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Sense8

Limbic Resonance

Sense8Across the world, eight people begin having vivid visions of a woman in the last moments of her life – the last moments before she takes her own life before her pursuers catch up with her. In Chicago, in London, in Mumbai, in Seoul, in Kenya, and elsewhere, eight otherwise unconnected men and women witness the suicide as if they were there. Then they begin seeing each other, or momentarily seeing things from one another’s perspectives, with no explanation for why this has started to happen. A Chicago cop, rattled by a recent experience on his beat, sees a DJ from London appear in the abandoned church where they both realize the suicide occurred. But every vision and every shared experience ends, sometimes leaving them stranded in desperate situations…and with inexplicable new perspectives.

Just before she takes her own life, the woman named Angelica is confronted by two men – one who knows she must remain in hiding, the other who is looking for her. Both men will be looking for the others, whose awakening awareness of one anothers’ presence has just begun.

Order the DVDswritten by The Wachowskis & J. Michael Straczynski
directed by The Wachowskis
music by Johnny Klimek & Tom Tykwer
additional music by Gabriel Isaac Mounsey and Ethan Stoller

Cast: Aml Ameen (Capheus van Damn), Doona Bae (Sun Bak), Jamie Clayton (Nomi Marks), Tina Desai (Kala Dandekar), Tuppence Middleton (Riley Blue), Max Riemelt (Wolfgang Bogdanow), Miguel Angel Silvestre (Lito Rodriguez), Brian J. Smith (Will Gorski), Freema Agyeman (Amanita), Terrance Mann (Mr. Whispers), Anupam Kher (Sanyam Dandekar), Naveen Andrews (Jonas), Daryl Hannah (Angelica), Max Mauff (Felix), Ness Bautista (Diego), Joseph Mawle (Nyx), Paul Ogola (Jela), Christian Oliver (Steiner), Matt Stokoe (Jacks), William Burker (Deshawn), Felicia Fields (Head Nurse), Margot Thorne (Sara Patrell), Maxwell Jenkins (young Will), Katrin Sara Olafsdottir (young Riley), Edward Ashley (Nocker), Chichi Seii (Shiro), Margaret Akech (Older Woman), Godfrey Ojiamo Muyungi (Passenger), T.K. Kitana (Hawker), Sylvester Groth (Sergei), Marina Weis (Sergei’s Wife), Matthew Burton (Dunkle), Rainer Reiners (Priest), Viola Meinecke (Teacher), Bernhard Schutz (Anton), Rafaela da Silva (Natalie), Lenius Jung (young Wolfgang), Georg Ebinal (Steiner’s Bodyguard), Ari Brickman (Director), Cassandra Sanchez Navarro (Nun), Arnoldo Picazzo (Padre), Rocio Garcia (Key Makeup Artist), Jeronimo Best (Assistant Director), Ki-Chan Lee (Joong-Ki), Heon Tae Jeon (Yuen Tan-Wu), Hana Hwang (Sun’s Assistant), Sean Dorsey (Sean), Jamison Green (Jamison), Shawna Virago (Shawna), Tina D’Elia (Dyke #1), Jeanette Aguilar (Dyke #2), Max Kelly (Dyke #3), Tino Rodriguez (Green Fairy), Virgo Paraiso (Purple Fairy)

Sense8Notes: Created by the Wachowski siblings (The Matrix trilogy, Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending) and J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Crusade, Jeremiah), Sense8 was pitched to traditional cable outlets before landing at Netflix, which expanded the show’s ten-episode order to twelve at the showrunners’ request. All twelve episodes premiered on June 5th, 2015 via Netflix’s streaming service, the latest of several major series to bypass existing broadcast and cable channels altogether. This was Straczynski’s first TV project since his frustrating experiences working on Jeremiah for MGM; he had worked chiefly in movies (Thor, World War Z, Changeling) and major comics titles in the interim. Naveen Andrews was previously one of the stars of Lost, while Freema Agyeman had traveled aboard the TARDIS as Martha Jones in Doctor Who. Daryl Hannah has a long list of big-screen credits, including several genre movies (Blade Runner, Memoirs Of An Invisible Man), while Brian J. Smith was one of the stars of Stargate Universe.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Sense8

I Am Also A We

Sense8Officer Will Gorski’s growing obsession with the site of the suicide he experienced is interrupted by a visit from the Department of Homeland Security, briefing the Chicago PD on the presence in Chicago of a dangerous man known as Jonas Maliki. No information is provided about why he is wanted, so it’s a huge surprise to Nomi when she spots Jonas staring intently at her at a LGBQT pride parade, causing her to fall from the back of a motorcycle. The hospital only allows Nomi’s birth family to see her, denying her girlfriend Amanta’s requests to see her. Nomi’s mother – who insists on called Nomi by her male birth name – reveals that a growth has been found in Nomi’s brain, a growth that the doctors feel must be removed immediately. Jonas appears to Nomi, telling her that she must not allow the surgery to happen. Around the world, Riley, Lito and Kala each face their own personal crises, trapped by society’s expectations or more direct dangers. Jonas appears to Gorski, telling the rookie cop that what he thinks he knows about Jonas is wrong.

Order the DVDswritten by The Wachowskis & J. Michael Straczynski
directed by The Wachowskis
music by Johnny Klimek & Tom Tykwer
additional music by Gabriel Isaac Mounsey and Ethan Stollar

Cast: Aml Ameen (Capheus van Damn), Doona Bae (Sun Bak), Jamie Clayton (Nomi Marks), Tina Desai (Kala Dandekar), Tuppence Middleton (Riley Blue), Max Riemelt (Wolfgang Bogdanow), Miguel Angel Silvestre (Lito Rodriguez), Brian J. Smith (Will Gorski), Freema Agyeman (Amanita), Terrance Mann (Mr. Whispers), Anupam Kher (Sanyam Dandekar), Naveen Andrews (Jonas), Daryl Hannah (Angelica), Purab Kohli (Rajan Rasal), Ness Bautista (Diego), William Burke (Deshawn), Sandra Fish (Janet), Anfonso Herrera (Hernando), Erendira Ibarra (Daniela), Adam Shapiro (Dr. Metzger), Ron Dean (Duke), Cedric Young (Friend #1), Danny Goldring (Friend #2), Howie Johnson (Miller), Larry Clarke (Police Captain), Kevin R. Kelly (Agent Stiles), Maxwell Jenkins (young Will), Eddie Martinez (Convenience Attendant), Darshan Jariwala (Manendra Rasal), Natasha Rastogi (Priya Dandekar), Huzane Mewawala (Daya Dandekar), Mita Vasisht (Sahana Rasal), Shruti Bapna (Devi), Amy Mubul (Anja), Max Mauff (Felix), Wanja Gotz (Thug), Avantika Akerkar (Aunty Ina), Dilnaz Irani (Lab Co-Worker #1), Palomi Ghosh (Lab Co-Worker #2), Rene Azuela (Cristina), Annie Munch (Teagan), Tara Mallen (Day Nurse), Hanna Dworkin (Surgical Nurse), Masahin Munor (Lola)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stranger Things

The Vanishing Of Will Byers

Stranger ThingsNovember 6, 1983: An incident occurs at the Hawkins National Lab in Hawkins, Indiana. Something beyond the lab’s control escapes into the surrounding suburbs.

A marathon weekend session of Dungeons & Dragons breaks up, and Mike Wheeler has to give up being the Dungeon Master and return to school the following day. His friends Lucas, Dustin and Will all get on their bikes to head home, but the sight of a strange, towering humanoid figure sends Will off the road. He ditches his bike and races home on foot, only to find that both his older brother and his mother are still at work. Something beyond Will’s comprehension takes him.

Joyce Byers, Will’s mother, files a missing child report with the local police, though the initial response from Hawkins’ police chief is a bit underwhelming. Mike, Lucas and Dustin are all warned to stay home, rather than going to look for Will. Across town, a mysterious girl in a hospital gown is taken in by a restaurant owner, who pays for his kindness with his life when armed agents come looking for her. The girl manages to escape, and runs into Mike, Lucas and Dustin, who are doing precisely what they’ve been told not to do.

written by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Ross Partridge (Lonnie Byers), Shannon Purser (Barbara Holland), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Mark Steger (Monster), Chris Sullivan (Benny Hammond), Andrew Benator (Elevator Scientist), Stefanie Butler (Cynthia), David Dwyer (Earl), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Salem Hadeed-Murphy (High School Principal), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Hugh Holub (Scientist), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Cade Jones (James), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Anthony Reynolds (Agent), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Tony Vaughn (Principal Coleman), Peyton Wich (Troy), Brenda Wood (Local Newswoman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stranger Things

The Weirdo On Maple Street

Stranger ThingsMike, Lucas and Dustin gain the trust of the girl known only as Eleven, and Mike lets her stay at her house…even though he fails to mention this to his parents. He starts out sneaking food down to her, but then skips school to stay home and try to learn more about her. All he learns is that “bad men” took her – and when she points to Will Byers’ face in a school picture, Mike realizes that the same bad men may have taken Will.

Chief Hopper begins taking the search for Will more seriously, when he is called to the scene of another disturbing crime – the apparent suicide of the man who initially discovered Eleven. With the attention of the police shifted to that crime, the same agents who killed that man descend upon the Byers’ home, searching for signs of anything unusual – for example, what escaped from Franklin National Laboratory. They find the evidence they’re seeking.

No one can find any evidence of where Will Byers has gone. His older brother, Jonathan, pays his estranged father a visit, making sure that he hasn’t taken Will in (willingly or otherwise). And Joyce, Will’s mother, gets another garbled phone call, followed by an electrical event that convinces her Will is alive and trying to send her a call for help.

written by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Ross Partridge (Lonnie Byers), Shannon Purser (Barbara Holland), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Mark Steger (Monster), Chris Sullivan (Benny Hammond), Stefanie Butler (Cynthia), David Dwyer (Earl), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Charles Lawlor (Mr. Melvald), Bethany Anne Lind (Sandra), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Robert Walker-Branchaud (Agent Repairman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stranger Things

Holly, Jolly

Stranger ThingsJoyce Byers, convinced that her missing son can communicate with her by influencing electric lights, and gathers every lamp in the house in one room to await further contact. Hopper, running out of places to look for Will, tries to search the grounds of the high-security lab supposedly run by the Department of Energy, only to find that they don’t seem to want him searching there. Will’s friends, with Eleven insisting that Will is still alive, set out to find him, but they manage to be present when Will’s body is found in the water at a nearby quarry. And only Nancy seems to be aware that something has happened to her friend Barb.

written by Jessica Mecklenburg
directed by Shawn Levy
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Shannon Purser (Barbara Holland), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Mark Steger (Monster), Glennellen Anderson (Nicole), Cynthia Barrett (Mrs. Holland), Pete Burris (Hawkins Head of Security), Hugh Holub (Scientist), Cade Jones (James), Charles Lawlor (Mr. Melvald), Aimee Mullins (Terry Ives), Miles Mussenden (M.P. Officer Patrick), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Ron Rogge (State Trooper O’Bannon), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Sierra Vemeyer (Ally), Christie Waldon (Marissa), Peyton Wich (Troy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stranger Things

The Body

Stranger ThingsCertain that something tried to emerge from the wall of her home and attack her while she was communicating with her missing son, Joyce Byers is in disbelief when she is told that his body has been found. The town begins grieving for her, but Joyce refuses to believe that the body is Will’s, and is frustrated that no one believes her story about the attacker from the wall. Will’s friends also don’t believe that he’s dead, especially after Eleven demonstrates a way to hear him – but not respond to him – via radio. Nancy asks Jonathan Byers to develop new copies of the last photo he took of Nancy, only to see the faceless creature in the background: Joyce was right when she said she saw it come through her wall. Finally, Hopper’s suspicions lead him back to the morgue, to the body itself…only to find that Joyce was right about that too.

written by Justin Doble
directed by Shawn Levy
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Ross Partridge (Lonnie Byers), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Danny Boushebel (English Teacher), Jason Davis (Test Subject), Arthur Lee Dozier V (Greg McCorkle), Ron Fallica (State Trooper), Marianne Fraulo (Patty), Adam Gagan (Ground Controller), Salem Hadeed-Murphy (High School Principal), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Cade Jones (James), Jon Kohler (Funeral Director), Shawn Levy (Morgue Worker), Christopher Cody Robinson (Test Pilot Shepard), Ron Rogge (State Trooper O’Bannon), Paul Ryden (Field Reporter), Tony Vaughn (Principal Coleman), Peyton Wich (Troy), Mark Withers (Gary)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stranger Things

The Flea And The Acrobat

Stranger ThingsHopper breaks into the Hawkins National Lab facility and unwittingly gets as far as a sealed biohazard lab before he is overcome by men in hazmat suits. He awakens at home, which he proceeds to tear apart until he finds a listening device. As they prepare for Will’s funeral, Mike and Will’s other friends learn of a place called the Upside Down from Eleven, and make plans to find it. Having both seen the creature, Jonathan and Nancy plan to go looking for it, unaware that this search will also take them to the Upside Down. Hopper tells Will’s mother, Joyce Byers, that she was right – the body found was not really Will’s body. Eleven goes missing. So does Nancy. And they’re not the only ones.

written by Alison Tatlock
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Ross Partridge (Lonnie Byers), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Mark Steger (Monster), Andrew Benator (Elevator Scientist), Pete Burris (Hawkins Head of Security), Bill Eudaly (Pastor Charles), Kaylee Glover (Jennifer Hayes), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Pete Holub (Scientist), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Charles Lawlor (Mr. Melvald), Andre Pushkin (Russian Man), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Jerri Tubbs (Diane Hopper), Tony Vaughn (Principal Coleman), Robert Walker-Branchaud (Agent Repairman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stranger Things

The Monster

Stranger ThingsJonathan helps Nancy escape from the Upside Down with seconds to spare, and spends the night at her house watching over her. This doesn’t go unnoticed by her classmates, but when Jonathan tries to defend Nancy’s honor, he goes overboard, landing in juvenile detention after taking a swing at a police officer as the fight is broken up. Hopper and Joyce Byers visit a woman who Hopper believes may be Eleven’s mother, only to find that her mind is gone. As Lucas prepares to go it alone to find Will, Mike and Dustin argue over whether to salvage Mike’s friendship with Lucas. Someone instead comes looking for them, and they’re helpless without Eleven by their side.

written by Jessie Nickson-Lopez
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Aimee Mullins (Terry Ives), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Mark Steger (Monster), Amy Semetz (Becky Ives), Glennellen Anderson (Nicole), Andrew Benator (Elevator Scientist), Adam Boyer (Hunting Store Owner), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Hugh Holub (Scientist), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Cade Jones (James), Linda Kang (Female Clerk), Kevin Patrick Murphy (Grocery Store Manager), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Chase Stokes (Reeves), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Robert Walker-Branchaud (Agent Repairman), Peyton Wich (Troy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stranger Things

