cycle which can only end with the death of one of the house’s visitors.

Order this CDwritten by Robert Shearman
directed by Barnaby Edwards
music by Russell Stone

Cast: Paul McGann (The Doctor), India Fisher (Charley), Louise Rolfe (Edith), Lennox Greaves (Mr. Shaughnessy), Sue Wallace (Mrs. Baddeley), Robert Curbishley (Frederick), Juliet Warner (Mary)

Timeline: after Invaders From Mars and before Seasons Of Fear

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Enterprise Season 03 Star Trek

Doctor’s Orders

Star Trek: EnterpriseEnterprise arrives at a vast nebula, and trying to go around the gaseous structure would add months to the ship’s journey. Archer is forced to consider putting the entire crew under neurosedation and leaving Enterprise in the hands of Doctor Phlox and T’Pol, whose alien physiologies render them immune to the nebula’s effects. Though T’Pol is undaunted by the exhaustive schedule of duties she must perform as the ship’s sole pilot and engineer, Phlox may be unprepared for the sense of isolation that he must endure – but is he really alone, or has someone else boarded Enterprise?

Order DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Chris Black
directed by Roxann Dawson
music by Dennis McCarthy & Kevin Kiner

Guest Cast: Porthos

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 08 SG-1 Stargate

Citizen Joe

Stargate SG-1An armed man barges into O’Neill’s home, accusing him of ruining his life. Seven years ago, this small-town barber picked up a mysterious object at a yard sale, an item which gave him vivid, recurring visions of SG-1’s exploits. Joe tells his son bedtime stories about Colonel Jack O’Neill, Teal’c and their comrades, and tells his customers at the barber shop an endless series of tales too. Finally, at his wife’s somewhat irritated urging, he begins writing these stories down and submitting them to science fiction magazines. When he sees the premiere of a new TV show called “Wormhole X-Treme,” Joe sues the show’s producers for stealing his ideas, but nothing comes of it and the show is cancelled after one episode. Joe continues his compulsive writing until his family leaves him and he loses his shop and his home. Now Joe wants his life back – not that anyone can figure out how to do this without blowing the SGC’s cover.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Damian Kindler
story by Robert C. Cooper
excerpts written by Robert C. Cooper, James Crocker, Peter DeLuise, Jonathan Glassner, V.C. James, Damian Kindler, Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie and Brad Wright
directed by Andy Mikita
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Dan Castellaneta (Joe Spencer), Deborah Theaker (Charlene), Eric Keenleyside (?), Louis Chirillo (Bert Simmons), Chad Krowchuk (Gordie Lowe), Alex Ferris (Andy), Mark Hansen (older Andy), Andy Thompson (Calvin), Beatrice Zeilinger (Cindy)

Note: Dan Castellaneta is best known for providing the voice of Homer Simpson, patriarch of the animated series “The Simpsons,” of which O’Neill is apparently a fan.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Enterprise Season 04 Star Trek

Affliction

Star Trek: EnterpriseThe Enterprise returns to Earth for the launch of her sister ship Columbia, and so Trip can transfer to the new ship as requested, a move that still has his crewmates baffled. During a routine visit to Earth, Dr. Phlox and Hoshi are attacked by a group of Rigellians, who kidnap Phlox. He is taken to a Klingon colony, where he is forced at the point of a phaser to help a Klingon doctor determine the nature of a virus that is said to be spreading through their entire race. On Earth, Lt. Reed is contacted by a superior officer from a top-secret security organization within Starfleet, and given a few clues about what may have happened to Phlox – and is also given orders not to tell Archer about his assignment, or his connection to the organization known only as Section 31. The Enterprise leaves Earth early to search for Phlox, and is attacked by a Klingon ship and boarded by its crew, who sabotage the engines. One of the Klingons is captured, but Archer and the crew are stunned to find that he looks human, without the characteristic cranial bone structure of a Klingon.

Order DVDsteleplay by Mike Sussman
story by Manny Coto
directed by Michael Grossman
music by Velton Ray Bunch

Guest Cast: Ada Maris (Captain Erika Hernandez), John Schuck (Antaak), James Avery (General K’Vagh), Eric Pierpoint (Harris), Terrell Tilford (Marab), Kate McNeil (Lt. Collins), Seth MacFarlane (Ensign Rivers), Marc Worden (Klingon Prisoner), Brad Greenquist (Alien #1), Derek Magyar (Kelby)

Notes: There are several familiar faces among the Klingon crew; John Schuck’s Klingon career predates the Star Trek spinoff era with his appearance as a blustery Klingon Ambassador in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and has also played a Cardassian Legate on Deep Space Nine. Marc Worden also appeared on Deep Space Nine, as the grown-up version of Worf’s son Alexander. Eric Pierpoint has appeared in each of the previous Star Trek spinoffs, and starred in Fox’s series adaptation of Alien Nation. This story marks the first official explanation of the difference between the Klingons’ appearance in the original series and every other iteration of the franchise. Prior to this, the closest to an official explanation was Gene Roddenberry’s assertion that the Klingons, in fact, were always meant to look more alien, but the 1960s series wasn’t budgeted for it; this clashes somewhat with a key plot point of the classic episode The Trouble With Tribbles, in which Klingon undercover operatives were indistinguishable from humans except to tricorder sensors.

LogBook entry by Earl Green