Year: 2018

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Discovery Season 1 Star Trek

Despite Yourself

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Mere moments after Discovery‘s latest spore drive jump, it’s obvious that the ship isn’t where it’s supposed to be. Rather than Starbase 46, Discovery is surrounded by debris from Klingon vessels, but not just any Klingon vessels: they were crewed by Vulcans and Andorians. Analysis of a data core from the wreckage reveals that Discovery has jumped into another universe, a parallel timeline in which the xenophobic Terran Empire wages war against all those not from (or subjugated by) Earth. The Empire’s reign of terror dates back to the 21st century arrival of Vulcans on postwar Earth, but its reach was rapidly accelerated by the arrival of a more advanced starship from a variation of its own future. Discovery‘s crew has to act the part to find a way back to their own universe, and their own war, without arousing enough suspicion to get themselves killed.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Sean Cochran
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), Sam Vartholomeos (Captain Connor), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Rhys), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Sara Mitich (Airiam), Alo Momen (Kamran Gant), Oyin Oladejo (Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Bryce), Chris Violette (Britch Weeton), Romaine Waite (Troy Januzzi)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: The Defiant‘s arrival from the future is chronicled in parts one and two of In A Mirror Darkly (2005), one of Star Trek: Enterprise‘s final adventures, though the ship’s initial disappearance from several years into Discovery’s future was first seen in 1968‘s The Tholian Web.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Discovery Season 1 Star Trek

The Wolf Inside

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Aboard the Shenzhou, “Captain” Burnham receives orders to wipe out an enclave of an organized resistance. These renegades, inclduing Klingons, Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites, have banded together to fight the xenophobic oppression of the Terran Empire. With Tyler at her side, Burnham beams down to meet with the resistance leader – the Klingon known in Burnham’s timeline as Voq. The sight of Voq has a strange effect on Tyler; moments after this timeline’s Sarek establishes that Burnham is telling the truth, Tyler screams in Klingon and attacks Voq, but is nearly killed for his trouble. Burnham manages to plead for his life and return to the Shenzhou, where Tyler admits that his recent confusion and flashes of trauma are a glimpse into a horrifying surgical procedure that transformed him from Klingon to human.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Lisa Randolph
directed by T.J. Scott
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler / Voq), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), James Frain (Sarek), Michelle Yeoh (Emperor Georgiou), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Riley Gilchrist (Shukar), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Devon MacDonald (Service Engineer), Alo Momen (Kamran Gant), Dwain Murphy (Captain Maddox), Tasia Valenzia (Shenzhou Computer), Chris Violette (Britch Weeton), Romaine Waite (Troy Januzzi)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: After months of fan speculation, Voq and Ash Tyler are revealed to be one and the same. This episode features the first Andorians and Tellarites seen since Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as continuing the odd Mirror Universe tradition of male Vulcans wearing goatees (Spock, Soval, and now Sarek; only Tuvok seems to have bucked the trend).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Discovery Season 1 Star Trek

Vaulting Ambition

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Burnham and Lorca brace themselves for a reunion of sorts with Emperor Philippa Georgiou, ruler of the Terran Empire. For Burnham, it’s like seeing a ghost of the captain she admired and then betrayed, but for Lorca, it’s a trip back to the agonizer booth. Stamets, still unconscious in the spore chamber of Discovery‘s engine room, meets his counterpart from the alternate universe, but is unimpressed with the other Stamets’ ends-justify-the-means approach…and indeed leaves his other self behind when he thinks he spots Dr. Culber. Burnham, under threat of death, reveals the truth to Georgiou…who, in turn, reveals that Burnham’s recent twists of fate have been deliberately engineered by someone native to this treacherous timeline.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Jordon Nardino
directed by Hanelle M. Culpepper
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler / Voq), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Michelle Yeoh (Emperor Georgiou), Sam Asante (Senior Guard), Jeremy Crittenden (Lord Eling), Raven Dauda (Dr. Pollard), Billy Maclellan (Barlow), Dwain Murphy (Captain Maddox), Tasia Valenzia (Shenzhou Computer), Marie Ward (Junior Guard)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: The “interphase” referred to here, along with the resulting homicidal madness that consumed the original 23rd century crew of the Defiant (TOS: The Tholian Web), was a product of Tholian experiments conducted in the mirror universe in the 22nd century, which eventually dragged the 23rd century Defiant back in time and across the divide between timelines (as detailed in Enterprise: In A Mirror Darkly).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Discovery Season 1 Star Trek

What’s Past Is Prologue

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate 1834.2: Having learned that Captain Lorca is, in fact, a native of the other timeline, Burnham races to contact Discovery to warn Saru of what she has learned. Lorca’s insurrection against Emperor Georgiou comes to a head, and Burnham is caught in the middle. On Discovery, Saru and the crew brainstorm a mission to attack Georgiou’s flagship, the Charon, to rescue Burnham and destroy Charon‘s power source, unleashing a torrent of mycelial energy in the process, allowing Discovery to return to its native timeline. But Discovery may not survive the rescue attempt, Georgiou may not survive Lorca’s attempt to seize the throne, and Burnham may not be able to resist the temptation to undo a tragedy for which she feels responsible.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Ted Sullivan
directed by Olatunde Osunsame
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler / Voq), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Michelle Yeoh (Emperor Georgiou), Rekha Sharma (Landry), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Jeremy Crittenden (Lord Eling), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Rhys), Sara Mitich (Airiam), Oyin Oladejo (Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Bryce)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: Mirror Lorca’s attempt to beam away from the crippled Buran in the middle of an ion storm mirrors the transporter accident that took Kirk, McCoy, Uhura and Scotty to the Mirror universe in Mirror, Mirror (1967).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Discovery Season 1 Star Trek

The War Without, The War Within

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Discovery‘s return to its native universe and timeline is heralded by a boarding party led by Admiral Cornwell and Sarek, who mind melds with Saru in order to confirm that everyone aboard Discovery is who they claim to be. The Federation has nearly lost the war with the Klingons, as Discovery was absent for nine months (and presumed lost, since wreckage of the ship’s alternate universe counterpart was found). Nearly a third of Starfleet’s ships have been destroyed in kamikaze Klingon raids, and defeat seems imminent. The one advantage with which Discovery has returned? Emperor Georgiou, who strategically engineered the downfall of the Klingons in her timeline. Burnham feels she could offer vital tactical advice, but Sarek and Cornwell have another role in mind for her – one that involves putting the leader of a cutthroat regime into Discovery‘s captain’s chair.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Lisa Randolph
directed by David Solomon
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler / Voq), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Michelle Yeoh (Emperor Georgiou), Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), James Frain (Sarek), Michael Ayres (Transport Officer), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Raven Dauda (Dr. Pollard), Riley Gilchrist (Admiral Shukar), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Harry Judge (Admiral Gorch), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Rhys), Sara Mitich (Airiam), Melanie Nicholls-King (Admiral Drake), Oyin Oladejo (Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Bryce)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Discovery Season 1 Star Trek

Will You Take My Hand?

