Earl Green is the creator, curator, and head writer of theLogBook.com.
Exidy’s colorful coin-op video game Mouse Trap arrives in arcades, challenging players to not only keep up with the action on screen, but to tap the right color-coded door button on the control panel at the right time, allowing the mouse to escape from hungry cats. In a very short time, Mouse Trap is deemed worthy of song on Buckner & Garcia’s upcoming album Pac-Man Fever. 
BBC1 premieres the 45th episode of Terry Nation’s science fiction series Blake’s 7. Lynda Bellingham (All Creatures Great & Small) guest stars.
ITV premieres the second episode of the sitcom Astronauts, concerning a fictional British space station crew aboard Skylab. Each episode is written by former Goodies cast members/writers Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.
ABC airs the ninth episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp. Markie Post (Night Court) and Carmen Argenziano (Stargate SG-1) guest star in the second season premiere.
More about The Greatest American Hero in theLogBook.com Store
The Greatest American Hero now streaming on Amazon Prime
Sega/Gremlin releases the vector graphics arcade game Eliminator, in which one or two players team up (or go against each other) while trying to fire a shot down a narrow opening in a large, round, mobile space station with dangerous armament which is definitely not the Death Star. The two-player version is available as an upgright cabinet; a four-player cocktail table version is also made available.
NBC airs the ninth episode of the Marvel animated series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, starring the voices of Dan Gilvezan (Transformers), Kathy Garver (Family Affair), and Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo, Transformers, The Smurfs).
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.
Midway releases the arcade video game Bosconian, licensed from Namco, the Japanese developers behind Pac-Man and Galaga.
BBC1 premieres the 46th episode of Terry Nation’s science fiction series Blake’s 7. Richard Hurndall guest stars; Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner is so impressed with Hurndall’s “Hartnell-esque” performance that he casts the actor in the late William Hartnell’s role of the first Doctor in the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors in 1983.
ITV premieres the third episode of the sitcom Astronauts, concerning a fictional British space station crew aboard Skylab. Each episode is written by former Goodies cast members/writers Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.
ABC airs the tenth episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp.
More about The Greatest American Hero in theLogBook.com Store
The Greatest American Hero now streaming on Amazon Prime
For the first time in history, a space vehicle returns to space for a second complete mission. Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off on its second test flight, with another two-man crew consisting of Joe Engle and Richard Truly, the first all-rookie American space crew since the last Skylab flight. Refinements to various systems are to be tested on this mission, as well as the first use of the remote manipulator arm, upon which nearly all claims of the shuttle’s ability to deploy, retrieve and repair satellites rest.
Key to NASA’s claim that the Space Shuttle will be able to deploy, retrieve and repair satellites is the Canadian-built remote manipulator arm system (or “Canadarm”), a project first contracted in 1975 and making its first appearance on Columbia‘s second flight. During tests, the arm performs exactly as expected, and proves to be absolutely vital to many future shuttle missions. The Canadian Space Agency and its subcontractors quickly receive further orders – a Canadarm for every shuttle in the fleet. Fuel cell problems shorten Columbia’s mission from five days to two days, but the crew still accomplishes most of the planned objectives and experiments.
NBC airs the tenth episode of the Marvel animated series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, starring the voices of Dan Gilvezan (Transformers), Kathy Garver (Family Affair), and Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo, Transformers, The Smurfs).
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.
BBC1 premieres the 47th episode of Terry Nation’s science fiction series Blake’s 7. Jacqueline Pearce and Stratford Johns guest star.
ITV premieres the fourth episode of the sitcom Astronauts, concerning a fictional British space station crew aboard Skylab.
ABC airs the 11th episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp.
More about The Greatest American Hero in theLogBook.com Store
The Greatest American Hero now streaming on Amazon Prime
Arcade game maker Universal presents its entry in the industry-wide rush to get “a game like Pac-Man” into locations everywhere, the maze chase Ladybug. This is the first game from Universal to utilize the unique “spell EXTRA” method of awarding players extra “lives”, which practically becomes a Universal trademark in later games.
NBC airs the 11th episode of the Marvel animated series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, starring the voices of Dan Gilvezan (Transformers), Kathy Garver (Family Affair), and Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo, Transformers, The Smurfs).
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.
Mute Records releases the first Depeche Mode album, Speak & Spell, featuring the singles “New Life”, “Dreaming Of Me” and “Just Can’t Get Enough”.
BBC1 premieres the 48th episode of Terry Nation’s science fiction series Blake’s 7. Jacqueline Pearce guest stars.
ITV premieres the fifth episode of the sitcom Astronauts, concerning a fictional British space station crew aboard Skylab.
ABC airs the 12th episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp.
More about The Greatest American Hero in theLogBook.com Store
The Greatest American Hero now streaming on Amazon Prime
Better known for making jukeboxes and speakers, Rock-Ola continues trying to make inroads into the video game industry by releasing Fantasy in the United States. The arcade game, originated in Japan by SNK, is one of the very first coin-op games to allow players to insert additional coins to continue from the location of their previous game’s end within a set amount of time. With several screens requiring players to develop completely different strategies on the fly, Fantasy doesn’t gain much of a following; many arcade operators gut and convert their Fantasy machines into other games. (This is your webmaster’s all-time favorite arcade game.)
NBC premieres the first episode of Darkroom, a horror anthology hosted by James Coburn. In the tradition of Night Gallery, the series features multiple stories per episode; this installment includes Closed Circuit, guest starring Robert Webber and Richard Anderson (The Six Million Dollar Man), and Stay Tuned, We’ll Be Right Back, guest starring Lawrence Pressman and Joanna Miles.
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.
NBC airs the 12th episode of the Marvel animated series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, starring the voices of Dan Gilvezan (Transformers), Kathy Garver (Family Affair), and Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo, Transformers, The Smurfs).
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.
BBC1 premieres the 49th episode of Terry Nation’s science fiction series Blake’s 7. Roy Kinnear guest stars.
ITV premieres the sixth episode of the sitcom Astronauts, concerning a fictional British space station crew aboard Skylab.
Newly exposed to the rapidly expanding video game industry, Dallas businessman Patrick Roper files incorporation papers for a new video game manufacturer, Games By Apollo. Having started a video game company, Roper places ads in local newspapers seeking programmers to make games for the Atari VCS. In one year of operation, Roper – seeing the much better-funded Activision as his primary competition – overproduces all of Apollo’s nearly dozen titles, leading to a round of price cuts on the company’s products.
ABC airs the 13th episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp.
More about The Greatest American Hero in theLogBook.com Store
The Greatest American Hero now streaming on Amazon Prime
NBC airs the second episode of Darkroom, a horror anthology hosted by James Coburn. The series features multiple stories per episode; this installment includes The Bogeyman Will Get You, guest starring Helen Hunt (Mad About You, Twister) and Randy Powell (Logan’s Run), and Uncle George, guest starring Claude Akins and June Lockhart (Lost In Space).
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.