Day: March 17, 1952

Baptism by fire…and wind

Weather BulletinThe newly formed Weather Bureau-Army-Navy Severe Weather Unit hits the ground running with its first tornado bulletin issued to the general public for portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. This forerunner of the modern tornado watch is a misfire, however: the only two confirmed tornadoes occur, both outside the area covered in the bulletin. Critics within the Weather Bureau express doubt that such bulletins will ever be of use to the public, and may instead spark panic among the public; this attitude will all but disappear within three years.

Thunderbirds: Martian Invasion

ThunderbirdsUK broadcaster ATV Midlands airs the 24th 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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Ghost Story: The New House

Ghost StoryNBC airs the pilot episode of the supernatural anthology series Ghost Story, produced by 1960s horror movie mogul William Castle and starring Sebastian Cabot. Jeanette Nolan and Sam Jaffe guest star in a script by Richard Matheson (Twilight Zone, The Omega Man). The pilot gets enough attention for production to be greenlit on a series to premiere in the fall of 1972. (This series will be retitled Circle Of Fear in 1973.) Read more Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Doctor Who: Frontier In Space, Part 4

Doctor WhoThe 341st episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This is the last story featuring Roger Delgado as the Master before the actor’s untimely death in June 1973. Madhav Sharma (Moonbase 3) guest stars.

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Wonder Woman: The Girl With A Gift For Disaster

Wonder WomanThe 54th episode of Wonder Woman airs on CBS, starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. Ina Balin, Dick Butkus, and and James Sloyan guest star.

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Scramble

ScrambleAmerican pinball manufacturer Stern Electronics releases a video game licensed from Japanese game maker Konami Industries, Scramble. Though it earns a small but loyal following among arcade gamers, Scramble‘s true claim to history will be in setting a legal precedent: it later becomes the first video game whose code is copyrighted as a literary work in its own right as Stern seeks to take down bootleggers who copy the game’s program and brazenly market it under the same name. Read more

Soyuz TM-14: Russia in space

Soyuz TM-14Soyuz TM-14 lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the first space mission from post-Soviet Russia. It carries cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko, Alexander Kaleri, and Klaus-Dietrich Flade to space station Mir. Viktorenko and Kaleri remain aboard Mir for 145 days, while Flade returns to Earth with the previous station crew aboard Soyuz TM-13. When TM-14 returns to Earth in August 1992, Viktorenko and Kaleri suffer an unusual landing, with their descent module rolling to an upside-down position, trapping the cosmonauts inside until rescue crews arrive.

The draft of time

Doctor WhoStar Trek VI co-writer Denny Martin Flinn completes a screenplay draft for Doctor Who: The Movie, which is at this stage a big-screen reboot of the original series stuck in development hell. A British studio, Lumiere Pictures, has assigned several writers to write successive drafts of a movie version of the BBC series, often choosing to reboot the story rather than pick up where it left off. Eventually the series’ revival falls to a one-night-only TV movie being developed seperately by producer Philip Segal.

VR.5: Dr. Strangechild

VR.5The second episode of the science fiction series VR.5 airs on Fox, starring Lori Singer (Fame) and Michael Easton (Total Recall 2070). David McCallum (The Man From UNCLE, The Invisible Man, NCIS) and Louise Fletcher (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest star.

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Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Witch

Buffy The Vampire SlayerThe third episode of Joss Whedon’s trend-setting supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on the WB network. Anthony Stewart Head and Alyson Hannigan also star; Robin Riker guest stars.

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