Day: June 21, 1959

H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man: The Rocket

H.G. Wells' The Invisible ManThe 24th episode of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man, based on Wells’ story, airs on ITV; this episode will air in December 1959 in the U.S. on CBS. Glyn Owen guest stars in an episode written by Michael Pertwee (older brother of future Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee).

This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.

Vega 4: Double Trouble

Vega 4The Australian Broadcasting Corporation airs the third episode of the science fiction series Vega 4, starring John Fassen (a veteran of ABC’s first genre series, The Stranger). This series is a follow-up to the 1966 series The Interpretaris.

This series is not fully chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.

Doctor Who: The War Games, Part 10

Doctor WhoThe 253rd episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. Jane Sherwin, David Savile and Philip Madoc guest star. The Time Lords make their earliest appearance in this story. This is Patrick Troughton’s final episode as the incumbent Doctor, the final Doctor Who episode of the 1960s, and the final episode made in black & white.

The following weekend, BBC1 gives Doctor Who’s Saturday evening time slot to the first British airing of an American science fiction series called Star Trek.

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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Robin Of Sherwood: The Time Of The Wolf, Part 1

Robin Of SherwoodThe 25th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Richard O’Brien (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and James Coombes (Howards’ Way, Dinosapien) guest star.

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Robin Of Sherwood now streaming on Amazon Prime

STS-57

Space ShuttleNASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission lasting almost ten days to test the SPACEHAB pressurized lab module. A long-term exposure experiment is retrieved for ESA, though a spacewalk must be undertaken when its antennae fail to stow themselves away automatically for insertion into the cargo bay. Aboard Endeavour for her fourth flight into orbit are Commander Ronald Grabe, Pilot Brian Duffy, Payload Commander G. David Low, and mission specialists Nancy Sherlock, Peter Wisoff and Janice Voss.

Stargate SG-1: Descent

Stargate SG-1The 112th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, and Corin Nemec. Carmen Argenziano guest stars.

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Stargate SG-1 now streaming on Amazon Prime

SpaceShip One: first private spaceflight

SpaceShip OneA joint venture between experimental aircraft designer Burt Rutan and investor/Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, SpaceShip One becomes the first privately owned vehicle to cross the 100-kilometer boundary into space. It is one of several vehicles vying for the Ansari X Prize, a $10,000,000 competition to launch the first privately funded (in other words, not government-funded) space vehicle, even though this is considered one of its test flights and not a qualifying flight for the X Prize. Launched from an airplane “mothership” and dropped off seconds before its own rocket engine takes it into suborbital space, SpaceShip One nearly reaches Mach 3, and is already the first private aircraft to reach Mach 2. Pilot Mike Melvill becomes the first recipient of the Federal Aviation Administration’s commercial astronaut wings upon landing.

Jack Kilby, integrated circuit inventor, dies

Jack KilbyComputer pioneer Jack Kilby, a Nobel Prize winner for his part in creating the integrated cicruit, dies of cancer at the age of 81. A long-time employee of Texas Instruments, he co-invented the integrated circuit, which made the current advances in miniturization of computer technology possible. (Prior to that, even minimal computing power often occupied an entire room.) He also counted the handheld calculator among his inventions. Though he retired from TI in the early 80s, he continued to consult for the company until the time of his death.

Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: Episode 26

Hitchhiker's Guide To The GalaxyThe 26th episode of the radio science fiction comedy series The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is broadcast on BBC Radio, concluding Dirk Maggs’ adaptation of the novel Mostly Harmless. Maggs takes liberties with the end of Adams’ novel, negating the book’s original ending (for which Adams himself had expressed regret after publication) and reuniting most of the original cast for a happier ending than their characters met in print. Read more

2006 Robot Hall Of Fame inductees

MariaFive new robots, both fictional and real, are inducted into Carnegie Mellon University’s Robot Hall Of Fame. With C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels presenting the awards, the quintet of new inductees consists of:

  1. Maria (1927, from Metropolis)
  2. Gort (1951, from The Day The Earth Stood Still)
  3. SCARA (1978, Yamanashi University – industrial small-component assembly robot)
  4. AIBO (1999, Sony – consumer grade robot dog with artificial intelligence)
  5. David (2001, from A.I.: Artificial Intelligence)

Retrogram Special: Life Lessons From Kerr Avon

RetrogramtheLogBook.com releases the third episode of the Retrogram podcast, hosted by Earl Green, celebrating the career of the late Paul Darrow by covering the following shows:

  • The Legend of Robin Hood: Episode One (1975)
  • Blake’s 7: Sarcophagus (1980)
  • Hammer House Of Horror: Guardian Of The Abyss (1980)
  • Doctor Who: Timelash Part 1 (1985)

More about the Retrogram podcast here