D.C. Fontana Movies

The body of a legendary Minbari war hero disappears during a brief stopover on Babylon 5. As the threat of retaliatory action hangs heavily of the space station, Ivanova risks another crisis by sheltering teenage telepathic Alisa Beldon (Grace Una from the Psi Corps. Scripted by D.C. Fontana, "Legacies" was the only first-season Babylon 5 episode not based on a premise by series creator J. Michael Straczynski. The episode first aired on July 20, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jadzia Dax's past catches up with her when she is accused of murders and treasonable acts committed in her prior Trill identity of Curzon Dax. Sisko battles precedent by seeking to prevent Dax's extradition. In the meantime, Kira, Odo, and Dr. Bashir take it upon themselves to mount Dax's defense, something in which Dax herself refuses to participate. Written by Peter Allan Fields and veteran Star Trek hand D.C. Fontana, "Dax" was originally telecast February 13, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It was perhaps inevitable that Klingon Lt. Worf would be forced to choose between his human colleagues and his own species. This occurs when a band of fugitive Klingon warriors, rescued by the Enterprise, announce their plans to reestablish their former warrior glory. To do this, they intend to stage a revolt against the Federation, and they insist that Worf go along with their scheme. First telecast March 26, 1988, "Heart of Glory" was scripted by Maurice Hurley, from a story by Hurley, D.C. Fontana, and Herbert J. Wright. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first two episodes of the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation were originally telecast in tandem as a two-hour "TV movie" on September 30, 1987. After the obligatory introductions of the new crew of the Enterprise, the starship sets sail for the planet Daneb IV, for the purpose of investigating the new Farpoint starbase. Halfway to their destination, the crew is captured by obstreperous alien life form "Q" (John de Lancie) and placed on trial for all the crimes previously committed by the Human Race. One of the stars of the original Star Trek makes a surprise appearance in octogenarian makeup (Hint: He doesn't get to say, "He's dead, Jim"). "Encounter at Farpoint" was cowritten by Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This first-season Next Generation episode finds Captain Picard facing a dilemma previously encountered some nine decades earlier by Captain Kirk and the original Enterprise crew. An insidious mind-altering disease, which prompted the crew of another starship to commit mass suicide, wends its way aboard the Enterprise. Before long, Lt. Geordi LaForge has become infected with the horrible illness. Brooke Bundy guest stars as MacDougal. Written by John D.F. Black and J. Michael Bingham, "The Naked Now" first aired October 10, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Just as he is about to accept a writing assignment in war-torn London, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) proposes to his erstwhile girlfriend Daisy (Deirdre Lenihan). It turns out, however, that Daisy has neglected to tell John-Boy a few things about herself--specifically, that she is the mother of a three-year-old girl. Elsewhere, Grandpa (Will Geer) tries to improve sales of Elizabeth's lemonade by adding a few drops of a special--er--recipe. This episode marks the final appearance of Richard Thomas on The Waltons, though he would later return as John-Boy in a "reunion" special. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In an episode clearly inspired by Serpico, Stone (Karl Malden) is temporarily partnered with flamboyant, iconoclastic undercover narcotics cop Al Wozynsky (Tony Lo Bianco) while his usual partner Keller (Michael Douglas) is recovering from gunshot wounds incurred during a skirmish with drug pushers. Though Wozynsky seems to be getting results with his unorthodox "lone wolf" methods, Stone suspects that there's something not quite right about his new partner--in fact, there's every possibilty that Wozynsky is in the pocket of the drug kingpins. Prolific voiceover actor Vic Perrin (the "control voice" on the original Outer Limits) delivers a compelling cameo as Woyznsky's father in this final episode of Streets of San Francisco's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Diane Baker guest stars as Irene Martin, an attractive--and unattached--homicide inspector. Irene makes quite an impression upon widowed detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden), who eventually falls in love with her. Unfortunately, the wedding plans drawn up by Mike and Irene are compromised when they argue bitterly over their differing perspectives of an ongong homicide case. Featured in the cast is Mark Miller, the father of film star Penelope Ann Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally telecast September 20, 1970, "A Matter of Faith" served to introduce new Bonanza regular Mitch Vogel in the role of Jamie Hunter. The son of an itinerant rainmaker, Jamie is unofficially adopted after his dad's death by Ponderosa hand Dusty Rhodes (Lou Frizzell. Despite the skepticism and outright hostility of the townspeople, Jamie is determined to fulfill his father's promise to bring rain to drought-stricken Virginia City. "A Matter of Faith" was written by Jack B. Sowards, John Hawkins, and former Star Trek scrivener D.C. Fontana. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The starship Enterprise has a rendezvous with the tiny survey ship Antares to pick up a special passenger, Charlie Evans (Robert Walker Jr.). The sole survivor of a spaceship crash on the remote planet Thesus when he was three years old, Charlie spent 14 years alone, learning to talk and how to survive from the crashed ship's computer tapes. The Enterprise is to transport him to his closest living relatives, and he is eager, after so many years alone, to meet more people. Science officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is doubtful of the boy's story, because of the sheer barren nature of Thesus, but Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) is willing to take him at face value, and Captain Kirk (William Shatner) finds the boy looking up to him as a guide into this new world. Charlie is like any healthy 17-year-old in that he wants to be liked, and wants friends and more; he also develops a hopeless crush on Yoeman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney). But Kirk (William Shatner) and company discover that Charlie is unlike any 17-year-old, in that he has somehow developed immense and terrifying mental powers, apparently from his years on Thesus, enabling him to transform matter at will, and that he has an easily roused temper and an easily pricked ego that can bring those powers to bear in an instant, destroying the Antares as her captain was trying to warn Kirk about his passenger and making people who displease him disappear, or transforming them, sometimes horribly, as when he closes up the eyes and mouths of a group of laughing crew members. Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy try to defeat him by overtaxing his powers once he takes control of the ship, but it is only when a ship carrying actual Thesians -- a race supposedly only existing in legend -- makes rendezvous with the Enterprise that Charlie's power is broken and his crew restored whole. But now Kirk must face a terrible choice about what to do with Charlie: risk the safety of others or send him away with the immaterial, wraith-like Thesians, consigned to a life of perpetual loneliness and solitude forever. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide