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Television

Thunderbirds: Attack Of The Alligators!

ThunderbirdsUK broadcaster ATV Midlands airs the 23rd episode of Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation science fiction series Thunderbirds, featuring the voices of Shane Rimmer, David Graham, Sylvia Anderson, Ray Barrett, and Peter Dyneley.

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Television

The Evil Touch: The Voyage

The Evil TouchThe 22nd episode of the horror anthology series The Evil Touch airs on Australia’s Nine Network, hosted by Anthony Quayle (Strange Report). (The series will later appear in the U.S. and elsewhere in first-run syndication.) Leslie Nielsen (Police Squad, Airplane!) guest stars.

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Astronomy Science & Technology Uncrewed Spaceflight Voyager

The Rings of Uranus

UranusA team of MIT astronomers, flying in a plane modified to serve as an airborne high-altitude telescope, plans to observe the planet Uranus as it eclipses, or “occults”, a star. But the team observes more occultations than expected both before and after the planet itself passes in front of the star. The inevitable conclusion is that Uranus has rings, made of material too dark to be detected by existing Earthbound telescopes. Further observations are given top priority: NASA’s Voyager 2 space probe, due to lift off later in 1977, may last long enough to reach Uranus, and the newly discovered rings must be taken into account when planning its flyby trajectory.

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Atari VCS Video Games

Space Invaders invade homes

Space InvadersAtari releases the home version of Space Invaders as a cartridge for the Atari 2600, the first time that a video game company has licensed another company’s game for home play. (All of Atari’s arcade ports up to this point have been home versions of Atari arcade games.) It turns out to be an astute move: Space Invaders is the “killer app” of the VCS, becoming so popular that the cartridge boosts sales of the system needed to run it.

More about Atari 2600 in Phosphor Dot Fossils
Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

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Video Games

Discs Of Tron

Discs Of TronMidway releases the arcade game Discs Of Tron in American arcades. The second coin-op game based on the movie Tron, this game was originally devised as an additional “stage” of the original Tron coin-op until designers split it off into its own game. The “environmental” cabinet, allowing players to stand inside the brightly black-lit game, becomes a legend of arcade architecture.

More about Tron video games in Phosphor Dot Fossils
Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

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Television

VR.5

VR.5The first episode of the science fiction series VR.5 premieres on Fox, starring Lori Singer (Fame) and Michael Easton (Total Recall 2070). The short-lived series, dealing with advanced virtual reality, is aired out of order, with some plot-critical episodes skipped by the network altogether. David McCallum (The Man From UNCLE, The Invisible Man, NCIS), Louise Fletcher (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager, Stargate Atlantis), Adam Baldwin (Firefly), and Penn Jillette guest star in the pilot.

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Television

Buffy The Vampire Slayer arrives on TV

Buffy The Vampire SlayerThe first (Welcome To The Hellmouth) and second episodes (The Harvest) of Joss Whedon’s trend-setting supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, premieres on the WB network. The series is based loosely upon the 1992 comedy movie of the same name, also written by Whedon, but represents a major rethink of the character of vampire-killing cheerleader Buffy Summers, as well as addressing modern topics facing teenagers in the 1990s. Anthony Stewart Head, Alyson Hannigan, and David Boreanaz also star.

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Television

The Outer Limits: Simon Says

The Outer LimitsShowtime airs the 115th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Joel Grey (Cabaret, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins) guest stars.

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Television X-Files

The X-Files: Providence

The X-FilesThe 192nd episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick, and Annabeth Gish. Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Twister) guest stars.

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