The 53rd episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars John Archer and Rachel Ames.
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The second American in space is Virgil “Gus” Grissom, pilot of the Mercury 4 capsule Liberty Bell 7. Like Alan Shepard’s flight, Grissom’s launch reaches an altitute of 118 miles and splashes down 15 minutes later, but mechanical problems with the explosive bolts to release the capsule’s hatch allow water into the vehicle. Grissom has to bail out at sea, wearing a spacesuit that’s rapidly taking on water, while Liberty Bell 7 sinks to the bottom of the Atlantic. Grissom weathers repeated accusations that he manually blew the hatch and caused his vehicle to sink, a claim which is later disproven.
British broadcaster ABC airs the fourth episode of science fiction anthology series Out Of This World. Adapted by Terry Nation (who will create the Daleks, Doctor Who’s most enduring foes, a year later) from a story by Philip K. Dick, the story stars Patrick Allen, and is introduced by Boris Karloff (in much the same way that Rod Serling introduced episodes of The Twilight Zone). This episode no longer exists in the archives, though a fan-made audio recording survives.
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The fifth episode of the spy-fi series Adam Adamant Lives! airs on BBC1, starring Gerald Harper and Juliet Harmer. John Hollis (The Empire Strikes Back) guest stars.
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Another round of tape-wiping eliminates more of the recorded history of Doctor Who at the BBC. The instructions to erase the final remaining Hartnell-era episodes go out, as well as an order to get rid of much of Patrick Troughton’s era. Where previous episode wiping sprees may have been sparked by a looming change of video standards, these latest erasures are more likely the result of BBC1’s impending switch from black & white to color after the successful launch of color broadcasting on BBC2 in 1967. The BBC deems non-news-related black & white material commercially unviable with the advent of color TV just around the corner – a decision that Doctor Who fans (and the BBC’s home video department) will regret years later. While many of the Hartnell episodes are recoverable from foreign markets at a later date, much of the Troughton era is lost forever – mere weeks after initial broadcast.
ITV airs the 14th episode of Ace Of Wands, starring Michael McKenzie, Tony Selby and Judy Loe, opening the series’ second season. Russell Hunter guest stars as Mr. Stabs. This episode, like the rest of the series’ first two seasons, is now missing from the archives, but studio photos, shooting scripts, and a very rough audio recording still exist.
ITV airs the 93rd episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Gloria Grahame guest stars.
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Tales Of The Unexpected now streaming on Amazon Prime
ITV airs the 102nd episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Bud Cort guest stars.
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Tales Of The Unexpected now streaming on Amazon Prime
CBS airs the 53rd episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Ron Perlman, Jo Anderson, and Roy Dotrice. Suzie Plakson guest stars.
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Beauty & The Beast now streaming on Paramount Plus
Premium cable channel Showtime airs the 42nd episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of Leslie Stevens’ 1960s science fiction anthology series. Jon Cryer (Sueprgirl, Two And A Half Men) guest stars.
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TNT airs the seventh episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s short-lived Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade. This episode sees the Excalibur visiting Babylon 5.
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres the 69th episode of Stargate SG-1. Vanessa Angel (Weird Science) and Peter Wingfield (Highlander) guest star.
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Stargate SG-1 now streaming on Amazon Prime
Showtime airs the 123rd episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Gary Busey and Margot Kidder (Superman: The Movie) guest star.
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Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 33rd episode of Farscape. Wayne Pygram guest stars as Scorpius.
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Farscape now streaming on Amazon Prime
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 140th episode of The Outer Limits.
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Veteran television and film composer Jerry Goldsmith dies at the age of 75, after a lengthy battle with cancer. Known to genre fans and soundtrack listeners for an almost countless number of classic scores, his works range from Planet Of The Apes to Logan’s Run to The Omen to Star Trek: The Motion Picture and beyond. His television work includes the themes for such TV series as The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Perry Mason, The Waltons, and of course Star Trek: Voyager. His work earned 17 Oscar nominations, including a win for 1976’s The Omen, and five Emmy Awards (including one for Voyager). He began his classical music studies at the age of six, and studied under legendary composer Miklos Rozsa, eventually getting into the business as a typist in CBS’ music department and then beginning his career by creating music for CBS Radio Workshop, the music for which was usually performed live during broadcast. He then moved on to episodic TV work, including The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, Playhouse 90, Thriller, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, Amazing Stories, and many others.
British toymaker Character Options releases a double-pack of action figures based on the Cybermen as seen in the classic Doctor Who series story Silver Nemesis (1988).
Actress Deborah Watling, best known for her 1960s stint as Victoria Waterfield, an orphaned girl taken aboard the TARDIS as a companion in Doctor Who, dies at the age of 69 from lung cancer, only six weeks after being diagnosed. Joining the show in the pivotal Evil Of The Daleks serial in 1967, and remaining through the end of the six-part Fury From The Deep in 1968, Watling was technically a series regular for only a year, though that time coincided with a run of stories now widely regarded as classics, pitting the TARDIS team again Cybermen, Ice Warriors and Yeti. She also appeared in Out Of The Unknown and Danger UXB, and reprised the role of Victoria in later Doctor Who projects such as Dimensions In Time (1993) and Downtime (1995).
Russia launches the Nauka Multipurpose Logistics Module Upgrade component of the International Space Station. Part of the original design for the ISS, Nauka was built in time to be launched in 2007, but its addition to the station was repeatedly delayed, missing planned launch windows in 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Parts of Nakua required upgrades and replacements over the years that it awaited launch, as these parts began to fail certification due to their age. (Much of the module was 14 years old before it ever made it to the launch pad.) Nakua, designed to automatically rendezvous and dock with the station, begins encountering technical problems once it is in orbit, delaying the docking maneuver. It replaces the Russian Pirs module, which becomes the first ISS module to be detached and allowed to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.
