Day: November 19, 1967

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Classic Series Prisoner, The

Dance of the Dead

The PrisonerNumber Six spots a former co-worker trapped in the Village, only to find that the man is being tortured for information about him. Worse yet, Number Two informs Number Six that the man’s ordeal can be ended if only Six will reveal everything he knows. The new prisoner is broken quickly, while Number Six finds a possible means of summoning help – and finds himself on trial as well…

written by Anthony Skene
directed by Don Chaffey
music by Ron Grainer and Albert Elms

Cast: Patrick McGoohan (Number Six), Mary Morris (Number Two), Duncan MacRae (Doctor), Norma West (The Observer), Bee Duffell (Psychiatrist), Alan White (Dutton), Aubrey Morris (Town crier), Camilla Hasse (Day supervisor), Michael Nightingale (Night supervisor), Patsy Smart (Night maid), Denise Buckley (Maid), George Merritt (Postman), John Frawley (Flower man), Lucy Griffiths (Lady in corridor), William Lyon Brown (Doctor)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Gatchaman Gatchaman I

The Secret Of Crescent Coral Reef

Kagaku Ninjatai GatchamanThe sinking of a World Science Organization sub, part of a huge construction effort to build a new underwater base for the Gatchaman team, is the first sign that Galactor is aware of the base. The Gatchaman team is called in to look for signs of Galactor activity on a nearby island, but Dr. Nambu warns Ken and his team not to fight Galactor unless necessary. Stung by a random encounter with a civilian who thinks every other member of the Gatchaman team is more impressive than he is, Jinpei is determined to take on Galactor single-handedly. Unfortunately, in the process of trying to fight them alone, Jinpei also leads Galactor straight to the new underwater base.

written by Jinzo Toriumi
directed by Hisayuki Toriumi
music by Bob Sakuma

GatchamanVoice Cast: Katsuji Mori (Ken Washio), Isao Sasaki (Joe Asakura), Kazuko Sugiyama (Jun), Yoku Shioya (Jinpei), Shingo Kanemoto (Ryu), Toru Ohira (Kozaburo Nambu), Mikio Terashima (Berg Katse), Nobuo Tanaka (Sosai X), Mitsuo Yokoi (Clerk in Charge), Hideo Kinoshita (Narrator)

Note: Jinpei is 18th successor to the Iga Ninja; presumably this means she is a practitioner of Iga-ryu ninjutsu, a real discipline which originated in Iga City, in Mie Prefecture, Japan. The existence of the Gatchaman team is apparently public knowledge, enough that children are aware of the individual team members’ “G numbers” and abilities. (Are there trading cards and action figures, one wonders? There should be.) Again, significant violence from this original episode is swapped out for an unusual number of 7-Zark-7 scenes in the Battle Of The Planets dub. Though the Crescent Coral Reef base is seen throughout Battle Of The Planets as “Center Neptune,” this is its first appearance in Gatchaman. This synopsis is for the original Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman episode, and appears under its original Japanese premiere date. For the corresponding episode of Battle Of The Planets, click here.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Robert's Robots Season 1

Love At First Light

Robert's RobotsRobert takes Eric to the local ice skating rink to test the robot’s ability to function gracefully in cold temperatures, while Aunt Millie is dismayed that Robert’s other robot, Katie, has fallen in love with her stove, even going so far as to remove it from her house. As is often the case, Mr. Gimble is watching from nearby, and decides to lure Katie away by loading the stove into a truck and driving off with it. Katie follows, but then gets lost along the way – so Gimble doesn’t have him, but he’s also not in the safety of Robert’s lab. Love is also on Robert’s mind as he gets ready to propose to his girlfriend, but she doesn’t know the true nature of the work he does, so the robotic mishaps that begin happening around her are something Robert can’t explain without endangering his government funding.

