Day: January 26, 1981

Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Episode 4

Hitchhiker's Guide To The GalaxyThe fourth episode of the TV adaptation of Douglas Adams’ science fiction comedy The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy airs on BBC2; Valentine Dyall provides the voice of Deep Thought.

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Wonder Woman: Spaced Out

Wonder WomanThe 49th episode of Wonder Woman airs on CBS, starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. Rene Auberjonois (Benson, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest stars.

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“A threat of disaster” in Antarctica

AntarcticaBritish glaciologist John H. Mercer publishes a report in Nature postulating that continued growth of fossil fuel use could lead to a runaway carbon dioxide greenhouse effect in Earth’s atmosphere, with the glaciers of western Antarctica particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures of both air and water. The glacial melting, Mercer says, could be rapid and catastrophic, leading to as much as a five-meter rise of global sea levels by 2028, putting “low-lying areas such as much of Florida and the Netherlands” underwater. Though initially treated as a “worst case scenario”, Mercer’s theory will gain traction as global ocean temperatures rise (and as glacial melting picks up speed in Antarctica) in the early 21st century, ultimately becoming the predominant theoretical timeline for sea level rise and gaining an informal name: the “John Mercer effect”.

International Ultraviolet Explorer

International Ultraviolet ExplorerA joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency, the International Ultraviolet Explorer is launched atop a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral. The precursor of later space-based telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope, IUE produces no photographic images, instead concentrating on detecting ultraviolet emissions from distant objects. IUE adds significantly to the growing body of space science, and is the first satellite to give astronomers the chance to immediately aim its detectors at targets that yield unexpected results, allowing it to respond swiftly to such rapidly developing phenomena as Supernova 1987A. Designed to stay operational for three years, IUE will remain online for almost two decades.

The Bionic Woman: Doomsday Is Tomorrow Part 2

The Bionic WomanThe 28th episode of The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson, airs on ABC. Lew Ayres (Donovan’s Brain, Battle For The Planet Of The Apes) guest stars.

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Invisible Man: An Attempt To Save Face

The Invisible ManNBC airs the 12th and final episode of The Invisible Man, starring David McCallum, Melinda Fee, and Craig Stevens. Following the show’s cancellation, producer Harve Bennett will retool the series’ concept and reintroduce it, with a different cast, as Gemini Man a few months later.

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Six Million Dollar Man: Return Of The Robot Maker

Six Million Dollar ManThe 28th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson.

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Circle Of Fear: Doorway To Death

Ghost Story / Circle Of FearNBC airs the 18th episode of the supernatural anthology series Circle Of Fear (previously known as Ghost Story). Barry Nelson and Susan Dey star.

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Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: Episode 24

Night GalleryNBC airs the 24rd episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, an anthology series of original short plays and short story adaptations hosted by Serling himself. Bill Bixby (The Magician, The Incredible Hulk), Steve Forrest, Carol Lynley, and Albert Salmi guest star.

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Land Of The Giants: On A Clear Night You Can See Earth

Land Of The GiantsABC airs the 16th episode of Irwin Allen’s sci-fi series Land Of The Giants, starring Gary Conway, Don Matheson, Deanna Lund, and Don Marshall. Michael Ansara guest stars.

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ESSA-4

ESSAThe recently-rechristened Environmental Sciences Service Administration launches, with the help of NASA, ESSA-4, the latest in a constellation of weather satellites operated by the former U.S. Weather Bureau. One of ESSA-4’s cameras fails to activate, and the satellite remains in service for less than one year.

Star Trek: Tomorrow Is Yesterday

Star TrekThe 19th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek airs on NBC. This is the first episode to introduce the concept of time travel via a slingshot maneuver around the sun to the Star Trek mythos (it will later be a vital plot point in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home).

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Batman: The Joker Is Wild

BatmanThe fifth episode of Batman airs on ABC. Cesar Romero guest stars as the Joker. (This is part one of a two-part story; each week’s story unfolds in two half-hour episodes on Monday and Tuesday.)

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Lost In Space: The Sky Pirate

Lost In SpaceThe 18th episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris. Albert Salmi (Petrocelli) guest stars.

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The Avengers: Warlock

The AvengersBritish broadcaster ABC airs the 44th episode of Sydney Newman’s spy series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman.

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Ranger 3

RangerNASA launches the Ranger 3 lunar probe, built by Jet Propulsion Laboratory and intended to go directly to the moon, transmitting pictures of the surface back to Earth until it impacts the lunar surface. This modified Ranger spacecraft design also includes a balsa wood sphere, containing seismic detection experiments, which is intended to be blasted free of the main spacecraft and impact the moon separately. A problem with the Agena second stage booster puts Ranger 3 on the wrong heading with too much acceleration, missing the moon by 22,000 miles. With three straight failures to send a costly probe to the moon, NASA’s future and the future of its lunar exploration program is now under government review.

The Twilight Zone: The Hunt

The Twilight ZoneThe 84th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Arthur Hunnicutt and Jeanette Nolan star.

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One Step Beyond: Call From Tomorrow

One Step BeyondABC airs the 41st episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Margaret Phillips guest stars.

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Science Fiction Theatre: The Magic Suitcase

Science Fiction TheatreThe 75th episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Charles Winninger and James Seay.

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