Herbert J. Wright Movies

Riker, Troi, Data, and O'Brien investigate a curious distress signal from a supposedly deserted moon. Upon arrival, all but Riker are overtaken by a strange energy force. Returning to the Enterprise, Troi and Data suddenly stage a mutiny, leaving Riker and Picard to sort out the bizarre goings-on, and to fend off an uncharacteristically violent O'Brien. First telecast on February 29, 1992, "Power Play" was scripted by Rene Balcer, Herbert J. Wright, and Brannon Braga from a story by Paul Ruben and Maurice Hurley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season One of the lavishly produced sci-fi series War of the Worlds begins with a two-hour pilot episode, establishing the fact that the Earth had first been visited by aliens from the planet Mortax in 1938, and that the two planets waged a violent war in 1953, with the Earth emerging triumphant and the Mortaxian "casualties" entombed in steel drums and buried in various nuclear testing sites throughout the world. And why wasn't this common knowledge to the public. Well, thanks to mass hypnosis, Mankind had been convinced that the 1938 visitation was merely a radio hoax perpetrated by a young actor named Orson Welles, and the 1953 war--which ended with the aliens being killed off by bacteria--was nothing more than a Hollywood movie produced by George Pal! Unfortunately, the Mortaxians are not dead, only hibernating, and after awakening they escape to an abandoned nuclear site in Nevada, there to receive orders from their leaders, the Advocates (played this season by such actors as Richard Comar, David Calderisi, Isle Von Glatz and Michael Rudder). Those orders are simple and two the point: Proceed with the original mission to conquer the earth! Simplifying this task is the fact that the aliens can absorb the bodies of human beings and assume their identities, thereby moving about without detection--at least until the high radiation level in their systems cause them to literally melt into nothingness. Alone among his colleagues, Dr. Harrison Blackwood (Jared Martin) suspects that the "myth" of the Mortaxians is a reality, and he tries vainly to alert the world that the aliens are alive, well, and dangerously close to taking over. Expressing high skepticism over Blackwood's theories are his astrophysicist colleague Suzanne McCullough (Lynda Mason Green), a divorcee with a young daughter named Debi (Rachel Blanchard). Similarly, martinet Native American military officer Col. Paul Ironhorse (Richard Chaves) finds Blackwood's notions hard to swallow. Only when paraplegic computer whiz Norton Drake (Philip Akin), who manages to get about with the help of his computer-activated wheelchair, "Gertrude", punches up evidence that the aliens are burrowing their way towards their old warships, still held in storage, do Suzanne and Ironhorse begin to come over to Blackwood's side--and then, it still takes several violent "close encounters" to win the hearts and minds of the disbelievers. The rest of the season's 22 episodes finds Blackwood and his team coordinating their counterattack against the Mortaxians from their hidden headquarters, The Cottage. Along the way, Blackwood wins several more converts to his cause, and also crosses paths with other aliens who have either cast their lot with Mortaxians or who side with the humans. And throughout it all, it is very, very difficult to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys--even for the viewers at home! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ferengi captain Bok (Frank Corsentino), the present owner of the former Starfleet vessel Stargazer, unexpectedly returns the ship to its previous commander, Captain Picard. Unfortunately, the Ferengi have made a few "improvements" in the Stargazer's hardware, notably an insidious mind-alterating device. Under the spell of this apparatus, Picard is forced to relive the battle in which Bok's son was killed, a tragedy for which the vengeful Bok holds the Enterprise captain entirely responsible. First telecast November 21, 1987, "The Battle" was scripted by Herbert J. Wright from a story by Larry Forrester. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) is convinced that Otto Minski (Anthony James), a man he arrested several years before, is responsible for blowing up the angel statue on the grave of a woman whom Rick has once planned to marry. Trouble is, Minski is a past master at slipping through the fingers of the law and cooking up convenient alibis. Now Hunter must literally race against the clock to prevent the demented Minski from planting time bombs all over town! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The two-part TV movie Through the Magic Pyramid stars Chris Barnes as a contemporary youngster who is whisked back to the days of King Tut. Neither the Egyptian ruler nor his minions are any match for the Yankee resourcefulness of Master Barnes, as he wriggles in and out of various misadventures. Among the people who cross Chris' path in Days Gone By are Hans Conried, Vic Tayback, Gino Conforti, and (as Nefertiti) Elaine Giftos. Ron Howard executive-produced and directed, while Ron's dad Rance Howard coproduced and wrote the script. Through the Magic Pyramid was originally offered in two one-hour helpings, which first aired December 6 and 13, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi