Search Results for: Ronald D. Moore

A Disquiet Follows My Soul

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Battlestar GalacticaThe fleet tries to recover from the blow of both the discovery of a barren Earth and the heavy emotional toll, with the hunt beginning anew for a habitable planet for both Colonials and Cylons. The rebel Cylons demand full citizenship in the fleet, offering their technology – namely much more powerful FTL drives – in exchange. But some aren’t keen on the idea of the Cylons gaining citizenship and a seat on the quorum, and Tom Zarek is among them. Since President Roslin has gone into hiding following the Earth debacle, Zarek is effectively running the government, and sees no reason to grant the Cylons’ wish. When the tyllium mining ship – which carries the fuel supply for every ship in the fleet – tries to break off from the rest of the fleet, Admiral Adama orders his crew to board the ship and force the Cylon tech upgrades, while Zarek tells the ship’s crew to run for it. Adama, unconcerned that his actions might look like a military coup of the government, has Zarek arrested; the tyllium ship is found and boarded. Even below decks, the peace is tenuous – Baltar’s sermons have become rambles, demanding that God explain what has happened, while Tyrol makes a discovery about his son that rocks him to his core.

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

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Aaron Douglas (Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta), Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Brad Drybrough (Hoshi)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Daybreak – Part One

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Battlestar GalacticaCaprica City, before the fall: As Dr. Gaius Baltar falls under the spell of an enticing blond woman who seems to want nothing more than a quick tour of Caprica’s defense mainframe, Bill Adama angles for a sensitive government job whose interview process will include a strenuous test of his loyalties – something that, after his illustrious military career, he finds more than just offensive. Laura Roslin celebrates her sister’s impending motherhood, and later goes numb when her entire family is ripped away from her in a tragic accident.

Now: With Galactica’s dismantling underway, Admiral Adama decides that the ship should fly one last mission – into the heart of Cylon territory to rescue Hera. With some hints gleaned from Sam Anders’ hybrid-like ramblings, a recon mission finds the elusive Cylon colony, but it’s sitting in a very precarious position near a black hole: Galactica may be able to jump in, but the strain of jumping out again may be more than the ship can bear. Raptors might be able to jump out, but it’s likely a one-way trip for Galactica; Adamas asks volunteers for the mission to step forward for Galactica’s final flight.

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

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Tigh), Aaron Douglas (Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Michael Trucco (Sam Anders), Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh), Rick Worthy (Simon), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Matthew Bennett (Aaron Doral), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster), Kerry Norton (Nurse Ishay), Dean Stockwell (Brother Cavel)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Daybreak – Part Two

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

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

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

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

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

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Caprica (Pilot)

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CapricaZoe Graystone is a typical teenager, excelling in the art of making her parents’ lives hell – and in keeping secrets from them. Her father is Daniel Graystone, a multi-billionaire technology magnate whose big breakthrough, holo-bands, have put him on top of the world; Zoe has also inherited her father’s genius, creating and programming essentially a perfect copy of herself in a virtual world, another Zoe with the personality, likes, dislikes and foibles of herself. But she’s managed to keep this from her father, as well as her involvement with a movement toward monotheism…and her plans to run away from home. During her flight from Caprica, Zoe discovers – too late – that one of her fellow believers in a single, all-powerful god is a suicide bomber.

In the wake of the tragedy, Daniel Graystone has a chance meeting with a lawyer named William Adams. A native of the planet Tauron, Adams isn’t that happy with his lot in life; despite being a moderately successful lawyer, he too often finds himself running “errands” for the Guatrau, a Tauron crime lord and power broker, including bailing the Guatrau’s more “hands-on” errand boys out of legal trouble. Adams lost his wife and daughter to the suicide bombing, and left to raise his son William alone. This gives Adams and Graystone some unlikely common ground, and they become fast friends, though Adams is hardly a power attorney and wonders what his unimaginably rich new friend really has in mind.

Graystone discovers Zoe’s friend Lacy – who, at the last minute, elected not to try to run away with Zoe and never boarded the transport – interacting with the virtual Zoe, and is surprised as the complexity and accuracy of the simulation of his daughter. Having hit a dead-end in his own artificial intelligence work for a major defense contract, Graystone decides to base a new AI on Zoe’s simulation. But there’s one further snag: he’ll need the central processor developed by a competing company on Tauron to pull it off.

And this is where Graystone’s new friend comes in. With the technology of Caprica virtually under his thumb, it’s no problem for Graystone to find out about Adams’ tenuous underworld connections. He asks Adams to use his contacts to arrange for the theft of the needed processor; in return, the Guatrau asks Adams for a “favor” that could have serious repercussions for all involved. At the end of the day, Graystone and the Guatrau get what they want. When Graystone tries to thank Adams by introducing him to a simulation of Adams’ late daughter, their cameraderie comes to a very swift end. The simulation of Adams’ daughter is a traumatized, tortured soul who seems to know that she isn’t real. Adams decides that power over mortality is meant for no one but the gods, and bids Graystone farewell. Adams promises his son William that they will make a new start, beginning with a return to their family’s original Tauron name: Adama.

Graystone shrugs off Adams’ departure and downloads Zoe’s artificial consciousness into a cybernetic body. The download doesn’t work, and in his hubris, Graystone failed to back up the artificial Zoe. He’s left with nothing, and has no choice but to reprogram the stolen processor and use it as the core of a cyborg for a Ministry of Defense demonstration. That test run goes spectacularly well – the same cybernetic body into which Graystone attempted to download Zoe proves to be a powerful mechanical warrior, securing Graystone’s contract and his future…and setting his world on a course for its destruction.

Download this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Remi Aubuchon & Ronald D. Moore
directed by Jeffrey Reiner
music by Bear McCreary

Cast: Eric Stoltz (Daniel Graystone), Esai Morales (Joseph Adama), Paula Malcomson (Amanda Graystone), Alessandra Toreson (Zoe Graystone), Magda Apanowicz (Lacy Rand), Avan Jogia (Ben Stark), Polly Walker (Sister Clarice Willow), Sasha Roiz (Sam Adama), Brian Markinson (Jordan Duram), William B. Davis (Minister Chambers), Sina Najafi (William Adama), Jorge Montesi (The Guatrau), Hiro Kanagawa (Cyrus Xander), Genevieve Buechner (Tamara Adams), Anna Galvin (Shannon Adams), Katie Keating (Prefect Caston), Veena Sood (Secretary of Defense Joan Leyte), Karen Austin (Ruth), Nancy Kerr (Prosecutor), Terence Kelly (Mayor), Angela Moore (Judge), Josh Byer (Defendant), Vicky Lambert (Hecate), Jim Thomson (voice of Serge), Jared Keeso (Rod Jenkins), Kathryn Schellenberg (Dancer), Maiko Miyauchi (Dancer), Daina Ashbee (Dancer), Adrienne Chan (Dancer), Salma Allam (Dancers), Kirsten Wicklund (Dancer), Shawn Stewart (Dancer), Donald Sales (Dancer), Paul Becker (Dancer), Cara Long (V Club patron), Jay Devery (V Club patron), Keita Parker (V Club patron), Chelsea Darden (V Club patron), Megan Sehn (V Club patron), Chantal Ayre (V Club patron), Michelle Andrew (V Club patron), Eva Hartkoff (V Club patron)

Notes: Caprica takes place 58 years before the fall of Capirca as depicted in the Battlestar Galactica miniseries. Young William Adams would grow up to be Galactica’s Admiral William Adama, and his father Joseph wrote the legal texts that Lee Adama studied when he decided to change careers from career military to attorney. As with the re-imagined Galactica, Caprica assumes that the earliest Cylons resembled the “chrome suit” Cylons from the original 1970s incarnation of Battlestar Galactica. “Cylon” is revealed to be an acronym for “Cybernetic Lifeform Node”. Guest star William B. Davis is best-known in SF TV circles for his long-running recurring role as the X-Files’ sinister Cigarette Smoking Man. Esai Morales appeared alongside Edward James Olmos, who starred in Battlestar Galactica as the adult William Adama, in the acclaimed TV series American Family, as well as the 1995 film My Family. The premiere date assigned to this synopsis is that of the Caprica pilot movie’s 2009 DVD release date, several months prior to its broadcast premiere in 2010.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Reins Of A Waterfall

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CapricaAmanda Graystone’s public confession that she has discovered that her late daughter was a member of a monotheist extremist group called Soldiers of the One has wide-ranging effects. Graystone Industries’ stock plummets, and Amanda herself resigns from her position as a doctor to stay out of the public eye. Daniel Graystone fails to stay out of the public eye, and as a result, the next time he runs into Joseph and Sam Adama, he barely walks away from that meeting in one piece. With the Graystones distracted, Zoe – from the vantage point of her Cylon body – creates a way for her program to re-enter the virtual world. But it would seem that more people are aware of Zoe’s avatar than she expected… and more people are making unpleasant plans for Zoe’s father than he may realize.

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

Guest Cast: Patton Oswalt (Baxter Sarno), Avan Jogia (Ben Stark), Kendall Cross (), Peter Wingfield (Director Gara Singh), Luciana Carro (Pyrah), Genevieve Buechner (Tamara Adams), Teryl Rothery (Evelyn), Sina Najafi (William Adama), Hiro Kanagawa (Cyrus Xander)

Notes: A number of genre guest stars appear in this episode, from Peter Wingfield (Methos from the Highlander TV series) to Teryl Rothery (Stargate SG-1’s Dr. Fraiser) to former recurring Galactica guest star Luciana Carro, who appeared on Caprica’s parent series as hotshot pilot Louann “Kat” Katraine, who flew her last viper mission in 2006’s The Passage. It’s not known if her character, a PR expert hired to help Graystone Industries recover from a backlash of public opinion, is intended to be an ancestor of Kat’s. Patton Oswalt, a veteran of the sitcom The King Of Queens, joins the show’s recurring cast as an obnoxious late-night TV comedian.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Red Moon

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For All MankindJune 26, 1969: Around the world, people gather to watch live television coverage of the first moon landing carried out by human beings from Earth. The coverage is of particular interest to those at NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, where Mission Control is packed with engineers and Apollo astronauts, watching as Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov becomes the first man to set foot on the surface of the moon.

Everyone from the American public to President Nixon demands answers – what happened to NASA’s commanding lead in the race for the moon? Chief astronaut Deke Slayton and Wernher von Braun, the architect of NASA’s Saturn V rocket, find themselves facing the questions of the press. Apollo 10 astronaut Ed Baldwin, like many of the rest of his fellow astronauts, spend the following weekend drowning their sorrows and frustrations at the bar…but Baldwin makes the mistake of opening up to a reporter about how timid and risk-averse he feels NASA has become. When his comments make headlines, Baldwin is pulled from the flight rotation, losing his seat aboard Apollo 15…assuming there is an Apollo 15 following both the Soviets’ surprise victory. NASA and the rest of America continue to pin their hopes on the upcoming Apollo 11 mission, though any talk of ramping up that mission’s schedule is squelched by the need for the crew to not land in total darkness. If, for any reason, Apollo 11 fails, the American space program will likely fail with it.

For All Mankindteleplay by Ronald D. Moore
story by Ronald D. Moore & Matt Wolpert & Ben Nedivi
directed by Seth Gordon
music by Jeff Russo

Cast: Joel Kinnaman (Edward Baldwin), Michael Dorman (Gordo Stevens), Sarah Jones (Tracy Stevens), Shantel VanSanten (Karen Baldwin), Jodi Balfour (Ellen Waverly), Wrenn Schmidt (Margo Madison), Chris Bauer (Deke Slayton), Colm Feore (Wernher von Braun), Eric Ladin (Gene Kranz), Michael J. Harney (Jack Broadstreet), Dan Donohue (Thomas Paine), Arturo Del Puerto (Octavio Rosales), Olivia Trujillo (Aleida Rosales), Ben Begley (Charlie Duke), Rebecca Wisocky (Marge Slayton), Meghan Leathers (Pam Horton), Jeff Branson (Neil Armstrong), Chris Agos (Buzz Aldrin), Ryan Kennedy (Michael Collins), Noah Harpster (Bill Strausser), Nick Toren (Tim “Bird Dog” McKiernan), Daniel Scott Robbins (Hank Poppen), Deniz Akdeniz (Paul Santoro), Brandon Bales (Winston Blake), Dave Power (Frank Sedgewick), Nick Wechsler (Fred), Steven Pritchard (Pete Conrad), Spencer Garrett (Roger Scott), Teddy Blum (young Shane Baldwin), Tony Lewellen (Coop), Jason Scott David (young Daniel Stevens), William Lee Holler (young Jimmy Stevens), Graciana Rosales (Vanessa Lyon), Jeffrey Muller (Del), Max Barsness (Tommy), Christopher Wallinger (Harvey), Paolo Cesar (Guide), Christopher Kohls (Control Officer), Curtis Fortier (Reporter #1), Brian Houtz (Reporter #2), Laura Patalano (Teresa), Frank Gallegos (Angel), Margarita Reyes (Elena), Colton Castaneda (Jim)

For All MankindNotes: Best described as an alternate history of what would have unfolded following surprise Soviet steps on the lunar surface, For All Mankind is an exercise in total speculation and facts that have come to light since the real Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who had already made history as the first human spacewalker, was indeed the Soviets’ choice to command their first lunar mission, though repeated spectacular failures of the real N-1 rocket kept the Soviets from ever putting cosmonauts in lunar orbit, let alone landing there (launch attempts were made in February 1969, as noted in this episode’s dialogue, July 1969, June 1971, and November 1972). Additionally, Nixon’s speech – written for him in the event of the death of the Apollo 11 crew – was indeed real, written by White House speechwriter Bill Safire; the original document, repeated word-for-word in this episode, can be seen online in the National Archives.

Replaced by fictional alternates for dramatic purposes in this story were the actual crew of Apollo 10, astronauts Thomas Stafford, Gene Cernan, and John Young; of the three, only Stafford was still alive at the time this episode aired. Gene Kranz was indeed the lead flight controller on duty for the Apollo 11 landing, though he would become more famous for his relentless push to get the men of the doomed Apollo 13 mission home in 1970, which is the actual source of his quote, “Failure is not an option.” The Apollo Applications Program was a real program as well, and while it perhaps wasn’t as “sexy” as landing on the moon, it wasn’t viewed as “Siberia”, as it would beget such real missions as the Skylab space station program and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Apollo Applications was simply a typically dry name for a program that would have put the Apollo technology originally For All Mankinddeveloped for the moon landings to use for practical applications both closer to Earth, and further away, including long-duration lunar missions and even an audacious crewed orbital mission to Venus in an uprated Apollo command/service module, a mission which never left the drawing board; in real life, Apollo Applications would fall victim to President Nixon’s aggressive push for what was hoped would be a more cost-effective, reusable vehicle called the Space Shuttle.

Co-created by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Battlestar Galactica writer Ronald D. Moore, For All Mankind is staffed behind the scenes with a considerable number of alumni from both series, including writer/producers Naren Shankar, David Weddle, and Bradley Thompson, producer Steve Oster, technical consultant Michael Okuda, and casting director Junie Lowry-Johnson.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Hi Bob

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For All Mankind1974: The weeks have turned into months since the Apollo 23 accident, and the crew of NASA’s Jamestown lunar habitat has yet to be relieved. Continued delays and incidents on the ground have kept the three astronauts on the moon for much of 1974 with no relief in sight, while the Soviets’ Zvezda base, mere miles away, continues to function normally. Ed Baldwin, the mission commander, is growing paranoid about what the Soviet crew might be doing, while Gordo Stevens is gradually becoming more unhinged as his frequent video calls with Tracy on Earth make it seem like a divorce is inevitable, and he begins taking unscheduled, unauthorized walks on the lunar surface. Danielle Poole, the first African-American woman on the moon, is stuck between the two extremes, trying to make sense of both of their behavior. On Earth, the growing FBI scrutiny of everyone at NASA is poised to claim not one victim, but two, unless Larry Wilson and astronaut Ellen Waverly take very public steps to debunk the FBI’s claims about them – though those steps will have an immense personal cost for Ellen. When Baldwin finds evidence that the Zvezda cosmonauts have indeed been “visiting” the vicinity of Jamestown, his paranoia seems justified.

For All Mankindwritten by Ronald D. Moore
directed by Meera Menon
music by Jeff Russo

Cast: Joel Kinnaman (Edward Baldwin), Michael Dorman (Gordo Stevens), Sarah Jones (Tracy Stevens), Shantel VanSanten (Karen Baldwin), Jodi Balfour (Ellen Waverly), Wrenn Schmidt (Margo Madison), Wallace Langham (Harold Weisner), Krys Marshall (Danielle Poole), Meghan Leathers (Pam Horton), Nate Corddry (Larry Wilson), Edwin Hodge (Charlie Duke), Chris Agos (Buzz Aldrin), James Urbaniak (Agent Gavin Donahue), Andrea Walters (Megan Dodds), Tait Blum (Shane Baldwin), Michael James Bell (Principal Mike Russell), Dan Warner (General Arthur Weber), Benton Jennings (Judge), Matthew Downs (Police Officer)

For All MankindNotes: Writer and series co-creator Ronald D. Moore, who got his start writing for television after submitting a spec script to Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1989, peppers this episode with 1960s Star Trek references aplenty, including Poole’s TV trivia knowledge that actor John Fiedler had played Mr. Hengist in an episode of Star Trek (1967’s A Wolf In The Fold, to be precise), and Baldwin and Stevens remarking that nearly everywhere they go on the moon is “where no man has gone before”. Baldwin’s delivery of Poole and Stevens to a waiting (unoccupied) service module in lunar orbit via a LEM would imply that, in For All Mankind’s alternate timeline, LEMs are reusable, and the problem of relighting long-dormant, cold rocket engines – a problem that has plagued spacecraft engineers in real life through the present day – has been solved.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The End Is The Beginning

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Star Trek: Picard2385: In the wake of the synthetic life forms’ sneak attack on Mars, Admiral Picard and his second-in-command in the Romulan evacuation effort, Lt. Commander Rafi Musiker, push Starfleet Command hard to continue the evacuation effort. But the Federation seems to be more interested in immediately banning all synthetic life forms and leaving the Romulans to their fate. Picard offers to tender his resignation if the evacuation is halted; not only is his resignation accepted, but Rafi is discharged from Starfleet as well.

2399: In the absence of her Starfleet career, Rafi Musiker has turned to isolation, bitterness, and a variety of vices – at least until Picard shows up, hoping she knows of a ship for hire. But this is the first time in fourteen years that Picard has bothered to make contact, and her help is given only reluctantly, introducing Picard to ex-Starfleet privateer Captain Rios. On the Artifact – the Romulans’ name for the captured Borg cube – Soji Asha is granted a meeting with Ramdha, one of the very few Romulans ever to have been assimilated by the Borg. Scarred by her experiences, Ramdha is not exactly stable, and worse yet, Soji brings information to the conversation that she really shouldn’t have, without knowing why. She seeks the comfort of the Romulan named Narek, unaware that he is in league with a Romulan who has infiltrated the ranks of Starfleet, and they are trying to discover what other hidden knowledge Soji has without “activating” her as the assault on her sister activated Dahj. Romulan assassins make an attempt on Picard’s life at his chateau, only to be bested by Laris and Zhaban, with an unlikely assist from Dr. Agnes Jurati, who was coming to pay Picard a visit to ask to join him in his search for missing cyberneticist Bruce Maddox.

Order DVDswritten by Michael Chabon & James Duff
directed by Hanelle L. Culpepper
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Michelle Hurd (Rafi Musiker), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Harry Treadaway (Narek), Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh), Peyton List (Narissa), Jamie McShane (Zhaban), Tamlyn Tomita (Commodore Oh), Rebecca Wisocky (Ramdha), Orla Brady (Laris), Sumalee Montano (Soji’s Mother), Graham Shiels (Tal Shiar Operative), Son Of Lee (Guard)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: This is Hugh’s first appearance since the 1993 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Descent Part II; he first appeared – and was infected with a trojan horse designed to dissolve at least part of the Borg collective – in 1992‘s I, Borg. In his prior appearances, as well as this episode, he was played by Jonathan Del Arco. Tamlyn Tomita was part of the cast of the 1993 pilot movie that launched competing sci-fi franchise Babylon 5; neither she nor her character, the space station’s Star Trek: Picardoriginal first officer, continued past that pilot. At the time of Star Trek: Picard’s premiere, Rebecca Wisocky had also recently guest starred in several episodes of the Apple TV+ streaming series For All Mankind, co-created by former Star Trek: The Next Generation writer Ronald D. Moore. Vasquez Rocks has been a staple of previous Star Trek series, appearing as various alien worlds in such episodes as the 1967 episode Arena and 1989‘s Next Generation episode Who Watches The Watchers?, but this is its first appearance as Vasquez Rocks.(

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Episode 10 (Fit The Tenth)

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Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Secondary PhaseThe Heart of Gold escapes the Vogons by using the Infinite Improbability Drive, materializing in what looks like a cave on the planet Brontitall. Technically, though, it’s not on the planet – it’s 13 miles above the planet, as Arthur discovers when he falls out of the opening. Luckily for him, he lands on the back of a large and apparently sentient bird, who informs him that he’s actually just fallen out of a statue. When Arthur sees the statue in full, he’s aghast to see it’s a representation of himself, throwing a cup of badly made synthetic tea from the Heart of Gold’s nutrimat. Every oriface of the anatomically correct statue has become home to this race of intelligent birds. Much to his alarm, Arthur finds that he may have changed the very course of evolution on Brontitall, and he also finds that an archaeologist named Lintilla is currently attempting to work out quite how he did it.

Order this CDwritten by Douglas Adams
directed by Alick Hale-Munro
music by Paddy Kingsland

Cast: Peter Jones (The Voice of the Book), Simon Jones (Arthur Dent), Geoffrey McGivern (Ford Prefect), Mark Wing-Davey (Zaphod Beeblebrox), Stephen Moore (Marvin), David Tate (Eddie), Ronald Baddiley (Bird One), John Baddeley (Bird Two / Foot Warrior), Rula Lenska (Lintilla), John Le Mesurier (Wise Old Bird)

Notes: It may surprise Hitchhiker’s fans to learn that it wasn’t until this episode of the radio series that the now-legendary tirade on uses for the towel was introduced to the Hitchhiker mythos, along with the words “hoopy” and “frood.”

Experiment #102: The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy w/ Moon Rocket

Posted on by Philip R. Frey

Season 1
MST3K Story: Dr. Forrester is preparing for his trip to the Mad Scientists Convention and Dr. Erhardt warns him against blowing the convention up again this time. (Dr. F counters that he only did that twice; the third time he used incendiaries so it just burned quickly.) When they contact the SOL, Joel shows off his airbag helmet, with the Mads countering with the Chalkman, a nails-on-chalkboard device. After a demonstration of Deep 13’s new security system that leaves both scientists injured, they send the movie; this time, with an episode of a serial before the main feature. When they get out of the theater, Joel and the Bots find that the SOL has been covered by “Demon Dogs”, strange skeletal space canines, whose presence is proving a danger to the ship. Tom convinces the others that he can reason with the creatures, but due to his fire hydrant-inspired design, the results are disastrous (and as icky as you might think). Eventually, the leader of the dog people, Enoch, comes on board the SOL and explains that they had traveled across the vastness of space to do worship to the “giant bone” and to bury it on the Moon. Apparently, they were tricked by the SOL’s dogbone shape and were not expecting it to be inhabited. Despite Joel and Enoch’s attempts to make peace, things don’t go well. Crow acts insultingly towards Enoch and Tom is still upset over the Demon Dogs’ earlier behavior. Things really go south, though, when Gypsy shows up and eats Enoch. Joel then decides to send Crow out to talk to the Demon Dogs, since he’s the only one who looks remotely like Enoch, but they are not fooled and treat Crow much the same as they did Tom Servo. As they watch the end of the movie, a Demon Dog makes its way into the theater, driving them out. They emerge to find that the SOL has been overrun. Joel decides to jettison a giant ball-shaped piece of equipment and the Demon Dogs give chase. All seems fine until Tom Servo reminds him that playing fetch usually involves chasing and then bringing back. Joel seems unhappy with the results of the experiment, but the Mads are satisfied.

Moon Rocket Story: Mr. Henderson, a powerful government official, informs Commando Cody and his team that a series of mysterious explosions seem to originate from the Moon. Cody investigates, tracking down and capturing the alien ray gun being used by the agents of the Moon operating on Earth. Once the Moon connection is confirmed, Cody decides to take a rocket and investigate the Moon directly. He and his team land on the Moon and Cody uses his rocket suit to find the aliens’ headquarters, where he is caught in a trap by Retik, the leader of the Moon.

The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy Story: Dr. Eduardo Almada brings together several of his fellow scientists to explain his most recent experiences. He had recently put his wife, Flora, under hypnosis and discovered that she had a former life as Xochi, a maiden during the times of the Aztecs. Xochi had been in love with a man named Popoca and, despite her vows of purity and destiny to be sacrificed to the gods, they broke Aztec law and tried to run away together. For their crimes, he was sentenced to being mummified alive and she was put to death. Using the knowledge obtained from Flora, Dr. Almada had led a small expedition into the temple and acquired a cursed breastplate from Xochi’s remains. When he returned later for a necklace needed to translate the inscription on the plate, he found that he had awoken the mummy of Popoca. The mummy followed Dr. Almada to his home and kidnapped Flora, thinking she was Xochi. But Dr. Almada and his friends were able to rescue her. Unknown to Dr. Almada, one of his fellow scientists, Dr. Krupp, had become determined to steal the Aztec treasure. First, he kidnapped Flora and forced Dr. Almada to translate the hieroglyphics on the Aztec treasure. But his plans were ruined when the mummy arrived and rescued Flora and the doctor. Krupp managed to escape and next hypnotized Flora, using her mental connection to the mummy to locate it. Although Dr. Almada realized what Krupp had done, he could not deduce why Krupp had not tried to steal the treasure. He explains to his fellow scientists that five years have passed since that time and there has been no sign of Krupp. But clues lead him to deduce that Krupp is working on a plan that goes beyond mere treasure. In the past five years, Krupp has found a way to bring dead tissue back to life. He has used this knowledge to build a “human robot” that he believes will allow him to conquer the world. As a test of his robot’s power, he sets it against the mummy of Popoca. The two monsters clash and the robot seems to be overpowering the mummy when the police arrive and shoot the control device out of Krupp’s hands. The mummy is then able to easily destroy the robot and Krupp. Flora gives the treasure back to the mummy and he returns to his eternal rest.

