Search Results for: morgan sheppard

Max Headroom

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Max HeadroomInvestigative journalist Edison Carter, trying to uncover the truth of whether or not nearly-subliminal “blipverts” are causing television-addicted viewers to spontaneously combust, discovers that the trail of evidence leads to his own employer: television mega-corporation Network 23. Edison’s producers and backup team support his investigation, but Network 23 boss Ned Grossman all but orders a hit on his own newsman. Suffering a severe head injury, Edison is left to the care of amoral boy genius Bryce, who scans Edison’s brain and uses the resulting fragmented data to create a computerized avatar of Edison, Max Headroom, hoping to discover through Max exactly how much Edison knew about the effects of blipverts. But if Network 23 was worried about Edison’s headstrong independent streak, Max’s unhinged personality and ability to hack their systems from the inside – as well is a tenacious stubborn streak inherited from Edison – may spell an even bigger threat, especially once Max teams up with a pirate broadcaster known as Blank Reg.

screenplay by Steve Roberts
from an original idea by George Stone, Rocky Morton & Annabel Jankel
directed by Rocky Morton & Annabel Jankel
music by Midge Ure & Chris Cross

Max HeadroomCast: Matt Frewer (Edison Carter / Max Headroom), Nickolas Grace (Grossman), Hilary Tindall (Dominique), William Morgan Sheppard (Blank Reg), Amanda Pays (Theora Jones), Paul Spurrier (Bryce Lynch), Hilton McRae (Breugal), George Rossi (Mahler), Roger Sloman (Murray), Anthony Dutton (Gorrister), Constantine Gregory (Ben Cheviot), Lloyd McGuire (Edwards), Elizabeth Richardson (Ms. Formby), Gary Hope (Ashwell), Joane Hall (Body Bank Receptionist), Howard Samuels (ENG Reporter), Roger Tebb (Helipad Reporter), Val McLane (Eyewitness), Michael Cule (Exploding Man)

Max HeadroomNotes: This one-off movie was virtually remade – right down to using the UK-shot miniature landscapes of the Network 23 tower and its surrounding cityscape – as the first episode of the American-made Max Headroom series, which ran from 1986 to 1987. Changes were very minimal: Grossman became Grossberg, and Amanda Pays and W. Morgan Sheppard joined Matt Frewer in the American show’s cast. Recast and rewritten for American audiences, Bryce became less of the stereotypical “pimply faced youth” character, and more of a sympathetic ally to Max/Edison, whereas in this movie, he’s very much the prototypical unhygienic computer nerd who operates out of a cluttered computer room. W. Morgan Sheppard (1932-2019) is credited here as “Morgan Shepherd”.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Body Banks

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Max HeadroomTwo people are stalked and captured by a pair of thugs. They beat the man into unconsciousness, and take the woman who was with him to a body bank, where she’s moved to the top of the line for an organ transplant surgery – whether she’s a willing donor or not. The man goes to Edison with the story of the attack and the kidnapping, and Edison takes on the story. But he has to go to the streets to find the “blanks,” or unregistered citizens, and he has to recruit the help of Blank Reg, a rough-and-tumble but good-hearted blank who runs a pirate TV station called Big Time TV. Reg leads Edison to the two thugs, who in turn put him within arm’s reach of the doctor to whom they’ve been taking their victims – all of them female. But before Edison can ask too many questions, the doctor is killed. Edison is fresh out of clues, and Max may be able to help him, but Cheviot and Network 23’s corporate sponsors at Zik Zak want Max’s attentions on sponsorship announcements, whether or not it means a woman’s life.

written by Steve Roberts
directed by Francis De Lia
music by Cory Lerios

Guest Cast: William Morgan Sheppard (Blank Reg), Concetta Tomei (Dominique), Jere Burns (Breughel), Rick Ducommon (Mahler), Virginia Kiser (Formby), Hank Garrett (Ashful), Lee Wilkof (Pat Zein), J.W. Smith (Rick), Scott Kraft (Mel), Claude Earl Jones (Dr. Mason), Robert Dowdell (Plantegenet’s doctor), James “Gypsy” Haake (Nurse), John Winston (Plantagenet), Jenny Gago (Nurse), Arsenio “Sonny” Trinidad (?), Peri Kaczmarek (Rayna), Fred Holliday (News anchor), Michael Paul Max HeadroomChan (Japanese doctor), Grace Simmons (Poncho), B.J. Collins (?), Jay Arlen Jones (?), Rick Deats (?), Juliette Cummins (?), and Fang

Notes: Blank Reg establishes here that books have become a rarity – and are valued only by a select few, including him (though we later learn, in Lost Tapes, that Reg can’t read). Reg is played by William Morgan Sheppard who, sometimes credited as W.M. Sheppard or W. Morgan Sheppard, has appeared in everything from Babylon 5 (Soul Hunter) to Star Trek: Voyager (Bliss), to Doctor Who (The Impossible Astronaut) with many other genre guest starring appearances along the way.

LogBook entry 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

Blanks

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Max HeadroomJust as Simon Peller wins another term through the public telelection system, satellite signals go haywire, interrupting broadcasts on all the networks. And TV isn’t the only thing affected – even bank service has been disrupted. Then an ultimatum is issued: if Peller doesn’t reverse his policy of imprisoning all blanks – unregistered citizens with enough computer know-how to remove their identities from the central computer – the central computer will be crashed. Bryce and Theora hatch a plan to find the hackers by getting their attention with the most advanced artificial intelligence in the world – Max himself. But when the hackers take the bait and keep him, not allowing Max to return to Bryce’s computer, Edison has to resort to more extreme measures to keep a systems crash from laying the city to waste at sundown…and someone he considers a friend may be on the wrong side of the fight.

written by Steve Roberts
directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
music by Cory Lerios

Guest Cast: William Morgan Sheppard (Blank Reg), Peter Crook (Blank Bruno), Virginia Kiser (Formby), Hank Garrett (?), Max HeadroomLee Wilkof (Pat Zein), Howard Sherman (Simon Peller), Concetta Tomei (Dominique), Lisa Niemi (Janie Crane), Elizabeth Gorcey (Woman), Tom Everett (Tracher), Rob Narita (Ronald), Kenneth White (Police Officer), John Durbin (Police Officer), Lycia Naff (?), Cynthia Stevenson (?), Brian Brophy (?), Sandra Sexton (?), John Fleck (?), and Fang

Notes: This is the first episode where Bryce’s alma mater, the Academy of Computer Sciences, is mentioned; Blank Bruno was Bryce’s instructor before going underground.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Academy

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Max HeadroomHackers are disrupting network transmissions by hacking into satellite transmissions with their own high-power signals. Cheviot assigns Bryce the task of tracking down the pirates, and Bryce finds the source of the rogue signal – and then hesistates, pointing the finger instead at Blank Reg’s Big Time TV van. Metrocops arrest Reg, and Dominique pleads with Edison to help clear her husband’s name. Theora discovers that the real source of the signal was the Academy of Computer Sciences – Bryce’s alma mater. Edison susepcts (and Max knows) that Bryce falsified the coordinates given to the authorities. But given the tight-knit nature of the ACS students, and Network 23’s sponsorship of the school, does Edison stand a chance of clearing Reg’s name?

written by David Brown
directed by Victor Lobl
music by Michael Hoenig

Guest Cast: William Morgan Sheppard (Blank Reg), James Greene (Judge Wade), Hank Garrett (?), Lee Wilkof (?), Sharon Barr (?), Concetta Tomei (Dominique), Max HeadroomDick Patterson (Headmaster), Mya Akerling (Partridge), Christopher Burton (Stratton), Barry Pearl (Judge), Melissa Steinberg (?), Maureen Teefy (Shelley Keeler), Bill Dearth (Prosecutor), Paul Martin (?), Joe Hart (?), Sue Marrow (?), Tom Fitzpatrick (?)

Notes: This episode features one of Max Headroom’s most spot-on prophetic moments, with a pretty accurate prediction of the kind of home shopping networks which are fairly common now. Before you dismiss it as an easy prediction, check the original airdate of the episode and think again.

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

Whacketts

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Max HeadroomA huge residential building collapses, taking many of its residents with it. Edison is assigned to the story, and when he arrives at the scene of the disaster, he’s stunned to see the survivors rejoicing at the rescue of television sets instead of people. Despite the magnitude of the collapse and Edison’s live coverage, Big Time TV pulls ahead of Network 23 in the ratings with a mind-numbingly dumb game show – the same show being watched by all of the survivors of the building. A cop at the scene suspects something as up, but when he shares his suspicions with Edison, he’s found dead a while later. Despite Reg’s annoyance that his viewers want it run for the 11th time in a row, “Whacketts” even pulls ahead of Network 66. Edison and Bryce discover that a subliminal video signal is embedded into the one episode of “Whacketts” that keeps running, a signal that forces its viewers’ brains to produce an addictive stream of endorphins. The more people watch, the more hooked they become – and if Ned Grossberg succeeds in wooing Dominique into selling “Whacketts” to Network 66, the entire population could become addicted…just like Max.

teleplay by Arthur Sellers
story by Dennis Rolfe
directed by Victor Lobl
music by Michael Hoenig

Max HeadroomGuest Cast: W. Morgan Sheppard (Blank Reg), Charles Rocket (Ned Grossberg), Hank Garrett (?), Lee Wilkof (?), Sharon Barr (?), Concetta Tomei (Dominique), Bert Kramer (Biller), Bill Maher (Haskel), Andreas Katsulas (Bartlett), Richard Frank (Lt. Rico Ziskin), Lawrence Lott (Network 23 Anchor), James F. Dean (Chief Negotiator), Craig Schaefer (Cop #1), Morgan Walsh (Cop #2), Edward Beimfohr (?)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Schizoid Man

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Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42437.5: An Enterprise away team answers a distress signal from the habitat of one Dr. Ira Graves, who has been stricken with a terminal illness that could strike at any time. As he has been working for some time on a way to transfer his memories and personality into a computer, he naturally sees Data as the perfect alpha test model.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Tracy Tormè
story by Richard Manning and Hans Beimler
directed by Les Landau
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), W. Morgan Sheppard (Dr. Ira Graves), Suzie Plakson (Lt. Selar), Barbara Alyn Woods (Kareen Brianon)

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.

The Long, Twilight Struggle

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Babylon 5Londo has been recalled to Centauri Prime for consultations on the war effort. Current plans call for allowing the Narn to direct their entire fleet toward the Centauri supply planet as the bulk of the Centauri fleet converges on the Narn homeworld – and Refa expects Londo to deploy his “associates” to defend the Centauri supply world. In the meantime, Sheridan and Delenn are contacted by Draal, the Minbari who took over custodianship of the buried technological treasures of Epsilon 3. He wishes to pledge his allegiance to Sheridan in the coming war, even though Sheridan himself is still uncertain what role he will play in that conflict. The Narn fleet, led by G’Kar’s uncle, attacks the Centauri supply base only to be wiped out by the Shadows, who appear to be gaining more strength with each appearance. In the meantime, a Centauri fleet – one of whose ships carries Londo as a first-hand observer – begins bombarding Narn with mass drivers, laying the entire planet to waste. The nation of Narn again falls to its knees at the whim of the Centauri Republic.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by John C. Flinn III
music by Christopher Franke

Babylon 5Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Lt. Commander Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Franklin), Andrea Thompson (Talia Winters), Stephen Furst (Vir), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Robert Rusler (Warren Keffer), Mary Kay Adams (Na’Toth), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Peter Jurasik (Londo), John Schuck (Draal), Rif Hutton (ISN Reporter), William Forward (Lord Refa), W. Morgan Sheppard (G’Sten), Neil Bradley (Narn #2), Jonathan Chapman (Narn Second), Joshua Cox (Tech #1), Elisa Beth Garver (Tech #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Bliss

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Star Trek: VoyagerStardate 52542.3: Voyager’s sensors detect a wormhole that qualifies as nothing short of a miracle – not only is the wormhole stable for the time being, but sensors and probes indicate that it will deposit Voyager directly into Earth space. Janeway is initially very suspicious, but this soon gives way to joyous anticipation of a return home. Only Seven of Nine retains any semblance of suspicion, an intuitive caution which is reinforced when she visually spots a ship trapped in the interior of the wormhole – even though the ship’s sensors aren’t picking it up. Seven thinks that something or someone is manipulating the crew’s expectations, feeding them exactly what they want to see and hear…but she isn’t prepared for the possibility that this force also has enough control over the crew to put their Borg skeptic out of commission.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Robert J. Doherty
story by Bill Prady
directed by Cliff Bole
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: Scarlett Pomers (Naomi Wildman), W. Morgan Sheppard (Qatai), Majel Barrett (Computer voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Lost Tapes

Max HeadroomA yearly festival surrounds the return to earth of debris from fallen broadcast satellites. Edison and Theora get out of the control room to join Blank Reg and Dominique for the festivities, a much-needed diversion as a new censorship body has just notified Edison of his on-air “transgressions” of what has now been deemed good taste. But even off duty, Edison can’t help but stumble across a story, when a Metrocop raid hits a nearby home and a man is arrested for showing pirated educational programs to children. A street performer is also picked up by the Metrocops…acting in conjunction with Network 23’s new censor agents. The woman’s daughter is rescued by Edison, who tries to launch a “live and direct” investigation into the night’s events. But if the censors block Edison’s broadcasts, will anyone ever learn what really happened…or, for that matter, will anyone ever be allowed to learn anything again?

teleplay by Adrian Hein and Steve Roberts
story by Colman Dekay & Howard Brookner
directed by Victor Lobl
music by Michael Hoenig

Guest Cast: W. Morgan Sheppard (Blank Reg), Hank Garrett (?), Lee Wilkof (?), Sharon Barr (?), Concetta Tomei (Dominique), Laura Carrington (Francis), Mike Preston (Drago), John Durbin (Metrocop Chief), Rick Lieberman (Metrocop), Guyy Christopher (Drago’s henchman), Peter Crook (Blank Bruno), Ainslee Currie (Mink), Lewis Dauber (Blank Tracher), Richard Lion (Orville), Jason Zahler (Doc Friendly), Melissa Behr (Festival queen), Ed Trotta (Bresson), Larry Cortinas (Man on motorcycle)

Notes: This episode yields numerous interesting tidbits – Blank Reg can’t read (despite him touting the virtues of reading “old-fashioned” books in an earlier episode), and Murray is divorced with one daughter. This was the final episode produced, and shows a few hints of changes that might have stuck in future episodes: Bryce acting as Edison’s controller in Theora’s stead, and Theora and Murray being far more involved in the action. This episode did not air during the series’ original broadcast run and only appeared later in syndicated packages.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Transformers

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Transformers (2007)At a U.S. military desert base in Qatar, a helicopter reported shot down in Afghanistan mysteriously appears. Ordered to land, the chopper suddenly morphs into a gigantic robot and proceeds to hack into the military network, which is quickly cut off by the soldiers. Enraged, the ‘bot destroys the rest of the base and deploys a giant robotic scorpion to kill a small group of surviving solders, led by Capt. Lennox.

In Southern California, teen Sam Witwicky has scraped together enough money (as well get his GPA high enough) to buy his first car. To his dismay, his dad, Ron, takes him to a used car lot where one can count the number of cars still running on the fingers on one hand. His disappointment is soon quelled, however, when his eyes light upon what appears to be an early 1970s Camaro, despite the fact that the dealer, Bobby Bolivia, has never seen the car before in his life. But there is more to this particular Camaro than meets the eye: not only does it demolish all the other cars on the lot to get bought by Sam, it even helps him woo beauty Mikaela Banes, whom he’s known since grade school. That evening, however, the car suddenly takes off, and Sam pursues it to an abandoned lot, where it turns into a giant robot and beams a signal into space…

In Washington D.C., Defense Secretary John Keller announces the base attack to a group of signal analysts, with their only clue: a sound made as the military network was being hacked. One of the analysts, Maggie Madsen, begins to suspect that the signal does not originate from any government or person on Earth even as another attempt on the network is made…this time from Air Force One. Again the connection is severed, but this time a clue is discovered: a pair of glasses being auctioned off on eBay that belonged to Capt. Archibald Witwicky, whose journey to the Arctic Circle was cut short by a mysterious discovery that left him blind and insane for the rest of his life…and which Sam had set up in part to earn some quick cash.

Unable to convince Keller of her findings, Maggie takes a copy of the signal to Glen, an old hacker acquaintance of hers to help her decipher the signal, but it only brings more questions than answers, to say nothing of bringing the FBI down on their heads.

All of this activity and much more is brought to the attention of a secretive branch of the U.S. Government known as Sector Seven which has not only recovered what Archibald “discovered”, but has hidden it in Hoover Dam (the actual reason the dam was constructed) and used it to reverse engineer all the technological progress since the late 1940s. But even Sector Seven (including Agents Simmons and Banacheck) have no idea of what is really happening – that Earth has become the battleground between two different groups of sentient robots, the noble Autobots and the warlike Decepticons. For centuries their war has raged, completely devastating their home world of Cybertron, and now it threatens all of Earth, with humanity caught in the crossfire…

screenplay by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
story by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & John Rogers
directed by Michael Bay
music by Steve Jablonsky

Cast: Shia Lebeouf (Sam Witwicky), Megan Fox (Mikaela Banes), Josh Duhamel (Capt. Lennox), Tyrese Gibson (USAF Tech Sgt. Epps), Rachael Taylor (Maggie Madsen), Anthony Anderson (Glen Whitman), Jon Voight (Defense Sec. John Keller), John Turturro (Agent Simmons), Michael O’Neill (Tom Banacheck), Kevin Dunn (Ron Witwicky), Julie White (Judy Witwicky), Bernie Mac (Bobby Bolivia), W. Morgan Sheppard (Capt. Archibald Witwicky)

Voice Cast: Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime), Darius McCrary (Jazz), Robert Foxworth (Ratchet), Jess Harnett (Ironhide/Barricade), Hugo Weaving (Megatron), Charles Adler (Starscream), Reno Wilson (Frenzy)

LogBook entry and review by Joel Calhoun

Star Trek

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Star Trek MoviesStardate 2233.04: An immensely powerful vessel of unknown origin appears in the path of the Federation starship U.S.S. Kelvin. The vessel’s commander summons the captain of the Kelvin to negotiate a cease-fire in person, and he acceeds to this demand, having little choice and even less backup. He leaves Commander George Kirk in charge of the Kelvin. The captain is questioned about a Vulcan ambassador named Spock whom he has never met, and is killed in cold blood by his hosts. George Kirk orders the Kelvin to beat a hasty retreat, but the early-23rd-century Starfleet ship is simply no match for its attacker. Kirk orders an evacuation and prepares to leave with his wife, who is in labor. When it becomes apparent that the Kelvin’s autopilot is incapable of defending the evacuation shuttles, Kirk remains on the bridge and sets the Kelvin on a collision course with its unknown assailant. Seconds before he dies, Kirk hears the sound of his son being born and tells his wife to name the child Jim.

Although he possesses exceptional intelligence and instincts, James Tiberius Kirk has a troubled childhood and a police record before he even reaches his 20s. After a bar dust-up with a group of Starfleet cadets that doesn’t quite go his way, Kirk comes to the attention of Captain Christopher Pike, who wrote his Starfleet dissertation on the U.S.S. Kelvin mission and is more than familiar with Kirk’s background. Pike challenges Kirk to challenge himself – to enlist in Starfleet. Kirk declines the invitation, but then Pike makes it a dare that Kirk can’t back down from: prove that he’s at least the leader of men that George Kirk was. Kirk joins Starfleet, promising that he’ll complete the four-year academy program in three.

Stardate 2258.42: Rising Starfleet cadet James T. Kirk is brought before a Starfleet Academy board of inquiry on accusations that he aced the dreaded unwinnable Kobayashi Maru simulation by reprogramming it to allow him to win. The Academy graduate responsible for the simulation’s programming, Commander Spock, is less than impressed with Kirk. But before judgement can be passed, a planet-wide distress signal from Vulcan mobilizes Starfleet. Though he’s intended to stay on Earth pending the outcome of his hearing, Kirk is smuggled aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise by his Academy friend, Dr. Leonard McCoy, under the pretenses of a medical emergency. When he hears details of what’s happening at Vulcan, Kirk breaks his cover and alerts Captain Pike to the danger: whatever is attacking Vulcan is the same unknown ship that destroyed the Kelvin. Over Spock’s protests, Pike enters the fray with caution – and the Enterprise is the only Starfleet ship to survive the initial engagement. As with the Kelvin, Pike is summoned to the ship to meet Captain Nero, who questions him about Earth’s defenses – but on the way to Nero’s ship, Pike drops Kirk, Sulu and another crewman with hand-to-hand combat experience off to sabotage the drilling platform Nero has aimed at Vulcan. Kirk and Sulu are the only crew members who survive the trip to the drilling platform and make quick work of the Romulans manning it, but they’re unable to prevent it from firing. By firing red matter into the planet’s core, the platform creates a small black hole, and Vulcan is destroyed. Spock is able to rescue several members of the Vulcan Science Council, including his father Sarek, but his human mother is lost.

In the wake of this disaster, Kirk insists that the Enterprise should intercept Nero’s ship rather than wasting time rendezvousing with the rest of Starfleet, but Spock will brook no disagreement with his commands and eventually has Kirk put off the ship in a life pod which lands on remote Federation outpost Delta Vega. After a close encounter – almost too close to survive – with the local fauna, Kirk finds himself in the company of an elderly Vulcan who says that he is Spock – from a future that Nero’s actions have changed permanently. The elder Spock convinces Kirk that his best chance for victory against Nero is to join forces with the younger Spock, however unlikely such a prospect seems given their current relationship. They discover a Federation base where a Starfleet engineer named Montgomery Scott is languishing in obscurity, but thanks to Spock, Scott is about to make a momentous breakthrough that will rather handily put Kirk back aboard the Enterprise.

Once he’s back on the Enterprise, Kirk must single-handedly convince Spock that the destruction of Vulcan has caused enough emotional upset – even in a Vulcan – that Spock is unfit for duty. When Spock declares himself unfit to serve as captain, that leaves Pike’s choice for acting first officer – Kirk – to take command. His mission is to save Earth from Nero, and the odds are against him. On the other hand, James T. Kirk has the U.S.S. Enterprise at his command, along with a crew that, regardless of the changes to the timeline, is destined to help him make history.

Order this movie on DVDscreenplay by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
directed by J.J. Abrams
music by Michael Giacchino

