Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Empty Places

Buffy The Vampire SlayerThe 141st episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on UPN. James Marsters and Alyson Hannigan also star. Nathan Fillion (Firefly) and Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse) guest star.

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Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: The Movie

Hitchhiker's Guide To The GalaxyThe big screen adaptation of Douglas Adams’ science fiction comedy The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy premieres in theaters worldwide. Starring Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel and Sam Rockwell, and featuring a cameo appearance from original BBC radio/TV actor Simon Jones, the movie is often criticized for being “Americanized” (despite being produced by a British production company with a largely British cast). Despite an open ending pointing toward a sequel, the movie’s box office take doesn’t merit a second film. Read more Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Doctor Who: School Reunion

Doctor WhoThe 715th episode of Doctor Who (the 17th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Elisabeth Sladen reprises her classic series role of Sarah Jane Smith, the first non-enemy character from the original series to appear in the current series. John Leeson guest stars as the voice of K-9; Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer) also appears. Read more Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Star Trek: Intrepid: Transitions And Lamentations

Star Trek: IntrepidThe fan-produced Star Trek production Star Trek: Intrepid releases its second episode. The UK-based production is shot almost entirely in front of green screen with computer-generated backgrounds added in post production. Read more

SpaceShipTwo’s test drive

SpaceShipTwoSpace passenger line Virgin Galactic tests the Burt Rutan-designed suborbital SpaceShipTwo spacecraft VSS Enterprise at an altitude of over ten miles, reaching a speed of over Mach 1. Virgin’s official report is that the test flight was a complete success; no date is set for a suborbital test flight yet. Virgin is expected to build four more vehicles of the SpaceShipTwo class before moving on to a more advanced design, SpaceShipThree.

Blue Origin NS-1

Blue Origin NS-1Commercial spaceflight operator Blue Origin, owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, launches its first New Shepard flight, a booster and capsule which the company hopes will eventually carry paying passengers on short suborbital flights into space. The uncrewed (but human-rated) capsule comes in for a soft landing near Blue Origin’s Texas launch facility, though the booster – also intended to land and be refurbished for future reuse – does not land intact. This is the first in a series of uncrewed tests of the New Shepard launch system and suborbital vehicle; further tests will be flown over the next few years.

Doctor Who: Thin Ice

Doctor WhoThe 832nd episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 133rd episode since the series’ revival). Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, and Matt Lucas star. (This story is unrelated to an audio story of the same name based on a script for the unproduced 1990 television season of Doctor Who.) Read more

Blue Origin NS-8

Blue Origin NS-8Commercial spaceflight operator Blue Origin, owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, launches its eighth New Shepard flight. The uncrewed (but human-rated) capsule includes several commercial and research payloads, as well as a telemetry test dummy nicknamed “Mannequin Skywalker”, designed to record potential spaceflight stresses on future human passengers. An apogee of 351,000 feet is reached for the first time. As with past missions, both the capsule and its single-stage suborbital booster come in for soft landings near Blue Origin’s Texas launch facility. This is the second flight for the third New Shepard reusable capsule, as well as the second flight for the third New Shepard reusable booster.

CW cancels Legends, Batwoman

The CW Network logoTelevision network The CW, which has enjoyed nearly a decade of success with a slate of popular Greg Berlanti-produced series based on DC Comics properties, announces the unexpected cancellation of two of those shows, Legends Of Tomorrow and Batwoman. With the network up for sale by the two studios holding ownership stakes, Warner Bros. and Paramount/CBS, the cancellations may be the result of a desire to streamline the schedule and make room for less effects-and-stunt-heavy programming that will appeal to potential buyers (the most likely of which at the time of these cancellations is budget-conscious television station group Nexstar). Legends Of Tomorrow had recently completed its seventh season on the air, while Batwoman had only recently completed its third season. This leaves only three DC Comics-derived series on the CW’s schedule, The Flash (entering its ninth and final season) and Superman & Lois; the already-filmed third season of Stargirl will air at a date yet to be determined (but has traditionally aired in a summer timeslot).