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Television

Tales Of Tomorrow: Two-Faced

Tales Of TomorrowThe 67th episode of the science fiction anthology series Tales Of Tomorrow airs on ABC. Much of the second season is missing, including this episode, which starred Richard Kiley.

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Ranger Uncrewed Spaceflight

Ranger 6

RangerNASA launches the Ranger 6 lunar probe, built by Jet Propulsion Laboratory and intended to go directly to the moon, transmitting pictures of the surface back to Earth until it impacts the lunar surface. After a year of fundamentally redesigning the Ranger vehicle, and dropping nearly all scientific experiments on board other than the television cameras (to the dismay of the scientific community), Ranger 6 is an attempt to redeem the troubled unmanned lunar program, and it hits the moon on schedule, but a power failure has fried its cameras prior to activation. NASA launches another internal investigation, with the entire Ranger program now on the line (and highly visible, since it has been made part of the preparation for crewed Apollo lunar flights). A Congressional inquiry follows, with a very clear implication that another failed Ranger flight could have far-reaching consequences for NASA and JPL.

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Television

The Invaders: The Organization

The InvadersThe 37th episode of Larry Cohen’s science fiction series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes and produced by Quinn Martin’s QM Productions, is broadcast on ABC. J.D. Cannon guest stars.

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Movies Star Wars

Star Wars action figures

Star Wars figuresWith an incredibly tight lead time (rights were secured some weeks after Star Wars became a box-office hit), General Mills subsidiary Kenner Toys brings the first Star Wars action figures to market. A dozen characters are sold individually, with a colorful mixture of the film’s heroes (Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Ben Kenobi, R2-D2, C-3PO, Chewbacca) and villains (Darth Vader, Stormtrooper, Death Squad Commander, Tusken Raider, Jawa). While Kenner brings the figures to market in both the industry-standard 12-inch scale and a smaller, cheaper 3 3/4″ scale, marketing focuses almost entirely on the smaller toys, which then redefine the industry-standard size of boys’ character toys (and make any future vehicles and playsets much more affordable). Ironically, prior to the movie’s release when no one expected Star Wars to take off, 20th Century Fox surrendered all toy and merchandising rights to George Lucas, meaning that the runaway success of the toy range is key to his fortune.

More about Kenner Star Wars figures in ToyBox

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Television

The Next Step Beyond: Ondine’s Curse

The Next Step BeyondThe week-long syndication window opens for the fifth episode of The Next Step Beyond, a revival of the 1950s/60s supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Meredith MacRae (Petticoat Junction) guest stars.

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Television

The Outer Limits: The Hunt

The Outer LimitsShowtime airs the 63rd episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Doug Savant (Melrose Place, Desperate Housewives) guest stars.

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Television

Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade cancelled

CrusadeWord leaks onto the internet that TNT, the network that salvaged Babylon 5 from syndication, has decided to cut its losses on the Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade and cancel the show before even a single episode has aired. Series creator J. Michael Straczynski confirms that production has halted as Warner Bros.’ television executives are shopping the show around to new venues, with a strong hint that the Sci-Fi Channel could be a likely new home for the show. TNT will air the 13 produced episodes later in 1999.

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Television

Special Unit 2: The Love

Special Unit 2UPN broadcasts the 16th episode of the supernatural crime comedy series Special Unit 2, starring Michael Landes (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman) and Alexondra Lee (Party Of Five). Jonathan Togo (CSI: Miami) guest stars.

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