Categories
Original Trilogy Star Wars

Star Wars

Star WarsAs construction nears completion on the Empire’s awesome new battle station, the moon-sized Death Star, members of the Rebel Alliance procure its construction plans, entrusting them to Princess Leia Organa. But Darth Vader is quick to capture her ship, kill much of the crew, and take her prisoner. But she has already passed the plans on to the adventurous R2-D2, who abandons ship along with C-3PO, landing on nearby Tatooine. Scavenging Jawas salvage the two droids and auction them off to Owen Lars, who hands them over to his nephew, young Luke Skywalker, to get the droids into shape to serve around their farm. Luke accidentally activates a recorded message from Leia, a desperate plea for the assistance of Obi-Wan Kenobi. When Owen forbids Luke to track down Kenobi to ask him about the message, R2-D2 sets out on his own to find him. Luke and C-3PO catch up to the determined droid, but are attacked by desert-roving Tusken Raiders, and saved at the last minute by the cloaked hermit, Ben Kenobi. Upon seeing Leia’s message, Ben admits that he is actually Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the very last Jedi Knights, and tells of how he witnessed the murder of Luke’s father, Anakin.

Imperial forces trace the two droids to Tatooine, following their trail to Owen’s farm. When Luke discovers that his uncle and aunt have been killed by the Empire, he pledges to follow the elderly Jedi Knight to the planet Alderaan. They go to the seedy Mos Eisley spaceport, where they happen upon the renegade space freighter captain Han Solo and his Wookiee sidekick Chewbacca. Solo, desperately in need of money to pay off crime lord Jabba the Hutt, takes Luke, Obi-Wan and the droids on as passengers, but quickly realizes that his passengers have attracted the interest (and firepower) of the Empire. Solo’s ship, the Milennium Falcon, arrives at Alderaan to find the planet has been smashed into lifeless bits – the handiwork of Darth Vader and the Death Star. Solo accidentally runs into the Death Star not far away, which seizes the Falcon in a tractor beam. Han, Luke, Chewbacca and the droids try to evade the Imperial forces and rescue Leia, while Obi-Wan sets out to disable the Death Star’s tractor beam and face Darth Vader one final time. Obi-Wan is cut down in a lightsaber duel with Vader, but the others succeed in escaping, unaware that a homing device has been planted on the Falcon, allowing the Death Star to track the ship down to the Rebel base on the third moon of Yavin.

With only a short time to spare, the Rebels must prepare for a fight to save themselves from extinction – and Luke Skywalker, in becoming the hero of the ferocious battle against the Empire, brings himself to the attention of Darth Vader.

Order the DVDswritten by George Lucas
directed by George Lucas
music by John Williams

Cast: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Organa), Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin), Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), David Prowse (Lord Darth Vader), Jack Purvis (Chief Jawa), Eddie Byrne (General Millard), Phil Brown (Uncle Owen), Sheelagh Fraser (Aunt Beru), Alex McCrindle (General Dodonna), Drewe Hemley (Red Leader), Denis Lawson (Red Two – Wedge), Garrick Hagon (Red Three – Biggs), Jack Klagg (Red Four – John “D”), William Hootkins (Red Six – Porkins), Angus McInnis (Gold Leader), Jeremy Sinden (Gold Two), Graham Ashley (Gold Five), Don Henderson (General Tagge), Richard Le Parmentier (General Motti), Leslie Schofield (Commander #1), James Earl Jones (voice of Lord Darth Vader)

Notes: The subtitle “Episode IV: A New Hope” was added to the opening crawl for the movie’s 1981 re-release, presumably to be consistent with the labeling of The Empire Strikes Back as Episode V.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Movies

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

Close Encounters Of The Third KindElectrical worker Roy Neary encounters the bright lights of a UFO as he investigates a town-wide power outage. He, like hundreds of other such witnesses, becomes fascinated to the point of obsession with the visitors, unable to shake visions of a towering mountain from his mind. Despite the government’s public insistence that nothing unusual has occurred, and his family’s embarrassment and discomfort at his behavior, Roy insists that aliens are trying to tell him – and humanity – something important.

Meanwhile, a military-sponsored research team does believe that someone is out there, and they are desperately trying to figure out how and where to communicate with them and how to keep the information secret. But when the aliens take the son of one of Roy’s fellow witnesses, they risk everything to find the source of their visions…and to make contact.

screenplay by Steven Spielberg
directed by Steven Spielberg
music by John Williams

Close Encounters of the Third Kind/Cast: Richard Dreyfuss (Roy Neary), François Truffaut (Claude Lacombe), Teri Garr (Ronnie Neary), Melinda Dillon (Jillian Guiler), Bob Balaban (David Laughlin), J. Patrick McNamara (Project Leader), Warren J. Kemmerling (Wild Bill), Roberts Blossom (Farmer), Philip Dodds (Jean Claude), Cary Guffey (Barry Guiler), Shawn Bishop (Brad Neary), Adrienne Campbell (Sylvia Neary), Justin Dreyfuss (Toby Neary), Lance Henriksen (Robert), Merrill Connally (Team Leader), George DiCenzo (Major Benchley), Amy Douglass (Implantee), Alexander Lockwood (Implantee), Gene Dynarski (Ike), Mary Gafrey (Mrs. Harris), Norman Bartold (Ohio Tolls), Josef Sommer (Larry Butler), Reverend Michael J. Dyer (Himself), Roger Ernest (Highway Patrolman), Carl Weathers (Military Police), F.J. O’Neil (ARP Project Member), Phil Dodds (ARP Musician), Randy Herman (Returnee #1), Hal Barwood (Returnee #2), Matthew Robbins (Returnee #3), David Anderson (Air Traffic Controller), Richard L. Hawkins (Air Traffic Controller), Craig Shreeve (Air Traffic), Bill Thurman (Air Traffic), Roy E. Richards (Air East Pilot), Gene Rader (Hawker), Eumenio Blanco (Federale), Daniel Núñez (Federale), Chuy Franco (Federale), Luis Contreras (Federale), James Keane (Radio Telescope Team), Dennis McMullen (Radio Telescope Team), Cy Young (Radio Telescope Team), Tom Howard (Radio Telescope Team), Richard Stuart (Truck Dispatcher), Bob Westmoreland (Load Dispatcher), Matt Emery (Special Leader), Galen Thompson (Special Forces), John Dennis Johnston (Special Forces), John Ewing (Dirty Tricks #1), Keith Atkinson (Dirty Tricks #2), Robert Broyles (Dirty Tricks #3), Kirk Raymond (Dirty Tricks #4)

LogBook entry and review by Dave Thomer

Categories
Movies

Superman: The Movie

Superman: The MovieThe planet Krypton is dying, but only one man, Jor-El, is willing to recognize that truth. To save his infant son Kal-El from the impending disaster, Jor-El sends him to Earth, where he is found and adopted by Kansas farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent. The boy, now named Clark, grows up in Smallville, hiding his amazing powers from the world…until his destiny calls him, and he moves to Metropolis, gets a job as a reporter for the Daily Planet, and befriends Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. More importantly, he takes to the skies as Superman, defender of truth, justice and the American way – a role that inevitably puts him at odds with the criminal genius Lex Luthor, who has a grand scheme to make a killing in the real estate market…

screenplay by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton
additional script material by Norman Enfield
story by Mario Puzo
based on the Superman comics created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
directed by Richard Donner
music by John Williams

Superman: The MovieCast: Christopher Reeve (Superman), Marlon Brando (Jor-El), Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), Ned Beatty (Otis), Jackie Cooper (Perry White), Glenn Ford (Jonathan Kent), Trevor Howard (First Elder), Jack O’Halloran (Non), Valerie Perrine (Eve Teschmacher), Maria Schell (Vond-Ah), Terence Stamp (General Zod), Phyllis Thaxter (Ma Kent), Susannah York (Lara), Jeff East (Young Clark Kent), Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen), Sarah Douglas (Ursa), Harry Andrews (2nd Elder), Vass Anderson (3rd Elder), John Hollis (4th Elder), James Garbutt (5th Elder), Michael Gover (6th Elder), David Neal (7th Elder), William Russell (8th Elder), Penelope Lee (9th Elder), John Stuart (10th Elder), Alan Cullen (11th Elder), Lee Quigley (Baby Kal-El), Aaron Smolinski (Baby Clark Kent), Diane Sherry (Lana Lang), Jeff Atcheson (Coach), Brad Flock (Football Player), David Petrou (Team Manager), Billy J. Mitchell (1st Editor), Robert Henderson (2nd Editor), Larry Lamb (1st Reporter), James Brockington (2nd Reporter), John Cassady (3rd Reporter), John F. Parker (4th Reporter), Antony Scott (5th Reporter), Ray Evans (6th Reporter), Sue Shifrin (7th Reporter), Miquel Brown (8th Reporter), Vincent Marzello (1st Copy Boy), Benjamin Feitelson (2nd Copy Boy), Lise Hilboldt (1st Secretary), Leueen Willoughby (Perry’s Secretary), Jill Ingham (Perry’s Secretary), Pieter Stuyck (Window Cleaner), Rex Reed (Himself), Weston Gavin (Mugger), Steve Kahan (Officer 1), Ray Hassett (Officer 2), Randy Jurgensen (Officer 3), Matt Russo (News Vendor), Colin Skeaping (Pilot), Bo Rucker (Pimp), Paul Avery (TV Cameraman), David Baxt (Burglar), George Harris II (Patrolman Mooney), Michael Harrigan (1st Hood), John Cording (2nd Hood), Raymond Thompson (3rd Hood), Oz Clarke (4th Hood), Rex Everhart (Desk Sergeant), Jayne Tottman (Little Girl), Frank Lazarus (Air Force One Pilot), Brian Protheroe (Co-Pilot), Lawrence Trimble (1st Crewman), Robert Whelan (2nd Crewman), David Calder (3rd Crewman), Norwich Duff (Newscaster), Keith Alexander (Newscaster), Michael Ensign (Newscaster), Larry Hagman (Major), Paul Tuerpe (Sergeant Hayley), Graham McPherson (Lieutenant), David Yorston (Petty Officer), Robert O’Neill (Admiral), Robert MacLeod (General), John Ratzenberger (1st Controller), Alan Tilvern (2nd Controller), Phil Brown (State Senator), Bill Bailey (2nd Senator), Burnell Tucker (Agent), Chief Tug Smith (Indian Chief), Norman Warwick (Superchief Driver), Chuck Julian (Assistant), Colin Etherington (Power Company Driver), Mark Wynter (Mate), Roy Stevens (Warden)