MST3K segments written by Trace Beaulieu, Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, Kevin Murphy, Mike Nelson and Josh (J. Elvis) Weinstein
MST3K segments director unknown

Moon Rocket written by Ronald Davidson
Moon Rocket directed by Fred C. Brannon
Moon Rocket music by Stanley Wilson

The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy written by Alfredo Salazar and Guillermo Calderón
The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy directed by Rafael Portillo
The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy music by Antonio Díaz Conde

MST3K Guest Cast: Jim Mallon (Enoch)

Moon Rocket Cast: George Wallace (Commando Cody), Aline Towne (Joan Gilbert), Roy Barcroft (Retik), William Bakewell (Ted Richards), Clayton Moore (Graber), Peter Brocco (Krog), Robert R. Stephenson (Daly), Don Walters (Mr. Henderson)

The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy Cast: Ramón Gay (Dr. Eduardo Almada), Roda Arenas (Flora Almada / Xochi), Crox Alvaredo (Pinacate), Luis Aceves Castañeda (Dr. Krupp), Jorge Mondragón (Dr. Sepúlveda), Arturo Martínez (Tierno), Emma Roldán (Maria), Julián de Meriche (Comandante), Ángel Di Stefani (Popoca, the Mummy)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

Experiment #103 – The Mad Monster w/ Molten Terror

Posted on by Philip R. Frey

Season 1
MST3K Story: The Mads are discussing the events that drove them mad just before calling Joel, who has a nifty invention: the Hell in a Handbag. The Mads counter with the Acetaline-Powered Thunder Lizard. After watching the serial episode, Tom comes across the love of his life: a blender. He is put off by Joel drinking out of her head. The movie confuses Tom because it doesn’t make it clear as to whether the monster is killing people or just mauling them. Joel explains that older movies left that to the viewers imagination. They continue discussing the various aspects of lycanthropy. Later on, Joel is inspired by the movie to switch Crow and Tom’s heads, much to their annoyance. After the film, Joel offers the bots RAM chips if they can name a good thing and a bad thing about the film. But they keep arguing, so Joel decides no one deserves them. Not even the Mads are pleased, given the death of the film’s mad scientist.

Molten Terror Story: Cody is able to escape from the villainous moon leader, Retik. He consults with his crew and then returns to the moon base and steals Retik’s ray gun. But as he makes his escape, Cody hides in a cave where Retik is able to turn the rock into molten lava, trapping our hero inside.

Mad Monster Story: Dr. Lorenzo Cameron has been experimenting on his handyman, Petro, injecting him with a serum derived from wolves. After Petro transforms into a wolfman, Dr. Cameron imagines a conversation with his fellow scientists who rejected him and his theories. Dr. Cameron’s daughter Lenora, meanwhile, expresses her concerns over his activities and her desire to return to the city. When he next uses the serum, Dr. Cameron lets Petro loose in his wolf form and the monster kills a child. This arouses the suspicions of Tom Gregory, Lenora’s reporter boyfriend, who visits Professor Blaine, one of Dr. Cameron’s detractors. Shortly after this meeting, Dr. Cameron arrives with Petro in tow, supposedly to prove his theory to Blaine. He leaves Petro to kill Blaine, intending to use the monster to settle all of his old scores. Despite the doctor’s efforts, Tom’s investigations inevitably lead straight to Dr. Cameron, who has continued to use Petro in his plans for revenge. But Petro eventually goes wild, attacking Lenora, setting Dr. Cameron’s house on fire and killing the doctor.

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

Molten Terror written by Ronald Davidson
Molten Terror directed by Fred C. Brannon
Molten Terror music by Stanley Wilson

The Mad Monster written by Fred Myton
The Mad Monster directed by Sam Newfield
The Mad Monster music by David Chudnow

MST3K Guest Cast: none

Molten Terror Cast: George Wallace (Commando Cody), Aline Towne (Joan Gilbert), Roy Barcroft (Retik), William Bakewell (Ted Richards), Clayton Moore (Graber), Peter Brocco (Krog), Robert R. Stephenson (Daly), Don Walters (Mr. Henderson)

The Mad Monster Cast: Johnny Downs (Tom Gregory), George Zucco (Dr. Lorenzo Cameron), Anne Nagel (Lenora Cameron), Glenn Strange (Petro), Reginald Barlow (Professor Warwick), Robert Strange (Professor Blaine), Gordon DeMain (Professor Fitzgerald)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey.