The 71st episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Marilyn Erskine and Ross Elliott.
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ABC airs the 37th episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Robert Loggia and Anna Lee Carroll guest star.
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The 80th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Dean Stockwell, Albert Salmi, and Leonard Nimoy star.
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British broadcaster ABC airs the 40th episode of Sydney Newman’s spy series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. Bruce Boa (Astronauts) guest stars in an episode written by future Star Maidens scribe Eric Paice.
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The 15th episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris. Reta Shaw (Mary Poppins) and Walter Sande (Bad Day At Black Rock) guest star.
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After a year of story development and refinement, filming begins on 2001: a space odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on a story hashed out between Kubrick and SF writer Arthur C. Clarke from their mutual desire to create “the proverbial good science fiction movie” rather than the man-in-a-monster/robot-suit variety of movie that passes for science fiction in theaters. The film is budgeted at a hefty $10,000,000 – an impressive budget for the mid-1960s – including the construction of a rotating, hamster-wheel-like set for the interior of the spaceship Discovery. The unusual post-production and effects demands of 2001 will keep the movie “in production” for over two years.
The 15th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek airs on NBC. Bruce Mars guest stars as Kirk’s Starfleet Academy nemesis, Finnegan. 
BBC2 airs the 24th episode of science fiction anthology series Out Of The Unknown. Adapted by Hugh Leonard from a story by Isaac Asimov, the story stars Ann Firbank and Bruce Boa (Astronauts). This episode no longer exists in the BBC’s archives.
The 44th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek premieres on NBC. This early script by writer David Gerrold becomes the best-loved episode of the entire series (according to many a fan poll), introducing the rapidly-reproducing, rapidly-eating, Klingon-sniffing Tribbles to the Star Trek universe. This is their only appearance in the original series, though they reappear in two animated series and Deep Space Nine years later.
ABC airs the 12th episode of Irwin Allen’s sci-fi series Land Of The Giants, starring Gary Conway, Don Matheson, Deanna Lund, and Don Marshall. Celeste Yarnall guest stars.
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NBC airs the 20th episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, an anthology series of original short plays and short story adaptations hosted by Serling himself. Dana Andrews, Sandra Dee, Jared Martin, Patrick Macnee, Brock Peters, and Tim Matheson guest star.
The 15th episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series The Starlost, The Beehive, premieres.
The 358th 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.
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The 47th episode of Wonder Woman airs on CBS, starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. Peter Mark Richman (Electra Woman and Dyna Girl) guest stars.
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The 523rd episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Graham Crowden guest stars. This is the final Doctor Who episode of the 1970s.
For the first time in the history of the delay-riddled Space Shuttle program, a complete, flight-ready vehicle is rolled out to the launch pad. Space Shuttle Columbia, atop the modified crawler vehicle which once carried Saturn V rockets to the pad, arrives at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 39A, strapped to flight-qualified solid rocket boosters and a flight-ready external tank. (The shuttle Enterprise had been attached to empty boosters and tanks for fit checks as early as 1979.) Though preparation work continues to ready Columbia for flight, the shuttle is now in position for her first launch in 1981.
The pilot episode of a potential Doctor Who spin-off series, K-9 & Company, airs on BBC1, starring Elisabeth Sladen reprising her role of former TARDIS traveler Sarah Jane Smith. John Leeson returns to voice K-9. Though the curious combination of a family-viewing-time schedule slot and a sinister black-magic plotline – not to mention a transmitter outage that keeps the show away from the eyes of a significant part of its potential audience – factor into the pilot not leading to a series, its plot developments (Sarah Jane receiving her own K-9 sent by the Doctor) are honored by later entries in the franchise, meaning this one-off adventure is canonical. Both Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 will get their own spinoffs – both aimed at younger audiences – in the 21st century.
Hobbled by the recent half-billion-dollar losses of its Atari division, Warner Communications finds itself vulnerable to a potential hostile takeover by Australian publisher Rupert Murdoch, who isn’t shy about his plan to acquire a controlling interest in Warner’s very slowly recovering stock. To stave off Murdoch’s takeover attempt, a 19% stake in Warner is traded for 43% of Chris-Craft Industries’ broadcasting division, BHC Communications. This transaction later has unforseen consequences, including BHC’s near-successful 1989 attempt to block the Time Warner merger, and the creation of the short-lived PTEN television network, a failed 1990s venture whose main claim to fame will be the science fiction series Babylon 5.
The third episode of Glen A. Larson’s science fiction series Automan airs on ABC, starring Desi Arnaz Jr. and Chuck Wagner, taking at least a little bit of inspiration from the 1982 movie Tron. Clu Gulager guest stars.
The 12th episode of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories airs on NBC. Harvey Keitel, Sondra Locke, and Beau Bridges guest star in an episode directed by Clint Eastwood.
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The 36th episode of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories airs on NBC. Jeffrey Jones (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) guest stars.
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The 12th 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).
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The second episode of the sci-fi crime series TekWar, based on William Shatner’s novel series, airs as part of the Universal Action Pack syndication package. Greg Evigan, Eugene Clark, William Shatner, and Torri Higginson star. Lexa Doig (Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda) guest stars.
The national syndication window opens for the ninth episode of the posthumous Gene Roddenberry science fiction series Earth: Final Conflict.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 132nd episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Iggy Pop guest stars.
Big Finish Productions releases the 27th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford. Matt Lucas guest stars in the first Doctor Who audio “Christmas special” from Big Finish – not so much holiday-themed as more light-hearted than the usual fare.
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres the 31st episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s post-apocalyptic series Jeremiah.
Big Finish Productions releases the 77th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Paul McGann and India Fisher.
Andrew Mark Sewell’s B7 Media releases its second Blake’s 7 audio drama, Traitor, written by Marc Platt (Doctor Who) and starring Derek Riddell (Bodies, Happy Valley), Colin Salmon (Krypton, Arrow), and Carrie Dobro (Crusade, Hypernauts). Rula Lenska guest stars. This is a complete re-imagining and reboot of Terry Nation’s series for audio; an edited version will later get an airing on BBC Radio.
Big Finish Productions releases the 129th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton.