Day: November 24, 1966

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Original Series Season 01 Star Trek

The Menagerie – Part II

Star Trek ClassicStardate 3013.1: Spock reveals that the Keeper of Talos IV has control of the viewscreen and the evidence being presented. The screen shows the events that occurred during Pike’s visit to Talos IV in great detail, but Spock has difficulty convincing Kirk and Mendez of the validity of what they are seeing as well as the tremendous power of the Talosians. When the evidence suddenly stops, Mendez orders Kirk and Pike, the ranking officers forming Spock’s trial board, to make their verdict, and all find Spock guilty. The final part of the record of Pike’s adventure then continues, and then Commodore Mendez vanishes from the Enterprise. The Keeper himself tells Kirk that the Mendez that accompanied him in the shuttle and the trial was an illusion projected from Talos IV, and that Pike is welcome to return to the planet and be restored, as Vina was, to his former strength and health.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Gene Roddenberry
directed by Marc Daniels
footage from The Cage directed by Robert Butler
music by Alexander Courage

Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Sean Kenney (Captain Pike), Malachi Throne (Commodore Mendez), Hagan Beggs (Ensign Hansen)

Appearing in footage from The Cage: Jeffrey Hunter (Capt. Christopher Pike), Susan Oliver (Vina), Majel Leigh Hudec (Number One), Peter Duryea (Lt. Tyler), John Hoyt (Dr. Boyce), Meg Wylie (The Keeper), Adam Roarke (CPO Garrison)

Notes: Both parts of The Menagerie used footage of the original series pilot The Cage as the visual evidence of Pike’s early mission; in truth, the framing story was hurriedly written by Gene Roddenberry and was designed to be shot quickly so the re-use of the already-produced (and already paid for) pilot episode could fill a critical gap in the schedule caused by production delays.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Original Series (Animated) Season 01 Star Trek

The Time Trap

Star Trek ClassicStardate 5252.2: The Enterprise undertakes a hazardous exploration of the Delta Triangle, an area of space where starships have been disappearing for centuries. A chance encounter with a Klingon battlecruiser in the Delta Triangle results in a brief exchange of fire – and then the Klingon vessel vanishes. Two other Klingon ships approach, promising vengeance upon Kirk and his ship. Kira orders a course heading for the precise coordinates where the first Klingon ship disappeared, and the Enterprise is sucked into an unknown region filled with the debris of ships, some of them centuries old. Another encounter with the Klingon ship proves that weapons are useless here – and then the captains of the two ships are beamed off their respective bridges to meet with the Council of Elysia. The Council is comprised of beings who have found themselves stranded in this region, including Vulcans, Orions, Romulans, Tellarites, Phylosians, Andorians, Gorn and others – and they implore Kirk and his old enemy Kor to give up their hopes for escape. What the council of Elysia does not anticipate is an agreement between the Federation and Klingon crews to pool their resources …but even as the joint venture begins, one of the two captains is planning to do away with the other.

Order the DVDswritten by Joyce Perry
directed by Hal Sutherland
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael

Cast: William Shatner (Captain Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott / Lt. Arrex / Kor / Zarius / Kel / Enterprise Security Officer), George Takei (Lt. Sulu / Kiri), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura / Devna / Magon), Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel / Lt. M’ress)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Starlost, The

The Alien Oro

The StarlostA spaceship traveling at high speed fails to detect the presence of the Ark in its path, and its pilot loses control. Devon, Garth and Rachel suit up for a spacewalk to examine damage that they don’t realize has been caused by the collision of the smaller ship with the Ark. They find two visitors who at least appear human, a man named Oro and a woman named Idona, but their guests seem to be very elusive about where they came from, where they’re going, and why they’re making the journey in the first place. For the most part, Oro and Idona conduct repairs to their own ship, and quietly dismiss any discussion of using their expertise to save the Ark by changing its course. Oro even claims to know of the accident that left the ship adrift, but isn’t discussing any specifics. To try to convince Oro to help, Devon attempts to play on his uncertainty: with the Ark adrift, how can Oro even be sure of where he is now, much less whether he’ll be able to get home if he can even repair his craft? To complicate things even more, Idona quietly asks Rachel and Garth for asylum: she wants to remain on the Ark – with Garth – instead of continuing her journey with Oro. Oro is displeased with the request, arguing that Idona’s health is fragile and that her well-being has been entrusted to him alone. He claims that she won’t survive unless she leaves the Ark with him. But a mishap during the repair of Oro’s ship may settle the question of whether anyone is leaving – or whether Idona will live or die.

Get this season on DVDwritten by Mort Forer and Marian Waldman
directed by Joseph L. Scanlan
music by Score Productions Ltd.

Guest Cast: Walter Koenig (Oro), Alexandra Bastedo (Idona)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Star Blazers

Destroy The Reflection Satellite Gun

Star BlazersD minus 356 days: Not content to merely sink the Argo, Colonel Ganz orders a submarine squadron to finish off the Star Force. Wildstar leads a desperate mission to find and destroy the reflex gun, while the Gamilons’ attack intensifies. The Argo’s oxygen supply is damaged, and once the ship’s air is exhausted, it will be forced to surface in Pluto’s ocean again – making it a very easy target for the Gamilons. If the Star Force can drive the Gamilons from Pluto, the attackers will lose their foothold in the solar system, ending the bombardment of Earth. But if the Argo is destroyed, the human race is doomed.

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

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

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Invisible Man

Stop When Red Lights Flash

The Invisible ManPassing through the small town of Docker Junction en route to an assignment, the Westins pull up behind a parked and apparently abandoned school bus whose red lights are nonetheless flashing. After confirming that no one is in or near the bus, Daniel drives around it, only to be given a ticket for doing so. Appearing in court that afternoon, Daniel balks at the exorbitant fine announced by the city judge, and grows suspicious when he discovers that the fine can be paid in cash only – no checks. Daniel doesn’t have that kind of cash on him, and he and Kate are promptly thrown in jail; he uses his one phone call to summon help from Walter Carlson at the Klae Institute. Worse yet, the police check the Westins’ vehicle for any signs of “contraband” that could result in an even higher fine, and they discover Daniel’s supply of faces and hands. Is the invisible man’s cover about to be blown by a small-town rigged court scam?

written by Seeleg Lester
directed by Gene Nelson
music by Pete Rugolo

The Invisible ManCast: David McCallum (Dr. Daniel Westin), Melinda Fee (Dr. Kate Westin), Craig Stevens (Walter Carlson), Roger C. Carmel (Judge Jones), Scott Brady (Sheriff Bentley), Frank Aletter (Charles Hooten), Eddie Firestone (Town Lush), Ted Hartley (Craig), Dean Santoro (Benoit), Kasey Rogers (Gert), Pearl Shear (Ethel), Harold Ayer (Jeb), John Furlong (Riley), Donald Elson (Compositor), Kristin Larkin (The Girl)

Notes: Roger C. Carmel is a face well known to Star Trek fans for repeatedly playing interplanetary con man Harry Mudd, a character who had the rare distinction of appearing in both the live action and animated versions of Star Trek.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Star Maidens

Creatures Of The Mind

Star MaidensOn Medusa, Liz and Rudi are assigned to the archives of the Medusan people, unaware that the last official archivist lies in a coma, driven mad by unseen voices in the archive facility. Rudi discovers than a space vehicle is held in the archives, and immediately senses an opportunity to escape Medusa. But what Octavia hasn’t revealed is that the vehicle was built by Medusan technology, a failed attempt to replace a ship’s crew with artificial intelligence. That technology became a little bit too intelligent, and now seeks to merge with organic life – and Liz is now set to become the victim of its next attempt to do so.

written by Ian Stuart Black
directed by James Gatward
music by Berry Lipmann

Star MaidensCast: Lisa Harrow (Liz), Christian Quadflieg (Rudi), Christiane Kruger (Octavia), Ina Skriver (Officer)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Classic Season 17 Doctor Who

Nightmare of Eden

Doctor WhoTwo spacecraft collide in hyperspace, one of them a passenger liner loaded with vacationers. The Doctor and Romana witness it all but, as they try to lend aid, they discover that something more sinister is happening: the captain of the passenger ship was, at the time of the accident, high on a potent and addictive narcotic called vraxoin. When the proper authorities arrive to investigate, they naturally point the finger of blame at the two most recent arrivals – the Doctor, Romana and K-9. But what the Doctor finds out is more disturbing than a mere drug ring. Vraxoin itself is created only from the residue left by the death of humanoid creatures called Mandrels – and someone is transporting live Mandrels undetected, intending to kill them to create more of the drug.

Download this episodewritten by Bob Baker
directed by Alan Bromly
music by Dudley Simpson

Guest Cast: David Daker (Rigg), Lewis Fiander (Tryst), Jennifer Lonsdale (Della), Geoffrey Bateman (Dymond), Barry Andrews (Stott), Stephen Jenn (Secker), Geoffrey Hinsliff (Fisk), Peter Craze (Costa), Pamela Ruddock (Computer voice), Richard Barnes, Sebastian Stride, Eden Phillips (Crewmen), Annette Peters, Lionel Sansby, Peter Roberts, Maggie Petersen (Passengers), Billy Gray (Wounded passenger), James Muir, Derek Suthern, David Korff, Jan Murzynowski, Robert Goodman (Mandrels)

Broadcast from November 24 through December 15, 1979

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Categories
Star Wars TV Specials

Ewoks: The Battle For Endor

Star WarsThe Towani family is preparing to leave the third moon of Endor. But as Jeremitt is making final repairs to the spacecraft, a band of armed marauders attacks the Ewok village. The Ewoks are either herded into primitive vehicles or killed. Mace puts up a valiant fight, but he and his mother are both killed in the attack. Cindel runs back to find her father being held prisoner by more marauders and a witch named Charal who appears to be human. Jeremitt buys enough time for Cindel to escape, but he too is killed. Cindel and Wicket are captured and thrown into a wagon with the surviving Ewoks. They both manage to escape, but they must outrun marauders and brave some indigenous predators as well. They finally befriend a strange, fast-moving creature called Teek, who leads them to an isolated house deep in the woods. The house belongs to an old man named Noa, whose two-man exploration ship crash-landed on the Ewoks’ moon back in the heyday of the Empire, stranding him ever since. Cindel and Wicket stay with Noa and Teek for a few days, but Cindel is kidnapped by Charal. Charal’s master, the marauder king Terak, has stolen a power cell from the Towanis’ ship. He can’t figure out how to use the object’s “magic,” and has instructed the witch to capture the one remaining person who knows anything about it. If Cindel can’t give Terak the answers he wants to hear, she, Charal and all of the captured Ewoks will die. Noa, Wicket and Teek set out to rescue her…but even once all of the Ewoks are set free, they’re hardly any match for Terak’s army. When it is revealed that Noa’s ship is still intact, and lacks only the power cell from the Towanis’ ship to escape, the already high stakes are raised even further.

Order the DVDsscreenplay by Ken Wheat and Jim Wheat
story by George Lucas
directed by Jim Wheat and Ken Wheat
music by Peter Bernstein

Cast: Wilford Brimley (Noa), Warwick Davis (Wicket), Aubree Miller (Cindel Towani), Sian Phillips (Charal), Carel Struycken (Terak), Niki Botelho (Teek), Paul Gleason (Jeremitt Towani), Eric Walker (Mace Towani), Marianne Horne (Young witch), Daniel Frishman (Deej), Tony Cox (Willy), Pam Grizz (Shodu), Roger Johnson (Lieutenant), Michael Pritchard (Card player #2), Johnny Weissmuller Jr. (Card player #2), Malumba Anderson Ewoks: Battle For Endor(Marauder), Tom Calabrese (Marauder), Scott Cooper (Marauder), Scott Cowan (Marauder), Dan Cunningham (Marauder), Charles Davis (Marauder), Mike Dito (Marauder), Scott Ferry (Marauder), Michael Franti (Marauder), Andre Keys (Marauder), Jerry Keys (Marauder), Jerry Martin (Marauder), Brendan Reitz (Marauder), Marques Strane (Marauder), Peter Thiebeaux (Marauder), Bill Tilman (Marauder), Dawn Abbey (Ewok), Anthony Bagnarol (Ewok), Mary Henning (Ewok), Bethany Jewett (Ewok), Michael Lipsky (Ewok), Steve Morgan (Ewok), Matthew Roloff (Ewok), Irving Scible Jr. (Ewok), Judi Weaver (Ewok), Darryl Henriques, Sydney Walker, Kevin Pollack, Ken Grantham, Mark Dodson, Rick Cimino (Ewok and Marauder voices)

Notes: Blurrgs, a beast of burden featured more prominently in The Mandalorian, are first seen here in stop-motion form.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
KTMA Season Mystery Science Theater 3000

Experiment K01: Invaders From The Deep

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The KTMA SeasonMST3K Story: Joel says the guys at the station sent a fax saying that Invaders From The Deep is up next. Crow has fired the retro rockets, but wants Servo to keep his involvement quiet. Joel apparently spends some time looking after some “vacuuflowers” which intoxicate with just a smell causing the Bots to attempt to avoid smelling them by putting clothespins on their noses.

Invaders From The Deep Story: WASP (the World Aquanaut Security Patrol) has been charged with the task of keeping the oceans safe. Captain Troy Tempest commands the submarine Stingray, the most impressive vessel in WASP’s fleet. He is accompanied by Lt. George Lee “Phones” Sheridan and Marina, a beautiful, but mute, princess of an underwater kingdom. Giving support at the home base, Marineville, are WASP’s leader, Commander Sam Shore and his daughter, Lt. Atlanta Shore. Their adventures are dramatized in the following stories:

  • “Hostages of the Deep” – Admiral Carson, a former member of WASP, and his wife are kidnapped by the evil Gadus. Gadus leaves a bomb behind to destroy the WASPs when they come to investigate. His plans are foiled by a coded radio signal sent by the Admiral to Troy and Phones. Gadus flees deep into the ocean, finding refuge in a crack in the ocean floor too narrow for Stingray to enter. Marina attempts to rescue the Admiral and his wife, but she is captured. Troy and Phones manage to survive the intense pressure, rescue the captives and defeat Gadus.
  • “Deep Heat” – In the middle of a rare night out, the Stingray team are called into action to discover the whereabouts of a missing probe. While investigating, the Stingray is sucked into the same crater where the probe was lost. At the bottom, Troy and Phones meet the last two survivors of an underwater race, the Centrallius. They explain that recent volcanic eruptions destroyed their world and that they tried to use the probe to escape, but failed. Since the WASPs have only two air masks, the Centrallius take the masks by force and attempt to board the Stingray. When Marina refuses to let them in, they return to their home, where they are overcome by the WASPs. By holding their breath, the WASPs are able to allow the Centrallius to use the air masks until all four reach the Stingray and escape to safety.
  • “The Big Gun” – Stingray is attacked by a pair of submarines with powerful guns. The WASPs destroy one of the submarines and give chase to the other, leading them to the underwater city of Solarstar. The water pressure begins to prove too much for Stingray and she begins to buckle. Marina, who is immune to the effects of the water pressure, is able to destroy the final submarine, enabling Stingray to return to safer waters.
  • “Emergency Marineville” – The WASPs’ home base Marineville finds itself under missile attack from an unknown location. Tracking the path of the missiles, Stingray and her crew come upon a volcano located on a tropical island. The inhabitants are able to capture the WASPs and torture Marina to get information that will allow their missiles to destroy Marineville. Troy and Phones manage to escape and disarm the missile before it is launched. They leave a message detailing their location inside the missile. When the missile lands in Marineville, the message is discovered, the WASPs are rescued and the aliens are defeated.

Season 0 Regular Cast: Joel Hodgson (Joel Robinson), Trace Beaulieu (Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester), Josh Weinstein (Tom Servo / Gypsy / Dr. Lawrence Erhardt), Kevin Murphy (Puppet Operation and Voices)

MST3K segments written by Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Josh Weinstein, Jim Mallon & Kevin Murphy
MST3K segments director unknown
Invaders From The Deep written by Allan Fennell
Invaders From The Deep directed by Desmond Saunders, David Elliott & John Kelly
Invaders From The Deep music by Barry Gray

MST3K Guest Cast: unknown

Invaders From The Deep Cast: Don Mason (Troy), Lois Maxwell (Atlanta), Robert Easton (Phones, X-20)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

Categories
KTMA Season Mystery Science Theater 3000

Experiment K02: Revenge Of The Mysterons From Mars

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The KTMA SeasonMST3K Story: Joel and Crow discuss the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and Crow makes a joke. Later, Crow tells Gypsy the history of Thanksgiving, but has some of his facts wrong. Gypsy has gourds in her mouth for no readily apparent reason.

Revenge Of The Mysterons From Mars Story: On a mission to Mars, Captain Black of Spectrum, a space exploration and defense force, destroys a base belonging to the Mysterons, immediately leading to a declaration of hostilities. The Mysterons kill two Spectrum operatives, Captain Brown and Captain Scarlet, but “Mysteronize” them, which brings them back to life under Mysteron control. While Brown is turned into a living bomb, Scarlet is sent to threaten the world President. When he falls from an observation deck after being shot by Captain Blue, Scarlet regains his memory and his senses, plus realizes that the Mysterons’ treatment has left him virtually indestructible. Captain Scarlet and Spectrum’s adventures are dramatized in the following stories:

  • “Shadow of Fear” – An attempt to place an observation post on Phobos, Mars’ moon, is disrupted by the disappearance of one of the attending astronomers. Captain Scarlet goes in search of the man in case he has been turned by the Mysterons.
  • “Lunarville 7” – The Lunar Controller has announced that he has reached a peace settlement with the Mysterons. To the astonishment of Captain Scarlet and Spectrum, the Mysterons appear to have begun building a city on the dark side of the moon.
  • “Crater 101” – Infiltrating the Mysterons’ Lunar base, Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue succeed in capturing the city’s power source, one of the Mysterons’ greatest secrets. Escaping the city before it is destroyed, the men of Spectrum are unaware of a Mysteron agent in their midst.
  • “Dangerous Rendezvous” – With the Mysterons’ power source, Spectrum is able to communicate with the Mysterons directly. They seem to accept the offer of a parlay, provided only one officer is sent to negotiate. Captain Scarlet volunteers to go.

MST3K segments written by Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Josh Weinstein, Jim Mallon & Kevin Murphy
MST3K segments director unknown
Revenge Of The Mysterons From Mars written by Tony Barwick
Revenge Of The Mysterons From Mars directed by Robert Lynn, Ken Turner & Brian Burgess
Revenge Of The Mysterons From Mars music by Barry Gray

MST3K Guest Cast: unknown

Revenge Of The Mysterons From Mars Cast: Francis Matthews (Captain Scarlet), Ed Bishop (Captain Blue), Donald Gray (Colonel White / Captain Black / Voice of The Mysterons), Cy Grant (Lieutenant Green), Jeremy Wilkin (Captain Ochre), Paul Maxwell (Captain Grey), Gary Files (Captain Magenta), Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell (Dr. Fawn), Sylvia Anderson (Melody Angel), Liz Morgan (Destiny Angel / Rhapsody Angel), Janna Hill (Symphony Angel), Lian-Shin (Harmony Angel)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

Categories
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Season 01

Experiment #101: The Crawling Eye

Season 1
MST3K Story: Dr. Forrester is preparing for the week’s experiment when Dr. Erhardt rushes in, worried that he may have been followed. This upsets Dr. Forrester, as their experiment on Joel is meant to be kept a secret. When they contact him, Joel shows off his invention of an electric bagpipe, complete with renditions of Amazing Grace and Whole Lotta Love. Dr. Forrester is impressed, as it has caused Dr. Erhardt’s corneas to bleed. To counter, Dr. Forrester shows off a serum derived from the pineal gland of a dog, which, when injected into Dr. Erhardt, causes him to stop sweating (and start panting). Joel notices that the Mads have moved and is shocked to learn they are in Deep 13, far beneath Gizmonic Institute in a sub-basement. Joel says it’s incredibly radioactive down there, but the Mads “like it”. Dr. Forrester starts to make a big speech, but it’s time for the movie, so it’s cut short. After watching some of the film, the Bots are confused as to why the humans are so upset at the prospect of having their heads ripped off. Joel tries to explain, but the Bots just use it as an opportunity to play word games. Joel finds that Gypsy has uncoiled herself and her tubing is spread all over the Satellite of Love. Joel removes Gypsy’s eye and waves it around to show her what a mess she made, but it doesn’t help and she’s got an itch. Joel and the Bots try to figure out which bit is Gypsy and which is just part of the solar collector cable. After the “eye creatures” are finally seen, the Bots decide that they find Forrest Tucker more frightening, but Joel tries to explain why gigantic, free-roaming body parts are much scarier (but to little success). At the end of the movie, Joel gives the Bots answer questions for RAM chips and even Gypsy gets one, despite the fact that the best answer she can come up with to any question is “Richard Basehart”. Joel and the Bots don’t really have anything good to say about the movie, and that makes the Mads very happy.

The Crawling Eye Story:The film opens in Trollenberg, following a trio of mountain climbers, one of whom is brutally attacked by an unknown assailant. An investigator, Alan Brooks, is called in and on the way meets two sisters, Anne and Sarah Pilgrim. They are entertainers (they have a psychic act) and are traveling for Anne’s health. But Anne has an uncontrollable urge to stay in Trollenberg and so they book a room in the local hotel. Brooks, meanwhile, meets up with Professor Crevett, an old friend who contacted him due to the similarities between the Trollenberg case and a previous one they had seen in the Andes; an unusual fog that has encompassed the mountain. Anne suffers a strange seemingly psychic attack while she and her sister are performing and it seems to have some effect on the fog. When communication to the resting cabin is lost, several locals and Brooks head up the mountain. This causes Anne to have visions in her sleep that convince her she must ascend the mountain, but she is stopped by Brooks. Brett, one of the missing men, returns from the mountain, but is distracted and acts strangely. Brooks immediately suspects something, and when Brett attacks Anne, Brooks knocks him to the ground. However, no blood comes out of a wound to the head Brett suffers and he easily shakes off a sedative, trying again to kill Anne later that night. Brooks is forced to shoot him and Brett’s body disintegrates. Brooks decides to move everyone to the Observatory which is higher on the mountain, but more easily fortified against attack. This move proves timely, as the creatures invade the lodge, going after a little girl who had gone back to get a lost ball. The creatures are gigantic, tentacled, amorphous beings, each with a single, gigantic eye at their center. Brooks rescues the girl and the last of the guests and villagers escape. But one becomes infected and Anne is once again under attack, but is once again rescued. Brooks and Co. finally try to go on the offensive, attempting to use fire against the creatures, which seem to be attracted to cold. Fire bombs seem to work and Brooks is finally able to get through to the authorities, who bomb the fog cloud, killing the creatures and bringing the crisis to an end.

MST3K segments written by Trace Beaulieu, Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, Kevin Murphy, Mike Nelson & Josh Weinstein
MST3K segments director unknown

The Crawling Eye written by Jimmy Sangster from a story by Peter Key
The Crawling Eye directed by Quentin Lawrence
The Crawling Eye music by Stanley Black

Season 1 Regular Cast: Joel Hodgson (Joel Robinson), Trace Beaulieu (Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester), Josh Weinstein (Tom Servo / Dr. Laurence Erhardt), Jim Mallon (Gypsy)

MST3K Guest Cast: None

The Crawling Eye Cast: Forrest Tucker (Alan Brooks), Laurence Payne (Philip Truscott), Jennifer Jayne (Sarah Pilgrim), Janet Munro (Anne Pilgrim), Warren Mitchell (Professor Crevett), Andrew Faulds (Brett), Stuart Saunders (Dewhurst), Frederick Schiller (Mayor Klein), Colin Douglas (Hans)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey.

Categories
Earth: Final Conflict Season 1

Horizon Zero

Earth: Final ConflictIn an unusual intervention, the Taelons cancel a human mission to Mars which has been in the works for years, and the mission’s captain, Chandler, is enraged to learn that he won’t be making another giant step for mankind. Lili is an old friend of Chandler’s, and gives him a ride in a Taelon shuttle to prove how much easier travel can be with the aliens’ technology. But the moment she turns her back, Chandler has hijacked her shuttle, and Da’an is unusually insistent that Chandler must be found and stopped from going to Mars…though the Companion offers no explanation. The unauthorized mission is finally underway, though in a way its captain would never have imagined, and with ominous discoveries made along the way.

written by Richard C. Okie
directed by David Warry-Smith
music by Micky Erbe & Maribeth Solomon

Guest Cast: Bobby Johnston (Paul Chandler), Andrew Lewarne (Philip Hart), Angela Asher (Frauke Manheim), Neil Dainard (General Kromer), Sandra Caldwell (Newscaster)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Deep Space Nine Season 06 Star Trek

Statistical Probabilities

Star Trek: Deep Space NineStardate not given: Four people who were genetically engineered as children and were institutionalized due to side effects of the treatment are brought to DS9 to meet Bashir, as an example of someone like them who is leading a productive life. Their insights into the war lead Bashir to believe they could be invaluable to Starfleet – but then they make a series of calculations which indicate that the only way to save Federation lives is to surrender to the Dominion.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonteleplay by Rene Echavarria
story by Pam Pietroforte
directed by Anson Williams
music by David Bell

Guest Cast: Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun), Tim Ransom (Jack), Jeannetta Arnette (Dr. Loews), Hilary Shepard-Turner (Lauren), Michael Keenan (Patrick), Casey Biggs (Damar), Faith C. Salie (Sarina)

LogBook entry by Tracy Hemenover

Categories
Season 06 Star Trek Voyager

The Voyager Conspiracy

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate not given: Seven of Nine installs a new piece of equipment in her Borg alcove which allows her to assimilate data, log entries, records, and other information while she regenerates. But the overload of information is too much for her. At first, Seven is able to solve complex but obscure shipboard problems using information she has assimilated overnight. But then, still trying to process the enormous flow of data, Seven begins to formulate complex conspiracy theories concerning Voyager’s mission, and she begins to make accusations – that Janeway intentionally stranded Voyager in the Delta Quadrant as part of a secret Federation plot to secure strategic alliances across the galaxy; that Chakotay and the other Maquis deliberately led Voyager into a trap set by their ally, the Caretaker; and that even Naomi Wildman is working for either the Maquis or Janeway’s secret organization within the Federation. By the time Janeway realizes what has happened and attempts to help, Seven has hijacked the Delta Flyer to escape what she can only see as a massive conspiracy to destroy one person…herself.

Order the DVDswritten by Joe Menosky
directed by Terry Windell
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: Albie Selznick (Tash), Scarlett Pomers (Naomi Wildman), Majel Barrett (Computer voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Battlestar Galactica (New Series) Season 4

Razor

Battlestar GalacticaWhen she first boards the Battlestar Pegasus to begin her tour of duty, Lt. Kendra Shaw’s biggest worry is not incurring the legendary wrath of Admiral Cain. Her priorities change drastically when a massive Cylon attack leaves the ship heavily damaged: the armistice has been broken, and every Colonial world is being nuked into oblivion. With her computer network offline for a major refit, Pegasus is the only Colonial ship able to escape the carnage at the Scorpion shipyards. Cain orders Lt. Shaw to perform an uncalculated jump to random coordinates, because the incoming Cylon nukes mean that anywhere will soon be safer than Colonial space.

So far as they know, the crew of Pegasus are the last surviving members of the human race, aboard the sole surviving spacecraft. As they take stock and begin to repair the damage, Admiral Cain announces to her crew that they have a new mission: to take revenge on the Cylons. An early battle sees Pegasus critically outnumbered and outmaneuvered, and when her first officer refuses to act on her orders to keep up the hopeless fight, Cain shoots him through the head on the flight deck and orders the terrified Colonel Fisk to take his place or suffer the same fate. A Colonial networking expert with whom Cain had a relationship during the refit is revealed by Lt. Shaw to be a Cylon in human form; Cain orders her men to interrogate the woman, named Gina, with any means of coercion or degradation that they see fit.

When a small fleet of civilian ships is discovered, Cain orders her crew to board the ships and strip them of key supplies, equipment and capable personnel…and orders the rest left to die. Lt. Shaw and Colonel Fisk carry out those orders, and Cain shows her appreciation by promotion Shaw to captain. But Shaw can’t forget that her new rank pips have been paid for in the blood of others.

Ten months later, a meeting with another Colonial fleet led by Battlestar Galactica changes the crew of the Pegasus forever; in short order, Cain is killed (by her escaped former lover) and is replaced by Fisk (who is then murdered himself), and command then falls to Pegasus’ chief engineer, Garner, who perishes in a successful attempt to save the ship and her crew. Admiral Adama gives command of the troubled battlestar to his son, Lee “Apollo” Adama. When he reviews the records of the surviving senior officers of Pegasus, Apollo chooses Shaw to be his executive officer, hoping that the appointment will meet with the trust and approval of the rest of the ship’s crew. Their first major mission is a seemingly simple search-and-rescue assignment, to locate a mission raptor and its crew.

What they find instead, however, chills Admiral Adama: an outdated Cylon fleet, dating back to the first Cylon War. When Adama last encountered this kind of Cylon in the closing days of that war, he bore witness to grisly experiments that may have been the first steps in the creation of biological Cylons and their mysterious, ship-controlling Hybrids. Fearing that the missing raptor crew may be subjected to the same horrors by a group of outcast Cylons who think that first war still rages on, Adama transfers his flag to the Pegasus to personally oversee the risky rescue mission. Apollo assigns Shaw to come up with a daring rescue plan, and she’s surprised when her death-defying mission proposal is approved. But in her attempt to carry out her own orders, Shaw can’t decide if she should complete her mission or atone for her sins at last.

written by Michael Taylor
directed by Felix Alcala
music by Bear McCreary

Cast: Edward James Olmos (Commander Adama), Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin), Katie Sackhoff (Lt. Starbuck), Jamie Bamber (Captain Apollo), James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar), Tricia Helfer (Number Six), Grace Park (Lt. Boomer)

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Aaron Douglas (CPO Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Michael Trucco (Anders), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Michelle Forbes (Admiral Cain), Graham Beckel (Colonel Fisk), Stephanie Jacobsen (Capt. Kendra Shaw), Nico Cortez (young William “Husker” Adama), Matthew Bennett (Doral), Steve Bacic (Colonel Belzen), Brad Dryborough (Hoshi), Eileen Pedde (Sgt. Mathias), Fulvio Cecere (Lt. Alastair Thorne), Vincent Gale (Peter Laird), Campbell Lane (Hybrid), Kyra Scott (young Helena Cain), Chandra Berg (little Lucy Cain), Peter Flemming (Helena’s Father), Shaker Paleja (Medic Hudson), Andrew Dunbar (Marine DaSilva), Jacob Blair (Squad Leader Banzai), Peter Bryant (Frank Bruno), Chris Bradford (Ops Officer), Tyson Stanley (young Marine), Trevor Roberts (Scylla Protestor #1), Cameron MacLeod (Scylla Protestor #2), Ingrid Tesch (Mother), Joey Pierce (Marine Riggs), Matt Drake (Son #1), Dustin Eriksen (Son #2), Stefan Arngrim (Male Captive), John Hainsworth (Man in Cage #1), Victor Ayala (Man in Cage #2), Deni Dolory (Woman in Cage), Emily Hirst (Child in Cage), Ben Cotton (Terrified Man), Stefanie Von Pfetten (Showboat), Alyssa Minniss (Flower Girl)

Notes: The “ancient” Cylons, and their ships, are strikingly similar to the Cylons and Cylon Raiders from the original Battlestar Galactica, complete with primitive synthesized voices. (The original series Cylons and their ships had already been hinted at in the pilot miniseries’ museum displays, as well as a seldom-glimpsed painting in Adama’s office aboard Galactica.) With the phrase “all of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again” once again coming to the fore, an interesting interpretation could be that the Cylon-Human conflict is a generational cycle that is loosely repeating itself, possibly meaning that the original Battlestar Galactica and the new series may be different epochs on the same timeline. (It should be pointed out that the above is, however, pure speculation.) The “present day” portions of Razor take place soon after the second season episode The Captain’s Hand. More of young Adama’s exploits during the first Cylon War were shown in a series of “mini-episodes” of “Razor flashbacks” aired during commercial breaks in the Sci-Fi Channel series Flash Gordon.

LogBook entry by Earl Green