Welcome to February 17th ... the day many Trek fans truly credit Star Trek: The Next Generation for becoming something special! On this day back in 1990, the ultimate-super-fantastic episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" aired in TV syndication, and fans were treated to a temporal event throwing the 24th century into chaos. The story also brought back fan favorite Tasha Yar onto the bridge of the Enterprise-D, and that development certainly sent shock waves that were felt for seasons to come.
Actor/Writer Kenne Duncan (above left) enjoyed a long career in the entertainment business, building a resume of nearly three hundred different film roles. SciFi fans might recognize him from work in Flash Gordon's Trip To Mars (1938), Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), and Batman (1943). Though he's no longer with us, Duncan was born on this day in 1903.
Capricorn One (1977) is a fantastic little SciFi/Conspiracy men about a faked moon landing and the astronauts who try to expose it, and the venerable Hal Holbrook plays one of the sleazy bigwigs lurking behind it all. Holbrook was born on this day in 1925.
Ed McCready -- shown above as the barber from his appearance in Star Trek's "Spectre of the Gun" -- had the good fortune of making multiple contributions to the original incarnation of our beloved franchise. He also had the luck to appear in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Batman: The Movie (1966), Wonder Woman, Voyagers!, The Powers of Matthew Star, Knight Rider, Airwolf, and Dick Tracy (1990). Though he's no longer with us, McCready was born on this day in 1930.
Though she's probably recognized more often as being Ross and Monica's mother on NBC's popular Friends sitcom, the lovely Christina Pickles should also be remembered as the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull from Masters of the Universe (1987). Pickles was born on this day in 1935.
Besides being one of the greatest players in the history of the National Football League, Jim Brown is recognized by SciFi fans as 'Fireball,' one of the many contestants battling against Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man (1987). He also had a great role in Mars Attacks (1996). Brown was born on this day in 1936.
I'll take any chance I can get to celebrate the beauty that is Rene Russo. Sadly, she hasn't done all that much Science Fiction, but she has turned in wonderful work in Thor and Thor: The Dark World. Also -- back in the crazy 90's -- she paired up with Emilio Estevez in a little thing called Freejack. (It was awful.) Russo was born on this day in 1954.
I get it that most longtime Stargate fans weren't all that interested with Stargate: Universe, but -- as someone who didn't much care for Stargate: SG-1 nor Stargate: Atlantis -- I took to Universe quite well. Of course, it helped that I absolutely loved the cast, especially the much underrated veteran character actor Lou Diamond Phillips. He was great there, and he was even terrific when he came back down-to-earth in the much more conventional crime drama, Longmire. Phillips was born on this day in 1962.
To put it bluntly, I realize that director Michael Bay isn't exactly everyone's favorite storyteller, but you have to give the man props for pushing a vision of high-gloss and explosions that tends to bring out the masses. His take on the Transformers franchise has been particularly successful, though his forays into more legitimate Science Fiction -- Armageddon and The Island come to mind -- have had mixed results. Bay was born on this day in 1965.
Major kudos today go out to tough guy Dominic Purcell: he's brought his charisma to life aboard The CW's Legends Of Tomorrow after great introduction on The Flash. Purcell was born on this day in 1970.
Some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed ... but when that bed is filled with the lovely Denise Richards -- better known to sci-fi fans worldwide as the 'former Mrs. Charlie Sheen' AND Lt. Carmen Ibanez from Paul Verhoeven's stellar Starship Troopers -- I can understand the desire to stay under the covers! It's Denise's birthday, Trek enthusiasts, so feel free to celebrate on her behalf. Richards was born on this day in 1971.
Sliders was a pretty nifty show in its heyday, but -- sadly -- heydays never last. A young Jerry O'Connell helped bring much of the show's wide-eyed optimism to life, and -- for that -- he deserves fandom's thanks. O'Connell was born on this day in 1974.
The sexier-than-mankind-deserves Kelly Carlson suited up and took a stand against the alien bugs in Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004). Carlson was born on this day in 1976.
The fresh-faced Ashton Holmes braved the Apocalypse at the center of The Divide (2011) for Instinctive Film. Holmes was born on this day in 1978.
Jason Ritter did what he could to help elevate NBC's SciFi conspiracy yarn The Event to untold heights; unfortunately, the story never really materialized in any relevant way, confusing regular viewers and disengaging those who tried to join the program in progress. Ritter was born on this day in 1980.
One could barely recognize young Joseph Gordon-Levitt from the SciFi time travel yarn, Looper. Rumor has it he was heavily shrouded in make-up so that he would better resemble his character's aged version who was played by Bruce Willis. Gordon-Levitt was born on this day in 1981.
The lovely Sasha Pieterse enjoyed a small role aboard X-Men: First Class (2011), but she's definitely built a solid genre background fleshing out characters aboard Stargate: SG-1 and NBC's Heroes. Pieterse was born on this day in 1996.
On this day in 1967 (in Ireland), The Projected Man enjoyed its theatrical release. The feature starred Mary Peach and Norman Wooland, and here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"A scientist experimenting with matter transmission from place to place by means of a laser beam suddenly decides to use himself as a test specimen. But the process goes awry, and one side of his body becomes hideously deformed and instantly lethal to anyone it touches."
"A scientist experimenting with matter transmission from place to place by means of a laser beam suddenly decides to use himself as a test specimen. But the process goes awry, and one side of his body becomes hideously deformed and instantly lethal to anyone it touches."
I've always said that there's something charming about having a couple of knuckleheads 'save the world' as it were, and that's what makes the time travel infectious for Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. The flick premiered on this day in 1989, and it still enjoys a cult audience today ... so much so that a third installment is said to be in-the-works.
On this day in 1998, Star Hunter premiered on home video. The flick starred Roddy McDowall, Stella Stevens, and Rebecca Budig, and here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"Star hunters are the space monsters who hunt helpless creatures for pleasure. One night couple of high school football players and their cheerleaders are returning home after the lost game. But, when their bus makes the wrong turn, they are going to meet those creatures, and the real game will begin."
"Star hunters are the space monsters who hunt helpless creatures for pleasure. One night couple of high school football players and their cheerleaders are returning home after the lost game. But, when their bus makes the wrong turn, they are going to meet those creatures, and the real game will begin."
On this day in 1960, Men Into Space aired "Moon Cloud." This served as the twentieth episode of the program's only season, and here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"A scientist's wife warns McCauley that her husband Perry's's co-worker Hal Carter is jealous of his success. McCauley doesn't believe her, but when Perry's theory about radioactive gas on the moon prove correct, Hal plots to kill Perry."
"A scientist's wife warns McCauley that her husband Perry's's co-worker Hal Carter is jealous of his success. McCauley doesn't believe her, but when Perry's theory about radioactive gas on the moon prove correct, Hal plots to kill Perry."
On this day in 1964, The Outer Limits aired "The Children of Spider County." This served as the twenty-first episode of the program's first season, and here's the plot summary as detailed by IMDB.com:
"A government agent seizes young supermen, who are all originally from the same small county in Maryland. All are captured, except one; Ethan, who's facing trumped-up murder charges. Ethan's the only one who wasn't hounded out of Spider County by suspicious locals. The spooks believe the boys had the same father, though each was born to a different mother. Ethan's plotting to escape from the clutches of beady-eyed Sheriff, to avoid an old-fashioned execution."
"A government agent seizes young supermen, who are all originally from the same small county in Maryland. All are captured, except one; Ethan, who's facing trumped-up murder charges. Ethan's the only one who wasn't hounded out of Spider County by suspicious locals. The spooks believe the boys had the same father, though each was born to a different mother. Ethan's plotting to escape from the clutches of beady-eyed Sheriff, to avoid an old-fashioned execution."
On this day in 1982, The Greatest American Hero aired "A Chicken In Every Plot." This served as the fourteenth episode of the program's second season, and here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:
"Ralph, Pam and the kids fly to a Caribbean to visit a friend of Bill Maxwell's. When they arrive they find Bill's friend murdered and island racked by a voodoo-driven revolt against the government."
"Ralph, Pam and the kids fly to a Caribbean to visit a friend of Bill Maxwell's. When they arrive they find Bill's friend murdered and island racked by a voodoo-driven revolt against the government."
On this day in 1997, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine began playing some of its 'trump cards' by way of episodes that showed this whole battle with the Dominion was only getting started. The fifteenth episode of the fifth season was called "By Inferno's Light," and here's the episode summary provided by IMDB.com:
"The station readies for a Dominion attack. Worf and Garak meet some unexpected friends in a Dominion Prison camp."
"The station readies for a Dominion attack. Worf and Garak meet some unexpected friends in a Dominion Prison camp."
On this day in 1999, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine continued winding down its final season with the airing of "Chimera." Here's the episode summary from IMDB.com:
"After searching out and finding Odo, another changeling asks him to leave DS9 with him, even though the rest of the crew aren't convinced the new changeling is not part of the Founders."
"After searching out and finding Odo, another changeling asks him to leave DS9 with him, even though the rest of the crew aren't convinced the new changeling is not part of the Founders."
On this day in 2000, Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles aired an episode of its first and only season, a tale going under the name "D-Day." According to our friends at TV.com, here's the plot summary:
"S.I.C.O.N. prepares for the D-Day invasion of the bug home planet of Klendathu and before they are to head to the surface, Flores gets a letter stating that her brother was lost when the medivac ship he was on was hit and crashed. Can Flores recover from the shock or will Razak and Rico be forced to take her off the line?"
"S.I.C.O.N. prepares for the D-Day invasion of the bug home planet of Klendathu and before they are to head to the surface, Flores gets a letter stating that her brother was lost when the medivac ship he was on was hit and crashed. Can Flores recover from the shock or will Razak and Rico be forced to take her off the line?"
On this day in 2003, the stage was effectively set by Farscape when the show aired the eighteenth episode of its fourth season. "Prayer" saw Aeryn Sun captured by the Scarrans, and her abduction set in motion of series of events that would culminate in a big three-part spectacular for the crew of Moya and their friends, enemies, and general riff-raff.
On this day in 2003, Mutant X aired "Under The Cloak Of War." This served as the fifteenth episode in the program's second season, and here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"Someone tries to kill Adam but the team saves him. The person who killed him was part of a group of assassins. So Adam sends Shalimar to join them and find out who wants to kill him. She learns that it's a man whom Adam knows. Shalimar convinces the leader to let her kill Adam."
"Someone tries to kill Adam but the team saves him. The person who killed him was part of a group of assassins. So Adam sends Shalimar to join them and find out who wants to kill him. She learns that it's a man whom Adam knows. Shalimar convinces the leader to let her kill Adam."
On this day in 2006, Stargate: SG-1 aired "The Scourge." This served as the seventeenth episode of the long-running program's ninth season, and here's the plot summary as detailed by IMDB.com:
"SG-1 is tasked to accompany members of the International Oversight Advisory, including Richard Woolsey, on a tour of the Gamma site. The visitors are suitably impressed but everyone is put in danger when a carnivorous insect escapes from the lab. The base is locked down and no one is allowed to travel through the gate. The bug is linked to the Ori - it's appeared on several planets that they've visited - and Daniel thinks it may be their follow-up to the virus."
"SG-1 is tasked to accompany members of the International Oversight Advisory, including Richard Woolsey, on a tour of the Gamma site. The visitors are suitably impressed but everyone is put in danger when a carnivorous insect escapes from the lab. The base is locked down and no one is allowed to travel through the gate. The bug is linked to the Ori - it's appeared on several planets that they've visited - and Daniel thinks it may be their follow-up to the virus."
On this day in 2014, Almost Human aired the eleventh episode of its first and only season, an hour titled "Disrupt." According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:
"A deadly crime from the future occurs when a "smart home" goes terribly bad and turns on its occupants. Detective Kennex and Dorian lead the investigation that forces them to interface with a house that is represented by a mysterious hologram character."
"A deadly crime from the future occurs when a "smart home" goes terribly bad and turns on its occupants. Detective Kennex and Dorian lead the investigation that forces them to interface with a house that is represented by a mysterious hologram character."