LogBook entry and review by Dave Thomer

Categories
Original Trilogy Star Wars

The Empire Strikes Back

Star WarsIn the wake of their destruction of the Death Star, the Rebels are forced even further into hiding by the Empire’s relentless pursuit, especially now that Darth Vader has learned the identity of the Rebel pilot who toppled the Empire’s mighty space station. Luke Skywalker, while investigating a meteorite which has just crashed near the new Rebel base on the ice planet of Hoth, is attacked by one of the indigenous predators. Luke uses his budding skill with the Force to escape from the creature, but is too badly injured to return to base on his own. The image of Obi-Wan Kenobi appears, urging Luke to go to Dagobah, where he will find the last of the Jedi Masters, Yoda. But before Luke can ask any questions, Han Solo rescues him just in the nick of time.

What Luke doesn’t realize until it is too late is that the “meteorite” he sighted was an Imperial probe droid landing on Hoth. Darth Vader and his task force follow the probe droid’s lead to Hoth and launch a devastating ground attack, killing many of the Rebels and forcing the rest to retreat even further – but Vader’s real quarry, Luke, evades him yet again. Luke and Artoo slip away to Dagobah, while Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO escape aboard the Millennium Falcon. The Imperial forces pursue the Falcon through a treacherous asteroid field, while Luke crash-lands in the swamps of Dagobah and reluctantly befriends a small green creature who promises to take him to meet Yoda. During the pursuit of the Falcon, the Emperor contacts Vader with a new agenda – Luke Skywalker is to be turned to the dark side of the Force, not killed.

The creature who is helping Luke soon reveals that he is Yoda himself, and despite reservations about Luke’s lack of patience and his anger, both Skywalker pedigrees that led his father to a dark fate, the last living Jedi Master begins Luke’s training. Halfway across the galaxy, Han decides to find a safe haven for the Falcon and its beleaguered crew after too many close calls, ultimately choosing Bespin’s Cloud City, which is run by an old friend of his (and the original owner of the Falcon), Lando Calrissian. But shortly after arriving at Cloud City, C-3PO is blasted to bits, and Lando delivers Han and the others into the hands of Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett. Worse yet, as a test of a carbon-freezing process which he hopes to use to capture Luke as a gift for the Emperor, Darth Vader has Han frozen in carbonite before handing him over to Boba Fett. Lando, growing worried that the Imperial presence on Cloud City will become permanent, switches sides to join with Leia and Chewie, who are suspicious of his motives, but they trust him when he tells them where to find Fett’s ship.

In the meantime, Luke has experienced a vision of a future in which his friends are being killed by the Empire, and he hastily postpones his Jedi training to go to Bespin to help them, much to the dismay of Yoda and Obi-Wan. Luke arrives just in time to see Han’s frozen body being taken to Boba Fett’s ship, but he is unable to help his friends. Luke has just stepped into a trap carefully orchestrated by Darth Vader, who reveals, after a lightsaber duel with Luke, that he is actually Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s father.

Boba Fett escapes Cloud City with Han in custody, taking him back to Jabba the Hutt. Leia and Lando are unable to stop the bounty hunter, and Luke now faces the prospect that his destiny, like that of his father, may lead him to become a servant to the dark side of the Force.

Order the DVDsstory by George Lucas
screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kadsan
directed by Irvin Kershner
music by John Williams

Cast: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), David Prowse (Darth Vader), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Frank Oz (Yoda), Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), John Hollis (Lando’s Aide), Peter Purvis (Chief Ugnaught), Des Web (Snow Creature), Clive Revill (Emperor Palpatine), Kenneth Colley (Admiral Piett), Julian Glover (General Veers), Michael Sheard (Admiral Ozzel), Michael Culver (Captain Needa), John Dicks (Imperial officer), Milton Johns (Imperial officer), Mark Jones (Imperial officer), Oliver Maguire (Imperial officer), Robin Scobey (Imperial officer), Bruce Boa (General Rieekan), Christopher Malcolm (Zev – Rogue 2), Denis Lawson (Wedge – Rogue 3), Richard Oldfield (Hobbie – Rogue 4), John Morton (Dak – Luke’s gunner), Ian Liston (Janson – Wedge’s gunner), John Ratzenberger (Major Derlin), Jack McKenzie (Deck lieutenant), Jerry Harte (Head controller), Norman Chancer (Rebel officer), Norwich Duff (Rebel officer), Ray Hassett (Rebel officer), Brigitte Kahn (Rebel officer), Burnell Tucker (Rebel officer)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Original Trilogy Star Wars

Return of the Jedi

Star WarsLuke sends R2-D2 and C-3PO to the palace of Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine, where R2 plays a recorded message presenting the two droids to Jabba as a gift. A bounty hunter soon arrives with Chewbacca in chains, and a thermal detonator in hand to bargain a higher sale price for the Wookiee. But all is not as it seems. The bounty hunter is Leia in disguise, but mere moments after releasing Han from captivity in carbonite, she is captured by Jabba. Luke soon arrives, telling Jabba in no uncertain terms that Han, Leia, and the droids will be handed over to him – or the Hutt will pay a fatal price. Jabba has Luke thrown into a pit with an enormous, ravenous creature, which Luke manages to kill. Enraged, Jabba now sentences the Jedi apprentice – along with Han and Chewie – to be fed to the sarlacc which lurks in the Dune Sea. However, with the help of Artoo and Lando – who had infiltrated Jabba’s operation as a bodyguard – Luke foils this plan as well, releasing his friends and ending Jabba’s reign over the underworld.

Returning to Dagobah to finish his Jedi training, Luke finds that Yoda is in very poor health. The dying Jedi Master tells Luke that only one task remains before the young apprentice truly becomes the last Jedi Knight – but that task is the defeat of Darth Vader. Obi-Wan appears to Luke, explaining the true fate of Anakin Skywalker and both of his children, who are strong with the Force. Luke knows he must defeat Vader – or win him back from the dark side – but doubts his ability to do so. But Vader is already busy constructing a new and more powerful Death Star, this time under the direct supervision of Emperor Palpatine. The Emperor has arranged for details of the new Death Star’s defenses to be leaked into the hands of the Rebel Alliance, hoping that they will commit their entire fleet to destroy the space station . . . which is already fully operational and well-defended, more than ready for a Rebel onslaught.

Luke joins a Rebel taskforce assigned to destroy the defense shield installation on the forest moon of Endor, which the Death Star orbits. Han almost fatally endangers the mission, but unexpected help arrives in the forms of Endor’s native life form, the Ewoks. Worrying that Vader will sense his presence and capture the entire Rebel team, Luke turns himself over to the Imperial troops as Han and Leia continue their risky gambit to lower the Death Star’s shield in time for a Rebel attack fleet to destroy the station. And aboard the Death Star, the Emperor, with Darth Vader’s help, attempts to lure a second generation of Jedi Knights named Skywalker into the dark side of the Force . . .

Order the DVDsstory by George Lucas
screenplay by Lawrence Kadsan and George Lucas
directed by Richard Marquand
music by John Williams

Cast: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Sebastian Shaw (Anakin Skywalker), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), Frank Oz (Yoda), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), David Prowse (Darth Vader), Alec Guiness (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Michael Pennington (Moff Jerjerrod), Admiral Piett (Kenneth Colley), Michael Carter (Bib Fortuna), Denis Lawson (Wedge), Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar), Dermot Crowley (General Madine), Caroline Blakiston (Mon Mothma), Warwick Davis (Wicket), Kenny Baker (Paploo), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), Femi Taylor (Oola), Annie Arbogast (Sy Snootles), Claire Davenport (Fat Dancer), Jack Purvis (Teebo), Mike Edmonds (Logray), Jane Busby (Chief Chirpa), Malcolm Dixon (Ewok warrior), Mike Cottrell (Ewok warrior), Nicki Reade (Nicki), Adam Bareham (Star Destroyer controller #1), Jonathan Oliver (Star Destroyer controller #2), Pip Miller (Star Destroyer captain #1), Tom Mannion (Star Destroyer captain #2), Tony Philpott, Mike Edmonds, David Barclay (Jabba the Hutt)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Movie Stargate

Stargate

StargateIn 1927, a young girl named Catherine Langford visits an archaeological expedition overseen by her father. She is intrigued by a necklace bearing the eye of Ra, but soon is caught up in the much larger discovery – a set of cover stones, and an enormous metal ring covered in previously unseen symbols. Decades later, Catherine contacts Daniel Jackson, an archaeologist whose contention that the Great Pyramid was not built by the Fourth Dynasty has discredited him in academic circles. She offers him a translation job and a chance to prove his theories. At the same time, a pair of Air Force officers inform retired Colonel Jack O’Neil, distraught since the accidental death of his young son, that he has been reactivated.

Daniel arrives at an underground military base in Colorado. Catherine introducers him to a team that has been trying to translate the cover stones found in Giza. Daniel corrects the partial translation of the outer ring, which mentions Ra and something called a Stargate. But the inner set of symbols is like nothing he’s seen before. O’Neil enters the room and announces that the project is now under his supervision, much to Catherine’s surprise. After two weeks, Daniel is no closer to translating the other symbols, until a glance at a newspaper photo suggests that everyone has been looking down the wrong path from the start.

General West and other Air Force officials convene to hear Daniel’s explanation, although the general appears skeptical – Catherine’s team has been working on this for two years with no success. Daniel explains that the symbols refer to star constellations, which in turn are used as coordinates to plot a course through space. The first six symbols identify a point in space. The seventh identifies a point of origin that connects with the destination. That’s not too far off from the team’s theory, as Daniel learns when West orders that he be shown the device – the ring that was discovered with the cover stones in Giza. It is actually a dial with a rotating inner ring, covered in symbols. The inner ring can be turned to encode the chevrons on the outer ring, but the Air Force had been unable to identify the seventh symbol to complete the dialing process. Daniel recognizes one of the symbols on the dial as resembling the seventh symbol on the cover stones. This time the dialing process is complete. With a burst of energy, the device – the Stargate – opens a wormhole through space. A remote probe sent through the shimmering portal confirms the existence of a parallel Stargate on a world in another galaxy.

The probe also reveals that the other Stargate has a different set of symbols than the one on Earth. West thinks this nixes any chance of sending a reconnaissance team through the gate, since there would be no way to bring the team back. But Daniel is convinced that he can translate the stones on the other side and reopen the gate, so West authorizes him to join O’Neil’s team. Catherine offers him the necklace she found in Giza as a good luck token. With a bit of trepidation, he walks through the open gate and dematerializes. He reappears, slightly disoriented, inside a pyramid on the planet Abydos. But he finds no corresponding cover stones – without which, he can not figure out the combination for Earth. The officers on the recon team are considerably less than thrilled at this news and accuse Daniel of lying to them. Daniel insists that with a little exploration, they’ll find the information they need.

When a domesticated animal called a mastidge appears, Daniel gets his opportunity for exploration – the creature drags him through the desert to a group of peasant laborers from the city of Nagada. Daniel can not quite make out their spoken language, and they have no form of written communication. But his necklace convinces the group’s leader that he is a representative of Ra, so they escort him, O’Neil, and two other soldiers to Nagada for a welcoming feast. Daniel’s attempts to communicate prove fruitless, especially when he tries to use the sand to show the people the symbol that represents Earth. A sandstorm traps the visitors in the city. Kasuf, the peasants’ leader, offers his daughter Sha’uri to Daniel, while a young boy named Skaara begins to emulate O’Neil. Daniel refuses Sha’uri’s hesitant advances, but is able to achieve a rapport with her. She indicates that she knows where the symbol Daniel has drawn can be found, and brings him to an underground complex of tunnels covered in glyphs. Daniel realizes that the Nagadans’ language is similar to that of ancient Egypt, but the pronunciations differ from what he has known. Sha’uri quickly teaches him the correct way of speaking, and they begin to communicate. The symbols on the wall, meanwhile, tell the history of Abydos.

Thousands of years ago, a dying alien discovered a world full of young life – Earth. The alien possessed the body of a boy and, calling himself Ra, ruled Egypt. He used the Stargate to bring humans to Abydos in order to mine the mineral that comprised the gate. When his subjects on Earth rebelled and overthrew him, Ra retreated through the Stargate to Abydos, and forbade his subjects there from reading or writing. Eventually, the gate on Earth was buried.

