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Mars Season 2

Darkness Falls

MarsAugust 2042: After the death of her sister Joon, Commander Hana Seung withdraws into her duties in Olympus Town, but even then she seems distracted and distanced from the colony’s day-to-day problems. Still fuming over the discovery that Lukrum Industries is actively drilling into liquid water that may contain samples of active microbial life, Marta Kamen takes it upon herself to “borrow” one of the colony’s rovers to trespass on Lukrum’s land claim and collect water samples herself. A powerful solar flare disrupts power and communications planetwide, plunging both Olympus Town and Lukrum, as well as the Chinese orbital station, into darkness. With satellites and other systems silenced, Marta has no contact with Olympus Town, as well as no navigational aid to keep her headed in the right direction. Unless she can be located, she won’t last the night on the Martian plains.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by David Gould
based on the book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek
directed by Everardo Gout
music by Brian Reitzell

MarsCast: Jihae (Hana Seung), Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucalt), Alberto Ammann (Javier Delgado), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie Durand), Anamaria Marinca (Marta Kamen), Cosima Shaw (Dr. Leslie Richardson), Gunnar Cauthery (Lt. Michael Glenn), Roxy Sternberg (Jen Carson), Evan Hall (Shep Marster), Akbar Kurtha (Dr. Jay Johar), Jeff Hephner (Kurt Hurrelle), Levi Fiehler (Cameron Pate), Naomi Christie (Zhen Zhen Yow), Nicholas Goh (Gan Chen), Adam Lannon (Man), Nicholas Wittman (Oliver Lee)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Doctor Who New Series Season 11

It Takes You Away

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS lands in Norway, 2018, near a cabin that seems to be abandoned; when Ryan catches a fleeting glimpse of someone inside the house, they decide to investigate, finding a blind girl hiding in a wardrobe. Her father is missing, and she lives in fear of creatures that she hears lurking outside. Those same sounds drive the time travelers into the house for shelter, and they discover a mirror that isn’t what it seems to be, but is instead a portal to another dimension. The Doctor, Graham and Yaz go through the portal to investigate, leaving Ryan to watch over the girl at the house. Soon, he discovers that she’s not exactly helpless, and the howling sounds coming from outside aren’t coming from vicious creatures. The Doctor, Yaz and Graham find themselves in a near-exact copy of the house they just left, complete with the girl’s missing father – and the mother who she said was dead. The Doctor can say nothing to convince him to leave this dimension, not even for the sake of his own daughter…and worse yet, Grace appears to Graham, trying to convince him to stay as well.

Order the DVDwritten by Ed Hime
directed by Jamie Childs
music by Segun Akinola

Doctor WhoCast: Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor), Bradley Walsh (Graham O’Brien), Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), Sharon D. Clarke (Grace), Eleanor Wallwork (Hanne), Kevin Eldon (Ribbons), Christian Rubeck (Erik), Lisa Stokke (Trine)

Doctor WhoNotes: Kevin Eldon is an old hand at Doctor Who and science fiction in general, though his prior Doctor Who role wasn’t on television: he starred as the seventh Doctor’s robotic companion Antimony in the animated audio drama Death Comes To Time in 2001, a production that – in the absence of new television episodes – sought to rewrite some of the ground rules of the series (including killing off the Doctor!), causing some controversy in fandom. He was one of the stars of the BBC2 sci-fi comedy Hyperdrive, guest starred in an episode of the 21st century revival of Red Dwarf, and has more recently been the voice of Penfold in the revived Danger Mouse series and appeared as Camello in Game Of Thrones.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Mars Season 2

Contagion

MarsAugust 2042: Hours after Marta is returned to Olympus Town by a Lukrum crew, workers at the Lukrum mining colony begin falling violently ill, and an emergency call is made to Olympus Town. Javier reports for his routine shift in Olympus’ xenobiology lab, only to find that the lab technician charged with examining Marta’s water samples is deathly ill; Javier is ordered to seal the lab’s airlock from the inside, as he too has now been exposed. At the Lukrum facility, the sickness has spread much more rapidly. Still recovering from frostbite, Marta suits up to go into the xenobiology lab to isolate the biological cause of the mystery illness, discovering that Martian microbes rendered inert by cold have been reactivated by the warm environs of the human habitats at Olympus and Lukrum. Penicillin would eradicate the disease, but having fallen out of use in western medicine, it’s not part of Olympus’ stockpile of medical supplies. Commander Seung could request a supply from the Chinese space station, but since that station broadcasts live to Chinese television 24 hours a day, the whole Earth would know of the epidemic taking shape on Mars in very short order – and that’s something Lukrum CEO Roland St. John does not want. Seung has to weigh the safety of every human being on Mars against the potential political fallout of revealing the outbreak to the public on Earth.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Julie Hebert
based on the book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek
directed by Stephen Cragg
music by Brian Reitzell

MarsCast: Jihae (Hana Seung / Joon Seung), Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucalt), Alberto Ammann (Javier Delgado), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie Durand), Anamaria Marinca (Marta Kamen), Cosima Shaw (Dr. Leslie Richardson), Gunnar Cauthery (Lt. Michael Glenn), Roxy Sternberg (Jen Carson), Evan Hall (Shep Marster), Jeff Hephner (Kurt Hurrelle), Levi Fiehler (Cameron Pate), Esai Morales (Roland St. John), Josh Cowdery (Chris Owens), Nicholas Goh (Gan Chen)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Short Treks Star Trek

The Brightest Star

Star Trek: Short TreksStardate not given: On the planet Kaminar, the Kelpien race ekes out a simple but productive existence, each of them knowing that they will die, and soon: adult Kelpiens are required to “maintain the great balance” by submitting themselves to the harvesting of an alien race called the Ba’ul. The Kelpien priest, Aradar, leads Kelpiens who have reached a certain age to a stone circle where they are sacrificed to a Ba’ul ship. Aradar’s son, Saru, does not understand the great balance, and does not heed his father’s instructions to dispose of a scrap of Ba’ul technology that fell off of one of their ships. Instead, Saru studies and reverse-engineers the device, sending a simple greeting into space. When that greeting is answered by a human Starfleet officer from the Federation, offering Saru the chance to leave Kaminar and see the stars, can he leave behind everything, including his sister Siranna, to see them?

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt
directed by Douglas Aarniokoski
music by Jeff Russo

Short TreksCast: Doug Jones (Saru), Hannah Spear (Siranna), Robert Verlaque (Aradar), Michelle Yeoh (Lt. Philippa Georgiou), Lisa Auguste (Female Villager #5), Krista Deady (Female Villager #4), Clayton Scott (Male Villager #3), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Male Villager #1), Adam Winlove-Smith (Male Villager #2)

Notes: Saru mentions Siranna in the second season Discovery episode Brother, noting that there is “terrain” between them that cannot be crossed, referring to Lt. Georgiou’s insistence that Saru cannot be returned to Kaminar without contaminating the natural development of his pre-warp society. David Benjamin Tomlinson appears in Discovery’s second season as Saurian crewman Linus.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Doctor Who New Series Season 11

The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS receives a number of distress calls from one place and time: the planet Ranskoor Av Kolos, over 3,000 years in the future of the Doctor’s companions. When the Doctor and friends arrive there, they’re only able to set foot outside the TARDIS if they’re wearing neural stabilizers to fend off a constant psychic attack. They find a fellow traveler, wandering in a daze, discovering that his crew is being held hostage because he stole an oddly-shaped container holding a violently vibrating sphere from their captor: Tzim-Sha, the assassin whose hunt on Earth the Doctor interrupted. As he was also responsible for the death of Grace, Graham decides he has a score to settle, even if doing so violates everything he’s learned from his travels in the TARDIS. As Graham and Ryan go to recover Paltraki’s captured crew, the Doctor and Yaz discover that Ranskoor Av Kolos’ native residents, the powerfully telepathic Ux, have been enslaved by Tzim-Sha, using their incredible powers to “steal” planets from across space and time, trapping them in the containers. Tzim-Sha’s next target is decided when the Doctor’s arrival reminds him of where he was last defeated: Earth.

Order the DVDwritten by Chris Chibnall
directed by Jamie Childs
music by Segun Akinola

Doctor WhoCast: Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor), Bradley Walsh (Graham O’Brien), Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), Phyllis Logan (Andinio), Mark Addy (Paltraki), Percelle Ascott (Delph), Samuel Oatley (Tzim-Sha), Jan Le (Umsang)

Notes: Tzim-Sha (a.k.a. “Tim Shaw”) was last encountered in the season premiere, The Woman Who Fell To Earth. The Doctor refers to the TARDIS as a ghost monument, also a reference to earlier in the season (The Ghost Monument). This isn’t the first time that the Doctor has dealt with someone stealing planets out of their rightful place in time and space, nor is it even the first time that Earth has been targeted; Davros ripped Earth and numerous other planets out of their respective orbits in The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End (2008), Doctor Whoand before that, had to recover the planet Calufrax (The Pirate Planet, 1978). Percelle Ascott was one of the stars of the Russell T. Davies series Wizards vs. Aliens, a show which was created in part to ensure continued work for the BBC crew assembled to produce The Sarah Jane Adventures, the Doctor Who spinoff which had ceased production due to the death of Elisabeth Sladen in 2011.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Mars Season 2

Power Play

MarsNovember 2042: As second-in-command of Olympus Town, Lt. Michael Glenn has privately expressed doubts in Commander Seung’s ability to lead to the IMSF, but Secretary-General Richardson shares none of the same concerns and informs Glenn that no planned changes in Olympus Town’s leadership are forthcoming. The Secretary-General has a crisis of her own on her hands as Lukrum’s Earthbound management strikes a deal with Russia to exploit the mineral wealth of Mars, and she threatens Lukrum with sanctions, though she may be overplaying her hand in speaking for all the member nations of the IMSF. A satellite orbiting Mars spots what may be an indication of liquid water on the surface, perhaps proof that the terraforming efforts are working; Seung and Foucalt leave in a rover for the lengthy drive to see for themselves, leaving Glenn in command; during their trip, Foucalt tells Seung that he has decided to leave Olympus Town to accept a job offered to him by Lukrum boss Hurrelle. When Lukrum’s mining operation hits a particularly thick layer of basalt beneath the Martian surface, Hurrelle orders a power increase to the drill site, putting Lukrum over-budget for the electrical power it should be receiving from Olympus Town. Without consulting Seung or the IMSF, Glenn orders a total shutdown of the power feed to Lukrum, unaware that he’s cutting the power to their living quarters, medical facilities, and not just the drill site, putting the lives of the entire Lukrum colony in danger. Worse yet, when Javier tries to restore Lukrum’s power without orders to do so, he finds that Glenn has locked him out of the ability to do so – short of walking out onto the surface in a spacesuit and taking the risk of manually rerouting the electrical feed. While Javier is busy with this crisis, he is unaware when Amelie goes into premature labor.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Paul Keables
based on the book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek
directed by Ashley Way
music by Brian Reitzell

MarsCast: Jihae (Hana Seung / Joon Seung), Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucalt), Alberto Ammann (Javier Delgado), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie Durand), Anamaria Marinca (Marta Kamen), Cosima Shaw (Dr. Leslie Richardson), Gunnar Cauthery (Lt. Michael Glenn), Roxy Sternberg (Jen Carson), Evan Hall (Shep Marster), Jeff Hephner (Kurt Hurrelle), Levi Fiehler (Cameron Pate), Esai Morales (Roland St. John), Martin Angerbauer (Danny), Attila Arpa (Volkov), Caroline Boulton (Nurse), Emily Corcoran (Ms. Wilson), Khash-Erdene Ganbold (South Korean Rep. Kim), Amelia Hoy (Anchor), Sonia Kaur (Anika Chandra), Timea Kasa (Clerk), Sorel Kembe (Nigerian Rep. Odogwu), David Miller (Assistant), Nicholas Wittman (Oliver Lee)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Mars Season 2

The Shakeup

MarsDecember 2042: With Roland St. John breathing down his neck and Lukrum shareholders on Earth demanding results for the costly expedition to Mars, Hurrelle decides to start using explosives to fast-track the discovery of water, and even invites Olympus Town to send Marta to gather water samples. But moments after the charges are blown, a massive quake rocks the Valles Marineris drill site, and does massive damage to the nearby Lukrum colony. Olympus Town is also severely shaken, but largely undamaged, but Amelie is forced to choose between leaving her prematurely-born baby in an incubator that may be failing, or removing her. Commander Seung leads a rescue expedition to the Lukrum colony, finding a number of survivors, but also several people who died when life support failed, including Hurrelle, who barged into the colony to try to save as many of his people as he could. The Lukrum survivors are taken to Olympus Town and given shelter. On Earth, Roland St. John, CEO of Lukrum, expects the IMSF to provide “political cover” in exchange for a healthy infusion of funding for the IMSF’s Martian science activities…but, perhaps at the risk of her career, Secretary-General Richardson has grown tired of doing Lukrum’s bidding, and decides to let Seung and the rest of the Olympus Town and Lukrum colonists, as well as the first human child born on Mars, reveal the truth to the people of Earth about the difficulty of life on Mars, and whether or not the cost in lives has been worth it.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Dee Johnson
based on the book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek
directed by Ashley Way
music by Brian Reitzell

MarsCast: Jihae (Hana Seung / Joon Seung), Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucalt), Alberto Ammann (Javier Delgado), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie Durand), Anamaria Marinca (Marta Kamen), Cosima Shaw (Dr. Leslie Richardson), Gunnar Cauthery (Lt. Michael Glenn), Roxy Sternberg (Jen Carson), Evan Hall (Shep Marster), Jeff Hephner (Kurt Hurrelle), Levi Fiehler (Cameron Pate), Esai Morales (Roland St. John), Martin Angerbauer (Danny), Jennifer Armour (American Reporter), Attila Arpa (Volkov), Helen Austin (British Reporter), Naomi Christie (Zhen Zhen Yow), Toby Cisneros (American Reporter), Emily Corcoran (Ms. Wilson), Khash-Erdene Ganbold (South Korean Rep. Kim), Nicholas Goh (Gan Chen), Shea Hephner (Chelsea Hurelle), Fen Fen Huang (Chinese Reporter), Sonia Kaur (Anika Chandra), Sorel Kembe (Nigerian Rep. Odogwu), Anna Sophie Marie (IMSF Crew Member), David Miller (Assistant), Joan Carles Suau (Argentinian Reporter), Alexandria Szucs (Abby), Nick Waring (E.U. Rep Davies)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Ja’loja

The OrvilleCaptain Mercer has become a frequent flyer at the bar aboard the Orville, and he’s not the only one; his unaddressed feelings for his ex – who still happens to be the Orville‘s first officer – are nagging away at him. Something a bit more basic is nagging at Bortus, though: the time of his Ja’loja, a Moclan ritual that’s somewhere between a birthday and a good long visit to the toilet, approaches, and he asks Mercer to divert the ship to his homeworld. When Mercer confesses his feelings to Commander Grayson, he’s crushed to learn that she’s dating someone else aboard the ship, and his curiosity as to who it is leads him to some less-than-subtle overreach of command privilege. A quick stop at a Union outpost allows a new dark matter cartographer, Lt. Janel Tyler, to come aboard, and Gordon instantly obsesses over how best to ask her out, which could make things a bit awkward since her station is right next to his at the helm. Dr. Finn worries that her oldest son Marcus’ new friend is a bad influence on him, only to discover that his friend’s parents are making that assumption about Marcus.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Seth MacFarlane
music by John Debney

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Halston Sage (Lt. Alara Kitan), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Will Sasso (Mooska), Mike Henry (Dann), Chris Johnson (Cassius), Jason Alexander (Olix), Kai Wener (Ty Finn), B.J. Tanner (Marcus Finn), Blesson Yates (Topa), Jake Brennan (James), Adam J. Smith (Nathan), Kristen O’Meara (Jody), Rachael MacFarlane (Computer Voice), Luke Clark (Kid #1), Alicia Leigh Willis (Woman), Francesca Catalano (Xelayan woman), Melvin Diggs (Shuttle bay lieutenant), Michaela McManus (Lt. Janel Tyler)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Doctor Who New Series Season 11

Resolution

Doctor WhoTwo archaeologists unearth a find beneath Sheffield City Hall on New Years’ Day, 2019, including human remains and something else, which is promptly placed under UV light for sterilization…and then promptly comes to life. The TARDIS arrives just as one of the archaeologists discovers a large, squid-like creature clinging to a wall, but before the Doctor can get a look at it, it’s gone missing again. The TARDIS followed the signature of a spatial shift to the dig site, technology that has no place on Earth in 2019. The Doctor collects a sample of the creature’s slimy trail from the dig site and has the TARDIS analyze its DNA…a process which reveals that the trail of slime was left by an unarmored Dalek. It’s now obvious that the archaeologist who spotted the creature on the wall has been taken over by it, and is doing its bidding, including breaking into a top secret facility to steal a Dalek weapon. The Dalek intends to build itself a new casing and signal its location to the Dalek fleet so the conquest of Earth can begin. The Doctor intends to stop it. And with an unexpected knock at the door, Ryan’s father intends to abruptly walk back into his son’s life, unaware that his son now travels through time and space…and unaware that he’s just walked into the most dangerous situation he could possibly imagine, one that could take Ryan’s father away from him forever.

Order the DVDwritten by Chris Chibnall
directed by Wayne Yip
music by Segun Akinola

Doctor WhoCast: Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor), Bradley Walsh (Graham O’Brien), Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), Charlotte Ritchie (Lin), Nikesh Patel (Mitch), Daniel Adegboyega (Aaron), Darryl Clark (Police Officer Will), Connor Calland (Security Guard Richard), James Lewis (Farmer Dinkle), Sophie Duval (Mum), Callum McDonald (Teen 1), Harry Vallance (Teen 2), Laura Evelyn (Call Centre Polly), Michael Ballard (Sargeant), Nick Briggs (Dalek voices)

Doctor WhoNotes: The Doctor attempts to call UNIT, but it is strongly implied that UNIT has been forced to stand down due to Brexit-related funding issues. The idea that recon Daleks are more advanced than the average Dalek creates a handy loophole for the significantly more mobile and destructive capabilities of the lone Dalek encountered in 2005’s Dalek. If the supernova to which the Doctor delivers the Dalek is in the same position as the now-extinct Dalek fleet, this may be be the destruction of Skaro’s sun engineered by the seventh Doctor with the Hand of Omega in Remembrance Of The Daleks (1988).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Short Treks Star Trek

The Escape Artist

Star Trek: Short TreksStardate not given: A Tellarite bounty hunter buys wanted man Harry Mudd from a fellow bounty hunter, partly to settle a personal score, and partly to hand Mudd over to the Federation for a fat reward. But Mudd’s fast-talking ways aren’t slowed by this setback, and he’s already plotting his next escape…assuming he needs to escape at all.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Mike McMahan
directed by Rainn Wilson
music by Jeff Russo

Cast: Rainn Wilson (Harry Mudd), Dan Abramovici (Guard), Harry Judge (Tellarite), Barbara Mamabolo (Bounty Hunter), Myrthin Stagg (New Guard), Jonathan Watton (Federation Officer)

Short TreksNotes: Writer Mike McMahan’s popular parody Twitter account detailing unlikely (but funny) scenarios for a never-made eighth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation led to an officially published book, Warped: An Engaging Guide to the Never-Aired 8th Season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his influence on the Star Trek franchise would continue from here to the first comedy-focused spinoff in the franchise, Star Trek: Lower Decks, also produced for CBS All Access. He has also been a production assistant on such animated shows as Drawn Together, South Park, and Rick & Morty, the latter of which he has also served as a writer.

Short TreksLatinum is already the currency of choice for those 23rd century soldiers of fortune who need it, long before it became a favorite of Deep Space Nine‘s Quark. Though Tellarites appeared in the Star Trek: Discovery episode The Wolf Inside, this is the first time a Tellarite has been the focus of a Star Trek episode since the Enterprise episode United in 2005. Careful examination of the extra Mudds reveals that Harry is already wearing fashions for which he will become famous, or at least infamous, in the future, echoing costume designs from the Star Trek episodes Mudd’s Women and I, Mudd.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Primal Urges

The OrvilleBortus is the last member of the Orville’s crew that Captain Mercer would expect to have attendance problems, and yet the normally stoic Moclan is asking to leave nearly every shift early…and is arriving in his quarters very late every evening. When Bortus’ spouse, Klyden, attempts to kill him – the Moclan method of initiating a divorce – Dr. Finn is able to save Bortus’ life, over his protests. Mercer has Klyden thrown into the brig and finally begins to demand answers, but since the incident has disrupted routine duties aboard a Union ship, the captain refuses to acknowledge the lethal divorce proceedings, instead “sentencing” Bortus and Klyden to couples counseling. But Bortus still has a secret – he’s been using the holographic simulator aboard the Orville to satisfy some base desires…and his appetite for doing so may put the entire ship, and a high-stakes rescue mission, in extreme danger.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Wellesley Wild
directed by Kevin Hooks
music by John Debney

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Halston Sage (Lt. Alara Kitan), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Kelly Hu (), Lesley Fera (), Mike Henry (Dann), Michael C. Mahon (Altox), Darren Dupree Washington (Simulated Moclan), Jude B. Lanston (Moclan Prison Guard), Veronica Matheu (Nyxian Girl), Gavin Lee (Henry Park), Joseph Johnson (Moclan Doctor), Michael James Lazar (Moclan #1), Torrance Jordan (Moclan #2), Aaron McPherson (Crew Member)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Home

The OrvilleThe Friday night arm wrestling match between Isaac and Alara has become part of the Orville‘s routine, but on this occasion Isaac overdoes it, breaking Alara’s arm. In sick bay, while mending the broken bone is a fairly easy procedure, medical scans reveal that Alara, accustomed to operating in the higher gravity of her home planet, is losing both bone and muscle mass in Earth-normal gravity. Before long, she will have lost the increased strength that Xelayans display in lower gravity, and the only prognosis is a return to her home planet to reacclimate – and Dr. Finn can’t be sure how long that will take. As Captain Mercer begins the dreaded process of looking for a temporary replacement for his security chief, Alara begins the even more dreaded process of spending time with a family whose disdain for her non-academic pursuits has alienated her. At the Kitan family’s beach home, a neighbor’s report of a possible break-in provides some relief for Alara: at least she’s in her element doing security work, even while confined to a zero-gravity wheelchair. But the crime that has been reported is not the crime that has been committed, and soon Alara and her entire family are hostages to a man who blames Alara’s father for the death of his son. Still weakened by her condition, Alara may have to resolve the hostage crisis at the cost of returning to the Orville.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
directed by Jon Cassar
music by Joel McNeely

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Halston Sage (Lt. Alara Kitan), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Molly Hagan (Drenala Kitan), Candice King (Solana Kitan), Robert Picardo (Ildis Kitan), John Billingsley (Cambis Borrin), Kerry O’Malley (Floratta), Patrick Warburton (Lt. Tharl), Jason Alexander (Olix), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Chris Flanders (Serris)

The OrvilleNotes: It’s a battle of the network Star (Trek doctor)s! Returning guest star Robert Picardo (who was the holographic doctor in all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager) is pitted against a character played by John Billingsley, who played Dr. Phlox in all four seasons of the successor to Voyager’s UPN time slot, Star Trek: Enterprise. Patrick Warburton (The Tick, A Series Of Unfortunate Events) appears as Alara’s heir-apparent, though he and his external esophogeal trunk wouldn’t be permanent fixtures aboard The Orville.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

Brother

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Moments after receiving a distress signal from the Enterprise, Discovery receives a request from Captain Christopher Pike to beam aboard. Crippled in space by an inexplicable system-wide failure, the Enterprise has suffered serious damage, and Pike has orders from Starfleet Command to temporarily assume command of Discovery due to an impending crisis. The crew is somewhat skeptical of the unscheduled change in command, given that their previous captain turned out to be a treacherous impostor from a parallel universe, but the emergency at hand – the sudden emergence of seven simultaneous signals in different parts of the galaxy, emitting a powerful signal – demands an extraordinary response.

The one signal out of seven that can be tracked leads Discovery into a dangerous field of asteroids and debris, with a crashed Starfleet medical ship at its epicenter. Pike and Burnham lead an extremely dangerous rescue mission to see if there are survivors aboard the ship, finding the haggard engineer Commander Reno in her tenth month of keeping critically wounded survivors of the Klingon war alive with nothing more than whatever is still working in her downed ship. Burnham is nearly stranded amid the wreckage ensuring the escape, but Pike refuses to leave her behind – and just before he arrives, she sees an inexplicable apparition in a red haze. Other asteroids in the vicinity are causing the spores grown for Discovery‘s now-disused spore drive to react, and Tilly decides a sample is needed…in the form of an entire small asteroid. The Enterprise‘s damage is determined to be severe enough for it to be towed back to spacedock, and Captain Pike is assigned to remain in command of Discovery. Burnham hopes there will be time for her to visit her brother, Spock, aboard the Enterprise… but Pike reveals that Spock hasn’t been aboard for quite some time.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Ted Sullivan & Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts
directed by Alex Kurtzman
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), James Frain (Sarek), Mia Kershner (Amanda), Tig Notaro (Commander Jett Reno), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. General Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Ethan Peck (Spock), Sean Connolly Affleck (Lt. Connolly), Rachael Ancheril (Commander Nhan), Arista Arhin (young Burnham), Raven Dauda (Dr. Tracy Pollard), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Liam Hughes (young Spock), Sara Mitich (Lt. Nilsson), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Linus)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: Not to be confused with the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Brothers (1990), Brother plunges head-first into the task of connecting the dots between Discovery and the rest of Star Trek continuity, including the revelation that the Enterprise’s five-year mission of exploration under Pike took it beyond the reach of the Klingon war depicted in the first season of Discovery. Stamets’ ethno-botanist former colleague aboard the Enterprise may or may not be one Hikaru Sulu, who didn’t appear in The Cage (set four years prior to this episode) but may well have been aboard. Saru’s sister Siranna (Short Treks: The Brightest Star) is mentioned as well. A transporter operator aboard Discovery appears to be wearing what may be a bulkier (primitive?) version of the VISOR worn by Geordi La Forge in The Next Generation. Commander Nhan, a member of Pike’s crew from the Enterprise, is a Barzan (TNG: The Price). Pike’s service record appears on Discovery‘s main viewscreen, allowing us to see that he took command of the Enterprise from its first commander, Captain Robert April (Star Trek: The Animated Series: The Counter-Clock Incident), and served under April prior to that.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Nothing Left On Earth Excepting Fishes

The OrvilleCaptain Mercer has been keeping a romantic relationship with the Orville’s new dark matter cartographer, Lt. Janel Tyler, hush-hush, but finally begins letting the word out ahead of a vacation shuttle trip with her. But as if often the case, Mercer can’t have nice things: a small group of Krill fighters seem to home in on the shuttle, even when it’s cloaked, until it is captured by a larger Krill ship. The Krill separate the two and demand Mercer’s command codes, and it is only then that he learns that Lt. Janel Tyler is Telaya, a Krill who Mercer met which disguised as a Trill himself. Acting as a surgically-altered Krill deep-cover agent, Telaya is returning the favor, but a surprise attack by another enemy of the Krill forces the two into an escape pod which sets down on a planet inhospitable to Telaya, who, like all Krill, cannot survive direct exposure to sunlight. With the Krill’s enemies hunting them down, Mercer has to find a way to signal the Orville…and protect a woman who’s holding him at gunpoint.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Brannon Braga & Andre Bormanis
directed by Jon Cassar
music by Joel McNeely

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad Coleman (Klyden), Michaela McManus (Telaya / Lt. Janel Tyler), Patrick Warburton (Lt. Tharl), Chris Johnson (Cassius), Michael Traynor (Krill Captain), Nathan Dana Aldrich (Krill Officer), Greta Jung (Comm Officer), Giovanni Bejarano (Security Officer), Michele Boyd (Lieutenant Dorsett), Fred Tatasciore (Krill voice)

The OrvilleNotes: Mercer and Gordon met Telaya in season one’s Krill, while “Lt. Tyler” boarded the Orville at the beginning of season two (Ja’loja), though Michaela McManus was not credited in that episode, presumably to avoid tipping the hand of this episode’s plot developments (and perhaps to confuse speculation as to who would replace Halston Sage as a series regular).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

New Eden

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate 1027.32: Burnham reveals Spock’s personal log entry – and its coded message – to Captain Pike. Spock not only knew of the signals, but of their locations, before any of them were detected by Starfleet. But Pike has more troubling news: Spock took a leave of absence to check himself into a psychiatric ward due to whatever was troubling him. Discovery is diverted to an unexplored planet in the Beta Quadrant which is the source of the newest signal, necessitating use of the spore drive. But despite an alarming distress signal, the planet is home to a peaceful, pastoral, and most importantly pre-warp human civilization. Pike, Burnham and ops officer Joann Owosekun beam down incognito to find out how a human settlement reached this far into deep space before the invention of warp drive. What they discover is a group of survivors of World War III who have no idea how they got there. A sudden displacement of radioactive particle from the planet’s rings threatens all on the surface – including the landing party – with extinction, but Pike’s absolute adherence to the Prime Directive forces a monumental decision: are Discovery and her new captain here to save a civilization, or witness its destruction without interference?

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonteleplay by Vaun Wilmott & Sean Cochran
story by Akiva Goldsman & Sean Cochran
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Sheila McCarthy (All-Mother), Andrew Moodie (Jacob), Bahia Watson (May Ahearn), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Raven Dauda (Dr. Tracy Pollard), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Noah Davis (Lieutenant in 2053), Kira Groulx (Rose), Claire Qute (Teen May Hologram)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: The mention of a Third World War in Star Trek’s otherwise hopeful vision of the future first appeared in the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, with Picard’s identification of Q‘s kangaroo court based upon the near-anarchic state of law in the “post-atomic horror” of the 21st century (fortunately, if you’re reading this, you’re only in the pre-atomic horror). Later incarnations of Trek carried this idea forward, particularly the movie Star Trek: First Contact and numerous episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. Even after Earth rebuilt itself following these events, there wasn’t a universal embracing of a technological lifestyle, as Lt. Owosekun is said to have grown up in “a Luddite collective”. No one in this episode ever refers to the Prime Directive, only Starfleet’s General Order One. The Beta Quadrant has long been known to be where portions of the Romulan and Klingon Empires are located, but the New Eden settlement is much further into the Beta Quadrant – 51,000 light years from Federation territory in the Alpha Quadrant, or, for comparison, roughly 2/3 of the distance that the U.S.S. Voyager would be flung into the Delta Quadrant in the 24th century. (Clearly, events yet unseen rule out further development or use of the spore drive technology by Voyager‘s time, otherwise the rescue of Captain Janeway’s crew would have been a simple matter.) The stardate for this episode is not given in the episode itself, but in the season finale, Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2.

LogBook entry by Earl Green