Day: November 14, 1977

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Logan's Run

Fear Factor

Logan's RunLogan and his friends happen upon an intact 20th century mansion, home of a group of reclusive scientists who don’t seem to be willing to discuss what they’re studying. Jessica manages to get a little bit more information, though – and after she finds out what experiments are being conducted there, she says that it’s even worse than the City of Domes. Rem and Logan and trapped in an enclosed chamber and battered with fierce winds, and then fireballs are flung at them – but their ordeal is all part of an attempt to gauge how well Logan handles fear. It’s an emotion that the chief scientist wants to eliminate from his own followers – and instill in any potential enemies before they can do him harm. He sees Logan as the perfect fearless template for his new breed of human soldier.

Download this episodewritten by John Sherlock
directed by Gerald Mayer
music by Bruce Broughton

Guest Cast: Ed Nelson (Dr. Rowan), Jared Martin (Dr. Emory Paulson), William Wellman Jr. (Psychiatrist #1), Peter Brandon (Psychiatrist #2), Carl Byrd (Psychiatrist #3), Jay W. Macintosh (The Woman), Sean Fallon Walsh (Guard “A”), Tim Gillin (Guard #1), Thomas Brunelle (Guard #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Red Dwarf Season 03

Backwards

Red DwarfWhilst giving Kryten flight lessons in the Starbug vehicle, Rimmer and the hapless mechanoid wind up diving into some kind of time and dimension warp, arriving in a strangely different late 20th-century Earth. On this Earth, everything moves backwards – and Rimmer and Kryten are forced to use the novelty of being “forward” to land a job at a nightclub. Lister and Cat manage to track the others down, only to find by now that they’ve actually gotten to like the idea of watching ancient history unfold…or as the case may be, watching it fold.

Season 3 Regular Cast: Chris Barrie (Rimmer), Craig Charles (Lister), Danny John-Jules (Cat), Robert Llewellyn (Kryten), Hattie Hayridge (Holly)

Order the DVDswritten by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
directed by Ed Bye
music by Howard Goodall

Guest Cast: Maria Friedman (Waitress), Tony Hawks (Compere), Anna Palmer (Customer in Cafe), Arthur Smith (Pub Manager)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Dark Season

Episode 1

Dark SeasonLondon teenagers Reet and Thomas grudgingly walk to school every day with their eccentric junior classmate Marcie, who claims to see patterns and conspiracies almost everywhere she looks. The latest object of Marcie’s fascination is the arrival of mysterious electronics company Abyss Modem at their school, with the enigmatic Mr. Eldritch promising one of the new Abyss computers to every student, free of charge. Marcie is certain that there’s more to this generous offer than meets the eye. Mr. Eldritch selects a random student to receive the first Abyss computer for publicity purposes, and she discovers that the free computer definitely has strings attached…

Dark Seasonwritten by Russell T. Davies
directed by Colin Cant
music by David Ferguson

Cast: Tim Barker (Dr. Osley), Samantha Cahill (Olivia), Ben Chandler (Thomas), Rosalie Critchley (Mrs. Polzinski), Brigit Forsyth (Miss Maitland), Victoria Lambert (Marcie), Roger Milner (Headmaster), Grant Parsons (Mr. Eldritch), Cyril Shaps (Mr. Polzinski), Kate Winslet (Reet)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Space Precinct

Deadline

Space PrecinctA stakeout turns into a high-speed, high-stakes chase when Brogan and Haldane pursue a fast-moving, unregistered air limo. It launches something that looks like a missile toward one of Demeter City’s major buildings, and Brogan uses his police cruiser to ram the projectile off-course. Both the missile and the police ship make rough unscheduled landings, but the surprises don’t stop there – there’s a dead body inside the projectile. Castle and Took lose track of the limo. With no ID on the body, all the unanswered questions are dead ends, until a connection is discovered to a suspicious organ replacement operation that was shut down months ago. Brogan and Haldane begin putting pressure on one of the doctors caught up in that scandal, and find that his organ replacement business is booming – and he’s never short of the right organs for the right species of his patients. But his paperwork reveals nothing shady, and citizens of Demeter City continue to go missing without a trace, vanishing into an operating room that no one can see, and yet is in plain sight.

written by David Bennett Carren & J. Larry Carroll
directed by
music by Crispin Merrell

Guest Cast: Steven Berkoff (Dr. Jorry), Truan Munro (Speedy), Nic Klein (Matt Brogan), Megan Olive (Liz Brogan), Jerome Willis (Podly), David Space PrecinctQuilter (Fredo), Mary Woodvine (Took), Richard James (Orrin), Lou Hirsch (Romek), Ken Whitfield (Rik), Leigh Tinkler (Nurse), Joanna Berns (Patient), Alexa Rosewood (Receptionist), Rob Thirtle (Wirt), Will Barton (Prosperous Creon), Gary Martin (voice of Slomo)

Notes: This episode features a rare shot of Demeter City at daytime (the usual nighttime shots help to hide wires and mounts in the miniature models used). As proof that Space Precicnt, despite being made in the UK, was being aimed at the American syndication market, the emergency number in the future is seen to be 911, not its British equivalent (999). Steven Berkoff also appeared in the Business As Usual episode of Star Trek: Deep space Nine.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Deep Space Nine Season 03 Star Trek

Meridian

Star Trek: Deep Space NineStardate 48423.2: Exploring the Gamma Quadrant, the Defiant arrives at a planetless star just in time to see an entire planet appear from nowhere. Its inhabitants seem friendly, and invite Sisko, Dax and O’Brien to beam down and visit. They discover that the planet Meridian and its peaceful inhabitants spend sixty years in a non-corporeal form, and emerge into solidity for only a few days at a time. The crew sets about trying to find out why Meridian disappears, and discover a possible way of keeping the planet around longer the next time it reappears in physical form. During the extended visit, Dax falls in love with Daral, but Meridian will be gone again before its existence in either plane can be stabilized, and Dax wants to stay with Daral – whether it means him leaving Meridian, or Dax shifting into a non-corporeal life form with the rest of the planet’s residents.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonteleplay by Mark Gehred O’Connell
story by Hilary J. Bader & Evan Carlos Somers
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Avery Brooks (Commander Benjamin Sisko), Rene Auberjonois (Odo), Siddig El Fadil (Dr. Julian Bashir), Terry Farrell (Lt. Jadzia Dax), Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko), Colm Meaney (Chief O’Brien), Armin Shimerman (Quark), Nana Visitor (Major Kira Nerys), Brett Cullen (Daral), Christine Healy (Selten), Jeffrey Combs (Teron), Mark Humphrey (Child)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Blackadder Specials

HRH Prince Charles’ 50th Birthday Gala

BlackadderMay 1680. Lord Edmund Blackadder, Privy Counselor, has been asked to organize a gala to celebrate the 50th birthday of King Charles I. He is disinclined to accept the offer until the King makes it clear it would be dangerous to choose not to accept…

Order the DVDswritten by Ben Elton
director not credited
music by Howard Goodall

Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Lord Edmund Blackadder), Stephen Fry (King Charles I)

Notes: This is the second documented event in the life of this particular Blackadder.  He was previously see in The Cavalier Years towards the end of Charles’ life.

Stephen Fry returns to play Charles again, this time with a lot more Melchett blood in him.

This marks the first time Tony Robinson was not involved in a Blackadder appearance of any kind since the original pilot.

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

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Enterprise Season 01 Star Trek

Civilization

Star Trek: EnterpriseA visit to a tertiary star system reveals a surprise that the crew is eager to explore: an Earthlike world populated by millions of people who look, more or less, human. But when initial scans of their world reveal no advanced technology – and seafaring ships no more advanced than large sail-powered boats – T’Pol advises against a visit. The Vulcans have adopted a policy of not making contact until a civilization achieves warp technology, and T’Pol urges Archer to establish a similar rule. But the detection of a nuclear reactor complicates the matter. If aliens are already on the planet, will the Enterprise crew’s intervention prevent cultural contamination…or cause more harm?

Order DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Phyllis Strong & Mike Sussman
directed by Mike Vejar
music by Jay Chattaway

Cast: Scott Bakula (Captain Jonathan Archer), Jolene Blalock (Subcommander T’Pol), John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox), Dominic Keating (Lt. Malcolm Reed), Anthony Montgomery (Ensign Travis Mayweather), Linda Park (Ensign Hoshi Sato), Connor Trinneer (Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker III), Diane DiLascio (Riann), Wade Andrew Williams (Garos), Charlie Brewer (Alien)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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6th Doctor Doctor Who

The Maltese Penguin

Doctor Who: The Maltese PenguinNot long after parting ways with the Doctor, Frobisher is just slipping back into his private eye routine when the TARDIS materializes in his office – the Doctor has come to ask the shape-shifting penguin to reconsider his departure. Frobisher brusquely asks the Doctor to kindly butt out of his life so he can get on with his detective work – and just in time, too, as a sultry female client walks into his office with a new case. But once he starts investigating on what few leads his new customer will give him, Frobisher realizes he’s in over his head – and as a result, that head could soon be on a platter being delivered to tyrannical business magnate Josiah W. Dogbolter. Ditching his penguin disguise, Frobisher shapeshifts into a familiar humanoid form – a tall man with curly blond hair and an appallingly colorful coat, and quite possibly the one man who can help him now.

Order this CDwritten by Robert Shearman
directed by Gary Russell
music by David Darlington

Cast: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Robert Jezek (Frobisher), Toby Longworth (Josiah W. Dogbolter), Jane Goddard (Alicia Mulholland), Alistair Lock (Chandler)

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

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Clone Wars Star Wars Tartakovsky Series, Vol. 1

Chapter 6

  • By Dave
  • November 14, 2003

Star Wars: Clone WarsDooku visits the planet Rattatak, where would-be gladiators and warriors train. Dooku isn’t looking for a warrior, however, but a test of skills for his newest apprentice.

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

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Clone Wars Season 1 Star Wars

Duel of the Droids

The Clone WarsOn a mission to uncover a Separatist spying facility, Anakin becomes convinced that he has located his missing droid, R2-D2. He takes Ahsoka and his clone troops to the Ruusan system, hoping that the location of R2 and the facility are one and the same. Meanwhile, on board Skytop Station, Gha Nachkt disassembles R2 and learns of the secrets that he holds. Anakin and his team successfully infiltrate the station, but find their efforts dogged by mishaps and difficulties at every turn. Anakin sets off to find R2, leaving the rest of the mission to Ahsoka and the clones. But the appearance of General Grievous means Ahsoka is well out of her depth and an apparent traitor in their midst means things will only get worse.

written by Kevin Campbell and Henry Gilroy
directed by Rob Coleman
music by Kevin Kiner / original Star Wars themes by John Williams

Cast: Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), Dee Bradley Baker (Captain Rex / Denal), Matthew Wood (Battle Droids / General Grievous), Ron Perlman (Gha Nachkt), James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Tom Kane (Narrator)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

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Season 1 Walking Dead, The

Tell It To The Frogs

The Walking DeadReunited with his family at a camp outside Atlanta, Rick is unaware his former police partner, Shane, has developed a romantic relationship with Lori, his wife, and a father figure to his son, Carl, thinking Rick had died weeks before. The group discovers a walker near the camp, and Daryl is told his brother Merle was left behind in Atlanta and may still be alive.

teleplay by Charles H. Eglee & Jack LoGiudice and Frank Darabont
story by Charles H. Eglee & Jack LoGiudice
based on the graphic novel series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore
and Charlie Adlard
directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton
The Walking Deadmusic by Bear McCreary

Cast: Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes), Jon Bernthal (Shane Walsh), Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes), Laurie Holden (Andrea), Steven Yeun (Glenn), Emma Bell (Amy), Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes), Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale), Michael Rooker (Merle), Andrew Rothenberg (Jim), Juan Pareja (Morales), IronE Singleton (T-Dog), Norman Reedus (Daryl), Adam Minarovich (Ed), Melissa McBride (Carol), Madison Lintz (Sophia), Jeryl Prescott Sales (Jacqui)

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

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Doctor Who New Series Season 07

The Night Of The Doctor

Doctor WhoA young woman called Cass flees alone in a spaceship, trying to keep it from plummeting into a nearby planet. A man calling himself the Doctor inexplicably appears, offering her a chance to escape her certain doom, and to Cass this seems like a perfectly acceptable offer but for one thing: the Doctor is revealed to be a Time Lord, a race of time travelers who are laying waste to reality in their Time War with the Daleks. The Doctor is clearly not to be trusted; Cass allows the ship to crash (and allows herself to be killed). Found in the wreckage of the ship, the dying Doctor awakens in the company of the Sisterhood of Karn, whose life-extending elixir could revive him by triggering his regeneration before he dies. But the Sisters put a price tag on this salvation: the Doctor can ignore the Time War no more.

Order the DVDwritten by Steven Moffat
directed by John Hayes
music by Murray Gold

Cast: Paul McGann (The Doctor), Emma Campbell-Jones (Cass), Clare Higgins (Ohila), John Hurt (The War Doctor)

Notes: This is Paul McGann’s first and only appearance as the Doctor since the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie, and would appear to mark the end of the eighth Doctor’s era. The eighth Doctor, like Doctor Whothe fourth Doctor before him, has a checkered history with the Sisterhood of Karn, previously seen on TV in the Tom Baker story The Brain Of Morbius (1976) but encountered again by McGann’s Doctor in the 2008 audio stories Sisters Of The Flame and The Vengeance Of Morbius. Furthermore, the Doctor namechecks many of his companions before his regeneration, and all of the names he mentions hail from the Big Finish eighth Doctor audio adventures: Charley is Charlotte Pollard, who traveled with the eighth Doctor from Storm Warning (2001) through The Girl Who Never Was (2007) (with a reappearance in the 2013 50th anniversary audio The Light At The End); the Doctor and Charley were joined by the Eutermesan C’rizz from Creed Of The Kromon (2004) through Absolution (2007). Lucie Miller traveled with the Doctor from 2006’s Blood Of The Daleks through To The Death in 2011, and Molly O’Sullivan became the eighth Doctor’s companion in the Dark Eyes box set released in 2012, and will presumably continue in that role in some capacity in the three further Dark Eyes sets announced late in 2013, and all of this constitutes the first unquestionable on-screen confirmation of the Big Finish audio stories as official Doctor Who.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Mars Season 1

Novo Mundo

Mars2033: Daedalus, a multi-national, partially privately funded interplanetary vehicle, is about to land the first human expedition on the surface of Mars. After a year traveling from Earth to the red planet, a fault develops in one of the braking thrusters used to slow Daedaleus for a soft landing. Mission Commander Ben Sawyer personally takes on the task of replacing the circuit that will allow the thruster to fire, but this means he’s out of his seat when Daedalus enters the Martian atmosphere, subjecting him to a sudden return of gravitational G forces without the benefit of his seat in the crew cabin. Daedalus also lands off-course, away from a habitat/lab module already delivered to Mars via an unmanned rocket, but a closer workshop module may offer shelter in the meantime.

Download this episode via Amazonteleplay by Karen Janszen
story by Karen Janszen and Paul Solet
based on the book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek
directed by Everardo Gout
music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

MarsCast: Jihae (Hana Seung / Joon Seung), Alberto Ammann (Javier Delgado), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie Durand), Anamaria Marinca (Marta Kamen), Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucalt), Ben Cotton (Ben Sawyer), Olivier Martinez (Ed Grann), Nick Wittman (Oliver), Antoinette Fekete (Sam), Kata Sarbo (Ava Macon), Laurent Winkler (Flight Director, Mission Control), Sara Martins (Louise Varda)

MarsNotes: Interspersing dramatic re-enactments of a potential Mars landing scenario with modern-day interviews with such figures as Elon Musk (SpaceX) and Andy Weir (author of The Martian), Mars is produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (producers, through Imagine Entertainment, of such past space exploration fare as Apollo 13 and From The Earth To The Moon).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Short Treks Star Trek

Ask Not

Star Trek: Short TreksStardate not given: Cadet Thira Sidhu is serving at Starbase 28 when it is attacked. Security officers escort a uniformed (but masked) Starfleet officer into the room, hand Sidhu a phaser, and order her to keep the officer prisoner without letting him leave. That officer is Captain Christopher Pike of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and he immediately asks Sidhu to let him contact his ship, to leave and help defend the Starbase – in short, asks her to violate the orders she’s just been given as well as key parts of her oath as a future officer. Whose orders Sidhu decides to follow will be a very real test of her Starfleet loyalty.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Kalinda Vasquez
directed by Sanji Senaka
music by Andrea Datzman

Cast: Anson Mount (Captain Pike), Ethan Peck (Spock), Rebecca Romijn (Number One), Amrit Kaur (Cadet Thira Sidhu), Steve Boyle (Security Officer #1), Colette Whitaker (Station 28 Computer)

Short TreksNotes: Reserve activation clauses remain seldom-used in Starfleet, though they seem to be enacted more often upon Enterprise officers who have retired from (or been relieved of) duty (Star Trek: The Motion Picture). The Enterprise may have tangled with the Tholians long before The Tholian Web (1968), though the events recounted by Captain Pike are part of a Starfleet Academy training simulation, very similar to the “psych test” endured by Wesley Crusher in Coming Of Age (1988), and may have no bearing on reality.

LogBook entry by Earl Green