Wendy Carlos: Digital Moonscapes

SoundtrackCBS Records releases Wendy Carlos‘ instrumental album Digital Moonscapes. Performed entirely on synthesizers (credited on the album to the “LSI Philharmonic Orchestra”), the album includes one track (“Io”) which was originally composed for, and dropped from, a scene in the movie Tron (for which Carlos also composed the soundtrack). Read more

STS-41D: Discovery’s debut

DiscoverySpace Shuttle Discovery makes its first flight into space on a mission to deploy three commercial communications satellites. Tested on this flight is a huge solar power panel which unfolds vertically from Discovery’s cargo bay, testing technology for space station designs still on the drawing board. Discovery’s crew for this flight consists of Commander Henry Hartsfield, Pilot Michael Coats, mission specialists Judy Resnick, Steven Hawley, Mike Mullane, and payload specialist Charles Walker.

Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense: Mark Of The Devil

Hammer House Of Mystery And SuspenseThe first episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense airs on ITV; the series will be shown later in the U.S. under the title Fox Mystery Theatre, as it is a co-production between Hammer and 20th Century Fox. Dirk Benedict (Battlestar Galactica, The A-Team), Jenny Seagrove, and George Sewell (UFO) guest star.

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Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense: Last Video And Testament

Hammer House Of Mystery And SuspenseThe second episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense airs on ITV; the series will be shown later in the U.S. under the title Fox Mystery Theatre. Deborah Raffin (7th Heaven) and David Langton (Upstairs, Downstairs) guest star.

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Doctor Who: The Key To Time

Doctor Who: The Key To TimeBritish publisher W.H. Allen releases the non-fiction book Doctor Who: The Key To Time by Peter Haining, a chronological collection of events, press mentions and other ephemera from Doctor Who’s beginning through the book’s publication. (The book is not related to the Key to Time storyline of the series’ 16th season.) Read more

STS-41G

ChallengerSpace Shuttle Challenger lifts off on an eight-day mission, the first shuttle mission with a seven-person crew, which also happens to be the first American shuttle crew with two women on board. A satellite to study radiation around the Earth is deployed, along with an experiment to study the feasibility of refueling empty satellites to extend their service life. Challenger’s crew for this flight consists of Commander Robert Crippen, Pilot Jon McBride, mission specialists Kathryn Sullivan, Sally Ride, David Leestma and payload specialists Marc Garneau and Paul Scully-Power.

Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense: Child’s Play

Hammer House Of Mystery And SuspenseThe third episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense airs on ITV; the series will be shown later in the U.S. under the title Fox Mystery Theatre. Mary Crosby (The Ice Pirates, Dallas) guest stars.

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Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense: The Corvini Inheritance

Hammer House Of Mystery And SuspenseThe fourth episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense airs on ITV; the series will be shown later in the U.S. under the title Fox Mystery Theatre. David McCallum (The Man From UNCLE, Sapphire & Steel) and Jan Francis (Just Good Friends) guest star in an episode written by David Fisher (Doctor Who) and directed by Gabrielle Beaumont (The Tomorrow People, Star Trek: The Next Generation).

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The Policeman’s Beard Is Half Constructed

The Policeman's Beard Is Half ConstructedThe first edition of the collection of prose, poetry and blank verse titled The Policeman’s Beard Is Half Constructed – supposedly “written” by an artificial intelligence called RACTER – is published by Warner Books. When a commercial version of RACTER is made available, some users cry foul – it doesn’t output anything remotely like the book attributed to it. Read more
Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense: In Possession

Hammer House Of Mystery And SuspenseThe fifth episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense airs on ITV; the series will be shown later in the U.S. under the title Fox Mystery Theatre. Carol Lynley (The Night Stalker) and Judy Loe (Ace Of Wands) guest star.

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Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense: Paint Me A Murder

Hammer House Of Mystery And SuspenseThe sixth episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense airs on ITV; the series will be shown later in the U.S. under the title Fox Mystery Theatre. Michelle Phillips (Knots Landing) and W. Morgan Sheppard (Max Headroom) guest star.

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2010: The Year We Make Contact (soundtrack)

SoundtrackA&M Records releases David Shire’s soundtrack from the movie 2010: The Year We Make Contact. Available only briefly – the label doesn’t keep the title in print after the movie proves not to be a blockbuster – the soundtrack has yet to be reissued in any form and is an exceedingly rare collectors’ item. The album includes a version of the theme tune by Andy Summers of The Police. Read more