The Bathtub

Stranger ThingsLucas radios Mike, Dustin and Eleven to warn them: the bad men are coming to the Wheeler house. The kids make a hasty escape, pursued at dangerous speeds by “Hawkins Power & Light” vans. Eleven used her powers to cut off the pursuit, and Lucas is finally convinced she is on their side. The kids go into hiding, while Jonathan and Nancy tell Hopper and Joyce about their encounter with the creature. Using Will’s two-way radio, Hopper locates and rescues the kids, but Eleven is no longer able to reach Will in the Upside Down…but she then reveals that she might be able to find them if she tries again in an isolation tank. Barb cannot be recovered, but Eleven does find Will Byers, trapped and on the verge of death. Hopper and Joyce decide to take the fight to the lab on their own.

written by Justin Doble
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Shae Britt (Mary Mack Girl #2), Jackie Dallas (Jen), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Charles Green (Movie Theater Manager), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Amy Parrish (Troy’s Mom), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Robert Walker-Branchaud (Agent Repairman), Abigail Whitlock (Mary Mack Girl #1), Peyton Wich (Troy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stranger Things

The Upside Down

Stranger ThingsTaken into custody by armed guards as they try to gain entry to Hawkins National Laboratory, Joyce Byers and Hopper strike a questionable deal: they will be given the chance to enter the Upside Down and search for Will, if Hopper reveals Eleven’s whereabouts. Jonathan and Nancy, completely counter to Hopper’s instructions, retrieve their stash of munitions and set a trap for the monster. Hopper and Joyce find the Upside Down to be a slime-festooned mirror image of Hawkins, where Will, near death, is ensnared in a mass of tentacles. Dr. Brenner and a small army descend upon the school gym to take Eleven prisoner, only to find that her powers have grown beyond their ability to contain her. The ensuing battle weakens her, but the resulting bloodshed brings another monster out of the Upside Down, one that she may have to sacrifice herself to stop. Even if Will Byers can be retrieved from the Upside Down, can he truly recover from his ordeal?

telepaly by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
story by Paul Dichter
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Mark Steger (Monster), Lucius Baston (Technician), Pete Burris (Hawkins Head of Security), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Elle Graham (Sarah Hopper), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Jerri Tubbs (Diane Hopper)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Black Mirror Season 3

Nosedive

Black MirrorSocial media “ratings”, bestowed by friends, strangers and random passerby alike, are as much currency as actual money, determining not just social standing, but what kind of jobs and housing are available. Smiles are everyday attire, worn to avoid “downvotes” for being considered surly or impolite. Lacie Pound, hovering between 4.0 and 4.5 out of 5, “upvotes” everyone she meets; it’s the polite thing to do, and it’s expected. At home, however, she is stuck living in a small house with her brother, but Lacie is eyeing a more upscale residence – one that she can only afford if she reaches a steady 4.5 social media rating, qualifying her for a discount. The opportunity to boost her profile appears in the form of an invitation to be the maid of honor at a childhood friend’s wedding…but does Lacie even have the necessary clout to make the trip?

Get the DVDsteleplay by Rashida Jones and Mike Schur
story by Charlie Brooker
directed by Joe Wright
music by Max Richter

Black MirrorCast: Bryce Dallas Howard (Lacie Pound), Alice Eve (Naomi Jayne Blestow), Cherry Jones (Susan), James Norton (Ryan Pound), Alan Ritchison (Paul), Daisy Haggard (Bets), Susannah Fielding (Carol), Michaela Coel (Airport Stewardess), Demetri Goritsas (Hansen), Kadiff Kirwan (Chester), Sope Dirisu (Man in Jail), Clayton Evertson (Ted), Andrew Roux (Electro Station Assistant), Anjana Vasan (Space Cop), Colin Moss (Anthony), Nambitha Ben-Wazi (Glam Woman), Jeffrey Davenport (Cab Driver), Ntokozo Majozi (Jack the Barrista), Justin Munitz (Keith), Zandile Madliwa (Alien Girl), Kevin Otto (Pastor), Shane Zaza (Chuck), Abubakar Salim (Airport Guard), Jennie Nielson (Woman in Car), Deon Lotz (Man in Car), Daniel Newton (Kid on Quad Bike), Rebecca Newton (Kid’s Younger Sister), Lewelyn Van den Berg (Male Jogger), Blessing Mamuesa (Glam Woman’s Son)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Black Mirror Season 3

Playtest

Black MirrorFor Cooper, trying to escape from the stress of his home life with his mother means quietly leaving without a word to travel the world. From Australia to Spain to England, Cooper’s carefree voyage of self-discovery is almost over. His mother keeps calling, and Cooper keeps declining her call. He hooks up with a British video game journalist named Sonja, a fortuitous meeting since it appears that he’s maxed out his credit card and can’t buy a ticket back to the States. Sonja points him toward a paid playtesting opportunity that should provide Cooper with the money he needs to get home. The game in question is an augmented reality horror experience that draws upon the player’s own memory to conjure his worst fears. From spiders to childhood bullies to a decidedly more deadly version of Sonja, Cooper is scared out of his wits and wants the game to end. But the damage may already be done: the lines between reality and the game are blurred, and Cooper may never see the real world again.

Black MirrorGet the DVDswritten by Charlie Brooker
directed by Dan Trachtenberg
music by Bear McCreary

Cast: Wyatt Rssell (Cooper), Hannah John-Kamen (Sonja), Wummi Mosaku (Katie), Ken Yamamura (Shou Saito), Elisabeth Moynihan (Cooper’s Mum), Jamie Paul (Rick Peters), Jessica Neil (Scared Girl On Plane)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Black Mirror Season 3

Shut Up And Dance

Black MirrorKenny lives a very average teenage life, but within that lies a particularly disturbing vice – one which comes back to haunt him when an unidentified hacker e-mails Kenny video from his own computer’s webcam. The hacker, now communicating with Kenny via text message, informs him that he will be “activated” at some point in the future, and must follow instructions to avoid a leak of the webcam video that will ruin Kenny’s life. When Kenny does receive instructions, he finds himself encountering a succession of others who are being similarly blackmailed, each receiving their own instructions via text message. Kenny and Hector, a middle-aged man whose own indiscretions have left him vulnerable to blackmail, are instructed to rob a bank. As Hector follows instructions to dispose of their getaway car, Kenny’s next orders make him wonder how much worse things are going to get for him.

Get the DVDswritten by Will Bridges & Charlie Brooker
directed by James Watkins
music by Alex Heffes

Black MirrorCast: Alex Lawther (Kenny), Jerome Flynn (Hector), Susannah Doyle (Blackmailed Woman), Frankie Wilson (Tom), Jimmy Roye-Dunne (Red), Hannah Steele (Melissa), Sarah Beck Mather (Restaurant Mother), Beatrice Robertson-Jones (Restaurant Daughter), Maya Gerber (Lindsay), Camilla Power (Sandra), Ivanno Jeremiah (Moped Man), Maiam Haque (Petrol Station Attendant), Natasha Little (Karen), Nicola Sloane (Bank Clerk), Paul Bazely (The Man in the Woods), Leanne Best (Penny)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2 Stranger Things

MADMAX

Stranger ThingsHanging out at the local arcade as in fall 1984 is a perfectly ordinary activity, unless you live in Hawkins, Indiana and your name is Will Byers and it’s been a year since the most terrifying experience of your life. One moment he feels like a storm is brewing outside the arcade, the next moment he – and the arcade – are in the Upside Down, and the storm clouds part to reveal an enormous spider-like creature. And then, just as suddenly, Will is back among his friends, who are more interested in who has beaten Dustin’s high scores and left only the name “MADMAX”. By coincidence, the boys have a new classmate named Maxine (though she prefers to go by Max); when they try to find out more about her, she leaves them a note to leave her alone…not that this discourages Justin or Lucas. Will’s mother takes him to Hawkins National Lab to speak to a doctor there about his recent experience; both Will and Joyce have to be reassured that the lab is under new management, and Dr. Owens is looking out for Will. Another vision of the Upside Down, this time longer and scarier, grips Will. Elsewhere, Police Chief Jim Hopper has a dinner guest with a liking for Eggos.

written by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Sean Astin (Bob Newby), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Linnea Berthelsen (Roman), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Catherine Curtin (Claudia Henderson), Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman), Kai L. Greene (Funshine), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), James Landry Hebert (Axel), Anna Jacoby-Heron (Dottie), Gabrielle Maiden (Mick), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Glennellen Anderson (Nicole), Cynthia Barrett (Mrs. Holland), Alan Boell (Adams), Gilbert Glenn Brown (Cop #4), Matty Cardarople (Keith), Madelyn Cline (Tina), Abigail Cowan (Vicki), Brian F. Durkin (Cop #1), Joe Davison (Nerdy Tech), Lauren Halperin (Dr. Owens’ Assistant), Christopher Johnson (Cop #2), Fenton Lawless (Merril), Charles Lawlor (Mr. Medvald), David A. MacDonald (Flamethrower Soldier), Aaron Munoz (Mr. Holland), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Tony Vaughn (Principal Coleman), Ricardo Miguel Young (TV Reporter)

Stranger ThingsNotes: Everything about the arcade feels spot-on, such as Dragon’s Lair taking the world by storm in 1984, but one minor detail had to be changed for the story to work: neither Centipede nor Dig Dug allowed more than three characters on their high score screens. Neither game would have had room for “MADMAX” or “DUSTIN” on their high score tables. Paul Reiser isn’t just the Mad About You guy or the My Two Dads guy; his role as Burke in 1986’s Aliens gives him some serious genre cred.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2 Stranger Things

Trick Or Treat, Freak

Stranger Things1983: Having used her powers to defeat the demogorgon, Eleven finds herself alone in the Upside Down version of the high school. She follows the sound of echoing voices until she finds an exit to the school in normal space. The gateway closes behind her and she tries to return to Mike’s house, only to find it surrounded by police and federal agents.

Halloween, 1984: Eleven has been secretly living with Chief Hopper since her return from the Upside Down. She proposes a reunion with her friends, none of whom know she survived, under cover of trick-or-treating, but Hopper flatly refuses: she has to stay in hiding. Mike’s older sister Nancy is wracked with guilt over the disappearance of Barb a year ago, while her boyfriend Steve would rather forget everything that happened and never mention it again. A simmering feud between two local farmers annoys Hopper, until he learns that every farm in Hawkins is suffering from the same problem – crops rotting in place. Will’s visions of the Upside Down continue, each one more terrifying than the last, even as he and his friends go trick-or-treating dressed as the Ghostbusters. Eleven tries to reach out to Mike, to no avail. And something lurks in the garbage can at Dustin’s house.

written by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Sean Astin (Bob Newby), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Catherine Curtin (Claudia Henderson), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Shannon Purser (Barbara Holland), John Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), strongChelsea Talmadge (Carol), Sam Ashby (Werewolf), Lynne Ashe (Happy Homeowner), Tonya Bludsworth (Government Agent #1), Danny Boyd Jr. (Grandkid), Karen Ceesay (Mrs. Sinclair), Madelyn Cline (Tina), Jim E. Chandler (Government Agent #2), Joe Davison (Nerdy Tech), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Shea Jones (Goth Girl Samantha), John Paul Martson (Government Agent #4), Shannon Mayers (Government Agent #5), Al Mitchell (Eugene), Cameron Newton (Jason Voorhees), Desmond Phillips (Government Agent #6), Cody Land Pressley (Drunk Teen #1), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Alex Van (Hunter), Andrew Wilson Williams (Scary Clown), and Toasty the Squirrel

LogBook entry by Earl Green