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Television

Tales Of Tomorrow: Black Planet

Tales Of TomorrowThe 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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Science & Technology

Fire the laser!

Ted MaimanAt 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.

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Science & Technology Weather & Climate

Totable Tornado Observatory

Weather BulletinResearchers 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.

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Music

Crowded House

Crowded HouseAustralian-based Crowded House – formed by ex-Split Enz members Neil Finn and Paul Hester, with new bassist Nick Seymour – releases its self-titled first album worldwide. Early attempts to push the album internationally fall flat, until the single “Don’t Dream It’s Over” climbs the American radio charts, landing at #2 for a single week thanks to relentless promotion and small-venue touring.

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Television

Misfits Of Science: Three Days Of The Blender

Misfits Of ScienceThe 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.

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Star Trek Television

Star Trek: TNG: The Neutral Zone

Star Trek: The Next GenerationThe week-long national syndication window opens for the 25th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode marks the end of the first season (with no guarantee, due the 1988 Writers’ Guild strike, that the series will be back in production anytime soon), and the return of the Romulans to the Star Trek universe, a sign that Gene Roddenberry is relaxing his stance on revisiting elements of the original series.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation now streaming on Paramount Plus

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Television

Sliders: This Slide Of Paradise

SlidersFox 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.

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Sliders now streaming on Amazon Prime
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Television X-Files

The X-Files: Biogenesis

The X-FilesThe 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.

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Television

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Primeval

Buffy The Vampire SlayerThe 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.

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Television

Special Unit 2: The Depths

Special Unit 2UPN 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.

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Crewed Spaceflight Endeavour Space Shuttle

STS-134: Endeavour’s final flight

Space ShuttleSpace 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.