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Pathfinders To Venus: S.O.S. From Venus
British broadcaster ABC premieres the first episode of Pathfinders To Venus, a follow-up series to Pathfinders In Mars, produced by future Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman. George Colouris and Gerald Flood (City Beneath The Sea) star; the script is written by Malcolm Hulke (Doctor Who) and Eric Paice (Star Maidens). Though the original master tape of this episode was later wiped for reuse, film recordings of all eight episodes will be recovered and released on DVD in the 21st century.
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could help change that.
ABC airs the 84th episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland.
The 56th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Dean Jagger stars.
The tenth episode of Sydney Newman’s spy series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee, airs on UK broadcaster ABC. This episode is now missing from the archives, but will be recreated in audio form in the 21st century by Big Finish Productions.
In the journal Science, Carl Sagan proposes an audacious scheme to alter the chemistry of the atmosphere of Venus, making it habitable for humans. His plan involves depositing algae colonies into the planet’s clouds to begin converting the planet’s carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen, and the idea is years ahead of its time (and will later prove to be impractical when more direct studies are made of the Venusian atmosphere).
CBS premieres the first episode of the anthology series ‘Way Out, hosted by author Roald Dahl. Fritz Weaver and Barnard Hughes (Tron, Mr. Merlin) star in an episode adapted by Dahl from his own short story. Marc Daniels (Star Trek) directs. The series is a mid-season replacement rushed into production by CBS to take over the time slot of a Jackie Gleason game show/talk show that had met with unexpectedly low ratings; the network also considers it a worthy companion piece to The Twilight Zone. This is also Roald Dahl’s first experience (but not his last) translating his work to the screen.
The Soviet Union scores another technological victory, launching cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1 into a single orbit of Earth lasting a little over 100 minutes. After that orbit, Gagarin’s Vostok return capsule carries him safely through the atmosphere; he then triggers an ejection seat which punches him out of the capsule, at which point he parachutes to the ground.