Day: October 21, 1976

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Season 2 Space: 1999

The Rules Of Luton

Space: 1999Koenig, Tony Verdeschi and Maya are en route to explore an Earthlike world when their Eagle develops an oxygen leak. Koenig sends Verdeschi back to pick up a different Eagle, while he and Maya explore the planet. Maya spots edible vegetation, but when Maya picks and flower Koenig bites into a handful of berries, they hear screams – and a voice proclaims them guilty of murder. Cutting off the explorers’ contact with Moonbase Alpha, the voices claim to be the Judges of Luton, and force Koenig and Maya to fight a trio of previous transgressors. Koenig and Maya evade the three hulking aliens for as long as possible, and then Koenig tries to convince them not to fight – a potential truce to which the Judges take exception.

Order the DVDswritten by Charles Woodgrove
directed by Val Guest
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), David Jackson (Alien Strong), Godfrey James (Alien Transporter), Roy Marsden (Alien Invisible), Yasuko Nagazumi (Yasko)

Notes: David Jackson went on to star, a year and a half later, as one of Blake’s 7; in later interviews, he likened the experience to “acting with a tent over your head.” Koenig reveals that he was married on Earth, but his wife was a casualty of a catastrophic global war; Dr. Russell reminds him of her.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Jason Of Star Command Season 1

Marooned In Time

Jason Of Star CommandJason’s latest planetoid hiding place seems to be a time warp – characters from Earth’s distant past appear and disappear when the Starfire first lands. But Jason, Nicole and Parsafoot are soon captured by a man claiming to be treasure-hungry pirate Captain Kidd, who takes Wiki to help him find a treasure Dragos has left on this world. Typically for Dragos, the treasure turns out to be a trap – but despite the danger, the loot is needed to power up Jason’s Starfire.

Order this series on DVDwritten by David Villaire
directed by Arthur H. Nadel
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Craig Littler (Jason), Sid Haig (Dragos), Susan O’Hanlon (Capt. Nicole Davidoff), Charlie Dell (Prof. E.J. Parsafoot), James Doohan (Commander Canarvin), Brendan Dillon (Captain Kidd)

Notes: Planets in Jason’s universe seem terribly prone to exploding.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2 Star Blazers

The Comet Appears: Remodeling The Yamato!

Star BlazersThe Argo returns to Earth, and survives a close brush with the new flagship of the Earth Defense Force fleet, the Andromeda. Wildstar reunites with Nova on Earth, and the rest of the original Argo crew gather at a memorial to Captain Avatar to commemorate his life and his accomplishments. But the peace is short-lived – the Comet Empire creates a power surge that disables electrical systems on spaceships and on Earth, and sends a wing of reconnaisance ships as well. At precisely the same moment, a powerful signal is beamed straight to Earth from a distant world…but is jammed by the Comet Empire’s interference.

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

Season 2 Voice Cast: Kenneth Meseroll (Derek Wildstar), Tom Tweedy (Mark Venture), Amy Howard (Nova), Eddie Allen (Leader Desslok), Chris Latta (Sgt. Knox), Lydia Leeds (Trelaina), Chris Latta (General Dire), Chris Latta (Captain Gideon), other actors unknown

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

Disaster

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 45156.1: On a routine day, Picard takes the three winners of the ship’s school science fair on a tour. Beverly pesters Geordi, who is checking fuel tanks in a shuttlebay, to audition for a play; Riker, Data, Worf, and a pregnant Keiko relax in Ten Forward, and O’Brien and Troi perform bridge duties. When an undetectable object collides with the ship, emergency systems isolate everyone where they are. Picard is injured and must rely on the scared children; Riker orders Data to risk his life to reach engineering; Worf must deliver Keiko’s baby when she goes into labor; Geordi and Beverly are caught between a fire and several tanks of unstable fuel; and Troi is trapped on the bridge with a minimal crew and Ensign Ro is all too ready to point out the worst case scenario: unless the ship’s antimatter supply is stabilized, the Enterprise could be destroyed.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Ronald D. Moore
story by Ron Jarvis and Philip A. Scorza
directed by Gabrielle Beaumont
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), Rosalind Chao (Keiko), Colm Meaney (O’Brien), Michelle Forbes (Ensign Ro), Erika Flores (Marissa), John Christian Graas (Jay Gordon), Max Supera (Patterson), Cameron Arnett (Ensign Mandel), Jana Marie Hupp (Ensign Monroe)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Red Dwarf Season 06

