Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
The eleventh Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, premieres, starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac, alongside original trilogy stars Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Ian McDiarmid, and Harrison Ford (Carrie Fisher appears pothumously in scenes originally filmed for, but cut from, The Force Awakens in 2015). Perhaps inevitably, given the late 2010s’ tendency to politicize popular culture and its followers, and with the weight of fan expectations of a satisfying conclusion to the saga on it, the film proves somewhat controversial. Shortly after its release, work on future Star Wars feature films at Disney-owned Lucasfilm comes to a halt, and the franchise becomes a mainstay of Disney’s streaming video service.
The Starliner’s maiden voyage
In development since 2010, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space vehicle lifts off atop an Atlas V rocket on its first flight, scheduled to take it to the International Space Station. A software and sensor mishap after second stage separation results in the vehicle putting itself into an orbit unable to reach the station, after burning enough fuel to make a major orbital correction impossible. Boeing and NASA settle on an alternate flight plan to allow for other engineering tests in orbit before the vehicle’s planned return to Earth on land a few days later. There is no crew aboard for this first flight, though Boeing contends that astronauts aboard might have been able to override the engineering problems that resulted in the incorrect orbital insertion.
Donald Moffat, actor, dies
British-born actor Donald Moffat, who left England for the United States in 1956, dies at the age of 87 due to complications from a stroke he had recently suffered. A frequent face on American TV and film for decades, Moffat was a regular on the short-lived TV adaptation of Logan’s Run, in which he played the benevolent android Rem, and was a member of the ensemble cast of John Carpenter’s The Thing. He also portrayed President Lyndon B. Johnson in Philip Kaufman’s 1984 adaptation The Right Stuff, and appeared in countless other movies and TV series, including guest stints on The Six Million Dollar Man and the 1980s Twilight Zone, working steadily into the early 2000s before retiring.
Soyuz TMA-17
Part of the 22nd full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-17. Oleg Kotov, Timothy Creamer and Soichi Noguchi take up residence on the ISS for 164 days, becoming part of the Expedition 22/23 crews. All three return to Earth in June 2010 aboard the same vehicle.
Star Trek Phase II: Blood And Fire, Part I
The internet-based fan film Star Trek: Phase II releases its fifth full-length episode, Blood And Fire, Part I. Writer David Gerrold directs an adapted version of his rejected TNG script.
Lexx soundtrack
GNP Crescendo releases a CD of music from the soundtrack of the Sci-Fi Channel series Lexx.
NEAR death experience?
NASA’s unmanned NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) unmanned space probe fails to fire its thrusters for a critical engine burn to keep it aimed at asteroid 433 Eros. The vehicle instead goes into an automatic safe mode and enters a tumble that drains both its batteries and its fuel supply to dangerously low levels, and it is out of contact with Earth for over a day. As a result, NEAR merely flies past Eros at a distance of almost 2400 miles, leaving ground controllers to devise a strategy to re-aim NEAR so it can catch up to and try once again to orbit the asteroid (the primary objective of its mission). This maneuver will take a year to complete.
Sliders: Season’s Greedings
Fox airs the 34th episode of Tracy Torme’s alternate-universe science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, John Rhys Davies, Sabrina Lloyd, and Cleavant Derricks. Chase Masterson (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest stars in a holiday-themed episode.
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Silva Screen releases Beauty and the Beast: Nevermore
CBS airs the 47th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Ron Perlman, Jo Anderson, and Roy Dotrice. Richard Roundtree (Shaft) guest stars.
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Beauty & The Beast now streaming on Paramount Plus
Twilight Zone: Episode 13
CBS airs the 13th episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Pam Dawber (Mork & Mindy), Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation), and Donald Moffat (Logan’s Run) star in an episode comprised of three short stories, including another remake of an episode from the classic Twilight Zone series and an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s short story The Star.
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Space Panic
Universal (a video game manufacturer unrelated to the Hollywood studio of the same name) introduces the minor arcade classic Space Panic, a game which goes down in history primarily for inspiring the home computer game hit Lode Runner later in the decade. Space Panic is also the first arcade game in which success is dependent on the player climbing ladders, a year before the release of Donkey Kong.
The Lost Saucer: Land Of The Talking Plants
ABC airs the 16th and final episode of Sid & Marty Krofft’s The Lost Saucer, starring Jim Nabors (The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle USMC) and Ruth Buzzi (Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In). John Fiedler guest stars. The Lost Saucer will join the Krofft Supershow rotation the following year (and for years afterward) on ABC.
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Six Million Dollar Man: The Peeping Blonde
The 24th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Farrah Fawcett Majors guest stars.
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Kolchak: Horror In The Heights
ABC airs the 11th episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, based on the 1973 TV movie The Night Stalker and starring Darren McGavin. Phil Silvers (Sgt. Bilko) guest stars.
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Search: The Gold Machine
NBC airs the 11th episode of Leslie Steven’s “spy-fi” series Search, starring Hugh O’Brian and Burgess Meredith. Mark Lenard (Star Trek) guest stars.
Star Trek: Elaan of Troyius
The 68th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek airs on NBC. France Nuyen guest stars.
Lost In Space: Castles In Space
The 73rd episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris. Alberto Monte guest stars.
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The Twilight Zone: Ninety Years Without Slumbering
The 132nd episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Ed Wynn stars.
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One Step Beyond: Legacy Of Love
ABC airs the 74th episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Norma Crane, Charles Aidman, and Olan Soule guest star.
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One Step Beyond now streaming on Amazon Prime