Day: April 12, 1957

H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man: Point Of Destruction

H.G. Wells' The Invisible ManThe 14th episode of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man, based on Wells’ story, airs on ITV; this episode will air in September 1959 in the U.S. on CBS. Lisa Daniely and Deborah Watling (Doctor Who) star. Future Doctor Who producer Barry Letts, an actor at this point in his career, has a small role in the second season premiere.

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Vostok 1: the first human in space

Vostok 1The Soviet Union scores another technological victory, launching cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1 into a single orbit of Earth lasting a little over 100 minutes. After that orbit, Gagarin’s Vostok return capsule carries him safely through the atmosphere; he then triggers an ejection seat which punches him out of the capsule, at which point he parachutes to the ground.

Doctor Who: The Space Pirates, Part 6

Doctor WhoThe 243rd episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is the second story written by Robert Holmes, and is the most recent Doctor Who story to be missing entire episodes from the BBC’s archives.

This timeline entry leads to an entry covering this entire Doctor Who serial; there are plans to write new episodic entries in the future. You can support this effort!
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Doctor Who: Genesis Of The Daleks, Part 6

Doctor WhoThe 397th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This episode marks the first-ever appearance of Davros in the series, as well as the first attempt to nail down an origin story for the Daleks themselves.

This timeline entry leads to an entry covering this entire Doctor Who serial; there are plans to write new episodic entries in the future. You can support this effort!
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Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: Episode 6

Hitchhiker's Guide To The GalaxyThe sixth episode of Douglas Adams’ breakthrough radio science fiction comedy series The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is first broadcast on BBC Radio. This is the second episode co-written by John Lloyd, though his contributions are frequently downplayed by Adams in later years. Due to the unexpected popularity of the six-episode series, the BBC asks Adams for more Hitchhiker’s Guide, but in the interim he has also taken on a new full-time job as script editor of Doctor Who, making it harder to simultaneously write another six-episode radio series. Read more

STS-1: Columbia’s first flight

ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia lifts off on the shuttle system’s first flight into a space, with Commander John Young (a Gemini/Apollo veteran) and Robert Crippen aboard, the first two-man American crew since the Gemini program’s final flight in 1966. It’s a true test flight in every sense of the word – every previous American manned spacecraft had been flown unmanned first to verify safety and spaceworthiness, making the shuttle’s first flight a case where everything has to go perfectly the first time.

Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Columbia opens the doors

ColumbiaSafely in orbit, the cargo bay doors are opened for the first time on Space Shuttle Columbia, revealing that some of the shuttle’s protective thermal tiles are already missing. (A later post-landing inspection reveals that more than 100 tiles are damaged, and 16 tiles are completely lost, all probably due to unexpected vibration during launch.) NASA deems the damage non-critical and gives the go-ahead for a landing, even though it’s impossible to see what damage may have been done to the more critical tiles on the shuttle’s underbelly.

STS-51D

DiscoveryAfter a month of delays due to damage and a change in the flight schedule, Space Shuttle Discovery returns to orbit for a week-long flight. A Canadian communications satellite and the LEASAT-3 satellite are redeployed, but LEASAT continues to malfunction despite multiple attempts to active and launch it. Discovery’s crew on this flight consists of Commander Karol Bobko, Pilot Donald Williams, mission specialists Rhea Seddon, Jeffrey Hoffman and David Griggs, and payload specialists Charles Walker and Senator Jake Garn, the first member of the U.S. Congress to fly in space while in office. This flight’s return to the runway at Kennedy Space Center marks the first time a shuttle orbiter experiences significant damage upon landing, including a blowout of one of its landing gear wheels.

Mann & Machine: Dating Game

Mann & MachineThe second episode of the science fiction police series Mann & Machine, co-created by Dick Wolf and Robert de Laurentiis, is broadcast on NBC, starring David Andrews and Yancy Butler. Richard Burgi and Kate Hodge (She-Wolf Of London) guest star.

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The Outer Limits: Inconstant Moon

The Outer LimitsPremium cable channel Showtime airs the 33rd episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of Leslie Stevens’ 1960s science fiction anthology series. Michael Gross (Tremors, Family Ties) guest stars in an adaptation of a Larry Niven short story.

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The X-Files: Jose Chung’s “From Outer Space”

The X-FilesThe 69th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Charles Nelson Reilly and William Lucking guest star.

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