The 33rd episode of ABC’s science fiction anthology series, Tales Of Tomorrow, airs on ABC, with each episode’s opening titles proclaiming that the series is produced “in cooperation with the Science-Fiction League of America”, a collective of sci-fi writers including Isaac Asimov and Theodore Sturgeon among its members. This episode is no longer in the archives and may be missing.
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At the Hughes Research Laboratory in California, physicist Ted Maiman conducts the first completely successful laser demonstration, resulting in a brief pulse fired through a ruby. Though the concept of lasers had been published in the 1950s, Maiman is the first to develop a fully working test article. Within a few years, similar ruby lasers are used for numerous military applications, as well as early holography. Maiman’s test laser, when demonstrated again at a conference in 2010, is still operational.
ABC airs the 91st episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Larry Gates guest stars.
The 26th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part six of the story now collectively known as 
The 
Sunnyvale, California-based Meadows Games releases the 
Atari releases the two-player arcade game 
Researchers and storm chasers from the National Weather Service’s Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma make the first field deployment of the 300-pound TOtable Tornado Observatory (TOTO) instrument package, a modified oil drum filled with meteorological instrumentation which is intended to be placed directly into the path of an oncoming tornado. The first deployment, in north Texas, yields no data – no tornado forms for TOTO to study. Over the next five years, despite several “close calls”, TOTO is never successfully placed in the direct path of a tornado. The TOTO program is discontinued in 1987.
Mattel Electronics releases the 
ITV airs the 55th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Leslie Carton guest stars.
Australian-based Crowded House – formed by ex-Split Enz members Neil Finn and Paul Hester, with new bassist Nick Seymour – releases its 
The 16th episode of James D. Parriott’s lighthearted sci-fi series, Misfits Of Science, airs on NBC, starring Dean Paul Martin, Kevin Peter Hall, and Courteney Cox. Joe Dorsey (Brainstorm, WarGames) and Meg Wyllie (Star Trek) guest star in the final episode of the already-cancelled series.
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
The tenth episode of RoboCop: The Series airs in syndication, starring Richard Eden, Yvette Nipar, Blu Mankuma, and Andrea Roth. Jeremy Ratchford (X-Men, Cold Case) guest stars.
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
Virgin Publishing releases the 
Fox airs the 47th episode of Tracy Torme’s alternate-universe science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks, and Kari Wuhrer. Neil Dickson (She-Wolf Of London) and Michael York (Logan’s Run) guest star in the third season finale. This is Sabrina Lloyd’s final appearance as a series regular. Fox cancels the series after this season, but the show is rescued by the Sci-Fi Channel.
The 139th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. William B. Davis and Nicholas Lea guest star in the sixth season finale.
The 77th episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on the WB network. James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, and Alyson Hannigan also star. Amber Benson guest stars.
UPN broadcasts the sixth episode of the supernatural crime comedy series Special Unit 2, starring Michael Landes (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman) and Alexondra Lee (Party Of Five). Tom Welling (Smallville) guest stars in the first season finale; the series returns in the fall.
UPN airs the 
Emerging into a film landscape with more staunch fantasy and science fiction competition than the franchise has encountered in the past, 
The Varese Sarabande CD Club releases 
Epic Records releases 
ABC airs the 
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 
UK cable channel Disney XD airs the 
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on its final flight into orbit, carrying an alpha magnetic spectrometer instrument and supplies to the International Space Station during a 16-day mission. This is Endeavour’s 25th and final launch. The crew for this mission consists of Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Greg Johnson, and mission specialists Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and Roberto Vittori.
The movie