Day: May 11, 1985

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Max Headroom Series 1 (UK)

Episode 5

The Max Headroom ShowMax’s golf fixation continues unabated, and he bemoans the fact that his producers can’t land him an interview with pro golfer Seve Ballesteros. After a brief, meandering meditation on the art of showing off machismo, Max continues obsessing over golf, even to the point of interrupting the videos, at least until he realizes that he doesn’t have legs.

written by Paul Owen & David Hansen
directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel The Max Headroom ShowJankel

Cast: Matt Frewer (Max Headroom)

Videos: “She Sells Sanctuary” (The Cult), “Shock The Monkey” (Peter Gabriel), “Coronation Street” (Izzy Royale), “Come Dancing” (The Kinks), “Love Is A Battlefield” (Pat Benatar), “Ich Will Dich Essen” (Ledernacken)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 05 Star Trek The Next Generation

I, Borg

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 45854.2: The Enterprise is exploring a star system when a distress call is detected, and Riker leads an away team to investigate. A single survivor is found amidst the wreckage of a scout ship, a young male Borg which is taken back to the Enterprise. As Picard is faced with a reminder of his ordeal with the Borg and argues with Guinan about the logic of bringing the Borg aboard, Geordi tries to instill the ship’s Borg guest with a sense of individuality, starting by nicknaming him “Hugh.” The crew is preparing a plan to send Hugh back with a computer virus that would unravel the Borg from the inside out, but some of the crew’s conscience begins to disturb them. Picard discovers that Geordi’s benign attempts at communicating with Hugh could potentially have a far more devastating effect on the Borg collective society in the long run.

Order the DVDswritten by Renè Echavarria
directed by Robert Lederman
music by Jay Chattaway

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Jonathan del Arco (Hugh)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 1

By Any Means Necessary

Babylon 5When an impatient Narn ship captain panics, he causes a catastrophic head-on collision in the station’s spacedock, destroying his ship and killing some of the dockworkers. The spokesperson for the laborers refuses any of Sinclair’s proposed solutions to their protests, and the word comes through from Earth – since the workers are under a government contract, any strike they declare is illegal and can be remedied under the Rush Act, which empowers the government to force laborers to continue their work or face arrest. A labor negotiator is sent in from Earth in hopes that the situation can be brought to a satisfactory resolution, but he seems all too ready to have Garibaldi’s security forces carry out the Rush Act. Sinclair decides to take matters into his own hands with his own unique and risky interpretation of the Rush Act.

Order now!Download this episodewritten by Kathryn M. Drennan
directed by Jim Johnston
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: Katy Boyer (Neeoma Connally), John Snyder (Orin Zento), Aki Aleong (Senator Hidoshi), Patricia Healy (Mary Ann Cramer), Michael McKenzie (Narn Captain), Jose Rey (Eduardo Delvientos), Ricardo Martinez (Worker #2), Marianne Robertson (Tech #1), Floyd Vaughn (Worker #1)

Original title: Backlash

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Deep Space Nine Season 06 Star Trek

Profit And Lace

Star Trek: Deep Space NineStardate not given: Zek returns to DS9, accompanied by Quark’s mother, Ishka. His amendment of the Ferengi Bill of Opportunities to give females the right to wear clothing has resulted in planetary chaos on Ferenginar and Zek’s removal from office. Brunt is now Acting Grand Nagus, a position which will become permanent in three days unless Zek can persuade the FCA to reinstate him. The plan is for the FCA commissioners to come to DS9 to meet Ishka, but only one, Nilva, agrees. However, Ishka has a heart attack during an argument with Quark, who is obliged to pose as Zek’s “other” female advisor.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Ira Steven Behr & Hans Beimler
directed by Alexander Siddig
music by David Bell

Guest Cast: Henry Gibson (Nilva), Jeffrey Combs (Brunt), Max Grodenchik (Rom), Aron Eisenberg (Nog), Cecily Adams (Ishka), Chase Masterson (Leeta), Tiny Ron (Maihar’du), Sylvain Cecile (Uri’Lash), Wallace Shawn (Zek)

LogBook entry by Tracy Hemenover

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Earth: Final Conflict Season 1

The Joining

Earth: Final ConflictThough they don’t realize it, the crew of a seagoing salvage ship have discovered more evidence of alien visitors that predate the recent arrival of the Taelons. When a member of the crew tries to steal the alien artifact for his own financial gain, the artifact is activated, kills him, and inhabits his body. Da’an is instantly aware of the alien presence and puts Boone and Sandoval on alert. The alien Ha’gel has come with a warning about what the Taelons do to those less developed races to whom they become Companions – but his own actions are proving lethal to the same race he has come to help.

written by Jonas McCord
directed by Neill Fearnley
music by Micky Erbe & Maribeth Solomon

Guest Cast: Majel Barrett Roddenberry (Dr. Belman), Anita Le Selva (Zo’or), Brooke Johnson (Quo’on), Raymond Accolas (Claude Bertrand), Graeme Millington (Randy / Ha’gel), Kari Matchett (Beckett), John Evans (Morovsky), Scott Gibson (Officer Reed)

Notes: This marks Kevin Kilner’s last appearance as a regular cast member on Earth: Final Conflict, as distributor Tribune Entertainment pressured the producers to replace Boone with a younger, more traditionally heroic character. He would return as a guest star during season 5.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 3 Xena: Warrior Princess

Sacrifice – Part 2

Xena: Warrior PrincessXena and Gabrielle are stunned when they see that the reborn Hope looks identical to her mother. The warrior tries again to kill the evil goddess, but Hope wages her own attack, even against Gabrielle. The two manage to escape the barrage of weapons that Hope is hurling at them. Outside the halls of war, Xena is angry that Gabreille stopped her from killing Hope before when she was still vulnerable, but the bard explains about Ares’ threat. Now that Hope has completed her rebirth, she and Ares start on their own plans. Callisto realizes that she won’t be a part of those plans. She appears to Xena and offers her help in killing Hope, providing that the warrior will end her life with the Hind’s blood dagger when they are finished.

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

Guest Cast: Renee O’Connor (Hope), Hudson Leick (Callisto), Kevin Smith (Ares), Jodie Rimmer (Seraphin), Ted Raimi (Joxer), Stephen Ure (Werfner), Elizabeth Pendergrass (Atropos), Micaela Daniel (Lachesis), Samantha Adriaanse (Clotho), Jeremy James Wood (Dahak Disciple #1), Russell Gowers (Dahak Disciple #2)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

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Season 10 SG-1 Stargate

Bounty

  • By Dave
  • May 11, 2007

Stargate SG-1 Netal places a bounty on SG-1, and thanks to energy-emitting tags that the Lucian Alliance placed on them during a recent mission, the bounty hunters know exactly where to look. Teal’c is meeting with the Jaffa. Carter and Dr. Lee are at a conference presenting scaled back versions of their technology. Daniel is on a research trip. And Vala has persuaded Mitchell to bring her home to Kansas for his high school reunion. As Vala entertains herself while perplexing many of Mitchell’s family and former classmates, Mitchell tries to kindle a relationship with an old never-quite-flame. But when one bounty hunter decides to use the reunion as a gathering ground for hostages, and no ships with beaming technology are available, SG-1 must extract everyone from harm’s way.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Damian Kindler
directed by Peter DeLuise
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Anne Marie DeLuise (Amy Vanderburg), David Lovgren (Darrell Grimes), Mike Dopud (Odai Vantrell), Eric Steinberg (Netal), Bill Dow (Dr. Lee), Gary Jones (Sgt. Walter Harriman), Timothy Paul Perez (Vashin)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Season 3 Stargate Stargate Atlantis

The Game

Stargate AtlantisMajor Lorne leads an expedition to a planet surrounded by geosynchronous satellites, a good candidate for an advanced civilization. But when he and his team land there, they find that the planet’s residents are in stone-age villages – decorated with banners and flags bearing the face of Rodney McKay. What’s even more alarming is that McKay and Sheppard recognize these images: they’re duplicates of an image McKay used to denote his “country” in the Ancient equivalent of a multi-player computer “god game.” When Sheppard and McKay go to this planet to see for themselves, they discover that their respective “societies” reflect their own personal ideologies, with McKay’s civilization pursuing rapid advances in science and only raising an army in response to the more aggressive advances that form the basis of Sheppard’s society. But the differences in the world views of the “Oracles” giving them their orders is about to drive the two civilizations to a very real war.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxstory by Don Whitehead & Holly Henderson
telelplay by Carl Binder
directed by William Waring
music by Joel Goldsmith and Neil Acree

Guest Cast: Laura Harris (Nola), David Dayan Fisher (Baden), Kavan Smith (Major Lorne), David Nykl (Dr. Zelenka), James Long (Helkin), John Shaw (Garth)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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2000s Series Season 1 V

Fruition

Survivors (1970s series)Anna’s daughter Lisa is found on Earth, brutally beaten and with both legs broken. The description Lisa gives of her attackers includes an almost unmistakable likeness of Kyle Hobbes, despite his insistence to fellow resistance members that he had nothing to do with it.

The other man accused of beating Lisa and leaving her for dead is a mystery to Erica and the other resistance members. His name is Parker, and he’s a weapons developer who, with some of his coworkers, has developed a substance that shows promise as a weapon against the V. Erica’s only chance of obtaining this weapon for the resistance is to make sure Parker stays alive – which means convincing Lisa not to pick him out of a suspects’ lineup. But can Erica break Anna’s hold over the girl?

written by John Wirth & Natalie Chaidez
directed by Bryan Spicer
music by Marco Beltrami

Guest Cast: Charles Mesure (Kyle Hobbes), Christopher Shyer (Marcus), Mark Hildreth (Joshua), Rekha Sharma (Agent Sarita Malik), Roark Critchlow (Paul Kendrick), Lexa Doug (Dr. Pearlman), Samantha Ferris (Private Investigator), Scott Hylands (Father Travis), Paul McGillion (Parker)

Notes: Guest star Paul McGillion is best known in the role of Dr. Beckett on Stargate Atlantis, and auditioned for the role of Scotty in 2009’s Star Trek feature film, instead winding up with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo.

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Doctor Who New Series Season 07

Nightmare In Silver

Doctor WhoWith Clara’s babysitting charges, Artie and Angie, having discovered her travels in time, she introduces them to the Doctor, who offers to take them aboard the TARDIS for a trip to one of the universe’s most impressive amusement parks, Hedgewick’s World of Wonders. Once there, though, the park is a bit underwhelming, occupied only by Mr. Webley and – to the Doctor’s alarm – what appears to be a severely-damaged Cyberman who plays chess against anyone willing to pay. It turns out that a small man named Porridge is controlling the Cyberman, but the Doctor is still suspicious, and with good reason: Hedgewick’s World is also the home to a tomb of the Cybermen, and they’re evolving new abilities, including downsizing Cybermats into Cybermites to aid in converting unwitting humans into Cybermen. One of the Cybermites manages to gain control of the Doctor himself, and he finds himself fighting for control of his own mind with the consciousness of the Cyber Planner. Clara joins forces with a “punishment platoon” of space soldiers sentenced to patrol the run-down amusement park, but even then she may not be able to save the Doctor – or the children she’s meant to be babysitting.

Order the DVDwritten by Neil Gaiman
directed by Stephen Woolfenden
music by Murray Gold

Doctor WhoCast: Matt Smith (The Doctor), Jenna-Louise Coleman (Clara), Eve de Leon Allen (Angie), Kassius Carey Johnson (Artie), Jason Watkins (Webley), Warwick Davis (Porridge), Tamzin Outhwaite (Captain), Eloise Joseph (Beauty), Will Merrick (Brains), Calvin Dean (Ha-Ha), Zahra Ahmadi (Missy), Aidan Cook (Cyebrman), Nicholas Briggs (voice of the Cybermen)

Notes: Tombs of the Cybermen have been seen in previous episodes, such as Tomb Of The Cybermen (1967) and Attack Of The Cybermen (1985). The Cyber Planner was last encountered in 1968’s The Invasion. Doctor WhoGuest star Warwick Davis (incorrectly credited on-screen as “Warwick Davies”), making his first Doctor Who appearance, is usually associated with the Star Wars franchise, having played such characters as Wicket the Ewok in 1983’s Return Of The Jedi (and two TV movie follow-ups), and a podrace spectator in The Phantom Menace, among other roles. He was also the star of another George Lucas production, the 1988 film Willow.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green