The eighth episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. Barry Van Dyke (Battlestar Galactica, Diagnosis Murder) and Spencer Milligan (Land Of The Lost) guest star.
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NBC airs the sixth episode of James D. Parriott’s time travel series Voyagers!, starring Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce. William Lucking (Sons Of Anarchy, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest stars as Babe Ruth, and Andrea Marcovicci (Berrenger’s, Hill Street Blues) guest stars as Cleopatra.
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Telesys releases the video game cartridge Cosmic Creeps for the Atari 2600 home video game system, just in time for the Christmas buying season. A glut of new releases for the 2600 by the end of the year, many from third-party companies like Telesys, causes some consumer confusion which has unexpected consequences for the entire industry.
Still trying to stem the tide of bootleg copies of Pac-Man in American arcades, Midway releases the coin-op conversion kit Pac-Man Plus, offering arcade operators an inexpensive (and legal) way to “freshen” old Pac-Man machines on-site rather than turning to bootleg enhancement kits, a problem that has been stealing Midway’s market share since Pac-Man became a hit.
ABC airs the 34th episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp. Andrew Robinson (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest stars.
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The ninth episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. Jeff Corey (Star Trek, Babylon 5) and Julie Newmar (Batman) guest star.
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With exclusive rights to sell a home version of the cult arcade hit Phoenix under its belt, Atari sues third-party software house Imagic over its space shooter game Demon Attack, which is somewhat similar to Phoenix – too similar for Atari’s tastes. The two companies settle out of court the following January, with Imagic agreeing to omit the “mothership” level from the version of Demon Attack sold for the Atari 2600; the mothership appears in nearly every other edition of the game for other consoles and computers.
NBC airs the seventh episode of James D. Parriott’s time travel series Voyagers!, starring Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce. John Anderson guest stars as Abraham Lincoln, and Alex Hyde-White (The Fantastic Four) guest stars as Charles Dickens.
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The tenth episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. Tricia O’Neil (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Don Stroid (The New Mike Hammer) guest star in an episode written by former Star Trek cast member Walter Koenig.
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NBC airs the eighth episode of James D. Parriott’s time travel series Voyagers!, starring Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce. Lance LeGault guest stars as Andrew Jackson.
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Japanese video game maker Namco releases Pole Position in the United States by way of American licensee Atari. Quickly gaining popularity in arcades, Pole Position marks one of the first “meta” moments in video games, featuring briefly-glimpsed billboards advertising other games by the same manufacturer.
Sega releases the arcade game Buck Rogers: Planet Of Zoom in American arcades. Completely unrelated to the recent television series, the graphically impressive game is designed to be the first in a series, but no further games in the projected series ever materialize.
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Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast
NBC airs the ninth episode of James D. Parriott’s time travel series Voyagers!, starring Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce. Keye Luke guest stars as Kublai Khan, and Paul Regina (Brothers) guest stars as Marco Polo.
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Warner Communications, the parent company of video game manufacturer Atari, issues an earnings statement in which it anticipates losing money in the fourth quarter of 1982. The losses are attributed to product returns and other shortfalls experienced by Atari, despite the acquisition of licenses for home video games based on Pac-Man and E.T. The reaction on Wall Street is immediate, and a massive sell-off of video game related stock leaves the entire industry reeling within a week. The industry is seeing the first hint of the bust that will end the boom years.
With sales of the Atari 5200 console already seriously impacted by the rival Colecovision video game system, and perhaps hoping to distract from a potentially alarming earnings statement issued the same day, Atari files suit against Coleco over the first add-on produced for Colecovision: Expansion Module #1, which allows Colecovision owners to play Atari 2600 games (and entices 2600 owners to trade up to Colecovision, since their existing game libraries won’t automatically become useless). Atari sues for patent infringement, while Coleco immediately countersues, claiming that Atari is violating antitrust and monopoly laws.
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Only a year old, Texas-based video game software company Games By Apollo folds after most of its programmers defect to form their own company. With most of the games produced by Apollo now going for bargain-basement retail prices, and none of them exactly topping the sales charts, Games By Apollo becomes a prime specimen of a company that formed simply to grab a piece of the Atari VCS fad.
The 11th episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. John Reilly (Passions) guest stars.
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NBC airs the tenth episode of James D. Parriott’s time travel series Voyagers!, starring Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce. Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest stars as Charles Lindbergh.
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Activision releases the River Raid cartridge for the Atari VCS home video game system.
Activision releases the Dragonfire cartridge for the Atari VCS home video game system.
The 12th episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. Sam Weisman (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) guest stars.
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NBC airs the 11th episode of James D. Parriott’s time travel series Voyagers!, starring Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce. Peter Donat (Time Trax) guest stars as George Washington.
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Imagic releases the Dragonfire cartridge for the Intellivision home video game system.
The 580th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Leonard Sachs and Michael Gough guest star; for the first and only time to date in the series, the next actor to play the Doctor appears in a small guest role (Colin Baker). This episode is the beginning of the 20th anniversary season of Doctor Who, and brings back Omega, the villain of 1973’s The Three Doctors, in a story set on the Time Lord planet of Gallifrey.
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The 581st episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Leonard Sachs and Michael Gough guest star; for the first and only time to date in the series, the next actor to play the Doctor appears in a small guest role (Colin Baker). This episode, in keeping with the season’s 20th anniversary theme, and brings back Omega, the villain of 1973’s The Three Doctors, in a story set on the Time Lord planet of Gallifrey.
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