British broadcaster ABC airs the fourth episode of Pathfinders To Venus, a follow-up series to Pathfinders In Mars, produced by future Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman. George Colouris and Gerald Flood (City Beneath The Sea) star; the script is written by Malcolm Hulke (Doctor Who) and Eric Paice (Star Maidens). Though the original master tape of this episode was later wiped for reuse, film recordings of all eight episodes will be recovered and released on DVD in the 21st century.
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Meetings commence at the BBC to hash out ideas for a new children’s science fiction series to be produced in-house, possibly involving a time machine, an aloof old man, a younger “man of action” character, a female scientist, and a younger woman. As the creative lightning rod of this series development, Sydney Newman begins to weed out ideas he considers unsuitable – such as giving these characters the roles of “science troubleshooters” working for the government – and homes in on the time travel idea, as well as the old man character, who emerges as a man of mystery. These are the first creative meetings from which the BBC’s Doctor Who will emerge.
The 110th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part four of the story now collectively known as 
The 43rd 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. Peter Mark Richman, Susan Oliver, and John Milford guest star in the final episode of the series.
Potential contractors for NASA’s upcoming Space Shuttle offer specs based on their final design studies, which still assume that the shuttle’s giant booster will be a manned, winged vehicle in its own right that will return to a runway on Earth after its fuel is used up. One thing that both studies suggest, however, is an aluminum airframe which requires a shift away from the ablative metallic heat shields of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. A system of carbon-reinforced “shingles” is suggested as an alternative, and is approved by NASA, though developing the technology to create, install and maintain these tiles delays the first Shuttle launch into the 1980s, and the tiles are still prone to damage during both launch and re-entry – a weakness that will eventually seal the end of the Space Shuttle era.
Toho releases 
The 
The fifth episode of Harold Jack Bloom’s sci-fi series Project UFO airs on NBC, portraying fictionalized investigations into what the show claims are actual cases from the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book investigations. William Jordan and Caskey Swaim star. Edward Winter (playing a role unrelated to his series regular role in Project UFO’s second season) guest stars.
NBC airs the 
After three years of tinkering with the basics of the concept, and spending much of his downtime from the 1988 Writers’ Guild strike refining the idea, writer J. Michael Straczynski completes his first draft script and series bible for a new science fiction series, 
NBC premieres the first episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. As a high-concept mid-season replacement, the show’s first season is brief, but quickly finds a cult following.
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
The 
The 39th episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman airs on ABC, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. Terry Kiser (A Weekend At Bernie’s) guest stars.
Premium cable channel Showtime premieres the first episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of Leslie Stevens’ 1960s science fiction anthology series. Beau Bridges, Lloyd Bridges, and Helen Shaver guest star in Melinda Snodgrass’ screenplay based on George R.R. Martin’s novella.
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 65th episode of the science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, Cleavant Derricks, Kari Wuhrer, and Charlie O’Connell.
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 
Sci-Fi Channel premieres 
Following up on observations from Earth-based telescopes, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is pointed toward the star V838 Monocerotis – an object of very little previous interest – to discover why it’s suddenly the brightest thing in the entire Milky Way Galaxy. What Hubble sees surprises scientists on the ground: a “shell” of matter surrounding the star, illuminated from within and expanding outward into space (actual photo sequence seen here). What astronomers had seen previously was the illumination of the dust cloud, which is much larger than the star itself. Scientists theorize that the expanding dust cloud is not an indication of a supernova, but a sign that V838 Monocerotis is expanding, expelling gas and then shrinking again. The star is over 20,000 light years from Earth.
Bridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the 
UPN airs 
Paul Hester, former drummer for Split Enz and Crowded House, is found dead at the age of 46 in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia. Though police say the death is not “suspicious,” they rule it a suicide. Hester was a mainstay of the Melbourne music scene in the 80s when he auditioned to fill the vacant drum seat in Australian/New Zealand supergroup Split Enz. He joined the group for its 1984 tour, and only recorded one album, 1985’s See Ya Round, in the studio with Split Enz before the band broke up. He joined Neil Finn in a quest to launch a new band which, with the addition of bassist Nick Seymour, was eventually christened Crowded House and scored a #2 on the Billboard charts in early 1987 with “Don’t Dream It’s Over”. He recorded and toured with Crowded House until 1994, when the rigors of touring – and impending fatherhood – convinced him to return to Melbourne with his family.
After considerable fanfare and build-up, Doctor Who returns to BBC1 with its 699th episode. 
BBC2 airs the 
The fourteenth full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-14. Gennady Padalka and Michael Barratt take up residence on the ISS for 199 days. Arriving with them on the ISS for a 12-day stay is returning space tourist Charles Simonyi, who returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-13 with the Expedition 18 crew. As with his previous flight to the ISS, Simonyi pays for his own Soyuz seat and mission training.
The 
The 40th episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Jessica De Gouw (Dracula) and Caity Lotz (Mad Men, Legends Of Tomorrow) guest star.
The CW airs the 49th episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Tala Ashe. Neal McDonough and John Noble (Fringe) guest star.
Streaming service CBS All Access debuts