Kenny Baker, actor, dies
British actor Kenny Baker, whose long career as a circus performer and comedian took a sharp right turn when he first stepped into the “costume” of R2-D2 in 1977’s Star Wars, dies at the age of 81 due to complications from a respiratory ailment he had suffered for several years. Even though the continuing march of technology meant that Artoo was increasingly played on screen by real remote-control robots, Baker did at least some work inside the droid costume in all seven Star Wars movies that had been released at the time of his death, one of a very few performers to span all three trilogies. He had also appeared in Time Bandits, Flash Gordon, and The Elephant Man, among other TV and film appearances.
Eureka: Monstrosity
Syfy airs the 49th episode of the science fiction series Eureka, starring Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and Joe Morton. James Callis (Battlestar Galactica) and Tembi Locke (Sliders) guest star.
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Eureka now streaming on Amazon Prime
Sci-Fi Channel airs Farscape: Durka Returns
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 15th episode of Farscape. This episode introduces Gigi Edgley as Chiana, though she won’t become a series regular until the second season.
More about Farscape in the LogBook and theLogBook.com Store
Farscape now streaming on Amazon Prime
Stargate SG-1: Demons
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres the 51st episode of Stargate SG-1.
More about Stargate SG-1 in the LogBook and theLogBook.com Store
Stargate SG-1 now streaming on Amazon Prime
Sliders: The Return Of Maggie Beckett
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 78th episode of the science fiction series Sliders, starring Cleavant Derricks, Kari Wuhrer, Robert Floyd, and Tembi Locke.
More about Sliders in the LogBook
Sliders now streaming on Amazon Prime
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The Outer Limits: Starcrossed
Showtime airs the 106th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Louis Ferreira (Stargate Universe) and Nathan Fillion (Firefly) guest star.
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Soyuz TM-28
Russia launches Soyuz TM-28 on a mission to the Mir space station, with cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Sergei Avdeyev and Yuri Baturin aboard. Padalka spends 198 days aboard Mir, conducting further repairs to the station damaged by a 1997 collision with a Progress cargo vehicle, while former politician Baturin remains aboard for 11 days before returning to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-27 with Mir’s previous crew. Avdeyev is aboard Mir for the long haul, spending just over a year in space and not returning to Earth until August 1999.
The Outer Limits: Birthright
Premium cable channel Showtime airs the 20th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of Leslie Stevens’ 1960s science fiction anthology series. Perry King (Riptide, NPR’s Star Wars radio adaptation) and Mimi Kuzyk (Hill Street Blues) guest star.
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10cc: Deceptive Bends
Mercury Records releases 10cc‘s fifth album, Deceptive Bends, the first to be recorded after the departure of founding members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The singles “The Things We Do For Love” and “Good Morning Judge” originate from this album.
Science Fiction Theatre: The Lost Heartbeat
The 17th episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Zachary Scott.
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