Day: September 24, 1977

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Space Academy

Hide And Seek

Space AcademySpace Academy’s defensive shields are down, so the Seeker has to patrol the space around the Academy to intercept meteors. Loki is given the task of watching sector 5, but Space Academy’s youngest trainee grows bored and takes his eyes off the screen long enough for a large meteor to slip through the perimeter. Under Gampu’s command, the Seeker races to destroy the meteor before it strikes Space Academy, but even when the meteor is wiped out, contact is lost with the Academy. Peepo has to use an override command to open the Seeker’s docking bay, and once inside, Gampu, Loki, Laura and Paul can find no one on board. And then they, too, begin vanishing…

Space Academywritten by Ted Pedersen and Martha Humphreys
directed by Jeffrey Hayden
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Jonathan Harris (Commander Gampu), Pamelyn Ferdin (Laura), Ric Carrott (Chris), Ty Henderson (Paul), Maggie Cooper (Adrian), Brian Tochi (Tee Gar), Eric Greene (Loki), Peepo (himself)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Battlestar Galactica (Classic Series) Season 1

Lost Planet of the Gods – Part 1

Battlestar Galactica (original)Boomer and another Viper pilot return to the Galactica after scouting ahead of the fleet, but unbeknownst to the crew, the two pilots have brought a fatal disease back with them, rendering Galactica’s entire pool of pilots unfit to fly – with the exception of Apollo and Starbuck, who are also on their own patrol assignment. Adama desperately orders his son and Starbuck to train the shuttle pilots – virtually all women – for combat flight. The new pilots’ first orders are to raid a Cylon installation and bring back a cure for Galactica’s crew.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by Glen A. Larson & Donald P. Bellisario
directed by Chris I. Nyby II
music by Stu Phillips

Guest Cast: Jane Seymour (Serina), Sheila de Windt (Lt. Deitra), Janet Louise Johnson (Sgt. Brie), Bruce Wright (Bay technician), Paul Coufos (Guard), Jennifer Joseph (Female warrior), Janet Lynn Curtis (Sorrell), Leann Hunley (Female warrior), Gay Thomas (Female warrior), Larry Manetti (Corporal Giles), Millicent Crisp (Female warrior)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Blackadder Season 3

Ink and Incapability

BlackadderThe Prince Regent decides to increase his intellectual profile by befriending Dr. Samuel Johnson, the author of a new book, “The Dictionary”. Edmund, whose book, “Edmund: A Butler’s Tale”, was shunned by Dr. Johnson, schemes to prevent the Prince from patronizing him. But when Dr. Johnson lets out the fact that he had, in fact, intended to sponsor Edmund’s book, Edmund must repair the damage he’s done. Dr. Johnson, however, is notoriously hard headed and Baldrick, unfortunately, appears to have burned “The Dictionary”…

Order the DVDswritten by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
directed by Mandie Fletcher
music by Howard Goodall

Guest Cast: Robbie Coltrane (Dr. Samuel Johnson), Lee Cornes (Shelley), Steve Steen (Byron), Jim Sweeney (Coleridge)

Notes: Robbie Coltrane is best known from his dramatic crime show, Cracker. He has also made appearances in the James Bond and Harry Potter series of films. His other Blackadder appearance is in Blackadder’s Christmas Carol.

Lee Cornes appeared previously in Blackadder II (Chains) and appears once more in Blackadder Goes Forth (Corporal Punishment).

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

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Season 04 Star Trek The Next Generation

The Best Of Both Worlds Part II

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 44001.4: The main deflector dish has no effect on the Borg because, having assimilated Picard and converted him into their spokesman, Locutus, the Borg know now every strategy and contingency that Picard had been informed of before his kidnapping. Riker is promoted to Captain by Admiral Hanson, who then leads a fleet of 40 starships to Wolf 359 to confront the Borg, but the fleet’s efforts are in vain – every starship is annihilated. Riker orders a cunning attack consisting of awkward strategies that Picard would never have carried out or expected, and an away team kidnaps Locutus and returns him to the Enterprise. Data then links up to Locutus to access the Borg communication network, and every approach he takes to disarm the Borg down fails until the Borg arrive at Earth to begin their domination of the Federation. Data triggers the Borg regeneration process, putting every Borg to “sleep,” but this also triggers the self-destruction of the Borg ship. Picard is freed from the Borg, Shelby returns to Starfleet to rebuild the fleet, and Riker remains on the Enterprise to continue serving as first officer. However, staring out the window of his ready room, Picard’s face indicates that all is not well…

Season 4 Regular 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), Wil Wheaton (Ensign Wesley Crusher)

Click here to watch a video previewOrder the DVDswritten by Michael Piller
directed by Cliff Bole
music by Ron Jones

Guest Cast: Elizabeth Dennehy (Lt. Commander Shelby), George Murdock (Admiral Hanson), Colm Meaney (O’Brien), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Todd Merrill (Gleason)

Notes: Of course, it was not even thought of at the time of this episode’s production, but one of the very few survivors of the Borg attack at Wolf 359 later turns up in his own series: Commander Sisko of Deep Space Nine, the premiere episode of which features scenes of the battle between the Borg and the Federation that was mentioned in this episode.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

Space: Above and Beyond (Pilot)

Space: Above And BeyondIn the year 2063, the newly established Vesta Colony stands as the furthest human settlement in deep space. But not long after Vesta Colony is inaugurated, a mysterious alien force – the first extraterrestrial life ever encountered by mankind – attacks and destroys it.

The attack – though Earth still doesn’t realize why their colony has dropped out of contact – comes on the eve of the launch of a new group of colonists to settle the planet Tellus. But a Senate directive forces the colony’s governor to drop ten colonists to make way for ten in vitros – artificially-gestated humans – forcing two of the colonists, an engaged couple, to separate. Nathan West tries to stow away aboard the Tellus colony ship, but is arrested and thrown off the ship prior to launch. His only hope to get anywhere near the Tellus Colony is the join the U.S. Marines’ Space Aviators wing in hope of landing colonial security duty. West’s explusion turns out to be his salvation, for unknown to him, the Tellus Colony ship is attacked before it can even land.

Upon enlisting, West meets some of his fellow cadets – the determined but angry Shane Vansen, the naive Paul Wang, erstwhile Mike Pagodin (who really just wants to get into a plane), and an in vitro named Cooper Hawkes who was sentenced to Marine boot camp after retaliating violently against a racially-motivated assault by naturally-born humans. This diverse and conflicting group of wet-behind-the-ears future pilots isn’t a promising combination. But when the news finally breaks that the Vesta and Tellus Colonies have fallen to alien attack, the shadow of an impending war draws the cadets closer…and convinces West that the love of his life has been lost forever.

With war on the horizon, the cadets are rushed into a training mission to Mars. The mission seems almost routine until they make a horrifying discovery – the enemy has already gained a foothold in Earth’s solar system. The Marine cadets defend themselves admirably in their first real combat situation, but Pagodin – who has become the only friend Hawkes has ever made in his life – is killed. And the first alien prisoner of war is taken. With no means of translation or any kind of significant communication, the cadets learn nothing from the alien, aside from the fact that water will kill it. But the technology and battle plans from the aliens’ ship proves to be a valuable find.

However, the human war effort is still falling behind. Every engagement has ended with the aliens victorious. Plans taken from the alien ship found on Mars indicate a major alien offensive being planned at the Groombridge star system, several light years away from Earth, but as the cadets, newly assigned to the 58th Squadron, arrive for their first space combat assignment, they discover that the plans were planted deliberately. A massive alien force already headed for Earth…while the majority of Earth’s firepower has been diverted to Groombridge. The future of mankind depends on the ability of West, Vansen and the others knowing when to follow orders …and when to break them.

Season 1 Regular Cast: Morgan Weisser (Lt. Nathan West), Kristen Cloke (Captain Shane Vansen), Rodney Rowland (Lt. Cooper Hawkes), Lanei Chapman (Lt. Vanessa Damphousse), Joel de la Fuente (Lt. Paul Wang), James Morrison (Lt. Colonel T.C. McQueen), Tucker Smallwood (Commodore Glen Ross)

Order the DVDwritten by Glen Morgan & James Wong
directed by David Nutter
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Bill Hunter (Secretary General Chartwell), Amanda Douge (Kylen), Michael Edwards-Stevens (Maxwell), Bartholomew John (Richard West), Colin Friels (Lt. Colonel Fouts), Gennie Nevinson (Anne West), Charles Anthony (Nelson), James Campbell (John West), Peter Kent (Mike “Pags” Pagodin), Angus Grant (Neil West), Theresa Wong (Michelle Low), Melissa Bullock (young Shane), Anja Coleby (Bartley), Colin Handley (Sgt. Vansen), Darrin Klimek (Carter), Rebecca Riggs (Mrs. Vansen), Ric Anderson (Slayton), Chris Kirby (Lt. Stone), Robert Coleby (Governor Overmeyer), Alan Dale (Governor Borman), F. Lee Ermey (Sgt. Bouguss)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 04 Star Trek Voyager

Nemesis

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate 51082.4: Chakotay is stranded on a world torn by war, his shuttle shot down by one of the aggressors. After a reluctantly friendly Voray defender is shot down by the Kradin while trying to take Chakotay back to his shuttle, the first officer has to adopt the Voray’s indigenous clothing for cover. That night, he is traveling with the Voray soldiers to their base, in the hope that they will be able to contact Voyager, and sees for himself the way the Kradin dispose of the Voray. Still wary of involving himself in their way, Chakotay is forced to defend himself when the nemesis ambushes his party, and escapes wounded while the rest of the Voray fall in the attack. He makes his way to a nearby village and is cared for until the Kradin attack there, too. On Voyager, Janeway has been offered help in locating her first officer. An ambassador from one of the warring races beams up to discuss the situation, an ambassador who is horrified at the way his helpless people are being preyed upon by their merciless nemesis…an ambassador of the Kradin.

Order the DVDswritten by Kenneth Biller
directed by Alexander Singer
music by David Bell

Guest Cast: Michael Mahonen (Brone), Matt E. Levin (Rafin), Nathan Anderson (Namon), Peter Vogt (Commandant), Booth Colman (Penno), Meghan Murphy (Karya), Terrence Evans (Ambassador Treen), Marilyn Fox (Marna), Pancho Demmings (Kradin Soldier)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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7th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

The Fires Of Vulcan

Doctor Who: The Fires Of VulcanPompeii, Italy, 1980 A.D.: A UNIT operative hastily takes charge of an archaeological dig at Pompeii when, in the ruins of the city that died in the eruption of Vesuvius, an inexplicable anachronism is unearthed – a British police telephone box, preserved in the ancient ash. The oddity is removed from the site and put in top security storage by UNIT. The Doctor is summoned to investigate, but – in his fifth incarnation – he chooses not to enter the police box.

Pompeii, Italy, 79 A.D.: The Doctor, now in his seventh incarnation, is disturbed when the TARDIS brings him and Melanie to Pompeii a mere day before the eruption of Vesuvius. But despite his misgivings, he and Mel mingle with the locals and explore the doomed city. Earthquakes wrack Pompeii, but the local simply see it as a sign from the gods – and the Doctor and Melanie’s arrival out of thin air is seen as another sign. But the tremors have had a more troubling effect for the time travlers: the TARDIS has been buried beneath tons of rubble. With less than a day to retrieve the TARDIS and escape Pompeii, the Doctor and Melanie become embroiled in local politics…but the Doctor, with his foreknowledge that the TARDIS will someday be found in the ruins of Pompeii, doesn’t seem to be fighting very hard to save himself or his companion.

Order this CDwritten by Steve Lyons
directed by Gary Russell
music by Alistair Lock

Cast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Bonnie Langford (Melanie), Robert Curbishley (Tibernus), Andy Coleman (Popidius Celsinus), Nicky Goldie (Valeria Hedone), Steven Wickham (Murranus), Lisa Hollander (Eumachia), Gemma Bissix (Aglae), Toby Longworth (Priest), Robert Curbishley (Roman Legionary), Anthony Keetch (Professor Scalini), Karen Henson (Captain Muriel Frost)

Timeline: between Delta And The Bannermen and Dragonfire

Logbook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

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Enterprise Season 03 Star Trek

Extinction

Star Trek: EnterpriseStudying a planet in the Expanse at close range, an Enterprise landing party mutates into more primitive forms of life. The cause of this condition is a virus which has now infected Archer, Reed, Hoshi and even T’Pol. The human crew members are transformed, exhibiting personalities from a virological archive of an alien civilization. But by the time Archer and the others can gain an understanding of what has taken control of them, they have traveled to an ancient alien temple – where a group of hunters, who don’t seem eager to help the crew or Dr. Phlox find a cure, is waiting for them.

Order DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Andrè Bormanis
directed by LeVar Burton
music by Velton Ray Bunch

Guest Cast: Craig Baxley Jr. (Decon Agent #1), Philip Boyd (Com Officer), Daniel Dae Kim (Corporal Chang), Roger Cross (Tret), Kiante Elam (Alien Humanoid), Troy Mittleider (Palmer), Jimmy Ortega (Decon Agent #3), Keith Schindol (Decon Agent #2), Brian Williams (Stunt Alien Decon Agent)

Notes: Guest star Jimmy Ortega’s other Star Trek appearance goes all the way back to the beginning of the post-movie era – he had a brief part in Encounter At Farpoint as an Enterprise bridge officer frozen solid by Q.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Sarah Jane Adventures Season 1

Revenge Of The Slitheen – Part 1

The Sarah Jane AdventuresWhen the school year begins anew, Maria Jackson returns to class with Luke, the alien boy adopted by Sarah Jane, and their new friend Clyde. But something’s just not right at their school – a foul smell pervades the entire campus, lunch is moldy, and the flatulent faculty simply tell the offended students to “pick out the bad bits”. Worse yet, Clyde quickly discovers that bringing a packed lunch simply isn’t an option. When Luke demonstrates an aptitude for science, his science teacher begins to pick his brain for solutions to a massive electrical system that, while it’s well beyond current human technology, has a fatal flaw. Sarah begins to investigate the company that constructed the school’s new technology center, and sends Maria and Luke to look it over for themselves – where they find a plot to destroy the Earth.

Season 1 Regular Cast: Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Yasmin Paige (Maria Jackson), Tommy Knight (Luke), Daniel Anthony (Clyde)

Get the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Gareth Roberts
directed by Alice Troughton
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Joseph Millson (Alan Jackson), Juliet Cowan (Chrissie Jackson), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Martyn Ellis (Blakeman), Ian Midlane (Jeffrey), Pamela Merrick (Wendy), Imogen Bain (Janine), Anton Thompson McCormick (Carl), Jimmy Vee (Carl Slitheen), Paul Kasey (Jeffrey / Blakeman / Janine Slitheen)

Notes: Alice Troughton, who is still no relation to second Doctor Patrick Troughton, is the first director to helm episodes of the new Doctor Who as well as Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures. Although Mr. Smith is an otherworldly computer, it appears to rely on completely earthly power sources. Lachelle Carl has played an American newscaster on numerous occasions in Doctor Who, including – ironically – Aliens Of London, the first appearance of the Slitheen. The character of Kelsey, from Invasion Of The Bane, was replaced in the weekly series by Clyde.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Sarah Jane Adventures Season 1

Revenge Of The Slitheen – Part 2

The Sarah Jane AdventuresAfter extricating herself from the Slitheen trap, Sarah rescues the children – and is appalled to find that Clyde has learned of the Slitheen’s presence and her own brand of special investigations. With the help of her computer, Mr. Smith, Sarah finds out more about the Slitheen and their plan to bring Earth to its knees. But when Luke sees the blueprint for a worldwide Slitheen power network, he realizes that his exceptional work on a science assignment has put the human race in jeopardy. The Slitheen put their plan into motion, plunging much of the world into darkness, and even independently-powered devices like cars and Sarah’s sonic lipstick won’t work. Armed with determination and no small amount of vinegar, Sarah and her friends take off at a run to save the world.

Get the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Gareth Roberts
directed by Alice Troughton
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Joseph Millson (Alan Jackson), Juliet Cowan (Chrissie Jackson), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Martyn Ellis (Blakeman), Ian Midlane (Jeffrey), Pamela Merrick (Wendy), Imogen Bain (Janine), Anton Thompson McCormick (Carl), Lachelle Carl (American Newsreader), Jimmy Vee (Carl Slitheen), Paul Kasey (Jeffrey / Blakeman / Janine Slitheen)

Notes: The Judoon (Doctor Who: Smith And Jones) are mentioned as pursuing the remaining members of the family Slitheen. Sarah apparently tips off UNIT to the need for a cleanup operation at the school.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Doctor Who New Series Season 06

Closing Time

Doctor WhoAware that the clock is counting down to his appointment with a killer astronaut in America, the Doctor pays a last visit to his friend Craig, discovering that Craig’s become a dad – and a somewhat befuddled one at that. But no house call from the Doctor ever goes quite as smoothly as planned. Strange power outages have plagued the area, with a local department store at the epicenter of the disturbance. The Doctor does what he has to in order to investigate the store without raising suspicion: he gets a job there. Soon enough, between mentions of a “silver rat” roaming the store and a string of employees going missing, the Doctor discovers that Cybermen are lurking here. The Doctor’s plans for a quiet visit with his friend are further complicated when Craig insists on involving himself in the Doctor’s impending battle with the Cybermen. The lives of the Time Lord’s companions are nearly always in jeopardy, but if the Doctor doesn’t win this time, it could cost a baby his father.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Gareth Roberts
directed by Steve Hughes
music by Murray Gold

Cast: Matt Smith (The Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy), Arthur Darvill (Rory), James Corden (Craig Owens), Daisy Haggard (Sophie), Alex Kingston (River Song), Frances Barber (Madame Kovarian), Seroca Davis (Shona), Holli Dempsey (Kelly), Chris Obi (George), Lynda Baron (Val), Paul Kasey (Cyberman), Nicholas Briggs (voice of the Cybermen)

Closing TimeNotes: Craig and Sophie first appeared in the previous season’s The Lodger. Cybermats first appeared in 1967‘s Tomb Of The Cybermen, and were last seen in 1975‘s Revenge Of The Cybermen; they’ve had some dental work done in the intervening years, and arguably need to go back for a second round. Lynda Baron makes her third Doctor Who appearance here: as pirate captain Wrack, she tried to make the fifth Doctor walk the plank in 1983‘s Enlightenment, while her first Doctor Who “appearance” was audio-only, as the unseen vocalist warbling the sung narrative throughout the first Doctor story The Gunfighters in 1966 – which also saw the Doctor wearing a Stetson.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 3 Star Wars

Steps Into Shadow

Star Wars: RebelsEzra leads a daring raid on a fully staffed Imperial outpost on Naraka to rescue Hondo, who has been a useful informant for past Rebel operations. Hondo points the Alliance toward an Imperial salvage yard where captured Rebel Y-Wings are being dismantled for scrap; recovering them intact would boost Rebel firepower significantly, despite the fighters’ age. Ezra, Sabine, Chopper and Rex scout the salvage yard out in the Phantom, only to discover that only a few Y-Wings remain intact. Ezra, promoted to lieutenant commander in the Rebel Alliance, decides that the scouting mission has become a recovery mission on the fly. Missing all of the action is Kanan, still blinded after his duel with Darth Maul, and deeply disturbed to find that Ezra has been gaining knowledge from the Sith Holocron. Kanan hears a voice that leads him away from the safe confines of Chopper Base, where he discovers a creature that calls itself the Bendu – a being whose Force abilities lie between the light and dark sides. The Bendu begins trying to teach Kanan to use the Force and his own remaining senses to “see” what his eyes can no longer see…but what he sees now is his own fear. But at the Imperial salvage yard, Ezra’s lack of fear and his confidence and reliance on his new abilities may lead him to his own doom.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Steven Melching and Matt Michnovetz
directed by Bosco Ng and Mel Zwyer
music by Kevin Kiner
based on original themes and music by John Williams

RebelsCast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Vanessa Marshall (Hera Syndulla), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus / Stormtrooper), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios / Imperial Officer #2 / Rebel Soldier), Dee Bradley Baker (Admiral Konstantine / Melch / Rex / Stormtrooper Guard #1), David Owelyo (Agent Kallus), Tom Baker (Bendu), Derek Partridge (Commander Brom Titus), Keone Young (Commander Sato), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Governor Pryce), Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn), Stephen Stanton (Grand Moff Tarkin), Jim Cummings (Hondo Ohnaka / Imperial Officer #1 / Mining Guild Captain / Terba), Nika Futterman (Presence), Dave Filoni (Rebel Trooper / Stormtrooper Guard #2)

RebelsNotes: Grand Admiral Thrawn has a considerably complex history considering that this is his first appearance in any non-print Star Wars media. Created by author Timothy Zahn and introduced in the 1991 novel Heir To The Empire, Thrawn had become a casualty of the Lucasfilm Story Group’s massive realignment of Star Wars canon in the wake of Lucasfilm’s sale to Disney. However, Zahn wrote a new novel – simply titled Thrawn – to realign the calculating Imperial tactical master with the new continuity, and Thrawn was also introduced as an on-screen character for the first time in this episode. Thrawn lives once again in the larger Star Wars canon. Hera says that the Y-Wings are being sent to “General Dodonna’s unit”, meaning that these may well be the Y-Wings flown by Porkins and his wing during the attack on the Death Star in Star Wars. The name “Bendu” has an even longer history in Star Wars Rebelslore, back to early drafts of George Lucas’ The Star Wars, which featured the Jedi Bendu order rather than Jedi Knights. Bendu is voiced by Tom Baker, best known for his lengthy tenure as the fourth Doctor Who. Baker is the second Doctor to lend his voice to the Star Wars animated universe; one of his successors, David Tennant, voiced a droid character in an episode of The Clone Wars.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Discovery Season 1 Star Trek

The Vulcan Hello

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate 1207.2: An uncrewed communications relay at the edge of Federation space suddenly stops working, and the starship U.S.S. Shenzhou is sent to investigate. Captain Philippa Georgiou sends her first officer, Commander Michael Burnham, to investigate an object near a binary star that seems to be deliberately scattering the entire electromagnetic spectrum, including visible wavelengths. Burnham flies a thruster suit toward the unknown object, finding it to be an ancient vessel of some kind. When Burnham lands on the object, her presence triggers a sudden activation of the vessel, and an armed Klingon warrior appears behind her. When the Klingon attacks, Burnham attempts to escape, accidentally impaling the Klingon with his own weapon before slamming into part of the Klingon vessel and tumbling back toward the Shenzhou, unconscious.

Burnham awakens aboard the Shenzhou, rescued by suffering from acute effects of exposure to the radiation emanating from the binary star nearby. She leaves sick bay before her treatment is complete to warn Captain Georgiou of the Klingons’ presence. When Georgiou orders the Shenzhou‘s weapons brought to bear on the object just visited by Burnham, an enormous Klingon ship decloaks just ahead. As Georgiou consults with Starfleet, Burnham seeks the advice of her adoptive father, Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan. Georgiou is steadfast in her desire for a diplomatic solution, but Burnham advises her that the Klingons will only respect a show of strength: a battle worthy of their mettle. When she is unable to convince her Captain of this course of action, Burnham attempts a mutiny, but it’s too late: as the Shenzhou waits alone for reinforcements, an entire Klingon fleet warps into view.

The Klingons have been anticipating the humans’ spreading influence in the galaxy, and T’Kuvma, the leader of the Klingons aboard the ceremonial ship discovered by the Shenzhou, wants to unite all 24 of the Klingons’ disparate houses to attack the Federation before they themselves are attacked. T’Kuvma is annoyed when not all of the Klingons share his zeal…but the Federation ship before him has fallen so easily into the trap, he sees no reason to delay the war he sees as not only inevitable, but prophesied.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonteleplay by Bryan Fuller and Akiva Goldsman
story by Bryan Fuller and Akiva Goldsman
directed by David Semel
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek: DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Michelle Yeoh (Captain Philippa Georgiou), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), James Frain (Sarek), Chris Obi (T’Kuvma), Maulik Pancholy (Dr. Nambue), Terry Serpico (Admiral Anderson), Sam Vartholomeos (Ensign Danby Connor), Arista Arhin (young Michael Burnham), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Justin Howell (Torchbearer / Rejac), Javid Iqbal (Voq), Ali Momen (Kamran Grant), Bonnie Morgan (Crepuscula), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Or’eq), Tasia Valenza (Computer Voice), Chris Violette (Britch Weeton), Romaine Waite (Troy Januzzi)

Star Trek: DiscoveryNotes: Stardate 1207.2 equates to May 11th, 2256 – ten years before the first season of the original Star Trek (and 2-3 years after the events depicted in The Cage and the Cage-derived flashback scenes from The Menagerie), and 95 years after These Are The Voyages…, the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise. As that finale takes place 5 years after the remainder of the fourth season of Enterprise, this may mean that Captain Archer’s last contact with the Klingons (in Affliction and Divergence) was one of the last contacts with the Klingons “a hundred years ago”.

Tasia Valenza, the new Federation computer voice (assuming the role left vacant by the late Majel Barrett Roddenberry), is the only cast member with ties to prior Star Trek: she was a Vulcan would-be Starfleet cadet vying against Wesley Crusher and others for a coveted slot at the Academy in 1988’s Coming Of Age. She also appeared in the 1990s series Space: Above And Beyond.

Star Trek: DiscoveryThe Klingons’ ritual scream at the heavens – a warning that a dead warrior is ascending – was first established in Star Trek: The Next Generation (Heart Of Glory, 1988); the concept of a multitude of Klingon “houses” originated in another TNG episode (Sins Of The Father, 1990). Ironically, Burnham’s adoptive brother, Spock, took a similar headlong plunge into danger in a Starfleet thruster suit in 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The original Klingon Torchbearer’s weapon is identified by Burnham’s heads-up display as a bat’leth, though very different in design to the one wielded by Worf in many an episode of TNG; it’s possible that, much like the Torchbearer’s title, this bat’leth is more ornately ceremonial than functional (though that doesn’t prevent it from being deadly).

Star Trek: DiscoveryCredited, but not appearing in, this episode are series regulars Shazad Latif, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, and Jason Isaacs.

The Shenzhou is named for a real family of Chinese spacecraft that had only just started flying the last time there was a Star Trek series on the air.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Discovery Season 1 Star Trek

Battle At The Binary Stars

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Starfleet reinforcements arrive to assist the Shenzhou, with further ships on the way. As Captain Georgiou orders Burnham escorted to the brig, the shooting begins, and heavy losses are incurred on both sides. Admiral Anderson arrives, commanding the Europa, and tries to broker a cease-fire with the Klingons, only to have his ship rammed head-on by a cloaked Klingon ship. The Shenzhou is in no shape to keep fighting, but when the Klingons begin retrieving their dead from the vacuum of space, Captain Georgiou decides to attach an armed photon torpedo warhead to one of the floating Klingon corpses, causing critical damage to T’Kuvma’s ship. Georgiou and Burnham beam aboard the ship to try to capture T’Kuvma, which would disgrace him in the eyes of his society, but their mission has a far higher price than they expect – and rather than making T’Kuvma a pariah, they make him a martyr…and the Federation and the Klingon Empire are now at war.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonteleplay by Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts
story by Bryan Fuller
directed by Adam Kane
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek: DiscoveryCast: Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Michelle Yeoh (Captain Philippa Georgiou), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), James Frain (Sarek), Kenneth Mitchell (Kol), Chris Obi (T’Kuvma), Terry Serpico (Admiral Anderson), Sam Vartholomeos (Ensign Danby Connor), Arista Arhin (young Michael Burnham), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Javid Iqbal (Voq), Ali Momen (Kamran Grant), Clare McConnell (Dennas), Thamela Mpumlwana (young T’Kuvma), Damon Runyan (Ujilli), Tasia Valenza (Computer Voice), Chris Violette (Britch Weeton), Romaine Waite (Troy Januzzi)

Star Trek: DiscoveryNotes: This episode includes a mention of the last Klingon/Federation battle taking place at Donatu V, a planet first mentioned in The Trouble With Tribbles (1967), though Trouble established that battle as having taken place in the 2240s, not a century ago. Donatu V was a Klingon planet by the 24th century (DS9: Sons And Daughters). The unusual design of the Shenzhou‘s transporter room – an early reveal of which caused fan uproar – is cited as being an outmoded transporter design still in use aboard the Shenzhou due to the ship’s advanced age.

Star Trek: DiscoveryRepresentatives from House D’Ghor and House Mokai stick around to listen to T’Kuvma’s sales pitch; other known Klingon houses include Duras, Martok, Mogh, Korath, Kozak, and Antaak, though it is not known how fragmented this system of Klingon society might have become by the 24th century. (It is clearly stated that the Klingon Empire is currently comprised of 24 Houses.) Voq says that T’Kuvma devised the cloaking device; though in much official and unofficial backstory surrounding Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, the Klingons are said to have gotten cloaking technology from the Romulans. Both could be right: perhaps T’Kuvma is padding his resume just a bit. When T’Kuvma is shot by Burnham, his blood briefly vaporizes purple – the color of Klingon blood as it appeared in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (in nearly every other instance in the franchise, it appears red).

Star Trek: DiscoveryChris Obi is the latest crossover actor to have appeared in both Star Trek and Doctor Who, having appeared in the 2011 Doctor Who episode Closing Time.

Credited, but not appearing in, their second episode in a row are series regulars Shazad Latif, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, and Jason Isaacs. Not showing up is good work if you can find it.

LogBook entry by Earl Green