Sci-Fi Channel airs the 61st episode of Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Richard Hatch and Mark Sheppard guest star. 
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Sci-Fi Channel airs the 61st episode of Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Richard Hatch and Mark Sheppard guest star.
The 748th episode of Doctor Who (the 50th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Alex Kingston guest stars as River Song, the character’s first appearance in the series (and her last adventure chronologically). This is the first part of a two-part story.
Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on the 123rd shuttle flight, a two-week mission to install a major laboratory module to the International Space Station. The pressurized module of Japan’s Kibo laboratory joins the unpressurized section installed on a previous flight, complete with its own robotic arm controlled inside. Aboard Discovery for her 35th flight are Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Ken Ham, mission specialists Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan and Mike Fossum, and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, who remains on the International Space Station. Station astronaut Garrett Reisman returns to Earth aboard Discovery.
Big Finish Productions releases the 13th episode of the new Eighth Doctor Who audio dramas, starring Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith.
Robert Justman, who along with Gene Roddenberry shepherded the original Star Trek from an untried pilot to its three years on the air (and came along for the ride with the inception and first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation), dies at the age of 81 from complications associated with Parkinson’s Disease. Originally an assisant director on the rejected pilot episode The Cage, he stuck around to become a producer and one of Roddenberry’s right-hand men. While at Desilu Studios (the makers of the original Star Trek, later bought by Paramount) he also produced the pilot episode of Mission: Impossible; his pre-Trek credits included several episodes of The Outer Limits, numerous Disney Sunday Movies, and The Adventures Of Superman.
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 62nd episode of Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Dean Stockwell guest stars.
The 749th episode of Doctor Who (the 51st since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Alex Kingston guest stars as River Song, the character’s first appearance in the series (and her last adventure chronologically). This is the second part of a two-part story.
Atlantic Records releases the debut Little Boots album Hands, featuring the singles “New In Town”, “Stuck On Repeat”, and “Remedy”.
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 63rd episode of Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) guest stars. Numerous factors – including a lengthy recent strike among members of the Writers’ Guild of America and Sci-Fi Channel’s scheduling decisions – controversially spread the last season out over two years; the series goes on hiatus until 2009.
The 750th episode of Doctor Who (the 52nd since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. David Troughton and Lesley Sharp guest star.
The Star Trek fan production Of Gods And Men releases its third and final webisode to the internet. Directed by Tim Russ (Star Trek: Voyager’s Tuvok) and with a script by several writers associated with 1990s TV Star Trek, it also boasts appearances by Star Trek cast members Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Cirroc Lofton, Garrett Wang, and Russ himself, among others.
Longtime special effects and makeup wizard Stan Winston, a four-time Oscar winner with a resume loaded with some of the most influential genre films in movie history, dies at the age of 62 after struggling for seven years with multiple myeloma. His four Oscar wins – two for Terminator 2, one for Jurassic Park, and one for Aliens – are just the tip of the iceberg; his makeup and effects skills also earned him Oscar nominations for such films as Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, and AI. Other movie credits included The Wiz, Predator, Friday The 13th Part III, The Thing, Interview With The Vampire and – most recently – Iron Man. His early career was spent in TV, with work on Roots, Amazing Stories and even creating the costumes for Chewbacca’s family in the Star Wars Holiday Special. In 1994, with James Cameron and Scott Ross, he co-founded visual effects house Digital Domain, which grew into a serious competitor in the effects business with its contributions to movies like Titanic, X-Men, Fight Club, The Fifth Element, Speed Racer, Star Trek: Nemesis, and the Lord Of The Rings and Pirates Of The Caribbean series.
Adrenaline Records releases the album Bedtime With The Beatles, Part Two by Jason Falkner, an album of relaxing instrumental covers of Beatles classics.
The 751st episode of Doctor Who (the 53rd since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Billie Piper and Bernard Cribbins guest star.
Big Finish Productions releases the 109th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Sylvester McCoy.
Walt Disney Records releases Thomas Newman’s soundtrack from the Pixar film WALL-E, including the Michael Crawford and Louis Armstrong songs heard in the movie as well as a new Peter Gabriel song.
The 752nd episode of Doctor Who (the 54th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Billie Piper and Bernard Cribbins guest star. This episode brings back Dalek creator Davros for his first appearance in the series since 1988, and is the first half of a two-part season finale.
Actor Don S. Davis, best known for his long stint in the role of General George Hammond on Stargate SG-1, dies of a heart attack at the age of 65. Though his film and TV career didn’t begin in earnest until the early 1980s, by that time he had earned a doctorate in theater arts and had spent a decade sharing those skills with others as a teacher. One of his early gigs was standing in for Dana Elcar on the set of MacGyver, where he met future SG-1 co-star Richard Dean Anderson. He originated the character of Hammond in the premiere episode of Stargate SG-1, and his final appearance in the role is in the upcoming direct-to-DVD movie Stargate Continuum, due in late July. In addition to reprising his SG-1 role on sister series Stargate Atlantis, he has appeared on such series as The Dead Zone, Highlander, The Outer Limits, The X-Files and Twin Peaks.
Big Finish Productions releases the 14th episode of the new Eighth Doctor Who audio dramas, starring Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith.
The 753rd episode of Doctor Who (the 55th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Billie Piper, Elisabeth Sladen, Bernard Cribbins and Noel Clarke guest star. This episode brings back Dalek creator Davros for his first appearance in the series since 1988, and is the conclusion of the two-part season finale.
Big Finish Productions releases the 110th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton.
The fan-produced Star Trek production Star Trek: Intrepid releases a short vignette. The UK-based production is shot almost entirely in front of green screen with computer-generated backgrounds added in post production.
RealWorld Records releases the album Big Blue Ball, an all-star project overseen by Peter Gabriel and Karl Wallinger, with contributions from Sinead O’Connor and Jah Wobble among others.
British toymaker Character Options releases a boxed set of action figures based on the Daleks as seen in the classic Doctor Who series, reflecting various Dalek redesigns and color schemes from 1963 through the ’70s.
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 26th episode of the science fiction series Eureka, starring Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson, and Joe Morton. Niall Matter (Primeval: New World) guest stars in the third season premiere.
Big Finish Productions releases the 15th episode of the new Eighth Doctor Who audio dramas, starring Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith.
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 27th episode of the science fiction series Eureka, starring Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson, and Joe Morton. Niall Matter (Primeval: New World) guest stars.
Director Jud Taylor, best known to genre fans for helming several third season episodes of the original Star Trek, dies at the age of 76. In addition to his directing duties, he served as vice president of the Directors’ Guild of America from 1977 to 1981, and then served a term as the body’s president until 1983; the years he spent advocating the cause of film and television directors are considered among the most influential in the DGA’s history, during which he helped open doors for both female and minority directors, and had a tremendous effect on directors’ creative rights, pensions, and pay. He was active behind the camera as recently as the 2000s, during which he directed several episodes of Law & Order: SVU.
NASA’s Phoenix lander samples the soil of Mars, and it finds not only water, but an unusual soil composition which would make living off the land unlikely for human travelers. The soil sample in question contains perchlorate, a chemical used on Earth to make solid rocket fuel. So while a hypothetical Mars colony couldn’t use the planet’s own soil for farming, it could certainly launch a rocket or two. But missions scientists are quick to point out that while the presence of perchlorate in the Martian dirt may be unfriendly to humans, there may still have been life on the planet at some point which adapted to that chemical; it may also be a localized phenomenon unique to Phoenix’s polar landing site. (There are some plants on Earth capable of processing perchlorate-infused soil, but they’re generally not regarded as viable crops.) The Phoenix probe’s mission is extended to the end of September so it can continue its studies, and could be extended again at the end of that period, though the harsh Martian winter is likely to deny the non-roving Phoenix the kind of longevity enjoyed by its more mobile siblings, Spirit and Opportunity.
British toymaker Character Options releases a boxed set of action figures based on characters from the Doctor Who episodes The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky. These are the first Sontaran action figures since one of the last waves of Dapol action figures in the late 1990s.