Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991) – Redemption Part II, and Darmok

Captain’s log: stardate 45020.4 Season five got under way on 23 September, 1991 in this episode written by Ronald D, Moore. Worf (Michael Dorn) has gone to fight alongside his brother Kurn (Tony Todd) in the Klingon Civil War. Meanwhile, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the Enterprise are trying to stop the…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991) – In Theory, and Redemption

Captain’s log: stardate 44932.3 Patrick Stewart directs this Data (Brent Spiner) story that was written by Joe Menosky and Ronald D. Moore. It first aired on 3 June, 1991. While investigating a dark matter nebula, another crew member, Lt. Jenna D’Sora (Michele Scarabelli)  becomes infatuates with the most emotionally unavailable man ever, the android, Data. Unable…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991) – The Host, and The Mind’s Eye

Captain’s log: stardate 44821.1 Airing on 13 May, 1991, The Host is another episode that doesn’t do justice to Doctor Crusher (Gates McFadden). This is yet another episode that centres around her character that is just a little too shabby. Written by Michel Horvat, the episode follows Crusher as she has a relationship with Ambassador…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991) – The Drumhead, and Half a Life

Captain’s log: stardate 44769.2 Jonathan Frakes directs his third episode of the series, from a script by Jeri Taylor. This episode, a bottle show, first aired on 29 April, 1991. Trouble comes aboard the Enterprise when a Klingon exo-biologist, J’Ddan (Henry Woronicz) is being investigated by Riker (Frakes) and Troi (Marina Sirtis) for sabotage, and…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989/1990) – The Vengeance Factor, and The Defector

Captain’s log: stardate  43421.9 The Vengeance Factor, a Riker (Jobathan Frakes) episode first aired on 20 November, 1989. The Enterprise is transporting Sovereign Marouk (Nancy Parsons) to a meeting with an offshoot tribe of her planet’s inhabitants, known as Gatherers. Picard (Patrick Stewart) is hosting peace talks between the troubled sides, and is hoping that…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989) – Manhunt, and The Emissary

Captain’s log: stardate 42859.2 Between last week’s episode Up the Long Ladder, and the first episode this week, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier opened on 9 June, 1989. It was also the only Trek movie I never saw in the theatre. ten days later, on 19 June, (days after I graduated high school) Manhunt aired…

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) – Vonda N. McIntyre

This week’s Book Shelf brings me to the movie adaptation of Star Trek IV, as I continue to enjoy, discover new stories and revisit old ones with the Pocket Book novels. Working from the film’s original script, McIntyre expands on the film’s story, as well as tying it more strongly into her own stories and…