Day: April 14, 1966

Being cut off from home, or even the laws of physics as they once knew them, isn’t sitting well with the crew of the UMP Cruiser. Also not working out too well: the fact that Stewart Lipinski’s crewmates barely know one another, and show no inclination to strengthen their bonds in this time of crisis, despite Stewart’s attempts at team-building exercises. Karen and Michael discover evidence that an alien has not only boarded the Cruiser, but has accessed the computer. Tension and murderous suspicion run high. Only one member of the crew can put everyone at ease: Chad, from auxiliary deck. Wait…who?

written by Owen Ellickson
directed by Lucia Aniello
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Cast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Dave Franco (Chad), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2), Jane Varney (Host)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The UMP Cruiser is wading its way through a cloud of particulate matter, making the crew a little bit stir crazy. Stewart decides to occupy everyone’s time with the creation of a message announcing the ship’s – and humanity’s – presence in this universe, to be broadcast when the Cruiser emerges from the cloud. Karen and Michael are assigned to get the ship’s ansible ready to transmit, which involves sending A.R.T. outside to perform the maintenance without risk of human life, though Zalian is concerned about his robotic friend’s welfare (with good reason, as it turns out). Stewart, Kent and Tina work on the content of the message itself, unable to agree on whether they should present themselves as powerful aggressors or passive, harmless beings. Of course, if A.R.T. meets a terrible fate outside the ship, the message will never be sent.

written by Jacob Young
directed by Lucia Aniello
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Cast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Dave Franco (Chad), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

Note: The term “ansible” – a transceiver capable of faster-than-light communications – was first used by SF author Ursula K. LeGuin in 1966, though the (still fictional) concept of FTL communications has been around nearly as long as knowledge of the speed of light.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Having dumped precious fuel to avoid having the Cruiser turn into the core of a new planet, Stewart Lipinski and his crew are stranded…but there’s a bright side: Tina happens to be an expert on an extraction technique that could recover the fuel from the rapidly accreting planet. But there’s a problem: a time-delayed message reaches Tina from her beloved fiance…and it’s a break-up letter. As any helpful ship’s computer would, Natasha convinces Karen to hold a girls’ night out to help Tina overcome this trauma…but it all has to happen within eight hours, or the traces of fuel won’t be recoverable anymore.

written by Karen Kilgariff
directed by Robert Cohen
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Cast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Bjorn Gustafsson (Ted), Matteo Borghese (Abram), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Since UMP regulations forbid the two most senior officers from making the first landing on a new world, Michael and Tina are sent to the newly-formed planet to gather the fuel ore deposits. But the six hours allotted for the task stretch out into months thanks to a time dilation effect on the planet’s surface. And even aboard the Cruiser, those six hours stretch out even further when the Lipinskis face an uprising among all of their non-human crew-members (and Zalian, whose epic consumption of fudge may mean he barely qualifies as human at this point), who demand privileges equal to those of human crew members. Which members of the crew will run out of time first?

written by Ben Smith
directed by Adam Nix & Evan Nix
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Cast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Sarah Baker (Alien), John Milhiser (voice of Coffee Bot), Ian O’Connor (Coffee Bot Puppeteer), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The ship is struck by a lightning-like discharge within a nebula, which triggers emergency protocols: the bridge is sealed off, power consumption is reduced to a minimum, and Natasha is rebooted to an infantile mindset. Trapped on the bridge, Zalian introduces Stewart to an arcane means of controlling the ship – via actual tactile controls instead of a computer panel. Karen takes command below decks, only to find that her most important order – not to increase power consumption – is one that the rest of the crew seems simply unwilling to follow, regardless of the fact that powering up too many devices might blow up the ship with no warning.

written by Shelby Fero
directed by Matt Sohn
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Cast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The universe into which the UMP Cruiser has been plunged will collide with its native universe, giving the ship and crew an opportunity to return home. Stewart is disappointed that he has nothing more than alien soil samples to bring home, until he experiences something that he’s convinced is first contact from an alien species. There’s just one problem – not one member of Stewart’s crew believes him, and even fewer of them are prepared to watch his dreams play out on a monitor to see if he’s right.

written by Matteo Borghese & Rob Turbovsky
directed by Matt Sohn
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Cast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Sarah Baker (Alien), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

Notes: Zalian’s mental state is finally explained (he’s kept his position aboard the ship by being the Cruiser’s unofficial drug dealer for years), and Natasha reveals that it’s been only twelve days since the ship became marooned in the other universe.

LogBook entry by Earl Green