Who revival kicks BBC into Hyperdrive
While the much-talked-about Red Dwarf movie continues to languish in the realm of big-screen vaporware, the BBC lines up its successor. According to a report in the London Times, the new Doctor Who series has put science fiction back on the British broadcasting map, with the BBC’s rivals at ITV preparing a series called Primeval with a multi-million-pound budget and CGI dinosaur effects. In the meantime, the BBC announces a new science fiction comedy for BBC2 called Hyperdrive, which is said to “consciously echo” Red Dwarf, which remains the highest-rated sitcom in BBC2′s history.
Frank Kelly Freas, SF/fantasy artist, dies
Renowned SF artist (and 11-time Hugo winner) Frank Kelly Freas dies at the age of 82. Perhaps best known to the general public for his painted cover art that adorned Mad Magazine from 1955 through 1962, “Kelly” Freas painted the cover art for such pulp SF magazines as Planet Stories, Science Fiction Quarterly, Weird Tales and especially Analog, to which he contributed cover art many times over five decades. He painted book covers for the works of Arthur C. Clarke, Joe Haldeman, A.E. Van Vogt, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Frederik Pohl, Poul Anderson and Ursula Le Guin, among others. He was commissioned by the crew of the first Skylab mission to design their mission patch, and painted the cover of the hit album News Of The World for the rock group Queen.
Deadly Games: The Trash Man
The 11th episode of science fiction series Deadly Games is broadcast on UPN, starring James Calvert, Cynthia Gibb, and Chrstopher Lloyd (Taxi, Back To The Future); Leonard Nimoy serves as the series’ executive producer. Mike Starr guest stars.
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Star Trek: DS9: Past Tense, Part I
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 56th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine now streaming on Paramount Plus
Lois & Clark: All Shook Up
The 12th episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman airs on ABC, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. Tracy Scoggins, John Shea, and Richard Belzer guest star.
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Godley & Creme: The History Mix, Volume I
Polygram Records releases the album The History Mix, Volume I by former 10cc members Godley & Creme. Accompanied by a video that anticipates the “morphing” digital effects of the 1990s, the album’s single is “Cry”, though most of the album heavily remixes of the duo’s past work with 10cc.
Coleco shuts down video game division
Coleco Industries formally announces the complete discontinuation of its Adam computer and the Colecovision home video game console, after revealing a $55,000,000 loss for 1984, a loss incurred largely by the market failure of Adam; only the hugely popular Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, another Coleco product, keep the company from losing any more money. Coleco’s remaining game and computer stock is sold to closeout retail chain Odd Lot, and the video game market crash claims another victim.
Slot Machine
Atari releases the Slot Machine cartridge for the Atari VCS, designed and programmed by future Pitfall! programmer David Crane.
Blake’s 7 premieres
Terry Nation, the television writer who created Doctor Who’s greatest foes, the Daleks, graces the world with another science fiction creation on the BBC, Blake’s 7. Set centuries in the future, the show depicts a government so corrupt that the audience is left with a band of terrorists, guerilla fighters and deeply flawed human beings with whom to sympathize (and luckily, they have the cathedralesque Liberator, the fastest ship in the galaxy, on their side too). The show’s only drawback? Delivering post-Star Wars sci-fi action on the budget it inherited from the cop show that previously held that Monday night timeslot.
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Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast
Atari releases The Next Step Beyond: Tsunami
The week-long syndication window opens for the first episode of The Next Step Beyond, a revival of the 1950s/60s supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond. John Newland resumes his hosting and directing duties from the original series; Laraine Stephens (Matt Helm) guest stars. Though syndicated genre programming will become commonplace in the late 1980s, this is a rare example of a genre show produced for first-run syndication in the late 1970s.
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Logan’s Run: Futurepast
CBS airs the tenth episode of the TV adaptation of Logan’s Run. Mariette Hartley guest stars.
Six Million Dollar Man: The Ultimate Imposter
The 69th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Stephen Macht, Pamela Hensley (Buck Rogers In The 25th Century), and Kim Basinger (Batman) guest star.
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Doctor Who: Terror Of The Autons, Part 1
The 279th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Katy Manning makes her first appearance as the Doctor’s new companion, Jo Grant. Richard Franklin joins the cast as new UNIT regular Captain Mike Yates, and the Master makes his first appearance in the series, as played by Roger Delgado. Michael Wisher guest stars.
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The Invaders: The Possessed
The 34th episode of Larry Cohen’s science fiction series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes and produced by Quinn Martin’s QM Productions, is broadcast on ABC. William Smithers guest stars.
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Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea: Killers Of The Deep
The 47th episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Michael Ansara guest stars.
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The Outer Limits: The Brain Of Colonel Barham
ABC airs the 47th episode of Leslie Stevens’ anthology series The Outer Limits. Grant Williams, Elizabeth Perry, and Anthony Eisley star.
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The Outer Limits now streaming on Amazon Prime
Doctor Who: The Powerful Enemy
The 52nd episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part one of the story now collectively known as The Rescue, and introduces the first new companion to join the TARDIS, Vicki.
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Luna 1
With the international race for space technology supremacy heats up, the Soviet Union scores a first: the unmanned Luna 1 is the first human-made object to completely escape Earth’s gravity. Luna 1 is meant to impact the mon, but the nearly-800-pound space probe barely comes within 4,000 miles of the lunar surface. Luna 1 later becomes the first artificial object to orbit the sun, after running out of power at a point in deep space between the orbits of Earth and Mars. The state-run Soviet press agency gives Luna 1 a new name, Mechta, and tries to declare the wayward moonship a “new planet.”
Adventures Of Superman: The Clown Who Cried
The 42nd episode of The Adventures Of Superman airs in syndication, starring George Reeves, Noel Neill, and Jack Larson. Billy Wayne guest stars.
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Adventures of Superman now streaming on Amazon Prime
Tales Of Tomorrow: The Mask Of Medusa
The 63rd episode of the science fiction anthology series Tales Of Tomorrow airs on ABC. Much of the second season is missing, including this episode, which starred Raymond Burr.
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Adventures Of Superman: Mystery In Wax
The 16th episode of The Adventures Of Superman airs in syndication, starring George Reeves, Phyllis Coates, and Jack Larson.
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Adventures of Superman now streaming on Amazon Prime