Day: September 25, 1975

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Season 1 Space: 1999

War Games

Space: 1999As the moon swings close to a habitable planet, it is greeted by that world’s warships – not the friendly greeting Koenig hoped for. Eagles are launched to intercept them, loaded for bear…and the attacking ships are destroyed far too easily for Alan Carter’s tastes. Another attack wave is launched, and this time Moonbase Alpha takes heavy damage and suffers heavy casualties. Three additional Eagles are destroyed before they can even lift off, and now Alan Carter’s fleet of three armed ships are the moon’s only defense. One of them is taken out by the still-unknown assailants, and Koenig’s crew scrambles to keep up with the damage on Moonbase Alpha. Carter succeeds in eliminating the new attack wave, but his own ship is disabled in the process…and another wave arrives, this time targeting Alpha’s main mission control center and medical bay directly. Koenig orders the entire crew to move as deep underground as possible, and Carter musters just enough power from his Eagle to fend off the attackers. With a momentary reprieve in the action, Koenig and his team assess the damage – and there’s no way Moonbase Alpha will survive without outside assistance. And the only nearby civilization lies on the planet from which the hostile ships have been launched…an unlikely candidate for humanitarian aid.

Order the DVDswritten by Christopher Penfold
directed by Charles Crichton
music by Barry Gray
additional music by Vic Elms

Guest Cast: Anthony Valentine (Male alien), Isla Blair (Female alien), Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow), Clifton Jones (David Kano), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Anton Phillips (Dr. Mathias), Nick Tate (Alan Carter)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Ark II

The Wild Boy

Ark IIJonah descends underground to retrieve mineral samples from an opening in the Earth. As Samual and Ruth monitor his progress on the surface, they are attacked by a boy who can’t even speak, though the approach of riders on horseback scares off their attacker. The riders’ leader, Simone, warns Jonah and his teammates about the “wild boy” who attacks anyone who approaches the abandoned mine, and expresses her desire to capture and tame the boy by any means necessary. Jonah thanks her for the warning, and instead makes it a point to befriend the boy next time he appears. Ruth and Samuel name the boy Isaiah and begin to teach him the basics of life in their vehicle, but when he sees the ore samples Jonah retrieved from the mine, he goes berzerk and runs away. Can anyone tame Isaiah, or is he trying to warn both Jonah and Simone of a greater danger?

Ark IIwritten by Susan Dworski
directed by Hollingsworth Morse
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Terry Lester (Jonah), Jean Marie Hon (Ruth), Jose Flores (Samuel), Mitch Vogel (Isaiah), Jean Sarah Frost (Simone), Lou Scheimer (voice of Adam)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Holmes & Yoyo

Pilot

Holmes & YoyoLAPD detective Alex Holmes has been on the force for years, with an impeccable record of service…and an absolutely terrible track record of getting his partners injured in the line of duty. As he awaits word on who his next partner will be, his boss, Chief Sedford, gets a visit from the Police Commissioner with an offer of a technological breakthrough: a 400+ pound robotic police officer virtually indistinguishable from a human being. Named after its creator, roboticist Gregory Yoyonovich, “Yoyo” is nearly indestructible…prompting the Chief to make him Holmes’ new partner.

Yoyo finds himself immediately thrust into the investigation into the theft of a valuable car, the same case that led to the injury of Holmes’ former partner. When the case begins to involve a greater understanding of the mechanics of disassembling the car, Yoyo turns out to be Holmes’ secret weapon in the investigation. But when one of the prime suspects turns up dead, Yoyo discovers he has less of a knack for figuring out why human beings would commit murder. His know-how, and Holmes’ intuition, may yet crack the case, but it’ll mean Holmes putting Yoyo’s “indestructible” status to the test.

written by Jack Sher & Lee Hewitt and Leonard B. Stern
directed by Jackie Cooper
music by Leonard Rosenman

Holmes & YoyoCast: Richard B. Shull (Detective Alex Holmes), John Schuck (Officer Gregory “Yoyo” Yoyonovich), Bruce Kirby (Captain Harry Sedford), Andrea Howard (Officer Maxine Moon), Allan Miller (Mr. Powers), Larry Hovis (Dr. Babcock), G. Wood (The Police Commissioner), Madison Arnold (Mr. Karl Kincaid), Sarah Jane Miller (Mrs. Powers), Doris Hess (Woman Driver), Bobby Herbeck (Driving Instructor)

Notes: The actor playing Tony, Holmes’ partner in the show’s opening scenes, is uncredited. Guest star Allan Miller has a significant genre TV track record, with appearances in Wonder Woman, Project UFO, Galactica: 1980, Airwolf, and the late ’90s syndicated superhero show, Nightman. His most visible genre role, however, may be as the Holmes & Yoyoalien pilot with whom McCoy tries to secretly book passage to the Genesis Planet in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (“how can you be deaf with ears like that!?”). Ironically, mere months before Holmes & Yoyo premiered on ABC’s prime time schedule, ABC had piloted Future Cop, a slightly more dramatic take on the “veteran cop discovers his new partner is a robot rookie” plotline at the heart of both shows; Holmes & Yoyo would be cancelled before Future Cop could return for its own short, troubled run as a weekly series, but unaired episodes would crop up in 1977 as Star Wars mania gripped American pop culture, prompting a perhaps misplaced hope that the popularity of the movie’s robots would reignite interest in robot characters on a TV budget.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2 Space: 1999

One Moment Of Humanity

Space: 1999A power loss cripples Moonbase Alpha and freezes the crew as a humanoid woman materializes in the command center. Claiming to be curious about humanity, she abducts Dr. Russell and Tony Verdeschi with a promise to return them unharmed. Despite this, Koenig begins making rescue preparations as soon as the Moonbase’s uninvited visitor leaves. Dr. Russell and Tony find themselves on an alien world when lifelike robots have turned the tables on their former masters; the humans are now the underclass, and they advise Russell not to employ violence in any form. The robots are trying to learn about human emotions, hoping to understand the link between hate and the urge to kill…and if their test subjects do display that emotion, the robots will finally learn how to ultimately subdue the humans.

Order the DVDswritten by Tony Barwick
directed by Charles Crichton
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Billie Whitelaw (Zamara), Leigh Lawson (Zarl), Geoffrey Bayldon (Number Eight)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Electra Woman & Dyna Girl

Glitter Rock – Part 1

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlThe insane glam rock criminal known as Glitter Rock plots to take over with his minion, Side Man. The key to his plan is a bejeweled key hanging from the neck of a young foreign king visiting the United States. The prince is spirited away while Lori and Judy consult with Frank and the crime scope. After they transform into Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, they must find the king before Glitter Rock plays his coda.

written by Dick Robbins and Duane Poole
directed by Chuck Liotta
music not credited

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlCast: Deidre Hall (Lori / Electra Woman), Judy Strangis (Judy / Dyna Girl), Norman Alden (Frank Heflin), John Mark Robinson (Glitter Rock), Jeff David (Side Man), Michael Blodgett (King Alex)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Max Headroom Season 2 (US)

Deities

Max HeadroomTelevangelism is just as prevalent in the future as in the present, and nowhere is this as evident as with the Vu-Age Church, the first religious organization to operate primarily on TV. But Vu-Age’s promises of video resurrection have gotten Murray’s attention, and he assigns Edison to the story. But somewhat atypically, Edison shows little enthusiasm for the prospects of blowing a resurrection scam wide open. As it so happens, Edison’s lack of enthusiasm is centered more on Vu-Age’s high priestess, Vanna Smith, who is also an old flame of his. When Edison refutes her claims that video resurrection is a reality, Vanna Smith points out that Edison’s own alter-ego is proof to the contrary. When she and Edison start to rekindle their old relationship, Murray wonders if there’s less to the story than he imagined, or if Edison’s losing his edge.

written by Michael Cassutt
directed by Tom Wright
music by Chuck Wild

Guest Cast: Dayle Haddon (Vanna Smith), Hank Garrett (Network 23 Board Member), Lee Max HeadroomWilkof (Network 23 Board Member), Sharon Barr (Network 23 Board Member), Gregory Itzin (Vu-Age Salesman), Rosalind Chao (Angie Barry), Michael Margotta (Male producer), Peg Stewart (Female producer), Brenda Hayes (Jennifer Marks), Gary Ballard (Humphrey Marks), Clarence Brown (Vu-Age Client), Dale Raoul (Vu-Age Client), Ron Ray (?), Larry Spinak (?)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Alien Nation Season 1

Fountain Of Youth

Alien NationA fellow Newcomer cop takes a bullet for George at a stakeout, and is rushed to L.A.’s new Newcomer-only hospital. Despite focusing on Tenctonese medicine, the hospital has a human administrator, an old friend of Sikes’, and he promises Sikes and George that their colleague is suffering a superficial wound to his arm. Later, as the recovering police officer is walking around the hospital, he spots something completely at odds with the hospital’s mission: a female human patient is being treated there. The next day, the officer dies, supposedly of a fatal reaction to anesthetics. Sikes and George talk to the hospital staff, including Sikes’ neighbor Cathy, discovering that there have been a number of deaths recently. At a party held by Sikes’ friend, Sikes is offered the post of chief of security at the hospital, but he also has a little too much to drink and passes out. When Sikes wakes up in the morning, he has an odd scar. Cathy, who has discovered one common factor – a missing gland – among all of the dead Newcomers, discovers that Sikes has been injected with a Newcomer hormone from that gland…and that yet another patient died at the hospital while Sikes was at the party. Tenctonese patients are dying to make humans younger – and both Sikes’ friend and some of the Tenctonese doctors are in on the scheme.

Season 1 Regular Cast: Gary Graham (Matt Sikes), Eric Pierpoint (George Francisco), Michele Scarabelli (Susan Francisco), Lauren Woodland (Emily Francisco), Sean Six (Buck Francisco), Terri Treas (Cathy), Molly Morgan (Jill), Jeff Marcus (Albert Einstein), Jeff Doucette (Burns), Ron Fassler (Capt. Grazer), Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Sgt. Dobbs)

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episodewritten by Diane Frolov
directed by John McPherson
music by Steve Dorff

Guest Cast: Jason Beghe (Dr. Trenner), Joel Polis (Dr. Windsor), Liz Torres (Dr. Tamayo), Bonnie Urseth (Sofia James), Susan Gibney (Harriet Beecher), Gretchen German (Lisa Bancroft), James Greene (Moodri), Robert V. Barron (Celinite Priest), Crystal Carson (Celeste), Randy Harrington (Man), Wendy Kaplan (Beth Meadows), Steve Rankin (Henry James), Barry Sherman (Executive)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 03 Star Trek The Next Generation

Evolution

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 43125.8: While the crew of the Enterprise races against the clock to launch a space probe for a critical experiment, a culture of experimental microbe-machines accidentally released by Wesley threatens to render the Enterprise uninhabitable.

Season 3 Regular 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), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher)

Order the DVDsteleplay by Michael Piller
story by Michael Piller and Michael Wagner
directed by Winrich Kolbe
music by Ron Jones

Guest Cast: Ken Jenkins (Dr. Paul Stubbs), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Mary McCusker (Nurse), Randal Patrick (Crewman #1)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 02 Star Trek Voyager

Non-Sequitur

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate 49011.0: Harry Kim wakes up in San Francisco where he finds himself in bed with his fiancee. He is a bright young Starfleet engineer, and his friend Ensign Danny Byrd got his slot on the Voyager which disappeared several months before, yet the last thing Harry remembers is piloting one of Voyager’s shuttles in the Delta Quadrant. His efforts to make sense of the situation make his superiors suspect that Harry is a Maquis spy. He discovers that he is in an alternate timeline and finds allies in strange places as he tries to return to his own reality.

Order the DVDswritten by Brannon Braga
directed by David Livingston
music by Jay Chattaway

Cast: Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Robert Beltran (Chakotay), Roxann Biggs-Dawson (B’Elanna Torres), Jennifer Lien (Kes), Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim), Louis Giambalvo (Cosimo), Jennifer Gatti (Libby), Jack Shearer (Admiral Strickler), Mark Kiely (Lt. Lasca), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

Notes: Jennifer Gatti had previously appeared as Worf’s love interest in the Next Generation two-parter Birthright.

LogBook entry by Paul Campbell

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Season 1 Xena: Warrior Princess

Cradle of Hope

Xena: Warrior PrincessKing Gregor learns from a seer that a baby recently born in his kingdom will one day take his throne. He orders his advisor, Nemos, to find the infant. Unnoticed by the king and Nemos, a servant has overheard. She takes the baby that was just born to another servant and places him in a basket. She carries him to a river and puts the basket in it. The next morning, the child is discovered by Xena and Gabrielle. The warrior is determined to find who the baby belongs to. They encounter a mob in the process of hanging a woman. When they refuse to reveal what crime she has committed, Xena disperses the crowd and frees the woman. She is Pandora, the granddaughter of the Pandora that opened the box, freeing all of mankind’s desires except hope. As part of the family’s curse, Pandora must keep the box with her at all times to keep the lock set on it. That was the reason for the mob’s behavior. The trio make their way to a tavern in order to feed the baby. Xena notices the bartender talking to a young boy. A shortly after the boy leaves, Nemos and his men arrive. He demands that Xena hand over the baby to him. She refuses and fights off the soldiers. During the scuffle, Nemos sees the box and grabs it then runs out of the tavern.

Nemos informs the king that Xena has the child in her custody. He warns that she may use the child against him. A note arrives from the warrior saying that she wants to meet with Gregor. At their hiding place, Pandora tells Xena and Gabrielle that she must get the box back soon to reset the lock. If she doesn’t, hope will be freed. Xena meets with Gregor and Nemos in the tavern. He doesn’t have the box with him, but says he will trade it for the baby. Gabrielle brings the servant who placed the baby in the river to thier hideout. Ophelia tells Xena of the festival that evening. The warrior decides to use that to gain entrance to the castle. Disguised as a dancer, she learns that Gregor has the box in his chambers. When she finally locates the box, she overhears the king talking to himself. She then realizes what the true prophecy is, and is determined to fulfill it.

Order the DVDswritten by Terrance Winter
directed by Michael Levine
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Pandora), Edward Newborn (Gregor), Kirstie O’Sullivan (Ophelia), Simon Prast (Nemos), Carl Straker (Young man), Beryl Te Wiata (Cynara), Susan Winter (woman), Tony Bishop (Weasel), Lathan Gains (Kastor), Paul Minifie (Innkeeper), Alan De Malmanche (Old man)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

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Nowhere Man

Paradise On Your Doorstep

Nowhere ManNeeding to earn money without drawing attention to himself, Tom puts his talents to use in a small town photo store. But an unusual situation develops along with a customer’s roll of film when Tom sees a picture of his wife. Trying to find out where the picture was taken, Tom finds himself in a community where others like himself whose identities have been stolen seek shelter from the conspiracy. But something tells Tom that this unlikely aggregation of fellow victims could be a trap meant just for him…

Order the DVDswritten by Lawrence Hertzog
directed by Tom Wright
music by Mark Snow

Cast: Bruce Greenwood (Thomas Veil), Saxon Trainor (Dierdre Coltrera), Stephen Meadows (Paul)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 03 Star Trek Voyager

The Swarm

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate not given: En route back to Voyager, the shuttle carrying Paris and Torres is boarded by two unfamiliar alien lifeforms, who render the Voyager crewmembers unconscious and then leave. Voyager recovers the shuttle, but as the Doctor treats the badly injured Paris, he suffers from an increasing memory loss that he first encountered while running an opera program on the holodeck. Kes notices the Doctor’s forgetfulness and alerts Torres to the problem. One easy solution would be to completely reinitialize the Doctor, but he would lose every memory of the past two years. Trying to salvage the wealth of information and relationships the Doctor has established, Torres calls up a holodeck diagnostic simulation of the Doctor’s creator, Dr. Zimmerman. In the meantime, Janeway’s decision to stealthily pass through the territory claimed by a hive of insectoid beings may result in Voyager being destroyed by the aliens’ sheer numbers.

Order the DVDswritten by Mike Sussman
directed by Alexander Singer
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: Robert Picardo (Dr. Lewis Zimmerman), Carole Davis (Diva), Steven Houska (Chardis), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

LogBook entry by Paul Campbell

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Enterprise Season 02 Star Trek

Carbon Creek

Star Trek: EnterpriseOn the one-year anniversary of T’Pol’s assignment to the Enterprise, Captain Archer holds a dinner in her honor, also attended by Trip. When pressed to reveal why her last leave on Earth included a visit to Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, T’Pol shocks Archer and Trip by recounting a story of the first contact between humans and Vulcans – a story which predates and completely contradicts the well-known and established historical accounts of Zefram Cochrane’s meeting with the Vulcans in the 21st century. And T’Pol has unusually intimate knowledge of the events that unfolded in Carbon Creek, for her own great-grandmother was one of three Vulcans who survived their ship’s crash-landing, forcing them to try to integrate into the small mining town until their distress signal was received by another Vulcan ship.

Order DVDsteleplay by Chris Black
story by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga and Dan O’Shannon
directed by James Contner
music by Jay Chattaway

Guest Cast: J. Paul Boehmer (Mestral), Michael Krawic (Stron), Ann Cusack (Maggie), Clay Wilcox (Billy), David Selburg (Vulcan Captain), Ron Marasco (Vulcan Officer), Hank Harris (Jack), Paul Hayes (Businessman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Heroes Season 1

Pilot

HeroesConvinced that humanity is on the cusp of an evolutionary step that could unlock its true potential with undreamt-of abilities, Professor Mohinder Suresh finds himself facing skepticism from both the students in his genetic science class and his fellow faculty members in India. When he learns that his father – upon whose theories his life’s work is based – has died under mysterious circumstances in New York City, Suresh leaves his teaching career behind to find out what really happened. Before he leaves India, he stops by his father’s office to pick up his research on humans with extraordinary abilities – and someone else is already there for the same reason.

In Las Vegas, single mother Niki Sanders and her electronics-savvy son Micah find themselves on the run when her debt to a mob bass named Linderman comes due. She leaves Micah with a friend and then goes home to pack, but Linderman’s hired hands are waiting for her. Niki blacks out, and when she awakens, she finds that the thugs have been brutally killed – and sees someone who is both herself and not herself in the mirror, urging her to stay quiet. In Odessa, Texas, high school cheerleader Claire Bennet demonstrates an amazing ability to one of her friends, taking a deliberate fall from a great height and surviving unharmed – the latest of several stunts that would be lethal to anyone else – but she later draws attention to her ability by pulling a man from a burning train wreck. In New York City, Congressional candidate Nathan Petrelli grows concerned as his younger brother Peter talks endlessly about a series of dreams and visions in which he believes he can fly. Artist Isaac Mendez awakens from a drug binge, discovering several pictures that he doesn’t remember painting, and he’s certain that they describe future events. His girlfriend Simone, who has hired Peter Petrelli as a day nurse for her dying father, convinces Peter to help Isaac; along the way, Peter has a chance encounter with Suresh, now working as a cab driver. Simone finds Isaac unconscious, and Peter finds Isaac’s most recent paintings – a picture of Peter flying, and a picture of a mushroom cloud erupting in the heart of NYC. In Tokyo, office worker Hiro Nakamura continues his own experiments, having discovered the ability to stop or even reverse time simply by intense concentration; his friend Ando is not impressed. Hiro practices another ability – teleportation – and ends up in New York City. However, when Peter Petrelli, inspired by the painting, decides to practice the ability that he’s certain he possesses, the results are less conclusive…

Season 1 Regular Cast: Santiago Cabrera (Isaac Mendez), Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet), Tawny Cypress (Simone Deveaux), Noah Gray-Cabey (Micah Sanders), Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman), Ali Larter (Niki Sanders), Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura), Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet), Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder Suresh), Leonard Roberts (D.L. Hawkins), Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli)

Order the DVDswritten by Tim Kring
directed by David Semel
music by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman

Guest Cast: Cristine Rose (Angela Petrelli), Ashley Crow (Sandra Bennet), Thomas Dekker (Zach), Shishir Kurup (Nirand), James Kyson Lee (Ando Masahashi), John Prosky (Principal), Deirdre Quinn (Tina), Brian Tarantina (Weasel), Richard Roundtree (Charles Deveaux)

Notes: The character of Mr. Bennet, not made a regular until later in the season, was originally billed simply as “Horn Rimmed Glasses” in early press releases. The scene in which Claire sticks her hand into a kitchen disposal and removes it again, mangled but rapidly healing, drew complaints from In-Sink-erator, the maker of the disposal. Though this first episode of Heroes is officially given the simple title Pilot, fandom has dubbed it both Genesis and In His Own Image. An extended cut of the pilot was shown as San Diego Comic Con 2006, and an even longer cut assembled by Tim Kring, including a central character who was omitted from the rest of the series, is included on the season 1 box set. This synopsis describes the broadcast version of the episode rather than either of those extended versions.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Eureka Season 2

All That Glitters

  • By Dave
  • September 25, 2007

Eureka Café Diem is at the end of the rainbow, as a statue outside the restaurant – and many of the fixtures in it – turn to gold. A problem of avarice becomes a matter of stability when the gold objects begin to rust away and decompose – including the metals that shore up walls and ceilings in Global Dynamics. Carter’s investigation leads through the statue’s creator to Zoe’s boyfriend and his unintended incurring of the alchemist’s curse.

Henry tries to help out Carter, but he has his own issues with being shut out of his lab. As Allison worries with Stark over Carter’s pursuit of the case, Stark reveals the lengths he’s gone to in order to solve the mystery of Kevin’s link to the artifact. First he had Beverly sent to Guantanamo for her role in the accident – and now he’s had her brought back to Eureka.

Order the DVDswritten by
directed by
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Debrah Farentino (Beverly Barlowe), Michael Shanks (Christopher Dactalos)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer