Day: October 4, 1965

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Out Of The Unknown Season 1

No Place Like Earth

Out Of The UnknownEarth was destroyed 15 years ago, after the solar system had been colonized as far as the moons of Jupiter. Bert, one of the last people to leave Earth for Mars, became more or less stranded on Mars, traveling between Martian settlements and repairing things for the locals. When the call goes out for men to colonize Venus, Bert is torn between his peripatetic life on Mars, which affords him both a living and leisure time, and the urge to rebuild a new world in the image of Earth. But it is only when Bert arrives on Venus that he learns that all of human history will play out in the building of this new world – even the worst parts. And if he starts a revolution, he may not be long for this, or any other, world.

adapted by Stanley Miller
from a story by John Wyndham
directed by Peter Potter
music by Norman Kay

Out Of The UnknownCast: Terence Morgan (Bert), Jessica Dunning (Annika), Hannah Gordon (Zaylo), Joseph O’Conor (Freeman), Alan Tilvern (Blane), George Pastell (Major Khan), Jerry Stovin (Captain of Spaceship), Vernon Joyner (Carter), Bill Treacher (Harris), Geoffrey Palmer (Chief Officer), Roy Stewart (Security Guard)

Out Of The UnknownNotes: The works of writer John Wyndham would inspire many future genre productions, including the BBC’s adaptation of Day Of The Triffids and ITV’s Chocky series. Norman Kay also provided the incidental music for the first Doctor Who story, An Unearthly Child, in 1963.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Original Series Season 03 Star Trek

The Paradise Syndrome

Star Trek ClassicStardate 4842.6: Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to a planet to inform any inhabitants that they must evacuate the planet due to an approaching asteroid’s imminent collision. A society similar to Native American Indians has arisen on the planet, but near their villages, the landing party finds a strange obelisk whose design and construction is far beyond the capabilities of the planet’s natives. Kirk finds that the monolith can be opened by the combination of sounds found in the order “Kirk to Enterprise,” but when he enters the obelisk, he is attacked by waves of energy that erase his mind. With no time to spare, Spock and McCoy have to return to the Enterprise without Kirk, and begin trying to use the ship’s tractor beam to divert the asteroid. Meanwhile, Kirk becomes the tribal chief, takes a wife and even expects to become a father, but the Enterprise may not be able to save her former captain’s future.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Margaret Armen
directed by Jud Taylor
music by Gerald Fried

Guest Cast: James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Sabrina Scharf (Miramanee), Rudy Solari (Salish), Richard Hale (Goro), Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel), Naomi Pollack (Indian Woman), John Lindesmith (Engineer), Peter Virgo, Jr. (Warrior), Lamont Laird (Indian Boy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Search

Moonrock

SearchThe most recent Apollo mission to the moon has brought back an enormous chunk of diamond found on the lunar surface. The sample of moon rock is so valuable that World Securities Corporation had to be entrusted with transporting it upon its arrival on Earth…and somehow it was misplaced. Fearing the effect on the world’s economy if the huge diamond hits the black market, PROBE Control dispatches Lockwood to find and retrieve the otherworldly treasure…with the full understanding that it represents a fortune for which some men would gladly kill.

written by Leslie Stevens
directed by William Wiard
music by Dominic Frontiere

SearchCast: Hugh O’Brian (Hugh Lockwood), Burgess Meredith (Cameron), Jo Ann Pflug (Dr. Trapnell), , Ann Prentis (Annie Mulligan), Ford Rainey (Dr. Barnett), George Pan (Abbas Mirzah), Leo G. Morrell (Colonel Mirzah), Alizia Gur (Deva Siri), David Mauro (Dimas), William Wintersole (Dr. Van Owen), Joshua Bryant (Air Reservationist), Dee Gardner (Stewardess), Anakorita (Stewardess), Ron Castro (Carlos), Byron Chung (Kuroda), Ginny Golden (Keach), Albert Popwell (Griffin)

SearchNotes: Lockwood sarcastically comments “book me on the next Apollo”…but there was only one Apollo lunar mission remaining (December 1972’s Apollo 17 flight) at the time of this episode’s broadcast. The remaining Apollo flights from 1973 to 1975 ventured no further than low Earth orbit. Lockwood apparently enjoys slow-dancing to an easy-listening version of the Search theme music.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Planet Of The Apes Season 1

