Day: November 20, 1959

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1960s Season 1 Twilight Zone

Time Enough At Last

The Twilight ZoneHenpecked at home and unappreciated at work, bank teller Henry Bemis sneaks down to the bank vault to read on his lunch breaks. His wife resents his bookworm tendencies, and the bank manager doesn’t take too kindly to his reading habits either. One day during his lunchtime reading break, Henry falls asleep, only to be awakened by the sound of the end of the world: an atomic bomb. Protected in the bank vault, Bemis is the only survivor, and he can find no other living human beings. Helpless and on the verge of suicide, Bemis then realizes that he is now the last custodian, and consumer, of the world’s books.

Download this episode via Amazonteleplay by Rod Serling
based on a short story by Lynn Venable
directed by John Brahm
music by Leith Stevens

The Twilight ZoneCast: Burgess Meredith (Henry Bemis), Vaughn Taylor (Mr. Carsville), Jaqueline deWit (Helen Bemis), Lela Bliss (Mrs. Chester)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Far-Out Space Nuts

Vanishing Alien Mystery

Far-Out Space NutsA meteor storm forces Barney, Junior and Honk down on a derelict space station. They find that Lantana has also docked there, as have many others, for the reading of a space will. The deceased promises his entire fortune, including the station itself, to all present, and implores them to ignore legends that the station is haunted. But when the visitors to the station begin disappearing, one by one, it looks like someone wants to be the sole surviving benefactor of that space will…

written by Jack Mendelsohn
directed by Wes Kenney
music by Michael Lloyd / arranged by Reg Powell

Far-Out Space NutsCast: Bob Denver (Junior), Chuck McCann (Barney), Patty Maloney (Honk), Eve Bruce (Lantana), Mitchell Young-Evans (Spector), Michael Hawes (Zomar), Stan Jenson (Crakor)

Notes: Possibly the only instance of anything resembling continuity in Far-Out Space Nuts, this episode features a Gromek (It’s All In Your Mind), a Pippet (Flight Of The Pippets, a Crystallite (The Crystallites), and Lantana herself (The Robots Of Pod).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Space: 1999

End Of Eternity

Space: 1999The moon passes an asteroid which shows signs of something unusual beneath its surface. Using explosive charges, an expedition led by Koenig and Professor Bergman unearths a door of artificial origins. An attempt to open a door further inside the underground installation results in a huge explosion, and while the second door opens, someone who was standing behind it is critically injured. Koenig and his landing party return the humanoid to Moonbase Alpha, where he dies on the operating table. And yet, when Dr. Russell prepares to conduct an autopsy, she finds that the humanoid is unharmed – in fact, his body is regenerating. Before long, the fully-restored alien visitor is on his own two feet again, exploring the Moonbase, despite security’s best efforts to restrain him. Though he expresses his gratitude to Koenig for freeing him from the asteroid, the entity known as Balor soon all but takes over Moonbase Alpha in a display of power and pure evil.

Order the DVDswritten by Johnny Byrne
directed by Ray Austin
music by Barry Gray
additional music by Vic Elms

Guest Cast: Peter Bowles (Balor), Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow), Clifton Jones (David Kano), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Anton Phillips (Dr. Mathias), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Jim Smilie (Baxter)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Ark II

The Lottery

Ark IIArk II explores a desert area bordering something that the local call “the forbidden zone,” where Jonah and Ruth watch as two men are prodded into the zone and vanish without a trace. When a third person is forced toward the zone, Jonah dons the jet pack and stops him from entering, demanding to know what’s going on. He learns that the leader of the young man’s village, Kane, has decreed a brutal form of population control: a lottery is held to determine which member of the community will be banished to the forbidden zone to ensure that there are enough resources left for rest of the village. The seemingly random bursts from a volcanic steam vent choose those who will be banished… except that Adam finds evidence that Kane has control over those burtsts, ensuring that those who oppose his laws are always the ones to be exiled. Ruth slips into the next party of exiles sent into the forbidden zone, and she finds herself in a strange dark voidi with the others who have been sent there against their will. But how can Ruth and the others be retrieved?

Ark IIwrittten by Phyllis & Robert White
directed by Ted Post
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Terry Lester (Jonah), Jean Marie Hon (Ruth), Jose Flores (Samuel), Zitto Kazann (Kane), David Goldmund (Steven), Eric Boles (Borg), Jim Boles (Benjamin), Lou Scheimer (voice of Adam)

Notes: Samuel’s laser gear uses advanced 25th century Nixie tubes to display numbers. Two weeks after he made it dangerously obvious that he couldn’t drive the Ark, Adam has mastered the controls of the Roamer.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Electra Woman & Dyna Girl

The Pharaoh – Part 1

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlThe theft of an ancient Egyptian artifact from the city museum is but the first indication that a criminal genius who calls himself the Pharaoh is on the prowl. He already has a weapon at his disposal that temporarily paralyzes his victims, but the Pharaoh craves more than that. He means to resurrect a powerful force from the legends of ancient Egypt, but he lacks the incantation to summon it. Electra Woman and Dyna Girl are ready to fight to make sure it stays that way.

written by Greg Strangis
directed by Jack Regas
music not credited

Cast: Deidre Hall (Lori / Electra Woman), Judy Strangis (Judy / Dyna Girl), Norman Alden (Frank Heflin), Peter Mark Richman (The Pharaoh), Jane Elliot (Cleopatra), H.B. Haggerty (Museum Guard)

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlNotes: This was an early writing gig for Greg Strangis, who had also written an episode of Land Of The Lost for the Krofft brothers. He would go on to create the TV version of War Of The Worlds in the late 1980s, in addition to serving very briefly as one of several “creative consultants” during the troubled first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It probably didn’t hurt that he happened to be the nephew of Judy “Dyna Girl” Strangis. Guest star H.B. Haggerty would go on to appear in many a tough-guy role, including Tigerman on Buck Rogers In The 25th Century.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Alien Nation Season 1

The Game

Alien NationA wave of Newcomer murders – death by toxic salt water – seems to strike a terrifying chord with George. When George explains that these killings are very much like the results of a deadly, forced game of Russian roulette that was played aboard the Tenctonese slave ship, Sikes blows the similarities off. George turns to one of his oldest friends, Tom Edison, who was also forced to endure the game aboard the slave ship. Becoming increasingly obsessed with the investigation, George makes what appear to be major blunders in trying to make an arrest in the case. Little does he know that the game has not only begun again on Earth, but his friend is the reigning champion.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episodewritten by Steven Long Mitchell & Craig Van Sickle
directed by David Carson
music by

Guest Cast: Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Dobbs), Molly Morgan (Jill Molaskey), Teddy Wilson (Dr. Brennan), Andreas Katsulas (Coolock), Sam Anderson (Tom Edison), Billy Ray Sharkey (Deon Flack), Bill Allen (Ruhtra), Joel Swetow (Joe Comet), Maggie Egan (Mrs. Comet), Craig Richard Nelson (Attorney), Henry Stolow (Challenger), Isabel Wolfe (Alva), Martin Valinsky (Cop)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 03 Star Trek The Next Generation

The Vengeance Factor

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 43421.9: Riker as a man of conscience and Picard as a diplomat run up against an age-old wall of mafia-likee blood feuding, almost certain to ruin the first negotiations between a clan of vicious pirates and a race of civilized if haughty beings in centuries. Riker ends up with the most difficult decision of all…

Order the DVDswritten by Sam Rolfe
directed by Timothy Bond
music by Dennis McCarthy

Guest Cast: Lisa Wilcox (Yuta), Joey Aresco (Brull), Nancy Parsons (Sovereign Marouk), Stephen Lee (Chorgan), Marc Lawrence (Volnath), Elkanah J. Burns (Temarek)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Deep Space Nine Season 04 Star Trek

The Sword of Kahless

Star Trek: Deep Space NineNo stardate given: An elderly Klingon, Kor, who is an old friend of Dax, has returned to the station. Dax introduces him to Worf, whom Kor invites along on a quest: he has obtained a cloth found on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant – a cloth which was used to wrap the legendary Sword of Kahless. The Sword is a relic of Klingon history, stolen over 1000 years ago by the Hurk. Together, Kor, Dax, and Worf go to the planet where the cloth was found, and manage to find the Sword. But they have been followed there by Toral, the last member of the House of Duras, who once tried to seize power, and whose life was spared at the time by Worf. Kor, Dax, and Worf must journey through the caverns to escape, as ambition begins to turn Kor and Worf against each other.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonteleplay by Hans Beimler
story by Richard Danus
directed by LeVar Burton
music by David Bell

Guest Cast: John Colicos (Kor), Rick Pasqualone (Toral), Tom Morga (Soto)

LogBook entry by Tracy Hemenover

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Season 02 Star Trek Voyager

Maneuvers

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate 49208.5: While following a mysterious hail, Voyager is attacked by a Kazon-Nistrim ship. With the help of Seska, raiders steal a transporter module and escape. Embarrassed by the way Seska used him, Chakotay goes off alone to recover the Federation technology. As the Kazon sects gather for a final assault on Voyager, the crew makes a desperate attempt to rescue their first officer.

Order the DVDswritten by Kenneth Biller
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), Martha Hackett (Seska), Anthony DeLongis (First Maje Jal Cullah), Terry Lester (Jal Haron), John Geggenhuber (Jal Surat), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

LogBook entry by Paul Campbell

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Season 1 Xena: Warrior Princess

Hooves and Harlots

Xena: Warrior PrincessAs Xena and Gabrielle are making their way through the forest, they are met by four Amazons on patrol. Xena asks them for safe passage through their territory. The Amazons take them to see Queen Melosa. Along the way, they are attacked and the Amazon, Terreis is hit by an arrow. Without thinking, Gabrielle moves to sheild the fallen Amazon as more arrows are fired their way. Suddenly the attack ends, and Xena goes to find who was responsible. Terreis dies, but not before asking Gabrielle to take her rite of caste. At the Amazon village, Terreis is given her funeral and Melosa grants safe passage to Xena and Gabrielle. Before they can leave, Ephiny and several Amazons return with a Centaur they captured. He is Phantes, the son of Tyldus who leads the Centaurs. The Amazons plan on executing Phantes for the murder of Terreis. Krykus the warlord arrives in the village. He assures Melosa that if the Amazons and Centaurs go to war that his army will stay out of it. After talking to Phantes, Xena tells Melosa that she doesn’t believe that he killed her sister. She tells the queen that she’s going to go speak to Tyldus. Xena tells Gabrielle to stay with the Amazons because they will protect her. Tyldus is wary of his former enemy. He informs Xena that his army will attack the Amazons if his son is executed. While Xena is gone, the Amazons prepare their new princess, Gabrielle. As part of her training as an Amazon, they teach her how to fight with a staff. Later, Melosa tells Gabrielle that because she accepted Terreis’ rite of caste, she must be the one to carry out the execution of Phantes.

Xena returns to the scene of the attack. Ephiny appears and tries to fight the warrior in the trees. But Xena cuts the branch that Ephiny is standing on and she falls to the ground. A Centaur was also in the area, and moves to kill the Amazon. Xena stops his attack, as well as the arrow that Ephiny fires at him. The two women retreat to the trees before the Centaur can attack again. When the Centaur is gone, Xena shows Ephiny proof that Phantes’ wasn’t the one who murdered Terreis. The warrior realizes that Krykus was the one behind the attack and the two women make their way to his camp to investigate further. With their suspiscions confirmed, the two warriors return to the Amazon village in time to stop the execution. Xena encourages Gabrielle to demand the royal challange. As her champion, Xena will fight Melosa to the death.

Order the DVDswritten by Steven L. Sears
directed by Jace Alexander
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Danielle Cormack (Ephiny), Alison Bruce (Melosa), Mark Ferguson (Krykus), David Aston (Tyldus), Chris Bailey (Celano), Tanya Dignan (Eponin), Andrew Kovacevich (Tor), Rebekah Mercer (Terreis), Colin Moy (Phantes), Aurora Philips (Magdelus), Antony Starr (Mesas), John Watson (Arben)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

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Babylon 5 / Crusade Season 3

A Day in the Strife

  • By Dave
  • November 20, 1995

Babylon 5Sheridan is busy trying to placate the station’s dockworkers, but that’s soon the least of his problems. The Centauri send a new representative to speak for the station’s Narn population, one who seems more willing to work with the Centauri rather than support a fledgling resistance movement. Na’far tells G’Kar that unless he agrees to return to Narn, the families of those one the station will be punished. Sheridan renews his acquantance with Ta’lon, Na’far’s bodyguard, with whom Sheridan escaped from a Strieb ship months before. He must also deal with a peculiar first contact scenario. An alien probe has signalled the station, offering to share advanced knowledge and technology if Earth is advanced enough to deserve it. Along with the offer comes a series of questions. If the station can not answer them, the probe will explode with enough force to destroy Babylon 5.

Order now!Stream this episodewritten by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by David J. Eagle
music by Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Security Chief Michael Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Jason Carter (Marcus Cole), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Stephen Macht (Na’Far), Marshall Teague (Ta’Lon), Anne Bentancourt (Dr. Gonzales), Neil Bradley (Narn #1), Joshua Cox (Corwin), Mark Hendrickson (Narn #2), Larita Shelby (Med Tech), John St. Ryan (Troublemaker), Michael Bailey Smith (G’Duk)

Notes: Sheridan and Ta’lon’s escape from the Strieb ship occurred in season 2’s All Alone in the Night.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

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Nowhere Man

An Enemy Within

Nowhere ManVeil is mistaken for a trespasser and shot while camping in the farmlands of Pennsylvania. A local woman named Emily Noonan finds him and helps him recover, and this time it appears that Veil’s latest confidante has no connection to his ordeal. Veil learns that Emily is one of the last holdouts against an oppressive food conglomerate which intends to buy out all the local farmland, by force if necessary. His story of his fight against the conspiracy inspires Emily to stand her ground, but this may merely inspire her opponents to take more extreme measures.

Order the DVDswritten by Peter Dunne
directed by Ian Toynton
music by Mark Snow

Cast: Bruce Greenwood (Thomas Veil), Maria Bello (Emily Noonan), Raye Birk (Tobe Adler), James Lashly (Ed Durrant)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 03 Star Trek Voyager

Warlord

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate 50348.1: Voyager’s crew barely manages to rescue three occupants of a battle-damaged spacecraft, one of whom dies in sickbay immediately after transport. When Voyager returns the survivors to their planet, an official beams aboard and is killed by Kes, who also kills the transporter chief and struggles with Janeway. Kes and the other refugees steal a shuttlecraft and run for it. Kes’ body has been taken over by Tieran, a power-mad dictator who has developed the ability to transfer his consciousness into the minds of others to insure his immortality. Tieran kills the rightful ruler of his people and assumes power, trying to coerce the youngest heir into backing his coup. The elder heir, Demis, has beamed aboard Voyager to coordinate efforts to restore the original government, and despite his overtures of war, Janeway still insists on trying to recover Kes in body and spirit. Kes also intends to break free of Tieran’s influence, but he proves to be a formidable enemy.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Lisa Klink
story by Andrew Shepard Price and Mark Gaberman
directed by David Livingston
music by David Bell

Guest Cast: Anthony Crivello (Demis), Brad Greenquist (Ameron), Galyn Gorg (Enori), Charles Emmett (Resh), Karl Wiedergott (Tieran), Leigh J. McCloskey (Doctor), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

LogBook entry by Paul Campbell

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Season 6 Xena: Warrior Princess

The Ring

Xena: Warrior PrincessGabrielle, Beowulf and Brunhilda search for Xena in the woods that Grendel hunts in. They find blood on a tree, with one of the warriors’ gauntlets nearby – and Beowulf says this is where Xena died. Gabrielle says, “No, this is where she got away.” She thinks they should split up and sets off on her own. As she’s searching, someone suddenly grabs Gabrielle. It’s Xena, but Grendel is close by and they have to keep quiet. As they watch the monster, they can hear Beowulf calling for the bard in the distance…

Order the DVDswritten by Joel Metzger
directed by Rick Jacobson
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Brittney Powell (Bunnhilda), Roger Morrissey (Monster Grinhilda), Renato Bartolomei (Beowulf), Alexander Petersons (Odin), Victoria Hill (Waltraute), Luanne Gordon (Grinhilda), Glen Levy (Grendel), Jonathon Brandise (Soldier)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

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Enterprise Season 02 Star Trek

Singularity

Star Trek: EnterpriseAs the Enterprise approaches a triple star system, Archer is forced to bring the ship to a crawl to avoid the unusual gravitational stresses. The crew looks forward to taking things easy for the duration of the flyby at impulse power. Lt. Reed proposes a battle-readiness status for both the ship and crew, though Archer is initially a little dubious about the proposal for a “Reed alert.” But as T’Pol works on a sensor sweep of the three stars, she notices that the crew is becoming irritable and obsessive. Dr. Phlox sees the signs of the growing problem after conducting tests on Ensign Mayweather all night – but he, too, is too absorbed in all the possible implications of that discovery to innoculate the crew against the immediate threat. In fact, T’Pol is the only member of the crew immune to the effects, which she links to unique radiation interactions among the stars. She plots the only possible course out of the system…only to find that it’s one she can’t fly solo.

Order DVDsDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Chris Black
directed by Patrick Norris
music by David Bell

Guest Cast: Matthew Kaminsky (Cunningham) and Porthos

Notes: This episodes does indeed show the beginnings of red alert on Starfleet vessels, as well as Trip’s accurate assessment that Reed’s early ideas for an audible alert signal sounds like “a bag full of cats.”

LogBook entry by Earl Green