Torchwood: The Categories Of Life
American pay cable channel Starz premieres the 36th episode of Russell T. Davies’ science fiction series Torchwood, with a season subtitle of Miracle Day. Bill Pullman (Independence Day) and Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) guest star.
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Torchwood now streaming on HBO Max
Juno to Jupiter!
NASA launches the unmanned Juno space probe on its way to Jupiter, on a trajectory that will accelerate the vehicle through a series of maneuvers, including a gravity assist pass of Earth, en route to Jupiter. Once it arrives at the solar system’s largest planet, Juno will enter a polar orbit to monitor the planet’s clouds and magnetic field over a period of one year beginning in 2016. Juno is solar-powered, without the customary nuclear power source that has been a feature of all previous outer solar system missions. Since it will spend time within the heaviest area of Jupiter’s magnetosphere, Juno’s components are built into a hexagonal structure which acts as a heavy-duty Faraday cage to block out the radiation trapped within Jupiter’s magnetic field.
Eureka: What About Bob?
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 27th episode of the science fiction series Eureka, starring Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson, and Joe Morton. Niall Matter (Primeval: New World) guest stars.
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Eureka now streaming on Amazon Prime
Battlestar Galactica: Resistance
Sci-Fi channel airs the 17th episode of Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Kate Vernon and Richard Hatch guest star.
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Battlestar Galactica now streaming on Amazon Prime
Witchblade: Veritas
The 20th episode of Witchblade airs on cable channel TNT, based on the Top Cow comic book of the same name, starring Yancy Butler, David Chokachi and John Hensley. Victor Slezak (Blue Bloods, Treme, Hell On Wheels) guest stars.
Soyuz TM-26
Russia launches Soyuz TM-26 on a mission to the Mir space station, which suffered numerous major malfunctions and damage during its previous crew’s stay. Aboard the Soyuz are specially selected cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyev and Pavel Vinogradov, who have trained on the ground to inspect and repair the damage to the station, though they are unable to find the hull damage to the now-abandoned Spektr module which threatened to cause total decompression of the station. They do manage to restore most of Mir’s solar power generating capability during their 197-day stay, returning to Earth in February 1998 with French spationaut Léopold Eyharts.
The Max Headroom Show: Episode 8
The eighth episode of The Max Headroom Show airs, starring Matt Frewer. (This is the music video/talk show series, not the American-made drama series featuring the same character.) Vidal Sassoon guest stars.
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Max Headroom now streaming on Amazon Prime
Ace Of Wands: One And One And One Are Four, Part 2
ITV airs the second episode of Ace Of Wands, starring Michael McKenzie, Tony Selby and Judy Loe. David Prowse (Star Wars) guest stars. This episode, like the rest of the series’ first two seasons, is now missing from the archives.
Mariner 7 at Mars
The unmanned NASA/JPL space probe Mariner 7 makes its closest flyby of planet Mars, coming as close as just over 2100 miles from the Martian surface. Having recently suffered an inexplicable but temporary loss of communications with Earth (later determined to be caused by a leaky on-board battery), Mariner 7’s flight plan is reprogrammed just days out from Mars based on some of the more interesting findings of its sister ship, Mariner 6. The success of the tandem flight to Mars convinces NASA to adopt a similar mission profile for the upcoming Mars ’71 missions, which will send two Mariner orbiters to take up permanent positions around Mars.
Iron Butterfly: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Iron Butterfly‘s psychedelic rock album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is released; a much-shortened version of the 17-minute (!!) song of the same name becomes a radio hit and a prime specimen of the genre.
The Emergency Broadcast System
Radio and television stations across the United States begin mandatory participation in the national Emergency Broadcast System, a nationwide civil defense alert network replacing the CONELRAD system of the 1950s. Much like CONELRAD, EBS tests and activations initially require the rapid shutdown and reactivation of transmitters, at least until that practice is abolished in favor of a two-tone warning sound in the 1970s. Though the switch from CONELRAD to EBS is sparked by the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the EBS will later become more closely associated with severe weather warnings.
The Avengers: Tunnel Of Fear
The 20th episode of Sydney Newman’s spy series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee, airs on UK broadcaster ABC. This is one of only three first season episodes that still exists in its entirety.
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The Avengers now streaming on Amazon Prime