The Good Seeds

Planet Of The ApesUrko’s troops pursue the fugitives to the point of exhaustion – and that leads to clumsy missteps. Virdon and Burke have to carry Galen on a stretcher to the nearest settlement, where they’re met with the usual stares of distrust. There is one bit of good luck: they’ve stumbled into an ape farming settlement, and one that needs extra laborers, in exchange for which the apes – though still suspicious – are willing to hide them from Urko’s patrols. Virdon’s own experiences growing up on a farm lead him to start giving advice on how to make the farm run much more smoothly, from the use of simple machines to better methods of planting crops. But are Virdon’s improvements – completely unorthodox in this primitive era – going to buy Galen time to heal…or will they draw too much attention from the patrols?

Order the DVDswritten by Robert W. Lenski
directed by Don Weis
music by Lalo Schifrin

Guest Cast: Geoffrey Deuel (Anto), Lonny Chapman (Polar), Jacqueline Scott (Zantes), Mark Lenard (Urko), Bobby Porter (Remus), Eileen Dietz Elber (Jillia), John Garwood (Police Gorilla), Dennis Cross (Gorilla Officer), Michael Carr (Patrol Rider), Fred Lerner (Police Gorilla)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Kolchak The Night Stalker Season 1

The Vampire

Night StalkerIn the desert outside Las Vegas, a traveller inadvertently spills blood upon a forgotten grave and…something crawls out. In Chicago, Kolchak gets wind of a trail of murders involving blood draining, and manages to wrangle his way into a trip to Los Angeles, where the trail leads. He finds that Catherine Rowlins, a victim of Janos Skorzeny, the vampire he confronted in Las Vegas, has been resurrected. She now pursues her former career as a call girl while using her customers as a food supply. With the aid of a local real estate agent, Kolchak tracks Rowlins to her lair for a final fiery hillside confrontation.

Order the DVDswritten by David Chase
from a story by Bill Stratton
directed by Don Weis
music by Gil Mille

Guest Cast: Suzanne Charny (Catherine Rowlins), Kathleen Nolan (Faye Kruger), William Daniels (Lt. Matteo), Larry Storch (Jim “The Swede” Brytowski), Jan Murray (Ichabod Grace)

Notes: A sequel of sorts to the original TV movie The Night Stalker. The presence of a female vampire adds a few new twists.

LogBook entry by Steve Crowe

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4th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

Exploration Earth: The Time Machine

Doctor Who: Exploration Earth / Genesis of the DaleksThe TARDIS tumbles backward billions of years, alarming the Doctor and Sarah. But the Doctor is able to show Sarah the origins of her planet, from the formation of the solar system to the beginnings of life itself. But they’re not the only visitors from another time there – an alien named Megron has arrived to bring chaos to the young planet Earth, possibly even to disrupt the history of human evolution.

Order this CDwritten by Bernard Venables
music by Dick Mills

Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), John Westbrook (Megron)

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

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Battle Of The Planets

The Space Mummy

Battle Of The PlanetsPlane crashes and sightings of mysterious phenomena abound on the recently-discovered planet Zarkadia (named after its discoverer, 7-Zark-7), a new ally of Earth. Chief Anderson and G-Force travel there in the Phoenix to investigate, discovering that Spectra has created a giant robotic mummy to terrorize the planet. The plutonium-powered robot’s target is Dr. Sweet, who has discovered and refined a plutonium-neutralizing mineral called anti-pluton. Silencing the scientist will allow Spectra’s plutonium-powered terrors to rampage across the galaxy unchecked. The mummy has only one vulnerable point, and Mark has to find it with little time to spare.

written by Jameson Brewer
directed by Hisayuki Toriumi
music by Hoyt Curtin and Bob Sakuma

Battle Of The PlanetsVoice Cast: Casey Kasem (Mark), Ronnie Schell (Jason), Janet Waldo (Princess / Susan), Alan Young (7-Zark-7 / Keyop), Alan Dinehart Jr. (Tiny / Chief Anderson), Keye Luke (Zoltar)

Note: This is the first episode to feature new animation of the existing Gatchaman characters created expressly for Battle Of The Planets, namely, Mark on 7-Zark-7’s viewscreen (the difference between the Japanese animation and the American animation is instantly recognizable to any anime afficionado). Chief Anderson is said to be aboard the Phoenix for its interplanetary flight to Zarkadia (presumably the people of this planet didn’t already have a more dignified name for their homeworld), but since Dr. Nambu seldom, if ever, boarded the God Phoenix in Gatchaman, he is not seen there. Another thing not seen here is the entire opening teaser from the original Japanese episode, completely cut due to its violent images. The Zarkadians (really?) are apparently immune to the common cold. For the corresponding episode of Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman, click here. The airdate listed here is approximate, not exact; see the bottom of this page for information on Battle Of The Planets airdates.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Buck Rogers Season 1

Vegas In Space

Buck Rogers In The 25th CenturyBuck is becoming annoyed in his efforts to wean Wilma and the other Earth Defense Directorate pilots off of computer control for every combat scenario, preferring his own instincts and reflexes instead. When they return to Earth from a particularly frustrating training exercise, Buck has a new task waiting for him – to accompany Major Marla Landers to Sinaloa, an entire planet devoted to leisure and gambling, on a mission to rescue a kidnapped computer programmer. Her employer, Mr. Armot, is a notorious (but, as yet, unconvicted) gun-runner who has offered to provide tactical information on the seemingly unbeatable Draconian hatchet fighters in exchange for this favor. Once they arrive on Sinaloa, Buck attracts the attention of a cocktail waitress named Tanji, while Major Landers gets the far more dangerous attention of Mr. Velosi, the proprietor of Sinaloa’s casino. Escaping from Sinaloa with the kidnapped programmer is enough of a risk, but Tanji wants Buck to buy her freedom too – or she’ll alert Velosi’s guards to Buck’s presence.

Order the DVDswritten by Anne Collins
directed by Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
music by Les Baxter

Cast: Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), Erin Gray (Wilma Deering), Tim O’Connor (Doctor Huer), Cesar Romero (Armot), Joseph Wiseman (Morphus), Richard Lynch (Velosi), Ana Alicia (Major Landers), Juanin Clay (Velosi’s thug), Pamela Susan Shoop (Falina), James Luisi (Guard), Alice Frost (Rita), Ted Chapman (Man)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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1980s Season 1 Twilight Zone

Wordplay / Dreams For Sale / Chameleon

The Twilight ZoneWordplay: Words are just part of a salesman’s trade, but when those words begin getting switched with other words, resulting in a seemingly nonsensical new version of the English language, Bill Lowery finds himself unable to communicate with anyone at all and must start learning the language all over.

written by Rockne S. O’Bannon
directed by Wes Craven
music by Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir & Mickey Hart

Twilight ZoneCast: Robert Klein (Bill Lowery), Annie Potts (Cathy Lowery), Adam Raber (Donnie), Robert J. Downey (Mr. Miller), Brian Bradley (Hotshot), Bernard Behrens (Older Salesman), Anne Betancourt (Admitting Nurse), William Peugh (Man #1), Helene Udy (Woman #1), Mimi Neyer-Craven (Receptionist), Brynja Willis (Secretary), Russ Marin (Doctor), Alexandra Morgan (Nurse #1), Lee Arnone (Nurse #2), Raye Birk (Bearded Man), Joseph Whipp (Doug Seaver), Dwier Brown (Robbie)

Dreams For Sale: A woman’s idyllic dream of the perfect domestic lifestyle – a husband, two children, picnics in the park – is interrupted by the realization that she is not the person in her dreams…and she doesn’t want to be who she is in reality.

Twilight Zonewritten by Joe Cannon
directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
music by Merl Saunders and The Grateful Dead

Cast: Meg Foster (Jenny), David Hayward (Paul), Vincent Guastaferro (Dream Technician), Lee Anthony (Rescue Technician One), Kristi Purdy (Twin), Deanna Purdy (Twin)

Chameleon: A piece of equipment aboard a space shuttle mission exhibits a momentary blue glow in space, and then does so again when it is returned to Earth. The first NASA technician who picks it up vanishes in a flash of blue light, reappearing later while the equipment is studied in isolation. The crew chief who last handled it appears in the isolation chamber and demands to be set free, before changing his shape, repeating the plea for freedom and revealing that it is not of this world. When the scientists it perceives as captors refuse to release it, the being proves that it is capable of more forceful negotiations.

Twilight Zonewritten by James Crocker
directed by Wes Craven
music by Merl Saunders and The Grateful Dead

Cast: Terrance O’Quinn (Dr. Lockridge), Ben Piazza (Dr. Heilman), John Ashton (Brady Simmons), Steve Howell Bassett (Gerald Tyson), Iona Morris (Annie), Alma Martinez (Teresa Rojas), Chad Hayes (Peter Iverson), Lin Shaye (Woman in Tank)

Notes: Terrance O’Quinn is better known as Terry O’Quinn, future star of Lost and future guest star on Tales From The Crypt, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The X-Files, Earth 2, and Alias. If Bernard Behrens doesn’t look familiar, maybe he sounds familiar: he was the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in NPR’s 1980s radio adaptations of the Star Wars saga. Chameleon saw The Twilight Zone Twilight Zoneusing a special effects resource that simply didn’t exist during the first season of the original Twilight Zone: NASA footage of astronauts working in space. Since the footage includes flights of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), this narrows down the real missions in question to STS-41B, STS-41C, and STS-51A, all flown in 1984, the previous year. That’s the same year that Wes Craven’s horror megahit A Nightmare On Elm Street landed in theaters, making the director a superstar, and a major coup for the new Twilight Zone.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Classic Season 23 Doctor Who

Mindwarp (Trial Of A Time Lord, Parts 5-8)

Doctor WhoThe Valeyard presents another adventure as evidence of the Doctor’s meddlesome nature. During this escapade, the Doctor and Peri arrive on Thoros Beta, the home planet of their old enemy Sil. Kiv, the leader of Sil’s people, faces a painful death unless a way can be found to transplant Kiv’s mind into a physically larger brain. When the Doctor and Peri are captured by the guards, the Doctor is subjected to an experiment wiith the mind transplantation equipment and becomes mentally unstable. Peri escapes with the help of King Yrcanos, a warrior from neighboring Thoros Alpha, whose people are enslaved by Sil. But the Valeyard’s evidence seems to show the Doctor betraying Peri to save his own skin, despite the Doctor’s insistence that these events never occurred. But even the Doctor is stunned into silence when he finally learns why Peri is not present to defend him at his trial.

Order the DVDwritten by Philip Martin
directed by Ron Jones
music by Richard Hartley

Cast: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Bonnie Langford (Melanie), Michael Jayston (The Valeyard), Lynda Bellingham (Inquisitor), Brian Blessed (King Yrcanos), Nabil Shaban (Sil), Christopher Ryan (Kiv), Patrick Reycart (Crozier), Alibe Parsons (Matrona Kani), Richard Henry (Mentor), Trevor Laird (Frax), Gordon Warnecke (Tuza), Thomas Branch (The Lukoser)

Broadcast from October 4 through 25, 1986

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Red Dwarf Season 02

Queeg

Red DwarfDamage Report From The Damaged Damage Report Machine: Holly kicks off a banner day in Red Dwarf history by neglecting to tell anyone that there’s a meteor about to collide with the ship. The resulting collision manages to nearly destroy the hologram simulation suite, sending various parts of Rimmer’s mind and body off in different directions simultaneously, and Lister nearly gets electrocuted trying to fix it. When they return to the drive room, a new face appears on the screen – Queeg 500, Red Dwarf’s backup computer, a supposedly more efficient system with all the caring concern of a drill sergeant. Queeg ousts Holly from the main computer and takes control.

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

Guest Cast: Charles Augins (Queeg)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Classic Season 26 Doctor Who

Ghost Light

Doctor WhoThe Doctor brings Ace to a house called Gabriel Chase in the year 1883 – a house which a younger Ace firebombed in 1983, long before she joined the Doctor but long after anything had lived in the house. Gabriel Chase’s original owner is a very unusual man named Josiah Samuel Smith, infamous in the 19th century for his controversial theories of evolution, and these theories have brought the Reverend Matthews to Gabriel Chase. But something else has brought the missing explorer Redvers Fenn-Cooper there – a offer of glory in exchange for an assassination. At the heart of all of these events lies a sinister secret of a far less earthly nature, something which could result in the destruction of Earth…but the Doctor’s hands are already full when Ace discovers that he has brought her to her dreaded home town of Perivale a century before her birth.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Marc Platt
directed by Alan Wareing
music by Mark Ayres

Doctor WhoCast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred, Ian Hogg (Josiah Samuel Smith), Sharon Duce (Control), John Hallam (Light), Carl Forgione (Nimrod), Sylvia Syms (Mrs. Pritchard), Katharine Schlesinger (Gwendoline), Michael Cochrane (Redvers Fenn-Cooper), Frank Windsor (Inspector Mackenzie), John Nettleton (Reverend Matthews), Brenda Kempner (Mrs. Grose)

