Day: March 2, 1966

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Batman Season 1

The Joker Goes To School

BatmanWhen a milk vending machine at Dick Grayson’s high school begins spewing out silver dollars for every dime inserted, it’s very strange, but is it a crime? In fact, it’s the tip of the iceberg of the Joker’s latest scheme: if he can lure the teens of Gotham City into quitting school because money comes easily to them…they’ll make easy recruits to his criminal gang when the money stops coming so easily. Dick is forced to keep a low profile to avoid being recognized as Robin, but when he does become the Boy Wonder again, he finds himself caught in the Joker’s shocking trap along with Batman.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
directed by Murray Golden
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Donna Loren (Susie), Kip King (Nick), Greg Benedict (Two Bits), Bryan O’Byrne (Principal Schoolfield), Tim O’Kelly (Pete), Glenn Allan (Herbie), Sydney Smith (Mr. Vandergilt)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Original Series Season 01 Star Trek

This Side Of Paradise

Star Trek ClassicStardate 3417.3: Investigating a colony whose settlers should be, but for some reason are not, threatened by radiation, Kirk and a landing party beam down to investigate. McCoy diagnoses the colonists as being in fine health and none of them wish to leave, no matter how much danger they are in. Spock, with Leila, an old acquaintance who has a crush on him, is infested by spores from a plant while examining the colony grounds. McCoy also soon falls victims to the spores, which leave their victims – even Spock – in a stupor with no desire to leave…and Kirk is left with a ship and no crew.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxteleplay by D.C. Fontana
story by Nathan Butler and D.C. Fontana
directed by Ralph Serensky
music by Alexander Courage

Star TrekCast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Jill Ireland (Leila), Frank Overton (Elias Sandoval), Grant Woods (Kelowitz), Michael Barrier (DeSalle), Dick Scotter (Painter), Eddie Paskey (Crewman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Doomwatch Season 1

Tomorrow, The Rat

DoomwatchA spate of unusually aggressive rat attacks calls Doomwatch into action. The victims include the elderly, children, other small animals, and other relatively defenseless targets, and to the alarm of Quist and his team, it would seem that along with this atypical vicious streak, there are signs that the rats are beginning to use rudimentary tools and reasoning. The rapidly mutating, evolving rat population is a dire threat to the human race, and John Ridge meets the scientist who originally released the rats into society…and finds that he is attracted to her. With the death toll mounting, those feelings may be a fatal distraction for more than just the two of them.

written by Terence Dudley
directed by Terence Dudley
music by Max Harris

DoomwatchCast: John Paul (Dr. Spencer Quist), Simon Oates (Dr. John Ridge), Robert Powell (Tobias Wren), Joby Blanshard (Colin Bradley), Wendy Hall (Pat Hunnisett), Penelope Lee (Dr. Mary Bryant), Hamilton Dyce (Minister), Robert Sansom (Dr. Hugh Preston), Eileen Helsby (Joyce Chambers), Ray Roberts (Fred Chambers), Stephen Dudley (Small boy), John Berryman (Reporter), Marcelle Samett (Nurse), Ian Elliott (Ambulance driver)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Classic Season 11 Doctor Who

Death To The Daleks – Part 2

Doctor WhoThe newly-arrived Dalek expedition is just as helpless as the humans; just like their ship (and everyone else’s technology), the Daleks’ exterminating weapons are also left without power. Sarah, captured by the Exxilons, is prepared as the next sacrifice to the living city, which the Exxilons worship. A combined force of humans and Daleks, along with the Doctor, is ambushed by armed Exxilons and captured; once taken back to the Exxilons’ caves, the Doctor commits a grievous offense: attacking the high priest to stop Sarah from being sacrificed. The Daleks parlay with the Exxilons for their own release and that of the humans; unknown to them, the Daleks remaining on their ship are outfitting themselves with mechanical chemical weapons – the equivalent of Earth rifles. These newly armed Daleks storm the Exxilons’ caves, establishing dominance over the primitives, and the Doctor and Sarah escape their own sacrifice/execution ceremony, finding themselves in deeper underground tunnels…and whatever the Exxilons expected to sacrifice them to still awaits them.

written by Terry Nation
directed by Michael Bryant
music by Carey Blyton and played by the London Saxophone Quartet

Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Duncan Lamont (Dan Galloway), John Abineri (Richard Railton), Neil Seiler (Commander Stewart), Julian Fox (Peter Hamilton), Joy Harrison (Jill Tarrant), Mostyn Evans (High Priest), Arnold Yarrow (Bellal), Michael Wisher (Dalek voices), John Scott Martin (Dalek), Cy Town (Dalek), Murphy Grunbar (Dalek)

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Season 1 Star Blazers

Fight For Honor At The Rainbow Star Group

Star BlazersD minus 253 days: The Cosmo Tiger fighters scout ahead of the Argo to take out the Gamilon advance – but this also takes them away from the Argo, and General Lysis teleports a fleet of bombers directly into the Argo’s immediate area to attack. The great ship is almost destroyed, and Wildstar and the Cosmo Tigers are unable to help in time. Lysis launches his final weapon – the drill missile. The projectile runs true, lodging itself in the Argo’s wave motion gun and burrowing deep into the ship, where it will detonate once it reaches a central location. The Star Force fighter squadron is forced to return to base to refuel, leaving the ship completely defenseless until Sandor and IQ-9 reverse the drill’s direction, firing it back out of the wave motion gun’s tube and destroying the Gamilon fleet – with the exception of Lysis’ command ship. After delivering a final ultimatum to Captain Avatar, Lysis launches his last attack.

Order the DVDswritten by Keisuke Fujikawa & Eiichi Yamamoto
directed by Leiji Matsumoto
music by Hiroshi Miyagawa

Season 1 Voice Cast: Kenneth Meseroll (Derek Wildstar), Tom Tweedy (Mark Venture), Amy Howard (Nova), Eddie Allen (Leader Desslok), Lydia Leeds (Starsha), other actors unknown

Full title: Decisive Battle: Fight For Honor At The Rainbow Star Group

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

Ethics

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate not given: Critically injured by falling containers in a cargo bay, Worf is paralyzed from the waist down, and Dr. Crusher can offer little in the way of hopes for complete recovery. The visiting Dr. Russell sees Worf’s injury as a perfect chance to test her new device, which can – in theory – replicate entire organs after scanning the DNA of the original. Crusher disagrees, however, citing Russell’s device as experimental at best, and refusing to allow Russell to operate. When Worf – claiming that life as an invalid would be a dishonorable burden to he and his family – begins to try to enlist Riker’s help in committing suicide, Crusher is forced to let Russell attempt to restore Worf’s spinal cord – an operation that could easily end the Klingon’s life, leaving many of the crew concerned for Worf as well as Alexander.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Ronald D. Moore
story by Sara Charno & Stuart Charno
directed by Chip Chalmers
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Caroline Kava (Dr. Russell), Brian Bonsall (Alexander), Patti Yasutake (Nurse Ogawa)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 1

Mind War

Babylon 5After a narrow escape from an Earth Alliance fighter squadron, outcast Psi Corps member Jason Ironheart takes refuge aboard Babylon 5, hoping to make contact with Talia, his old student and former lover. Matters are made no easier when two Psi Cops – capable of immense telepathic power – arrive to grill Talia and Sinclair about Ironheart’s possible whereabouts. When it becomes apparent that Ironheart is not only aboard the station but is also somehow dangerous, Talia risks her standing with the Psi Corps to discover that Jason has become a new breed of telepath thanks to the Corps’ illicit experimentation. And Catherine Sakai, on a routine planetary survey mission, encounters a spacecraft of unfathomable size…

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Bruce Seth Green
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: William Allen Young (Jason Ironheart), Felicity Waterman (Kelsey), Walter Koenig (Bester), Julia Nickson (Catherine Sakai), Don Dowe (Earth Fighter), Elisa Pensler Gabrielli (Guest Liaison), Michael McKenzie (Narn Captain), Kevin Page (Businessman), Mark S. Porro (Security Guard), Macaulay Bruton (Garibaldi’s Aide), Marianne Robertson (Dome Tech #1)

Babylon 5Notes: This episode marks the first appearance of the First Ones. Bester also makes his first appearance, though Walter Koenig was originally slated to guest star as one of the “Knight” characters in And the Sky Full of Stars which, although it aired later, was filmed before Mind War; Koenig’s heart attack in 1993 prevented his planned appearance. The gift given to Talia by Ironheart is explored further in A Race Through Dark Places.

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Deep Space Nine Season 06 Star Trek

Change of Heart

Star Trek: Deep Space NineStardate 51597.2: Worf and Dax are sent out together in a runabout to contact Lasaran, a Cardassian who has been passing information to Starfleet and is considered a vital source of intelligence on the Dominion. When Lasaran asks for aid in defecting to the Federation, Worf and Dax agree to pick him up at a rendezvous point on Sukara, a planet with a Dominion base. As they trek together through a jungle, Dax is critically wounded by a Jem’Hadar patrol, and Worf must make the choice of whether to complete the mission or save his wife’s life. Back on the station, O’Brien persuades Bashir to try and break Quark’s winning streak at Tongo.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Ronald D. Moore
directed by David Livingston
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: Todd Waring (Lasaran)

LogBook entry by Tracy Hemenover

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Season 3 Xena: Warrior Princess

When In Rome

Xena: Warrior PrincessWhen Caesar captures the leader of the resistence in Gual, Xena decides to make a trade for him. She captures Crassus, a member of the Roman Triumvirate. But Caesar refuses to give up his prisoner, so the warrior comes up with a plan to switch the men.

Order the DVDswritten by Steven L. Sears
directed by John Laing
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Karl Urban (Caesar), Jermey Callaghan (Pompey), Matthew Chamberlain (Crassus), Grant Triplow (Brutus), Tamati Rice (Vircinix), Katrina Browne (Mendala), Riqi Harawira (Guard), Gavin Rutherford (Centurion), Graham Smith (Boat Captain), and Argo

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

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Rebels Season 1 Star Wars

Fire Across The Galaxy

Star Wars: RebelsTarkin is transporting Kanan to the planet Mustafar in a fleet of Star Destroyers, with the Inquisitor continuing to torture the Jedi along the way. With a stolen Imperial transport (and a TIE Fighter that Zeb and Ezra didn’t crash after all), the crew of the Ghost sets out on their riskiest mission yet, one which hinges entirely on Ezra’s ability to sense Kanan with the Force. The Rebels fight their way aboard Tarkin’s Star Destroyer, but Ezra must set out alone to find Ezra – and fight the Inquisitor alongside his fellow Jedi. Against two Jedi, even with limited training, the Inquisitor is outmatched, but promises that something even more powerful will follow in his footsteps. An entire Rebel fleet blasts out of hyperspace to rescue Kanan and his crew from Mustafar, and once back aboard the Ghost, he and the others meet Fulcrum in person: a Jedi survivor of the Clone Wars named Ahsoka Tano. But unknown to Ahsoka, the man she once knew as her Jedi mentor has been summoned to quash the rising rebellion on Lothal…

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Simon Kinberg
directed by Dave Filoni
music by Kevin Kiner
based on original themes and music by John Williams

RebelsCast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus), Vanessa Marshall (Hera), Tiya Sircar (Sabine), Steven Blum (Zeb / Stormtrooper #1 / Stormtrooper #3 / Imperial Crewman)), David Oyelowo (Agent Kallus), Phil LaMarr (Bail Organa / Bridge Official / Official), Dee Bradley Baker (Ephraim Bridger), Ashley Eckstein (Fulcrum / Ahsoka Tano), Stephen Stanton (Grand Moff Tarkin / Stormtrooper #2), Kath Soucie (Mira Bridger), Peter MacNicol (Tseebo), Jason Isaacs (The Inquisitor)

RebelsNotes: Where previous episodes made vague references to the Clone Wars, this story reveals that Rebels is part of the same timeline as the much-loved (but recently concluded) Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series. (The then-recent acquisition of Lucasfilm and the Star Wars properties by Disney had left some doubt about whether the pre-Disney Clone Wars series was still “official”.) Ashley Eckstein returns to the role of Ahsoka, who would become a regular fixture of Rebels in its second season.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 2 Star Wars

Shroud Of Darkness

Star Wars: RebelsAs the Ghost crew continues searching for a base for the Rebellion, the Inquisitors keep pursuing Kanan and Ezra, to the point that Kanan believes their presence is endangering the rest of the Rebellion. They seek Ahsoka’s advice, but she has none – at time like these, she would always turn to Master Yoda. With Ahsoka in tow, Kanan and Ezra return to Lothal and reveal the hidden Jedi temple there, where Kanan hopes to seek Yoda’s counsel. Instead, Kanan receives a dire warning that he will fail to protect Ezra, and Ezra will turn to the dark side. Ezra sees Yoda, while Ahsoka sees a vision of Anakin, berating her for failing to be at his side when he needed her most. And during all of these Force visions, the Inquisitors are once again close by…

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Henry Gilroy
directed by Saul Ruiz
music by Kevin Kiner
based on original themes and music by John Williams

RebelsCast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus), Vanessa Marshall (Hera), Tiya Sircar (Sabine), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), Matt Lanier (Anakin Skywalker), James Earl Jones (Darth Vader), Philip Anthony Rodriguez (Fifth Brother), Jason Isaacs (Sentinel), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Seventh Sister), Frank Oz (Yoda)

RebelsNotes: The powerful Force user known only as the Grand Inquisitor was previously a Jedi Knight. This is Anakin’s first appearance since the Clone Wars series finale; the Lothal Jedi temple was previously visited by Kanan and Ezra in season one’s Path Of The Jedi.

LogBook entry by Earl Green