December 2016 – theLogBook.com Episode Guides

An Inside Man

By theLogBook.com
December 3, 2016

Kanan, Ezra and Chopper return to Lothal after receiving a summons from Ryder Azadi, warning of a new Imperial weapon under development. Ezra’s home planet is now under total Imperial control, but there is a bright side: according to Ryder, the Empire’s best and brightest laborers have been reassigned to the new weapon, leaving the Empire no choice but to draft locals to build speeder bikes…and the people of Lothal have been deliberately turning out fatally flawed vehicles. But this has also drawn the attention of Grand Admiral Thrawn, who arrives to personally crack down on the sabotage. What started as a simple fact-finding mission is now something much more dangerous.

written by Nicole Dubuc
directed by Steward Lee
music by Kevin Kiner
additional music by David Russell, Sean Kiner, and Dean Kiner
based on original themes and music by John Williams

Cast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Vanessa Marshall (Hera Syndulla / Female Citizen), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus / Stormtrooper Guard), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios / AT-AT Pilot #2), David Oyelowo (Agent Kallus), Dave Filoni (AT-AT Pilot #1), Clancy Brown (Factory Worker / Ryder Azadi / Stormtrooper Commander), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Governor Pryce), Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn), Liam O’Brien (Lt. Lyste, Morad Sumar), Dee Bradley Baker (Old Jho / Stormtrooper #1 / Stormtrooper #2), Bonnie Wild (Imperial Female PA), David Acord (Imperial Male PA)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Mars Season 1

Power

By theLogBook.com
December 5, 2016

2037: Four years after the discovery of a suitable place to build the first human settlement on Mars, the base has expanded rapidly, and a second spacecraft with its own crew has joined Hana Seung’s expedition there. Medical, lab, and hydroponic facilities have been set up, though it’s the latter that proves the most worrisome – plants, the key to a sustainable food supply that doesn’t rely on resupply from Earth, are not growing at the expected rates. A third ship arrives with an even larger crew of new Mars colonists, including a supervisor to spearhead even further expansion. Her husband, a hydroponic expert, takes some of Javier’s workload off of him, but seems distant and obsessed with his work. But these new settlers have arrived just in time for trouble.

teleplay by Ben Young Mason and Paul Solet
story by Ben Young Mason
based on the book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek
directed by Everardo Gout
music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

Cast: Jihae (Hana Seung / Joon Seung), Alberto Ammann (Javier Delgado), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie Durand), Anamaria Marinca (Marta Kamen), Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucalt), Cosima Shaw (Dr. Leslie Richardson), Olivier Martinez (Ed Grann), John Light (Dr. Paul Richardson), Nick Wittman (Oliver), Antoinette Fekete (Sam), Kata Sarbo (Ava Macon), Paul Solet (Cygnus Pilot), Karen Gagnon (ORB Solutions Senior Board Member), Rebecca Emekandoko (Joon’s Assistant)

Notes: This isn’t Cosima Shaw’s first struggle to survive on Mars – she was one of the crew members of Bowie Base One in the 2009 Doctor Who episode The Waters Of Mars.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Rebels Season 3 Star Wars

Visions And Voices

By theLogBook.com
December 10, 2016

During a briefing for an upcoming mission that he will lead, Ezra begins hearing, and seeing visions of, Maul. Kanan quietly makes changes to the mission plan, and goes with Ezra to visit the Bendu to see if Ezra is experiencing Force visions. Maul is already there, and insists that Ezra join him to complete the extraction of knowledge that began with the joining of the Jedi and Sith holocrons – and if Ezra refuses, Maul will reveal the location of Chopper Base to the Empire. With the Phantom tracking his ship at a discreet distance, Maul takes Ezra to the ruins of a temple on his home planet, the former refuge of the Nightsisters. Ezra wants to know how to destroy the Sith. Maul wants to know how to find an old enemy to settle a score. Both of them get the same answer: a desert world with two suns.

written by Brent Friedman
directed by Bosco Ng
music by Kevin Kiner
additional music by David Russell, Sean Kiner, and Dean Kiner
based on original themes and music by John Williams

Cast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Vanessa Marshall (Hera Syndulla), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios / Rebel Trooper #2), Stephen Stanton (AP-5), Tom Baker (Bendu), Sam Witwer (Maul), Meredith Salenger (Nightsister Ghost Kanan), Anna Graves (Nightsister Ghost Sabine), Dave Filoni (Rebel Trooper #1)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Mars Season 1

Darkest Days

By theLogBook.com
December 12, 2016

2037: A massive dust storm plunges the only human settlement on Mars into darkness for months. EVAs on the surface are out of the question for obvious safety reasons, and due to the interrupted work on power upgrades, it’s not long before power has to be carefully rationed for everyone to survive. One casualty of the power cuts is the greenhouse, leaving Paul Richardson nothing to do but worry over his dying crops. Base lighting and heat are next, and cabin fever begins setting in. Someone will have to venture outside to reconnect the base to power…while someone else will venture outside just to end it all.

written by Paul Solet
based on the book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek
directed by Everardo Gout
music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

Cast: Jihae (Hana Seung / Joon Seung), Alberto Ammann (Javier Delgado), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie Durand), Anamaria Marinca (Marta Kamen), Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucalt), Cosima Shaw (Dr. Leslie Richardson), Olivier Martinez (Ed Grann), John Light (Dr. Paul Richardson), Nick Wittman (Oliver), Antoinette Fekete (Sam), Kata Sarbo (Ava Macon), Karen Gagnon (ORB Solutions Senior Board Member)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Anthology Films Star Wars

Rogue One

By theLogBook.com
December 16, 2016

Orson Krennic, an Imperial officer, tracks down Galen Erso, a science officer who defected from the Empire to avoid allowing his talents to be used to perfect the primary weapon of the Empire’s giant battlestation. Krennic’s squadron of Death Troopers guns down Erso’s wife, but fails to find his young daughter, who has gone into hiding in a prearranged shelter, to be picked up later by Rebel insurgent Saw Gererra. Galen Erso is taken back to work for the Empire; his daughter grows up without seeing him again.

But she does hear about him. Rescued – or is it abducted? – from an Imperial slave labor detail on Wobani, Jyn Erso is taken to a secret Rebel base in the Yavin system, and questioned about her father’s work. An Imperial Pilot has defected from the Empire, carrying a message from Galen Erso to Saw Gerrera with details of the secret weapon. Under the careful supervision of Rebel intelligence agent Cassian Andor and his caustic, reprogrammed Imperial droid, K-2SO, Jyn joins a mission to Jedha, home of Gerrera’s extreme faction of Rebels. The Empire is present in force, both mining kyber to complete the secret weapon and trying to track down the defecting pilot, and Jyn and Cassian stumble into guerilla warfare that has nothing to do with them – indeed, Cassian decides it’s more of an obstacle than useful cover for their mission. They befriend a blind fighter named Chirrut, who claims a personal connection to the Force, and his heavily-armed comrade Baze, who has grown skeptical of the Force…and all of them are taken to Saw Gerrera. Jyn sees a holographic message from her father, detailing a weakness that he has carefully built into the main reactor of the Death Star, the Empire’s new weapon…but just after viewing the message, Jyn and the others, with former Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook in tow, must escape the destruction of Jedha, whose surface is tearing itself apart after a single shot from the Death Star.

From Jedha to an Imperial weapons development base on Eadu to the Empire’s repository of technical schematics on Scarif, the Rebels are fighting not just the pursuing forces of Krennic and the Empire, but one another. Word of the Death Star’s power fails to galvanize the Rebellion’s leadership into action, leaving Cassian, Jyn, Chirrut, Baze, K-2SO, Bodhi, and a ragtag group of volunteers to try to steal the Death Star plans from Scarif. Grand Moff Tarkin, keen to seize control of the Death Star from Krennic, is more than happy to demonstrate his fully armed and operational battle station to the Rebelliion. With the Empire’s technological terror now roaming the galaxy, it will take no less a miracle than the return of the Jedi themselves to save the Rebellion.

screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy
story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta
directed by Gareth Edwards
music by Michael Giacchino / original Star Wars music by John Williams

Cast: Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso), Diego Luna (Cassian Andor), Alan Tudyk (K-2SO), Donnie Yen (Chirrut Imwe), Jiang Wen (Baze Malbus), Ben Mendelsohn (Orson Krennic), Guy Henry (Governor Tarkin), Forest Whitaker (Saw Gererra), Riz Ahmed (Bodhi Rook), Mads Mikkelsen (Galen Erso), Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa), Alistair Petrie (General Draven), Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma), Ben Daniels (General Merrick), Paul Kasey (Admiral Raddus), Stephen Stanton (Admiral Raddus – voice), Ian McElhinney (General Dodonna), Fares Fares (Senator Vaspar), Jonathan Aris (Senator Jebel), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Senator Pamlo), Spencer Wilding (Darth Vader), Daniel Naprous (Darth Vader), James Earl Jones (Darth Vader – voice), Ingvild Deila (Princess Leia), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Valene Kane (Lyra Erso), Beau Gadsdon (young Jyn), Dolly Gadsdon (younger Jyn), Duncan Pow (Sergeant Melshi), James Harkness (Private Basteren), Derek Arnold (Pao), Matt Rippy (Corporal Rostok), Nick Kellington (Bistan), Michael Nardone (Shield Gate Officer), Nathan Plant (Imperial Guard Droid), Christopher Patrick Nolan (Alderaanian Guard), Michael Smiley (Dr. Evazan), Warwick Davis (Weeteef Cyubee), Dee Tails (L-1), Ruth Bell (Jedha Server), May Bell (Jedha Server), Angus Wright (Hammerhead Captain), Keith Dunphy (Blockade Runner Pilot), Alan Rushton (Eadu Engineer), Robert Bendetti-Hall (Eadu Engineer), Richard Franklin (Eadu Engineer), Weston Gavin (Eadu Engineer), Nick Hobbs (Eadu Engineer)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Mars Season 1

Crossroads

By theLogBook.com
December 19, 2016

2037: Paul Richardson’s suicidal step out onto the Martian surface has resulted in the decompression of other nearby parts of the base, and the instant deaths of six others in the sections adjacent to the greenhouse. His wife is wracked with guilt for not having seen the signs of his mental state earlier, while Hana Seung bears the burden for the entire mission, which is now likely to be cancelled by the IMSF. Hana and Foucalt visit the Daedalus, the vehicle that brought them to Mars, and begin reactiviating it in anticipation of being recalled to Earth. Attempting to salvage usable hardware to continue powering the base, Javier and Marta visit the abandoned workshop module that was their crew’s makeshift first shelter on Mars, where Marta makes an unusual discovery that could forever change science…and change humankind’s destiny on Mars.

telelplay by Andre Bormanis and Paul Solet
story by Andre Bormanis
based on the book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek
directed by Everardo Gout
music by Jake Jackson, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

Cast: Jihae (Hana Seung / Joon Seung), Alberto Ammann (Javier Delgado), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie Durand), Anamaria Marinca (Marta Kamen), Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucalt), Cosima Shaw (Dr. Leslie Richardson), Ben Cotton (Ben Sawyer), Olivier Martinez (Ed Grann), John Light (Dr. Paul Richardson), Nick Wittman (Oliver), Antoinette Fekete (Sam), Kata Sarbo (Ava Macon), Eva Magyar (IMSF Member Russia), Mirjam Novak (IMSF Member USA), Mate Haumann (IMSF Member USA)

Notes: Early in 2017, it was announced that National Geographic Channel would produce a second season of Mars, but that season would be produced under the auspices of a new showrunner, Dee Johnson (formerly of Nashville, Rizzoli & Isles, Army Wives, Commander In Chief, and ER).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Doctor Who New Series Season 09

The Return Of Doctor Mysterio

By theLogBook.com
December 25, 2016

On the rooftop of an apartment building in New York City, the Doctor befriends a boy named Grant, entrusting him to hold onto an alien artifact for a moment. As Grant has a cold, and knows that his new friend is a doctor, he assumes the artifact is some sort of pill and swallows it, to the Doctor’s horror.

The Doctor returns years later, discovering that Grant has assumed a secret identity as the Ghost, a superhero with a habit of saving the day and then being summoned away when a device that he carries lights up. In reality, the device is a baby monitor…and Grant, in between super feats, pays the bills by working as a nanny, babysitting for a reporter he’s known (and had a crush on) since grade school. But the Doctor has also discovered a silent alien invasion of Earth, a years-long plan that’s much further along than most. And while he’s upset that Grant is drawing attention to himself rather than keeping his powers a secret, the Doctor will need the Ghost’s help to save the human race.

written by Steven Moffat
directed by Ed Bazalgette
music by Murray Gold

Cast: Peter Capaldi (The Doctor), Matt Lucas (Nardole), Justin Chatwin (Grant), Charity Wakefield (Lucy), Tomiwa Edun (Mr. Brock), Aleksandar Jovanovic (Mr. Sim), Logan Hoffman (young Grant), Daniel Lorente (teen Grant), Sandra Teles (Reporter), Tanroh Ishida (Operator), Vaughn Johseph (Soldier)

Notes: The Doctor says that time travel is complicated in New York City, and that it’s his fault, a reference to the tangle of temporal energy left behind in the wake of The Angels Take Manhattan (2012). Nardole was introduced in the preceeding story, The Husbands Of River Song, which happened to be the previous year’s Christmas special, hence the Doctor’s “being away” for a long time is both a meta reference and a hint that he spent years in the company of River Song. The Doctor somehow removed Nardole from King Hydroflax and “reassembled” him (in Nardole’s words); Nardole would remain with the 12th Doctor for the duration of Capaldi’s final season.