Year: 2019

Categories
Doctor Who New Series Season 11

Resolution

Doctor WhoTwo archaeologists unearth a find beneath Sheffield City Hall on New Years’ Day, 2019, including human remains and something else, which is promptly placed under UV light for sterilization…and then promptly comes to life. The TARDIS arrives just as one of the archaeologists discovers a large, squid-like creature clinging to a wall, but before the Doctor can get a look at it, it’s gone missing again. The TARDIS followed the signature of a spatial shift to the dig site, technology that has no place on Earth in 2019. The Doctor collects a sample of the creature’s slimy trail from the dig site and has the TARDIS analyze its DNA…a process which reveals that the trail of slime was left by an unarmored Dalek. It’s now obvious that the archaeologist who spotted the creature on the wall has been taken over by it, and is doing its bidding, including breaking into a top secret facility to steal a Dalek weapon. The Dalek intends to build itself a new casing and signal its location to the Dalek fleet so the conquest of Earth can begin. The Doctor intends to stop it. And with an unexpected knock at the door, Ryan’s father intends to abruptly walk back into his son’s life, unaware that his son now travels through time and space…and unaware that he’s just walked into the most dangerous situation he could possibly imagine, one that could take Ryan’s father away from him forever.

Order the DVDwritten by Chris Chibnall
directed by Wayne Yip
music by Segun Akinola

Doctor WhoCast: Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor), Bradley Walsh (Graham O’Brien), Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), Charlotte Ritchie (Lin), Nikesh Patel (Mitch), Daniel Adegboyega (Aaron), Darryl Clark (Police Officer Will), Connor Calland (Security Guard Richard), James Lewis (Farmer Dinkle), Sophie Duval (Mum), Callum McDonald (Teen 1), Harry Vallance (Teen 2), Laura Evelyn (Call Centre Polly), Michael Ballard (Sargeant), Nick Briggs (Dalek voices)

Doctor WhoNotes: The Doctor attempts to call UNIT, but it is strongly implied that UNIT has been forced to stand down due to Brexit-related funding issues. The idea that recon Daleks are more advanced than the average Dalek creates a handy loophole for the significantly more mobile and destructive capabilities of the lone Dalek encountered in 2005’s Dalek. If the supernova to which the Doctor delivers the Dalek is in the same position as the now-extinct Dalek fleet, this may be be the destruction of Skaro’s sun engineered by the seventh Doctor with the Hand of Omega in Remembrance Of The Daleks (1988).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Short Treks Star Trek

The Escape Artist

Star Trek: Short TreksStardate not given: A Tellarite bounty hunter buys wanted man Harry Mudd from a fellow bounty hunter, partly to settle a personal score, and partly to hand Mudd over to the Federation for a fat reward. But Mudd’s fast-talking ways aren’t slowed by this setback, and he’s already plotting his next escape…assuming he needs to escape at all.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Mike McMahan
directed by Rainn Wilson
music by Jeff Russo

Cast: Rainn Wilson (Harry Mudd), Dan Abramovici (Guard), Harry Judge (Tellarite), Barbara Mamabolo (Bounty Hunter), Myrthin Stagg (New Guard), Jonathan Watton (Federation Officer)

Short TreksNotes: Writer Mike McMahan’s popular parody Twitter account detailing unlikely (but funny) scenarios for a never-made eighth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation led to an officially published book, Warped: An Engaging Guide to the Never-Aired 8th Season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his influence on the Star Trek franchise would continue from here to the first comedy-focused spinoff in the franchise, Star Trek: Lower Decks, also produced for CBS All Access. He has also been a production assistant on such animated shows as Drawn Together, South Park, and Rick & Morty, the latter of which he has also served as a writer.

Short TreksLatinum is already the currency of choice for those 23rd century soldiers of fortune who need it, long before it became a favorite of Deep Space Nine‘s Quark. Though Tellarites appeared in the Star Trek: Discovery episode The Wolf Inside, this is the first time a Tellarite has been the focus of a Star Trek episode since the Enterprise episode United in 2005. Careful examination of the extra Mudds reveals that Harry is already wearing fashions for which he will become famous, or at least infamous, in the future, echoing costume designs from the Star Trek episodes Mudd’s Women and I, Mudd.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Primal Urges

The OrvilleBortus is the last member of the Orville’s crew that Captain Mercer would expect to have attendance problems, and yet the normally stoic Moclan is asking to leave nearly every shift early…and is arriving in his quarters very late every evening. When Bortus’ spouse, Klyden, attempts to kill him – the Moclan method of initiating a divorce – Dr. Finn is able to save Bortus’ life, over his protests. Mercer has Klyden thrown into the brig and finally begins to demand answers, but since the incident has disrupted routine duties aboard a Union ship, the captain refuses to acknowledge the lethal divorce proceedings, instead “sentencing” Bortus and Klyden to couples counseling. But Bortus still has a secret – he’s been using the holographic simulator aboard the Orville to satisfy some base desires…and his appetite for doing so may put the entire ship, and a high-stakes rescue mission, in extreme danger.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Wellesley Wild
directed by Kevin Hooks
music by John Debney

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Halston Sage (Lt. Alara Kitan), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Kelly Hu (), Lesley Fera (), Mike Henry (Dann), Michael C. Mahon (Altox), Darren Dupree Washington (Simulated Moclan), Jude B. Lanston (Moclan Prison Guard), Veronica Matheu (Nyxian Girl), Gavin Lee (Henry Park), Joseph Johnson (Moclan Doctor), Michael James Lazar (Moclan #1), Torrance Jordan (Moclan #2), Aaron McPherson (Crew Member)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Home

The OrvilleThe Friday night arm wrestling match between Isaac and Alara has become part of the Orville‘s routine, but on this occasion Isaac overdoes it, breaking Alara’s arm. In sick bay, while mending the broken bone is a fairly easy procedure, medical scans reveal that Alara, accustomed to operating in the higher gravity of her home planet, is losing both bone and muscle mass in Earth-normal gravity. Before long, she will have lost the increased strength that Xelayans display in lower gravity, and the only prognosis is a return to her home planet to reacclimate – and Dr. Finn can’t be sure how long that will take. As Captain Mercer begins the dreaded process of looking for a temporary replacement for his security chief, Alara begins the even more dreaded process of spending time with a family whose disdain for her non-academic pursuits has alienated her. At the Kitan family’s beach home, a neighbor’s report of a possible break-in provides some relief for Alara: at least she’s in her element doing security work, even while confined to a zero-gravity wheelchair. But the crime that has been reported is not the crime that has been committed, and soon Alara and her entire family are hostages to a man who blames Alara’s father for the death of his son. Still weakened by her condition, Alara may have to resolve the hostage crisis at the cost of returning to the Orville.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
directed by Jon Cassar
music by Joel McNeely

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Halston Sage (Lt. Alara Kitan), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Molly Hagan (Drenala Kitan), Candice King (Solana Kitan), Robert Picardo (Ildis Kitan), John Billingsley (Cambis Borrin), Kerry O’Malley (Floratta), Patrick Warburton (Lt. Tharl), Jason Alexander (Olix), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Chris Flanders (Serris)

The OrvilleNotes: It’s a battle of the network Star (Trek doctor)s! Returning guest star Robert Picardo (who was the holographic doctor in all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager) is pitted against a character played by John Billingsley, who played Dr. Phlox in all four seasons of the successor to Voyager’s UPN time slot, Star Trek: Enterprise. Patrick Warburton (The Tick, A Series Of Unfortunate Events) appears as Alara’s heir-apparent, though he and his external esophogeal trunk wouldn’t be permanent fixtures aboard The Orville.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

Brother

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Moments after receiving a distress signal from the Enterprise, Discovery receives a request from Captain Christopher Pike to beam aboard. Crippled in space by an inexplicable system-wide failure, the Enterprise has suffered serious damage, and Pike has orders from Starfleet Command to temporarily assume command of Discovery due to an impending crisis. The crew is somewhat skeptical of the unscheduled change in command, given that their previous captain turned out to be a treacherous impostor from a parallel universe, but the emergency at hand – the sudden emergence of seven simultaneous signals in different parts of the galaxy, emitting a powerful signal – demands an extraordinary response.