Cast: Chris Pine (James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), Eric Bana (Nero), Bruce Greenwood (Captain Christopher Pike), Karl Urban (Dr. Leonard McCoy), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), Simon Pegg (Scotty), John Cho (Sulu), Anton Yelchin (Chekov), Ben Cross (Sarek), Winona Ryder (Amanda), Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk), Jennifer Morrison (Winona Kirk), Rachel Nichols (Gaila), Faran Tahir (Captain Robau), Clifton Collins Jr. (Ayel), Antonio Elias (Officer Pitts), Sean Gerace (Tactical Officer), Randy Pausch (Kelvin Crew Member), Tim Griffin (Kelvin Engineer), Freda Foh Shen (Kelvin Helmsman), Kasia Kowalczyk (Kelvin Alien), Jason Brooks (Romulan Helmsman), Sonita Henry (Kelvin Doctor), Kelvin Yu (Medical Technician #1), Marta Martin (Medical Technician #2), Tavarus Conley (Kelvin Crew Member), Jeff Castle (Kelvin Crew Member #2), Billy Brown (Med Evac Pilot), Jimmy Bennett (young Kirk), Greg Grunberg (Kirk’s Stepdad), Spencer Daniels (Johnny), Jeremy Fitzgerald (Iowa Cop), Zoe Chernov (Vulcan Student), Max Chernov (Vulcan Student), Jacob Kogan (Young Spock), James Henrie (Vulcan Bully #1), Colby Paul (Vulcan Bully #2), Cody Klop (Vulcan Bully #3), Akiva Goldsman (Vulcan Council Member #1), Anna Katarina (Vulcan Council Member #2), Douglas Tait (Long Face Bar Alien), Tony Guma (Lew the Bartender), Gerald W. Abrams (Barfly #1), James McGrath Jr. (Barfly #2), Jason Matthew Smith (Burly Cadet #1), Marcus Young (Burly Cadet #2), Bob Clendenin (Shipyard Worker), Darlena Tejeiro (Flight Officer), Reggie Lee (Test Administrator #1), Jeffrey Byron (Test Administrator #2), Jonathan Dixon (Simulator Tactical Officer), Tyler Perry (Admiral Barnett), Ben Binswagner (Admiral Komack), Margot Farley (College Council Stenographer), Paul McGillion (Barracks Officer), Lisa Vidal (Barracks Officer), Alex Nevil (Shuttle Officer), Kimberly Arland (Cadet Alien #1), Sufe M. Bradshaw (Cadet Alien #2), Jeff Chase (Cadet Alien #3), Charlie Haugk (Enterprise Crew Member #1), Nana Hill (Enterprise Crew Member #2), Michael Saglimbeni (Enterprise Crew Member #3), John Blackman (Enterprise Crew Member #4), Jack Millard (Enterprise Crew Member #5), Shaela Luter (Enterprise Crew Member #6), Sabrina Morris (Enterprise Crew Member #7), Michelle Parylak (Enterprise Crew Member #8), Oz Perkins (Enterprise Communiations Officer), Amanda Foreman (Hannity), Michael Berry Jr. (Romulan Tactical Officer), Lucia Rijker (Romulan Communications Officer), Pasha Lychnikoff (Romulan Commander), Matthew Beisner (Romulan Crew Member #1), Neville Page (Romulan Crew Member), Jesper Inglis (Romulan Crew Member #3), Greg Ellis (Chief Engineer Olson), Marlene Forte (Transport Chief), Leonard O. Turner (Vulcan Elder #1), Mark Bramhall (Vulcan Elder #2), Ronald F. Hoiseck (Vulcan Elder #3), Irene Roseen (Vulcan Elder #4), Jeff O’Haco (Vulcan Elder #5), Scottie Thompson (Nero’s Wife), Deep Roy (Keenser), Majel Barrett Roddenberry (Starfleet Computer Voice), William Morgan Sheppard (Vulcan Science Minister)

Notes: Star Trek effectively sets up an entirely new timeline for future installments of the movie franchise to follow. The existing timeline – the original 1960s series, its TV spinoffs and the first ten films – are now a separate timeline unaffected by the new adventures of the Enterprise that carry forward from the end of this movie. Intriguingly, it’s possible that this was a separate timeline even prior to Nero’s intervention, given some of the technology seen aboard the early-23rd-century U.S.S. Kelvin. This film was the last acting role for the late Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who provided the Federation computer voice as she had done since the original Star Trek series. Blink-and-you’ll-miss-him “Barracks Officer” Paul McGillion – whom Kirk asks about his berth on the Enterprise – was formerly a regular cast member on Stargate Atlantis, and auditioned for the part of Scotty. Deep Roy, who plays Scotty’s unusual alien sidekick, is a performer well-known on both sides of the Atlantic; he has appeared in Blake’s 7 and Doctor Who, among many other UK series. The story of Nero’s origins, and Spock’s mission, begins in the original timeline’s 24th century and is chronicled in the graphic novel “Star Trek: Countdown”.

LogBook entry and review by Earl Green