The 69th episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Marshall Thompson and William Ching.
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ABC airs the 35th episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Jack Lord (Hawaii Five-O), Stafford Repp (Batman), and Ian Wolfe guest star.
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The 78th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Buster Keaton and Stanley Adams star.
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British broadcaster ABC airs the 38th episode of Sydney Newman’s spy series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman.
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Delayed from its original launch date in October, Gemini 6 had been intended to be the first American space docking mission. An unmanned Agena rocket, launched ahead of Gemini 6 to serve as its docking target, had exploded during liftoff, and the October Gemini 6 mission had been scrubbed as a result. Instead, the crew of Gemini 6 – Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford – are launched on a one-day mission to become the rendezvous target for the already-launched Gemini 7. The two manned vehicles close to within mere feet of each other – a first for human spaceflight.
The 14th episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris.
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French astronomer Audouin Dollfus discovers Janus, the tenth discovered natural satellite of the planet Saturn, orbiting just beyond the outer edge of Saturn’s ring. Confusion is caused when, mere days later, an American astronomer discovers another body in a near-identical orbit that cannot be reconciled with the orbit calculated for Janus. Only in the late 1970s will a theory emerge that explains the inconsistencies as the presence of two moons moving around Saturn as a co-orbital pair, occasionally swapping positions. Janus’ existence will be verified in 1980 by Voyager 1. (Janus is shown here in a 21st century Cassini photo.)
The 14th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek airs on NBC. Mark Lenard guest stars, though not in the familiar role of Spock’s father Sarek. This is the first episode of Star Trek to feature the Romulans. 
BBC2 airs the 22nd episode of science fiction anthology series Out Of The Unknown. Adapted by Hugh Whitmore from a story by Larry Eisenberg, the story stars Paul Daneman and John Hollis (The Empire Strikes Back). This episode no longer exists in the BBC’s archives.
The 42nd episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek premieres on NBC. Kirk grapples with a killer alien entity that he first encountered early in his Starfleet career.
The recently-rechristened Environmental Sciences Service Administration launches, with the help of NASA, ESSA-8, the latest in a constellation of weather satellites operated by the former U.S. Weather Bureau. ESSA-8 is the first satellite in the ESSA constellation to boast a significant operational life span, watching Earth’s cloud patterns until it is shut down in 1976.
NBC airs the 19th episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, an anthology series of original short plays and short story adaptations hosted by Serling himself. Edward G. Robinson, Yaphet Kotto, and Zsa Zsa Gabor guest star.
NBC airs the 13th episode of the supernatural anthology series Ghost Story, produced by 1960s horror movie mogul William Castle and starring Sebastian Cabot. Angie Dickinson and Madlyn Rhue guest star.
The 14th episode of the animated Star Trek series premieres on NBC, with a script by sci-fi novelist Larry Niven adapting one of his own short stories into the Star Trek universe.
The 13th episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series The Starlost, The Return Of Oro, premieres. Walter Koenig guest stars.
The 356th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This story introduces the Sontarans, created by writer Robert Holmes, as well as a new companion named Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen. This is the opening episode of Doctor Who’s 11th season. 
The 24th episode of The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson, airs on ABC. Diane Civita (V) guest stars.
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The 45th episode of Wonder Woman airs on CBS, starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. Joseph Maher and Kenneth Tigar guest star.
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Warner Bros. Records releases a double LP of John Williams’ soundtrack from Superman: The Movie. Now three-and-three for genre blockbusters, Williams’ album again sells well, and will be reissued in several different forms in the years to come.
The 521st episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. David Daker and Peter Craze guest star in a strangely-timed (just before Christmas?) anti-drug story.
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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The first episode of Glen A. Larson’s science fiction series Automan airs on ABC, starring Desi Arnaz Jr. and Chuck Wagner. Inspired by the 1982 movie Tron, Automan involves a hologram of an intelligent computer program who fights crime alongside a nerdy police computer technician. Patrick Macnee (The Avengers, Battlestar Galactica) and Sid Haig (Jason Of Star Command) guest star. The series lasts less than a full season.
The unmanned Vega 1 space probe is launched by the Soviet Union on a dual mission to drop off a lander at Venus and then to intercept Halley’s Comet in 1986. Derived from the USSR’s earlier Venera Venus landers, Vega will test a refined landing system for landing on Venus by balloon, and will then join an international fleet of unmanned spacecraft attempting to take advantage of Halley’s visit to the inner solar system in late 1985 and early 1986.
The 11th episode of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories airs on NBC. Douglas Seale and Pat Hingle guest star.
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Zang Tuum Tumb releases the Art Of Noise compilation Daft, gathering much of the band’s first album and B-side and EP material in one release.
Pocket Books releases the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel “Star Trek: TNG: A Rock And A Hard Place”, written by Peter David.
The 12th episode of Dracula: The Series airs in syndication, starring Bernard Behrens, Geordie Johnson, and Mia Kirshner. Patrick Monckton (The Dark Crystal) guest stars.
The 63rd episode of the syndicated series Superboy, starring Gerard Christopher and Stacy Haiduk, airs.
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The tenth episode of the science fiction crime drama Super Force is broadcast in syndication in North America, starring Ken Olandt, Larry B. Scott, and Patrick Macnee (The Avengers). G. Gordon Liddy (of Watergate fame, or perhaps infamy) guest stars.
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NBC airs the 84th episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Elizabeth Dennehy (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest stars.
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The 60th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Kevin Zegers and R. Lee Ermey guest star.
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