What If…?: What If…Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead Of His Hands?
Disney+ streams the fourth episode of the Marvel animated series What If…?, featuring the voices of Jeffrey Wright (Westworld), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), and Rachel McAdams (Doctor Strange).
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Radiation Belt Storm Probes find new belt
The Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission launched by NASA begins activating sensors just a few days after liftoff, weeks ahead of schedule, just in time to reveal a finding that forces a rethink of over half a century of widely-accepted science. The probes find that, in response to the recent eruption of a solar prominence, the two Van Allen radiation belts discovered in 1958 by Explorer 1 have expanded to include a third belt, which traps and repels additional solar radiation back into space. The third radiation belt dissipates after four weeks, and scientists begin rethinking their theories on Earth’s magnetosphere.
Doctor Who: Asylum Of The Daleks
The 787th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 89th episode since the series’ revival). Asylum Of The Daleks opens the seventh season of the revived show, and features a surprising first appearance by new series regular Jenna-Louise Coleman, whose new companion character was originally announced as debuting in the 2012 Christmas special. (The most surprising thing about this is that preview audiences keep this secret from the entire internet for several weeks.)
Doctor Who: Devils’ Planets soundtrack
Celebrating 40 years of Doctor Who, Doctor Who: Devils’ Planets – The Music Of Tristram Cary is released, including the complete underscores from The Daleks (1963/64), The Daleks’ Masterplan (1965/66) and The Mutants (1972); the marks the release of the earliest episodes of Doctor Who for which the complete music score still exists. The album quickly sells out and becomes a coveted collectors’ item; this is also the final Doctor Who archive music release from the BBC’s in-house label, and the last Doctor Who television soundtrack music to be released prior to the new series soundtracks.
Stargate SG-1: Beneath the Surface
Pay cable channel Showtime airs the 75th episode of Stargate SG-1. Kim Hawthorne (Jeremiah) guest stars.
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Stargate SG-1 now streaming on Amazon Prime
Crusade: Each Night I Dream Of Home
TNT airs the 13th and final episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s short-lived Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade. Richard Biggs reprises his Babylon 5 role as Dr. Stephen Franklin.
Seven Days soundtrack
GNP Crescendo releases a CD of Scott Gilman’s music from the soundtrack of the UPN science fiction series Seven Days.
Honor Harrington: Flag In Exile
Baen Books publishes the fifth novel in the Honor Harrington series, “Flag In Exile” by David Weber.
Doctor Who: Destiny Of The Daleks, Pt. 1
The 506th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. The Daleks return for the first time in four years, along with Davros; Lalla Ward takes over the role of Romana, while David Brierly takes over as the voice of K-9. The 17th season of Doctor Who begins with this episode.
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Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store
Pioneer 11: first visitor to Saturn
The unmanned space probe Pioneer 11 makes its closest approach to the planet Saturn, the first man-made object to visit the ringed planet. Scientists pay careful attention to Pioneer’s transmissions as it passes between Saturn’s clouds and its rings, watching for signs of damage (or worse) resulting from collision with the tiny particles that are predicted to exist there; Pioneer 11 slides past Saturn at a distance of only 12,800 miles from the planet’s cloudtops. This is Pioneer 11’s last planetary stop.
Star Maidens: Escape To Paradise
The first episode of the British-German science fiction series Star Maidens premieres on ITV in the UK. The show stars Gareth Thomas and Judy Geeson, and involves male slaves who escape from the female-dominated society of planet Medusa to take shelter on Earth.
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Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast
Ace Of Wands: Nightmare Gas, Part 1
ITV airs the 20th episode of Ace Of Wands, starring Michael McKenzie, Tony Selby and Judy Loe. This episode, like the rest of the series’ first two seasons, is now missing from the archives.
Adam Adamant Lives!: The Doomsday Plan
The tenth episode of the spy-fi series Adam Adamant Lives! airs on BBC1, starring Gerald Harper and Juliet Harmer.
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The day video games were born
In a hand-written design document, Ralph Baer, an engineer working for defense contractor Sanders Associates, sketches out his ideas for a device he calls a TV Gaming Display. The design proposal lays out a concept to take television from being a passive form of entertainment to an interactive one in which two players can manipulate simple on-screen displays to play various games. Management at Sanders recognizes the potential of the invention, and Baer proceeds with development of the first video game prototypes, one of which becomes the basis for the first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, six years later.
Out Of This World: The Dark Star
British broadcaster ABC airs the tenth episode of science fiction anthology series Out Of This World. Adapted by Denis Butler from Frank Crisp’s novel Ape Of London, the story is introduced by Boris Karloff. This episode no longer exists in the archives.
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The Severe Local Storms Warning Service
Formerly the Weather Bureau-Army-Navy Severe Weather Unit, the recently-renamed Severe Local Storms Warning Service (SELS) relocates from Washington D.C. to Kansas City, Missouri. The new location puts the SELS closer to the American midwest, a hotbed of severe weather during the spring months, as well as placing it in close proximity to a major telecommunications hub (at this point, the SELS is reliant almost entirely on teletype transmissions). Additionally, precise definitions of what constitutes a severe thunderstorm (winds in excess of 50mph, wind gusts in excess of 75mph, and hail in excess of an inch in diameter) are established, as well as a concerted effort to target its weather bulletins to more precise geographic regions.