The first episode of the British-German science fiction series Star Maidens premieres on ITV in the UK. (Not all regional ITV affiliates carry the show at a specific time; this episode guide reflects the dates for the broadcast premieres of each episode on Scottish TV.) The show stars Gareth Thomas and Judy Geeson, and involves male slaves who escape from the female-dominated society of planet Medusa to take shelter on Earth. 
NASA’s Viking 2 lander, launched from Earth almost exactly a year earlier touches down on Martian soil in the Utopia Planitia region. One of Viking 2’s three landing legs comes down on a rock, leaving the entire lander at an eight-degree angle to the ground. Identical to Viking 1, Viking 2 has its own soil sampling arm, though its series of tests for biological reactions within the soil produce inconclusive results (including at least one “positive” test for signs of life, later attributed to inorganic chemical reactions). Viking 2 will also later confirm that water exists, at least briefly, on the surface of Mars in the form of frost.
The 25th episode of Gerry Anderson’s space adventure series Space: 1999 airs on British broadcaster ITV, starring Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, and adding new cast member Catherine Schell. Brian Blessed (Flash Gordon) guest stars in the second season premiere; Fred Freiberger (Star Trek) takes over as showrunner and institutes major changes to the series format, costuming, and music.
The 428th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Gareth Armstrong and Tim Piggott-Smith guest star. This episode is the beginning of Doctor Who’s 14th season on the air.
Forking over approximately $28,000,000 for the privelege of becoming a player in the video game industry, Warner Communication buys Atari, which had previously been privately owned by Nolan Bushnell and other investors. Though Bushnell remains on Atari’s board for a time, he is eventually removed and replaced by former Burlington Textiles vice president Ray Kassar. At this point, Atari’s most recent product is Atari Video Music, a device that connects to home stereo systems and television sets, producing psychedelic patterns synchronized to music; the company is spending the latter half of 1976 not releasing video game products in an attempt to sit out terms of a legal settlement with Magnavox.
The second episode of the British-German science fiction series Star Maidens premieres on ITV in the UK. (Not all regional ITV affiliates carry the show at a specific time; this episode guide reflects the dates for the broadcast premieres of each episode on Scottish TV.) The show stars Gareth Thomas and Judy Geeson, and involves male slaves who escape from the female-dominated society of planet Medusa to take shelter on Earth.
The 23rd episode of Filmation’s live-action Shazam! series airs on CBS, starring John Davey, Michael Gray and Les Tremayne. William Campbell (Star Trek) guest stars in the third season premiere.
ABC premieres the first episode of Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, part of the Krofft Supershow Saturday morning children’s programming block. This is part one of a two-part story, each episode lasting only around 12 minutes.
NBC premieres the first episode of Monster Squad, a live-action Saturday morning comedy series imagining Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman as a crime-fighting team led by Walter (Fred Grandy, a year before he would set sail on The Love Boat). (Though similar in concept, the series is unrelated to the late theatrical movie of the same name.)
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The 26th episode of Gerry Anderson’s space adventure series Space: 1999 airs on British broadcaster ITV, starring Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, and Catherine Schell.
The 429th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Gareth Armstrong and Tim Piggott-Smith guest star.
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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CBS airs the first episode of its Saturday morning science fiction series Ark II. Jonathan Harris (Lost In Space) guest stars.
The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 22, a vehicle originally built as a backup for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Unusually, the vehicle does not dock at the recently-launched Salyut 5 space station, but is instead placed in an unusual orbit that happens to make it easy to monitor a major NATO exercise near Norway. Cosmonauts Valery Bykovsky and Vladimir Aksyonov remain in that orbit for nearly eight days before returning to Earth.
The third episode of the British-German science fiction series Star Maidens premieres on ITV in the UK. (Not all regional ITV affiliates carry the show at a specific time; this episode guide reflects the dates for the broadcast premieres of each episode on Scottish TV.)
On schedule, the Space Shuttle Enterprise is rolled out of the Rockwell International plant in Palmdale, California to much public fanfare, a ceremony including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and most of the cast who played the crew of the Enterprise’s fictional namesake (William Shatner was conspicuously absent). The timing of the rollout, ironically, was intended to roll the test shuttle – originally named Constitution – out of the hangar on Constitution Day during the bicentennial year.
Having tried to find a suitable script for a big-screen relaunch of Star Trek virtually since the cancellation of the television series, Paramount – riding the coattails of the much-publicized unveiling of the Space Shuttle Enterprise – issues a press release announcing that the first Trek movie is finally underway – in this case, a still-in-development script called Star Trek: Planet Of Titans, featuring a radically redesigned Enterprise concept by illustrator Ralph McQuarrie, whose other recent genre work – designs for the yet-to-be-released Star Wars – has yet to make him a household name.
The 24th episode of Filmation’s live-action Shazam! series airs on CBS, starring John Davey, Michael Gray and Les Tremayne. Linden Chiles and James Van Pattern guest star.
ABC airs the second episode of Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, part of the Krofft Supershow Saturday morning children’s programming block. This is part two of a two-part story, each episode lasting only around 12 minutes.
NBC airs the second episode of Monster Squad, a live-action Saturday morning comedy starring Fred Grandy.
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.
The 27th episode of Gerry Anderson’s space adventure series Space: 1999 airs on British broadcaster ITV, starring Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, and Catherine Schell. Freddie Jones (Children Of The Stones, Dune) guest stars.
The 430th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Gareth Armstrong and Tim Piggott-Smith guest star.
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
CBS airs the second episode of Filmation’s live-action Saturday morning science fiction series Ark II.
The 58th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Lindsay Wagner, John Saxon, Sandy Duncan, Stefanie Powers, and Ted Cassidy guest star in the fourth season prmiere, whose story will be concluded on The Bionic Woman.
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The 15th episode of The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson, airs on ABC. Lee Majors and Martin E. Brooks appear as their characters from The Six Million Dollar Man in the second season premiere, which is also a heavily promoted crossover event, part one of which was the season premiere of The Six Million Dollar Man. John Saxon, Ted Cassidy, Sandy Duncan, and Stefanie Powers guest star.
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.
The fourth episode of the British-German science fiction series Star Maidens premieres on ITV in the UK. (Not all regional ITV affiliates carry the show at a specific time; this episode guide reflects the dates for the broadcast premieres of each episode on Scottish TV.)
NBC airs the first episode of Gemini Man, starring Ben Murphy and Katherine Crawford; William Sylvester takes over Richard Dysart’s role from the pilot movie, and Andrew Prine and country music artist Jim Stafford guest star. This episode becomes infamous for a later appearance on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
The 25th episode of Filmation’s live-action Shazam! series airs on CBS, starring John Davey, Michael Gray and Les Tremayne. Patrick Labyorteaux (Little House On The Prairie, JAG) guest stars.
ABC airs the third episode of Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, part of the Krofft Supershow Saturday morning children’s programming block. This is part one of a two-part story, each episode lasting only around 12 minutes.
NBC airs the third episode of Monster Squad, a live-action Saturday morning comedy starring Fred Grandy.
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.
The 28th episode of Gerry Anderson’s space adventure series Space: 1999 airs on British broadcaster ITV, starring Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, and Catherine Schell.