A
diary or journal is a record of one’s own experiences, travels, and
adventures. Such chronicles are usually
arranged by date, and personal in manner of expression.
In
cult-television history, the diary has appeared frequently as a mode of guiding
viewers through the complexities of a story.
The
most famous “diary” is likely Captain Kirk’s spoken diary or Captain’s Log in Star
Trek (1966 – 1969), which relates in detail the voyages of the starship
Enterprise. The device of a voice-over
captain’s diary was later repeated in all ensuing franchise series, from The
Next Generation (1987 – 1994) and Deep Space Nine (1993 – 1999) up
through Voyager (1995 – 2001) and Enterprise (2001 – 2005).
Later,
Glen Larson’s Battlestar Galactica (1978 – 1979) featured a variation of the
Captain’s Log, with Commander Adama (Lorne Grenee) recording his own journal via a microphone, a journal which the viewer
would then see the computer transcribing into written format. The same device was utilized in Galactica:
1980.
In
the far-flung universe of Farscape (1999 – 2004) there is no
captain to speak of aboard the living ship Moya in the Uncharted Territories,
but human John Crichton (Ben Browder) frequently records his thoughts and
experiences for benefit of his father, back on Earth, with whom he hopes to be
reunited one day.
Sometimes
diaries are used in sci-fi TV for other purposes beyond recording the lead
character’s adventures.
In
the Land
of the Lost (1974 – 1977) episode “Follow that Dinosaur,” the Marshalls
discover the lost diary of a Revolutionary War soldier who once became lost in
Altrusia. The family follows his
footsteps and journal entries in hopes of finding a way out of the deadly land. In an unexpectedly grim resolution, the
Marshalls find the last pages of the diary along with the soldier’s corpse in a
small Sleestak cave.
In
Twin
Peaks (1990 – 1991), the Diary of Laura Palmer plays a crucial role in
resolving the series’ central mystery: her brutal murder. Through the (sensational…) details of the
diary, we learn of Laura’s behavior, lovers, friends, and even enemies. And all these entries provide crucial leads
as Agent Cooper probes into a world of secrets and lies.
As
its title suggests, The Vampire Diaries (2009 - ) involves a diary of a sort, and
in some episodes of the CW series, we are privy to Stefan Salvatore’s (Paul
Wesley) journal of his century-plus as a creature of the night.
In
Buffy
the Vampire Slayer (1997 – 2003), Dawn kept a diary in Season Five,
when nobody knew who she was, precisely, or how she had (mystically) joined the
Summers family.
And
in Veronica
Mars (2004 – 2007), Meg Manning’s (Alona Tol) diary proved a critical
plot point in several second season episodes.
The
series Grimm (2011 - ) involves a detective, Nick (David Giuntoli)
who must frequently consult his ancestors’ journals to fight the monster of the
week, known as “Wessen.”
Finally,
in the new Doctor Who (2005 - ), the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant)
willingly became an amnesiac human
school professor in “Human Nature’ to avoid aliens who were hunting him. Without his Time Lord memories intact, the
Doctor often wrote fanciful tales of his “other life” in a Journal of
Impossible Things. Later -- in the 21st
century -- his journal was published.
It is amazing how science-fiction becomes science fact. When Commander Adama (Lorne Grenee) recording his own journal via a microphone was fantasy in 1978-1980, but now there is software that allows us all to do that. Star Trek 1966-1969 communicators are today's cell phones. Star Trek 1966-1969 computer disks[colored squares] became the one used in the '90s.
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