The 13th episode of the military anthology series West Point is broadcast on CBS in the United States. This episode is an early TV script written by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, one of the series’ staff writers. 
The 13th episode of the military anthology series West Point is broadcast on CBS in the United States. This episode is an early TV script written by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, one of the series’ staff writers.
The 16th episode of Sam Rolfe’s western series Have Gun – Will Travel is broadcast on CBS in the United States, starring Richard Boone. The episode is the third of a four-week consecutive streak of scripts written by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, a frequent writer in the series’ early seasons. The script wins the Best Teleplay award from the Writers’ Guild of America.
In the Hillsboro Press-Gazette, ENIAC and UNIVAC co-creator Dr. John Mauchly predicts that there will come “a time when everyone will carry his own personal computer”, even going so far as to anticipate portable “hand computers” used for such tasks as interactive shopping lists. Mauchly’s predictions aren’t 100% accurate, however: by the 21st century, groceries do not arrive via delivery chutes in every home, and he fails to anticipate the use of “hand computers” to access social networks or view amusingly captioned photos of cats.
British broadcaster ABC airs the 66th episode of the spy-fi series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. Leonard Rossiter (The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin) and Anneke Wills (Doctor Who, Strange Report) guest star.
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The sixth episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. The Survivors is part two of the story now collectively known as The Daleks, the first story to feature the Doctor’s future arch-rivals. The Daleks are revealed in full, and their distinctive voices are heard, for the first time here, and schoolchildren begin imitating Daleks on playgrounds. Unexpected by anyone at the BBC, Doctor Who is suddenly a bona fide smash hit.
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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NBC airs the 14th episode of the military drama The Lieutenant, created and produced by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and starring Gary Lockwood (2001: a space odyssey) and Robert Vaughn (The Man From UNCLE). Madlyn Rhue guest stars. 
The 16th episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Viveca Lindfors and John Hoyt guest star.
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British broadcaster ABC airs the 92nd episode of the spy-fi series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg.
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The 44th episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris. Dennis Patrick (Dark Shadows) guest stars.
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ABC broadcasts the 16th episode of the Filmation animated series Fantastic Voyage, based on the 1966 movie of the same name. Marvin Miller, Ted Knight, and Jane Webb lead the voice cast.
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The 228th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. Philip Madoc guest stars. This is the first Doctor Who story written by Robert Holmes, who will become a frequent writer for the show during the early ’70s and take over as script editor during Tom Baker’s era.
The second episode of children’s fantasy series The Owl Service is broadcast by British broadcast Granada Television. The series is adapted by novelist Alan Garner from his own novel.
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ITV airs the 14th episode of the mystery/spy-fi series Strange Report in the U.K., starring Anthony Quayle, Kaz Garas, and Anneke Wills (Doctor Who). (The series is an international co-production and airs in the United States on NBC.) Peter Jones (The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy) and Caroline Blakiston (Return Of The Jedi) guest star.
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ABC airs the 41st episode of Irwin Allen’s sci-fi series Land Of The Giants, starring Gary Conway, Don Matheson, Deanna Lund, and Don Marshall. Alan Hale Jr. (Gilligan’s Island) guest stars.
CBS airs the 91st episode of Bruce Geller’s “spy-fi” series Mission: Impossible, starring Peter Graves, Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Greg Morris, and Peter Lupus. Anthony Zerbe (KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park) and Steve Ihnat (Star Trek) guest star.
The 17th episode of Land Of The Lost premieres on NBC. The first season finale is co-written by Larry Niven and David Gerrold under the assumption that the series will not be picked up, yet a second season is ordered.
The 382nd episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Tom Baker makes his debut as the fourth Doctor in this first episode of the show’s 12th season. (The December 1974 premiere date also gives Baker his claim to being the Doctor for “seven years” by about three days.) Ian Marter makes his first appearance as the Doctor’s new companion, Naval Surgeon Lt. Harry Sullivan.
Epic Records releases the compilation album The Argent Anthology: A Collection of Greatest Hits, gathering highlights of the group’s output from 1969-74.
The 22nd episode of Harold Jack Bloom’s sci-fi series Project UFO airs on NBC, portraying fictionalized investigations into what the show claims are actual cases from the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book investigations. Edward Winter and Caskey Swaim star. Pamelyn Ferdyn (Space Academy) and Whit Bissell (The Time Tunnel) guest star.
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The 682nd episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. T.P. McKenna and Jessica Martin guest star in the final story of season 25.
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!
Order Earl Green’s book VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store
The week-long national syndication window opens for the two-hour first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Starring Avery Brooks and Nana Visitor, and guest starring Patrick Stewart, the pilot is heavily promoted, and in most cases (but not all) airs on the same stations already carrying the Star Trek: TNG syndication package. At the time of broadcast, it’s one of the most expensive pilots ever produced; David Carson’s direction wins him the director’s chair on the next Star Trek feature film, Generations. DS9 is the first Star Trek series not created by Gene Roddenberry.
The 31st episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Lisa Howard, Von Flores, and Richard Chevolleau.
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The week-long national syndication window opens for the 158th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Unusually, this episode pushes frequent guest stars Aron Eisenberg and James Darren to the forefront, with the series regulars appearing in only small scenes.
Big Finish Productions releases the 90th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant.
theLogBook.com releases the 13th episode of the Retrogram podcast, hosted by Earl Green, covering the following shows from the week of December 28th, 1969:
Space shuttle astronaut Richard “Rich” Clifford, who flew three shuttle missions in the 1990s, dies at the age of 69 from complications related to Parkinson’s Disease. A Lieutenant Colonel when he retired from the U.S. Army in 1995, Clifford had been working at NASA while still with the Army, beginning his involvement with the space program in 1987. He helped to certify crew escape systems in the wake of the Challenger disaster, before moving on to assist in the design of EVA equipment in the early 90s. He flew as a mission specialist on the STS-53, STS-59, and STS-76 missions, accumulating over 600 hours in space, including an EVA lasting six hours at the Mir space station on his final flight. It was before that third mission that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, but he kept that diagnosis private until after the mission. He retired from NASA in 1997, but joined Boeing as its Flight Operations Manager from the construction of the International Space Station until the final shuttle mission to the ISS in 2011. He also worked with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which funds research into Parkinson’s.