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Space: Above And Beyond

The Angriest Angel

Space: Above And BeyondThe rumors about Chiggy Von Richtoven have fast become fact – the alien flying ace is all to real and far too deadly. When a potential new weapon to use against the alien’s stealthier-than-usual fighter is developed, McQueen personally volunteers to take the point, going head to head with Chiggy Von Richtoven. Ross refuses permission, and McQueen takes it upon himself to perform this duty anyway…but is he prepared for the possibility that this new weapon may not work, and he could become the latest victim of the alien warrior?

Order the DVDwritten by Glen Morgan & James Wong
directed by Henri Safran
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Doug Hutchison (Elroy EL), Robert Crow (Controller), Tasia Valenza (Winslow), Randy Stone (Spud), Michael Mantell (Howard Sewell), David Ramsey (Supervisor), Charmin Lee (Colonel Schrader), James Black (Security Operator), Gunther Jensen (Engineer), David St. James (Broden), John L. Bennett (Guard), Edmund Shaff (Chaplain), Dane Farwell (Technician), David Jean Thomas (Alcott), William Bradberry Jr. (Gunnery Sergeant), Rob Elk (Mr. Saber)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

Toy Soldiers

Space: Above And BeyondNathan West is appalled when a lineup of new recruits includes his younger brother, Neil, who enlisted without saying a word to his older brother. To make matters worse, Nathan quickly finds out for himself that Neil’s CO is gunning for glory – even if it costs him the lives of those under his command.

Order the DVDwritten by Marilyn Osborn
directed by Stephen Posey
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Marc Worden (Neil West), Al Garrett (Donovan), David Barrera (2nd Lt. Herrick), Steven Jang (Intelligence Officer Connor), Michael Malota (Young Nathan), Christian Hoff (Miller), Adam Sutton (Young Neil), P.J. Ochlan (Eichler)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

Dear Earth

Space: Above And BeyondIn the midst of a mail call, Hawkes and McQueen resign themselves to being left out of the festivities – there are no families to write letters from home to in vitros. But the two then face an even worse dilemma. In an effort to bring order to the ranks, the top brass have decided to make a motivational film about the efforts of in vitros fighting alongside natural born humans in the war against the Chigs. Hawkes buys into the idea of becoming a role model for his people, but McQueen wants nothing to do with the documentary.

Order the DVDwritten by Richard Whitley
directed by Winrich Kolbe
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Steve Hytner (Reporter), Robert Crow (Crow), Charles Carpenter (Cameraman), Gibson Frazier (Ed), Loren Chase (Mrs. West), Darren Gray Ward (Lt. John Hill), Kate McCalley (Doctor), Bob Clendenin (Mank), Scott Heath Dorel (Sailor #1), John Battle (Supply sergeant), Jermaine Mentell (Sailor #2), Jennifer Burns (Ann), Michael Wachtel (Marine #1), Rock Reiser (Armed guard), Ted Mann (Slow Talker), Carl Gilliard (Ophthalmologist)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

Pearly

Space: Above And BeyondUnder fire on the planet Minerva, the 58th take shelter in a tank dubbed “Pearly,” piloted by the only surviving member of its original crew. With the Chigs hot on their trail, the Marines’ only hope of survival is the well-worn tank. But a small group of AIs is also on Minerva, and they see Pearly’s power supply as their own salvation – and even if it means forcing the humans to sacrifice their own safety and their only means of defense, the AIs won’t hesitate to take it.

Order the DVDwritten by Richard Whitley
directed by Charles Martin Smith
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Doug Hutchison (Elroy El), Martin Jarvis (Major Cyril MacKendrick), Adam Goldberg (Sgt. Louie Fox), Guy Garner (Marine), Kimberly Patton (Feliciti)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

R & R

Space: Above And BeyondA disastrous meeting with Chig fighters on a routine patrol leaves Hawkes seriously wounded – and leaves Ross with only one conclusion: the 58th has reached a point of total burnout. The Wild Cards are given a weekend of R&R aboard Bacchus, a mobile pleasure center. Some of the 58th find it hard to resist the temptation to stay there, but one of them is even worse off. Injected with human drugs by a doctor who didn’t realize he was an in vitro, Hawkes becomes a danger to himself, his career, and his comrades in arms.

Order the DVDwritten by Julie Selbo
directed by Thomas J. Wright
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Janet Gunn (Suzie), Jennifer Crystal (Nurse Larlee), Coolio (Host), Julius Branca (Bartender), Vincent Guastaferro (Man), David Scott Gordon (Guy), David Duchovny (Alvin)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

Stardust

Space: Above And BeyondWhen the 58th is forced to scrub a mission because their fighters haven’t been prepped, they begin to feel uneasy. This suspicion grows as stranger things begin happening – including a surveillance device found in the cockpit of Vansen’s ship. The presence of high-level visitors aboard the Saratoga adds to their paranoia. All of their ships have been bugged, as it turns out, but when those bugs are removed, a routine escort mission becomes a firefight. Is someone in the command ranks trying to take out the 58th?

Order the DVDwritten by Howard Grigsby
directed by Jesus Trevino
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Ronald G. Joseph (General Oliver Radford), Tim Hutchinson (Military Officer), David A. R. White (Ensign Lewis), Edmund L. Shaff (Chaplain), Eric Whitmore (Commando), Pato Hoffmann (James Dark Moon), Christopher Kirby (Technician), Robert Crow (Officer Crow), Onico Edain (Colonel)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

Sugar Dirt

Space: Above And BeyondThe 58th is assigned to play just a small part of a massive Earth effort to take a Chig airstrip on Demios. Though seemingly insignificant, control of that installation guarantees control of the surrounding sector. Though the invasion is expected to come at the price of a great loss of life, the airstrip is taken with great ease and very little resistance. Only when the 58th sets up shop at the airstrip do they realize that their target is a trap designed to lure as many Earth carriers to this sector as possible for a Chig ambush – and help may never come.

Order the DVDwritten by Matt Kiene & Joe Reinkemeyer
directed by Thomas J. Wright
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Granville Van Dusen (General Weirick), Iqbal Theba (General Siraj), Jennifer Balgobin (Lt. Rice), Bill Kalmenson (Commander Preising), Mark Adair Rios (Lt. Smith), David St. James (Admiral Broden), Josh Abramson (Lt. Nelson), David Jean Thomas (General Alcott), David Cooley (Lt. Feeley), Edmund L. Shaff (Chaplain), Keith Rosary (LIDAR Operator), James Kiriyama-Lem (General Ming), Chrisopher Villa (Marine), Nancy Linehan Charles (Admiral Vetter)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Classic Series TV Movie Doctor Who

Doctor Who (1996 TV Movie)

Doctor WhoBefore he is executed by the Daleks for crimes against them, the Master asks that his remains be given to the Doctor for transport to Gallifrey. En route in the Doctor’s TARDIS, the Master’s remains break free of their container, still pulsating with malevolent life. The Master sabotages the TARDIS, forcing an emergency landing in San Francisco on December 30, 1999. The moment he steps out of the TARDIS, the Doctor is caught in the middle of a gang shooting. One young survivor of the shootout, Chang Lee, calls an ambulance for the Doctor, unwittingly providing an escape for the Master as well. Cardiologist Grace Holloway ignores the X-rays which show the Doctor’s two hearts and tries to operate on him. The operation and the anasthetics end the Doctor’s seventh life. The Doctor regenerates in the morgue as the Master takes over the body of a paramedic. Grace resigns after losing her patient, but the newly reborn Doctor, suffering from amnesia, escapes the hospital and follows her home. After convincing Grace of his alien nature and regaining his memory, the Doctor discovers that his future regenerations are the Master’s targets. Aided by Chang Lee and a hypnotized Grace, the Master captures the Doctor and tries to use the TARDIS’ Eye of Harmony to transfer the Doctor’s life energy into the paramedic’s decaying body, but opening the Eye on Earth will destroy the planet at midnight on December 31. When Chang Lee rebels against the Master’s dominance, the Master kills him and releases Grace to help him. Grace escapes and sets the TARDIS into motion, freeing Earth from danger. The Master’s scheme fails, but he kills Grace after she releases the Doctor. The Master falls into the Eye of Harmony and vanishes from existence, while the TARDIS restores Grace and Chang Lee to full health. The Doctor brings his passengers back to Earth just after the dawn of the year 2000. Grace turns down the Doctor’s offer to accompany him on his travels, and the Doctor departs in the TARDIS.

written by Matthew Jacobs
directed by Geoffrey Sax
music by John Debney, John Sponsler and Louis Febre

Doctor WhoCast: Paul McGann (The Doctor), Eric Roberts (The Master), Daphne Ashbrook (Dr. Grace Halloway), Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Yee Jee Tso (Chang Lee), John Novak (Salinger), Michael David Simms (Dr. Swift), Eliza Roberts (Miranda), Gordon Tipple (The Old Master), Dave Hurtubise (Professor Wagg), Jeremy Badick (Gareth), Dolores Drake (Curtis), Catherine Lough (Wheeler), William Sasso (Pete), Joel Wirkkunen (Ted), Mi-Jung Lee (TV Anchor), Joanna Piros (TV Anchor), Bill Croft (Cop), Ron James (Motorbike Cop/Driver), Dee Jay Jackson (Security Guy), Darryl Avon (Gangster), Byron Lawson (Gangster), Paul Wu (Gangster), Johnny Mam (Gangster), Michael Ching (Chang Lee’s Friend), Dean Choe (Chang Lee’s Friend), Danny Groesclose (Driver)

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

And If They Lay Us To Rest…

Space: Above And BeyondAn elaborate mission to draw a large portion of the Chig defense away from their home planet is falling right into place. The Wild Cards are sent in to place landing beacons on a Chig-occupied moon which will be the Earth forces’ next target. Not only do they fend off a Chig ground patrol, but they discover a new life form of a kind never seen. Suddenly, the attack on this moon brings up the possibility of genocide…but even if a way can be found to warn the seemingly gentle, harmless creatures of the impending assault, nobody knows if the beings can be trusted not to share that information with the enemy.

Order the DVDwritten by Glen Morgan & James Wong
directed by Vern Gillum
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Don Pugsley (Colonel Rabwin), Derek Mark Lochran (Pasty), Robert Crow (Communications officer)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space: Above And Beyond

…Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best

Space: Above And BeyondThe war takes a turning point when a Chig ambassador arrives aboard the Saratoga, ready to talk about the possibility of peace. As the members of the 58th idly fantasize – or worry – about returning to peacetime life, the negotiations grow more intense. The survivors of the Tellus colony – Nathan West’s lover among them – become a bargaining chip, and are launched back toward Earth space. But when the talks break down and the war resumes, the Tellus colonists are now easy targets within easy reach of both Earth forces and the Chigs. West is determined to get there first, no matter the cost.

Order the DVDwritten by Glen Morgan & James Wong
directed by Vern Gillum
music by Shirley Walker

Guest Cast: Richard Fancy (E. Allen Wayne), Elliot Woods (Weapon specialist), Chris Ellis (Admiral Stenner), Steve Monroe (Engineer), Amanda Douge (Kylen), Marlon Chopper Young (Sentry), Harriet Sansom Harris (Diane Hayden), Lisa Talerico (Sgt. Parker), Don Pugsley (Colonel Rabwin), Amy Loubalu (Sentry #2), Reggie Hayes (Wallace), J. Patrick McCormack (Frank Shaffner), Tom Ayers (German Colonist), Derek Mark Lochran (Chig envoy), Christopher Boyer (Colonist), David Jean Thomas (General Alcott), Lawrence T. Wrentz (Sims), Robert Crow (Lt. Pruitt), Nilla Westerlund (Reporter)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Firefly Season 1

The Train Job

FireflyRiver is plagued by bad dreams of her time at the Alliance academy, as well as bouts of seeming incoherence where she mutters about men with hands of blue, coming two by two. Mal continues an annual tradition by getting into a bar fight with Alliance supporters on Unification Day, the celebration of the final defeat of the Independents. With that taken care of, the crew moves on to its real job, a train heist on behalf of Adlai Niska. Their employer leaves no doubt in Mal’s mind as to what he does to people who fail to meet his expectations. Mal and Zoe ride the train and discover that a number of Alliance troops are on board, which only makes the job more appealing for him. Jayne breaks into the train from above, with the plan being for Serenity to haul the cargo and the three of them up. When one of the troops gets the jump on them, Jayne calls for an early pull-up, leaving Mal and Zoe behind. They blend back in with the other passengers, all of whom are held for questioning at the train’s next stop. Jayne wants to proceed to the rendezvous point immediately, while the rest of the crew tries to figure out a way to save Mal and Zoe first. Even if their cunning plan succeeds, questioning from the local sheriff is enough to give Mal second thoughts about completing the deal.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Joss Whedon and Tim Minear
directed by Joss Whedon
music by Greg Edmonson

Guest Cast: Tom Towles (Lund), Andrew Bryniarski (Crow), Michael Fairman (Niska), Gregg Henry (Bourne)

Notes: This was the first episode of Firefly broadcast by Fox. It was written as a replacement for the original pilot, Serenity. An introduction to the overall setting, narrated by Book, began appearing before the teaser with this episode. These opening narrations do not appear on the DVD release.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Firefly Season 1

