Search Results for: mark sheppard

Serenity (Pilot)

Posted on by Dave

FireflyIn 2511 AD, humans have long since left Earth to terraform and colonize other worlds. A group of central planets have formed an Alliance and demanded that all other planets join up. Some Independent worlds on the frontier choose to fight instead. At the Battle of Serenity Valley, the Alliance delivers a crushing blow to the Independents; soon after, the Alliance consolidates its control.

Six years later, former Independent Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds captains a transport ship he named Serenity. His fellow Independent vet Zoe is his first mate; her husband Wash pilots the Firefly-class vessel. An almost-but-not-quite-obnoxiously optimistic young engineer named Kaylee keeps Serenity running, while the self-interested mercenary Jayne provides some extra muscle. Inara, a licensed Companion, rents one of the ship’s shuttles; the presence of a highly-respected Companion opens doors for the crew that would otherwise be closed.

Mal and his crew perform an illegal salvage job on a wrecked Alliance ship and travel to Perspehone, expecting to drop off the goods and pick up some passengers to bring in extra cash. Shepherd Book, a clergyman who aims to see life outside his abbey for a while, comes aboard, as does Simon Tam, a young doctor with some very large cargo, and one more passenger named Dobson. The salvage dropoff goes sour, because the would-be buyer has learned that the Alliance has imprinted the goods and thus made them very traceable. Mal is forced to divert course and find an alternate buyer for the goods. When the third passenger turns out to be an Alliance agent who broadcasts their location, that’s bad news. When Simon turns out to be fugitive on the run with some very important cargo, it gets worse. And when Simon’s cargo turns out to be his sister River, the situation threatens to reach entirely new levels of badness. Kaylee is shot, and the doctor will only save her if Mal agrees to help him run. Savage humans called Reavers get Serenity in their sights. And Patience, the only possible buyer of the salvage, has had prior dealings with Mal. She shot him then, and he’s pretty sure she aims to repeat the favor this time around – if everyone else trying to kill or capture the Serenity crew gives her the chance.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Joss Whedon
directed by Joss Whedon
music by Greg Edmonson
main title theme by Joss Whedon

Regular Cast: Nathon Fillion (Mal Reynolds), Gina Torres (Zoe), Alan Tudyk (Wash), Jewel Staite (Kaylee), Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb), Morena Baccarin (Inara), Sean Maher (Simon Tam), Summer Glau (River Tam), Ron Glass (Shepherd Book)

Guest Cast: Carlos Jacott (Lawrence Dobson), Mark Sheppard (Badger), Andy Umberger (Dortmunder Captain), Philip Sternberg (unnamed), Eddie Adams (unnamed), Colin Patrick Lynch (Radio Operator), Bonnie Bartlett (Patience)

Notes: This two-hour episode was the original pilot for Firefly. When Fox expressed reservations about it, executive producers Joss Whedon and Tim Minear wrote The Train Job as a replacement introduction to the series. Serenity wound up being the last episode Fox aired. When broadcast on Fox and Sci Fi, episodes end with a diagram of Serenity; on the DVD, they end with an executive producer credit for Joss Whedon and Tim Minear.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

The Son Also Rises

Posted on by theLogBook.com

Battlestar GalacticaStill recovering from the apparent death of Starbuck, Adama and Apollo struggle to move directly from that tragedy into their preparations for the trial of Gaius Baltar. The Admiral is selected at random to head a panel of judges, and if necessary to serve as the tiebreaker. Apollo is assigned to be the bodyguard for Baltar’s new lawyer (his original attorney having died in a terrorist-style bombing), though he doesn’t take to his new job with much enthusiasm, accusing his father of yanking him from flight rotation due to his emotional state. Baltar’s new attorney doesn’t inspire much confidence either, initially telling President Roslin that he’s taking the case for the fame it will bring him. Another assassination attempt forces Apollo to look at the situation more seriously, and to reign in the lawyer’s eccentricities. The next attempt on his life comes much closer to the mark, and provides Apollo with the evidence that it’s an inside job.

written by Michael Angeli
directed by Robert Young
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Aaron Douglas (CPO Tyrol), Nicki Clyne (Cally), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Michael Trucco (Sam Anders), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster), Sebastian Spence (Narcho), Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin), Bodie Olmos (Hotdog), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Colin Lawrence (Skulls), Ty Olsson (LSO Kelly), Don Thompson (Figurski), Tyler McClendon (Alan Hughes)

Notes: Katee Sackhoff’s name no longer appears in the opening titles as of this episode.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Crossroads – Part 1

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Battlestar GalacticaThe trial of Gaius Baltar begins, with Apollo aiding the defense, even as his father sits on the panel of five judges. Tensions are running high all around, even among those who are on the same side – President Roslin can’t find a lawyer who can guarantee that a genocide charge against Baltar will stick. But it seems that everyone has underestimated Baltar’s attorney, who argues that had Roslin been president when the Cylons attacked New Caprica, she would have led the remnants of humanity into a fight that they couldn’t hope to win. Two more admissions also weigh in Baltar’s favor – Tigh’s public (and drunken) admission that he put his own wife to death, and Roslin’s confession that she has returned to using kamala root extract. Apollo forces the second revelation, but Roslin quietly turns it against him again with a revelation of her own – her cancer has returned with a vengeance. And all the while, a number of people, from Tigh to Roslin’s aide, hear something strange – something coming from Galactica herself.

written by Michael Taylor
directed by Michael Rymer
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Aaron Douglas (CPO Tyrol), Nicki Clyne (Cally), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Michael Trucco (Sam Anders), Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster), Chelah Horsdal (Didi Cassidy), Ryan Robbins, Bodie Olmos (Hotdog), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Jennifer Halley (Seelix), Colin Lawrence (Skulls), Alison Matthews (Falbrook)

Notes: This episode dispenses with the customary opening titles, instead running the names of the main cast and principal guest actors and crew over part of the story.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Crossroads – Part 2

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Battlestar GalacticaAs Baltar’s trial continues, it quickly becomes apparent that some will say anything to convict him for betraying everyone on New Caprica, forcing a hasty reassessment of Lampkin’s defense strategy. Tigh, Tyrol, Sam Anders and presidential aide Tory Foster continue to hear mysterious music, though they each gradually become aware that they’re not alone. Lampkin puts Apollo on the stand, where he makes an impassioned plea that while Baltar may be guilty of something, it’s neither treason nor genocide. Baltar is acquitted of the charges and Admiral Adama orders the fleet to jump to the Ionian Nebula…where the entire fleet suddenly loses power. During the confusion, Baltar is whisked away, and the four people who have been hearing the maddening music are drawn together – and drawn to the inescapable conclusion that they are four of the missing Cylon models. Power is restored as this realization sets in, and a large fleet of Cylon ships is detected…but the four return to their duties. Despite having resigned his commission to join Baltar’s defense team, Apollo suits up and launches in a Viper, but when he peels away from the rest of his formation to investigate an unidentified blip on his screen, he finds that he’s not the only unexpected Viper pilot in the sky.

written by Mark Verheiden
directed by Michael Rymer
music by Bear McCreary (except “All Along The Watchtower”
written by Bob Dylan / arranged & adapted by Bear McCreary / vocals by BT4)

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Aaron Douglas (CPO Tyrol), Nicki Clyne (Cally), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Michael Trucco (Sam Anders), Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster), Chelah Horsdal (Didi Cassidy), Ryan Robbins, Bodie Olmos (Hotdog), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Jennifer Halley (Seelix), Colin Lawrence (Skulls), Alison Matthews (Falbrook)

Notes: As with part one, this episode dispenses with the customary opening titles, instead running the names of the main cast and principal guest actors and crew over part of the story. The song “All Along The Watchtower” originally appeared on Bob Dylan’s 1967 John Wesley Harding album, and has since been covered by numerous artists, from Jimi Hendrix to U2. Why a song from Earth would seem to be a Cylon “trigger command” is a mystery left unsolved.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Sine Qua Non