In the present, O’Neil and the other officers join Daniel in the tunnels. Lieutenant Kowalksy finds a stone with the coordinates for Earth, but the symbol for the point of origin is still missing. Worse, when the group returns to the pyramid, they find the officers who had been left at base camp missing and soon come under attack by warriors with elaborate headdresses and staffs that fire some kind of energy projectile. O’Neil rushes to the gate room, looking for a particular piece of equipment he brought with him, but finds the case in question empty. The team is soon captured, and Daniel and O’Neil are brought before Ra himself. Ra wonders why they have come, especially bearing powerful weapons. He shows them an atomic bomb his troops found in the pyramid, which surprises Daniel but not O’Neil. The colonel attempts to steal a weapon and escape, but in the ensuing fight, Daniel is shot and killed.

O’Neil is thrown into a cell with the other surviving officers. Ra uses his sarcophagus to repair and revive Daniel. He is concerned that the necklace might have some of his followers confused. So he intends to demonstrate that he is the one true ruler by ordering Daniel to shoot the officers in front of the Nagadans. If Daniel refuses, Ra will kill them anyway – along with everyone who has ever seen them. And then Ra will send the bomb back through the gate, amplified with enough of the alien mineral to multiply its devastation considerably.

At the assembly, Skaara signals to Daniel that he and his fellow youths are armed. Daniel stages a diversion that allows most of them to escape, and during the celebration of their victory he is able to figure out the seventh symbol. They can dial the Stargate and go home. But before they can, they have to stop Ra from doing it first.

Order the movieDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich
directed by Roland Emmerich
music by David Arnold

Cast: Kurt Russell (Colonel Jonathan “Jack” O’Neil), James Spader (Dr. Daniel Jackson), Jaye Davidson (Ra), Viveca Lindfors (Catherine), Alexis Cruz (Skaara), Mili Avital (Sha’uri), Leon Rippy (General W. O. West), Carlos Lauchu (Anubis), Djimon (Horus), Erick Avari (Kasuf), French Stewart (Lieutenant Feretti), Gianin Loffler (Nabeh), Christopher John Fields (Lieutenant Freeman), Derek Webster (Lieutenant Brown), Jack Moore (Lieutenant Reilly), Steve Giannelli (Lieutenant Porro), David Pressman (Assistant Lieutenant), Scott Smith (Officer), Cecil Hoffman (Sarah O’Neil), Rae Allen (Barbara Shore), Richard Kind (Gary Meyers), John Storey (Mitch), Lee Taylor-Allan (Jenny), George Gray (Technician), Kelly Vint (Young Catherine), Erik Holland (Professor Langford), Nick Wilder (Foreman Taylor), Sayed Badreya (Arabic Interpreter), Michael Concepcion (Horus #1), Jerry Gilmore, Michel Jean-Phillipe, Dialy N’Daiye, Gladys Holland (Professor), Robert Ackerman (Companion), Kieron Lee (Masked Ra), Dax Biagas (Young Ra), Frank Welker (Voice of the Mastadge)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

Matters of Honor

Babylon 5As repairs to the station commence following the Centauri attack, an envoy from Earthgov’s special intelligence divison comes to Babylon 5 to ask the alien ambassadors if they’ve ever seen anything like the spidery black ship seen on Keffer’s flight recorder. Delenn has never seen a Shadow vessel before, G’Kar recites a description of the Shadows from the Book of G’Quan, and Londo remembers seeing similar ships flying over the palace on Centauri Prime . . . in a dream. A Ranger named Marcus comes to ask Sheridan’s help in evacuating a Ranger training camp, also presenting the captain with a powerful new ship called the White Star. Londo tries to sever ties with Morden, but the cost may haunt him in his nightmares.

Order now!Stream this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Kevin G. Cremin
music by Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Tucker Smallwood (David Endawi), Ed Wasser (Morden), Nils Allen Stewart (Large Man), Ardwight Chamberlain (Kosh), Jonathan Chapman (Drazi Pilot), Kitty Swink (Senator), Andrew Walker (Psi Cop)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

Convictions

Babylon 5A group of priests arrive on Babylon 5, intending to talk to members of the various alien races in order to chronicle their religious traditions. Many of the priests are skilled computer programmers and technicians, and Garibaldi is soon able to put their skills to use. Chaos is hours away, according to a series of messages anonymously sent to C&C – and when a bomb detonates in Downbelow, the hunt is on for a terrorist somewhere on the station. A second bomb destroys a docking bay and almost kills Lennier, who is trapped in the explosion while trying to help Londo to safety. Londo naturally blames the Narns, and of course G’Kar fingers the Centauri for the bombings, but when the two of them are trapped, badly wounded, in an elevator after another explosion, they must rely on setting aside their differences to escape – but neither of them is willing to do so, and they remain trapped. What no one suspects is that the reason chaos has come to Babylon 5 could be a total lack of reason, and terror could be its own motivation.

