Tag: Series Premiere

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1981 TV Series Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Episode 1

Hitchhiker's Guide To The GalaxyArthur Dent’s having a more troublesome Thursday than usual. For one thing, the local council has decided to demolish his house and several others with as little warning as possible, all to make way for a new bypass. To protest this, Arthur lies in the mud in front of a bulldozer which would, without his presence, destroy his home completely. And while that’s stressful enough, Arthur’s somewhat odd friend Ford Prefect chooses this very moment to come along and insist that Arhur must come to the pub with him and imbibe heavily, and somehow – according to Ford – the end of the world figures into the proceedings. Arthur reluctantly agrees, but regrets it soon afterward when he hears, from the cozy confines of the pub, the destruction of his house. But before Arthur can exact his revenge on the bureaucrats who made this all possible, he becomes one of the only witnesses to the destruction of the entire Earth – and the slightly bewildered recipient of a babel fish, courtesy of Ford. As it happens, Ford isn’t from Earth at all, and is a roving researcher for an encyclopedic electronic book known as the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The spaceship which Ford has managed to use to escape from Earth, with Arthur in tow, has a crew which isn’t from Earth either…and they’re none too pleased to discover that they have hitchhikers aboard.

Order now!written by Douglas Adams
directed by Alan J.W. Bell
music by Paddy Kingsland

Cast: Peter Jones (The Voice of the Book), Simon Jones (Arthur Dent), David Dixon (Ford Prefect), Joe Melia (Mr. Prosser), Martin Benson (Vogon Captain), Steve Conway (Barman), Cleo Rocos (Alien), Andrew Mussell (Alien)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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National Public Radio Radio & Audio Dramas Star Wars

A Wind To Shake The Stars

Star WarsOn the distant desert planet of Tatooine, far from either the Galactic Empire or the Rebellion, Luke Skywalker lives the simple existence of a moisture farmer, toiling away on his Uncle Owen’s farm and trying to fit in with his friends at Anchorhead. Ever since his friend Biggs left to join the Imperial Academy, Luke’s been a bit of an outcast, and he doesn’t win many friends by beating the local bully in a high-speed canyon race. While working on the farm, Luke spots a fierce firefight in orbit of Tatooine, and tries to tell his friends about it, but as usual they blow him off. Biggs returns for a visit, and once they’re away from the others, Biggs tells Luke of a momentous decision – despite having graduated from the Imperial Academy, Biggs plans to jump ship on his first assignment and join the Rebellion.

Order this CDwritten by Brian Daley
based on the screenplay Star Wars by George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

Cast: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Ann Sachs (Princess Leia Organa), Perry King (Han Solo), Bernard “Bunny” Behrens (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Brock Peters (Lord Darth Vader), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Keene Curtis (Grand Moff Tarkin), John Considine (Lord Tion), Stephen Elliott (Prestor), David Ackroyd (Captain Antilles), Adam Arkin (Fixer), Kale Brown (Biggs), David Clennon (Motti), Anne Gerety (Aunt Beru), Thomas Hill (Uncle Owen), David Paymer (Deak), Joel Brooks (Heater), John Dukakis (Rebel), Stephanie Steele (Cammie), Phillip Kellard (Customer #2)

Supporting Cast: James Blendick, Clyde Burton, Bruce French, David Alan Grier, Jerry Hardin, John Harkins, Meschach Taylor, Marc Vahanian, John Welsh, Kent Williams

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Phoenix, The

The Phoenix

The PhoenixAncient ruins in Peru have been hiding a secret that could challenge everyone’s understanding of world history: a hermetically sealed casket, of a design far more advanced than the Incas were capable of building, is found. Inside is a perfectlly intact, but inert, man, bearing a medallion with an inscription mentioning the Egyptian god Osiris. Though this seems to be just a well-preserved corpse, the man returns to life and escapes the facility where his body is being studied. He hitches a ride with a photographer named Noelle, asking her to take him to the sea or he will die. Once there, he seems to be revitalized, as much by exposure to the sun as proximity to the ocean. The doctor who oversaw his unearthing, Ward Frazier, finds the man – who identifies himself as Bennu of the Golden Light – and discovers that he may be an alien in a human guise, the last remnant of an otherworldly civilization trying to pass its secrets on to Earth so its people can avoid the same self-destructive fate. Bennu is searching for a fellow traveler, who he believes has also come to Earth, but first he will have to survive the paranoia of 20th century Earth.