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Battlestar GalacticaIn the wake of the Cylon base ship’s unexpected jump – with Baltar, President Roslin and almost all of Galactica’s fighters and pilots aboard – Tom Zarek, as Vice President, tries to step in and fill the vacuum of power. However, neither Admiral Adama nor Lee Adama is prepared to acknowledge Zarek as the new President; feeling that Zarek is trying to assume the presidency too quickly, Lee begins the search for a new candidate that the entire quorum will approve. After shooting the leader of the Cylon rebels at point-blank range, Athena is separated from Hera and confined to the brig. A lone raptor appears, the ship that Roslin and Baltar took to the Cylon ship, but it’s now adrift and empty aside from a dead pilot. Following the FTL coordinates from the raptor’s black box, Adama orders a jump and finds the debris of a destroyed Resurrection Ship, possibly the hub ship, but no evidence that Roslin is alive – or dead. After nearly everyone around him suggests that he’s lost his perspective, Adama decides to resign as Galactica’s commander and let the fleet jump to its next destination…while he stays behind alone in a raptor at the rendezvous coordinates arranged for the pilots sent to the base ship. Before he embarks on this solo mission, however, he does see a new President sworn in – Lee’s search having produced a viable candidate, just not the candidate that Lee expected.

written by Michael Taylor
directed by Rod Hardy
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh), Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek), Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Colin Lawrence (Skulls), Alexandra Thomas (Hera), Donna Soares (Gemenon Delegate), Jacob Cantrell (Andrew McIlroy), Judith Marie (Picon Delegate), Iris Paluly (Speaking Delegate #2), Ryan McDonell (Lt. Cannon “Gonzo” Pike), Laara Sadiq (Priestess), Veena Sodd (Quorum Delegate)

Notes: This episode’s title is a Latin phrase translating to an indispensible action or condition. Romo Lampkin’s family died aboard the Olympic Carrier, which Lee destroyed in the first hourly episode of the series, 33.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Blood On The Scales

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Battlestar GalacticaWith Tigh and Adama captured, Zarek arrives on Galactica and finds himself at odds with Gaeta, who insists on a token trial for Adama before putting the admiral in front of a firing squad. Zarek just wants Adama executed, and when he sees the quorum squabbling over the trial, he has his loyalists walk into their chambers on Colonial One and kill them all. Lee and Starbuck, having remained on Galactica, break into the brig and release the Cylon prisoners, but Lee is alarmed to find that his father isn’t among them. During the escape, Anders is shot in the back of the head, but barely survives. Roslin broadcasts to the fleet again from aboard the Cylon baseship, trying to reassure everyone that Galactica’s new “commander” has seized control illegally – just as Tom Zarek has done with the presidency. It’s enough to sow more confusion – and disagreement with the new order. But in response, Zarek lies that Tigh and Adama have already been executed, and that’s enough for Roslin to declare all-out war on Galactica.

written by Michael Angeli
directed by Wayne Rose
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Aaron Douglas (Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Michael Trucco (Anders), Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta), Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek), Callum Keith Rennie (Leoben), Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster), Sebastian Spence (Narcho), Brad Drybrough (Hoshi)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Daybreak – Part Two

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Battlestar GalacticaCaprica City, before the fall: Saul and Ellen Tigh drink to Bill Adama’s impending career move, but during the intense interview – bordering on an interrogation – Adama decides he’d rather be back in uniform, fading into obscurity performing ceremonial duties aboard a museum piece of a battlestar that will never see action again…

Now: Instructed to stay with the fleet to provide medical care, Doc Cottle issues Roslin with enough drugs to keep her up and moving for the mission to save Hera. Surprisingly, Baltar finally joins the mission as well. Their orders are simple: Galactica will jump into the heart of the Cylon stronghold, and Sam will communicate with the colony’s hybrid, convincing it to bring the automatic defenses’ assault on Galactica to a halt. Adama rams Galactica right down the Cylons’ throats, causing massive damage to both vessels – and giving the combined Colonial/rebel Cylon forces a perfect entrance to the colony. But even when a remorseful Boomer hands Hera back over to her parents, the fight isn’t over: Brother Cavel and his forces raid Galactica, and just when it seems Hera is safe and sound, he grabs the child and threatens to kill her unless the secret of resurrection is restored to the Cylons. This requires a group-mind link among the final five, during which all will be revealed, something which makes Tory nervous. During the link, her murder of Cally is revealed to Tyrol, who breaks the link to exact revenge. Deciding that he’s been tricked, Cavel orders his forces to open fire again, and he himself dies in the ensuing bloodbath. A stray raptor, its pilot dying, accidentally fires nukes into the heart of the Cylon colony; with Hera safely aboard, Galactica jumps away from the imminent cataclysm, on a heading for nearly-random coordinates that Starbuck has derived from musical notes written down by Hera.

But it proves to be the ship’s last jump: returning to normal space is the straw that literally breaks Galactica’s back. The battlestar will never jump again. Galactica has arrived near a habitable planet, and summons the rest of the fleet to follow. On this planet, primitive humanoids – genetically combatible with Colonials and Cylons alike – are thriving. But rather than introduce technology and concepts – and trouble – to advance the natives, Lee has a better idea: the survivors of the fleet should abandon their technology and go native, learning to live off the land anew. The Cylon centurions are dispatched in their base ship to find freedom, though no one can say with any certainty that they won’t return to this planet and wipe out the rest of the Colonials. On the ground, the crew begin making plans for a new, simpler life…but will their progeny learn from their mistakes, or repeat them?

written by Ronald D. Moore
directed by Michael Rymer
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Tigh), Aaron Douglas (Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Michael Trucco (Sam Anders), Callum Keith Rennie (Leoben), Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh), Rick Worthy (Simon), Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Matthew Bennett (Aaron Doral), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster), Kerry Norton (Nurse Ishay), Dean Stockwell (Brother Cavel), Brad Drybrough (Hoshi)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Impossible Astronaut

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Doctor Who2011: Amy and Rory (having settled into life on Earth following their honeymoon) and River Song (still in her stormcage prison) receive numbered invitations consisting only of a date and a place. The place is the American plains, where the Doctor – presumably the sender of the invitations – awaits. But to their horror, an astronaut – clad in a vintage Apollo spacesuit – emerges from a body of water and shoots the Doctor, triggering his regeneration. The astronaut then shoots the Doctor again, killing him before the regeneration is completed, and returns to the water. An elderly man named Canton Delaware III appears, bearing his own numbered invitation and convenient means for disposing of the Doctor’s body. The Doctor’s stunned companions then discover the Time Lord alive and well, blissfully unaware of what’s just happened – in his own future, of which they can divulge nothing.

1969: A scant trail of clues leads the time travelers to the White House, mere months before the launch of Apollo 11. President Richard Nixon has been receiving strange phone calls, almost always on a phone line that happens to be nearest wherever he is, from a child terrified of a spaceman who has appeared nearby. Despite the Secret Service’s lack of enthusiasm about the four apparently British visitors who have popped into the Oval Office without warning, the Doctor appoints himself the chief investigator of the case of the mysterious phone calls. He deduces the location from which the phone calls must be coming, and with a younger Canton Delaware III aboard the TARDIS, goes to find the child who’s placing the calls.

At the White House, Amy sees a creature – a creature of which she saw only a glimpse in 2011. At the abandoned warehouse from which the calls are being placed, Rory and River both see the creatures as well. There’s only one problem: they’re fully aware of who the Doctor is, and of the fate he will suffer. And anyone who sees them, once they look away, doesn’t remember having seen them. Are these the assassins who have killed the last of the Time Lords?

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Steven Moffat
directed by Toby Haynes
music by Murray Gold

Cast: Matt Smith (The Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory), Alex Kingston (River Song), Mark Sheppard (Canton Delaware), William Morgan Sheppard (old Canton Delaware), Marnix van den Broeke (The Silent), Stuart Milligan (President Richard Nixon), Chuk Iwuji (Carl), Mark Griffin (Phil), Sydney Wade (Little Girl), Nancy Baldwin (Joy), Kieran O’Connor (Prison Guard), Adam Napier (Captain Simmons), Henrietta Clemett (Matilda), Paul Critoph (Charles), Emilio Aquino (Busboy)

Notes: The interior of the alien spacecraft was glimpsed last season in The Lodger. The TARDIS has landed as an invisible object before, in 1968’s The Invasion, though the second Doctor was able to find both the time machine and its entrance a bit more gracefully in that story. Guest star William Morgan Sheppard – often credited as W. Morgan Sheppard in the U.S. and as Morgan Sheppard in the U.K. – has guest starred on nearly every genre series under the sun, from several “generations” of Star Trek, Babylon 5, seaQuest and more, to a memorable regular role on Max Headroom in both its British and American incarnations. He is the real father of actor Mark Sheppard, of whose character he portrays a much older version. Mark Sheppard is familiar to followers of such series as Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, The Middleman, Warehouse 13 and Firefly. Where both the Sheppards were born in the U.K., Stuart Milligan was born in Boston and has portrayed several Presidents of the United States during a career which has seen him do much of his television work in Britain.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Day Of The Moon

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Doctor WhoAmy, Rory and River are on the run after the Doctor is captured by the unknown, skull-faced aliens, who seem to have Canton Delaware under their control. But the Doctor and Canton are secretly working together, and stage the “capture” of the rest of the TARDIS travelers. The only way any of them have been able to remember anything about the aliens on Earth is to mark their own skin each time they see one – but no other information remains until Amy’s cell phone photo of one provides the means to construct a hologram of one of the aliens inside the TARDIS. The Doctor equips each of his friends, including Canton, with recording devices, and is forced to take President Nixon into his confidence about the alien invasion. Even Nixon is hard-pressed to explain the Doctor’s presence when the Time Lord is found rewiring the Apollo 11 capsule. The other time travelers try to discover where the missing girl came from, leading to an abandoned orphanage who doesn’t seem to grasp that it’s no longer 1967. Amy finds the girl – still in a NASA spacesuit – but is taken prisoner by the aliens.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Steven Moffat
directed by Toby Haynes
music by Murray Gold

Cast: Matt Smith (The Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory), Alex Kingston (River Song), Mark Sheppard (Canton Delaware), Marnix van den Broeke (The Silent), Stuart Milligan (President Richard Nixon), Kerry Shale (Dr. Renfrew), Glenn Wrage (Gardener), Jeff Mash (Grant), Sydney Wade (Little Girl), Tommy Campbell (Sergeant), Peter Banks (Dr. Shepherd), Frances Barber (Eye Patch Lady), Ricky Fearon (Tramp), Chuk Iwuji (Carl), Mark Griffin (Phil)

Amy alarmedNotes: Dwarf star alloy is very handy for trapping time travelers; Rorvik and his crew landed a ship with an entire outer hull made of dwarf star alloy – said to be super-dense material – to enslave the time-hopping Tharils in 1981’s Warriors’ Gate, at least until the fourth Doctor and Romana helped to free them. Guest star Frances Barber put in another surreal appearance in a 1989 Red Dwarf episode, the fan favorite Polymorph. Apparently President Nixon’s near-obsessive taping of his Oval Office activities was the Doctor’s suggestion – perhaps future episodes will tell us what the Silence were up to during the missing 18 minutes of the Watergate tapes.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Security Systems

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Max HeadroomSecurity Systems Inc. is the world’s leading provider of personal and corporate security and surveillance, with access to more priveleged information than any single government in the world. And now a hostile takeover of SS is in the works, and while the company’s CEO says she’s terrified of the prospects, she outwardly seems calm – and Edison smells a rat. But when he persists in questioning her, he suddenly discovers that his credit and his ID won’t work anywhere. He can’t go home, can’t go to Network 23, and the Metro Cops are hot on his tail. Edison winds up getting help from Blank Reg and Dominique, but he’s going to need more help from Max and Bryce – and he can’t even hope to approach the Network 23 building without being arrested. Bryce is the only one with the hacking skills necessary to make Edison a citizen again and uncover the secret of who’s buying out SS…but even he may be outmatched by the SS central computer.

written by Michael Cassutt
directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
music by Cory Lerios

Guest Cast: William Morgan Sheppard (Blank Max HeadroomReg), Carol Mayo Jenkins (Valerie Towne), J.W. Smith (Rick), Concetta Tomei (Dominique), Ricardo Gutierrez (Martinez), David Allyn (SSI Tech #1), Peter Mins (SSI Tech #2), Julia Calderon (Mrs. Rebus), Santos Morales (Mr. Rebus), Sally Stevens (voice of A7), Mark Voland (SSI Guard)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Dream Thieves

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Max HeadroomEdison is doing an exposè on “dream houses” – a new industry in which people pay to experience the immersive, tactile sensations of others’ dreams – when he encounters an old rival and fellow report, Paddy Ashton. An articulate Irishman who seems out of place as a drifting blank, Paddy still harbors a bit of a grudge against Edison, but also still harbors a dream of being back in the news business. When Paddy turns up dead mere hours after Edison shares a drink with him, Edison latches on to something Paddy was trying to tell him about: dream donors. For some people to buy dreams, others must donate them, usually earning a pittance in the process. Paddy was managing to eke out an existence selling his dreams, but something was troubling him toward the end. Edison goes undercover, going into the dream house as a donor, where he finds that the dream house attendants have been forcing their donors to have more intense subconscious sensory experiences, even if it kills them with their own nightmares.

teleplay by Steve Roberts
story by Charles Grant Craig
directed by Todd Holland
music by Chuck Wild

Max HeadroomGuest Cast: W. Morgan Sheppard (Blank Reg), Mark Lindsay Chapman (Paddy Ashton), Jere Burns (Breughel), Concetta Tomei (Dominique), Jenette Goldstein (Velma), Ron Fassler (Mr. Grieg), Vernon Weddle (Mr. Finn), Robin Bach (Ticket booth man), Vince McKewin (Dream house attendant #1), Stephen Pershing (Dream house attendant #2), Ron Narita (Male interviewee), Steven Rotblatt (Blank), Timothy Dang (?), Peter De Anello (?), Patricia Veselich (Female interviewee), Gary Dean Sweeney (?), Dalton Younger (?), and Fang

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

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Star Trek MoviesStardate 9522.6: A colossal explosion on the Klingon moon Praxis sends intense shock waves through space, which are encountered by the USS Excelsior in its third year of duty under Captain Sulu. The Excelsior is damaged by the leading edge of the energy burst, but regains her balance. When offered assistance, the Klingons tell Sulu to mind his own business and stay out of their territory. Later, on Earth, the command crew of the Enterprise is invited to a top priority, high-security briefing at Starfleet Headquarters, where it is revealed that one of the Kligons’ main sources of power, located on Praxis, released radiation that will eat away the Klingon homeworld’s ozone layer in roughly fifty years, and the Klingons, whose economy is devoted entirely to military development, are unable to combat the deterioration of their planet without aid. Spock, acting as an ambassador, has opened the door for discussions with Chancellor Gorkon of the Klingon High Council, and has taken the liberty of volunteering Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise – both of which are three months away from mandatory retirement as Starfleet prepares to decommission the ship itself – for the duty of escorting Gorkon and his party to the first Federation-Klingon peace talks.

Over dinner on the Enterprise, the Klingons and the Starfleet officers seem to be unable to avoid eventually insulting or offending each other, and General Chang seems more interested in Kirk’s reputation as a warrior than in peace. The Klingons return to their ship, and shortly afterward, torpedoes from the Enterprise’s direction pummel Gorkon’s ship, and two figures in Federation spacesuits beam aboard and kill the Chancellor and many of the Klingon crew. Still unsure of what has happened – Scotty finds that none of the Enterprise’s torpedoes have been fired – Kirk surrenders when Chang threatens to fire on the Enterprise point-blank. Kirk and McCoy beam over, where McCoy tries to save the dying Gorkon, but with Federation medicine’s limited knowledge of Klingon anatomy, McCoy cannot prevent Gorkon’s death. Kirk and McCoy are arrested and given a trial where Chang’s unusual evidence – including entries from Kirk’s personal log stating his distrust of Klingons since they killed his son – insinuates that Kirk was behind the assassination. Kirk and McCoy are sentenced to work for the rest of their lives in the dilithium mines on Rura Penthe.

