The Mandalorian: Chapter 16
Streaming service Disney+ releases the the 16th episode of Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, starring Pedro Pascal. Temuera Morrison, Katee Sackhoff, Mark Hamill, and Giancarlo Esposito guest star in the second season finale, which also sets up a spinoff for Morrison’s Boba Fett character.
The Mandalorian: Chapter 7
Streaming service Disney+ premieres the the seventh episode of Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, the first live-action TV series set in the Star Wars universe, starring Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers (Rocky, In The Heat Of The Night), and Gina Carrano. Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), and Werner Herzog guest star.
The Force Awakens loudly
Disney Music releases John Williams’ soundtrack from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, breaking with tradition by not making the soundtrack available until after the film’s premiere. For the first time in the history of the Star Wars film series, the soundtrack has been recorded with Los Angeles studio musicians rather than the London Symphony Orchestra (partly to accommodate composer Williams, now in his ’80s).
Black Mirror: The Entire History Of You
The third episode of Charlie Brooker’s anthology series Black Mirror premieres on the U.K.’s Channel 4. Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who) guest stars in the first season’s finale.
Dollhouse: Stop-Loss / The Attic
The 21st and 22nd episodes of Joss Whedon’s futuristic “spy-fi” series Dollhouse air on Fox, starring Eliza Dushku. As the series has now been cancelled, Fox is “burning off” episodes at a rate of two per week.
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Dollhouse now streaming on Amazon Prime
The Birds Of Prey: Nature Of The Beast
The ninth episode of the superhero series Birds Of Prey, based on characters from the DC Comics universe, airs on the WB. Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files) guest stars in an episode written by Melissa Rosenberg, future creator and showrunner of Netflix’s Jessica Jones series.
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The Outer Limits: In Our Own Image
Showtime airs the 87th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Nana Visitor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Nicholas Lea (The X-Files) guest star in the fourth season finale.
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Lexx: Terminal
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the sixth episode of Lexx. This episode sees the exit of Eva Habermann as Zev, as the actress decides against the relentless pace of an ongoing series. The role is recast, with the replacement to be unveiled in the following episode.
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Lexx now streaming on Amazon Prime
Aquila: Comprehension Exercise
The sixth episode of children’s science fiction series Aquila premieres on BBC1, starring Ben Brooks and Craig Vye. The series is adapted by Andrew Norriss from his own novel of the same name.
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Earth 2: The Church Of Morgan
NBC airs the seventh episode of the science fiction series Earth 2, starring Debrah Farentino, Clancy Brown, and Antonio Sabato Jr. Terry O’Quinn (Lost) and Virginia Madsen guest star.
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Alien Nation: The Red Room
Fox Network premieres the 13th episode of Alien Nation. Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) guest stars.
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Alien Nation now streaming on Amazon Prime
Tales Of The Unexpected: Skeleton In The Cupboard
ITV airs the 104th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Charles Dance and Zoë Wanamaker guest star in the ninth season premiere.
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Tales Of The Unexpected now streaming on Amazon Prime
Beauty and the Beast: An Impossible Silence
CBS airs the 11th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest stars.
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Beauty & The Beast now streaming on Paramount Plus
Darkroom: Episode 4
NBC airs the fourth episode of Darkroom, a horror anthology hosted by James Coburn. The series features multiple stories per episode; this installment includes A Quiet Funeral, guest starring Carmen Argenziano (Stargate SG-1), and Make-Up, guest starring Billy Crystal and Brian Dennehy.
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NASA exercises the Uranus Option
NASA receives approval to continue Voyager 2‘s mission to the planets beyond Saturn, provided that Voyager 1’s visit to Saturn and its moons goes satisfactorily. The approval includes an additional $100,000,000 budget increase to keep Voyager’s ground controllers, engineers and staff scientists on JPL’s payroll through the Uranus encounter, which is expected to take place in 1986.
Six Million Dollar Man: The Cheshire Project
The 90th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Suzanne Somers (Three’s Company) guest stars.
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Wonder Woman vs. Gargantua
The fifth episode of Wonder Woman airs on ABC, starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. John Hillerman (Magnum P.I.) and Mickey Morton (The Star Wars Holiday Special) guest star.
Ark II: Orkus
CBS airs the 15th and final episode of Filmation’s live-action Saturday morning science fiction series Ark II. 
Space: 1999: Another Time, Another Place
The 15th episode of Gerry Anderson’s space adventure series Space: 1999, Another Time, Another Place premieres on British broadcaster ITV.
Soyuz 13
Cosmonauts Pyotr Klimuk and Valentin Lebedev lift off aboard Soyuz 13, the second proving flight of the redesigned Soyuz spacecraft. Their eight-day-long stay in Earth orbit is a Soviet space program rarity: a flight devoted solely to scientific observations with no military objectives. Many of the science experiments were originally intended to be conducted on board the Salyut 1 space station. Much like the Skylab 4 crew, which is in orbit at the same time, the Soyuz 13 crew is able to observe Comet Kohoutek.
Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea: The Brand Of The Beast
The 72nd episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Terry Becker guest stars.
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It’s About Time: King Hec
The 15th episode of the time travel sitcom It’s About Time, created by Sherwood Schwarz (I Dream Of Jeannie) and starring Frank Aletter, Jack Mullaney, and Imogene Coca, is broadcast on CBS.
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Epimetheus
Just days after the discovery of a satellite in a near-identical orbit, U.S. Naval Observatory astronomer Richard Walker discovers Epimetheus, another natural satellite of the planet Saturn, again orbiting just beyond the outer edge of Saturn’s ring. Many of Walker’s fellow astronomers believe this is merely a second sighting of Janus, discovered mere days before, but irregularities in the computed orbits vex astronomers well into the 1970s, at which point it is conceded that the observations are best explained by two satellites in a very close orbit to one another. Epimetheus and Janus will next be spotted by Voyager 1 in 1980, conclusively proving the existence of two bodies. Epimetheus’ name won’t be made official until 1983. (Epimetheus is shown here in a 21st century Cassini photo.)
Doctor Who: Coronas Of The Sun
The 96th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part six of the mammoth 12-part story now collectively known as The Daleks’ Master Plan. This episode is missing from the BBC’s archives.
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Pathfinders To Mars: Sabotage In Space
British broadcaster ABC airs the second episode of Pathfinders To Mars, a follow-up series to Pathfinders In Space, produced by future Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman. George Colouris, Gerald Flood (City Beneath The Sea), and Bernard Horsfall (The Changes) star; the script is written by Malcolm Hulke (Doctor Who) and Eric Paice (Star Maidens). Though the original master tape of this episode was later wiped for reuse, film recordings of all six episodes would be recovered and released on DVD in the 21st century.
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13 Demon Street: A Gift Of Murder
The ninth episode of the syndicated horror anthology series 13 Demon Street airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Lon Chaney Jr. (The Wolf Man), and created (and frequently written and directed) by Curt Siodmak (The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man Returns), the series was filmed in Sweden with a motley mixture of American, British, and Swedish actors, with mostly Swedish talent behind the scenes.
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Project SCORE: first communication satellite
With engineers and ground controllers working under absolute secrecy, the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency launches the Atlas rocket-based SCORE satellite, an experimental communications satellite capable of recording four-minute audio messages from the ground for later playback to another part of the world. Though the first communication transmitted to Earth by SCORE is a message from President Eisenhower wishing listeners a peaceful Christmas, there’s little doubt that it’s a thinly-veiled military hardware demonstration. SCORE remains in orbit for only a few weeks before burning up in Earth’s atmosphere.