Friday, May 8, 2026

On this day in television history - M Squad (1959)

M Squad
Season 2. Episode 32.

Episode entitled: The Baited Hook.

Released May 8, 1959.

Directed by Mark Sandrich Jr.

Written by Merwin Gerard.

Music by Benny Carter.

 
Cast:
Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Vic Perrin, Laurie Carroll, Buddy Lester, Jack Ging.


On this day in television history - Space 1999 (1977)

Space 1999
Season 2. Episode 24.

Episode entitled: The Dorcons.

Released May 8, 1977.

Directed by Tom Clegg.

Written by Johnny Byrne.

Series created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson.

Music by Derek Wadsworth.

Cast: Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Catherine Schell, Tony Anholt, Nick Tate, Patrick Troughton, Ann Firbank, Gerry Sundquist, Alibe Parsons, Laurence Harrington, Kevin Sheehan, Michael Halsey, Hamish Patrick, Hazel McBride, Del Baker, Peter Brayham, Maxwell Craig, Jenny Cresswell, Chris Diggins, Harry Fielder, Frank Henson, Quentin Pierre, Roy Scammell, Les White.

On this day in the Star Trek universe - The Next Generation, Voyager, Enterprise, Art of the Film:

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993)
Star Trek: Voyager (1995)
Star Trek: Enterprise (2002)
Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek / novel (2009)
Star Trek: The Art of the Film / book (2009)
 

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 6. Episode 22.

Episode entitled: Suspicions.

Released May 8, 1993.

Directed by Cliff Bole.

Written by Joe Menosky, Naren Shankar, Brannon Braga, René Echevarria.

Created by Gene Roddenberry.

Music by Dennis McCarthy.

Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Patti Yasutake, Tricia O'Neil, Peter Marx/Slutsker, James Horan, John S. Ragin, Joan Stuart Morris, Whoopi Goldberg, Majel Barrett, David Keith Anderson, Tracee Cocco, Robert Cox, Debbie David, Hal Donahue, Goldie Gareza, Christi Haydon, Arvo Katajisto, Mary Kohnert, Joyce Robinson, Richard Sarstedt, Oliver Theess.
 

Star Trek: Voyager
Season 1. Episode 13.

Episode entitled: Faces.

Released May 8, 1995.

Directed by Winrich Kolbe.

Created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor.

Written by Kenneth Biller, Jonathan Glassner.

Based on Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry.

Music by David Bell.

Cast: Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Biggs-Dawson, Jennifer Lien, Robert Duncan McNeill, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, Garrett Wang, Brian Markinson, Rob LaBelle, Barton Tinapp, Derek Anthony, Tarik Ergin, Kerry Hoyt, Julie Jiang, Dennis Madalone, Jaehne Moebius, Jordan Monheim, Louis Ortiz, Simon Stotler, Beverly Swanson, Martine Wood.
 

Star Trek: Enterprise
Season 1. Episode 23.

Episode entitled: Fallen Hero.

Released May 8, 2002.

Directed by Patrick Norris.

Written by Alan Cross, Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Chris Black, Phyllis Strong, Michael/Mike Sussman, André Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, André Bormanis.

Created by Rick Berman, Brannon Braga.

Based on Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry.

Opening theme song: Faith of the Heart, performed by Russell Watson.

Closing theme: Archer's Theme, by Dennis McCarthy.

Music by David Bell.

Cast: Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, Connor Trinneer, John Rubinstein, Vaughn Armstrong, Fionnula Flanagan, J. Michael Flynn, Dennis Howard, Jef Ayres, Jane Bordeaux, Glen Hambly, Dieter Horneman, John Jurgens, Bobby Pappas, Adam Segen, Cynthia Uhrich, Mark Watson, Gary Weeks.
 

Star Trek: Enterprise
Season 1. Episode 24.

Episode entitled: Desert Crossing.

Released May 8, 2002.