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: “Captain” Georgiou is introduced by Admiral Cornwell, under the cover story that reports of her death were exaggerated and she was recently rescued from Klingon territory. The mission proceeds as suggested by Georgiou before, but rather than jumping Discovery into an underground chasm to map the surface for military targets, Georgiou decides she’d rather destroy the planet, destroying the Klingon civilization altogether. Burnham returns to Discovery to confront Admiral Cornwell about the mission, learning that Starfleet Command was privy to the changes in the mission plan. After making an impassioned plea for Starfleet to stand by its code of ethics, Burnham rewrites the mission plan, letting Georgiou go free and placing the detonator of her doomsday weapon into the hands of L’Rell, who uses the threat of annihilating the Klingon homeworld to unite the great houses and end the war. Tyler elects to remain with L’Rell as a peace liaison between the Federation and the Klingons, and Discovery at last returns to Earth, where a full pardon and reinstatement to the rank of commander awaits Burnham. Saru commands Discovery on a course for Vulcan, where the ship’s new captain will come aboard…but this mission is delayed by a distorted distress signal from the U.S.S. Enterprise, commanded by Captain Christopher Pike.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonteleplay by Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts
story by Akiva Goldsman & Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts
directed by Akiva Goldsman
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler / Voq), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Michelle Yeoh (Emperor Georgiou), Mia Kershner (Amanda), Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), James Frain (Sarek), Clint Howard (Creepy Orion), Michael Ayres (Transport Officer), Matthew Binkley (Shavo), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Riley Gilchrist (Admiral Shukar), Anthony Grant (Er’Toom), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Harry Judge (Admiral Gorch), Morgan Kohan (Weapons Trader), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Rhys), Crystal Leger (Klingon Player #2), Clare McConnel (Dennas), Damon Runyan (Ujilli). Sara Mitich (Airiam), Oyin Oladejo (Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Bryce), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Klingon Player #1), Bree Wasylenko (Shava)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: Welcome Clint Howard back to the Star Trek fold as the sleazy Orion trader dealing in “smoke”. As a young child actor, Clint appeared as Balok in the first weekly episode filmed, The Corbomite Maneuver, and later appeared in Deep Space Nine (Past Tense Part II) as a homeless man and in Enterprise as a Ferengi (Acquisition). He has also appeared in Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, From The Earth To The Moon, was a regular on the short-lived early ’90s CBS series Space Rangers, and has appeared in many of his older brother Ron Howard’s films, Star Trek Discoveryincluding Apollo 13. If you look closely in the opening shot of Earth, you can see the familiar shape of the Starfleet starbase first seen in Star Trek III, though possibly still under construction. Deanna Troi’s home planet, Betazed, is known to the Terran Empire (if not the Federation) in this time frame, as is Mintaka III (TNG: Who Watches The Watchers?). Emperor Georgiou dismisses the distractions on Qo’noS as “bread and circuses”, name-checking an unrelated original series episode of the same name. While Kahless was first mentioned in the original series (The Savage Curtain), the legend of Kahless’ battles against his treacherous brother Molor is fleshed out in such TNG episodes as Rightful Heir and Star Trek DiscoveryFirst Born. Burnham’s description of the real phenomenon known as a phreatic eruption is accurate, but it would have to take place on a massive, worldwide scale to have the planet-destroying effect described. Rather than the customary theme from Star Trek: Discovery, the end credits feature a new recording of Alexander Courage’s theme from the original series.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Stargate Stargate Origins

Part One

Stargate: Origins1928: A massive circular object, fashioned from stone and metal by advanced technology, is unearthed at an archaeological dig in Giza, Egypt, its purpose and origins unknown.

1938: Professor Paul Langford’s study of the unearthed artifact has run aground – he’s run out of funding, a German colleague has returned to Berlin without a word, and his daughter Catherine, who has been part of the study from its beginning, will soon return to the United States to take a job at a museum. Whatever the circular behemoth’s secrets are, there’s very little danger of them being found out with Langford’s project running out of steam. Just when it seems things can’t get any worse, agents of the German government arrive, claiming to know some of those secrets already.

Stargate Originswritten by Mark Ilvedson & Justin Michael Terry
directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan
music by Robert Allaire

Cast: Ellie Gall (Catherine Langford), Aylam Orian (Wilhelm Brucke), Philip Alexander (James Beal), Sarah Navratil (Eva Reinhardt), Derek Chariton (Heinrich), Justin Michael Terry (Gunter), Lincoln Hoppe (Stefan), Connor Trinneer (Professor Paul Langford)

Stargate OriginsNotes: The cornerstone of the Stargate Command stream-on-demand service, Stargate Origins is a new web series derived from events recounted in The Tormant Of Tantalus, a first season episode of Stargate SG-1. Though that episode (and thus the character of Catherine Langford) was written by Robert C. Cooper, the credits of Stargate Origins indicate only that the series is based upon the original movie by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. This is the first new Stargate project to go into production since the 2011 conclusion of Stargate Universe. Connor Trinneer is no stranger to the Stargate franchise, having played a recurring villain in the Stargate Atlantis spinoff series; he’s probably better known for his role as Chief Engineer Charles “Trip” Tucker on Star Trek: Enterprise.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Stargate Stargate Origins

Part Two

Stargate: OriginsAs his guards hold the Langfords at gunpoint, Brucke orders the Stargate to be powered up, and the empty center of the circle erupts into a vortex of otherworldly energy. Brucke believes that unimaginable treasures and technologies are waiting for him on the other side, which he intends to claim and bring back for the glory of the Third Reich. Since there’s no guarantee of safety, he sends Professor Langford through first. Catherine realizes she’ll need help to retrieve her father…as soon as she can escape from the Nazis.

Stargate Originswritten by Mark Ilvedson & Justin Michael Terry
directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan
music by Robert Allaire

Cast: Ellie Gall (Catherine Langford), Aylam Orian (Wilhelm Brucke), Philip Alexander (James Beal), Sarah Navratil (Eva Reinhardt), Shvan Aladdin (Wasif) Derek Chariton (Heinrich), Justin Michael Terry (Gunter), Lincoln Hoppe (Stefan), Connor Trinneer (Professor Paul Langford)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 4 Star Wars

Jedi Night

Star Wars: RebelsAs Hera is questioned and tortured in Lothal’s capitol, Kanan confesses to Ezra that his feelings for Hera may be clouding his judgement, and he asks Ezra to take the lead on Hera’s rescue. Just as Ezra and Sabine prepare to leave on undetectable gliders disguised as Loth-bats, Kanan has a change of heart and joins the rescue mission. As Sabine and Ezra, disguised as Imperial pilots, work to hijack an escape vehicle, Kanan rescues Hera, who is moved to admit her feelings for him are mutual. The reunion is brief: Kanan wants to target the Imperial fuel depot on their way back to base, and Governor McGlynn wants to be rid of the Rebels on Lothal once and for all.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Dave Filoni & Henry Gilroy
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 Orrelios / Stormtrooper #1 / Stormtrooper Commander), Dave Filoni (AT-AT Driver / Stormtrooper #2), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Governor Pryce), Stephen Stanton (Grand Moff Tarkin / TIE Pilot / Stormtrooper #3), Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn), Warwick Davis (Rukh)

Notes: Tarkin informs Thrawn that the TIE Defender program is now competing for Imperial funding with Director Krennic’s “Stardust” project (the code name given to the Death Star in Rogue One). The end credits play over silence rather than the customary theme music.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 4 Star Wars

DUME

Star Wars: RebelsThe rebel cell on Lothal is demoralized in the wake of Kanan’s death. Hera retreates into grief, Sabine and Zeb set out for Imperial blood without a plan, and Ezra finds that the Loth-Wolves no longer harbor friendly feelings for him, and runs for his life. Though Governor Pryce declares victory and even arranges for a parade to celebrate the death of Kanan Jarrus, Grand Admiral Thrawn knows that this is a cover for her failures: the fuel refinery explosion severely damaged the TIE defender factory, forcing it to shut down. Expecting the rebels to mount a reckless attack in blind fury, Thrawn dispatches Rukh to finish them off. Lost in the wilderness, Ezra is cornered by the Loth-Wolves, one of whom now talks…and introduces itself as Dume, the same name that Kanan himself went by as a Jedi padawan.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Dave Filoni & Christopher Yost
directed by Sergio Paez
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), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios / Alton Kastle / Biker Scout #1), Sam Witwer (Biker Scout #2 / Imperial Officer #1 / Imperial Technician), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Governor Pryce), Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn), Dave Filoni (Imperial Officer #2), Dante Basco (Jai Kell), Warwick Davis (Rukh), Clancy Brown (Ryder Azadi)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 4 Star Wars

Wolves And A Door

Star Wars: RebelsThanks to his Force connection to the Loth-Wolves, Ezra makes the others aware that the abandoned Jedi Temple on Lothal is now occupied by Imperial forces who are close to cracking its secrets. Hera approves a mission to keep that from happening, but is surprised when the Loth-Wolves themselves provide passage to the temple, which is far north of the rebel base camp. Sabine and Ezra disguise themselves as Biker Scouts and enter the Imperial operation, finding that it is being led by an unknown man who reports directly to the Emperor himself. The Loth-Wolves are defending their own secret of travel across Lothal by means of the Force, and need Ezra to learn and protect that secret as well…even if it means leaving Sabine in the hands of the Empire.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Dave Filoni
directed by Dave Filoni & 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 / Imperial Scout #1), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios / Stormtrooper #2 / Thrawn Trooper #2), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), Adrienne Wilkinson (Daughter), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn), Matthew Wood (Imperial Comm / Stormtrooper #1 / Thrawn Trooper #1), Dave Filoni (Imperial Scout #2 / Mining Guild Worker), Jason Isaacs (The Inquisitor), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus), Malcolm McDowell (Minister Hydan)

Notes: Strong with the Dark Side, this episode of Rebels is a wretched hive of scum and villainy from numerous other SF shows and movies, whether it’s Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter movies, who had just finished his stint as the suspicious Captain Lorca on Star Trek: Discovery mere weeks before this episode’s premiere ), Malcolm McDowell (of A Clockwork Orange fame, and still infamous as “the man who killed Captain Kirk” in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations), or Emperor Palpatine himself, Ian McDiarmid, making his first Rebels appearance. Ashley Eckstein appears as Ahsoka for the first time since the season 2 finale, with Adrienne Wilkinson (Eve from Xena: Warrior Princess) appearing as the voice of one of the figures in the painting from the walls of the ancient Jedi temple.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 4 Star Wars

A World Between Worlds

Star Wars: RebelsAfter going through the Jedi portal, EZra finds himself at a crossroads connecting all of space and time through other similar portals. He reaches through one portal and pulls out Ahsoka Tano, rescuing her from her final duel with Darth Vader, but someone else is rapidly finding out how to reach through the other portals as well: the Emperor. Ahsoka warns Ezra that she can’t return to his present with him, but having survived the fight with Vader, she will find him again. With the Emperor’s ability to probe and manipulate the portals growing by the second, Ezra must now reunite with his friends and find a way to close all of the portals…or surrender to the Sith Lord the power to change history.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Dave Filoni
directed by Dave Filoni & 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), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios / Stormtrooper), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), Malcolm McDowell (Minister Hydan)

Notes: While it’s a mainstay of other science fiction, this is one of very few instances of a Star Wars storyline hinting at the ability to time travel and change history.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 4 Star Wars

A Fool’s Hope

Star Wars: RebelsGovernor Pryce receives a call from deposed Governor Ryder Azadi, apparently ready to sell out the rebel cell on Lothal. Hoping that the capture of Ezra Bridger and the others will provide enough of a victory to avoid her impending execution by Thrawn, Pryce commits a significant Imperial force to taking the rebel base, only to be routed by the Ghost, returning to Lothal with Hera, Kallus, Ketsu, Hondo, and a complement of battle-hardened ex-clone troopers. But perhaps even more critical to the rebels’ victory is Ezra’s growing connection with the Force and the Loth-wolves. At the end of the day, the rebels have not only survived, but have taken the Governor of Lothal as their prisoner.

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Henry Gilroy & Steven Melching
directed by Dave Filoni & 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), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios / Imperial Captain / Rebel Officer), Keith Szarabajka (Cikatro Vizago / Imperial Officer #1), Dee Bradley Baker (Rex / Clone Troopers / Melch), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Governor Pryce), Jim Cummings (Hondo Ohnaka / Imperial Officer #2), David Oyelowo (Kallus), Gina Torres (Ketsu Onyo), Warwick Davis (Rukh), Clancy Brown (Ryder Azadi)

Notes: Hera’s maneuver – flipping the Ghost over to knock an Imperial transport out of the sky – anticipates a nearly-identical maneuver that a young Han Solo would use to eliminate a TIE Fighter chasing the Millennium Falcon (back when it was Lando’s ship) during the escape from Kessel in Solo (2018). Not so much a self-contained story as a half-hour all-star fight scene, A Fool’s Hope sets the stage for the series finale.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Rebels Season 4 Star Wars

Family Reunion – And Farewell

Star Wars: RebelsWith Governor Pryce captured by the Rebels, Ezra’s plan to rid Lothal of any Imperial presence permanently is now in motion: the Rebels will, using the captured Imperial transports, infiltrate the Empire’s base on Lothal, where Pryce will – at the point of a blaster – recall all Imperial forces to the base for an evacuation. When Grand Admiral Thrawn returns to Lothal ahead of schedule and begins bombarding the planet’s civilian population from orbit in response, Ezra relents and hands himself over to Thrawn, over the protests of Hera and the others. Thrawn has orders to deliver Ezra to the Emperor, but even before then, Palpatine communicates with Ezra via hologram, offering to return his parents to him, alive and well, in exchange for revealing the secret of the gateway into time and space that was accessible from the ruins of Lothal’s Jedi temple. Ezra refuses, aware that his friends have already set his backup plan into motion, buying time for some old allies to attack the Imperial fleet hovering over Lothal. But will the price of thwarting the Emperor’s plans be the loss of another of the last few remaining Jedi?

Order the DVDsDownload this episode via Amazonwritten by Dave Filoni, Henry Gilroy, Kiri Hart, Simon Kinberg & Steven Melching
directed by Dave Filoni, Bosco Ng and Sergio Paez
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 / Imperial Officer / Imperial Tech / Stormtrooper #1), Dave Filoni (Chopper / Imperial Pilot / Stormtrooper #2), Keith Szarabajka (Cikatro Vizago / Imperial Officer), Dee Bradley Baker (Captain Rex / Clone Troopers / Ephraim Bridger / Melch), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Governor Pryce), Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn), Jim Cummings (Hondo Ohnaka / Pellaeon / Imperial Commander / Stormtrooper #3), Matthew Wood (Imperial Technician #1), David Acord (Imperial Technician #2), David Oyelowo (Kallus), Gina Torres (Ketsu Onyo), Zachary Gordon (Mart Mattin), Kath Soucie (Mira Bridger), Warwick Davis (Rukh), RebelsClancy Brown (Ryder Azadi)

Notes: The episode-ending coda reveals that Hera and Captain Rex fought in the battle of Endor, and Rogue One had already revealed the Ghost‘s presence at both Yavin IV and the battle of Scarif. Some time after the liberation of Lothal, Hera has a son, Jacen Syndulla, and Sabine’s narration in the coda indicates that Jacen’s father was Kanan. Ezra’s fate is left unresolved, with the tantalizing hint that Sabine and Ahsoka Tano begin a quest to find him after the fall of the Empire, perhaps to be chronicled elsewhere.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Discovery Season 1 Short Treks Star Trek

Welcome To Section 31 (Untitled Epilogue Scene)

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Following the armistice between the Kllingon Empire and the Federation, former Emperor Phillipa Georgiou remains on the Klingon homeworld, biding her time in a shady bar frequented by off-worlders. One off-worlder, who seems to be a Trill, takes a special interest in Georgiou, though she makes it very clear that the interest isn’t mutual…until he reveals that he is a recruiter for a top-secret security organization which defends the Federation by any means necessary. Section 31 has plans for Georgiou, especially since she operates entirely outside of the Federation’s code of morality…but will she fit in with an organization that’s part of the Federation?

See it on YouTubeteleplay by Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts
story by Akiva Goldsman & Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts
directed by Akiva Goldsman
music by Jeff Russo

Cast: Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou), Alan Van Sprang (Leland)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: The title given to this short scene is speculative, as CBS has not given it a title other than “Michelle Yeoh And Alan Van Sprang’s Section 31 Bonus Scene From Star Trek Discovery”. Released directly to YouTube after the end of the first season on CBS All Access, this is a rather odd place to drop a major story development, especially considering the announcement, nearly a year later, of a Section 31 spinoff starring Michelle Yeoh. Leland uses holographic technology to disguise himself as a Trill, the same symbiotic species seen more frequently in 24th century Star Trek, including Jadzia Dax (DS9), Odan (TNG), and Ezri Dax (DS9). The entire cast of Star Trek: Discovery, including Jason Isaacs, is credited in the end credits, though only Yeoh and Alan Van Sprang have dialogue in the scene.

Star Trek DiscoverySection 31 was first introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the 1998 episode Inquisition, and would be featured several more times in that series (primarily in the person of Section 31 agent Sloan), though its presence extends at least as far back as the era of Captain Jonathan Archer’s Enterprise (in a few episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise‘s fourth season), and exists during James T. Kirk’s command heyday in both an alternate timeline (Star Trek: Into Darkness, 2013) and in possibly apocryphal events in the prime timeline (Star Trek Continues: To Boldly Go, Part I, 2017). Though not officially designated a “Short Trek”, this short scene (of its 4+ minute run time, not even two and a half minutes of story are followed by nearly two minutes of credits) can easily be seen as a trial balloon for the series of stand-alone shorts to follow.

LogBook entry by Earl Green