Bushwacked

FireflyThe crew finds a derelict colony ship; Mal decides to check it out to look for survivors and potentially valuable loot. At first, the ship appears to be simply deserted, but when Mal and Zoey enter the cargo hold, they not only find the would-be settlers valuable supplies – they find their bodies as well. Mal recognizes the bodies as Reaver victims. They find a single survivor and bring him back to Serenity; Shepherd Book tries to lay the victims to rest while Kaylee works to bypass a booby trap that could destroy Serenity. All these chores take time, and before they can leave the derelict behind, an Alliance ship appears and boards them. The doctor and River hide outside Serenity, which unnerves him as much as it delights her. The Alliance captain suspects Mal of killing the crew as an act of spite and vengeance . . . until the tormented survivor demonstrates that he’s left his sanity behind and become a threat to both crews.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Tim Minear
directed by Tim Minear
music by Greg Edmonson

Guest Cast: Branden Morgan (The Survivor), Doug Savant (Alliance Captain Harken)

Notes: This episode features Book’s opening narration.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Firefly Season 1

Our Mrs. Reynolds

FireflyThe crew of Serenity helps a small town on Triumph fend off a group of bandits, and are rewarded with an evening of celebration. When they depart the next day, they discover that they have another passenger on board: a girl named Saffron who claims to be Mal’s wife. Book confirms that part of the party the night before was actually a wedding ceremony. At first the crew is amused by Mal’s plight. But as he tries to maintain his composure and reassure Saffron that she shouldn’t take his negative feelings toward marriage personally, tension starts mounting aboard the ship. Jayne seems desperate to trade for Mal’s “prize,” Zoe is none too pleased with Saffron’s matrimonial example, and Inara is considerably tenser than usual. When Saffron almost seals Mal’s fate with a kiss, the truth comes out. The innocent bride is playing them all, and leading them right into a trap.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Joss Whedon
directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall
music by Greg Edmonson

Guest Cast: Christina Hendricks (Saffron), Benito Martinez (Boss), Erik Passoja (Bree)

Notes: This episode features Book’s introductory narration.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Firefly Season 1

War Stories

FireflyFrustrated by the bond between old war vets Mal and Zoe, Wash insists on going on a job with Mal. Mal figures a sale of some of the medicine they stole from Ariel will be a safe enough milk run to indulge his pilot. Unfortunately, Niska’s men get word that Mal is in the area; they kill the buyers and kidnap Mal and Wash. As Niska tortures the two men, Mal tries to keep Wash distracted by continuing the argument about Zoe; Zoe, meanwhile, arrives on Niska’s station to try and ransom the two. Niska will only free one; Zoe chooses Wash, but Niska is nice enough to give her Mal’s ear as well. When they return to Serenity, the entire crew chooses to mount a rescue, a plan that has no right to work – but thanks to unlikely contributions from two of the crew, it just might.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Cheryl Cain
directed by James Contner
music by Greg Edmonson

Guest Cast: Michael Fairman (Niska), Katherine Kendall (Councillor), Rolando Molina (Black Market Buyer)

Notes: Mal drew Niska’s ire in The Train Job. This episode festures Mal’s opening narration.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Firefly Season 1

Jaynestown

FireflyWhen Serenity lands on the mud-farming planet of Canton, Jayne is unusually cautious. A job of his a few years back didn’t quite go smoothly, and he’s concerned the local magistrate hasn’t let go of the grudge. The ruler of this company town has other things on his mind for the moment, like hiring Inara to help his son “become a man.” Mal, Jayne, Kaylee and Wash head into town to meet their contact. They bring Simon along to pose as a would-be buyer; they leave River in Book’s care, which raises its own issues. In town, Mal and the crew run into two obstacles. For starters, their contact has been killed by the magistrate. That wouldn’t be too much of an issue, since an associate has stepped in to finish the deal. But it turns out that botched job turned Jayne into a folk hero, when he dumped a considerable sum of money into the impoverished townspeople’s lap. And when those folks see their hero is back, it puts the kibosh on any chance of Serenity sneaking out of town quietly. Especially when the magistrate lets loose a man who holds an even bigger grudge against Jayne than he does.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Ben Edlund
directed by Marita Grabiak
music by Greg Edmonson

Guest Cast: Gregory Itzin (Magistrate Higgins), Daniel Bess (Mudder), Kevin Gage (Stitch Hessian)

Notes: This episode features Book’s introductory narration.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer