man-fighting Archive

14

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “The Icarus Factor”

“The Icarus Factor”
Teleplay by David Assael and Robert McCullough
Story by David Assael
Directed by Robert Iscove

Season 2, Episode 14
Original air date: April 24, 1989
Star date: 4268.4

Mission summary

Though it’s not on their official itinerary, the Enterprise is stopping at Starbase Montgomery to diagnose some funky readouts, as well as receive “priority personnel directives.” Picard meets his first officer in the observation lounge, where he praises Riker’s impressive manual docking from their first meeting, with a straight face, even. Now he has new congratulations to offer: the captain of the USS Ares is retiring, and Riker has been offered a promotion and his own ship! It’s an assignment way out in the boonies, but it’d be his. He has 12 hours to make his decision, and to help him, a “special attaché” from the Federation has come to brief him on the frontier region the Ares is studying.

Riker goes to the transporter room to meet the attaché and it’s none other than Kyle Riker, Riker’s estranged father. Man-off to commence in 3… 2… 1…

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12

Star Trek Animated Series Re-Watch: “The Pirates of Orion”

The Pirates of Orion
Written by Howard Weinstein
Directed by Bill Reed

Season 2, Episode 1
Production episode: 22020
Original air date:  September 7, 1974
Star date: 6334.1

Mission summary

Aboard the Enterprise, an outbreak of some nasty disease called choriocytosis is finally under control. The good doctor assures the crew it’s no longer “even as serious as pneumonia”–which is, um, actually pretty serious? In any case, Kirk tries to drum up excitement for the dedication ceremony they’re en route toward at Deneb V:

KIRK: It’ll be nice to play diplomat for a change, eh, Spock?

And then Spock keels over. Diplomacy is intolerable.

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3

Star Trek Re-Watch: “Tomorrow is Yesterday”

“Tomorrow is Yesterday”
Written by D. C. Fontana
Directed by Michael O’Herlihy

Season 1, Episode 19
Production episode: 1×21
Original air date: January 26, 1967
Star date: 3113.2

Mission Summary
In the radar room of a U.S. Air Base circa the late 1960s, someone notices a blip: some kind of ship has entered the atmosphere “like it fell out of the sky or something.” It beeps on the radar. A UFO sighting! The captain orders someone to go up and take a closer look. As the camera cuts to the pilots getting ready to intercept and investigate, we see the tiny figure of the Enterprise, in orbit around an ancient Earth.Through a captain’s log we learn that en route to Starbase 9, the Enterprise got sucked into a “black star,” and in order to escape the strong gravitational pull they had to reverse engines at full warp power. The result? A mumblemumble gravitational slingshot effect that sent them tumbling through space-time, “to stop here, wherever we are.”

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