Day: April 7, 1966

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Batman Season 1

Batman Sets The Pace

BatmanBatman and Robin shimmy their way up a smokestack to avoid being gassed by the Joker, and then have to report to Commissioner Gordon and Chief O’Hara that the Joker has escaped once again. The Joker calls with a ransom demand for the kidnapped foreign dignitary – and it’s a demand that will cost Batman as much dignity as it will money. It’s only then that Batman realizes that there has been no kidnapping.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Francis and Marian Cockrell
directed by Richard C. Sarafian
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Dan Seymore (The Maharajah), Norm Alden (Henchman #1), Johnny Seven (Henchman #2), Tol Avery (Prescott Belmont), Bebe Louie (Girl Clerk), Jane Wald (Jill)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Classic Season 10 Doctor Who

Planet of the Daleks

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS continues toward the planet Spiridon, the location of the hidden Dalek army that could overrun the entire galaxy. The injured Doctor falls into a self-induced healing coma, leaving Jo few instructions. When the TARDIS lands, Jo ventures out into the poisonous jungle on Spiridon, eventually encountering a military expedition of Thals, the Daleks’ mortal enemies from Skaro. The Thals manage to get the Doctor to safety and join him on a mission to keep the Dalek army from launching its offensive. The invisible natives of Spiridon, enslaved by the Daleks, are another hazard, along with the lethal vegetation. When the Dalek Supreme arrives to lead its army into battle, it appears that the Doctor may be too late to stop his old rivals.

written by Terry Nation
directed by David Maloney and Paul Bernard
music by Dudley Simpson

Guest Cast: Bernard Horsfall (Taron), Prentis Hancock (Vaber), Tim Preece (Codal), Roy Skelton (Wester), Jane How (Rebec), Hilary Minster (Marat), Alan Tucker (Latep), Tony Starr (Dalek Supreme), John Scott Martin, Murphy Grumbar, Cy Town (Daleks), Michael Wisher, Roy Skelton (Dalek voices)

Broadcast from April 7 through May 12, 1973

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Categories
Sky

Burning Bright

SearchBored with their parents’ duck hunt, three teenagers drive a land rover into a wooded area; one of them, Arby, discovers a young man, alone and nearly naked, in the forest. Assuming that the stranger is either injured or dead, Arby tries to help, only to discover that the boy – Sky – is very much alive, and unlike anyone he has ever met. Displaying powers of teleportation and telekinesis, Sky fears something called the Juganet, and says he needs Arby’s help.

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
directed by Patrick Dromgoole
music by Eric Wetherell

SkyCast: Marc Harrison (Sky), Stuart Lock (Arby Vennor), Cherrald Butterfield (Jane Vennor), Richard Speight (Roy Briggs), Jack Watson (Major Briggs)

Notes: Bob Baker and Dave Martin (1935-2007) had been writing as a team (known informally as “the Bristol Boys”) for some time, including numerous Doctor Who scripts dating back to 1971; later in that show’s lifetime they would create the character of K-9 (and would continue to reap the rewards from having created that character into the 21st century). Baker and Martin also created the 1980s children’s fantasy series Into The Labyrinth.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Future Cop

Girl On The Ledge

Future CopA young woman rents a tenth-story hotel room and proceeds to climb out the window to sit on the ledge. As Cleaver and Haven try to track down her family, Bundy risks his own life to try to talk her back inside. Cleaver meets the girl’s mother and is confused by her lack of concern. Her father insists that the district attorney go to talk her down from the ledge. Haven quickly deduces that the people they have met, claiming to be the girl’s parents, are not related to her at all: they’re in the employ of a Chicago crime boss who wants the district attorney to make an appearance in a public place…so he can settle an old grudge.