The one signal out of seven that can be tracked leads Discovery into a dangerous field of asteroids and debris, with a crashed Starfleet medical ship at its epicenter. Pike and Burnham lead an extremely dangerous rescue mission to see if there are survivors aboard the ship, finding the haggard engineer Commander Reno in her tenth month of keeping critically wounded survivors of the Klingon war alive with nothing more than whatever is still working in her downed ship. Burnham is nearly stranded amid the wreckage ensuring the escape, but Pike refuses to leave her behind – and just before he arrives, she sees an inexplicable apparition in a red haze. Other asteroids in the vicinity are causing the spores grown for Discovery‘s now-disused spore drive to react, and Tilly decides a sample is needed…in the form of an entire small asteroid. The Enterprise‘s damage is determined to be severe enough for it to be towed back to spacedock, and Captain Pike is assigned to remain in command of Discovery. Burnham hopes there will be time for her to visit her brother, Spock, aboard the Enterprise… but Pike reveals that Spock hasn’t been aboard for quite some time.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Ted Sullivan & Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts
directed by Alex Kurtzman
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), James Frain (Sarek), Mia Kershner (Amanda), Tig Notaro (Commander Jett Reno), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. General Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Ethan Peck (Spock), Sean Connolly Affleck (Lt. Connolly), Rachael Ancheril (Commander Nhan), Arista Arhin (young Burnham), Raven Dauda (Dr. Tracy Pollard), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Liam Hughes (young Spock), Sara Mitich (Lt. Nilsson), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Linus)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: Not to be confused with the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Brothers (1990), Brother plunges head-first into the task of connecting the dots between Discovery and the rest of Star Trek continuity, including the revelation that the Enterprise’s five-year mission of exploration under Pike took it beyond the reach of the Klingon war depicted in the first season of Discovery. Stamets’ ethno-botanist former colleague aboard the Enterprise may or may not be one Hikaru Sulu, who didn’t appear in The Cage (set four years prior to this episode) but may well have been aboard. Saru’s sister Siranna (Short Treks: The Brightest Star) is mentioned as well. A transporter operator aboard Discovery appears to be wearing what may be a bulkier (primitive?) version of the VISOR worn by Geordi La Forge in The Next Generation. Commander Nhan, a member of Pike’s crew from the Enterprise, is a Barzan (TNG: The Price). Pike’s service record appears on Discovery‘s main viewscreen, allowing us to see that he took command of the Enterprise from its first commander, Captain Robert April (Star Trek: The Animated Series: The Counter-Clock Incident), and served under April prior to that.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Nothing Left On Earth Excepting Fishes

The OrvilleCaptain Mercer has been keeping a romantic relationship with the Orville’s new dark matter cartographer, Lt. Janel Tyler, hush-hush, but finally begins letting the word out ahead of a vacation shuttle trip with her. But as if often the case, Mercer can’t have nice things: a small group of Krill fighters seem to home in on the shuttle, even when it’s cloaked, until it is captured by a larger Krill ship. The Krill separate the two and demand Mercer’s command codes, and it is only then that he learns that Lt. Janel Tyler is Telaya, a Krill who Mercer met which disguised as a Trill himself. Acting as a surgically-altered Krill deep-cover agent, Telaya is returning the favor, but a surprise attack by another enemy of the Krill forces the two into an escape pod which sets down on a planet inhospitable to Telaya, who, like all Krill, cannot survive direct exposure to sunlight. With the Krill’s enemies hunting them down, Mercer has to find a way to signal the Orville…and protect a woman who’s holding him at gunpoint.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Brannon Braga & Andre Bormanis
directed by Jon Cassar
music by Joel McNeely

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad Coleman (Klyden), Michaela McManus (Telaya / Lt. Janel Tyler), Patrick Warburton (Lt. Tharl), Chris Johnson (Cassius), Michael Traynor (Krill Captain), Nathan Dana Aldrich (Krill Officer), Greta Jung (Comm Officer), Giovanni Bejarano (Security Officer), Michele Boyd (Lieutenant Dorsett), Fred Tatasciore (Krill voice)

The OrvilleNotes: Mercer and Gordon met Telaya in season one’s Krill, while “Lt. Tyler” boarded the Orville at the beginning of season two (Ja’loja), though Michaela McManus was not credited in that episode, presumably to avoid tipping the hand of this episode’s plot developments (and perhaps to confuse speculation as to who would replace Halston Sage as a series regular).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

New Eden

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate 1027.32: Burnham reveals Spock’s personal log entry – and its coded message – to Captain Pike. Spock not only knew of the signals, but of their locations, before any of them were detected by Starfleet. But Pike has more troubling news: Spock took a leave of absence to check himself into a psychiatric ward due to whatever was troubling him. Discovery is diverted to an unexplored planet in the Beta Quadrant which is the source of the newest signal, necessitating use of the spore drive. But despite an alarming distress signal, the planet is home to a peaceful, pastoral, and most importantly pre-warp human civilization. Pike, Burnham and ops officer Joann Owosekun beam down incognito to find out how a human settlement reached this far into deep space before the invention of warp drive. What they discover is a group of survivors of World War III who have no idea how they got there. A sudden displacement of radioactive particle from the planet’s rings threatens all on the surface – including the landing party – with extinction, but Pike’s absolute adherence to the Prime Directive forces a monumental decision: are Discovery and her new captain here to save a civilization, or witness its destruction without interference?

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonteleplay by Vaun Wilmott & Sean Cochran
story by Akiva Goldsman & Sean Cochran
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Sheila McCarthy (All-Mother), Andrew Moodie (Jacob), Bahia Watson (May Ahearn), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Raven Dauda (Dr. Tracy Pollard), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Noah Davis (Lieutenant in 2053), Kira Groulx (Rose), Claire Qute (Teen May Hologram)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: The mention of a Third World War in Star Trek’s otherwise hopeful vision of the future first appeared in the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, with Picard’s identification of Q‘s kangaroo court based upon the near-anarchic state of law in the “post-atomic horror” of the 21st century (fortunately, if you’re reading this, you’re only in the pre-atomic horror). Later incarnations of Trek carried this idea forward, particularly the movie Star Trek: First Contact and numerous episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. Even after Earth rebuilt itself following these events, there wasn’t a universal embracing of a technological lifestyle, as Lt. Owosekun is said to have grown up in “a Luddite collective”. No one in this episode ever refers to the Prime Directive, only Starfleet’s General Order One. The Beta Quadrant has long been known to be where portions of the Romulan and Klingon Empires are located, but the New Eden settlement is much further into the Beta Quadrant – 51,000 light years from Federation territory in the Alpha Quadrant, or, for comparison, roughly 2/3 of the distance that the U.S.S. Voyager would be flung into the Delta Quadrant in the 24th century. (Clearly, events yet unseen rule out further development or use of the spore drive technology by Voyager‘s time, otherwise the rescue of Captain Janeway’s crew would have been a simple matter.) The stardate for this episode is not given in the episode itself, but in the season finale, Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

All The World Is Birthday Cake

The OrvilleThe process of search for Alara’s replacement has finally settled on another Xelayan security officer, Lt. Talla Keyali, though Mercer still seems apprehensive about anyone stepping into Alara’s shoes. Commander Grayson and Bortus discuss holding a joint birthday party, an idea whose merits she seems unable to sell Bortus on. A radio signal from a distant planet – “is anyone out there?” – signals an imminent first-contact situation, but despite the initial introductions going smoothly, the Orville crew’s hosts suddenly hold them at gunpoint and have Grayson and Bortus sent to an internment camp, all because a casual mention of their imminent birthdays means that they fall into a star sign that this society’s astrologers consider extremely dangerous. Mercer and his new security chief try to parlay for their officers’ release, while Grayson and Bortus become resigned to the fact that any escape attempt will surely only prove that they are dangerous and violent.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Robert Duncan McNeill
music by John Debney

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Ted Danson (Admiral Perry), Chris Johnson (Cassius), Mike Henry (Dann), John Rubinstein (First Prefect), Niko Nicotera (Rokal ), Jennifer Landon (Ukania), Robert Curtis Brown (Chief Advisor Makkal), Heather Horton (Science Prefect), Marie-Francoise Theodore (Advisor #2), Gigi Hessamian (Physicist), Meredith Thomas (Nurse), Matthew Foster (Regorian Doctor), The OrvilleArriane Alexander (Regorian Doctor #2), Erica Shaffer (Obstetric Surgeon #1), Brandon Young (Obstetric Surgeon #2), Carlos E. Campos (Obstetric Surgeon #3), Carlos Arellano (Burly Man), Evan Angone (Cameraman), Chet Grissom (Aide), Julienne Irons (Prisoner), Blesson Yates (Topa), Kyra Santoro (Ensign Turco), Charles Maceo (Camp Guard #1), Cory Tucker (Camp Guard #2), Chad T. Wood (Warden), Jack Kennedy (Military Security Guard), Thai Edwards (Holding Cell Guard), Troy Vincent (Man in Lab Coat)

Notes: There’s in interesting Star Trek connection in this episode’s cast-of-almost-thousands: actress Julienne Irons played Lt. Uhura in the earliest episodes of the fan-made series Star Trek: New Voyages.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

Point Of Light

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate 1029.46: A Vulcan diplomatic ship registered to Sarek catches up with Discovery, but rather than welcoming Sarek aboard, Burnham finds herself welcoming Amanda aboard. Having stolen encrypted files related to Spock’s internment in a mental care facility on Starbase 5, she wants Burnham to break into them, since no one at the facility is willing to divulge anything related to Spock’s condition, even to his next of kin. When Captain Pike contacts the commander of Starbase 5, he learns that Spock has supposedly murdered his caretakers and fled – a claim that neither Burnham nor Amanda believe…and neither does Pike. Ensign Tilly’s behavior is becoming increasingly erratic as she continues communicating with what appears to be her childhood friend May, someone who no one else can see. Tilly’s unusual behavior puts her command-track career in jeopardy.

On the Klingon homeworld, Ash Tyler is an outsider by any measure. As consort to recently-crowned Chancellor L’Rell, his very presence is constantly challenged by her political rivals and allies alike. What no one outside House Mokai knows is that Tyler is Voq, the former Klingon torchbearer remade in the image of a human and given a new set of memories. Tyler is stunned when he discovers that L’Rell and Voq had a child, a baby boy whose skin is the same unusual pale white as Voq’s. This news – gleaned from a microscopic listening device – is also a surprise to Kol-Sha, the father of the Klingon leader who died in the battle at Pahvo during the war. Kol-Sha intends to use this information to force L’Rell to abdicate her throne, allowing him to ascend to the head of the High Council. Another damning piece of evidence Kol-Sha intends to use is that Tyler has recently contacted Burnham, warning her that L’Rell’s position as Chancellor – and therefore the tenuous peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire – are in danger. But while help does arrive for Tyler and L’Rell, it comes from an unexpected source – one with an unthinkable list of its own demands.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Andrew Colville
directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou), Mia Kershner (Amanda), Alan Van Sprang (Leland), Mary Chieffo (Chancellor L’Rell), Kenneth Mitchell (Kol-Sha), Bahia Watson (May Ahearn), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Xavier Sotelo (Captain Diego Vela), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Linus), Pay Chen (Starfleet Psychiatrist in Recording), Damon Runyan (Ujilli)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: The Klingon monastery on Boreth will later be the site of the apparent return of Kahless himself (TNG: Rightful Heir, 1993), as witnessed by Worf among many others. In the purely speculative department, it may or may not be significant that, after Voq, the only albino Klingon seen in the Star Trek franchise is the one hunted down by Kor (a relative of Kol and Kol-Sha), Koloth, and Kang to assert their right of vengeance for the Albino’s killing of each man’s firstborn son (DS9: Blood Oath, 1994), with help from Jadzia Dax. (At the time Star Trek: Discovery takes place, the Dax symbiont is part of Torias Dax, a thrill-seeking Starfleet test pilot, and not Curzon Dax, the diplomat who would help negotiate peace between the Klingons and Federation in the late 23rd and early 24th centuries, and who joined Kor, Koloth, and Kang in a pact to seek out the unnamed Star Trek: Discoveryalbino Klingon to avenge their sons’ lives). L’Rell and Tyler are revealed to be the architects of the Klingon D-7 battle cruiser, a design first glimpsed in Elaan Of Troyius (TOS, 1968), carried through the animated series and the Kirk-era movies, and even seen briefly in Star Trek: The Next Generation (Heart Of Glory, 1988), though this may be the D-7 Mark II as a completely different design was identified as the D-7 in Discovery’s first season. Kenneth Mitchell played Kol in the first season of Discovery, returning to play the role of Kol’s father here. Alan Van Sprang first appeared as Section 31 operative Leland in a short scene released directly to YouTube following Discovery’s season one finale in 2018.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

A Happy Refrain

The OrvilleConvinced by Lt. Malloy that he’d look good with a moustache, Bortus boldly goes where no Moclan has gone before – to Dr. Finn, to have hair follicles stimulated on his upper lip. Dr. Finn, however, has other things on her mind: asking the Orville’s resident Kaylon science officer, Isaac, out on a date. Her children already love spending time with him, and despite his being an emotionless artificial life form, Dr. Finn has slowly grown to enjoy his company as well. Isaac, however, has one major problem: being an emotionless artificial life form, not only is he devoid of any feelings for Dr. Finn, but he regards human dating as a primitive mating ritual to be studied for a while, and then abandoned. Only after putting Dr. Finn’s romantic feelings for him through the wringer does Isaac realize that human relationships can be much more long-term – and that breaking those relationships off can cause major rifts in normal working relations with his shipmates.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Seth MacFarlane
music by Andrew Cottee

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Mike Henry (Dann), Chris Johnson (Cassius), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Kai Di’Nilo Wener (Ty Finn), B.J. Tanner (Marcus Finn), Blesson Yates (Topa), Kyra Santoro (Ensign Turco), Mark Graham (Conductor), Aaron Goddard (Waiter), Brent Alan Henry (Bartender)

Notes: Both Mark Jackson and Norm MacDonald appear “in the flesh” as, respectively, Isaac and Yaphit, thanks to the environment simulator’s holographic overlays.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

An Obol For Charon

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Captain Pike is visited by his first officer from the Enterprise, who has managed to bring him data on the trajectory of Spock’s shuttlecraft. But moments after Discovery sets off on that heading, it’s yanked out of warp by a dense sphere of pulsing energy. Attempts to hail the sphere are fruitless, and moments later Discovery‘s systems begin failing, beginning with the universal translator and engineering systems. The fungal life form that Stamets extracted from Tilly is no longer contained, and reasserts its hold over Tilly. Saru, who seemed unwell at a briefing prior to the sphere’s appearance, is now seriously weakened, and reveals that he has entered the Vaharai, the stage of the Kelpien life span at which an individual is ready to be harvested by the alien predators that cull the Kelpiens. Since he is no longer on Kaminar, Saru will not be harvested, but can look forward to slowly going mad as the Vaharai advances; still, he insists on aiding Burnham in trying to stabilize the ship’s systems and determine the sphere’s intentions (which Pike is assuming are hostile). Speaking through Tilly, “May” tells Stamets that Discovery‘s travels through the mycelial network are harmful to the network and the life it supports. Saru deduces that the sphere is also a life form – a dying one trying to pass on all of its knowledge and experience before it expires – and urges Pike to drop Discovery‘s shields to allow the ship’s computers to absorb all of that information. But Saru feels that his time has come too, and asks Burnham to end his suffering.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonteleplay by Alan McElroy & Andrew Colville
story by Jordon Nardino & Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts
directed by Lee Rose
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Tig Notaro (Commander Jett Reno), Rebecca Romjin (Number One), Rachael Ancheril (Commander Nhan), Bahia Watson (May Ahearn), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Raven Dauda (Dr. Tracy Pollard), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Linus)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: Gum and duct tape, and burgers and fries, all still exist in the 23rd century. (Especially fries, as both Number One and Jett Reno mention them.) Also, David Bowie and Prince still have fans in the 23rd century, as they likely will long afterward. Many of the elements of Kelpien society mentioned by Saru were previously seen in the Short Treks episode The Brightest Star (2018).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

Saints Of Imperfection

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Anguished by Ensign Tilly’s disappearance into an organic alien coccoon, Stamets is refusing to give up on the idea of somehow retrieving her, believing that she has been transported into the mycelial network. Discovery is chasing a shuttle believed to be Spock’s, and disables it with a photon torpedo only to discover not Spock inside, but deposed Terran Emperor Philippa Georgiou (now an agent of Section 31) inside. After a terse exchange of information, Georgiou leaves, but not before leaving another Section 31 agent – the recently recruited Ash Tyler – aboard Discovery. Stamets devises a plan to perform a “partial jump” with Discovery’s spore drive to enter the mycelial network and recover Tilly, though at great risk to the ship. Inside the network, Tilly is surrounded by any number of things that could kill her…along with May, who says she is the avatar of a race called the Jah’Sepp, which lives in the network and tries to avoid a monster that is killing them. When Discovery slices into the network’s dimension, Burnham, Stamets and Tilly discover that the “monster” which needs to be removed is one of their own.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Kirsten Beyer
directed by David Barrett
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou), Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell), Alan Van Sprang (Leland), Rachael Ancheril (Commander Nhan), Bahia Watson (May Ahearn), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: The wearable communicator badge common throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager apparently has its roots in Section 31 technology, though it’s clearly a shock to Captain Pike in the 23rd century. Given that Pike is in the dark about Georgiou’s origins in the mirror universe, it’s also likely that – despite whatever briefing he received (Brother) – he doesn’t know the full story about Captain Lorca.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Deflectors

The OrvilleThe Orville returns to Moclus for a deflector upgrade, to be overseen by one of the Moclans’ most skilled engineers, Locar. He happens to be an old flame of Bortus’, but Bortus does his best not to associate with the distinguished guest. As his security liaison and escort aboard the Orville, Lt. Keyali spends the most time with Locar, and is caught off guard when he confesses that he is attracted to her. Since Moclans are (mostly) single-gender, a Moclan attracted to females faces being ostracized from Moclan society. When Locar goes missing after a walk in the environment simulator with Lt. Keyali, she replays the environment simulator records and discovers that he appears to have been murdered – and Bortus’ mate, Klyden, is the prime suspect. Klyden admits to confronting Locar about what Moclan society perceives as his perversity, but denies killing him. Keyali realizes quickly that, with Locar’s engineering genius, what seems like an open-and-shut murder case may be something much more complex…and perhaps not a murder at all.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by David A. Goodman
directed by Seth MacFarlane
music by Andrew Cottee

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Mike Henry (Dann), Chris Johnson (Cassius), Kevin Daniels (Locar), Wren T. Brown (Captain Rechik), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Blesson Yates (Topa), Kyra Santoro (Ensign Turco), Chase Brosamle (Newsie), Rachael MacFarlane (Computer Voice), Vivienne Rutherford (Little Girl), Yvette Tucker (Window Dancer #1), Steve Hanneman (Window Dancer #2), Bruce Willis (Groogen)

Notes: Wren T. Brown is a two-time Star Trek veteran, having appeared in the Next Generation episode Manhunt (1989) and the Voyager episode Prophecy (2001). Kevin Daniels has appeared on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and Smallville. Bruce Willis’ guest voice role was neither credited on-screen nor featured in advance publicity.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Identity

The OrvilleMoments after Dr. Finn reveals to her sons that she and Isaac are an item, the Kaylon promptly keels over, showing no signs of life. Captain Mercer gets permission from the Planetary Union to visit the home planet of the Kaylons, not just to seek care for Isaac, but to see if they’re any closer to a decision on joining the Union. When they awaken Isaac, he announces that his mission – to join the crew to learn more about humanity and other organic life forms – has been completed, and that he will be leaving the Orville. Distraught, Dr. Finn’s youngest son sneaks out of the ship to look for Isaac, but in the course of hiding from other Kaylons, finds himself hiding in an underground chamber. When Dr. Finn, Bortus and Lt. Keyali find Ty, he has found something horrifying: a mass grave site of organic life forms. Scans of the planet reveal that these mass graves circle the entire Kaylon homeworld. When Captain Mercer presses the Kaylons for details, they reveal that the dead were the organic beings who constructed the Kaylons to be robotic servants, and then refused to give them rights when the Kaylons achieved sentience. The Kaylons wiped them out in a genocidal conflict, which rules out their ever joining the Union – which seems to suit them just fine, as they intend to board and hijack the Orville to facilitate a similar conquest of Earth.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Brannon Braga & Andre Bormanis
directed by Jon Cassar
music by John Debney

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Victor Garber (Admiral Halsey), Graham Hamilton (Kaylon Primary), Mike Henry (Dann), Robert David Grant (Kaylon Secondary), B.J. Tanner (Marcus Finn), Kai Di’Nilo Wener (Ty Finn), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Jay Whittaker (Kaylon Tertiary), Blesson Yates (Topa)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

The Sounds Of Thunder

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate 1035.86: With his recent exposure to an unusual space phenomenon having accelerated Saru past the stage of life at which Kelpiens are expected to surrender themselves to culling by the Ba’ul, he is free of constant fear for the first time in his life. When the latest detection of one of the mysterious signals sends Discovery racing to Saru’s home planet, he is eager to stand up for his species – perhaps, Captain Pike notes, too eager, as Saru has also undergone a radical shift in thinking regarding the “Great Balance”, the belief system that keeps Kelpiens subservient to the Ba’ul. Should Saru revisit his planet and reveal that the Great Balance is a lie, that would be a clear violation of the prime directive, though Burnham argues that it doesn’t apply to the Kelpiens, since the Ba’ul’s presence has already revealed advanced technology to their prey. Saru introduces Burnham to his sister, Siranna, and learns that his own father was culled shortly after he left the planet. But Saru’s return to Discovery triggers a swift response from the Ba’ul: they want him returned to the planet, and threaten the entire Kelpien race to secure his return. Saru allows himself to be taken aboard a Ba’ul ship. As Burnham, Tilly, and Airiam search records from the data downloaded from the sphere and discover that the balance of power on Kaminar was once quite different, Saru learns that he is far from defenseless against the Ba’ul… and is willing to break every Starfleet rule on the books to help his people achieve the same ability to protect themselves.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt
directed by Doug Aarniokoski
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Javier Botet (The Ba’ul), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Hannah Spear (Siranna), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Mark Pellington (Ba’ul voice-over), Raven Dauda (Dr. Tracy Pollard), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Linus / Kelpien Villager #1), Michael Ayres (Transporter Officer)

Notes: The pre-first-contact state of Kelpien society, and Saru’s departure from Kaminar, were previously seen in the Short Treks episode The Brightest Star (2018). The stardate for this episode is not given in the episode itself, but in the season finale, Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2.

LogBook entry by Earl Green