Directed by David Straiton.

Written by André Bormanis, Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, André Bormanis, Phyllis Strong, Michael/Mike Sussman, André Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton.

Created by Rick Berman, Brannon Braga.

Based on Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry.

Opening theme song: Faith of the Heart, performed by Russell Watson.

Closing theme: Archer's Theme, by Dennis McCarthy.

Music by Velton Ray Bunch.

Cast: Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, Connor Trinneer, Charles Dennis, Clancy Brown, Brandon Karrer, Jane Bordeaux, Mark Correy, Tarik Ergin, Stacy Fouche, Hilde Garcia, Lindley Gardner, Robert Gatewood, Peter Godoy, Glen Hambly, Max Valentine.
 

Star Trek


Directed by J. J. Abrams.

Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.

Released in the United States on May 8, 2009.

Music by Michael Giacchino.

Cast: Chris Pine, Jimmy Bennett, Zachary Quinto, Jacob Kogan, Leonard Nimoy, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Ben Cross, Winona Ryder, Clifton Collins, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Morrison, Rachel Nichols, Faran Tahir, Deep Roy, Greg Ellis, Tyler Perry, Amanda Foreman, Spencer Daniels, Victor Garber, Chris Doohan, James Cawley, Pavel Lychnikoff, Lucia Rijker, W. Morgan Sheppard, Wil Wheaton, Randy Pausch, Majel Barrett.
 

Star Trek

by Alan Dean Foster.

Published by Pocket Books.
Published 2009.
Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1439171254
ISBN-13: 978-1439171257

Description:
The origins of James Kirk, Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise from the original Star Trek series and how these iconic characters came together.
 

Star Trek: The Art of the Film

by Mark Cotta Vaz.
Foreword by J. J. Abrams.

Published by Titan Books.
Film tie-in edition.
Published 2009.
Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1848566204
ISBN-13: 978-1848566200

Description:
Director J.J. Abrams’ new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, Star Trek features a young, new crew venturing boldly where no man has gone before, as it tells the story of how the brash Starfleet cadet James T. Kirk first meets a Vulcan named Spock, and earns the Captain’s chair of the Starship Enterprise. The film quickly became a critical and commercial smash hit worldwide, as audiences – confirmed Trekkers and newcomers alike – thrilled to a state-of-the-art action epic which both respected the legacy of Gene Roddenberry’s archetypal modern myth and forged ahead into an exciting future of its own. Star Trek: The Art of the Film is a lavishly illustrated celebration of that new vision, tracing the evolution of the movie’s look through a stunning array of previously unseen pre-production paintings, concept sketches, costume and set designs, unit photography and final frames. Written by New York Times-bestselling author Mark Cotta Vaz in close co-operation with the film’s production team, and including a Foreword by J.J. Abrams, this is the essential companion to the film.

Thursday, May 7, 2026

Bonnie Friedman, on writing:

 

Writing teaches writing.
Your writing will teach you how to write if you work hard enough and have enough faith.
- Bonnie Friedman.


Recommended reading - Master Shots


Master Shots
Volume 2
100 Ways to Shoot Great Dialogue Scenes


by Christopher Kenworthy.

Published by Michael Wiese Productions.
Published 2011.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1615930558
ISBN-13: 978-1615930555
 
Description:
Dialogue scenes are the most important moments in your film, but most directors get them wrong. If you block your scenes well, you do more than capture the basic scene; you echo the meaning, emotion, and drama of every moment. That is never more important than with dialogue. Whatever your budget, there is an exciting way to capture dialogue. It is a tragedy that so many directors are happy to open a scene with a moving master shot, and then just settle into dull coverage for the dialogue. You can do better than that and Master Shots Vol 2 gives you 100 ways to shoot dynamic dialogue.

Born on this day – Robert Browning:

 

Robert Browning


Writer

May 7, 1812 – December 12, 1889

Credits:

A Death in the Desert; A Grammarian's Funeral; A Toccata of Galuppi's; Abt Vogler; An Epistle Containing the Strange Medical Experience of Karshish, the Arab Physician; Andrea Del Sarto; Aristophanes' Apology (1875); Asolando: Prologue / Summum Bonum / Bad Dreams III / Flute-Music, with an Accompaniment / Epilogue (1889); Balaustion's Adventure (1871); Bells and Pomegranates (1841–46); Bells and Pomegranates No. I: Pippa Passes (play) (1841); Bells and Pomegranates No. II: King Victor and King Charles (play) (1842); Bells and Pomegranates No. III: Dramatic Lyrics (1842); Bells and Pomegranates No. IV: The Return of the Druses (play) (1843); Bells and Pomegranates No. V: A Blot in the 'Scutcheon (play) (1843); Bells and Pomegranates No. VI: Colombe's Birthday (play) (1844); Bells and Pomegranates No. VII: Dramatic Romances and Lyrics (1845); Bells and Pomegranates No. VIII: Luria and A Soul's Tragedy (plays) (1846); Bishop Blougram's Apology; By the Fire-side; Caliban upon Setebos; Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came; Christmas-Eve and Easter-Day (1850); Cleon; Count Gismond; Dramatic Idyls (1879); Dramatic Idyls: Second Series (1880); Dramatis Personae (1864); Evelyn Hope; Ferishtah's Fancies (1884); Fifine at the Fair (1872); Fra Lippo Lippi; Home Thoughts from Abroad; How It Strikes a Contemporary; How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix; Jocoseria (1883); Johannes Agricola in Meditation; La Saisiaz and The Two Poets of Croisic (1878); Love Among the Ruins; Master Hugues of Saxe-Gotha; Meeting at Night; Memorabilia; Men and Women (1855); Mr. Sludge, "The Medium"; My Last Duchess; My Star; Numpholeptos; Pacchiarotto, and How He Worked in Distemper (1876); Pan and Luna; Paracelsus (1835); Parleyings with Certain People of Importance in Their Day (1887); Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession (1833); Porphyria's Lover; Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau, Saviour of Society (1871); Prospice; Rabbi Ben Ezra; Red Cotton Night-Cap Country, or, Turf and Towers (1873); Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister; Sordello (1840); Strafford (play) (1837); Thamuris Marching; The Agamemnon of Aeschylus (1877); The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church; The Inn Album (1875); The Laboratory; The Last Ride Together (1855); The Lost Leader; The Patriot; The Pied Piper of Hamelin; The Ring and the Book (1868–69); The Statue and the Bust; The Year's at the Spring.

Movies and television:

A Blot on the 'Scutcheon (1912); A Light Woman (1920); About Religion (1964); Abra Cadabra (1983); As Husbands Go (1934); Child of M'sieu (1919); Classic Tales (2008); Directions (1965); Faerie Tale Theatre (1985); Fluteman (1982); It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown (2000); James Lee's Wife (1913); Kummatty (1979); Kunt u mij de weg naar Hamelen vertellen, mijnheer? (1972–1976); Magic Hands (2016); My Last Duchess (2020); Pied Piper of Hamelin (1903); Pied Piper of Hamelin (2015); Pippa Passes; or, the Song of Conscience (1909); The Flight of the Duchess (1916); The Light Woman (1913); The Pied Piper (1907); The Pied Piper (1933); The Pied Piper (1972); The Pied Piper (1986); The Pied Piper by Adrian Mitchell (1986); The Pied Piper of Guadalupe (1961); The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1911); The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1913); The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1918); The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1926); The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957); The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1981); The Pied Piper of Hamlin (1992); The Reluctant Dragon (1987); The Ring and the Book (1914); The Sweet Hereafter (1997); Women and Roses (1914).

Born on this day – Johannes Brahms:

 

Johannes Brahms


Composer

May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897