Gunmen of the Apocalypse

Red DwarfStarbug has wandered into a rogue simulant hunting zone, where a gigantic warship confronts the crew and demands assurances that there are no human vermin aboard. Despite Lister’s attempt to bluff his way past the simulants by passing himself off as an ambassador of the Vindaloo Empire, the simulants board Starbug. Knocking the crew out for three weeks, they also install more advanced weaponry so the Starbug crew can put up a fight for the simulants’ amusement. But to the killer mechanoids’ surprise, the Starbug crew decide to attack the simulant warship. The simulants, their ship heavily damaged, fire the Armageddon Virus at Starbug which locks the ship’s course on collision with a nearby planet and then renders all systems inoperative. Kryten links into Starbug’s computers to absorb the virus but winds up incapacitated. With minutes to spare before crashing into the planet ahead, the others try to help Kryten by linking into his mind with a virtual reality of the wild west.

Order the DVDswritten by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
directed by Andy De Emmony
music by Howard Goodall

Red DwarfGuest Cast: Jennifer Calvert (Loretta), Denis Lill (Simulant Captain/Death), Liz Hickling (Simulant Lieutenant), Imogen Bain (Lola), Steve Devereaux (Jimmy), Robert Inch (War), Jeremy Peters (Pestilence), Dinny Powell (Famine), Stephen Marcus (Bear Strangler McGee)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

Shadow Dancing

Babylon 5Delenn is having difficulty convincing the League of Non-Aligned Worlds of the merits of committing large numbers of their forces to a full frontal assault on the Shadows – after all, the Shadows’ track record of leaving no survivors is almost spotless – but wins the support of the League. Sheridan dispatches Marcus and Ivanova on a mission in the White Star to act as the early warning for the fleet, but it is made clear to them from the outset that they only have a 50/50 chance of surviving a meeting with the Shadows. Delenn proposes that, after the battle is over, she and Sheridan engage in a three-day Minbari ritual during which the female watches the male in his sleep to find his true face, and, if she approves, to stay with him. Franklin, still on his walkabout, tries to intervene to prevent a man from being thrashed by two dwellers of Downbelow, only to find himself on the receiving end of a large knife, and even the man he saves won’t help him for fear of being exposed as a drug dealer.

A lone Shadow scout vessel appears, and the White Star sounds the alarm – but their quarry turns on them and, before they can destroy it, causes critical damage to the White Star, which now sits helpless before an approaching Shadow attack fleet. Franklin lies alone and dying on the station when he finally meets himself – with mixed results. Franklin reflects with himself upon his inability to take responsibility for his actions or his life, and still no help is on the way. Sheridan, Delenn and the others launch their fleet to counter the Shadow attack, and the battle is on. Franklin manages to struggle his way into a public place where there is a chance that someone will call for help. After a long a bloody fight, the Shadows are routed by Sheridan’s fleet, but at great cost – for every Shadow ship destroyed, at least two of the ships provided by the League of Non-Aligned Worlds faced a similar fate. Franklin is taken to medlab, where he watches as the wounded from the battle with the Shadows are wheeled in en masse and decides he wants to return to his job.

In hyperspace, a Shadow vessel launches a small craft toward the station. Its occupant arrives almost unnoticed, but Zack Allan alerts Ivanova of the mysterious new arrival. Unfortunately, no one can stop this visitor from going to Sheridan’s quarters. Delenn’s ritual of watching Sheridan sleep is interrupted when a woman enters the room and identifies herself as Anna Sheridan.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Kim Friedman
music by Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Melissa Gilbert (Anna Sheridan), Shirley Prestia (Barbara), John Grantham (Thug #2), J. Gordon Noice (Man), Jonathan Chapman (Brakiri), Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin), Mark Hendrickson (Drazi Ambassador), Nicholas Ross Oleson (Thug #1), Doug Cox (Husband)

Original UK airdate: September 15, 1996

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Deep Space Nine Season 05 Star Trek

…Nor The Battle To The Strong

Star Trek: Deep Space NineStardate not given: Jake has accompanied Bashir to a medical conference, to do a profile on the doctor for a magazine. They are returning to the station when they receive a distress call from a colony under Klingon attack. While Bashir joins the medics in saving and caring for the wounded, Jake has his first up-close experience with the horrors of war. Under the pressure, he does the unthinkable – he breaks down and runs, just when he is needed most. Afterwards Jake must face his guilt and shame, and learn where the fine line between courage and cowardice is.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonteleplay by Renè Echavarria
story by Brice R. Parker
directed by Kim Friedman
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: Andrew Kavovit (Kirby), Karen Austin (Dr. Kalandra), Mark Holton (Bolian), Lisa Lord (Nurse), Jeb Brown (Ensign), Danny Goldring (Burke), Elle Alexander (Female Guard), Greg “Christopher” Smith (Male Guard)

LogBook entry by Tracy Hemenover

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Season 2 Xena: Warrior Princess

Girls Just Want To Have Fun

Xena: Warrior PrincessXena and Gabrielle learn that several young women have been kidnapped from the villages that surround the Bacchae forest. Xena fears that Bacchus, the god of wine, is responsible for the disappearances. Joxer arrives with the head of Orpheus. Bacchus cut it off so that Orpheus would not be able to play his magical lyre which affects the god of wine and his followers. Orpheus despises Xena, but knows that she may be the only one who can help him stop Bacchus. The god of wine is intrigued when he learns that Xena is helping Orpheus. He decides that he wants to make her one of his Bacchae followers. He sends two of his followers to steal the lyre. Xena and the others go to retrieve the lyre, which Orpheus left with a friend. But when they arrive, they find that the man has been murdered and the lyre is missing. Xena searches for the lyre, but the Bacchae who stole it get away. The group go to the catacombs where Bacchus lives. Xena knows that the only way to kill a Bacchae is to use the bones of their enemy, the Dryad. As they gather the bones, Xena and Joxer are surprised to learn that Gabrielle has become a Bacchae.

Order the DVDswritten by Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster
directed by T.J. Scott
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Ted Raimi (Joxer), Matthew Chamberlain (Orpheus), Anthony Ray Parker (Bacchus), Kym Krystaly (Bacchae #1), David Goodwin (Thief #2), Daniel Parker (Thief #1)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

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Season 05 Star Trek Voyager

Drone

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate not given: A freak shuttle encounter with a cloud of active plasma necessitates an emergency evacuation. The Doctor’s mobile holo-emitter and some of Seven of Nine’s Borg nanoprobes are fused in the beam-out, resulting in a new life-form. With its immense adaptive Borg capabilities and its advanced 29th century technology, the new Borg drone proves to be amazingly intelligent and almost friendly in a child-like way, though Seven is troubled by the drone’s curiosity about the nature of its Borg “ancestors.” Unfortunately, another aspect of the drone’s heritage – the signal which links it to the Borg collective – alerts the collective to its presence and Voyager’s location, and a deadly family reunion becomes imminent.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Bryan Fuller, Brannon Braga & Joe Menosky
story by Bryan Fuller and Harry “Doc” Kloor
directed by Les Landau
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: J. Paul Boehmer (One), Todd Babcock (Lt. Mulcahey), Majel Barrett (Computer voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Firefly Season 1

Heart of Gold

  • By Dave
  • October 21, 2005

FireflyNandi, an old colleague of Inara, waves asking for help. She has set up a prostitution house on a planet on the frontier, outside the jurisdiction of the Companion Guild. Now the most powerful official on the planet has impregnanted one of her girls, and plans to take his child by force. Nandi needs some firepower to convince him otherwise. Mal agrees to take the job; after sizing up the opposition, Mal’s instinct is to take everyone on board Serenity and run. But Nandi’s not willing to go, so they prepare for the next day’s firefight. Simon helps to deliver the baby while Mal and Nandi spend the night together. Inara finds this development unsettling but tries to hide her feelings. When battle ensues, the official has one further advantage – one of the girls has sold them out.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Brett Matthews
directed by Thomas J. Wright
music by Greg Edmonson

Guest Cast: Melinda Clarke (Nandi), Kimberley McCullough (Chari), Fredric Lane (Ranse Burgess), Tracy Leah Ryan (Petaline)

Notes: This episode was not broadcast by Fox and first aired on Sci Fi in 2005.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Rebels Season 2 Star Wars

Relics Of The Old Republic

Star Wars: RebelsStranded on Seelos while Sabine repairs the Phantom and Hera repairs the Ghost, Kanan is uneasily forced to ally his group with the retired Clone Troopers. The Empire is already on its way to deal with both the rebels and the clones, who have nothing more than the weapons and vehicles on Seelos to protect themselves. Commander Rex is happy to be fighting alongside a Jedi again; getting Kanan to trust him may be as big a battle as the looming fight with Imperial walkers.

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

RebelsCast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus / Stormtrooper 1), Vanessa Marshall (Hera), Tiya Sircar (Sabine), Steven Blum (Zeb / Technician 1 / Technician 2), Dee Bradley Baker (Admiral Konstantine / Clone Troopers), David Oyelowo (Agent Kallus), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), Dave Filoni (AT-AT Pilot), Philip Anthony-Rodriguez (Fifth Brother)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Black Mirror Season 3

Nosedive

Black MirrorSocial media “ratings”, bestowed by friends, strangers and random passerby alike, are as much currency as actual money, determining not just social standing, but what kind of jobs and housing are available. Smiles are everyday attire, worn to avoid “downvotes” for being considered surly or impolite. Lacie Pound, hovering between 4.0 and 4.5 out of 5, “upvotes” everyone she meets; it’s the polite thing to do, and it’s expected. At home, however, she is stuck living in a small house with her brother, but Lacie is eyeing a more upscale residence – one that she can only afford if she reaches a steady 4.5 social media rating, qualifying her for a discount. The opportunity to boost her profile appears in the form of an invitation to be the maid of honor at a childhood friend’s wedding…but does Lacie even have the necessary clout to make the trip?

Get the DVDsteleplay by Rashida Jones and Mike Schur
story by Charlie Brooker
directed by Joe Wright
music by Max Richter

Black MirrorCast: Bryce Dallas Howard (Lacie Pound), Alice Eve (Naomi Jayne Blestow), Cherry Jones (Susan), James Norton (Ryan Pound), Alan Ritchison (Paul), Daisy Haggard (Bets), Susannah Fielding (Carol), Michaela Coel (Airport Stewardess), Demetri Goritsas (Hansen), Kadiff Kirwan (Chester), Sope Dirisu (Man in Jail), Clayton Evertson (Ted), Andrew Roux (Electro Station Assistant), Anjana Vasan (Space Cop), Colin Moss (Anthony), Nambitha Ben-Wazi (Glam Woman), Jeffrey Davenport (Cab Driver), Ntokozo Majozi (Jack the Barrista), Justin Munitz (Keith), Zandile Madliwa (Alien Girl), Kevin Otto (Pastor), Shane Zaza (Chuck), Abubakar Salim (Airport Guard), Jennie Nielson (Woman in Car), Deon Lotz (Man in Car), Daniel Newton (Kid on Quad Bike), Rebecca Newton (Kid’s Younger Sister), Lewelyn Van den Berg (Male Jogger), Blessing Mamuesa (Glam Woman’s Son)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Black Mirror Season 3

Playtest

Black MirrorFor Cooper, trying to escape from the stress of his home life with his mother means quietly leaving without a word to travel the world. From Australia to Spain to England, Cooper’s carefree voyage of self-discovery is almost over. His mother keeps calling, and Cooper keeps declining her call. He hooks up with a British video game journalist named Sonja, a fortuitous meeting since it appears that he’s maxed out his credit card and can’t buy a ticket back to the States. Sonja points him toward a paid playtesting opportunity that should provide Cooper with the money he needs to get home. The game in question is an augmented reality horror experience that draws upon the player’s own memory to conjure his worst fears. From spiders to childhood bullies to a decidedly more deadly version of Sonja, Cooper is scared out of his wits and wants the game to end. But the damage may already be done: the lines between reality and the game are blurred, and Cooper may never see the real world again.

Black MirrorGet the DVDswritten by Charlie Brooker
directed by Dan Trachtenberg
music by Bear McCreary

Cast: Wyatt Rssell (Cooper), Hannah John-Kamen (Sonja), Wummi Mosaku (Katie), Ken Yamamura (Shou Saito), Elisabeth Moynihan (Cooper’s Mum), Jamie Paul (Rick Peters), Jessica Neil (Scared Girl On Plane)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Black Mirror Season 3

Shut Up And Dance

Black MirrorKenny lives a very average teenage life, but within that lies a particularly disturbing vice – one which comes back to haunt him when an unidentified hacker e-mails Kenny video from his own computer’s webcam. The hacker, now communicating with Kenny via text message, informs him that he will be “activated” at some point in the future, and must follow instructions to avoid a leak of the webcam video that will ruin Kenny’s life. When Kenny does receive instructions, he finds himself encountering a succession of others who are being similarly blackmailed, each receiving their own instructions via text message. Kenny and Hector, a middle-aged man whose own indiscretions have left him vulnerable to blackmail, are instructed to rob a bank. As Hector follows instructions to dispose of their getaway car, Kenny’s next orders make him wonder how much worse things are going to get for him.

Get the DVDswritten by Will Bridges & Charlie Brooker
directed by James Watkins
music by Alex Heffes

Black MirrorCast: Alex Lawther (Kenny), Jerome Flynn (Hector), Susannah Doyle (Blackmailed Woman), Frankie Wilson (Tom), Jimmy Roye-Dunne (Red), Hannah Steele (Melissa), Sarah Beck Mather (Restaurant Mother), Beatrice Robertson-Jones (Restaurant Daughter), Maya Gerber (Lindsay), Camilla Power (Sandra), Ivanno Jeremiah (Moped Man), Maiam Haque (Petrol Station Attendant), Natasha Little (Karen), Nicola Sloane (Bank Clerk), Paul Bazely (The Man in the Woods), Leanne Best (Penny)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Resistance Season 1 Star Wars

Fuel For The Fire

Star Wars: ResistanceKaz finds it difficult to concentrate on work when there are races to watch from the open launch deck at Yeager’s shop, so he takes the engine he’s trying to repair out to the edge of the deck…and then watches helplessly as it suddenly starts and then dumps itself into the ocean. While on a break, Kaz runs into a young hotshot racing crew that seems to have its act together slightly better than his own, and he’s eager to make new friends. But his new “friends” are eager to use Kaz to get to Yeager’s stockpile of parts and fuel…and Kaz isn’t aware of Yeager’s own past as a racer, or the fact that he has fuel that’s far too dangerous for recreational racing.

Star Wars: ResistanceDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Eugene Son
directed by Bosco Ng
music by Michael Tavera
based on original themes and music by John Williams

Cast: Christopher Sean (Kazuda Xiono), Josh Brener (Neeku Vozo), Scott Lawrence (Jarek Yeager), Suzie McGrath (Tam Ryvora), Elijah Wood (Jace Rucklin), Eric Bauza (Gorrak Wiles), Greg Proops (Garma / Jak Sivrak), Rachael MacFarlane (Lin Gaava), Tovah Feldshuh (Aunt Z)

LogBook entry by Earl Green