Broadcast from October 4 through 18, 1989

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Season 07 Star Trek The Next Generation

Interface

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 47215.5: A new interface is being tested by Geordi to control remote unmanned probes. Utilizing his VISOR implants, Geordi is able to see, hear and experience whatever conditions the probe encounters. His interface with the probe comes in useful while the Enterprise investigates the loss of the starship Raman. But during the mission, Picard receives word that the starship Hera, commanded by Geordi’s mother, has disappeared with all hands, and Starfleet, despite dispatching two more vessels to search, does not expect to find the Hera or any of her crew. Geordi is profoundly affected by the news, and when he encounters an image of his mother on the Raman, he goes against his father’s advice and Picard’s direct orders and tries to use his unique interface with the probe to find out what has happened to her.

Order the DVDswritten by Joe Menosky
directed by Robert Wiemer
music by Jay Chattaway

Guest Cast: Ben Vereen (Dr. La Forge), Madge Sinclair (Capt. Silva La Forge), Warren Munson (Admiral Holt)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Deep Space Nine Season 02 Star Trek

The Circle

Star Trek: Deep Space NineStardate not given: Kira has been recalled to Bajor, and accepts an invitation from Vedek Bareil to spend some time at his monastery. There, she encounters the Third Orb, which gives her a strange vision including Dax, Vedeks Winn and Bareil, Minister Jaro, and the Bajoran Chamber of Ministers. In the meantime, as Li Nalas tries to fit into his role as DS9’s first officer, the crew stumbles across evidence that the Circle is not just an isolated faction, but is instead a well-organized and surprisingly well-armed movement which is waiting in the wings to overthrow the provisional government of Bajor by force. Unknown to the Circle’s members, however, they are being provided weapons by the Cardassians, who anticipate correctly that Starfleet will order Sisko and all other Federation personnel to evacuate DS9 and leave Bajor to its own political machinations, wide open for a renewed Cardassian occupation. The Circle launches assault ships to take over the station, and many of the Starfleet occupants have no choice but to stay behind and fight for their survival.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Peter Allan Fields
directed by Corey Allen
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Avery Brooks (Commander Benjamin Sisko), Rene Auberjonois (Odo), Siddig El Fadil (Dr. Julian Bashir), Terry Farrell (Lt. Jadzia Dax), Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko), Colm Meaney (Chief O’Brien), Armin Shimerman (Quark), Nana Visitor (Major Kira Nerys), Louise Fletcher (Vedek Winn), Richard Beymer (Li Nalas), Stephen Macht (Krim), Philip Anglim (Vedek Bareil), Frank Langella (Minister Jaro), Bruce Gray (Admiral Chekote), Mike Genovese (Zef’no), Eric Server (Peace Officer), Anthony Guidera (Cardassian)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 5 Xena: Warrior Princess

Chakram

Xena: Warrior PrincessAres and Kel, another god of war, discuss Xena’s return and the chakram of light. Both gods want the weapon, since it can kill a god, but only the purest soul can retrieve it. Kel sends a monk after it, but he isn’t pure enough and is killed.

In the ruins of the temple in the mountains, Xena and Gabrielle are adjusting to their return to life. Amarice gives Xena the pieces of her broken chakram. The warrior has no idea what it is and isn’t interested in getting it fixed, which puzzles Gabrielle. Down in a nearby village, the bard shows Xena the new weapons she wants to buy for her, but again, the warrior isn’t interested. Suddenly Kel’s men appear, and Gabrielle and Amarice fight them – Xena just stands and watches. The bard calls for them to retreat back to the temple. Once there, they fill Eli in on what happened and ask him what could be wrong with Xena. He isn’t sure, but he thinks his friend, a monk, could help her. Later, Gabrielle tells him she knows she wasn’t following the right way for her and that if Xena doesn’t recover her memory, she will do whatever she must to protect her.

Order the DVDswritten by Chris Manheim
directed by Doug Lefler
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Ted Raimi (Joxer), Timothy Omundson (Eli), Jennifer Sky (Amarice), Kevin Smith (Ares), Antonio Te Maioho (Kel), Mark Rounthwaite (Guard)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell