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Ten-year-old Maria Jackson moves into a new house on Bannerman Road, where she and her dad are beginning a new life together following his divorce. It doesn’t take long for Maria to make a new friend, a girl named Kesley who lives down the street, though she’s even more fascinated by the woman who lives across the street from her - a reclusive journalist named Sarah Jane Smith. Kelsey persuades Maria to join her for a free tour of the bottling company where Bubbleshock, a new organic drink sweeping the country, is produced. Free buses makes several stops a day, transporting children to the Bubbleshock factory, where they get a strictly guided, closely guarded tour and, of course, endless free samples. Maria is one of only 2% of children in Britain who haven’t gotten hooked on Bubbleshock, though the company is said to be “working on that.”

Sarah follows the tour bus and slips into the factory herself, though she isn’t there to take the tour - she’s trying to go straight to the top for an interview with the elusive Mrs. Wormwood, who runs the Bubbleshock operation. She gets her interview, though she and Mrs. Wormwood engage in icy verbal fencing the whole time. Mrs. Wormwood decides that Sarah knows too much and issues secret orders to prevent Sarah from escaping the factory alive, but she does just that, giving the Bubbleshock guards the slip and hiding out. When Kelsey slips away from the guided tour to call a friend on her cell phone (something which the tour guides specifically said should be turned off), the phone causes an alarm to sound - and awakens a hideous creature with a single eye, hanging from the ceiling of the factory. Maria hears Kelsey’s screams and rushes to find her new friend, but instead finds a boy on the run who wasn’t part of the tour. They go into hiding, where they bump into Sarah, who helps them escape the factory. Sarah warns Maria to go home - her life is far too dangerous to involve anyone else, which is why she has no children of her own.

Kelsey returns to Maria’s house, unaware that she’s been questioned about where Sarah lives and has had her memory erased. Maria takes Kelsey to Sarah’s house, where Maria warns Sarah that she’s in danger - just in time to see that danger arrive in the form of an enormous, bug-like creature that chases them all into Sarah’s home. Sarah turns the tables on her attacker, revealing that the insectoid is the true form of the young man leading the tour at the Bubble Shock factory. He flees, and in that moment of confusion, Kelsey runs to the top floor of Sarah’s house, discovering a treasure trove of alien artifacts from Sarah’s travels through time and space. When Mrs. Wormwood activates the secret ingredient in Bubbleshock, it gives her instant control of much of the population - including Maria’s dad and Kesley. Sarah, Kelsey, and the mysterious nameless boy from the factory go on the run, and with the Doctor nowhere nearby, Sarah is all that stands between the human race and the invasion of the Bane.

written by Russell T. Davies and Gareth Roberts
directed by Colin Teague
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Cast: Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Samantha Bond (Mrs. Wormwood), Yasmin Paige (Maria Jackson), Tommy Knight (Luke), Porsha Lawrence-Mavour (Kelsey), Jamie Davis (Davey), Joseph Millson (Alan Jackson), Juliet Cowan (Chrissie Jackson), Rungano Nyoni (Secretary), Philip North (Technician), John Leeson (voice of K-9), Alexander Armstrong (voice of Mr. Smith), Sydney White (Bubbleshock Girl), Olivia Hill (TV Reporter), Konnie Huq, Gethin Jones (themselves)

LogBook entry and additional notes by Earl Green (click here for review and more details…)

Reports of music from an abandoned dance hall get Jack’s attention; when he and Toshiko go to investigate, something strange happens and they slip through time to 1941. Jack quickly finds that he has to shield Toshiko from the locals’ suspicions of the Japanese at the height of World War II, and in the meantime, he’s introduced to a dashingly handsome American captain…named Jack Harkness. When Toshiko insists, Jack explains that this is the man whose identity he took after tumbling through time into Earth’s past. Worse yet, Jack is torn between falling for his namesake and trying to urge the real Captain Harkness to live his life to the fullest, for history records that tomorrow is the day he dies, heroically saving his men from a German ambush. Hovering about the dance hall at all times is Mr. Bilis Manger, the proprietor of the establishment - and curiously, Gwen sees him in the present day as well, completely untouched by the passage of time, and completely uncooperative in her search for evidence that could help to retrieve Jack and Toshiko. Owen has his own ideas on getting them back: open the temporal rift that runs through Cardiff.

written by Catherine Tregenna
directed by Ashley Way
music by Murray Gold & Ben Foster

Guest Cast: Matt Rippy (The Captain), Murray Melvin (Bilis Manger), Elen Rhys (Nancy), Nadine Beaton (Audrey), Gavin Brocker (George), Peter Sandys-Clark (Tim), Ciaran Joyce (Smiler), Melissa Moore (Singer)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Though he and Toshiko have returned safely to the present, Jack is furious with Owen for opening the rift, especially when people from throughout Earth’s history begin appearing, resulting in, among other things, a revival of the bubonic plague in the heart of Cardiff. Jack and Gwen go to pay Bilis Manger another visit, but he proves to be full of cryptic, less-than-helpful advice - until he shows Gwen a vision of what he claims is the future, in which she sees Rhys murdered. Gwen brings Rhys to the Torchwood Hub for his own safety, but another appearance by Bilis proves that no one is safe even there - and it is Bilis himself who fulfills the prophecy and kills Rhys just before vanishing again. One by one, the other members of Torchwood experience visions of long-lost loved ones, each urging them to open the rift again to save the world. Jack is the only one who doesn’t have an unsettling vision, but it’s already too late: the rest of his team is convinced that opening the rift will set things right, and Owen is willing to kill Jack to keep him from interfering. But when all hell breaks loose through the rift, who will save Torchwood - and the world - now?

written by Chris Chibnall
directed by Ashley Way
music by Murray Gold & Ben Foster

Guest Cast: Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Murray Melvin (Bilis), Tom Price (PC Andy), Caroline Chikezie (Lisa), Louise Delamere (Diane), Matthew Gravelle (Doctor), Noriko Aida (Toshiko’s Mother), Jamie Belton (Roman Soldier), Carrie Grace (Newsreader), Paul Kasey (Weevil), Rhian Wyn Jones (Religious Woman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

With Galactica’s nuclear weapons trained on the planet below, the Cylons agree to order their raiders not to land - all except for D’anna, who allows her opposite number to continue onward, risking the attack on the planet. D’anna believes that the Eye of Jupiter can lead her to the mystery of the missing five Cylon models, and Baltar goes with her. On the planet, Apollo keeps Anders from going to save Starbuck - but then orders Dualla to do it instead. Helo and Sharon decide to try their most desperate gambit yet to recover their child, but their plan - to kill Sharon on Galactica and have her resurrect into a new body on the Cylon ship - may put the Colonial fleet at even greater risk. Time is running out to decipher the runes at the 4,000 year old temple, but its true meaning may become clear on its own, with deadly effects for both humans and Cylons.

written by David Weddle & Bradley Thompson
directed by Michael Rymer
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Tigh), Aaron Douglas (CPO Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Nicki Clyne (Cally), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Lucy Lawless (D’anna Biers), Michael Trucco (Anders), Callum Keith Rennie (Leoben Conoy), Dean Stockwell (Brother Cavel), Brad Dryborough (Hoshi), Eileen Pedde (Sgt. Mathias), Alisen Down (Barclay), Diego Diablo Del Mar (Dillard), Aleks Paunovic (Marine Sgt. Fischer), Tygh Runyan (Pvt. Byers)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Two weeks after experiencing a horrific vision of the destruction of New York City, with Parkman, Hiro, Claire, Nathan, and an unknown laughing man present, Peter Petrelli is still hospitalized. Hoping to learn more about what drove him to Texas, Peter’s brother Nathan goes to meet Isaac Mendez, and even as Nathan says that he doesn’t believe Mendez’ visions of an unarmed man causing the city’s destruction, in walks someone else who has seen precisely that vision of the future: Hiro. With Ando in tow as always, Hiro has returned to New York City to seek the fabled sword of samurai Takezo Kensai, believing that it will return his powers to him, only to discover that the sword is in the hands of someone named Linderman. Parkman, on nothing more than Mr. Bennet’s stray, unshielded thought about Sylar, convinces the FBI to raid the paper company where Bennett works, but they find nothing, and suddenly Parkman is dropped from the investigation. Bennet, in the meantime, goes to Suresh - this time to ask for help - but is turned down. When Peter awakens from an even more intense vision of the destruction he believes he will cause, he decides to leave the Big Apple, but along the way, he meets a man who no one else can see - a man with a familiar laugh.

written by Tim Kring
directed by Paul Shapiro
music by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman / vocals by Shenkar

Guest Cast: Clea Duvall (Audrey Hanson), James Kyson Lee (Ando Masahashi), Zachary Quinto (Sylar), Cristine Rose (Angela Petrelli), Thomas Dekker (Zach), Lisa Lackey (Janice Parkman), Matthew John Armstrong (Ted Sprague), Jimmy Jean-Louis (The Haitian), Kevin Chamberlin (Malsky), Bobby Hosea (Detective), John Ross Bowie (Attorney), Colby French (Hank), Stacy Haiduk (FBI Agent), Christopher Eccleston (Claude)

Notes: Guest star Christopher Eccleston, seen only briefly here in his first appearance, has earned a permanent place in genre TV history for his portrayal of the ninth Doctor when Doctor Who returned to the airwaves as a regular series in 2005; though his portrayal won acclaim for both the series and its star, he announced that he was leaving the role just after the first episode was broadcast.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Captured by Tyrol at the temple on the algae planet, Baltar is now in the hands of the Colonial fleet. While many would happily see him dead - indeed, a suicide attempt in his cell is only narrowly averted - President Roslin wants to use this opportunity to find out more about the attack on Caprica and Baltar’s involvement in it, something she’s never been able to prove. Adama approves the use of a hallucinogenic interrogation drug that may be of more use in breaking Baltar’s resolve than Roslin’s shock tactics, over Doc Cottle’s objections, but even under intense questioning in an altered state, Baltar doesn’t surrender the information that his captors are hoping for…

written by Michael Taylor
directed by Edward James Olmos
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Michael Hogan (Tigh), Aaron Douglas (CPO Tyrol), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Michael Trucco (Anders), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Kerry Norton (Paramedic Ibhay), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Tom Bower (Joe), Steve Lawlor (Guard), Graeme Duffy (Adrien Bauer), Jason Dryden (Knucklehead Dragger #1)

Note: On its original broadcast, this episode included a “bonus scene” just before the end credits - with absolutely no context for placing it within the rest of the story - of Roslin questioning the captured Number Six.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

When his brother Peter goes missing after waking up in the hospital, Nathan Petrelli seeks out Mohinder Suresh, the only person who seems to have a grasp of what’s happening. Suresh theorizes that Peter’s ability is to assimilate the abilities of those with whom he comes into contact; Nathan is only interested in whether or not Peter can be “cured”. Hiro and Ando, continuing their quest for the samurai sword that Hiro seeks, run afoul of black-suited men in black vehicles. When they’re captured, Ando decides that the world can save itself: he just wants to go home. Hiro insists on meeting “the big boss”, only to find out that it’s not the villain he expected. As D.L. wrestles with Nikki’s murder arrest that may lead to a death sentence, he finds that he’s falling short of Micah’s expectations…and that the boy has unique abilities of his own. Claire’s renewed search for her birth parents leads her to a woman who may be her mother, and Peter finds that he may have caught the attention of the invisible man after all.

written by Natalie Chaidez
directed by Terrence O’Hara
music by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman / vocals by Shenkar

Guest Cast: Jessalyn Gilsig (Meredith Gordon), James Kyson Lee (Ando Masahashi), Zachary Quinto (Sylar), Ashley Crow (Sandra Bennet), Thomas Dekker (Zach), Lisa Lackey (Janice Parkman), Paula Newsome (Dr. Witherson), Jimmy Jean-Louis (The Haitian), Brad Greenquist (Henchman), Colby French (Hank), Alex Fernandez (Police Captain), Jesse Corti (Police Captain), George Takei (Kaito Nakamura), Christopher Eccleston (Claude)

LogBook entry by Earl Green