Order the complete series on DVDwritten by Mann Rubin
directed by Earl Bellamy
music by J.J. Johnson

Future CopCast: Ernest Borgnine (Cleaver), Michael Shannon (Haven), John Amos (Bundy), Irene Tsu (Dr. Tingley), Herbert Nelson (Capt. Skaggs), Katherine Cannon (The Girl), Tracy Reed (Natalie Bundy), Gloria Manon (Darlene Montoya), Robert Symonds (Assistant Chief Joseph), H.M. Wynant (Nick Redmont), Francine York (Sal), Bill Zuckert (Fisk), Steven Marlo (Carl Jadwin), Raymond Singer (Hotel Clerk), Angela May (Peggy), Sarah Kennedy (Marge), Bob Hoy (Pedestrian / Driver), John O’Connell (Bradley), Craig Ludwin (Cummings), Richard Doyle (Ford), Dan Priest (Fire Chief), Joe Bratcher (Dr. Wallace)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Fantastic Journey, The

Turnabout

The Fantastic JourneyThe travelers’ latest stop brings them to a male-dominated realm, where Liana is kidnapped by the local men. Sil-L returns to the base camp to lead Varian and the others to the futuristic city where Liana has been taken. The thuggish leader of this society is elusive when asked about Liana’s whereabouts, but soon Varian and his fellow travelers have a new problem: all of the men vanish into thin air, sucked into the inner workings of the computerized Complex that controls the city. The women, tired of being treated like slaves, have revolted and reprogrammed the Complex, though the computer immediately starts trying to correct its programming. Liana has been freed, and may now be the only chance her fellow travelers have to survive in a society that is now harshly dominated by women.

The Fantastic Journeywritten by D.C. Fontana and Ken Kolb
directed by Victor French
music by Robert Prince

Cast: Jared Martin (Varian), Carl Franklin (Fred Walters), Ike Eisenmann (Scott Jordan), Katie Saylor (Liana), Roddy McDowall (Willaway), Joan Collins (Halyana), Paul Mantee (Morgan), Julie Cobb (Adrea), Beverly Todd (Conell), Charles Walker II (Orbil), Amy Joyce (Masel), The Felix Team (Sil-L)

The Fantastic JourneyNotes: Despite her seemingly pivotal role in the story, Liana isn’t seen much in this episode, reportedly due to actress Katie Saylor’s illness at the time. Joan Collins was still the queen of the guest stars at this point in her career, having already appeared in Star Trek, Space: 1999 and the first segment of the Hammer Studios film version of Tales From The Crypt; Dynasty was still four years away. Guest star Julie Cobb was married to episode director Victor French at the time of production. The Complex’s “robot” minions are a familiar prop: they’re the lower half of a studio camera pedestal, complete with casters to ensure smooth “dolly” movement of the camera across a studio floor… minus, of course, the upper half of the pedestal and the camera, making it unrecognizable to anyone who doesn’t work in a studio. Studio camera pedestals were also turned into robots on Quark.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Quark

Vanessa 38-24-36

QuarkQuark is ordered to relinquish command of his ship to Dr. Evans’ new Vanessa 38-24-36 computer, which, according to Evans, can make all the decisions that a starship captain would encounter correctly and more quickly than any human. Unknown to either Quark or his superiors, however, Vanessa has been programmed with utter contempt for the human crew she is intended to replace. But since Quark’s crew has already forsaken him for the easy luxury of serving on a ship run entirely by Vanessa, the computer faces little opposition. She begins creating incidents designed to prove Quark’s inferiority, but this simply emboldens him to take action and remove Vanessa from the ship. Then Quark discovers that Vanessa is also programmed to defend herself…

written by Robert A. Keats
directed by Hy Averback
music by Perry Botkin, Jr.

Cast: Richard Benjamin (Adam Quark), Timothy Thomerson (Gene/Jean), Richard Kelton (Ficus), Tricia Barnstable (Betty), Cyb Barnstable (Betty), Conrad Janis (Otto Palindrome), Alan Caillou (The Head), Marianne Bunch (Dr. Evans), Bobby Porter (Andy)

QuarkNotes: An episode which spoofed the Star Trek episode The Ultimate Computer and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: a space odyssey in equal measure, this was the final episode of Quark to air on NBC. Even if the series had been picked up for a second season, that season would have seen at least one major casting change: actor Richard “Ficus” Kelton passed away in November 1978, mere months after this episode aired.

Quark’s pet Ergo puts in his first and only appearance since the pilot episode; while watching the episodes in rapid succession on DVD doesn’t make this seem very odd, it had been over a year since the creature’s previous appearance and audiences in the pre-VCR/DVR age had likely forgotten it.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Star Blazers

Be Forever, Yamato

Star BlazersZordar’s space fortress unleashes a furious volley of firepower at the Argo, leaving it crippled in space. He then moves on to Earth, where he begins laying waste to the surface of the planet. Wildstar once again orders the Argo evacuated, but he refuses to board the last rescue ship with Doctor Sane. On the bridge, Wildstar prepares to ram Zordar’s ship with the Argo, but he’s stunned to find that Nova – knowing that he wouldn’t leave without a fight – has also remained aboard. But nothing prepares Wildstar and Nova for the surprise of the return of a man who they were certain was dead – brought back to life by a woman from Telezart who was also presumed dead. Horrified that she has returned Mark Venture to the Argo during a kamikaze mission, Wildstar asks Trelaina to take Venture – still only barely alive – to Earth to receive proper medical treatment. But Trelaina has one last appointment to keep…with Prince Zordar.

Order the DVDswritten by Keisuke Fujikawa & Eiichi Yamamoto
directed by Leiji Matsumoto
music by Hiroshi Miyagawa

Season 2 Voice Cast: Kenneth Meseroll (Derek Wildstar), Tom Tweedy (Mark Venture), Amy Howard (Nova), Eddie Allen (Leader Desslok), Chris Latta (Sgt. Knox), Lydia Leeds (Trelaina), Chris Latta (General Dire), Chris Latta (Captain Gideon), other actors unknown

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Supertrain

Pirouette

SupertrainSupertrain is abuzz with activity and gossip aplenty: millionaire heiress Natalie Smithburne is aboard, with a security detail in tow thanks to rumors of an impending kidnapping attempt. Reba, the caretaker of Natalie’s late father, is also aboard, as is a nosy reporter named Snelling who’s trying to get an exclusive interview with Natalie. The only person who seems completely unaware of Natalie’s presence or the potential danger to her is meek gynecologist Dr. Marshall Fossberg, who can deliver a baby without breaking a sweat but can’t land a date. When the rumored kidnapping attempt finally happens, it’s to Fossberg that Natalie runs for safety…but who is trying to snatch both her and her fortune?

written by Jeff Wilhelm
directed by Barry Crane
music by Bob Cobert

SupertrainCast: Edward Andrews (Harry Flood), Patrick Collins (David Noonan), Harrison Page (George Boone), Robert Alda (Dr. Lewis), Tony Danza (Snelling), Jamie Farr (Peters), James Gregory (Griswald), Bernie Kopell (Marshall), Mako (Kirby), Isabel Sanford (Reba Beeson), Vic Tayback (Tuttle), Joyce DeWitt (Natalie)

Notes: This episode marks a major rethink of the series’ format, with shorter opening titles over a Supertrainmontage of previous episodes’ footage, heavily solarized, and a virtual who’s-who of late ’70s TV stars, including Joyce DeWitt (Three’s Company), Jamie Farr (M*A*S*H), Isobel Sanford (The Jeffersons), Bernie Kopell (The Love Boat) and such future household names as Vic Tayback (Alice), Mako and Tony Danza (Who’s The Boss?). This was only Danza’s second appearance on TV. SupertrainNearly two thirds of the show’s regular cast, many of whom had seldom appeared since the pilot movie, have been jettisoned from the opening credits and from the show itself. Supertrain!

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Max Headroom Season 1 (US)

Rakers

Max HeadroomAs Max grows paranoid thinking that a napalm-kerosene-and-testosterone soaked kids’ show called “Missile Mike” is an actual news report about a man who goes around shooting things and blowing them up, things blow up in Theora’s personal life. She receives a rushed phone call from her sister-in-law Winnie, who warns her that her brother Shawn has taken up the dangerous sport of raking. An illegal underground sport with a high body count, raking combines jet-powered skateboarding with no-holds-barred unarmed combat. Theora sets Edison onto the case, but to break into a raking arena – let alone stop a match in which an already-injured Shawn is scheduled to fight – Edison will be risking life and limb. And while Edison thinks raking should be outlawed altogether, Zik Zak is considering both legalizing and sponsoring it.

written by James Crocker and Steve Roberts
story by James Crocker
directed by Thomas J. Wright
music by Cory Lerios

Max HeadroomGuest Cast: Virginia Kiser (Formby), Hank Garrett (?), Lee Wilkof (Pat Zein), J.W. Smith (Rick), Howard Sherman (Simon Peller), Lee DeBroux (?), Joseph Ruskin (Promoter), Wortham Krimmer (Jack Friday), Wynn Irwin (?), Arsenio “Sonny” Trinidad (?), Ricardo Gutierrez (Martinez), B.L. Collins (?), Ron D. Ross (?), Kimberly Delfin (Winnie), Peter Cohl (Shawn Jones), Tain Bodkin (?), Brian Libby (?), Doug Hale (?), Bobby Brett (?), Kawena Charlot (Rick’s bodyguard), Kedren Zadikov (?), Jeffrey Weisman (?), Tabi Cooper (?), David Preston (?), Lorilyn Huckster (?), Heath Jones (?)

Notes: This is the first episode in which it’s hinted that televisions can no longer be turned off. The “Missile Mike” gag is a slight swipe at one of Max Headroom’s real-life TV contemporaries, The A-Team.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Xena: Warrior Princess

The Execution

Xena: Warrior PrincessGabrielle recieves an urgent message from her friend, Meleager the Mighty. When she and Xena reach the village, they find that Meleager has just been found guilty of murder. He is to be executed for the crime. Gabrielle is convinced that Meleager is innocent and helps him to escape. Xena intervenes when the bard is mobbed. She tells the judge, Arbus, that she will go after Meleager but Gabrielle will come with her. When they finally catch up to Meleager he confesses that he can’t remember what happened because he was drunk at the time and that he lied to Gabrielle. The bard is hurt that her friend didn’t trust her. He tells them that he knows where the dead man’s sword is because for some reason he held on to it. When he shows Xena the sword, she knows that Meleager is innocent.

Order the DVDswritten by Paul Robert Coyle
directed by Michael Levine
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Tim Thomerson (Meleager), Tony Blackett (Arbus), Douglas Kamo (Sullus), Alvin Fitisemanu (Hawker), Jonathon Acorn (Slim Man), Ann Baxter (Elderly Woman), Colin Francis (Hurried Villager), Matthew Jeffs (Head Guard), Patrick Kuhtze (Other Guard), Dean Stewart (Executioner)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

Categories
Farscape Season 2

Crackers Don’t Matter

  • By Dave
  • April 7, 2000

FarscapeWhile buying food on a commerce planet, the crew meets Traltixx, an alien who claims he can make Moya undetectable. A demonstration on Crichton’s module convinces the crew to bring the ship through a set of pulsar lights to his transformation yard, even when Traltixx warns them that the intense light can have a strange effect on many species. Zhaan certainly has no complaints, as the light brings her such intense pleasure that she soon shuts out everything else around her. Everyone else, however, gets more paranoid than ever, and unusually attached to the dry, flat wafers they’ve added to their food supply. Traltixx is no help, either. Indeed, he encourages Pilot to turn against the rest. Crichton must overcome his paranoia and the delusions that go with it – including visions of Scorpius – to rally the crew together and save the ship.

Order the DVDswritten by Justin Monjo
directed by Ian Watson
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Danny Adcock (Traltixx)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Clone Wars Star Wars Tartakovsky Series, Vol. 1

Chapter 19

  • By Dave
  • April 7, 2004

Star Wars: Clone WarsFrom the jungles to the top of a Massassi temple, an ever-more-aggressive Anakin takes the fight to Asajj Ventress.

Order the DVDsstory by Bryan Andrew, Darrick Bachman, Paul Rudish and Genndy Tartakovsky
directed by Genndy Tartakovsky
original music by John Williams
new music by James L. Venable and Paul Dinletir

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Categories
Doctor Who New Series Season 03

The Shakespeare Code

Doctor WhoPromising her a single trip through time, the Doctor takes Martha to London in 1599, the TARDIS landing within walking distance of the Globe Theatre and William Shakespeare himself. But the Bard behaves oddly at the end of a performance of “Love’s Labours Lost”, making a sudden promise to his audience that the sequel, “Love’s Labours Won”, will debut the following night…despite this being the first that any of his loyal troupe of actors have heard of it. The Doctor introduces Martha to Shakespeare, and then the sudden deaths begin, always near Shakespeare. The Doctor gradually learns that the play isn’t the only thing at the Globe – the unusually designed venue may have a more sinister purpose underlying its design. With a little bit of toil, the Doctor uncovers a lot of trouble – three alien “witches” are planning to wipe out humanity to claim Earth for their own exiled race…and the key to their plan will come from Shakespeare’s own pen.

Download this episodewritten by Gareth Roberts
directed by Charles Palmer
music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Dean Lennox Kelly (Shakespeare), Christina Cole (Lilith), Sam Marks (Wiggins), Amanda Lawrence (Doomfinger), Linda Clark (Bloodtide), Jalaal Hartley (Dick), David Westhead (Kempe), Andree Bernard (Dolly Bailey), Chris Larkin (Lynley), Stephen Marcus (Jailer), Matt King (Peter Streete), Robert Demeger (Preacher), Angela Pleasence (Queen Elizabeth)

Notes: In City Of Death, the fourth Doctor claimed that the handwriting on the original manuscript of “Hamlet” was his, not Shakespeare’s, so presumably – earlier in the Doctor’s life, but later in the Bard’s – the two met up again. The first Doctor and friends observed Shakespeare at another pivotal point in his history via the Time-Space Visualizer in The Chase. Depending on whether or not you include the novels in your personal Doctor Who canon, this may not the first time that the Doctor has had only one heart beating in his chest; Sabbath, an agent of the “time traveling voodoo cult” Faction Paradox, left the eighth Doctor with only one heart for a time in the BBC novels.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Categories
Phase II / New Voyages Star Trek Star Trek Fan Films

The Child

Star Trek: Phase II

This is an episode of a fan-made series whose storyline may be invalidated by later official studio productions.

Stardate not given: The Enterprise passes through an energy cloud judged to be harmless, but during the journey through the cloud a floating light penetrates the ship’s hull and studies various sleeping crew members before settling on Deltan navigator Lt. Acel. When she awakens, she goes to sick bay, where she informs Dr. McCoy – without undergoing any tests – that she is pregnant. Within hours, Acel gives birth to a seemingly normal daughter, though the child’s rate of growth is beyond anything in human or Deltan experience. The Enterprise is intercepted by a large, cylindrical object containing the same kind of energy found in the cloud, but at a much higher concentration. The cylinder’s presence marks the beginning of a string of one deadly crisis after another, with Acel’s daughter, Irska, instrumental in solving each emergency. Kirk and Spock grow increasingly suspicious of Irska’s connection to the energy in the cylindrical ship, but any direct attack on that ship causes Irska to shriek in pain. The cylinder begins to destabilize the atomic structure of the Enterprise’s hull, leaving the crew with an agonizing decision: what, or who, will be sacrificed to save everyone else on the ship?

Watch Itwritten by Jaron Summers and Jon Povill
directed by Jon Povill
music by Fred Steiner except
“Deltan Lullabye” composed by Deniz Cordell
“Deltan Dance” composed by William Lloyd Jones

Cast: James Cawley (Captain Kirk), Brandon Stacy (Mr. Spock), John Kelly (Dr. McCoy), Anna Schnaitter (Isel), Ayla Cordell (Irska), Charles Root (Scott), Jonathan Zungre (Chekov), J.T. Tepnapa (Sulu), Bobby Quinn Rice (Peter Kirk), Jay Storey (Kyle), Ron Boyd (DeSalle), Meghan King Johnson (Rand), Patrick Bell (Xon), Jeff Mailhotte (Sentell), Riva Gijanto (Zarha), Deniz Cordell (Bernstein), Brian Holloway (Jansen), Ronald M. Gates (Hemmings), Matt Bucy (Crewman), Natalia Tudela (Nurse), Paul R. Sieber (Commander), Zoe Staubitz (baby Irska)

Star Trek Phase IINotes: Originally written by Jon Povill and Jaron Summers for the never-made 1977 TV relaunch of the original Star Trek (from which this fan series, Star Trek Phase II, borrows its name), The Child was intended to chronicle Deltan navigator Lt. Ilia giving birth to a mysterious daughter, since Ilia, Decker and Xon were intended to be series regulars. Structurally, this version of The Child is much more faithful to the original ’70s script than the hastily-adapted version of The Child which opened the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation (which bestowed a mystery child upon Counselor Troi instead). The original script as written for the ’70s series, minus alterations for either this fan series or TNG, appears in full in the book “Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series” by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Writer Jon Povill was the story editor for the aborted ’70s series and worked closely with Gene Roddenberry through the series development cycle, and here he directs his own script.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Categories
Picard Season 2 Star Trek

Two Of One

Star Trek: PicardPicard and his crew try to stay inconspicuous and keep eyes on Renee, while Jurati finds herself in a constant negotiation for control of her own mind and body with the Borg Queen. Picard is startled to see another familiar face at the gala, one who knows at least something about who he really is: Adam Soong. Soong tries to give him a warning, and then tries to turn the tables on Picard, but before things can go any further, Jurati provides a distraction, the endorphin bump from which allows the Queen to take over completely. Picard finds Renee and tries to give her a pep talk designed to keep her from backing out of the Europa mission, unaware that Soong is there to force that decision by targeting Renee for a hit-and-run “accident”. Picard pushes her out of the way and he becomes the victim of the hit-and-run instead. Rios calls on Dr. Ramirez, whose clinic he was admitted to earlier, to try to save Picard’s life, but even with his vital signs stabilized, he remains in a coma with an unusually high amount of brain activity. Tallinn thinks she can gain access to his subconscious and bring him out of it, but while Picard’s crew is occupied with his immediate fate, Renee is not protected – and Jurati, with the Borg Queen now fully in control, is at large in Los Angeles.

Order DVDswritten by Cindy Appel & Jane Maggs
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Jeff Russo
additional music by Sam Lucas

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Michelle Hurd (Commander Raffi Musiker), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Orla Brady (Tallinn), Isa Briones (Kore Soong), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Brent Spiner (Adam Soong), John de Lancie (Q), Annie Wersching (Borg Queen), Penelope Mitchell (Renee Picard), Sol Rodriguez (Dr. Teresa Ramirez), Alexandre Chen (Cute Waiter), Ren Hanami (Director Lee), Michelle Haro (Guard #1), Shaw Jones (Guard #2), Richard Leacock (Commander Musa), Zach Sowers (Security Guard #1), Kareem Stroud (Security Guard #2)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: The OV-165 shuttle identified by Renee Picard can also be seen in the opening credits of every episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. The song “Shadows Of The Night”, made famous by Pat Benatar’s 1982 recording, actually dated back to being written for the soundtrack of the 1980 Tim Curry film Times Square, though the song was left out of the movie and thus dropped from the soundtrack. Other artists recorded the song before Benatar’s version, which made it to #3 and won her a Grammy Award. Amusingly, either Jurati/the Queen selected a song that was already on the band’s setlist, or the band was unusually well-prepared in the event of an impromptu performance of “Shadows Of The Night”. Alison Pill did do her own singing, which appears on the season two soundtrack.

LogBook entry by Earl Green