The Phoenixwritten by Anthony Lawrence & Nancy Lawrence
directed by Douglas Hickox
music by Arthur B. Rubinstein

Cast: Judson Scott (Bennu), Shelley Smith (Noelle Marshall), E.G. Marshall (Dr. Ward Frazier), Fernando Allende (Diego DeVarga), Daryl Anderson (Dr. Clifford Davis), Carmen Argenziano (Kingston), Patricia Conklin (Nurse), Angus Duncan (Surgeon), Terry Jastrow (Hood), Stanley Kamel (Murray), Richard Lynch (Justin Preminger), Jimmy Mair (Tim), James Malinda (Croupier), Paul Marin (Anesthesiologist), Hersha Parady (Lynn), Wayne Storm (Patrolman), Lyman Ward (Howard), Brett Williams (Technician)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Nightmare Man

Part One

The Nightmare ManA quiet village on a Scottish island becomes the site of a disturbingly savage murder. A young woman’s remains – what’s left of them – are found near a golf course. Inspector Inskip, heading up the investigation, is alarmed to find that the wounds are not the work of any kind of bladed weapon: the woman was simply torn from limb to limb and left there. The man who found her, dentist Michael Gaffikin, is deeply disturbed when his expertise is called upon in the post-mortem to test a theory that the victim’s wounds were caused by teeth.

written by Robert Holmes
based on the novel “Child Of Vodyanoi” by David Wiltshire
directed by Douglas Camfield
music by Robert Stewart

The Nightmare ManCast: James Warwick (Michael Gaffikin), Celia Imrie (Fiona Patterson), Maurice Roeves (Inspector Inskip), Tom Watson (Dr. Goudry), Jonathan Newth (Colonel Howard), James Cosmo (Sergeant Carch), Fraser Wilson (PC Malcolmson), Tony Sibbald (Symonds), Elaine Wells (Mrs. MacKay)

Notes: Future Doctor Who director Graeme Harper (The Caves Of Androzani, Revelation Of The Daleks, Rise Of The Cybermen, Time Crash) was one of two production managers on this serial; he later cast Maurice Roeves in a hard-hitting major guest role in Caves Of Androzani. Harper and director Douglas Camfield had worked together numerous times since the 1960s.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Into The Labyrinth Season 1

Rothgo

Into The LabyrinthTerry and Helen, brother and sister, seek shelter in a cave when their day of playing outside is ruined by a sudden and violent thunderstorm. They’re not alone, either: an older boy named Phil has also sought refuge in the cave…but all of them hear another voice, somewhere deeper in the cave, asking for help. They find a man trapped under an enormous stone, a piece of rock that by all rights should have crushed him to death. With his instruction, they are amazed that they have the power to lift the stone and free him. He introduces himself as the wizard Rothgo, and he has been trapped in the cave by a sorceress named Belor. He seeks something called the Nidus, a magical item that will allow him to concentrate his power and escape his prison…but since he can’t leave the caves, he must trust his three new young friends to enter the labyrinth, and journey through various times in history to find it. They will find him there at various stages of his long, magically-extended life, and will have to seek his help against Belor. Their journey begins…

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker
based on an idea by Bob Baker & Peter Graham Scott
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Into The LabyrinthCast: Ron Moody (Rothgo), Pamela Salem (Belor), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil)

Notes: Executive producer Peter Dromgoole also worked with series co-creator Bob Baker on his previous series, Sky (1975), along with director (and series co-creator) Peter Graham Scott and composer Sidney Sager, was an integral part of a much-loved Into The Labyrinthprevious HTV children’s fantasy series, Children Of The Stones, in 1977. Like Children Of The Stones, Into The Labyrinth successfully jumped the Atlantic to become part of the “Third Eye” strand of children’s programming on nascent cable channel Nickelodeon, but only the first season was shown to American audiences.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Under The Mountain

Maar

Under The Mountain1973: The Matheson twins, age three, go missing from their home, triggering a massive search and rescue operation near their rural New Zealand home. An enigmatic man, Mr. Jones, discovers them bathed in a golden glow; they’re found shortly afterward by police, but Mr. Jones is nowhere to be found.

1981: Rachel and Theo Matheson visit their aunt and uncle’s home in the shadow of the Rangitoto volcano. Now approaching adolescence, the twins have grown not just up but apart. During a swim, Theo thinks he spots a shark or some other creature in the water, causing a panic, and later he’s spooked when a neighbor’s car slows down suspiciously, as if observing Theo and his sister. But while it may seem like Theo’s imagination is running away with him, he didn’t imagine the sea creature. When it comes to pay the twins a visit, Mr. Jones is waiting to protect them yet again.

screenplay by Ken Catran
based on the novel by Maurice Gee
directed by Chris Bailey
music by Bernie Allen

Under The MountainCast: Kirsty Wilkinson (Rachel), Lance Warren (Theo), Roy Leywood (Mr. Jones), Bill Johnson (Mr. Wilberforce), Bill Ewens (Ricky), Glynis McNicoll (Aunt Noeline), Noel Trevarthen (Uncle Clarry), Laurie Dee (Mr. Matheson), Annie Whittle (Mrs. Matheson), Jonathon Hardy (Country Policeman), Paula Jones (Waitress), Rachel Constantine (young Rachel), Phillip Constantine (young Theo), Gay Dean (Jones’ neighbor), Norman Forsey (Searcher), Sean Duffy (Searcher), Fred James (Searcher)

Notes: Rangitoto is one of the many volcanoes of the Auckland Volcanic Field, a still-active area of volcanic growth whose future activity may yet threaten New Zealand’s most populous area. Rangitoto, last active roughly half a millennium ago, is the site (and the result) of the largest eruption in that field in recorded history. It is now considered dormant, and its empty lava tubes may be explored by tourists. The episode title, Maar, refers to a volcanic crater at ground level, Under The Mountainthe result of an explosion when groundwater comes into contact with magma, which usually becomes a natural lake after the eruption. In this case, it refers to Lake Pupuke, a dormant maar near Rangitoto.

Under The Mountain was the first production designer gig for Robert Gillies, formerly the full-time sax/trumpet player of New Zealand art-rock band Split Enz. His later work as production designer included Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Cleopatra 2525, the short-lived Bruce Campbell series Jack Of All Trades, and Legend Of The Seeker. He also designed props for the 21st century big-screen versions of Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring and The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. Prior to this series, Gillies had assisted in the set design for Split Enz’ near-legendary theatrical extravaganzas and music videos.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Day Of The Triffids

Episode 1

The Day Of The TriffidsBill is the only man he knows who didn’t see the shooting stars.

The triffids, tall, fleshy plants, first appeared around the world decades ago, when Bill was a boy. The oil harvested from the plants promised to ease the world’s energy concerns, but that advantage is offset by the plants’ ability to sense and sting human beings, usually blinding them in the process. Triffids are confined to triffid farms, and tended carefully by workers in protective clothing.

Now an adult, Bill has suffered another triffid sting, landing him in the hospital with his eyes bandaged over. He awakens to discover that the nurses and hospital staff haven’t been to his room yet, on the day his bandages are to be removed. He remembers his doctor and the nurses mentioning an awe-inspiring display of shooting stars the night before, but of course he couldn’t see it – nor, indeed, can he see anything until he risks removing his own bandages.

Then Bill discovers that he is the only man he knows who can see anything. The triffids have taken over the outside world and blinded the human race.

Download this episode via Amazonadapted by Douglas Livingstone
based on the book by John Wyndham
directed by Ken Hannam
music by Christopher Gunning

The Day Of The TriffidsCast: John Duttine (Bill), Jonathan Newth (Dr. Soames), Cleo Sylvestre (Nurse), Robert Robinson (Palanguez), Ian Halliburton (Grant), Morgan Sheppard (Bill’s Father), Steven Jonas (Young Bill), Edmund Pegge (Walter), Keith Alexander (Newsreel Voice)

Notes: Producer David Maloney (1933-2006) was previously the director of a string of well-regarded Doctor Who serials, and came to this project The Day Of The Triffidsfresh from having produced the first three seasons of another BBC science fiction series, Blake’s 7. Morgan Sheppard may be better known to Stateside viewers as W. Morgan Sheppard, and has appeared in numerous Star Trek series and movies, Quantum Leap, Babylon 5, seaQuest DSV, modern Doctor Who, Legend Of The Seeker, Charmed, and countless other shows, but he’ll always be Blank Reg from Max Headroom. Director Ken Hannam helmed several episodes of the early ’70s BBC sci-fi drama Moonbase 3, while Christopher Gunning would later score the ’80s alternate-history drama Knights Of God.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Astronauts Season 1

Episode 1

AstronautsAn all-British crew prepares for a mission to an Earth-orbiting space station. Astronaut Mattocks is a stuff-upper-lip, salt-of-the-Earth family man for whom the flight will be his crowning achievement; Ackroyd is a bundle of nerves who’d really rather stay on Earth. Accompanying both men is a single female astronaut, Foster, a medical specialist who will monitor the crew’s health, both physical and mental; a dog named Bimbo will also travel to the station for further medical tests and experiments. Communications problems arise at critical times due to technical glitches and a gung-ho American mission controller. By the time the new crew of the space station arrives, they’re sure of only one thing: it’ll be hard for them to stand one another long enough for a record-setting space endurance mission.

written by Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie
directed by Dick Clement

AstronautsCast: Christopher Godwin (Mattocks), Carmen Du Sautoy (Foster), Barrie Rutter (Ackroyd), Bruce Boa (Beadle), Mary Healey (Valerie), Ben Aris (Reporter), Diana Berriman (Reporter), Barry Lower (Reporter), Hilton McRae (Reporter), Pamela Miles (Reporter), Hugh Walters (Reporter), Michael Delorzo (Mattocks’ Kid), Julian Delorzo (Mattocks’ Kid), and Bimbo (himself)

AstronautsNotes: This space-set sitcom seems to take place in an alternate universe in which Skylab survived 1979 (it didn’t) and British astronauts were still flying Apollo spacecraft (a vehicle which stopped flying in 1975). Created by The Goodies writer/performers Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, the show was popular enough to merit a second season in 1983. The first season has neither a theme tune or incidental music.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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K-9 Sarah Jane Adventures

K-9 & Company: A Girl’s Best Friend

K-9 & CompanyAfter her Aunt Lavinia leaves for a lecture tour in America much earlier than expected, her niece, Sarah Jane Smith, takes up temporary residence in her house in the quaint village of Moreton Harwood. Sarah finds the locals to be a little bit backward, and one of Lavinia’s recent letters to the editor in the local paper decrying the belief that black magic will help the crops grow – a belief that some of the villagers apparently take quite seriously. Lavinia’s ward, Brendan, also arrives to stay at the house, and Sarah finds a note from Lavinia herself, pointing her in the direction of a large box that has been in Lavinia’s possession for years. The box, which has never been opened, contains a present for Sarah from the Doctor – her very own K-9. Brendan, who’s delighted with computers and technology, makes fast friends with the robotic dog, but that night when Sarah visits one of the neighbors, Brendan finds himself in need of one of K-9’s more unusual abilities when two men break into the house. K-9 stuns one of the men and then pursues the other, but doesn’t catch him. Sarah finds the local police oddly uninterested in the incident, and begins to wonder if there’s something to Lavinia’s witchcraft worries. When Brendan is kidnapped and the police still aren’t interested, her suspicions are even more aroused, and she’ll need K-9’s help to find out how far this small-town conspiracy goes.

Order the DVDwritten by Terence Dudley
directed by John Black
music by Peter Howell / title music by Fiachra Trench & Ian Levine

Cast: Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), John Leeson (voice of K-9), Bill Fraser (Commander Pollock), Ian Sears (Brendan Richards), Colin Jeavons (George Tracey), Sean Chapman (Peter Tracey), Mary Wimbush (Aunt Lavinia), Linda Polan (Juno Baker), Gillian Martell (Lilly Gregson), Neville Barber (Howard Baker), John Quarmby (Henry Tobias), Nigel Gregory (Sergeant Wilson), Stephen Oxley (PC Carter)

Notes: Though not strictly speaking an actual part of the Sarah Jane Adventures series, K-9 & Company establishes numerous important parts of the series backstory, and perhaps more importantly established plot points which later Doctor Who episodes (The Five Doctors, School Reunion) regarded as official. It was also the first (and, until Torchwood was greenlit, only) official Doctor Who TV spinoff. As is the case with the current slate of Doctor Who spinoffs being produced by the same team responsible for the parent series, K-9 & Company would have been produced by Doctor Who’s then-producer John Nathan-Turner, who admitted that he wasn’t fond of the dog’s deus ex machina antics in Doctor Who, but realized that the massive outcry over K-9’s departure meant that there was an audience. Nathan-Turner later admitted that the biggest failure of K-9 & Company was its opening episode’s theme of black magic and the occult; like The Sarah Jane Adventures, K-9 & Company was envisioned for the younger segment of Doctor Who’s audience, and so the pilot episode’s human sacrifice and pagan ceremonies failed to play well against the Christmas/New Year holidays. (A widespread power outage at the time of broadcast didn’t help ratings either.) Ironically, Sarah did get her own spinoff, with K-9 in the opening episode, premiering 26 years and 4 days after K-9 & Company. (For those wondering: K-9 & Company was to have been the series title, while A Girl’s Best Friend was the name of this particular episode; it’s worth noting that in their book “Doctor Who: The Eighties,” authors David J. Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker reveal that only Nathan-Turner was envisaging a full series, something which his superiors at the BBC had not seriously discussed at the time.)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Police Squad Season 1

A Substantial Gift

Police SquadA bank teller who’s deep in debt stages a holdup of her own bank, and leaves evidence pointing to a rather nondescript man who just happened to be there, and Frank Drebin is there. Police Squad, a special division of the police department, swings into action and discovers that one person’s story doesn’t add up. Now it’s up to Frank to figure out who that person is…

Season 1 Regular Cast: Leslie Nielsen (Frank Drebin), Alan North (Ed Hawkins), Rex Hamilton (Abraham Lincoln)

written by Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker and David Zucker
directed by Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker and David Zucker
music by Ira Newborn

Special Guest Star: Lorne Greene (as himself)

Guest Cast: Ed Williams (Mr. Olson), William Duell (Johnny), Barbara Tarbuck (Mr. Twice), Terry Wills (Jim), Terrence Beasor (Dr. Zubatsky), Russell Shannon (Ralph Twice), Jimmy Briscoe (Cop), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Sally)

Alternate Title: The Broken Promise

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Knight Rider Season 1

Knight Of The Phoenix

Knight RiderPolice Lieutenant Michael Long is part of a sting operation intended to bring down an industrial espionage suspect. When his partner is gunned down during the operation, Michael’s thoughts turn to revenge, and he neglects to think twice about a woman who witnesses his partner’s murder – until she draws a gun on him. She’s part of the ring he’s supposed to be reeling in. She shoots Michael in the face at point-blank range and escapes with her cohorts; the sting is a failure.

But so is her attempt to kill Michael. Thanks to a fortuitously-placed metal plate in his skull, he is able to recover with the help of extensive reconstructive surgery that leaves him with a new face. His benefactors in his recovery are a man named Devon, and an older man, the wealthy Wilton Knight; they have arranged for the man known as Michael Long to be declared officially dead, leaving a man with a new face – “Michael Knight” – and no past. Wilton Knight, a tech tycoon, believes that someone has been stealing his secrets, and enlists Michael’s help. Devon introduces him to a nearly-indestructible custom car designed by Wilton Knight, the Knight Industries 2000 (or KITT for short), a Trans-Am whose outer body seems to be incapable of being scratched or dented. But it also has a built-in artificial intelligence programmed to aid Michael; it can assume complete control of the car in a pinch, and unflappably offers advice to its driver.

One trip to Silicon Valley and one death-and-dent-defying demolition derby later, Michael is investigating a company called Comptron, discovering that the people who stole Wilton Knight’s secrets were the same people Michael Long’s anti-espionage operation was meant to capture. These people are willing to kill; Michael, being an ex-cop, is trained to avoid killing unless necessary…which may be his undoing even with KITT and all of Knight Industries’ resources behind him.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Glen A. Larson
directed by Daniel Haller
music by Stu Phillips

Knight RiderCast: David Hasselhoff (Michael Knight), Edward Mulhare (Devon), Phyllis Davis (Tanya Walker), Pamela Susan Shoop (Maggie), Lance LeGault (Vernon Gray), Noel Conlon (William Benjamin), Michael D. Roberts (Jackson), Bert Rosario (Brown), Vince Edwards (Dr. Wesley), Richard Basehart (Wilton Knight), Edmund Gilbert (Charles Acton), Shawn Southwick (Lonnie), Brian Cutler (Bar Manager), Barret Oliver (Buddy), Robert Phillips (Symes), Alma L. Beltran (Luce), Ed Hooks (Guard), Tyler Murray (Sally), Victoria Harned (Doris), Larry Anderson (Michael Long), William Daniels (KITT), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Muntzy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Wizards & Warriors

The Unicorn Of Death

Wizards & WarriorsThe wizard Vector presents the evil Prince Blackpool with a gift: a sculpture of a unicorn made from a substance that, when activated, will create an explosion large enough to wipe out a country. Blackpool decides to use this terrible weapon to win the affections of Princess Ariel… by holding her father’s kingdom hostage with the threat of fiery destruction. But Ariel is betrothed to Prince Erik Greystone, who is immediately given the task of recovering the key that will deactivate the explosive. With his squire, Marko, Greystone convinces one of Blackpool’s flunkies to talk and makes his way toward Blackpool’s citadel.

It never occurs to him that the key he’s risking life and limb to retrieve might be the wrong one.

written by Bill Richmond
directed by Bill Bixby
music by Lee Holdridge

Cast: Jeff Conaway (Prince Erik Greystone), Walter Olkewicz (Marko), Duncan Regehr (Prince Dirk Blackpool), Julia Duffy Wizards & Warriors(Princess Ariel), Clive Revill (Vector), Ian Wolfe (Wizard Traquill), Randi Brooks (Bethel), Tim Dunigan (Geoffrey Blackpool), Joseph Robert Sicari (Goz Dunder), Thomas Hill (King Baaldorf), Christine de Lisle (Belldonna), Phyllis Katz (Cassandra), Ken Hixon (Ariel’s Suitor), Brent Huff (Man in Bar), Lonnie Wun (Baaldorf’s Subject), Kathleen McIntyre (Lady In Waiting), Mark Douglas Sebastian, Steven Strong (Grox), Nancy Thiesen (Lady In Waiting)

Notes: Director Bill Bixby is the same actor who starred as the alter ego of The Incredible Hulk throughout that series’ run; even before he was Hulking out, Bixby was in demand as a director. He teamed up with Wizards & Warriors creator Don Reo on his later (and arguably more successful) series Blossom, directing 30 episodes (presumably Very Special ones) of that show. Bixby died in 1993 after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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1980s Miniseries V

V – Part I

VTV journalist Mike Donovan and his soundman are risking life and limb to cover a rebel uprising in El Salvador when they stumble into the biggest story of the 20th century – gigantic flying saucers appear around the globe, hovering over major world capitols. The world – and the media – watches and waits nervously over several hours as the spacecraft simply sit there. After a long wait – long enough for Donovan to jet back to New York – the alien ships finally send a signal, requesting a meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations. Donovan is assigned to cover the meeting, which appears to go well – as does Donovan’s reunion with his old flame, reporter Kristine Walsh. The Visitors, as they call themselves, appear to be human, but they request Earth’s help to overcome an environmental disaster on their home planet. In exchange, they offer medical and technological advances, a deal that’s almost too good to be true. And as eager as the Visitors are to solicit humanity’s help, human scientists are just as eager to find out what makes the aliens tick. Dr. Julie Parrish learns that a colleague of hers has obtained a tissue sample from one of the Visitors, but when that colleague disappears and another is framed for involvement in an anti-Visitor conspiracy, Julie begins to suspect that something else is motivating the Visitors. Scientists around the world are to register their identities and whereabouts with the Visitors, and other scientists, including a colleague of anthropologist Robert Maxwell, simply disappear under mysterious circumstances. Donovan takes it upon himself to sneak aboard one of the Visitors’ ships to shoot video that hasn’t been approved by the media-savvy aliens – and there he discovers their true nature and their true plans for Earth. But when he tries to reveal what he’s discovered to the rest of the world, he becomes a marked man.

Order the DVDwritten by Kenneth Johnson
directed by Kenneth Johnson
music by Joe Harnell

Cast: Marc Singer (Mike Donovan), Faye Grant (Dr. Julie Parrish), Jane Badler (Diana), Michael Durrell (Robert Maxwell), Michael Wright (Elias Taylor), Blair Tefkin (Robin Maxwell), Neva Patterson (Eleanor Dupres), David Packer (Daniel Bernstein), Tommy Peterson (John Brooks), Peter Nelson (Brian), Bonnie Bartlett (Lynn Bernstein), Leonardo Cimino (Abraham Bernstein), Richard Herd (John), Evan Kim (Tony), Richard Lawson (Dr. Benjamin Taylor), George Morfogen (Stanley Bernstein), Andrew Prine (Steven), Hansford Rowe (Arthur Dupres), Jenny Sullivan (Kristine Walsh), Penelope Windust (Kathleen Maxwell), Michael Alldredge (Bill Graham), Camila Ashland (Ruby Engels), Frank Ashmore (Martin), Jason Bernard (Caleb Taylor), Michael Bond (role unknown), Rafael Campos (Sancho Gomez), Diane Civita (Harmony Moore), Viveka Davis (Polly Maxwell), Robert Englund (Willie), Ron Hajak (Denny), Mary-Alan Hokanson (Ruth Barnes), David Hooks (Dr. Metz), Joanna Kerns (Margie Donovan), Jenny Neumann (Barbara), William Russ (Brad), Michael Swan (Bob Briggs), Stephanie Faulkner (Assistant Director), Tom Fuccello (Burke), Wiley Harker (Secretary General of the U.N.), Dick Harwood (Director), Myron Healey (Arch Quinton), Bonnie Johns (role unknown), Eric Johnston (Sean Donovan), Curt Lowens (Dr. Maurice Jankowski), Marin May (Katie Maxwell), Mike Monahan (role unknown), Jennifer Perito (Resistance Member), Clete Roberts (Newscaster), Nathan Roberts (himself), Howard K. Smith (himself), Robert Vandenberg (Rebel Camp Leader), Momo Yashima (role unknown)

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Blackadder Season 1

The Foretelling

Blackadder21st August, 1485. King Richard III’s victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field is ruined only by the unfortunate fact that his head was cut off by Edmund, second son of Prince Richard. Once his father is crowned King Richard IV, the newly ennobled Prince Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh, begins his life as “The Black Adder”. But Edmund is haunted by the ghost of the slain King and finds he’s been unknowingly harboring the King’s enemy, Henry Tudor…

Season 1 Regular Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh, The Black Adder), Brian Blessed (King Richard IV), Robert East (Harry, Prince of Wales), Tim McInnerny (Percy, Duke of Northumberland), Elspet Gray (The Queen), Tony Robinson (Baldrick), Patrick Allen (Narrator)

Order the DVDswritten by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson
with additional dialogue by William Shakespeare
directed by Martin Shardlow
music by Howard Goodall

Guest Cast: Peter Cook (Richard III), Peter Benson (Henry VII), Jay Bura (Prince Edward), Tan Bura (Prince Richard), Stephen Tate (Lord Chiswick), Kathleen St. John (Goneril), Barbara Miller (Regan), Gretchen Franklin (Cordelia), Philip Kendall (Painter)

Season 1 Notes: Rowan Atkinson became a household name (especially in England) on the strength of his portrayal of the various Blackadders. He also found success with the title role in the TV series Bean and its spin-offs (a movie and an animated series). Genre work includes the “unofficial” James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), Scooby-Doo (2002) and a comedic portrayal of legendary BBC character The Doctor in the 1999 charity special Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death.

Brian Blessed is a veteran of stage and screen, appearing in countless plays, films and television productions. His first standout television appearance was as Emperor Augustus in the BBC series I, Claudius. Genre work includes Space: 1999, Blake’s 7, Doctor Who, Flash Gordon (1980) and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999).

Robert East has made appearances on several British television shows, including Rumpole of the Bailey, Yes, Prime Minister, ‘Allo ‘Allo! and The Canterbury Tales.

Elspet Gray began her career in the late 1940s and worked regularly for the next 50 years. Key work includes appearances on such shows as Fawlty Towers, Inspector Morse, Poirot and the Richard Curtis-penned film Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Genre work has been minimal, but does include the role of Chancellor Thalia in the pivotal Doctor Who story Arc Of Infinity. Gray is one of only three cast members (along with Atkinson and Tim McInnerny) to survive The Black Adder’s transition from pilot to series.

Tim McInnerny was a regular cast member in all Blackadder series except Blackadder The Third (where he made a guest appearance). Other genre appearances include Erik The Viking (1989) and a guest appearance on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as Franz Kafka.

Tony Robinson has the distinction of being the only cast member besides Rowan Atkinson to appear in all full Blackadder productions (except the pilot). Other work includes the TV series Maid Marian And Her Merry Men, a comic look at the Robin Hood legend, and Blood and Honey, a narrative retelling of Biblical stories.

Notes: Although this episode clearly establishes the origin of the “Blackadder” name, later sources, notably Blackadder: Back & Forth and the script collection/historical overview “Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty”, indicate the name is much older.

The portrayal here of King Henry VII as a liar who re-wrote history is in line with modern thinking that King Richard III’s reign was unfairly portrayed as a means of justifying the Tudors’ questionable hold on the English throne.

The three old women at the end of The Foretelling are based on the witches from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, but are named after the daughters from “King Lear”.

Before his death in 1995, Peter Cook was acknowledged as one of the greats of British comedy, most notably for his longtime collaboration with Dudley Moore on such projects as the 1960s TV series Not Only… But Also… and the 1967 film Bedazzled. His genre work was minimal, but does include the dubious distinction of being a second-string bad guy in Supergirl (1984).

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

Categories
Automan

Pilot

AutomanPolice officer Walter Nebicher is a danger to himself and others on the beat, so the chief of police puts him in the job best suited to him: running the department’s computers. Walter, still determined to fight crime in his own way, creates an artificial intelligence that manifests itself as a solid hologram – Automan, “the world’s first fully automatic man.” As long as he has sufficient power to draw upon, Automan can fight crime, starting with the mysterious disappearance of Lt. Jack Curtis, Walter’s friend and fellow officer who was following on a lead regarding shady activity at a private security company. Walter’s computer also points to the same company and its executives as a potential suspect, and he and Automan (and Automan’s tiny assistant Cursor, which can create vehicles for Automan on demand) set out to solve the mystery…but Automan must disappear to recharge when his power runs low, leaving Walter to improvised his way through tricky situations.

written by Glen A. Larson
directed by Lee H. Katzin
music by Stu Phillips / Automan Theme by Billy Hinsche and Stu Phillips

AutomanCast: Desi Arnaz Jr. (Walter Nebicher), Chuck Wagner (Automan), Heather McNair (Roxanne Caldwell), Gerald S. O’Loughlin (Capt. Boyd), Robert Lansing (Lt. Jack Curtis), Patrick Macnee (Lydell Hamilton), Steven Keats (Collins), Robert J. Hogan (Peterson), James Antonio Jr. (Cramer), Robert Dunlap (Chuck Wilson), Don Galloway (Martin Wills), Doug McClure (Det. Ted Smithers), Camilla Sparv (Tanya), Sid Haig (1st Gang Member), Mickey Jones (2nd Gang Member), Gloria LeRoy (Landlady), Herman Poppe (Swiss Guard), Carol Vogel (Joanne Wills), Dennis Fimple (The Taxi Driver), Kristina Hayden (Stewardess), Ed Hooks (Parking Attendant), Angela Lee (Wills Girl #1), Tricia Tomicic (Wills Girl #2)

AutomanNotes: Created by Glen A. Larson and obviously inspired by Disney’s heavily-promoted 1982 movie Tron, Automan takes the concept of a man from inside the computer world…and drops it into a buddy cop show. Without the budget for the manually-animated intricate body armor of Tron, Automan instead used a technique called front-axial projection, illuminating Chuck Wagner’s special reflective costume (and similarly reflective detailing tape on Automan’s various vehicles) with a powerful but narrowly focused light mounted to the camera itself. If Glen Larson had any visions of an Automan empire, they were quickly dashed – the show lasted less than one full season on ABC.

AutomanGuest star Patrick Macnee (1922-2015) was a frequent flier guest star on American TV, having established himself as the debonair star of the long-running, light-hearted British spy show The Avengers, which originally started out darker and featured Macnee’s character of Mr. Steed as its second banana. Sid Haig is also a mainstay of American genre TV, known best to science fiction fans as Dragos, self-styled Master of the Cosmos, the chief bad guy in the 1970s Filmation live-action series Jason Of Star Command. Automan mentions that Walter has programmed him to take sharp 90-degree turns – inspired by Tron‘s light cycles, but here chalked up to the 90-degree turns taken by video game characters such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.

LogBook entry by Earl Green