Diane Carey can be forgiven for a lot of the portrayals in Ghost Ship, the first novel in The Next Generation series released by Pocket Books following the novelization of the pilot episode. The book was largely written before there was any casting in place, and she could only rely on the show’s bible to…
Tag: commander
Hill Street Blues (1981) – Life, Death, Eternity, and I Never Promised You a Rose, Marvin
Gregory Hoblit and Lee David Zlotoff penned Life, Death, Eternity which first aired on 14 March, 1981. Hey look! There’s Dwight Schultz! There’s no heat in the precinct (and the repairman has dropped dead) while Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti) continues the investigation of the murdered prostitute, which may interfere with his chances of being promoted…
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2012) – A War On Two Fronts, Front Runners, and The Soft War
“Fear is a malleable weapon.” Season Five of The Clone Wars got underway with Revival, which actually comes later in the chronology, so first up for us is A War on Two Fronts. Written by Chris Collins, this episode launched on 6 October, 2012. Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor), Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter), Ahsoka Tano…
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1997) – Blaze of Glory, and Empok Nor
Station log: stardate unknown Eddington (Ken Marshall) returns in this episode written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe that first aired on 12 May, 1997. The Maquis are planning on launching a bio-weapon assault against Cardassia, who since their alliance with the Dominion has made things more desperate for the Maquis. Captain Sisko…
Space: 1999 (1976) – Seed of Destruction, and The AB Chrysalis
Broadcast on 11 November, 1976, Seed of Destruction, penned by John Goldsmith lets Commander John Koenig (Martin Landau) indulge into that classic sci-fi trope, the evil twin. He and Carter (Nick Tate) are investigating a strange asteroid that Maya (Catherine Schell) reports is giving off a strange energy reading. While Carter works on the Eagle,…
Space: 1999 (1976) – Ring Around the Moon, and Missing Link
Ring Around the Moon is the first episode up this week, as I continue my travels with Moonbase Alpha. Written by Edward di Lorenzo this story first debuted on 15 January, 1976. A strange yellow energy field has an adverse effect on one of the Alphan techs, as a strange planet pulls it into temporary…
Space: 1999 (1975) – The Full Circle, and Another Time, Another Place
The Full Circle was written by Jesse Lasky Jr. and Pat Silver. It first aired on 11 December, 1975. And honestly, has my vote for worst episode of the season, if not the series. The moon comes across a strange planet, one whose surface is shrouded in a strange mist. When an Eagle, and additional…
Space: 1999 (1975) – Alpha Child, and Dragon’s Domain
Moonbase Alpha continues it’s not exactly lonely journey through space – there is a lot of life out there apparently, and all so conveniently close for storytelling purposes. First up this week, Koenig (Martin Landau), Dr. Russell (Barbara Bain) and Professor Bergman (Barry Morse) meet the Alpha Child. Written by Christopher Penfold and Edward di…
Patton (1970) – Franklin J. Schaffner
George C. Scott’s Oscar winning turn as controversial military commander, General George S. Patton is my next stop as I explore the recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Movie book following my screening of Saving Private Ryan. Based on a history of Patton as well as Omar Bradley’s (portrayed by Karl Malden…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991) – Data’s Day, and The Wounded
Captain’s log: stardate 44390.1 Airing on 7 January, 1991, this Data (Brent Spiner)- centric episode did something that hadn’t been done in Star Trek before. It gave us a ‘day in the life’ episode. It also further cemented Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) in the Trek Universe. Written by Harold Apter and Ronald D. Moore, the…
The Mind Reels 