Robert's Robotswritten by Bob Block
directed by Vic Hughes
music not credited

Cast: John Clive (Robert Sommerby), Brian Coburn (Katie), Nigel Pegram (Eric), Doris Rogers (Aunt Millie), Jenny Hanley (Angie), Richard Davies (Gimble), Leon Lissek (Marken), Ian Gray (Policeman), Edward Phillips (Man at door)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space Academy

The Cheat

Space AcademyA rare professional argument arises between Chris Gentry and another command cadet, Matt Prentiss. Chris argues that Matt’s behavior on their previous assignment put lives at risk, while Matt claims Chris failed to follow his orders. The hearing presided over by Commander Gampu is cut short by an emergency: an unmanned remote power station on an asteroid has malfunctioned, which threatens all of nearby space with a deadly ion storm. Gampu sends the cadets on a high-risk mission to repair the station’s equipment, and puts Matt Prentiss in charge over Chris’ objections. But when Matt issues orders that puts the team’s lives in jeopardy, will Chris stand by and respect the chain of command, or try to take charge?

written by Robert Specht
directed by George Tyne
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), John Berwick (Matt Prentiss)

Space AcademyNotes: The science in this episode is simply off-the-scale bad. The concept of a remote facility beaming power to a planetary body has actually been studied in some depth, but the notion that it could “cause an ion storm” is far-fetched to say the least. And then there’s that bit about crashing an asteroid into another asteroid, resulting in the creation of a new star – making The Cheat a likely contender for the most scientifically inaccurate episode in Space Academy’s brief run. This is also one of very few epiosdes to show Tee Gar performing a martial arts feat, a slightly stereotypical element which was written into the character in the series bible but seldom exploited by the show’s scriptwriters.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Battlestar Galactica (Classic Series) Season 1

The Young Lords

Battlestar Galactica (original)Starbuck crash-lands on a distant planet during a patrol, and is found by a group of children. But rather than nursing him back to health, the youngsters plan to propose a hostage exchange with the Cylons – a Colonial warrior for their abducted father. Starbuck would rather try to rescue the father of the children from the Cylons so they can all escape, but he’ll have a hard time persuading the children to help him.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by Donald P. Bellisario, Frank Lupo and Paul Playdon
directed by Donald P. Bellisario
music by Stu Phillips

Guest Cast: Audrey Landers (Miri), Charles Bloom (Kyle), Bruce Glover (Megan), Brigitte Muller (Ariadne), Jonathan B. Woodward (Robus), Adam Mann (Nilz), Jonathan Harris (Spectre)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 04 Star Trek The Next Generation

Final Mission

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 44307.3: Picard reveals that Wesley has been accepted into Starfleet Academy. Wes’s final assignment on the Enterprise is to accompany Picard on a trip with an independent miner, Captain Dirgo, to settle a dispute between mining colonies. En route, Dirgo’s battered shuttle breaks down, forcing them to land on a desert world – but help is nowhere near because the Enterprise is attempting to move an abandoned freighter whose highly radioactive contents threaten the Enterprise and a nearby planet.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Kacey Arnold-Ince and Jeri Taylor
story by Kacey Arnold-Ince
directed by Corey Allen
music by Ron Jones

Guest Cast: Nick Tate (Dirgo), Kim Hamilton (Songi), Mary Kohnert (Ensign Allenby)

Notes: With this episode, Wil Wheaton officially leaves the regular cast. Guest star Nick Tate is no stranger to flying shuttles; as hotshot pilot Alan Carter, he flew Space: 1999’s Eagles during the 1970s.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

Hostile Visit

Space: Above And BeyondA pitched battle is fought in the Saratoga’s immediate vicinity, and the ship narrowly escapes. Another ship, however, doesn’t escape – the 58th captures a Chig fighter intact. Careful examination of the alien ship reveals that it takes its orders directly from its pilot’s nervous system, and that it came from a system outside of the Chigs’ usual territories. McQueen thinks that the 58th can learn to pilot the Chig ship and use it to attack the Chigs from within, and training begins immediately. But even though they manage to get the ship as far as the Chig planet of Kazbek, things go disastrously wrong and the Wild Cards are forced to ditch their ship. And if Commodore Ross plans on taking the Saratoga to Kazbek to rescue them, he can expect heavy resistance.

Order the DVDwritten by Peyton Webb
directed by Thomas J. Wright
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Michael Mantell (Howard Sewell), David Gardner (Klein), Melissa Bowen (Lt. Stroud), Randy Mulkey (Donne), Steve Lanza (Loading bay crewman), Sharon Washington (Crew Chief), Dan Rice (M.P.), Jim Anzide (Krantz), Wiley Pickett (Marine #1), Billy Mayo (Webb), John Carlos Frey (“Now” Marine), Steven Jang (Connor), Garon Grigsby (Aerotech engineer), Susan Vee (Gates)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 04 Star Trek Voyager

Random Thoughts

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate 51367.2: Voyager visits the telepathic Mari race to procure supplies and equipment before continuing toward the Alpha Quadrant. B’Elanna bumps into one of the natives and responds angrily, unwittingly setting off a chain of events that shocks the entire Mari culture – a culture which reveals a dark underbelly that thrives on the angry impulses and concealed violent thoughts of alien visitors. B’Elanna is arrested and sentenced to undergo a form of brain surgery that will rid her of anger…assuming that the procedure, designed only for the Mari themselves, doesn’t kill her. Tuvok takes it upon himself to help find the black market of emotions in an effort to clear B’Elanna’s name, but he must reveal his own well-hidden dark thoughts to infiltrate it.

Order the DVDswritten by Kenneth Biller
directed by Alexander Singer
music by Jay Chattaway

Guest Cast: Gwynyth Walsh (Nimira), Wayne Pere (Guill), Rebecca McFarland (Talli), Jeanette Miller (Woman), Ted Barba (Malin), Bobby Burns (Frane)

Notes: Trek fans generally know Gwynyth Walsh better as Lursa, one of the two Klingon sisters who were scheming to take control of the Empire during many of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Klingon-oriented episodes.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Clone Wars Star Wars Tartakovsky Series, Vol. 1

Chapter 9

  • By Dave
  • November 19, 2003

Star Wars: Clone WarsWith the Banking Clan on the verge of surrender to Obi-Wan, a regenerated and irate Durge makes a final stand.

Order the DVDsstory by Bryan Andrew, Darrick Bachman, Paul Rudish and Genndy Tartakovsky
directed by Genndy Tartakovsky
original music by John Williams
new music by James L. Venable and Paul Dinletir

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Enterprise Season 03 Star Trek

Similitude

Star Trek: EnterpriseCritically injured by an explosion in engineering, Trip is left in a coma. The Enterprise becomes ensnared in a phenomenon that’s gradually covering the ship’s hull with energy-draining particles. Dr. Phlox is less than optimistic about the chief engineer’s chances of survival by conventional means, and offers the captain an unorthodox solution – growing a clone by using a mimetic creature that will grow to maturity in less than a week, and die in 15 days. Phlox hopes to replace a damaged portion of Trip’s brain with the identical tissue removed from his clone. But in the week it takes to raise and teach the clone, the crew becomes more attached to it than they expected – and when the critical moment arises, Trip’s clone would rather live out the few days left to him than serve as a source of donor organ tissue for Trip himself.

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

Guest Cast: Shane Sweet (Sim-Trip, age 17), Adam Taylor Gordon (Sim-Trip, age 8 ), Maximillian Kesmodel (Sim-Trip, age 4)

Note: The music from this episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition For A Series in 2004.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Enterprise Season 04 Star Trek

The Forge

Star Trek: EnterpriseAdmiral Forrest is on Vulcan to attend a meeting about possible joint Vulcan-Starfleet missions, when a bomb lays waste to the Earth embassy; Forrest dies trying to save Ambassador Soval from the blast. The Enterprise is diverted to Vulcan to head up the investigation. Though the Vulcan investigators initially suspect at the Andorians, Reed and Mayweather find other evidence pointing toward a Vulcan woman named T’Pau – and they find it on a bomb left over to destroy what’s left of the embassy. The Vulcan investigators assisting Archer’s crew suddenly become less cooperative, admitting only that T’Pau is a member of the Syrrannite movement, a sect which embraces a different interpretation of Surak’s logical teachings than most Vulcans. Privately, Ambassador Soval tells Captain Archer that the investigators are not to be trusted. T’Pol is visited by her new husband Koss, who brings her a gift from her mother T’Les – and brings word that T’Les has gone into hiding as a member of the Syrrannite movement. The gift is her mother’s IDIC, which has been fitted with a holographic projector that may offer a way to find the Syrrannites. The hologram is a map of a Vulcan desert known as the Forge, a desolate region that suffers from such violent geo-magnetic disturbances that transporters, shuttles, and equipment like tricorders and phase pistols are rendered useless. Archer decides to cross the Forge on foot, while Soval and Trip find new evidence that shows that T’Pau is being framed – and that the embassy bomb may have been planted by one of the Vulcans in charge of the investigation. And in the desert, Archer and T’Pol are challenged, and then helped, by a Vulcan man, but when he is mortally wounded in an electrically supercharged dust storm, he entrusts a legacy to Archer without the captain’s knowledge.

Order DVDswritten by Judith Reeves-Stevens & Garfield Reeves-Stevens
directed by Michael Grossman
music by John Frizzell

Guest Cast: Vaughn Armstrong (Admiral Forrest), Gary Graham (Soval), Michael Nouri (Arev), Robert Foxworth (V’Las), Larc Spies (Stel), Michael Reilly Burke (Koss)

Notes: This episode features the first appearance of the Vulcan sehlat creature in a live-action Star Trek episode; the creature was previously depicted in the animated Classic Trek episode Yesteryear, in which a young Spock was seen raising a sehlat as a pet (apparently a common practice, as T’Pol had a pet sehlat as well). It would seems that mind melding is still considered deviant behavior among Vulcans, but apparently the stolid Ambassador Soval is familiar enough with it to perform one.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Torchwood

Countrycide

TorchwoodA number of disappearances in a rural area of Wales sends Torchwood on a camping trip – something to which Owen is just a little bit unaccustomed. But a body turns up nearby, and while the team is examining it, someone hijacks their high-tech SUV. They head toward a building on foot, finding an abandoned pub. Ianto and Sato are separated from the others, finding themselves trapped in a cellar, while Jack, Gwen and Owen discover that they’re not alone when someone shoots Gwen at point-blank range. Owen is able to perform emergency surgery under less than ideal conditions, but it gets Gwen back on her feet. Toshiko and Ianto are in the middle of an escape attempt when a woman shows up, pointing a shotgun at them and telling them that they’re being “collected.” When their captors demonstrate an appetite for human meat, Ianto gives Toshiko a chance to escape the human harvest. Has Torchwood discovered a nest of alien-possessed humans, or simply a cannibal cult?

TorchwoodOrder the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by Chris Chibnall
directed by Andy Goddard
music by Murray Gold & Ben Foster

Cast: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Burn Gorman (Owen Harper), Naoko Mori (Toshiko Sato), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Owen Teale (Evan Sherman), Maxine Evans (Helen Sherman), Calum Callaghan (Kieran), Rhys ap Trefor (Huw), Emily Bowker (Ellie), Robert Barton (Martin)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Sarah Jane Adventures Season 1

The Lost Boy – Part 2

The Sarah Jane AdventuresWith Luke’s family revealed to be Slitheen, and Mr. Smith having turned against Sarah, it doesn’t seem that things can get much worse. Luke escapes his captors and goes to Sarah’s house, but Mr. Smith is waiting to spring a trap. Harnessing Luke’s latent potential for telekinesis, Mr. Smith forces the moon out of its orbit and toward Earth. With Mr. Smith out of commission, Sarah has to rely on Maria’s dad for his computer smarts…but can his skills shut down a computer that’s not of this Earth? And can Clyde help him from the other side of the screen?

Get the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Phil Ford
directed by Charles Martin
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Joseph Millson (Alan Jackson), Juliet Cowan (Chrissie Jackson), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Jay Simpson (Jay), Holly Atkins (Heidi), Ryan Watson (Nathan Goss), Floella Benjamin (Professor Rivers), Julian Dutton (Chief Inspector), Paul Kasey (Jay Slitheen), Jimmy Vee (Nathan Slitheen), Ruari Mears (Heidi Slitheen), Jason Mohammad (Newsreader), John Leeson (voice of K-9)

Notes: Despite statements from the BBC that K-9 would not appear in The Sarah Jane Adventures beyond Invasion Of The Bane, he appears here, voiced as always by John Leeson.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Sarah Jane Adventures Season 3

The Gift – Part 1

The Sarah Jane AdventuresSarah and her friends engage in one of their least favorite pastimes: tracking down a nest of Slitheen bent on destroying the world. Just as it looks as though the Slitheen have the advantage, two more Slitheen-like creatures appear, neutralizing both the Slitheen and their world-destroying equipment. The newcomers introduce themselves as members of the Blathereen family, and claim to be devoted to law and order – by way of bringing the last remaining members of the Slitheen family to justice. The Blathereen apologize for the Slitheen’s behavior over the years and offers a gift to humanity as an apology, a vegetable which they say will eliminate famine on Earth. Sarah asks for time to study the gift before distributing it to the rest of the Earth… but the gift has its own timetable for spreading across the planet, with or without human assistance.

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

Guest Cast: Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), John Leeson (voice of K-9), Miriam Margolyes (voice of Leef Blathereen), Simon Callow (voice of Tree Blathereen), Paul Kasey (Leef Blathereen), Ruari Mears (Tree Blathereen), Calvin Dean (Chris), Jimmy Vee (Chris Slitheen), Edward Judge (Dave), Sarah Paul (Miss Jerome)

Notes: Actor Simon Callow had previously played Charles Dickens in The Unquiet Dead, the third episode of the new Doctor Who series in 2005, and had been rumored as a contender for the role of the Doctor himself. Miriam Margolyes made multiple appearances in Blackadder. The Blathereen do have a point: the Slitheen have a lot to answer for: they crop up persistently in the Doctor Who episodes Aliens Of London, World War Three and Bad Wolf, and they’ve kept Sarah Jane & company busy in Revenge Of The Slitheen and The Lost Boy. The real reason the Slitheen keep popping up: the partly-animatronic Slitheen costumes are still among the most expensive investments made in the new Doctor Who series (and its subsequent spinoffs).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Wizards vs. Aliens

Friend Or Foe – Part 1

Wizards vs. AliensAt the bidding of the King, Lexi devises an impressive disguise allowing her to pass for a human – so well, in fact, that her brother thinks an unauthorized human has boarded the Zarantulus. She plans to use this disguise to capture Tom, unaware that she’s competing with someone to control his power: a secret organization of Earth is trying to prove the existence of wizards, and has spotted Tom using his powers on London’s ubiquitous closed circuit TV cameras. Men in black capture Tom and the disguised Lexi, shove them into black vans, and take off…and before the day is out, the human race is aware of the Nekross as well. Now Benny and Varg have to join forces to find them.

Order the serieswritten by Clayton Hickman
directed by Griff Rowland
music by Sam Watts

Wizards vs. AliensCast: Scott Haran (Tom Clarke), Percelle Ascott (Benny Sherwood), Annette Badland (Ursula Crowe), Michael Higgs (Michael Clarke), Jefferson Hall (Varg), Gwendoline Christie (Lexi), Brian Blessed (voice of the Nekross King), Tim Rose (Nekross King puppeteer), Dan Starkey (Randal Moon), Manpreet Bambra (Katie Lord), Connor Scarlett (Quinn Christopher), Ruthie Henshall (Stephanie Gaunt), Chuk Iwuji (Adams), James Barriscale (Mr. Fisher)

LogBook entry by Earl Green