Captain’s log: stardate 4657.5 By Any Other Name was written by D.C. Fontana and Jerome Bixby and had an original airdate of 23 February, 1968. The Enterprise is seized by alien life forms known as the Kelvans, and may be the beachhead for a galactic invasion! Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), McCoy (DeForest…
Tag: mystery
The Twilight Zone (1960) – King Nine Will Not Return, The Man in the Bottle and Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room
It’s time to continue my exploration of the dark corners of The Twilight Zone as I begin Season 2 in The Complete Series blu-ray set from Paramount Pictures. Trips to The Zone resumed on 30 September, 1960 with King Nine Will Not Return written by series creator, Rod Serling. The story follows the pilot of…
Doctor Who (Christoper Eccleston) – The Unquiet Dead and Aliens of London
The Doctor (Eccleston) and Rose (Billie Piper) travel back to Cardiff (an in-joke because that is where the series shoots), 1869. There they quickly find themselves embroiled in alien mystery, and chatting with Charles Dickens (Simon Callow) in The Unquiet Dead. Written by Mark Gatiss, with an original airdate of 9 April, 2005, this episode…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1967) – I, Mudd and Metamorphosis
Captain’s log: stardate 4513.3 Harry Mudd (Roger C. Carmel) is back in the fun and playful episode I, Mudd. Written by Stephen Kandel this episode had its premiere on 3 November, 1967. This episode has a lot of delightful banter, and lots of intentional, and well-crafted humour. The U.S.S. Enterprise is seized by an android,…
Doctor Who (Sylvester McCoy) – The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
The final story of the 25th season is a four-part story that sees the Doctor and Ace (Sophie Aldred) confronting terrifying and evil clowns who want to be entertained. Written by Stephen Wyatt the story ran from 14 December, 1988 to 4 January, 1989. The TARDIS receives an invite to the Psychic Circus, and the…
Strange Days (1995) – Kathryn Bigelow
My time with the films of James Cameron for the Sci-Fi Chronicles book comes to an end with this film that he penned the script for, and gave to the incredibly talented Kathryn Bigelow to direct. Ralph Fiennes stars as Lenny Nero, a former cop turned street hustler, with a charming side that can sell…
Doctor Who (Sylvester McCoy) -Paradise Towers
The Doctor (McCoy) and Mel (Bonnie Langford) end up in a strange adventure, when they arrive at Paradise Towers, a supposedly luxurious residential complex that is nothing like the adverts make out. Written by Stephen Wyatt, this four-part story ran from 5 to 26 October, 1987. The building is overrun by gangs, all who have…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1966/1967) – Shore Leave and The Galileo Seven
Captain’s Log: Stardate 3025.3 Shore Leave, written by Theodore Strugeon aired on 29 December, 1966, and was the first episode that showed me that sometimes Trek could take itself less seriously, wait until I discovered The Trouble with Tribbles (!), while also exploring the characters. This is an episode, much like the Naked Time, which…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) -Where No Man Has Gone Before and The Naked Time
Captain’s Log: Stardate 1312.4 The famed second pilot for the proposed series, Where No Man Has Gone Before was written by Samuel Peeples from Gene Roddenberry’s creation and found its way to the television sets everywhere on 22 September, 1966. This was an episode that I loved, and continue to love. It fostered the sense…