At Spock’s command, the Enterprise conveniently develops a malfunction that prevents them from receiving Starfleet’s order to return home while the crew searches for the equipment used by the two Starfleet officers who assassinated Gorkon. A few leads appear, but then are revealed to be false alarms – someone is deliberately trying to lead the investigation off track. In the meantime, Kirk and McCoy fight for their lives on Rura Penthe but are helped by exotic fellow prisoner Martia, who warns Kirk that even in the penal colony, there is a price on his head. Martia helps them escape, hoping that Kirk, who she says is the most attractive prisoner to appear in a long time, will repay her somehow. During their escape, Martia is revealed to be a shapeshifter, and perhaps not even a true female. Kirk realizes that the escape has been too easy and that Martia is the one out for he and McCoy. Martia changes into a copy of Kirk, but when the prison guards catch up, Kirk tricks them into shooting Martia instead.

Bluffing their way past Klingon border guards, the Enterprise crew beams Kirk and McCoy up just before the two would have been executed. After returning to the Enterprise, Kirk and the others discover two dead crewmen – the assassins – and realize that there is one more conspirator. Kirk suggests laying a trap by announcing to the crew that the dead crewmen are alive and in sick bay awaiting the court reporter, which would lure the culprit to sick bay to kill the two crewmen before they could talk. The ploy works, and the conspirator is Lt. Valeris, Spock’s trusted protege’. Spock forces a mind-meld with Valeris to find out who the main conspirators are, and discovers that Klingons and a member of the Federation top brass are already cooperating peacefully – to ensure that peace is destroyed by the assassination of the President of the Federation.

Kirk contacts Captain Sulu, and their two ships head for Khitomer to save the President and reveal the conspirators, but time – and Chang’s prototype Bird of Prey that can fire while cloaked (the real source of the attack on Gorkon’s ship) – are against their efforts to save the negotiations.

Order this movie on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxscreenplay by Nicholas Meyer and Denny Martin Flinn
story by Leonard Nimoy and Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal
directed by Nicholas Meyer
music by Cliff Eidelman

Cast: William Shatner (Captain Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy), James Doohan (Scotty), George Takei (Captain Sulu), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), Kim Cattrall (Valeris), Mark Lenard (Sarek), Grace Lee Whitney (Excelsior Communications Officer), Brock Peters (Admiral Cartwright), Leon Russom (Chief in Command), Kurtwood Smith (Federation President), Christopher Plummer (Chang), Rosanna DeSoto (Azetbur), David Warner (Chancellor Gorkon), John Schuck (Klingon Ambassador), Michael Dorn (Klingon Defense Attorney), Paul Rossilli (Kerla), Robert Easton (Klingon Judge), Clifford Shegog (Klingon Officer), W. Morgan Sheppard (Klingon Commander), Brett Porter (General Stex), Jeremy Roberts (Excelsior Officer), Michael Bofshever (Excelsior Engineer), Angelo Tiffe (Excelsior Navigator), Boris Lee Krutonog (Helsman Lojur), Christian Slater (Excelsior Communications Officer), Iman (Martia), Tom Morga (The Brute), Todd Bryant (Klingon Translator), John Bloom (Behemoth Alien), Jim Beoke (First Klingon General), Carlos Cestero (Munitions Man), Edward Clements (Young Crewman), Katie Jane Johnston (Martia as a Child), Douglas Engalla (Prisoner at Rura Penthe), Matthias Hues (Second Klingon General), Darryl Henriques (Nanclus), David Drance (Sleepy Klingon), Judy Levitt (Military Aide), Shakti (ADC), Michael Snyder (Crewman Dax), Rene Auberjonois (Colonel West – home video release only)

Notes: Although Next Generation was approaching its second season when Trek V was made, the film ignored the TV series (aside from using several barely-redressed sets). However, in Trek VI, many Next Generation connections were present: a Klingon defense attorney (Michael Dorn) is briefly identified as Colonel Worf, the grandfather of the Enterprise-D’s security chief; Khitomer is the site of the 24th century Romulan attack on a Klingon colony, killing Lt. Worf’s parents in Next Generation lore. Events in this movie happen at least 3 years after Trek V, as Sulu states that he has commanded Excelsior for 3 years – though some reports place Trek VI 10 to 15 years later than Trek V, which would better account for the crew’s signs of age. The events in Trek VI were mentioned briefly in the Next Generation two-parter Unification, in which it is mentioned that Spock met Romulan Senator Pardek at the Khitomer Conference. Also, some time after Trek VI and the 23rd century scenes of Generations, Scotty, aboard a transport ship, encounters the enormous alien device which causes him to attempt a last-ditch maneuver to save his life, as told in the Relics episode of Next Generation.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Soul Hunter

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Babylon 5Shortly after the arrival of new doctor Stephen Franklin, an alien spacecraft of an unknown design tumbles through the hyperspace jump gate, on an uncontrolled collision course with the station. Sinclair manages to retrieve the ship just before it collides with the station, and its sole occupant is taken to the medlab. Ambassador Delenn reacts with horror at the new arrival, describing him as a Soul Hunter, a figure feared in Minbari lore. Though Sinclair and Dr. Franklin dismiss Delenn’s frantic warnings about the alien as superstition, it becomes clear when Franklin’s patient awakens that it does have some business with the Minbari on its agenda – especially Delenn, who turns out to be more than she appears.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Jim Johnston
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: W. Morgan Sheppard (The Soul Hunter), John Snyder (Soul Hunter #2), Toni Attell (Med Tech #1), Jim Bentley (Man), Mark Conley (Tech #1), David D. Darling (Guard #1), Ted W. Henning (Guard #2), Marianne Robertson (Tech #2)

Notes: It is in this episode that we first learn Delenn is a member of the Minbari Grey Council, and also first hear of the Minbari compulsion to safeguard their souls. Later in Points of Departure it is learned that their own souls are not the only ones the Minbari are concerned with.

Child’s Play

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Star Trek: VoyagerStardate not given: The de-assimilated Borg children are settling into their life aboard Voyager, even participating in the ship’s science fair. Icheb comes up with a particularly promising device capable of dectecting and predicting wormholes – something which could be put to immediate use on Voyager’s journey back to the Alpha Quadrant. Captain Janeway has some other good news for Icheb – she has located his parents among the survivors of a race which has been ravaged by frequent visits from the Borg, and has set a course to take the boy home. Seven of Nine joins Icheb in resisting Janeway’s plan to return him to his home, especially when he and the last of his people could be assimilated or killed in the next Borg attack. But what Janeway doesn’t even consider for a moment is that Icheb’s own people could pose a deadlier risk to him than even the Borg…

Order the DVDsteleplay by Raf Green
story by Paul Brown
directed by Mike Vejar
music by

Guest Cast: Manu Intirayni (Icheb), Tracey Ellis (Icheb’s mother), Mark A. Sheppard (Icheb’s father), Scarlett Pomers (Naomi Wildman), Marley McClean (Mezoti), Kurt Wetherill (Azan), Cody Wetherill (Rebi), Eric Ritter (Yivel)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Shindig

Posted on by Dave

FireflySerenity returns to Persephone in search of work. Simon tries to help River through one of her bouts of erratic behavior. Inara agrees to accompany Atherton Wing, a young noble, to a ball, while Badger approaches Mal with an offer. Sir Warwick Harrow wants some cargo shipped to his holdings offworld on Jiangyin, despite Alliance regulations to the contrary. Badger needs someone of a certain bearing to make contact with the noble – at the very same ball where Wing is asking Inara to remain with him permanently. Mal brings a very excited Kaylee to the party, but his negotiations are interrupted by an argument with Wing. When Wing insults Inara, Mal punches him and thus inadvertently challenges him to a duel with swords. The highly skilled fencer accepts, and Badger sends his men to Serenity to ensure that none of Mal’s crew interfere and somehow damage Badger’s reputation. With only an evening of lessons under his belt, no one gives Mal much of a chance. But Mal isn’t going to go down without a fight – and he doesn’t necessarily promise it’s going to be a fair one.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Jane Espenson
directed by Vern Gillum
music by Greg Edmonson

Guest Cast: Mark A. Sheppard (Badger); Edward Atterton (Atherton Wing); Larry Drake (Sir Warwick Harrow)

Notes: Mal’s prior dealings with Badger, referenced in this episode, took place in the episode Serenity. A new introduction narrated by Mal appears at the beginning of this episode.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer