The 23rd episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Arthur Franz and Doris Dowling.
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The 63rd episode of The Adventures Of Superman airs in syndication, starring George Reeves, Noel Neill, and Jack Larson. Chuck Connors (The Rifleman) guest stars.
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Adventures of Superman now streaming on Amazon Prime
The 130th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This episode is now missing from the BBC’s archives.
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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ITV broadcasts the first episode of The Prisoner, produced, occasionally written by, and starring Patrick McGoohan. The series involves the imprisonment of a man, now known only by the number six, in a “Village” which cannot be escaped, and whose leaders are obsessed with breaking his mind. Guy Doleman guest stars as Number Two. 
The 86th episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Vincent Price guest stars.
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ABC airs the second episode of the modern-day science fiction series The Immortal, starring Christopher George. Ross Martin (The Wild Wild West) guest stars.
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The National Weather Service’s NOAA Weather Radio system finally finds its purpose with the introduction of a piercing “warning tone” preceding emergency weather announcements such as severe weather warnings. Manufacturers of weather radio receivers (an item which hit the market in 1970) use the five-second burst of 1050Hz warning tone to trigger attention-grabbing alert sounds and then activate the radio so the relevant information can be heard. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts on 29 stations around the country, and the agency continues to bring new transmitters online throughout the year.
The first episode of the animated science fiction series Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman airs on Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV. A creation of Tatsunoko Studios (Astro Boy), the series follows five young people with superpowers defending the world from the machinations of the sinister Galactus organization. This series will later be heavily edited – primarily for violence – and dubbed into English as Battle Of The Planets.
NBC airs the 31st episode of Night Gallery, an anthology series of original short plays and short story adaptations hosted by Rod Serling. James Farentino, John Astin, and Joanna Pettet guest star.
Produced in the wake of Star Wars mania, Meco Menardo’s disco cover of John Williams’ music from Star Wars tops the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks. A shortened, radio-friendly single is the song certified as #1, although the album version (titled Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk) is an extended suite lasting over 15 minutes and covering most of the movie’s major music themes. Meco would continue to ride the Star Wars train, disco-style, for years to come. 
The 40th episode of The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson, airs on NBC. James Olson (The Andromeda Strain) and Melinda Fee (The Invisible Man) guest star.
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The fourth episode of Filmation’s Saturday morning science fiction series Space Academy airs on CBS. A combatant from a mostly forgotten war is discovered, and he’s still in a mood to fight.
The 458th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Michael Sheard (The Empire Strikes Back) and Frederick Jaeger guest star.
The 106th episode of the animated science fiction series Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman airs on Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV. This is the second season premiere, picking up the story some time after the first season, and initiating a storyline about the replacement of a missing team member.
The third episode of Glen A. Larson’s science fiction series Battlestar Galactica airs on ABC. Part two of a two-part story, this is one of a handful of two-part episodes that hint toward Larson’s original preference toward occasional miniseries events rather than a weekly series. Jane Seymour guest stars.
Fed up with Atari’s refusal to grant them bylines on the best-selling games they’ve been designing and programming for the Atari VCS, Atari employees Alan Miller, David Crane, Larry Kaplan and Bob Whitehead quit their jobs and form the first third-party video game software house, Activision, with former music executive Jim Levy aboard as the new company’s CEO. Infuriated, Atari files a raft of lawsuits alleging theft of trade secrets, but is ultimately unable to get an injunction preventing Activision from releasing games for the VCS.
The 21st episode of Star Blazers, an English rewrite and dub of the 1974 anime series Space Battleship Yamato, premieres in syndication across the U.S.
The 39th episode of Star Blazers, an English rewrite and dub of the 1974 anime series Space Battleship Yamato, airs in syndication across the U.S.
Mushroom Records releases The Swingers’ album Counting The Beat; the band is led by founding Split Enz frontman Phil Judd.
A musical ode to video gaming starts climbing the charts as Buckner & Garcia issue their single Pac-Man Fever (a full album, filled out with other video game tribute songs, will follow in 1982). Shortly before the album’s release, the “Pac-Man Fever” single peaks in the Billboard Hot 100 at #9, having sold over a million copies.
Atari releases the home version of the arcade hit Berzerk as a cartridge for the Atari VCS home video game system. Almost a dead ringer for the graphically simple arcade game, the console port is only missing the distinctive Cylon-esque voice synthesis of the coin-op. The second issue of the Atari Force comic from fellow Warner Communications subsidiary DC Comics is packed-in with Berzerk.
The third episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. Bill Daily (I Dream of Jeannie) guest stars.
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Atari, under its Atarisoft imprint, releases the Apple II port of Pac-Man, largely reusing the code of the earlier H.A.L. Labs title Taxman.
Atari, under its Atarisoft imprint, releases the Apple II port of Robotron: 2084.
Atari, under its Atarisoft imprint, releases the Apple II port of Dig Dug.
NBC airs the 19th episode of the Marvel animated series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, starring the voices of Dan Gilvezan, Kathy Garver, and Frank Welker.
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Electronic Arts releases Will Harvey’s Music Construction Set for the Apple II (versions will follow for other systems, such as the Atari home computers and Commodore 64, but the Apple II version is the first released, with users advised that the software works best with the Mockingboard music and audio peripheral).
The Minnesota Educational Computing Corporation releases a new version of the perennial favorite educational computer game The Oregon Trail for the Apple II computer. Now featuring more action-based sequences than purely textual interactions, this version of The Oregon Trail is the most recognizable iteration of the game, which will be ported to numerous other computer systems.
The 15th episode of Black Adder airs on BBC1, starring Rowan Atkinson. Chris Barrie (Red Dwarf) guest stars.
The 37th episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs in syndication. Marc Singer (V) stars.
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.
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The Twilight Zone now streaming on Paramount Plus