The Man Who Fell To Earth: As The World Falls Down
Showtime broadcasts the ninth episode of The Man Who Fell To Earth, a series continuation of the 1976 David Bowie film, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris, Bill Nighy, Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Prodigy), and Jimmi Simpson (Westworld).
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could help change that.
Doctor Who: The Big Bang
The 771st episode of Doctor Who (the 73rd since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Alex Kingston guest stars with a Dalek who begs for mercy. This is the end of the revived Doctor Who’s fifth season.
More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store
Witchblade: Diplopia
The third episode of Witchblade airs on cable channel TNT, based on the Top Cow comic book of the same name, starring Yancy Butler and David Chokachi. John Hensley (Nip/Tuck) guest stars.
The Outer Limits: Final Exam
Showtime airs the 77th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Brett Cullen (From The Earth To The Moon, Legacy) and Peter Stebbings (Jeremiah) guest star.
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could help change that.
Stargate SG-1: The Serpent’s Lair
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres the 22nd episode of Stargate SG-1. Peter Williams and Tony Amendola guest star in the second season premiere.
More about Stargate SG-1 in the LogBook and theLogBook.com Store
Stargate SG-1 now streaming on Amazon Prime
Episode I filming begins
George Lucas films the first footage for the hotly-anticipated Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace at England’s Leavesden Film Studios, a facility that Lucasfilm has rented out for the duration of the movie’s expected long production period. By this point, even details of minor cast members have been leaked to the public, possibly making the production of Episode I the beginning of the modern age of internet spoilers. The cast includes Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Nataline Portman and Jake Lloyd, with veteran cast members such as Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Ian McDiarmid reprising their roles from the original trilogy. Cameras are expected to roll through September, with a 1999 release date already set.
Escape From Jupiter: Misfire
The 12th episode of Escape From Jupiter airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Co-produced by ABC and Japanese network NHK, this children’s sci-fi series stars Steve Bisley (Mad Max).
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could help change that.
Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Peking, March 1910
The 20th episode of George Lucas’ historical adventure series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles airs on ABC, starring Corey Carrier. Ping Wu (Seinfeld, Silicon Valley) guest stars.
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could help change that.
The future of Mars exploration
A tech demonstration at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads to a rethink of the upcoming Mars Environmental Survey mission (MESUR). A self-contained “rover” named Rocky IV convinces mission planners to include a similar rover on an upcoming Mars mission; although the rest of MESUR is eventually scrapped due to budget cuts, the one portion of it to be salvaged is the Mars Pathfinder lander, which will deliver the rover (later to be named Sojourner in a nationwide contest) to the Martian surface sometime in the late ’90s.
Star Trek: TNG: The Emissary
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 45th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Suzie Plakson guest stars.
More about Star Trek: The Next Generation in the LogBook and theLogBook.com Store
Star Trek: The Next Generation now streaming on Paramount Plus
US Games closes its doors
A latecomer to the glut of companies trying to provide software for the Atari 2600 video game system, US Games is closed down by its parent companies, Quaker Oats and Fisher-Price. Barely a year old, and with only 14 titles released, US Games is dubbed “an experiment” – but apparently not an experiment capable of surviving in the rapidly contracting video game market.
Basketball
Atari releases the Basketball cartridge for the Atari VCS, one of the earliest home video games to show a vaguely 3-D perspective, and probably the best-known early sports game in the console’s library.
N1 Flight #3
Though the race to the moon has already been lost, the Soviet space program continues to refine its giant N1 rocket, conducting extensive modifications to nearly all of its systems. The third N1 to lift off almost immediately loses directional control, forcing ground controllers to signal it to self-destruct less than a mile off the ground. Its cargo is an unmanned Soyuz/Korabl combo – the Soviet answer to the Apollo command/service module and landing module – though this time there is no launch escape system, so the vehicle is destroyed along with its booster.
Doctor Who: The Planet Of Decision
The 77th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part six of the story now collectively known as The Chase, featuring the Doctor’s third struggle against the Daleks. This is the last episode to feature Ian and Barbara, who return to Earth; stranded space pilot Steven Taylor joins the TARDIS crew.
More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store
Weather radar, pre-Doppler
The U.S. Weather Bureau installs the first WSR-57 weather radar in what in intended to eventually be a network of weather radars spanning the entire country. Derived from World War II radars, the WSR-57 is first installed at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, where it offers as much as two days’ advance notice of storms approaching the Florida coast in the years before weather satellites. This radar remains in service until 1992, when it is literally ripped off the NHC’s roof by the winds of Hurricane Andrew. It is later replaced by a WSR-88 NEXRAD radar, though by that time satellite imagery has become the primary means of remotely detecting major tropical weather events.