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TV Movies

Into Infinity (Gerry Anderson’s The Day After Tomorrow)

Into InfinityAt Space Station Delta, the starship Altares is preparing for an unprecedented mission: the first manned interstellar mission, utilizing a photonic drive that will create a time dilation effect relative to Earth; any messages the Altares crew sends back from Alpha Centauri will reach the descendants of the mission controllers who helped launch the ship. The Altares is crewed by two families, and even the children are fully trained in the technical and scientific aspects of the mission.

Activation of the photonic drive goes off without a hitch, but contact with Earth is now measured in years instead of minutes or hours. Altares’ visit to Alpha Centauri takes place on schedule, but an unexpected fault activates the photon drive again, throwing the ship off-course at nearly the speed of light and completely out of touch with Earth. With a star threatening to go supernova at any moment, and a black hole that might crush the Altares, the mission and the crew are in jeopardy.

Into Infinitywritten by Johnny Byrne
directed by Charles Crichton
music by Derek Wadsworth and Steve Coe

Cast:

Brian Blessed (Tom Bowen), Joanna Dunham (Anna Bowen), Nick Tate (Captain Harry Masters), Don Fellows (Jim Forbes), Katharine Levy (Jane Masters), Martin Lev (David Bowen), Ed Bishop (Narrator)

Notes: A pilot that never made it to series, Into Infinity first aired in the United States as part of NBC’s occasional “Special Treat” program, and then aired in the UK a year later under the title Gerry Anderson’s Day After Tomorrow). Devised by Gerry Anderson (of Supermarionation, UFO, and Space: 1999 fame) and Space: 1999 script editor Johnny Byrne (also responsible for a few episodes of Doctor Who, including Into InfinityThe Keeper Of Traken and the character of Nyssa), Into Infinity was made between the first and second seasons of Space: 1999. As the Altares plunges into the event horizon of the black hole toward the end of the show, a psychedelic sequence ensues which eerily anticipates – in great detail – the bizzaro ending of the 1979 Disney movie The Black Hole. The producers of the later movie were aiming for something cerebral, quasi-spiritual and ambiguous a la 2001: a space odyssey, but the similarities in the hallucinatory sequences near the end of Into Infinity and The Black Hole are striking.

LogBook entry and review by Earl Green

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Season 2 Space: 1999

A Matter Of Balance

Space: 1999Upset when Tony Verdeschi blames her for the failure of his latest beer-brewing experiment, lovestruck young crewmember Shermeen Williams runs off to her quarters, where she sees a vision of a seemingly human face. She reports it to Dr. Russell, who initially dismisses it as a nightmare and puts Shermeen back on duty. But when Shermeen sees the face again, it introduces itself as Vindrus, a man trapped in a universe of antimatter, and it promises her a way to bring her closer to Verdeschi. She follows the instructions given to her by Vindrus, even to the point of disabling a crewmate to take his place on a survey of a nearby planet. This is the world where Vindrus and others like him were banished to the universe of antimatter, and where he intends to return. But for someone in the antimatter universe to cross over to the matter universe, someone from the matter unverse must do the opposite – and Shermeen has allowed herself to be lured into that deadly trap.

Order the DVDswritten by Pip and Jane Baker
directed by Charles Crichton
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Lynne Frederick (Shermeen Williams), Stuart Wilson (Vindrus), John Hug (Bill Fraser), Nicholas Campbell (Eddie Collins), Brian Osborne (Mr. Potter)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Jason Of Star Command Season 1

Peepo On Trial

Jason Of Star CommandRocketing home to Star Command in the escape pod from his captured Starfire, Jason brings Peepo, Nicole and Professor Parsifoot yet. Jason and friends immediately set about solving the crisis at hand, of accelerating Star Command safely through the galactic typhoon, but no one is watching as Peepo – reprogrammed to continue obeying commands from Dragos – begins sabotaging Star Command.

Order this series on DVDwritten by Chuck Menville
directed by Arthur H. Nadel
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Jason Of Star CommandCast: Craig Littler (Jason), Sid Haig (Dragos), Susan O’Hanlon (Capt. Nicole Davidoff), Charlie Dell (Prof. E.J. Parsafoot), James Doohan (Commander Canarvin)

Notes: Commander Canarvin refers to Star Command and Space Academy interchangeably. After several tense minutes of preparing to break into the control room and then breaking into the control room, Commander Canarvin punches a button, calls the engine room, and orders the engines turned back on. (Couldn’t he have done that from any other communications terminal in Star Command?) The quality of the “galactic typhoon” effects are far above average for American television science fiction of this era.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2 Star Blazers

Charge! Sink The Yamato!

Star BlazersThe Cosmo Fighter pilots – along with Sgt. Knox, who has stolen one of the Argo’s fighters – capture a lone Comet Empire fighter with its pilot aboard. Dr. Sane is stunned to find that everything about the Comet Empire pilot, apart from his green skin, is identical to the average human. Under interrogation, the alien answers no questions, and Orion begins to worry that maybe the Argo’s visitor was planted in the ship’s path, intended to be found by the crew. And Knox doesn’t want the pilot alive at all, fully intending to kill the man to avenge the Space Marines killed on Brumis. Wildstar orders the prisoner returned to Dr. Sane’s custody, but the man escapes, trying to return to a nearby Comet Empire attack fleet. When they refuse him permission to rejoin them, the alien pilot does something no one expects.

Order the DVDswritten by Keisuke Fujikawa & Eiichi Yamamoto
directed by Leiji Matsumoto
music by Hiroshi Miyagawa

Season 2 Voice Cast: Kenneth Meseroll (Derek Wildstar), Tom Tweedy (Mark Venture), Amy Howard (Nova), Eddie Allen (Leader Desslok), Chris Latta (Sgt. Knox), Lydia Leeds (Trelaina), Chris Latta (General Dire), Chris Latta (Captain Gideon), other actors unknown

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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1984-95: Heisei Series Godzilla

Godzilla vs. Destroyah

GodzillaGodzilla, with his chest glowing red hot, surfaces at Hong Kong. He destroys the harbor area, and returns to the ocean, creating massive amounts of steam. Godzilla is overheating. It’s quite likely an explosion of Godzilla caused by the nuclear fission taking place in his body could destroy the world.

A scientist has developed “micro-oxygen” with plans to use it to end world hunger. But it also turns out to be very similar in composition to the oxygen destroyer developed by Dr. Serizawa when battling Godzilla in the mid 1950s. Plans are made to use the new research to find a way to kill Godzilla.

A fish kill at a Tokyo museum is determined to have been caused by pre-historic microorganisms that reacted to the original oxygen destroyer. Several have now grown over ten feet tall and are infesting an industrial area. They look like giant ticks with long necks, and can emit a destructive heat beam from their mouths. With great loss of life, a Special Forces unit destroys some of the creatures, but is overwhelmed

Godzilla arrives in Tokyo, and is heading toward a nuclear power plant, in an attempt to get more fuel to feed the fission that is also killing him. G-Force dispatches the Super-X III against the King of the Monsters. They encounter Godzilla in Tokyo Bay and use freeze weapons to cool him down. The threat of explosion has been eliminated. Once he thaws out, Godzilla heads back out to sea.

Little Godzilla has grown substantially, and now resembles Godzilla, only shorter. It’s moving toward the Bering Sea, with Godzilla following. But Godzilla’s temperature is rising again. This time, though, instead of exploding, he would melt down, burning to and destroying the core of the Earth.

Several of the Destroyah break out of the industrial facility, and combine into one giant monster. It easily destroys the military units surrounding it and flies off. A reluctant Migi Saegusa agrees to use her psi powers to draw Little Godzilla to Destroyah. The plan is to use Destroyah’s oxygen destroying capabilities to eliminate Godzilla before he can melt down. Destroyah and Little Godzilla converge in downtown Tokyo.

Little Godzilla is taking a beating. Destroyah has him on the ground and is inserting micro-oxygen into the Little Godzilla, weakening him. Little Godzilla uses his nuclear breath to blast Destroyah off him. Godzilla, burning and smoking, arrives in Tokyo. He meets up with his younger name-sake.

Destroyah, emerges from a burning area of the city, mutated and much larger than before. Meanwhile, Godzilla’s temperature continues to increase. The Super X III is again sent to try to chill him down. Destroyah flies in and snatches Little Godzilla, dropping beast into a building and then blasting at it, killing Little Godzilla.

Destroyah and Godzilla face off. Destroyah gets the upper hand, and drags the other monster into the bay. Godzilla picks himself up and makes his way to the body of Little Godzilla. But Destroyah stands in his way. With his body overheating from the extra energy, Godzilla blasts at Destroyah several times. Destroyah dissaembles itself into several smaller monsters, but Godzilla smashes them.

Godzilla again moves toward Little Godzilla. Super X III approaches Godzilla. The King of the Monsters bends down to transfer some of his life energy to the younger creature, but is interrupted by another attack by Destroyah. Using its tail, it lassos Godzilla and throws him aside. Godzilla is beginning to melt down, emitting concentric bands of energy as he does so. To keep Destroyah from escaping, G-Force units blast at it with freeze weapons, causing it to crash to the ground, dead.

Godzilla has now reached super-critical temperature and is melting. G-Force launches a constant barrage of freeze weapons to keep him from melting to the Earth’s core. The heat and the cold make his body unstable and it dissolves. The radiation increases to massive levels, but then subsides. It’s been absorbed by Little Godzilla, who rises from the ashes of Tokyo.

The King of the Monsters is dead. Long Live Godzilla.

screenplay by Kazuki Omori
directed by Takao Okawara
music by Akira Ifukube

Human Cast: Yasufuni Hayashi (Kenichi Yamani), Yoko Ishino (Yukari Yamane), Megumi Odaka (Miki Saegusa), Takura Tatsumi (Kensaku Ijuin)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Destroyah, Little Godzilla

Notes: Momoko Kochi reprises her role as Emiko Yamani from the original Gojira. This ends the Heisei series of Godzilla movies. The next was the U.S.-made Godzilla. The next Godzilla movie produced by Toho Studios of Japan would be Godzilla 2000.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

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Season 2 Xena: Warrior Princess

A Solstice Carol

Xena: Warrior PrincessXena and Gabrielle are in a village market place shopping for Solstice presents when a boy steals the warrior’s chakram. They chase him to an orphanage. While there, soldiers arrive and threaten to close the orphanage for not paying their taxes. They also want to take them in because they are celebrating the Solstice, which King Silvus had outlawed. Gabrielle manages to talk Xena into trying to find a way to save the orphanage and remove the ban on Solstice celebrations without fighting. With the help of a former toymaker, Senticles, who now works for the king, they find a way into the castle.

Order the DVDswritten by Chris Manheim
directed by John T. Kretchmer
music by Joseph LoDuca

XenaGuest Cast: Joe Berryman (Senticles), Peter Vere-Jones (King Silvus), Sheri Booth (Melana), Daniel James (Lynal), Tony Bishop (Donkey Owner), Junior Chille (Orphan #4), Johnny Glass (Man), Mike Howell (Guard #1), Jamie Karie-Gatalli (Orphan #2), Gennieve (Orphan #1), Karen Morgan (Woman), Heme Rudolph (First Guard), Nicko Vella (Orphan #3), Lucas Young (Bearded Guard)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

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Season 05 Star Trek Voyager

Thirty Days

Star Trek: VoyagerStardate 52179.4: Voyager encounters a planet without a surface, a spherical construct consisting of a global-sized ocean and a gravitational containment field to maintain its planetary shape. The planet’s inhabitants, the technologically advanced Moneans, cautiously visit Voyager and reveal a problem with their aquatic world – the containment field is failing and it’s falling apart. With a few modifications to the Delta Flyer, Paris is able to take an away team into the ocean to examine the enormous reactor whose power prevents the sphere of water from dissipating completely. But the Moneans didn’t build this reactor and they don’t understand it – and their very presence in the planet’s vast ocean may be the cause of the instability.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Kenneth Biller
story by Scott Miller
directed by Wilrich Kolbe
music by Paul Baillargeon

Guest Cast: Willie Garson (Riga), Benjamin Livingston (Burkiss), Heidi Kramer (Megan Delaney), Alissa Kramer (Jenny Delaney), Warren Munson (Admiral Paris), Majel Barrett (Computer voice)

Original title: Down Deep

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 2 Star Wars

Legacy

Star Wars: RebelsAfter a powerful Force vision about his parents being alive, Ezra all but demands that the Ghost crew help him find them. Hera checks with her sources, and Ezra and Kanan check with the Force, coming up with two pieces of information: a prisoner breakout at an Imperial installation, and the Empire’s unusual withdrawal from Lothal. Ezra’s obsession with finding his parents almost puts him in the hands of the Inquisitors, and endangers the entire Rebel fleet during another operation. Returning to Lothal, Ezra continues on his reckless course, alarming Kanan since there is still an Imperial presence on the ground level even though the fleet has pulled away. But what exactly has the Force been leading Ezra to discover?

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Henry Gilroy
directed by Mel Zwyer
music by Kevin Kiner
based on original themes and music by John Williams

RebelsCast: Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus), Vanessa Marshall (Hera), Tiya Sircar (Sabine), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios / Imperial Technician), Dee Bradley Baker (Admiral Konstantine / Rex / Ephraim Bridger), David Owelyo (Agent Kallus), Keone Young (Commander Sato), Philip Anthony-Rodriguez (Fifth Brother / Rebel Trooper / Phoenix Squaron Pilot), Kath Soucie (Mira Bridger), Clancy Brown (Ryder Azadi), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Seventh Sister)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Doctor Who New Series Season 11

The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS receives a number of distress calls from one place and time: the planet Ranskoor Av Kolos, over 3,000 years in the future of the Doctor’s companions. When the Doctor and friends arrive there, they’re only able to set foot outside the TARDIS if they’re wearing neural stabilizers to fend off a constant psychic attack. They find a fellow traveler, wandering in a daze, discovering that his crew is being held hostage because he stole an oddly-shaped container holding a violently vibrating sphere from their captor: Tzim-Sha, the assassin whose hunt on Earth the Doctor interrupted. As he was also responsible for the death of Grace, Graham decides he has a score to settle, even if doing so violates everything he’s learned from his travels in the TARDIS. As Graham and Ryan go to recover Paltraki’s captured crew, the Doctor and Yaz discover that Ranskoor Av Kolos’ native residents, the powerfully telepathic Ux, have been enslaved by Tzim-Sha, using their incredible powers to “steal” planets from across space and time, trapping them in the containers. Tzim-Sha’s next target is decided when the Doctor’s arrival reminds him of where he was last defeated: Earth.

Order the DVDwritten by Chris Chibnall
directed by Jamie Childs
music by Segun Akinola

Doctor WhoCast: Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor), Bradley Walsh (Graham O’Brien), Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), Phyllis Logan (Andinio), Mark Addy (Paltraki), Percelle Ascott (Delph), Samuel Oatley (Tzim-Sha), Jan Le (Umsang)

Notes: Tzim-Sha (a.k.a. “Tim Shaw”) was last encountered in the season premiere, The Woman Who Fell To Earth. The Doctor refers to the TARDIS as a ghost monument, also a reference to earlier in the season (The Ghost Monument). This isn’t the first time that the Doctor has dealt with someone stealing planets out of their rightful place in time and space, nor is it even the first time that Earth has been targeted; Davros ripped Earth and numerous other planets out of their respective orbits in The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End (2008), Doctor Whoand before that, had to recover the planet Calufrax (The Pirate Planet, 1978). Percelle Ascott was one of the stars of the Russell T. Davies series Wizards vs. Aliens, a show which was created in part to ensure continued work for the BBC crew assembled to produce The Sarah Jane Adventures, the Doctor Who spinoff which had ceased production due to the death of Elisabeth Sladen in 2011.

LogBook entry by Earl Green