Year: 1992

Categories
Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

The First Duty

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 45703.9: The Enterprise is heading back to Earth so Picard may deliver Starfleet Academy’s commencement address, and the crew is also looking forward to an aerial stunt display performed in orbit over Saturn by Nova Squadron, the Academy’s elite flight group, including Wes Crusher. As the Enterprise arrives, news reaches Picard and Dr. Crusher that Nova Squadron’s five planes have collided during a practice maneuver, injuring four of the pilots and killing one of them. An inquiry is launched into the accident, and squadron leader Locarno – backed up by Wes and the other cadets – testifies that blame lies on Cadet Joshua Albert, who died. Picard, while the investigation is underway, pays a visit to his old friend Boothby, the Academy gardener since Picard’s days as a cadet. Wise old Boothby, and later Picard himself, begin to wonder if perhaps the surviving cadets of Nova Squadron aren’t simply diverting the responsibility for their own mistake.

Order the DVDswritten by Ronald D. Moore and Naren Shankar
directed by Paul Lynch
music by Jay Chattaway

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Jacqueline Brooks (Admiral Brand), Ray Walston (Boothby), Robert Duncan McNeill (Nicholas Locarno), Ed Lauter (Lt. Commander Albert), Richard Fancy (Captain Setalk), Walker Brandt (Hajar), Shannon Fill (Sito)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

Cost of Living

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate not given: The Enterprise is on an urgent mission to destroy an asteroid on a collision course with an inhabited planet. The asteroid is obliterated, but a metal-consuming substance riding the asteroid transfers to the hull of the Enterprise. Later, Worf and Alexander argue in Troi’s office about their latest father-son dispute over the family rules, and as if that experience isn’t enough of a headache, Lwaxana Troi beams aboard on her way to get married to Campio, a member of another planet’s royalty (and Mrs. Troi reluctantly admits she hasn’t actually met him yet), and she begins to interfere with Worf’s relationship with Alexander, trying to show the boy how to revel in rebelling against authority. While Counselor Troi tells her mother not to intercede in Worf’s family affairs, a problem is discovered with the ship’s systems, caused by the metal “virus” (of which the crew is not yet aware). Mrs. Troi later reveals to Alexander that she isn’t entirely sure about her upcoming marriage to Campio (who beams aboard with an ever-present aide whose duty seems to be that of making sure all of Campio’s actions are as neutral and inoffensive as possible). The life support systems come under attack by the erosive substance, and when Picard orders the ship to warp to the nearest starbase, the engines are the next target of the virus, jeopardizing the Enterprise and everyone aboard.

Order the DVDswritten by Peter Allan Fields
directed by Winrich Kolbe
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Majel Barrett (Lwaxana Troi), Brian Bonsall (Alexander), Tony Jay (Campio), Carel Struycken (Mr. Homn), David Oliver (Young Man), Albie Selznick (Juggler), Patrick Cronn (Erko), Tracy D’Arcy (Young Woman), George Ede (Poet), Christopher Halste (First Learner), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

The Perfect Mate

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 45761.3: After rescuing a party of stranded miners, the Enterprise continues its mission to take Ambassador Bre’em and his cargo – an unusual cocoon – to meet Alrik of Volt so that their two worlds can end centuries of conflict. But when a Ferengi shuttlecraft is spotted in need of immediate help, Picard is forced to pick up the two Ferengi, who actually faked their emergency. The nosy Ferengi damage Bre’em’s cocoon, which melts away to reveal the lovely empath Kamala, who grabs the attention of every man in her sight, and initially thinks that Picard’s authoritarian demeanor makes him her future mate. Kamala is being transported as the property of Bre’em’s government, and she is to be delivered – as a gift – to Alrik of Volt. Dr. Crusher convinces Picard that the ambassador’s treatment of Kamala as an object is inhumane, but the possible results of allowing Kamala free roam of the ship could be more risky than transporting her as cargo, since her very accurate empathic ability allows her to become the perfect mate for whomever she spends the most time with, whether that happens to be Riker, Worf, a group of unruly miners, Captain Picard…

Order the DVDsteleplay by Gary Perconte and Michael Piller
story by Renè Echavarria and Gary Perconte
directed by Cliff Bole
music by Jay Chattaway

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Famke Janssen (Kamala), Tim O’Connor (Ambassador Bre’em), Max Grodenchik (Par Linor), Mickey Cottrell (Alrik of Volt), Michael Snyder (Qol), David Paul Needles (Miner #1), Roger Rignack (Miner #2), Charles Gunning (Miner #3), April Grace (Transporter Officer), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

Imaginary Friend

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 45852.1: As the Enterprise begins an investigation of a nebula, Ensign Sutter and his young daughter Clara are in Troi’s office, where Clara is talking about her imaginary friend Isabella. Ensign Sutter, whose Starfleet career hasn’t allowed him to stay in one place long enough for Clara to make any friends, is concerned that Clara’s insistence on Isabella’s existence is abnormal, but Troi doesn’t think it is anything to worry about. An energy form enters the Enterprise, it materializes just as Clara imagines Isabella and begins to have Clara show it around the ship. Meanwhile, other energy-beings like “Isabella” begin to weave a web of strands around the ship to slow it down so they can feed off its power source. The crew realizes that the only way to try to communicate with the energy-beings is by having Clara try to summon Isabella.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Edithe Swensen and Brannon Braga
story by Jean Louise Matthias & Ronald Wilkerson and Richard Fliegel
directed by Gabrielle Beaumont
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Noley Thornton (Clara), Shay Astar (Isabella), Jeff Allin (Ensign Sutter), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Brian Bonsall (Alexander), Patti Yasutake (Nurse Ogawa), Sheila Franklin (Ensign)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

I, Borg

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 45854.2: The Enterprise is exploring a star system when a distress call is detected, and Riker leads an away team to investigate. A single survivor is found amidst the wreckage of a scout ship, a young male Borg which is taken back to the Enterprise. As Picard is faced with a reminder of his ordeal with the Borg and argues with Guinan about the logic of bringing the Borg aboard, Geordi tries to instill the ship’s Borg guest with a sense of individuality, starting by nicknaming him “Hugh.” The crew is preparing a plan to send Hugh back with a computer virus that would unravel the Borg from the inside out, but some of the crew’s conscience begins to disturb them. Picard discovers that Geordi’s benign attempts at communicating with Hugh could potentially have a far more devastating effect on the Borg collective society in the long run.

Order the DVDswritten by Renè Echavarria
directed by Robert Lederman
music by Jay Chattaway

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Jonathan del Arco (Hugh)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

The Next Phase

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate not given: A small Romulan ship is stranded, its crew threatened by the imminent danger of an engine explosion. An Enterprise away team beams aboard to assess the damage, but when Geordi and Ro try to return to the Enterprise with a piece of Romulan equipment, they are apparently lost in a transporter malfunction, and the rest of the crew assume they are dead. Geordi and Ro both awaken on the Enterprise, but they cannot be heard or seen by anyone else on the ship, and their bodies are able to simply pass through solid walls and doors due to their molecules being “phased.” While Ro attempts to come to terms with her apparent death, Geordi discovers that he and Ro are leaving a trail detectable by the ship’s sensors. The two try to alert the Enterprise crew of their predicament, and discover that the Romulans can intentionally phase themselves and are nearing the conclusion of a plan to destroy the Enterprise.

Order the DVDswritten by Ronald D. Moore
directed by David Carson
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Michelle Forbes (Ensign Ro), Thomas Kopache (Mirok), Susanna Thompson (Varel), Shelby Leverington (Brossmer), Brian Cousins (Parem), Kenneth Meseroll (Ensign McDowell)

Notes: Kenneth Meseroll may not be a familiar face, but he is a familiar voice to many SF and anime fans – he played the part of Derek Wildstar in Star Blazers, the U.S.-translated version of Space Battleship Yamato.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

The Inner Light

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 45944.1: The Enterprise discovers an alien probe of unknown origin, which detects the Enterprise and sends a transmission. Picard is knocked unconscious. He “wakes up” as Kamin, an astronomer on the planet Kataan. As Kamin orients himself to life on this world with his wife Eline, he tries to make some attempts to locate the Enterprise, discovering in the process that Kataan faces imminent destruction from a sun about to go nova. Kamin ages yars, has children with Eline, watches old friends die and tries to convince people that their days on the planet are numbered. Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, where Picard has been unconscious for mere minutes, Riker is determined to break the probe’s hold on Picard – but severing the link could kill Picard while he is still trapped in the mind of Kamin.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Morgan Gendel and Peter Allan Fields
story by Morgan Gendel
directed by Peter Lauritson
music by Jay Chattaway

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Margot Rose (Eline), Richard Riehle (Batai), Scott Jaeck (Administrator), Jennifer Nash (Meribor), Patti Yasutake (Nurse Ogawa), Daniel Stewart (Young Batai)

Notes: Daniel Stewart, who plays the part of Kamin’s son in this episode, is Patrick Stewart’s real son. Many elements of this story are mentioned by Picard in the sixth season episode Lessons.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

Time’s Arrow

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 45959.1: An excavation team on Earth summons the Enterprise to Earth, claiming to have found evidence of extraterrestrial visitors to the planet in the 19th century. Picard and Data are shown an astonishing artifact unearthed near Starfleet Academy: the head of Data, although he – with his head intact – is still serving on the Enterprise. As Data contemplates the news, Geordi traces a micro-organism discovered in fossilized form mear Data’s head to the planet Davidia II. The Enterprise heads for that world immediately, where an away team beams down without Data, who believes the others are overreacting to his impending fate. Troi sense life on the planet, although no beings are visible. Data, whose head contains a component that could allow him to see the invisible life forms, beams down and phases into the beings’ plane, reporting many large humanoid beings and an alien of some sort. Data is then snatched through time – to San Francisco in the late 1800s. He immediately begins making preparations to continue the exploration he was conducting on Davidia II after winning big in a local poker game. Elsewhere in the city, two humans – or at least aliens in the guise of humans – patrol the streets, finding a beggar and using a camouflaged device to steal the energy from his body, killing him. Meanwhile, Picard readies another away team when Guinan gives him cryptic advice, telling him he must join the away team. Data, in the 19th century, discovers that Guinan is on Earth in the same time period, though centuries before she met any of the Enterprise crew. Also present at the social function where Data finds Guinan is one Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, who overhears Data and Guinan discussing Data’s real origins. On Davidia II, the away team replicates Data’s experiment and they see the same life forms. Two beings arrive from an temporal rift, unloading more energy for their fellow aliens to feed on – energy taken from humans on Earth at the moment of death, according to Troi’s empathic sense. Picard, Riker, Troi, Geordi and Dr. Crusher enter the gateway, which closes behind them as they travel back in time to search for Data and find out why alien beings are interfering with human history.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Joe Menosky and Michael Piller
story by Joe Menosky
directed by Les Landau
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Jerry Hardin (Samuel Clemens), Michael Aron (Jack the Bellboy), Barry Kivel (Doorman), Ken Thorley (Seaman), Sheldon Peters Wolfchild (Indian), Jack Murdock (Beggar), Marc Alaimo (Gambler), Milt Tarver (Scientist), Michael Hungerford (Roughneck)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Blackadder Specials

1775 (US Series Pilot)

BlackadderIn colonial Philadelphia, innkeeper Jeremy Proctor tries to keep the Cock and Hound Inn afloat with revolution lurking just around the corner.  His middle daughter, Eliza, frets that her hair is becoming “less flaxen” and sees her hopes for a husband fading.  Her bookish older sister, Maude, is more interested in spelling bees than dating and the youngest, Abby, is becoming far too involved with the local revolutionaries (especially the boys).  Jeremy’s wife, Annabelle, decides what they need is to send the girls to the Free Mason’s Ball, but Jeremy lacks the necessary funds.  Jeremy is also under pressure from the Colonial Governor, Massengill, who’s always looking for new things to tax.  Thanks to the new candle tax (suggested by Maude), Jeremy swallows his pride and tries to borrow money from his wife’s brother-in-law, George Washington, but Jeremy refuses to pay George’s exorbitant interest.  The future of the entire Proctor may be at stake…

written by Martin Rips and Joseph Staretski
directed by David Trainer

Cast: Ryan O’Neal (Jeremy Proctor), Lesley-Anne Down (Annabelle Proctor), Sarah Koskoff (Maude), Judith Jones (Eliza), Danielle Harris (Abby), Gregory Sporleder (Bert), Adam West (George Washington), Jeffrey Tambor (Governor Massengill)

Notes: This is the pilot episode for what was intended to be an American version of Blackadder. Produced in 1992 for CBS, the series was not picked up and the pilot remains unreleased commercially, although it did air once and is available for viewing online.

Ryan O’Neal went on from the TV drama Peyton Place to become one of the golden boys of 1970s cinema starring in such films as Paper Moon (1973) and A Bridge too Far (1977).

Lesley-Anne Down’s main forte has been costume dramas, including a stint on classic UK drama Upstairs, Downstairs and the three North & South miniseries. Genre work is minimal, but includes From Beyond the Grave (1973) and Beastmaster III (1996).

Sarah Koskoff appeared as Theresa Nemman in The X-Files (1993), the original pilot for the series. She returned several times in that role. She also made appearances on SeaQuest DSV and Millennium.

Judith Jones has made appearances on the genre series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Sabrina The Teenage Witch. She also portrayed Debbie Reynolds in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (1995).

Danielle Harris appeared as Jamie Lloyd in both Halloween 4 (1988) and Halloween 5 (1989). She also appeared on genre series Eerie, Indiana and Charmed. Since 1998 she has provided the voice for Debbie Thornberry on the TV series The Wild Thornberrys and in its spin-off movies.

Gregory Sporleder has made guest appearances on shows such as NYPD Blue, The Drew Carey Show and Smallville. His film work includes diverse projects such as A League of Their Own (1992), True Romance (1993) and I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998).

Jeffrey Tambor first made an impression with his scene-stealing performance in …And Justice for All (1979). He finally gained national recognition for his work as Hank Kingsley on the HBO sitcom The Larry Sanders Show and later as patriarch of the Bluth family on Arrested Development. He finally won award recognition for his lead role on the Amazon Prime series Transparent. Other successful His genre work includes Muppets from Space (1999), Hellboy (2004) and the forward-thinking sci-fi series Max Headroom.

Adam West is best known for the role of Batman, a part he portrayed (in live action and animation) from the 1966 TV series and movie through the 1985 cartoon show The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. His numerous genre work includes appearances on The Outer Limits and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as well as in films such as Zombie Nightmare (1986) and Monster Island (2004).

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

Categories
Season 06 Star Trek The Next Generation

Time’s Arrow Part II

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 46001.3: After Picard and the away team manage to find indigenous clothes and lodging, they begin a task which Data, separately, has pursued since arriving – attempting to track down the aliens. They find a couple, disguised as a doctor and nurse, who have been stealing neural energy and escaping unnoticed, and the deaths then are attributed to a cholera epidemic of the period. In the meantime, Data has enlisted the help of Guinan, but has run into some unwelcome curiosity from Samuel Clemens, who trails both Data and Guinan assuming that they’ve arrived from the future with evil intentions. Picard’s away team captures the key to the aliens’ neural energy-gathering trips but the aliens themselves escape. Picard’s party is rescued from arrest by Data, who then introduces Guinan to Picard for the first time in her life. They then travel to the cavern where Data’s head will be discovered in the 24th century, followed by Clemens. As Clemens pulls a gun on the travelers, the aliens return to retrieve their creature, but Data holds on to it, and one of the aliens escapes through a temporal rift. The energy surge causes Data to explode, and the alien nurse is left behind, dying. Riker, Crusher, Troi and Geordi return to the 24th century, taking Data’s decapitated body with them – and again, they are followed by Clemens. Picard remains to make sure Guinan is unharmed, while the crew, in the 24th century, tries to retrieve Picard, send Clemens back to his native time, and stop further alien intereference with Earth’s past.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Jeri Taylor
story by Joe Menosky
directed by Les Landau
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Jerry Hardin (Samuel Clemens), Michael Aron (Jack the Bellboy), Alexander Enberg (Young Reporter), Van Epperson (Morgue Attendant), Pamela Kosh (Mrs. Carmichael), James Gleason (Dr. Appollinaire), Bill Cho Lee (Male Patient), William Boyett (Policeman), Mary Stein (Alien Nurse), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Highlander Season 1

The Gathering

HighlanderA common thief named Richie Ryan breaks into an antiques store and soon finds himself in more trouble than he bargained for: a man wielding a sword appears to protect the shop, introducing himself as Duncan MacLeod. Richie’s predicment gets even stranger as two more men appear, each brandishing their own swords – one says he has come for Duncan’s head, and the other claims to be Connor MacLeod, a relative of Duncan’s. Richie uses the confusion of what appears to be an impending swordfight to sneak away; Duncan’s girlfriend Tessa watches the proceedings with alarm as Connor and the other swordsman leave.

The following day, Connor returns, as does the other swordsman, Slan Quince – harrassing Tessa and Duncan. Where Richie was terrified by the crossing of swords, Tessa has reluctantly become accustomed to it – Duncan is an Immortal, a human being both cursed and blessed with the ability to survive any injury, even a fatal one, except for decapitation. When one Immortal beheads another, he gains the fallen Immortal’s experience and power in an explosive transfer called the Quickening. Both Duncan and Connor try to lay claim to Slan Quince, but Connor knocks Duncan out and takes the initiative. He meets Slan on a bridge elsewhere in the city, and though he wins the swordfight, Connor finds out the hard way that Slan has a secret weapon: a gun built into the hilt of his sword. As Richie watches, Connor plunges into the river beneath the bridge – and Duncan appears, ready to take up the fight. But even if he survives, Duncan has already pledged not to put Tessa any further through the ordeal of his Immortal struggle.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Dan Gordon
directed by Thomas J. Wright
music by Roger Bellon

HighlanderCast: Adrian Paul (Duncan McLeod), Alexandra Vandernoort (Tessa), Stan Kirsch (Richie), Christopher Lambert (Connor MacLeod), Richard Moll (Slan Quince), Wendell Wright (Sgt. Powell)

Notes: Until the fourth Highlander theatrical movie, which brought Duncan and other TV characters into the movie mythology, Connor’s appearance in the Highlander series pilot was the only definitive connecting tissue between the original movies and the series. This was the only episode in which a cast member from the movies appeared, though careful examination of the opening credits in the first season reveal at least one shot of Connor – not Duncan – experiencing a quickening from the original Highlander film.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 06 Star Trek The Next Generation

Realm Of Fear

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 46041.1: The Enterprise locates the missing starship Yosemite, adrift in a matter stream between binary stars. A link between the two ships’ transporters must be established so an away team can investigate the Yosemite, but Lt. Barclay, assigned to the away team, reveals his life-long fear of transporting. Troi convinces him to overcome his fear long enough to beam over to the Yosemite. Beaming back to the Enterprise later, Barclay is sure he sees some kind of creature in the transport beam approach and touch him. Fearing he has contracted a psychosis caused by the transporter scrambling his brain, he becomes so preoccupied that Troi relieves him of duty while Geordi and Data begin reconstructing a mysteriously shattered sample container form the Yosemite, an experiment which reveals that there are indeed life forms in the matter stream. And Barclay is exhibiting early symptoms of something that may have killed the Yosemite’s crew.

Order the DVDswritten by Brannon Braga
directed by Cliff Bole
music by Jay Chattaway

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Dwight Schultz (Lt. Barclay), Colm Meaney (O’Brien), Patti Yasutake (Nurse Ogawa), Renata Scott (Admiral), Thomas Belgrey (Crewmember), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 06 Star Trek The Next Generation

Man Of The People

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 46071.6: A transport vessel carrying Ambassador Alkar and a women he introduces as his mother is attacked en route to mediation sessions between the warring societies of Reycag and Seronia. Alkar’s party transfers to the Enterprise, which will complete their journey. On the way, Alkar befriends Troi, but this meets with intense hostility from his elderly companion. The old woman suddenly dies soon afterward, and Alkar asks Troi to assist him in performing the funeral meditiation sacred to his race. After performing the ceremony, Troi begins to feel unusually angry, jealous and amorous toward Alkar and others on board. Dr. Crusher uncovers evidence that Troi’s condition has been inflicted deliberately by Alkar, telepathically depositing his dark emotions in Troi, aging her body and destroying her mind, and the only release for Troi may be death.

Order the DVDswritten by Frank Abatemarco
directed by Winrich Kolbe
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Chip Lucia (Ambassador Alkar), Patti Yasutake (Nurse Ogawa), George D. Wallace (Male Delegate), Lucy Boryer (Female Ensign), Susan French (Female Delegate), Rick Scarry (Admiral), Stephanie Erb (Sev Maelor), J.P. Hubbell (Ensign), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Highlander Season 1

Road Not Taken

HighlanderMoments after Tessa leaves for a trip to Paris, Richie receives bad news – an old friend of his has wound up in the hospital in critical condition. By the time MacLeod takes Richie to the hospital, his friend has died – and MacLeod spots unusual bruises on the dead boy’s temples, reminding him of the experiments of another Immortal, Kiem Sun, who was trying to perfect a way to control the minds of mortals. Eventually, Kiem Sun’s human guinea pigs would die in excruciating pain, their brains hemmorhaging and leaving similar bruises. MacLeod tracks down Kiem Sun, who admits that his mind-control potion still exists…and claims that one of his students has stolen it.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Terry Nelson
directed by Thomas J. Wright
music by Roger Bellon

HighlanderCast: Adrian Paul (Duncan McLeod), Alexandra Vandernoort (Tessa), Stan Kirsch (Richie), Soon-Teck Oh (Kiem Sun), Wendell Wright (Sgt. Powell), Christianne Hirt (Angie)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 06 Star Trek The Next Generation

Relics

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate not given: While responding to a distress signal, the Enterprise encounters a Dyson sphere, a colossal artificial structure whose habitable interior surface is powered by a small star kept in the center of the sphere. The source of the distress signal, a 75-year-old transport ship, is found crashed into the outside surface of the sphere. An away team recovers a single survivor, who, when his ship crashed and no help was expected to arrive for quite some time, used an innovative last-ditch transporter modification to suspend himself. The occupant turns out to be Captain Montogmery Scott, chief engineer of the original Enterprise. Scotty is welcomed aboard the modern Enterprise, but soon finds that his skills and knowledge are of no use to Starfleet in the 24th century. In an attempt to make the uneasy visitor from the past feel useful, Picard assigns Geordi to take Scotty to work on the systems of the crashed transport ship, but the Enterprise is then captured and taken into the interior of the Dyson sphere by unknown forces. Scotty, left aboard the small, damaged ship with Geordi, may once again be the only hope for a starship called Enterprise.

Order the DVDswritten by Ronald D. Moore
directed by Alexander Singer
music by Jay Chattaway

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), James Doohan (Scotty), Lanei Chapman (Ensign Rager), Erick Weiss (Ensign Kane), Stacie Foster (Engineer Bartel), Ernie Mirich (Waiter), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green