Year: 2019

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Identity Part II

The OrvilleUnder Kaylon control, the Orville proceeds toward Earth with a massive Kaylon fleet in tow. Another Union ship commanded by an old friend of Mercer stumbles across the fleet, and when Mercer tries to signal to them what’s happened, the Kaylons destroy the ship and execute a member of Mercer’s crew. Yaphit and Ty Finn squeeze through service ducts to reach a communications station from which they can transmit a warning to Earth, but they are discovered by the Kaylons, and the Kaylon Primary orders Isaac to execute Ty for his actions – something that Isaac finds he cannot do. Deciding to help his shipmates rather than his fellow Kaylons, Isaac guns down the entire Kaylon crew manning the Orville’s bridge and prepares to set off an electromagnetic pulse that will eliminate the entire Kaylon presence on the Orville…including himself. But the Kaylon fleet is still barreling toward Earth, intent on destroying humanity and seizing the planet. Commander Grayson takes on a risky mission of her own, gambling her life and the future of the human race to ask the Krill to join the fight against the Kaylons.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Jon Cassar
music by John Debney

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Victor Garber (Admiral Halsey), Graham Hamilton (Kaylon Primary), Mike Henry (Dann), Robert David Grant (Kaylon Secondary), B.J. Tanner (Marcus Finn), Kai Di’Nilo Wener (Ty Finn), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Jay Whittaker (Kaylon Tertiary), Blesson Yates (Topa)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

Light And Shadows

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Burnham returns to Vulcan to see if Sarek and Amanda have any answers about Spock’s whereabouts, while Discovery remains in orbit of Kaminar to study residual affects of the appearances of the signal and the Red Angel. When deep scans are conducted, a temporal rift appears, and Pike sets out to pilot a shuttlecraft as close to the anomaly as he can without getting pulled in. He’s annoyed when Tyler insists on going with him, as Section 31 has now claimed an interest in Discovery‘s mission and has placed Tyler aboard the ship on a semi-permanent basis. Temporal anomalies cause Pike to see events that have yet to happen, with no context, and before he knows it, the shuttle is sucked into the time rift…and the most recent future event he has forseen is himself firing a phaser at Tyler. On Vulcan, Burnham and Sarek discover that Amanda, claiming diplomatic immunity, has sequestered Spock in a Vulcan temple. Rambling quotes from the Vulcan principles of logic as well as Alice In Wonderland, Spock seems lost. Sarek insists that Burnham take Spock to Section 31 to receive medical attention, a prospect that she finds less than appealing – and, as Georgiou reveals to her when she arrives, with good reason. But an even more unlikely destination awaits Burnham – coordinates that Spock has been chanting repeatedly since she found him.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonteleplay by Ted Sullivan
story by Ted Sullivan & Vaun Wilmott
directed by Marta Cunningham
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou), James Frain (Sarek), Mia Kirshner (Amanda), Ethan Peck (Spock), Alan Van Sprang (Leland), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Arista Arhin (young Burnham), Liam Hughes (young Spock)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: The dumping and igniting of the shuttlecraft’s fuel is very similar to a last-ditch maneuver executed by Spock roughly a decade later (TOS: The Galileo Seven); Rhys says it’s a technique taught at Starfleet flight school, which makes it odd that Scotty and others don’t recognize it on that future occasion. Talos IV was previously visited in the original Star Trek pilot, The Cage (1964), which was not shown on television in anything resembling its original form until 1988; footage from The Cage was worked into the 1966 two-parter The Menagerie, during which Spock returns a crippled Captain Pike to Talos IV, thus making that Spock’s third visit and not his second. (That’s two Star Trek Discoverymore visits than most Starfleet officers are expected to survive: The Menagerie establishes that travel to Talos IV is the only remaining death penalty under Starfleet’s paramilitary law.) It’s worth noting that Spock’s mental state when he’s first seen, including the repetition of phrases, is similar to that of T’Pol at the beginning of the Enterprise episode Shockwave Part II (2002), in which she is seen in a similar state of shock upon discovering that time travel is not only feasible but is in fact taking place. Spock originally fled to the Mutara Sector, an area of space where he will, in fact, later die during the battle with Khan for the Genesis Device (Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, 1982).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Blood Of Patriots

The OrvilleIn the wake of the historic battle in which the Krill joined in the defense of Earth against the Kaylons, the Planetary Union is eager to press for full-on peace talks with the Krill, and sends the Orville to a meeting at which Captain Mercer is expected to sign a preliminary document to open negotiations. But upon arriving at the coordinates for the meeting, Mercer finds not just the expected Krill cruiser, but a Krill shuttle which that cruiser then fires upon. Crewed by a Union prisoner of war (who also happens to be an old friend of Malloy), the shuttle crashes into the Orville’s shuttle bay and its pilot asks for political asylum. The peace talks are suddenly off unless Mercer hands the former prisoner back to his Krill captors to stand trial – and almost-certain execution – for war crimes. Malloy insists that his old friend can’t be guilty of the killing spree of which he is accused, and insists that Mercer can’t extradite him. Questions remain about both the pilot and the woman who is with him, who he claims is his now-grown daughter, who was captured with him years ago…and his behavior is odd enough that no one can quite erase any doubts about his innocence.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Rebecca Rodriguez
music by John Debney

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Ted Danson (Admiral Perry), Mackenzie Astin (Orrin Channing), Mike Henry (Dann), Robin Atkin Downes (Krill Officer), John Fleck (Ambassador K.T.Z.), Aily Kei (Leyna Channing), J. Paul Boehmer (Krill), Jim Mahoney (Brosk), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Francis Lloyd Corby (Crewman)

The OrvilleNotes: Though his more recent work has been in providing voices for Star Wars animated series such as Clone Wars and Rebels, guest star Robin Atkin Downes may be forever linked to his portrayal of the fandom-polarizing character Byron in the fifth and final season of Babylon 5. Guest stars J. Paul Boehmer and John Fleck are both recurring Star Trek guest stars, especially Fleck, who played the recurring role of the Suliban arch-nemesis Silik in Star Trek: Enterprise.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

If Memory Serves

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: The coordinates chanted in reverse by Spock bring Burnham to the forbidden planet Talos IV, visited just a few years earlier by Spock and Captain Pike aboard the Enterprise. Spock has to help Burnham overcome the illusion of a black hole in the planet’s place, a barrier erected by the Talosians to keep outsiders away. After landing the shuttle, Burnham is greeted by a young woman named Vina, who says she has been in the company of the Talosians for some time since a ship she traveled on as a child crash-landed on Talos IV. She recognizes Spock and extends an offer of help from the Talosians, who not only help Spock recover from his mental collapse, but share with Burnham what triggered it: an encounter – and a mind-meld – with the Red Angel. That mind-meld gave Spock a glimpse of a future in which some unknown enemy destroys the major worlds of the Federation. Spock believes that the Red Angel is trying to change the timeline so these events do not happen. Aboard Discovery, the miraculously revived Dr. Culber finds himself unable to return seamlessly to his life with Stamets…and, worse yet, sees Ash Tyler, his killer, and feels compelled to confront Tyler violently. Tyler grows suspicious of Pike’s focus on finding Burnham and Spock, despite direct orders not to do so. When evidence of sabotage from within the Discovery appears, Pike immediately has Tyler confined to his quarters. If he uses Discovery to return to Talos IV to help his crewmates, Pike will only be tipping his hand to Section 31.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Dan Dworkin & Jay Beattie
directed by T.J. Scott
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou), Melissa George (Vina), Ethan Peck (Spock), Alan Van Sprang (Leland), Rachael Ancheril (Lt. Commander Nhan), Dee Pelletier (Talosian #2), Rob Brownstein (The Keeper), Alisen Down (Starfleet Psychiatrist), Hannah Chessman (Lt. Commander Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer), Arista Arhin (young Burnham), Riley Gilchrist (Andorian Admiral), Liam Hughes (young Spock), Harry Judge (Tellarite Admiral), Jon de Leon (Section 31 Engineer), Sara Mitich (Lt. Nilsson), Tara Nicodemo (Admiral Patar)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: For the first time in the franchise’s 53-year history, an episode of a Star Trek spinoff revisits the events of The Cage (1964), the original Star Trek pilot, making “official” the originally filmed ending of an illusory Captain Pike remaining on Talos IV with Vina. (This had previously been subject to some interpretation, since The Cage footage was incorporated into the classic series two-parter The Menagerie, which reinterpreted that ending as the real Pike, in an illusory healthy body, rejoining the similarly afflicted Vina, as seen by Captain Kirk.) The opening teaser is a stylized montage of footage from The Cage, with an on-screen title simply reading “previously on Star Trek”. The Talosians are extinct in the mirror universe, exterminated by Empress Georgiou. Guest star Alisen Down played Olivia in Syfy’s 12 Monkeys series, and head guest starring roles in Stargate Universe, Supernatural, the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, The Dead Zone, and Stargate SG-1.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2

Project Daedalus

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Admiral Cornwell visits Discovery via shuttlecraft with disturbing news – Section 31’s threat assessment system, Control, has stopped accepting input or offering information to Starfleet’s admirals, and Section 31 itself seems to have gone incommunicado. Cornwell recommends proceeding to the same coordinates that Tyler is believed to have been sending signals to – a formerly abandoned penal station – to wrest control back from Section 31’s Control. Space around the station is heavily mined, and once a boarding party consisting of Burnham, Nhan, and the cybernetically-augmented Lt. Commander Airiam beams over to the station, they find it littered with long-dead corpses – including an admiral Cornwell had communicated with recently. Control is now calling the shots at Section 31, and worse yet, it has infiltrated Airiam’s cybernetic systems, forcing Captain Pike to make a terrible decision to preserve most of the boarding party…assuming any of them survive long enough to execute his orders.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Michelle Paradise
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell), Ethan Peck (Spock), Rachael Ancheril (Lt. Cmdr. Nhan), Hannah Cheesman (Lt. Cmdr. Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Arista Arhin (young Burnham), Alisen Down (Starfleet Psychiatrist), Tyler Hines (Stephen), Tara Nicodemo (Admiral Patar)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Lasting Impressions

The OrvilleThanks to a visiting archaeologist, the Orville crew gets a rare glimpse of a recently unearthed time capsule of items left untouched since the year 2015. As Bortus and Klyden revive a long-lost addiction thanks to Moclans’ susceptibility to nicotine, Gordon becomes fixated on reviving a cell phone and examining its contents. Once the property of a woman named Laura, the phone is a repository of early 21st century life on an intimate level. Gordon is fascinated enough to have the computer synthesize a holographic simulation of Laura’s life based on the contents of her phone – every text, e-mail, video, photo – and when he meets what the computer extrapolates to be the real Laura, he’s smitten, almost to the point of neglecting his duties. Meanwhile, as Dr. Finn races to concoct an antidote to Moclan nicotine addiction, she has ordered Bortus and Klyden to stop smoking…and among Moclans, withdrawal symptoms may include bursts of extreme violence.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Kelly Cronin
music by John Debney

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Leighton Meester (Laura Huggins), Tim Russ (Dr. Sherman), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Darri Ingolfsson (Greg), Sarah Scott (Trisha), Ajay Vidure (Karl), Stacy Highsmith (Melissa), Rachael MacFarlane (Computer voice), Chris Muto (Male guest)

Notes: Tim Russ is the latest Star Trek alumnus to appear on The Orville; he starred as Tuvok for all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, and has more recently been seen in Supergirl and the fan-funded Star Trek: Renegades project.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

The Red Angel

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: A post-mortem scan of Lt. Commander Airiam’s cybernetic implants allows Tilly to sift through the information uploaded into Airiam by Control, which includes detailed information on the Red Angel’s spacesuit apparatus – an abandoned Section 31 time travel project – and its wearer, a perfect DNA match for one Michael Burnham. An artificial intelligence, the Control system used by Section 31, has also been following through the micro-wormholes allowing the suit to time travel. But even as Burnham reels from the news that the Red Angel’s actions are apparently actions that she will take at some point in the future, she learns that her parents were Section 31 operatives using a time crystal stolen from Klingon space to build and power the suit…and that a younger Leland’s irresponsibility is directly responsible for their deaths. But Spock, in studying the movements of the Red Angel to date and the appearance of the seven signals, has discovered that the signals do not necessarily correlate to appearances of the Angel. The Angel has, instead, responded only to situations when Burnham’s life was in immediate danger, which makes sense: a future Burnham acting as the Red Angel can’t allow younger Burnham to die. A trap is set on the inhospitable plant Essof IV, using Burnham as the bait to catch her older self. But once captured, the Red Angel is someone no one – especially not Michael Burnham – ever expected to see again.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Chris Silvestri & Anthony Maranville
directed by Hanelle M. Culpepper
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou), Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell), Ethan Peck (Spock), Alan Van Sprang (Leland), Sonja Sohn (Dr. Gabrielle Burnham), Rachael Ancheril (Lt. Cmdr. Nhan), Hannah Cheesman (Lt. Cmdr. Airiam), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Sarah Mitich (Lt. Nilsson), Jason Anthony (Control Computer)

Star Trek DiscoveryNotes: Stamets echoes the 23rd century belief that wormholes are “inherently unstable”, though the 24th century will see the discovery of a wormhole stabilized by an advanced alien species (Deep Space Nine: Emissary). Saru mentions Discovery‘s away team, a term more commonly associated with Star Trek: The Next Generation; as it’s more or less interchangeable with “landing party”, away team is probably a piece of Starfleet lingo that predates the 24th century, but just wasn’t one we heard used by Captains Archer or Kirk. Spock’s instant recall of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” persists even into his next life (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home). Airiam’s bridge station is now occupied by Lt. Nilsson – played by Sara Mitich, who played Airiam in the first season of Discovery.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

Perpetual Infinity

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate not given: Burnham comes to aboard Discovery and learns that she wasn’t hallucinating: the Red Angel has been captured and immobilized, and inside the time-crystal-powered suit was Dr. Gabrielle Burnham, believed to have died over 20 years ago in a Klingon attack. However, Burnham’s mother was also rendered unconscious by the extreme means used to capture the Red Angel suit, and Burnham herself must stay aboard Discovery until her treatment for exposure to both the elements on Essof IV and the burst of tachyon radiation generated by the Red Angel is completed. On the Section 31 ship, Georgiou begins to suspect that something is amiss with Captain Leland. What neither she nor Tyler know is that he has been taken over by Control, and the man they knew before is essentially dead. “Leland” concocts a cover story that Dr. Burnham is a vessel for Control, and orders Tyler to obtain the data Discovery holds from the spherical repository of alien knowledge encountered earlier. Dr. Burnham refuses to speak to her own daughter, instead opting to demand that Captain Pike delete the alien sphere data from Discovery‘s computer to avoid Section 31’s Control AI from ever using that knowledge to evolve. But the sphere data has asserted itself within Discovery‘s main computer, protecting itself from deletion – and leaving the door open to a future in which Control destroys all life in the galaxy.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Alan McElroy & Brandon Schultz
directed by Maja Vrvilo
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou), Ethan Peck (Spock), Alan Van Sprang (Leland), Sonja Sohn (Dr. Gabrielle Burnham), Kenric Green (Burnham), Rachael Ancheril (Lt. Cmdr. Nhan), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Sarah Mitich (Lt. Nilsson), Arista Arhin (young Burnham)

Notes: Dr. Burnham knows of the fate that awaits Captain Pike in his future (Star Trek: The Menagerie Part 1), but says nothing more than that. No one in 23rd century Starfleet seems to be aware of time travel’s role in Starfleet’s past and future (see Star Trek: Enterprise), so presumably Captain Jonathan Archer took what he knew of the Temporal Cold War to his grave.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
2010s Season 1 Twilight Zone

The Comedian

The Twilight ZoneStruggling comedian Samir Wassan bombs on stage with his usual brand of political humor, and then has a chance encounter with one of his comedy heroes, a man who had it all and then all but vanished from public view. He can’t resist asking for pointers, and is told to use more personal anecdotes from his life…and then to be ready to let those stories go forever. Part of Samir’s next routine concerns his dog…who has disappeared by the time he gets home. In fact, his girlfriend doesn’t remember ever having a dog. Her nephew, after helping him post flyers for his lost dog, accompanies him to the comedy club the next night, and becomes part of the act as well…only to vanish from existence when his name is mentioned. After overcoming an initial wave of guilt, Samir begins mentioning more names in his act, settling old scores, and each time, erasing someone from existence. It’s too late to stop and return to his dead-on-arrival political humor, but Samir’s only beginning to discover how erasing people from history with a mere mention can change the history of those around him. His comedy career on the rise, even Samir’s skeptical peers admit he’s killing it. They just don’t realize how many he’s killing to do it…until someone discovers his secret.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Alex Rubens
directed by Owen Harris
music by Marco Beltrami and Brandon Roberts
original Twilight Zone theme by Marius Constant

The Twilight ZoneCast: Kumail Nanjiani (Samir Wassan), Amara Karan (Rena), Diarra Kilpatrick (Didi Scott), Ryan Robbins (David Kandel), Tracy Morgan (J.C. Wheeler), Marc Joseph (Deven), Toby Hargrave (Joe Donner), Danny Dworkis (Pete), Jacob Machin (Bartender), Briana Rayner (Candy Gower), Darcy Michael (MC), Sean Hewlett (Will), Brendon Zub (Gabe), Harry Han (Finance Bro #3), Melanie Rose Wilson (Waitress), Bryron Bertram (Murray), Lesley Mirza (Marjorie), Khamisa Wilsher (Drunk Woman), Willy Lavendel (Drunk Man), Ryan Beil (Ventriloquist), Jane Stanton (Standup Comic #3), Jordan Peele (The Narrator)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
2010s Season 1 Twilight Zone

Nightmare At 30,000 Feet

The Twilight ZoneInvestigative journalist Justin Sanderson, fresh from a nightmarish assignment in Yemen and turbulence in his personal life, takes on a new reporting assignment in Tel Aviv, boarding Northern GoldStar Flight 1015. Justin finds an MP3 player left behind by a previous passenger, containing a podcast…about the mysterious disappearance of Northern GoldStar Flight 1015 over the Atlantic. He begins listening and is alarmed when such events as a bird striking one of the plane’s engines is described more or less in real time, and he starts trying to alert the plane’s crew and fellow passengers to what he believes is imminent disaster. But for all the disturbance he causes, the only threat perceived by anyone is Justin himself. One fellow passenger, however, does believe him. Claiming to be a former airline pilot himself, he has the skills necessary to turn the plane around and avert disaster…if only Justin can help him break into the cockpit.

Download this episode via Amazonteleplay by Marco Ramirez
story by Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele and Marco Ramirez
based on the teleplay and short story Nightmare At 20,000 Feet written by Richard Matheson
directed by Greg Yaitanes
music by Marco Beltrami and Brandon Roberts
original Twilight Zone theme by Marius Constant

The Twilight ZoneCast: Adam Scott (Justin Sanderson), Chris Diamantopoulos (Joe), Dan Carlin (voice of Rodman Edwards), Katie Findlay (Flight Attendant), Nicholas Lea (Captain Donner), China Shavers (Air Marshal), J. Cameron Barnett (Flight Attendant), Nabil Ayoub (Fawwaz Khalidi), Hana Kinani (Sadeen Khalidi), Greg Zach (Suspicious Punk), Vladimir Ruzich (Tsezar), Alexander Mandra (Igor Orlov), Demelza Randall (Mandy), Emanuel Mokhtari (Fadi Khalidi), Arkie Kandola (Omesh Singh), Tarun Keram (Tanveera Singh), Tim Howe (TSA Agent), Brea Schneider (Gate Attendant), Jordan Peele (The Narrator)

The Twilight ZoneNotes: Among the wreckage that has washed onto the shore from the downed plane is a stuffed animal of the gremlin glimpsed in the original Twilight Zone episode Nightmare At 20,000 Feet (1963). That original episode – which wasn’t made and aired until early in the original series’ fifth and final season – had already been remade once in the 1983 Twilight Zone movie. This is a much more significant reworking of the story, bringing in such 21st century elements as “true crime” podcasts, TSA patdowns, and suicidal airline pilots. We eagerly await Enigmatique’s podcast on the mystery of Oceanic Flight 815.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

Through The Valley Of Shadows

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate 1048.66: A new signal appears over the planet Boreth, home to a secretive Klingon monastery. Tyler contacts Chancellor L’Rell, and she warps to meet Discovery at Boreth to discuss Discovery‘s mission. She reveals that the monks of Boreth also act as protectors of a rare commodity – raw time crystals – but if Tyler shows his face, or identifies their son, her relatively peaceful reign over the Klingon Empire could come to a quick and bloody end, along with any hope of peace with the Federation. This convinces Pike that he must to negotiate for a time crystal, but to gain one, he will have to endure a rite of passage – seeing his own future – that has driven others insane in the past. When a Section 31 ship fails to check in on time, Saru assigns Burnham and Spock to investigate, and they find a drifting ship surrounded by the dead, frozen bodies of its crew…with the exception of one survivor, a former Shenzhou crewman recognized by Burnham. But the ship’s computer awakens, under the thrall of Control, and it wants one thing: to take over Michael Burnham so it can gain access to the alien sphere data.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt
directed by Doug Aarniokoski
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Mia Kershner (Amanda), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), Ethan Peck (Spock), Tig Notaro (Commander Jett Reno), Kenneth Mitchell (Tenavik), Rachael Ancheril (Lt. Cmdr. Nhan), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Sarah Mitich (Lt. Nilsson), Ali Momen (Specialist Kamran Gant), Julianne Grossman (Discovery computer), Ian James Corlett (Section 31 computer), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Linus), Byron Abalos (Trainee #1), Olivia Croft (Trainee #2)

Star Trek: DiscoveryNotes: Captain Pike’s future had been described in some detail in part one of The Menagerie (1966), and though some fan films have shown their own versions of the events described, this is the first time in studio-produced Star Trek that we have seen those events play out. (His eventual return to Talos IV in The Menagerie Part 2 is not shown, so Pike is deliberately choosing a future which he believes has no hope.) Tenavik says that the time crystals’ name in the Klingon language is the namesake of their home planet, Qo’nos, which provides a handy explanation for humans’ tendency to refer to Qo’nos as “Chronos” (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). Boreth was first seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation (Rightful Heir, 1993), though in the 24th century, the monks had turned their attention to manipulating both genetics and politics to create a clone of Kahless, with no mention made of time crystals, so it is unknown if the crystals are still under the watchful eye of the monks by the time of Worf’s visit a century later. (Tenavik’s rapid aging, on the other hand, puts Alexander’s to shame.) L’Rell has apparently succeeded in shepherding the familiar D-7 battlecruiser design from the drawing board into production within a year. The stardate for this episode is not given in the episode itself, but in the season finale, Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Discovery Season 2 Star Trek

Such Sweet Sorrow Part 1

Star Trek: DiscoveryStardate 1051.8: Discovery’s crew evacuated to the Enterprise as Saru and Pike set the ship to auto-destruct…but the attempt to scuttle Discovery proves unsuccessful, as the alien sphere data has now integrated itself fully into the ship’s computer, allowing it to once again protect itself from deletion or destruction. Burnham proposes a new course of action: a new time suit will be built, which she will pilot, with Discovery programmed to follow her into the far future. A new signal appears near the planet Xahea, home of Tilly’s friend Po (who happens to be the planet’s queen), who shares some of her planet’s technology to help arm Discovery for the fight ahead and prepare the time crystal for use in a new time suit. Several members of Discovery‘s crew, as well as Nhan and Spock from the Enterprise crew, volunteer to stay aboard to ensure that the ship survives long enough to reach the future. Ash Tyler, however, readies himself for another mission – making sure that Control is eradicated from Section 31 forever.

Order DVDsStream this episode via Amazonwritten by Michelle Paradise & Jenny Lumet & Alex Kurtzman
directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek DiscoveryCast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell), James Frain (Sarek), Yadira Guevara-Prip (Po), Mia Kershner (Amanda), Tig Notaro (Commander Jett Reno), Ethan Peck (Spock), Rebecca Romjin (Number One), Sonja Sohn (Dr. Gabrielle Burnham), Alan Van Sprang (Leland), Rachael Ancheril (Lt. Cmdr. Nhan), Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys), Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), Sara Mitich (Lt. Nilsson), Julianne Grossman (Discovery computer), Samora Smallwood (Lt. Amin), Hanneke Talbot (Lt. Mann), Chai Valladares (Lt. Nicola), Nicole Dickinson (Yeoman Colt)

Star Trek: DiscoveryNotes: Scenes from the Short Treks episode Runaway are shown as part of the recap. This is the first glimpse of the Enterprise bridge in Star Trek: Discovery, complete with tactile controls cast from the replicas created by James Cawley and company for the bridge set of the Star Trek: New Voyages fan series (which, following the release of a stricter set of fan film guidelines, ceased to be a working set and became the CBS-licensed Star Trek Original Set Tour attraction). Yeoman Colt makes a fleeting appearance, having evidently stayed aboard the Enterprise and stayed at the same rank since The Cage.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Sanctuary

The OrvilleWith the potential for another Kaylon invasion attempt still looming, the Moclans upgrade the weaponry of the Union’s Explorer-class ships, including the Orville. Two visiting Moclan engineers draw Bortus’ attention with an unusual power drain in their quarters, and Bortus discovers that they are powering a stasis unit with an infant Moclan female, trying to smuggle the child away from Moclus, where she would likely undergo mandatory corrective gender-change surgery. Bortus agrees to keep their secret as they transfer to another ship, but also wants to show Topa that it is possible for Moclans of more than one gender to coexist. Topa, however, tells Klyden, who reports Bortus’ secret to Captain Mercer. Following the ship to which the Moclans transferred, the Orville plunges into a dense nebula and finds a solar system that is home to an entire colony of Moclan females. The scope of the problem is bigger than any command decision Mercer can make, and he takes the leader of the colony to Earth to plead the case for sovereignty. In response, the Moclans threaten to secede from the Union, taking their weapons technology with them and leaving Earth open to Kaylon conquest.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Joe Menosky
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Andrew Cottee

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Victor Garber (Admiral Halsey), F. Murray Abraham (Chairman), Ted Danson (Admiral Perry), Rena Owen (Heveena), Ron Canada (Admiral Tucker), Kelly Hu (Admiral Ozawa), Tony Todd (Moclan Delegate), Regi Davis (Korick), Shawn T. Andrew (Toren), Marina Sirtis (Teacher), Emerson Brooks (Moclan), Cameron Knight (Moclan), Blesson Yates (Topa), Madelyn Grace (Olivia), Bo Kane (Alien Delegate), Kathrin Middleton (Retepsian Delegate), Mark McClain Wilson (Xalayan Delegate), Yvonne Senat (Osaia), Hanani Taylor (Moclan Girl), M.C. Sanders (Moclan Soldier #1), Jerrell Pippens (Moclan Soldier #2)

The OrvilleNotes: For those still keeping track, it’s Star Trek guest star overload, with none other than Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Counselor Troi) replacing Cassius as the Orville’s schoolteacher. Tony Todd, who played the role of Worf’s brother Kurn on both The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, appears as a Moclan here, while F. Murray Abraham (Star Trek: Insurrection) is the Xelayan president of the Planetary Union. All of the show’s admirals to date appear together here. Heveena was first seen living in exile on Moclus in season 1’s About A Girl, but was apparently already running a kind of underground railroad for unaltered Moclan females at that time (and long before). The episode is directed by Sirtis’ Next Generation co-star Jonathan Frakes. Sirtis reportedly had to shoot her scenes within 24 hours of being hired for the part due to a scheduling crunch with other projects to which she was already contractually obligated.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
2010s Season 1 Twilight Zone

Replay

The Twilight ZoneAttorney Nina Harrison is on her last road trip with her son Dorian, en route to take him to his first day at college. She intends to document everything with a somewhat outdated camcorder she inherited from her late father. But en route to the school, the Harrisons are pulled over by a white police officer who seems determined to give them a ticket for something – and he becomes particularly agitated at the sight of the camcorder recording him, reaching for it. In the struggle, Nina hits the “rewind” button by accident, but it’s not the videotape but time itself that rewinds. Determined to avoid letting the same sequence of events replay itself, Nina tries to do things differently – repeatedly – but despite taking different routes, or even getting off the road altogether, the policeman is always there, and with each successive attempt to change the course of events, he becomes more aggressive and violent toward Dorian. Nina has it in her power to rewind through the past, but can she ever change Dorian’s future?

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds
directed by Gerard McMurray
music by Marco Beltrami and Brandon Roberts
original Twilight Zone theme by Marius Constant

The Twilight ZoneCast: Sanaa Lathan (Nina Harrison), Damson Idris (Dorian Harrison), Steve Harris (Uncle Neil), Glenn Fleshler (Officer Lasky), Candus Churchill (Mabel), Zari Diango (Dorian’s Daughter / Dream Daughter), Keon Boateng (Dream Son), Henry Mah (Medical Examiner), Samantha Spatari (Morgue Assistant), Jocelyn Panton (Lottery Announcer), Blake Stadel (Police Officer), Jordan Peele (The Narrator)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Orville, The Season 2

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow

The OrvilleAfter rebuffing another of Mercer’s suggestions that they should get back together, Commander Grayson visits the science lab, where Isaac is working on an experimental device that could make time travel possible. Moments after she leaves, a gravitational wave strikes the Orville, leaving little damage, but depositing an extra person on the ship – one Lt. Kelly Grayson, seven years younger, wondering what she’s doing in the science lab of a Union ship. Her identity is verified, and Commander Grayson is stunned to be dealing with a younger version of herself – as is Mercer. Mercer and Grayson decide to tell the younger Kelly, in very honest terms, what happened with their relationship over the past seven years, which stuns her, given that for her, that first date with Mercer happened just last night. In fact, she’s curious about a second date, but the gap in age and personal experience makes this a problematic idea. Isaac and LaMarr devise a possible way to send the younger Kelly back to her own time, and Dr. Finn suggests a memory wipe as well, to avoid making major changes to the timeline.

Only the memory wipe doesn’t work, and young Kelly Grayson awakens in her own time with new ideas about her future.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Janet Lin
directed by Gary Rake
music by John Debney

The OrvilleCast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Will Sasso (Mooska), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Chase Kim (Officer)

Notes: LaMarr and Isaac’s experiment is derived from the time-shifting technology developed by Dr. Aronov in The Orville’s 2017 pilot episode, with clear implications that there is now far more to fear than the banana.

LogBook entry by Earl Green