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5th Doctor Doctor Who

No Place Like Home

Doctor Who: No Place Like HomeThe Doctor is giving Erimem a tour around the TARDIS, but begins to lose track of where he is inside his own ship. When the timeship’s power fades, the Doctor knows that some outside force is acting on his TARDIS… or is it something on the inside? The Doctor and Erimem discover that a new life form has evolved within the TARDIS itself, and finally it has gained the sentience and knowledge required to take control. The Doctor hopes he can reason with the being, but the creature seems to have other ideas…

written by Iain McLaughlin
directed by Gary Russell
music by David Darlington

Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Caroline Morris (Erimem), Mark Donovan (Rovie), Nicholas Briggs (Shayde)

Notes: The character of Shayde, an artificial intelligence spawned from the Time Lords’ Matrix itself, was created by writer Steve Parkhouse for the first fifth Doctor comic strip, “The Tides Of Time” (issues #61-67 of Doctor Who Monthly, 1982; art by Dave Gibbons).

Timeline: between The Eye Of The Scorpion and The Church And The Crown

Logbook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Jeremiah Season 2

The State Of The Union

JeremiahAs Jeremiah continues to chafe against his duties as the mayor of Millhaven, Marcus continues to send teams out from Thunder Mountain with radios for the cities that make up the alliance. Kurdy and Smith, making a radio supply run, decide to visit Jeremiah and give him a break from it all, but this break from his duties is anything but relaxing; the town where they were due to drop radios off has been razed to the ground by Sims and his thugs, with only a few of the residents living long enough to escape the carnage. The area is land-mined as well, and Kurdy’s vehicle is destroyed, along with the only way to call Thunder Mountain for backup. The three wander south to seek help, instead finding that Sims has set up camp nearby with a radio jammer capable of taking down the very communications network they’re trying to build.

Order the DVDswritten by Sara (Samm) Barnes
directed by Miran Cheylov
music by Tim Truman

Guest Cast: Peter Stebbings (Marcus), Ingrid Kavelaars (Erin), Byron Lawson (Lee Chen), Enid-Raye Adams (Gina), John Pyper-Ferguson (Sims), David Richmond-Peck (Tad), Adrian Holmes (Sandor), Nicole Munoz (Little Girl), Rik Kiviaho (Aide), David Lovgren (Jacob), Brian Jennings (Samuel), Shaker Paleja (Jacob’s Soldier), Camille Martinez (Sandor’s Wife), Toby Berner (Guy)

Appearing in footage from Crossing Jordan, Voices In The Dark, Deus Ex Machina: Joanne Kelly (Libby)
Appearing in footage from Letters From The Other Side: Robert Wisden (Devon)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Audio Dramas Blake's 7 New Series - Main

Liberator

Blake's 7: LiberatorIn the wake of the Liberator’s attack on a Federation fuel refinery, and with no idea who is aboard other than Mezin, Travis is given more authority by Servalan to find the ship and protect Federation interests. But Travis’ idea of containing the threat is very different from that of his superior: Servalan wants the Liberator captured so she can use it as her personal flagship, ruling the Federation with an iron first. Travis simply wants the ship and its crew destroyed – a more effective way of dealing with the threat, and one that won’t involve the loss of men and equipment that a boarding party and a running firefight with an unknown crew armed with unknown weaponry would entail. But in Travis’ next attack on the alien ship, Liberator’s true commander is revealed – and by default, his mission can be nothing less than toppling the Federation. Aboard the Liberator, Blake has problems of his own as Avon and Vila put a plan in motion to mutiny against him, angry that they’ve effectively been branded for life as members of Blake’s revolt. Jenna quashes the mutiny just in time, and Avon and Vila are given the opportunity to leave Liberator with no questions asked…though now that their names are linked with Blake and his ship, they know there’s nowhere to run. Travis mounts a surprise attack with devastating results, but both he and Blake are surprised when new ships join the battle – alien ships, just like the Liberator. And they’ve come to recover their lost property.

Order this story on CDwritten by James Swallow
directed by Andrew Mark Sewell
music by Alistair Lock

Cast: Derek Riddell (Roj Blake), Colin Salmon (Kerr Avon), Carrie Dobro (Jenna Stannis), Dean Harris (Vila Restal), Owen Aaronovitch (Oleg Gan), India Fisher (Lora Mezin), Daniela Nardini (Servalan), Craig Kelly (Travis), Doug Bradley (Nico Ballantine), Jake Maskall (Lt. Jorge Garcia), Alistair Lock (Zen), Daniel J. Geduld (Councillor Adrius Singh), Evangelo Kioussis (Lt. Rix), Barbara Joslyn (Security Monitor voice), Robert Maloney (Operator)

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Rebels Season 1 Star Wars

Path Of The Jedi

Star Wars: RebelsConcerned about Ezra’s fleeting taste of the power of the dark side of the Force during a battle with the Inquisitor, Kanan takes the boy to a hidden Jedi temple buried on Lothal. Kanan doesn’t give Ezra much of a hint of what to expect, and the Jedi-in-training is subjected to a rapid-fire series of terrifying visions, including the death of all of his friends at the hands of the Inquisitor. Only when Ezra realizes that this would simply leave him alone again – a state with which he is well acquainted – does he shed his fear and begin to walk down the path of the Jedi, with the voice of a long-lost Jedi Master as his guide.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Charles Murray
directed by Dave Filoni
music by Kevin Kiner
based on original themes and music by John Williams

RebelsCast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus), Vanessa Marshall (Hera), Tiya Sircar (Sabine), Steven Blum (Zeb), Jason Isaacs (The Inquisitor), Frank Oz (Yoda)

Notes: This is the first “appearance” of Yoda – who communicates by voice only through the Force to both Kanan and Ezra – in Rebels. A vision of the exiled Jedi Master was originally part of the story, but the role was reduced to a voice-over to avoid making viewers think that Yoda had left Dagobah. Yoda is instead represented by floating lights similar to those that he witnessed himself in the Clone Wars episode Voices.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Doctor Who New Series Season 12

Spyfall Part 2

Doctor WhoJust when Ryan, Graham, and Yaz are in extreme danger, the Doctor is whisked away to the realm of the Kasaavin, the “beings of light” who have been killing human spies (and collaborating with the Master). The Doctor finds a young woman named Ada sharing this strange space, and when a Kasaavin arrives to return Ada to her own time and place, the Doctor tags along, discovering that Ada is future computer pioneer Ada Lovelace. The Master also follows, but just when it seems the Doctor is finally at his mercy, Ada proves to be a formidable ally. Ryan, Graham and Yaz come in for a safe landing, thanks to the Doctor being a step ahead of the Master and the Kasaavin, but are quickly singled out by tech billionaire Daniel Barton, whose part in the Kasaavin’s plan is still a mystery. It turns out that Barton wants to hand humanity over to the Kasaavin for a compulsory upgrade, to be delivered to every human on the planet via Barton’s ubiquitous mobile technology. And the Master lets the Doctor know that Gallifrey lies in ruins as a payback for a lie that has been perpetuated since Rassilon and Omega founded Time Lord society.

Order the DVDwritten by Chris Chibnall
directed by Lee Haven Jones
music by Segun Akinola

Doctor Who: SpyfallCast: Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor), Bradley Walsh (Graham O’Brien), Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), Sacha Dhawan (The Master), Lenny Henry (Daniel Barton), Sylvie Briggs (Ada Lovelace), Aurora Marion (Noor Inayat Khan), Mark Dexter (Charles Babbage), Shobna Gulati (Najia Khan), Ravin J. Ganatra (Hakim Khan), Bhavnisha Parmar (Sonya Khan), Andrew Pipe (Inventor), Tom Ashley (Airport Worker), Kenneth Jay (Perkins), Blanche Williams (Barton’s Mother)

Doctor Who: SpyfallNotes: The Master has resumed use of his signature weapon, the Tissue Compression Eliminator, which made its debut alongside the Master himself (Terror Of The Autons, 1971); it was last seen when another incarnation of the Master was trying to “improve” it (Planet Of Fire, 1984). The “knock four times” rhythm that drove a previous incarnation of the Master insane resurfaces here (featured heavily in 2007’s The Sound Of Drums and both parts of 2009’s The End Of Time). Gallifrey was forced into a pocket universe in 2013’s Day Of The Doctor for its own protection at the end of the last great Time War, though a later incarnation of the Doctor visited it in Hell Bent (2015); as it turns out, Gallifrey didn’t stand very long. The real Ada Lovelace went on to develop a correspondence with the real Charles Dickens (a fictionalized version of Dickens met the ninth Doctor in 2005’s The Unquiet Dead; it’s probably safe to assume that they never compared notes about their strange friend with the time-traveling blue box, since the Doctor wipes Ada’s memory of their shared adventure here).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Book Of Boba Fett, The Season 1

Chapter 2: The Tribes Of Tatooine

The Book Of Boba FettNot long after escaping from the Sarlacc and being captured by a tribe of Tusken Raiders, Fett discovers that their tribe is frequently targeted by aggressors who run a speeder train on a route through their territory, and offers to tip the balance back in the Tuskens’ favor. Doing so earns their trust – and earns Fett a place among their tribe.

In the present, Fett questions the would-be assassin captured by Fennec Shand. With a little persuasion, the assassin reveals that his services were paid for by the Mayor of Mos Espa, who is the next person Fett and his party visit. But the Mayor admits to nothing, and tells Fett he should visit Garsa Fwip for more information. It is then that two Hutt twins – cousins of the late Jabba the Hutt – arrive to lay claim to what once belonged to their kin. Though they leave after nothing more than a terse exchange of verbal threats, there is little doubt that the dispute remains unsettled.

The Book Of Boba Fettwritten by Jon Favreau
directed by Steph Green
music by Joseph Shirley
music themes by Ludwig Gorannson

Cast: Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett), Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand), Matt Berry (voice of 8D8), David Pasquesi (Mok Shaiz’s Majordomo), Jennifer Beals (Garsa Fwip), Carey Jones (Black Krrsantan), Paul Darnell (Night Wind Assassin), Frank Trigg (Gamorrean Guard), Collin Hymes (Gamorrean Guard), Galen Howard (City Hall Clerk), Robert Rodriguez (voice of Mayor Mok Shaiz), Andrea Bartlow (Twi’lek Server), Marlon Aquino (Twi’lek Server), Murphy Patrick Martin (Drummer), Joanna Bennett (Tusken Warrior), Wesley Kimmel (Tusken Kid), Xavier Jiminez (Tusken Chief), Mandy Kowalski (Camie), Skyler Bible (Fixer), Alfred Hsing (Pyke Traveler), Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett), John Rosengrant (Mayor Mok Shaiz performance artist), Chris Bartlett (Droid Server performance artist)

The Book Of Boba FettNotes: The Star Wars deep cuts are strong with this one – from the first live-action appearance of popular Wookiee comic character Black Krrsantan, to just about the deepest cut imaginable, characters who were entirely deleted from the original 1977 cut of Star Wars itself. The couple in the cantina which Boba Fett rids of raiders is Fixer and Camie, two characters who would have appeared in Star Wars as friends of one Luke Skywalker, skeptical of his hopes to leave Tatooine and become part of something greater. But their original filmed appearances alongside Luke and Biggs were left on the cutting room floor; they would have appeared in close proximity to Biggs’ declaration to Luke that he was leaving to join the Rebellion (another scene cut in its entirety), and Luke spotting the firefight between the Star Destroyer and Leia’s ship. (Both characters were recast for their appearance in this episode.)