Order now!Stream this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Michael Vejar
music by Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Patrick Kilpatrick (Robert Carlson), Louis Turenne (Brother Theo), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Morishi), John Flinn (Obnoxious Man), Rick Johnson (Security Guard #1), Jason Larimore (Lurker), Gwen McGee (Med Tech), Mike McKenzie (Drazi #1), Tom Simmons (Security Guard #2)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

A Day in the Strife

Babylon 5Sheridan is busy trying to placate the station’s dockworkers, but that’s soon the least of his problems. The Centauri send a new representative to speak for the station’s Narn population, one who seems more willing to work with the Centauri rather than support a fledgling resistance movement. Na’far tells G’Kar that unless he agrees to return to Narn, the families of those one the station will be punished. Sheridan renews his acquantance with Ta’lon, Na’far’s bodyguard, with whom Sheridan escaped from a Strieb ship months before. He must also deal with a peculiar first contact scenario. An alien probe has signalled the station, offering to share advanced knowledge and technology if Earth is advanced enough to deserve it. Along with the offer comes a series of questions. If the station can not answer them, the probe will explode with enough force to destroy Babylon 5.

Order now!Stream this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by David J. Eagle
music by Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Stephen Macht (Na’Far), Marshall Teague (Ta’Lon), Anne Bentancourt (Dr. Gonzales), Neil Bradley (Narn #1), Joshua Cox (Corwin), Mark Hendrickson (Narn #2), Larita Shelby (Med Tech), John St. Ryan (Troublemaker), Michael Bailey Smith (G’Duk)

Notes: Sheridan and Ta’lon’s escape from the Strieb ship occurred in season 2’s All Alone in the Night.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

Passing Through Gethsemane

Babylon 5Kosh returns from the Vorlon homeworld with Lyta Alexander in tow. She informs the command staff that she will be working on the ambassador’s behalf, but can not tell them anything about what she has seen. She also does not tell them that she has been physically modified to be able to survive in the Vorlons’ preferred atmosphere.

One of Brother Theo’s monks, Brother Edward, is surprised to find a black rose hidden in his bag and the words “death walks among you” written on his wall, in blood. He is even more susprised when he shows the wall to Garibaldi, and the words are nowhere to be found. He goes on with his work and interviews Delenn and Lennier about Minbari belief systems. Soon after, he is overcome by visions of a violent murder. He searches the station database for clues, and soon discovers that he was once a murderer, sentenced to the death of personality. Edward believes his soul still bears the guilt of the actions he committed. So do the families of his victims, and they have come to Babylon 5 to seek justice. Brother Theo asks Sheridan to help Edward, but Edward may not want to be saved.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Adam Nimoy
music by
Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Brad Dourif (Brother Edward), Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander), Louis Turenne (Brother Theo), Robert Keith (Malcolm), Lynn Blades (News Anchor #2), Natalie Brunt (Business Person), Ardwight Chamberlain (Kosh), Mark Folger (Centauri), Steven Gonzales (News Anchor #1)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

Voices of Authority

Babylon 5On the advice of Delenn and Draal, Sheridan is preparing to embark on a risky quest to enlist the help of the First Ones, whose powers will be vital in the coming Shadow War. But when a “political officer” arrives from Earth, on a mission to ensure that everything the crew says and does is in line with President Clark’s rewritten history of recent events on Earth, Sheridan is forced to stay on the station. Ivanova goes to Epsilon 3 and uses the Great Machine to look for the First Ones, but also stumbles upon definitive evidence that President Clark was instrumental in the death of his predecessor. Sheridan discovers that the station’s new liaison to Earth is willing to use any means necessary to secure his cooperation, while Ivanova and Marcus must use any means possible to gain the trust of the First Ones at Sigma 957.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Menachem Binetski
music by
Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), John Schuck (Draal), Shari Shattuck (Julie Musante), James Black (Security Guard #1), Joshua Cox (Corwin), Vimi Mani (ISN Anchor), Gary McGurk (Vice President Clark), Ed Wasser (voice of Morden)

Notes: Sakai encountered the First Ones of Sigma 957 in season 1’s Mind War.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

Dust to Dust

Babylon 5 Bester asks to come aboard the station, trying to track down a source of the deadly, telepathy-inducing drug known as dust. Ivanova, afraid that Bester will eventually learn of their conspiracy against Clark, wants to simply kill the Psi Cop. When Bester hints that Talia Winters’ body has gone the way of her personality, Garibaldi isn’t so inclined to disagree. But with help from the Minbari, Sheridan manages to even the playing field and get Bester to agree to take telepathy-suppressing drugs. Once he does, he and Garibaldi discover that Bester is, maddeningly enough, correct – a major dust supplier is peddling his wares on Babylon 5. And unfortunately for Londo, that supplier has found an eager buyer in G’Kar. The Narn uses his brief burst of dust-induced telepathy to pry into the secrets surrounding the Centauri’s secret allies in the war against his homeworld. But at the end of G’Kar’s revenge lies a surprising epiphany.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by David J. Eagle
music by
Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Walter Koenig (Bester), Julian Neil (Lindstrom), Jim Norton (Narn Image), Ardwight Chamberlain (Kosh), Harry Hutchinson (Security Guard #1), John-Frederick Jones (Centauri Diplomat), S. Marc Jordan (Shop Owner), Judy Levitt (Psi Cop), Gwen McGee (Med Tech), Philip Moon (Ashi), Walter O’Neil (Crazed Man), David Shark (Man), Kim Strauss (Vizak), Dani Thompson (Ombuds)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

Exogenesis

Babylon 5Lt. Corwin’s promotion is an occasion for concern for Sheridan and Ivanova, who are worried that Corwin’s increased security clearance may allow him to eavesdrop on the command crew’s preparations for the Shadow War. Sheridan orders Ivanova to talk to Corwin quietly, to determine if his loyalty to Earthforce is blind. Franklin finds a previously unknown neural parasite attached to the spinal cord of a dead man, and Marcus is concerned when one of his Ranger contacts goes missing. Marcus enlists Franklin’s help in searching for his friend, only to discover that several lurkers have been infested by the same parasites – and the mind-controlled lurkers take the Ranger and the doctor hostage to keep from being exposed. In the meantime, Corwin misinterprets Ivanova’s request for a private meeting in every possible way.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Kevin G. Cremin
music by
Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), James Warwick (Matthew Duffin), Wylie Small (Jacque Lee), Aubrey Morris (Duncan), Joshua Cox (Corwin), Ross Gottstein (Vendor), Eric Steinberg (Samuel), Donald Willis (Trader), Michael McKenzie (Man), Carrie Dobro (Dr. Harrison), Kat Cressida (Kat), Roger Rook (Lurker), Leslie Pratt (Woman)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

Messages from Earth

Babylon 5Garibaldi and Marcus have arranged for Dr. Mary Kirkish, a former Interplanetary Expeditions archaeologist, to visit the station. Kirkish has literally unearthed evidence that not only is Earthgov aware of the Shadows, but they’re studying a Shadow vessel found buried on Ganymede, the largest moon of Jupiter. This knowledge is secret enough that assassins have been trailing Kirkish from Mars all the way to the station. Sheridan realizes the implications of a conspiracy between President Clark, the Psi Corps and the Shadows, and sets out to destroy the wayward Shadow vessel before Earth can learn any more about it. But even with an improperly prepared pilot, the Shadow proves to be difficult to kill – and worse yet, Earthforce’s scanners are unfamiliar with the design of the White Star, and heavy artillery is deployed to deal with the intruder.

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

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Nancy Stafford (Dr. Mary Kirkish), Vaughn Armstrong (Security Guard #1), Merrin Dungey (Security Guard #2), Vimi Mani (ISN Anchor), Lorraine Shields (Cook)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

Point Of No Return

Babylon 5In the wake of the evidence implicating him in the death of President Santiago, and using the recent appearance of an unidentified alien ship near Jupiter as further justification, President Clark declares martial law throughout the Earth Alliance, forcing General Hague’s rebel forces into the open. The President also hands authority over to Night Watch members only, sending Garibaldi into a righteous fury when he is relieved of his position while Sheridan tries to find a way to keep his command without drawing suspision. G’Kar volunteers the help of the Narns, a timely offer when Sheridan is left with no choice but to arrest the Night Watch security officers. But very few notice the arrival of the Lady Morella, widow of the late Centauri emperor, and even fewer believe her prediction of the future occupants of the imperial throne.

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

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Majel Barrett (Lady Morella), Marshall Teague (Ta’Lon), Vaughn Armstrong (Security Guard #1), Lewis Arquette (General Smits), Ed Trotta (Lt. General O’Reilly), Jonathan Chapman (Passing Minbari), Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin), Maggie Egan (ISN Reporter #1), Milton James (Centauri Official), Gunther Jensen (Nightwatch Guard), Tony Rayner (Man)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer