Categories
Classic Series Prisoner, The

It’s Your Funeral

The PrisonerRumors abound that an assassination will take place in the Village – and despite the fact that he knows nothing about this plot, Number Six discovers that he is rumored to be a part of the scheme. Finding the man who is building the bomb to be used in the killing is a simple task, and he even confesses that Number Two is his target. But when Number Six goes to warn Number Two, he finds that there is more than one Number Two in the Village – and one could be trying to do away with the other.

written by Michael Cramoy
directed by Robert Asher
music by Ron Grainer and Albert Elms

Cast: Patrick McGoohan (Number Six), Derren Nesbit (Number Two), Mark Eden (Number 100), Annette Andre (Watchmaker’s daughter), Andre Van Gyseghem (Retiring Number Two), Martin Miller (Watchmaker), Wanda Ventham (Computer attendant), Mark Burns (Number Two’s assistant), Peter Swanwick (Supervisor), Charles Lloyd Pack (Artist), Grace Arnold (Number 36), Arthur White (Stall holder), Michael Bilton (Councillor), Gerry Crampton (Kosho opponent)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Night Gallery Season 3

Fright Night

Night GalleryTom and Leona Ogilvy have lucked out – or so they think. A cousin of Tom’s has willed his country house to him, which might be just the thing that a struggling writer like Tom needs to finish his next book in peace and quiet. There’s just one catch: in the attic office Tom claims as his study, a large chest sits in the floor – one which Zachariah Ogilvy’s dying wish was to be left alone, with the added promise that, at some point, someone will come to collect it. Tom and Leona begin experiencing unusual events: crickets and birds suddenly stop making any noise, and Tom sees the chest seem to hover in mid-air. Leona makes arrangements to have it removed from the house…but it seems the chest doesn’t want to leave. What’s in it…and what tricks will it play on their minds to draw their attention away from it?

Night Galleryteleplay by Robert Malcolm Young
story by Kurt van Elting
directed by Jeff Corey
music by Eddie Sauter / series theme by Gil Melle

Cast:
Stuart Whitman (Tom Ogilvy), Barbara Anderson (Leona Ogilvy), Ellen Corby (Miss Patience), Alan Napier (Cousin Zachariah), Larry Watson (Longhair), Michael Laird (1st Goblin), Glenna Sergent (2nd Goblin)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Space Academy

Star Legend

Space AcademyA course correction to avoid a piece of fast-moving space junk takes the Seeker into a legendary area of space called the Triangle, where Chris and Paul lose contact with Space Academy. A threatening message is received, though the face on the screen is obviously a mask, and the Seeker is propelled back out of the Triangle. Commander Gampu says this sequence of events has played out before, but downplays the legend of the mysterious Captain Rampo, who supposedly saves ships that drift into the Triangle. Eager to debunk the myth, Gampu takes Space Academy itself into the Triangle. The find the vast starship which, as legend has it, is piloted by Captain Rampo, and they find the man himself inside, claiming to be over a thousand years old. But with such a powerful ship, what’s keeping Rampo in the Triangle?

written by Samuel A. Peeples
directed by Ezra Stone
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Space AcademyCast: Jonathan Harris (Commander Gampu), Pamelyn Ferdin (Laura), Ric Carrott (Chris), Ty Henderson (Paul), Maggie Cooper (Adrian), Brian Tochi (Tee Gar), Eric Greene (Loki), Howard Morris (Captain Rampo), Peepo (himself)

Notes: Filmation digs into its own library of in-house music for this episode’s more-dramatic-than-usual soundtrack – music which will be familiar to anyone who watched Filmation’s animated version of Star Trek. Clever re-use of the Space Academy asteroid model (under green lighting) and its sets helped to keep this episode’s budget down. We learn here that a single Seeker could destroy a planetoid the size of Space Academy, provided the planetoid’s shields are down.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Movies

Superman: The Movie

Superman: The MovieThe planet Krypton is dying, but only one man, Jor-El, is willing to recognize that truth. To save his infant son Kal-El from the impending disaster, Jor-El sends him to Earth, where he is found and adopted by Kansas farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent. The boy, now named Clark, grows up in Smallville, hiding his amazing powers from the world…until his destiny calls him, and he moves to Metropolis, gets a job as a reporter for the Daily Planet, and befriends Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. More importantly, he takes to the skies as Superman, defender of truth, justice and the American way – a role that inevitably puts him at odds with the criminal genius Lex Luthor, who has a grand scheme to make a killing in the real estate market…

screenplay by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton
additional script material by Norman Enfield
story by Mario Puzo
based on the Superman comics created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
directed by Richard Donner
music by John Williams

Superman: The MovieCast: Christopher Reeve (Superman), Marlon Brando (Jor-El), Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), Ned Beatty (Otis), Jackie Cooper (Perry White), Glenn Ford (Jonathan Kent), Trevor Howard (First Elder), Jack O’Halloran (Non), Valerie Perrine (Eve Teschmacher), Maria Schell (Vond-Ah), Terence Stamp (General Zod), Phyllis Thaxter (Ma Kent), Susannah York (Lara), Jeff East (Young Clark Kent), Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen), Sarah Douglas (Ursa), Harry Andrews (2nd Elder), Vass Anderson (3rd Elder), John Hollis (4th Elder), James Garbutt (5th Elder), Michael Gover (6th Elder), David Neal (7th Elder), William Russell (8th Elder), Penelope Lee (9th Elder), John Stuart (10th Elder), Alan Cullen (11th Elder), Lee Quigley (Baby Kal-El), Aaron Smolinski (Baby Clark Kent), Diane Sherry (Lana Lang), Jeff Atcheson (Coach), Brad Flock (Football Player), David Petrou (Team Manager), Billy J. Mitchell (1st Editor), Robert Henderson (2nd Editor), Larry Lamb (1st Reporter), James Brockington (2nd Reporter), John Cassady (3rd Reporter), John F. Parker (4th Reporter), Antony Scott (5th Reporter), Ray Evans (6th Reporter), Sue Shifrin (7th Reporter), Miquel Brown (8th Reporter), Vincent Marzello (1st Copy Boy), Benjamin Feitelson (2nd Copy Boy), Lise Hilboldt (1st Secretary), Leueen Willoughby (Perry’s Secretary), Jill Ingham (Perry’s Secretary), Pieter Stuyck (Window Cleaner), Rex Reed (Himself), Weston Gavin (Mugger), Steve Kahan (Officer 1), Ray Hassett (Officer 2), Randy Jurgensen (Officer 3), Matt Russo (News Vendor), Colin Skeaping (Pilot), Bo Rucker (Pimp), Paul Avery (TV Cameraman), David Baxt (Burglar), George Harris II (Patrolman Mooney), Michael Harrigan (1st Hood), John Cording (2nd Hood), Raymond Thompson (3rd Hood), Oz Clarke (4th Hood), Rex Everhart (Desk Sergeant), Jayne Tottman (Little Girl), Frank Lazarus (Air Force One Pilot), Brian Protheroe (Co-Pilot), Lawrence Trimble (1st Crewman), Robert Whelan (2nd Crewman), David Calder (3rd Crewman), Norwich Duff (Newscaster), Keith Alexander (Newscaster), Michael Ensign (Newscaster), Larry Hagman (Major), Paul Tuerpe (Sergeant Hayley), Graham McPherson (Lieutenant), David Yorston (Petty Officer), Robert O’Neill (Admiral), Robert MacLeod (General), John Ratzenberger (1st Controller), Alan Tilvern (2nd Controller), Phil Brown (State Senator), Bill Bailey (2nd Senator), Burnell Tucker (Agent), Chief Tug Smith (Indian Chief), Norman Warwick (Superchief Driver), Chuck Julian (Assistant), Colin Etherington (Power Company Driver), Mark Wynter (Mate), Roy Stevens (Warden)

LogBook entry and review by Dave Thomer

Categories
1984-95: Heisei Series Godzilla

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

GodzillaOn a remote island in the Pacific, G-Force members Koji Shinjo, Kiyoshi Sato, and Major Akira Yuki discover the baby Godzilla, and strange crystalline shaped formations. Shinjo and Sato are attempting to control the King of the Monsters, while Yuki plans on killing Godzilla. Meanwhile, telepath Miki Saegusa is contacted by Mothra’s familiars, the Cosmos, who tell her a monster has arrived to kill Godzilla, and then conquer the Earth.

A Godzilla-like monster, encrusted with crystals, is heading toward Earth. A giant robot, Mogera, is dispatched to intercept the SpaceGodzilla. Miki has joined the G-Force team on the island and contacts Godzilla after a telepathic amplifier is implanted in his neck.

In the asteroid belt, SpaceGodzilla easily defeats the robot, and Mogera spins out of control. Soon thereafter, it arrives at the same South Pacific island, and is energized by the crystalline structures. It attacks little Godzilla with lightning bolts from its mouth, but now faces Godzilla’s wrath. Godzilla’s fiery breath, though, is deflected by a forcefield. Spacegodzilla takes to the air and encircles the other two monsters, blasting at Godzilla until he falls. The alien beast uses telekenetic powers to send little Godzilla into one of the structures. It flies off, leaving Godzilla to lick his wounds.

A study of cells found near the battle indicate SpaceGodzilla was created by Godzilla cells that managed to get into space, where they grew and mutated.

Yuki heads a team with Shinjo and Sato and fly a repaired Mogera into battle against Spacegodzilla who has arrived in Fukuoka. Mogera attacks the alien beast, with limited effect, ending with the robot crashing to ground. Godzilla arrives and faces off against Spacegodzilla.

The alien beast quickly renders Godzilla unconscious, lifts him in the air, and throws him into a skyscraper. Godzilla picks himself up and approaches the other beast, but Spacegodzilla is floating in the air and attacking again with lighting. Godzilla blasts at the crystalline structures, weakening his opponent. SpaceGodzilla launches the missile shaped crystals at Godzilla, to slow the approaching King of the Monsters. Godzilla’s nuclear fire is glancing off the other’s force field.

The crew of Mogera separate the Star Falcon from the rest of the robot and close in for an attack while Godzilla attempts to destroy the alien’s power source. Mogera burrows underground, as the Falcon flies into battle. Separately they manage to sneak up on SpaceGodzilla and surprise him while his forcefield is down. The Falcon docks with Mogera, and the robot and Godzilla double team against the the space monster. Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla wrestle, with Godzilla thrown off. SpaceGodzilla turns its attentions to Mogera, severely damaging it. Shinjo and Sato abandon the robot, with Yuki staying behind. With SpaceGodzilla distracted, Godzilla gathers himself up and, with renewed strength, slams into the other monster. Yuki struggles to bring the robot back into the fray, but and manages to slam into SpaceGodzilla, causing it to fall. But the robot is spent and crashes into a building.

SpaceGodzilla rises up, and continues the battle. Godzilla is emitting energy, which will cause SpaceGodzilla to explode. Yuki escapes from Mogera moments before SpaceGodzilla explodes in a massive fireball. Little Godzilla is freed from his imprisonment.

Godzilla exits the battlefield, but there are hints that there may be another space monster.

screenplay by Hiroshi Kashiwabra
directed by Kensho Yamashita
music by Takayuki Hattori

Human Cast: Jun Hashizume (Lt. Koji Shinjo), Megumi Odaka (Miki Saegusa), Akira Emoto (Major Akira Yuki) Zenkichi Yoneyama (Lt. Kiyoshi Sato)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, SpaceGodzilla, Mothra, Mogera, Little Godzilla

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
Season 1 Torchwood

Random Shoes

TorchwoodYoung UFO enthusiast Eugene Jones is found dead in the road, his life snuffed out in what seems to be a perfectly normal, if tragic, accident. As her colleagues shrug it off as a random event, Gwen can’t help but feel there’s more to it than that. Eugene had encountered Torchwood a few times before, his own natural fascination with the unexplained bringing him to the scene of the same incidents they were investigating, and he found a receptive ear in Gwen – and still does, as apparently only she can still see him as his walks invisibly among the living. Eugene had also found an unusual eye some time before, apparently his own little alien artifact, and as Gwen continues to pry into the circumstances surrounding his death, she discovers that Eugene’s fate and the eye are intertwined – and perhaps the eye could even bring him back, even as his family mourns.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by Jacquetta May
directed by James Erskine
music by Murray Gold & Ben Foster

Cast: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Burn Gorman (Owen Harper), Naoko Mori (Toshiko Sato), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Paul Chequer (Eugene), Luke Bromley (young Eugene), Nicola Duffett (Bronwen Jones), Roger Ashton-Griffiths (Mr. Garrett), Steven Meo (Josh), Celyn Jones (Gary), Robyn Isaac (Linda), Gareth Potter (Shaun Jones), Joshua Hughes (Terry Jones), Amy Starling (Waitress), Leroy Liburd (Cafe Owner), Ryan Chappell (Pete)

Original title: Invisible Eugene

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
8th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

An Earthly Child

Doctor Who: An Earthly Child20 years after the Daleks were driven off of 22nd century Earth, Susan Campbell still lives among humans. Her human husband has long since died, leaving her to raise her son Alex in a world that had grown paranoid, fearful of another alien invasion. Susan is outspoken in her opposition to the anti-alien Earth United movement… of which Alex is a member. The Doctor arrives to check up on his granddaughter, and finds that humanity has reverted to a Luddite mentality, destroying technology and working to avoid any contact with alien life. Susan has called upon an alien race to render aid to humanity, without consulting what passes for the planet’s government. But Earth United’s tendrils reach inside the government, and there are plans afoot to use Alex against his activist mother. The friendly aliens turn out to be the first wave of another invasion, which plays right into Earth United’s hands… but how much credibility will Alex Campbell have among his xenophobic friends when his great-grandfather and his mother are revealed to be from another world?

Order this CDwritten by Marc Platt
directed by Nicholas Briggs
music by David Darlington

Cast: Paul McGann (The Doctor), Carole Ann Ford (Susan Campbell), Jake McGann (Alex Campbell), Sheryl Gannaway (Holly Barrett), Leslie Ash (Marion Fleming / Hope), Matt Addis (Faisal Jensen / Reporter), Ian Hallard (Duncan), Ian Brooker (President / Policeman / Air Control / Helicopter Pilot / Reporter)

Notes: An Earthly Child follows on years after Susan (still played by Carole Ann Ford) left the TARDIS crew in 1964’s Dalek Invasion Of Earth – the first series regular to do so; as an homage to that episode, this story utilizes the original 1963 version of the Doctor Who theme rather than the heavily remixed version used for the eighth Doctor/Lucie audio stories. Alex’s resemblance to the Doctor is no accident in the real life recording studio, as Jake McGann is Paul McGann’s son. An Earthly Child ignores the continuity of the BBC Books novels, which depicted their own reunion of Susan and the eighth Doctor in Legacy Of The Daleks. This single-CD story was exclusive to Big Finish subscribers, and was included with the December 2009 release, Plague Of The Daleks.

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Rebels Season 3 Star Wars

Visions And Voices

Star Wars: RebelsDuring a briefing for an upcoming mission that he will lead, Ezra begins hearing, and seeing visions of, Maul. Kanan quietly makes changes to the mission plan, and goes with Ezra to visit the Bendu to see if Ezra is experiencing Force visions. Maul is already there, and insists that Ezra join him to complete the extraction of knowledge that began with the joining of the Jedi and Sith holocrons – and if Ezra refuses, Maul will reveal the location of Chopper Base to the Empire. With the Phantom tracking his ship at a discreet distance, Maul takes Ezra to the ruins of a temple on his home planet, the former refuge of the Nightsisters. Ezra wants to know how to destroy the Sith. Maul wants to know how to find an old enemy to settle a score. Both of them get the same answer: a desert world with two suns.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Brent Friedman
directed by Bosco Ng
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 Orrelios / Rebel Trooper #2), Stephen Stanton (AP-5), Tom Baker (Bendu), Sam Witwer (Maul), Meredith Salenger (Nightsister Ghost Kanan), Anna Graves (Nightsister Ghost Sabine), Dave Filoni (Rebel Trooper #1)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Mars Season 2

Power Play

MarsNovember 2042: As second-in-command of Olympus Town, Lt. Michael Glenn has privately expressed doubts in Commander Seung’s ability to lead to the IMSF, but Secretary-General Richardson shares none of the same concerns and informs Glenn that no planned changes in Olympus Town’s leadership are forthcoming. The Secretary-General has a crisis of her own on her hands as Lukrum’s Earthbound management strikes a deal with Russia to exploit the mineral wealth of Mars, and she threatens Lukrum with sanctions, though she may be overplaying her hand in speaking for all the member nations of the IMSF. A satellite orbiting Mars spots what may be an indication of liquid water on the surface, perhaps proof that the terraforming efforts are working; Seung and Foucalt leave in a rover for the lengthy drive to see for themselves, leaving Glenn in command; during their trip, Foucalt tells Seung that he has decided to leave Olympus Town to accept a job offered to him by Lukrum boss Hurrelle. When Lukrum’s mining operation hits a particularly thick layer of basalt beneath the Martian surface, Hurrelle orders a power increase to the drill site, putting Lukrum over-budget for the electrical power it should be receiving from Olympus Town. Without consulting Seung or the IMSF, Glenn orders a total shutdown of the power feed to Lukrum, unaware that he’s cutting the power to their living quarters, medical facilities, and not just the drill site, putting the lives of the entire Lukrum colony in danger. Worse yet, when Javier tries to restore Lukrum’s power without orders to do so, he finds that Glenn has locked him out of the ability to do so – short of walking out onto the surface in a spacesuit and taking the risk of manually rerouting the electrical feed. While Javier is busy with this crisis, he is unaware when Amelie goes into premature labor.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Paul Keables
based on the book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek
directed by Ashley Way
music by Brian Reitzell

MarsCast: Jihae (Hana Seung / Joon Seung), Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucalt), Alberto Ammann (Javier Delgado), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie Durand), Anamaria Marinca (Marta Kamen), Cosima Shaw (Dr. Leslie Richardson), Gunnar Cauthery (Lt. Michael Glenn), Roxy Sternberg (Jen Carson), Evan Hall (Shep Marster), Jeff Hephner (Kurt Hurrelle), Levi Fiehler (Cameron Pate), Esai Morales (Roland St. John), Martin Angerbauer (Danny), Attila Arpa (Volkov), Caroline Boulton (Nurse), Emily Corcoran (Ms. Wilson), Khash-Erdene Ganbold (South Korean Rep. Kim), Amelia Hoy (Anchor), Sonia Kaur (Anika Chandra), Timea Kasa (Clerk), Sorel Kembe (Nigerian Rep. Odogwu), David Miller (Assistant), Nicholas Wittman (Oliver Lee)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Daleks!

Day Of Recknoning

Daleks!After the Mechanoid declaration of war, the Emperor Dalek and the Dalek Strategist race back to Skaro to revive the Dalek city, their ship so badly damaged that it can only crash rather than landing. The Mechanoids arrive soon aftward, prepared to wipe out the Dalek threat once and for all, only to find that the Emperor has already mustered an army of Daleks to defend the city. Fierce fighting ensues, during which the Dalek Strategist is surrounded by Mechanoids, including the Queen, who try to manipulate it into betraying the Emperor. But if it is willing to do that, who else will it betray?

written by James Goss
directed by Peter Caddock and Jon Doyle
music by Steve Foxon

Cast: Anjli Mohindra (Mechanoid Queen), Ayesha Antoine (Mechanoid 2150), Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks)

Daleks!Notes: Though the episode’s ending seems to hint at a further coming conflict with the extradimensional entity, this is the final episode of the series.

LogBook entry by Earl Green