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Enterprise Season 02 Star Trek

Marauders

Star Trek: EnterpriseA small outpost of settlers is surprised when an Enterprise shuttlepod descends and lands. Archer, Trip and T’Pol greet the settlers, asking to trade for deuterium fuel. Tessic, the leader of the settlement refuses, saying his outpost only has a small supply – which clashes with the full tanks spotted by the shuttle’s scanners from orbit. Archer finally strikes a deal with the settlers, trading some of Enterprise’s power cells and medical supplies for the fuel. When another ship arrives in orbit, Tessic asks the visitors from Enterprise to stay out of sight, and Archer soon learns why – a group of Klingon pirates has an “arrangement” with Tessic. Every season, the Klingons take every liter of deuterium mined, and they pay the settlers back by not harming them. Archer is determined to end the siege, and plans an elaborate trap for the Klingons. He also arms and trains the settlers to defend themselves.

Order DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxteleplay by David Wilcox
story by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
directed by Mike Vejar
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: Larry Cedar (Tessic), Bari Hochwald (E’lis), Steven Flynn (Maklii), Jesse James Rutherford (Q’Ell), Robertson Dean (Korok)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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7th Doctor Doctor Who

Master

Doctor Who: MasterIt’s a dark and stormy night in the town of Perfugium, and old friends have gathered at a stately Edwardian mansion to celebrate the birthday of their mysterious friend, Dr. John Smith. Only it’s not really his birthday – it’s the tenth anniversary of the day that the amnesiac, seemingly horribly burned, and yet compassionate-to-a-fault Smith first appeared in Perfugium. His inability to remember anything beyond the past ten years troubles Dr. Smith greatly, but he has become even more concerned recently with thoughts that seem to betray his gentle nature – thoughts that can only be described as pure evil. Even more unnerving is the arrival of a strange little man, also claiming to be a doctor, who begins to drop disturbing hints that Dr. John Smith does indeed have a past – a past in which he was known as an irredeemably evil genius called the Master.

written by Joseph Lidster
directed by Gary Russell
music by David Darlington

Cast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Geoffrey Beevers (The Master), Philip Madoc (Inspector Victor Schaeffer), Anne Ridley (Jacqueline Schaeffer), Charlie Hayes (Jade), Daniel Barzoti (The Man)

Timeline: before the 1996 TV movie and apparently after Excelis Decays since the Doctor assumes the nom de plume of “Vaughn Sutton,” whom he defeated on Excelis.

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

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8th Doctor Doctor Who

The Last

Doctor Who: The LastOn the planet Bortresoye, a global nuclear war has laid waste to the surface and the planet’s entire population is wiped out. The Doctor, Charley and C’rizz arrive here, driven thorugh the interzone by the Kro’Ka, who delays the Time Lord briefly to haunt him with memories of fallen companions. They seek shelter in a bombed-out building, but it collapses underneath and on top of them, leaving Charley paralyzed from the neck down and the Doctor buried under the rubble. C’rizz goes to get help, but can find only a strangely circumspect being who calls himself Requiem. The Doctor and Charley are found by a survey team and brought to a well-protected underground bunker where the planet’s only survivors are barely managing to stay alive – and earthquake damage to their bunker is slowly whittling down even that population. The ruler of one of Bortresoye’s warring nations, the Lady Excelsior, terrifies her two surviving cabinet ministers with her ability to remain blissfully deluded about the outcome of the war, and her insistence on consorting with a mysterious man named Landscar.

Order this CDwritten by Gary Hopkins
directed by Gary Russell
music by David Darlington

Cast: Paul McGann (The Doctor), India Fisher (Charley), Conrad Westmaas (C’rizz), Stephen Perring (The Kro’Ka), Carolyn Jones (Excelsior), Ian Brooker (Minister Voss), Robert Hines (Minister Tralfinial), Richard Derrington (Landscar), Tom Eastwood (Requiem), Jane Hills (Nurse), John Dorney (Make-Up Assistant)

Notes: Kro’Ka tortures the Doctor with visions of two of his fallen comrades. Katarina, a slave girl who joined the first Doctor in the 1965 TV story The Myth Makers, died trying to save the Doctor and Steven in her second story, The Daleks’ Masterplan. Adric was the young mathematical genius who stowed away on the TARDIS when the fourth Doctor, Romana and K-9 visited his home planet of Alzarius in Full Circle, and, after seeing the Doctor through his regeneration, died in an attempt to avert a Cybermen strike on Earth in Earthshock. They are two of the only three companions to have died in the original television series (the third, Sara Kingdom, joined and left the series within the 12 episodes of The Daleks’ Masterplan). Roz Forrester, a companion from the New Adventures novels, also met an untimely end in the book “So Vile A Sin”, but was not mentioned here.

Timeline: between Faith Stealer and Caerdroia

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Big Finish Spinoffs Dalek Empire Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

The Future

Dalek Empire III: The FutureGalanar, Tarkov and Frey’s crew are finally en route to Velyshaa, only someone has betrayed them to the Daleks, who will soon follow. The source of the plague is discovered to have been the Daleks all along, only their cure is merely a way to mutate the victims into a new army of Daleks. The Graxis Wardens find the evidence they need on Velyshaa to warn the Galactic Union of the Daleks’ plan, only their ship is destroyed before they can leave with that evidence. The human race may finally have the means to destroy the Daleks, only they’ll have to become equally ruthless – and perhaps, in the end, as inhuman as the Daleks themselves.

Order this CDwritten by Nicholas Briggs
directed by Nicholas Briggs
music by Nicholas Briggs

Cast: David Tennant (Galanar), William Gaunt (Selestru), Ishia Bennison (Frey Saxton), Steven Elder (Siy Tarkov), Sarah Mowat (Suz), Laura Rees (Kaymee), Claudia Elmhirst (Amur), Octavia Walters (Japrice), Peter Forbes (Culver), Oliver Hume (Carneill), Dot Smith (Mivas), Greg Donaldson (Telligan), Karen Henson (Saloran), Dannie Carr (Morli), Jeremy James (Sergic / Snubby), Sean Jackson (Seth), Ian Brooker (Mietok), Jane Goddard (Roozell), Philip Wolff (Chauley), Colin McIntyre (Jake), Nicholas Briggs (Dalek voices)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Heroes Season 1

Better Halves

HeroesWhen Niki’s husband, a convicted murderer who has escaped from prison and managed to elude police for months, appears, she’s not pleased to see him, though their son Micah is. Again, Niki sees a different person in the mirror when she sees herself, and when she sets out to have a conversation with the woman in the mirror, she isn’t happy with what she finds out. Claire Bennet is underwhelmed when she meets a couple that her father introduces as her biological parents, and she finds none of the answers she’s seeking about her invulnerability. In Las Vegas, Hiro and Ando run afoul of the gambler who threw them out of town; now that they’re back, he wants them to help him hustle a fellow card shark. But when Hiro is unable to stop fate from dealing the gamblers a deadly hand, he wonders if his powers have any real use.

Order the DVDswritten by Natalie Chaidez
directed by Greg Beeman
music by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman / vocals by Shenkar

Guest Cast: Nora Zehetner (Eden McCain), James Kyson Lee (Ando Masahashi), Ashley Crow (Sandra Bennet), Thomas Dekker (Zach), Karri Turner (Lisa), Colby French (Hank)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 3

The Wedding Of Sarah Jane Smith – Part 2

The Sarah Jane AdventuresThe trap has been sprung: the new man in Sarah’s life is a pawn of the Trickster, who still wants revenge against Sarah, and the trap is almost perfect. If Sarah calls the wedding off, Earth will suffer the consequences, and if she goes through with it, she belongs to the Trickster and his torments forever. Luke, Clyde, Rani and K-9 join forces with the Doctor, but the Trickster has trapped them in one second of recurring time, a temporal schism that leaves the TARDIS powerless to help. The Doctor isn’t giving up on Sarah yet, but the Time Lord doesn’t hold the key to ending this siege: Sarah’s fate lies in the hands of Clyde… and the man she was going to marry.

Get the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Gareth Roberts
directed by Joss Agnew
music by Sam Watts & Dan Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Nigel Havers (Peter Dalton), Mina Anwar (Gita), Ace Bhatti (Haresh), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), John Leeson (voice of K-9), Paul Marc Davis (Trickster), Zienia Merton (Registrar)

Sarah Jane AdventuresNotes: David Tennant filmed these episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures after completing filiming on his final Doctor Who episode, The End Of Time; in a TV interview, Tennant revealed that the last scene he filmed and the last line he delivered as the Doctor was “You two with me, spit spot!” as the Doctor dashes up the stairs. The Doctor mentions a “Pantheon of Discord,” a cabal of powerful beings who are trapped outside of time, trying to wreak chaos; it’s possible that this pantheon may also include such previous enemies as Fenric, the Gods of Ragnarok, Kwundaar, and perhaps even the Black Guardian.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
7th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

A Death In The Family

Doctor Who: A Death In The FamilyHis curiosity piqued by the mention of an artifact in the Forge’s vaults bearing the seal of Rassilon, the Doctor discreetly sticks around as UNIT shows up to clean up the Forge’s mess. Hex, still plagued by his doubts that the Doctor ever would have told him the truth about his mother, unwittingly encounters Nobody No One, in a regenerated form, verbally giving the Word Lord the means to take revenge on the Doctor. The Doctor perishes in his attempt to stop Nobody No One from destroying Earth, and Ace and Hex are left to pursue somewhat normal lives. But Hex’s idea of normal isn’t to wind up on an alien world when any mention of space or time travel is considered heresy; he does befriend a fellow time traveler, a woman named Evelyn who claims to have traveled with the Doctor in the past. Ace must learn to accept an even more terrifying fate: married life. Even though he appears to have been beaten by the Doctor, the Word Lord still waits for his chance to strike again, only to discover that the former companions of the Doctor have learned much from their mentor.

Order this CDwritten by Steven Hall
directed by Ken Bentley
music by Richard Fox & Lauren Yason

Cast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Philip Olivier (Hex), Maggie Stables (Evelyn), Ian Reddington (Nobody No One), John Dorney (Henry / Corporal / Novice), Alison Thea-Skot (Ayl-San / Faber / Nurse), Andrew Dickens (Captain Stillwell / Applin / Tour Guide), Harriet Kershaw (Ann the Van / Story Speaker / Webster)

Timeline: for the Doctor, Ace and Hex, between Project: Destiny and Lurker’s At Sunlight’s Edge; for Evelyn, years after Thicker Than Water.

Notes: The Doctor implies that he has a calendar which tracks when his former companions die, but the eleventh Doctor’s shock at receiving word of the death of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (The Wedding Of River Song) would appear to be a hint that his calendar is incomplete.

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Walking Dead, The

Save The Last One

The Walking DeadCarrying necessary medical supplies, Shane and Otis are trapped by walkers at the school. With Carl remaining in critical condition, Sophia still missing, and death claiming others of the group, Lori begins losing hope. Andrea begins finding glimmers of hope, although she is becoming hardened by the death of her sister and friends. Shane returns with the supplies, without Otis. As Carl recovers, Shane showers and is haunted and changed by the cold decision he made to bring the life-saving supplies.

Order this seasonDownload this episodewritten by Scott M. Gimple
based on the graphic novel series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore
and Charlie Adlard
directed by Phil Abraham
music by Bear McCreary

The Walking DeadCast: Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes), Jon Bernthal (Shane Walsh), Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes), Laurie Holden (Andrea), Steven Yeun (Glenn), Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes), Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale), Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon), IronE Singleton (T-Dog), Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier), Lauren Cohan (Maggie Greene), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Otis), Emily Kinney (Beth Greene), Scott Wilson (Hershel Greene)

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
Season 1 Wizards vs. Aliens

Dawn Of The Nekross – Part 2

Wizards vs. AliensWith their three spells for the day exhausted, Tom and his grandmother are powerless to stop the magic-harvesting Nekross. Tom manages to teleport himself back to Earth, whereupon he has to rock Benny’s entire belief in the way things work to the core and explain that both magic and evil aliens from space are real. Benny offers to help, but Tom realizes that the only real help for him lies in his grandmother’s hidden crawlspace, where all of her magic books and artifacts are kept. This space also contains the imp Randal Moon, who immediately offers his help in retrieving Tom’s grandmother from the Nekross; Tom’s dad, who isn’t a magic user, finds himself swept into space along with Moon. Magic is useless against the Nekross – they’re immune to it, and thrive off of the energy created by its use – but the non-magic-users help to prove that Nekross technology is susceptible to old-fashioned brute force and escape with all of the wizards that the Nekross have captured. With the knowledge that his friend is in danger, Benny offers to help Tom with scientific know-how the next time the Nekross appear.

Order the serieswritten by Phil Ford
directed by Daniel O’Hara
music by Sam Watts

Wizards vs. AliensCast: Scott Haran (Tom Clarke), Percelle Ascott (Benny Sherwood), Annette Badland (Ursula Crowe), Michael Higgs (Michael Clarke), Jefferson Hall (Varg), Gwendoline Christie (Lexi), Brian Blessed (voice of the Nekross King), Tim Rose (Nekross King puppeteer), Dan Starkey (Randal Moon), Paul Hunter (Robert France), Brian Miller (old Mark)

Notes: Dan Starkey has played numerous Sontaran characters on Doctor Who, most notably the moon-hating Strax; he was also the leader of the enslaved aliens in the Sarah Jane Adventures story that became that series’ finale.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Rebels Season 4 Star Wars

The Occupation

Star Wars: RebelsAfter a distress call from Ryder on Lothal is cut short, Mon Mothma assigns Ezra to return to his home planet to gather intelligence on the strength of Imperial forces there. Hera and the rest of the Ghost crew offer backup, but Mon Mothma warns that she can spare no other resources to help if the mission goes bad. When they arrive, Ezra sees for himself that Lothal and its people have been strip-mined and enslaved by the Empire. He decides that the time has come to remain on Lothal to fight to free his home…but the overwhelming presence of the Empire makes that a dangerously easy promise to keep.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Christopher Yost
directed by Steward Lee
music by Kevin Kiner
additional music by David Russell, Sean Kiner, and Dean Kiner
based on original themes and music by John Williams

RebelsCast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Vanessa Marshall (Hera Syndulla), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Steve Blum (Zeb / Alton Kastle / DT-L21), Jonny Rees (Baron Valen Rudor / Imperial Commander), Keith Szarabajka (Cikatro Vizago), Josh Brener (ERskin Semaj / Imperial Tech), Dante Basco (Jai Kell), David Oyelowo (Kallus), Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma), Dee Bradley Baker (Rex / Stormtrooper #2 / Stormtrooper #3), Clancy Brown (Ryder Azadi), Dave Filoni (Stormtrooper #1 / Stormtrooper #4)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 4 Star Wars

Flight Of The Defender

Star Wars: RebelsEzra, Zeb, Sabine, Ryder, and some overly friendly Loth-cats stake out the Imperial airstrip that the improved prototype TIE Defender calls home. Their mission: to gather as much data from the vehicle itself as they can. The problem: Grand Admiral Thrawn has just arrived. The potentially even bigger problem: running out of time and options, Sabine decides that if there isn’t time to download all the engineering and flight data, she’ll just steal the ship. But when they crash the Defender, Sabine and Ezra have a long trek back to the others with what they’ve learned…and a most unusual ally.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Dave Filoni & Steven Melching
directed by Saul Ruiz
music by Kevin Kiner
additional music by David Russell, Sean Kiner, and Dean Kiner
based on original themes and music by John Williams

RebelsCast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Vanessa Marshall (Hera Syndulla), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Steve Blum (Zeb / Stormtrooper Guard #1), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Governor Pryce), Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn), Clancy Brown (Ryder Azadi), Dave Filoni (Stormtrooper Guard #2), Mario Vernazza (Vult Skerris) and White Loth-wolf (himself)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Mandalorian, The Season 2

Chapter 9: The Marshal

Star Wars: The MandalorianTrying to fulfill the Armorer’s instruction that the Child be reunited with others of its kind, the Mandalorian must now find others of his own kind to help on that quest – and after the Mandalorian covert was wiped out on Navarro, that’s not an easy task. A lead on a lone Mandalorian living in the Tatooine mining village of Mos Pelgo takes the Mandalorian and the Child back to that desert world, where he finds a village under siege – and the town marshal wearing Mandalorian armor that does not belong to him. The village and its population face extinction due to repeated visits from a ravenous Krayt Dragon, and the marshal, Vanth Cobb, strikes a deal to surrender his purloined armor in exchange for the Mandalorian’s help in dealing with the Krayt Dragon once and for all. But it quickly becomes apparent that two men in armor are insufficient; the entire village will have to pitch in…and worse, they may have to work together with their hated enemies, a local band of Tusken Raiders, to do away with the threat to them all.

The Mandalorianwritten by Jon Favreau
directed by Jon Favreau
music by Ludwig Goransson

Cast: Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), John Leguizamo (Gor Koresh), Amy Sedaris (Peli Motto), Timothy Olyphant (Cobb Vanth), Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett), Isaac C. Singleton (Twi’lek Doorman), David Choe (Ringside Spectator), Miguel A. Lopez (Tusken Raider #1), Xavier Jimenez (Tusken Raider #2), Leilani Shui (Jawa), W. Earl Brown (Weequay Proprietor), Dietrich Gray (Mos Pelgo Villager), Karisma Gideon (Jo), Dylan Curtis (Mos Pelgo Boy), John Rosengrant (Gor Koresh performance artist)

The MandalorianNotes: Obi-Wan Kenobi scared off a band of Tusken Raiders by imitating the scream of a Krayt Dragon in the original Star Wars; now we have a little more context for why they took off so quickly. Apparently a particularly ravenous Krayt Dragon can force a Sarlacc to abandon its pit. Peli Motto was previously seen in the season one episode The Gunslinger. Mos Eisley and Mos Espa (the site of much of Episode I‘s action) are both still thriving, though Mos Pelgo has struggled to survive both Tusken Raider attacks and the Dragon.

LogBook entry by Earl Green