Science Fiction Theatre: The Green Bomb

Science Fiction TheatreThe 43rd episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Whit Bissell and Kenneth Tobey, and plays on the rising nuclear fear of the fifties.

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Science Fiction Theatre: The Missing Waveband

Science Fiction TheatreThe 49th episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Dick Foran and Stafford Repp.

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Highway Patrol: Prospector

Mr. District AttorneyThe 38th episode of the syndicated series Highway Patrol, starring Broderick Crawford, is broadcast in the United States. This story, titled Prospector, is an early TV script written by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry, still on active duty with the Los Angeles Police Department, is also the show’s “technical advisor” on police procedure. Due to Roddenberry’s current police employment, the episode is credited to his pseudonym, Robert Wesley. Hear more about it on the Gene-ology podcast

Science Fiction Theatre: The Human Experiment

Science Fiction TheatreThe 50th episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Marshall Thompson and Virginia Christine.

This series is not fully chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.

Science Fiction Theatre: Man Who Didn’t Know

Science Fiction TheatreThe 51st episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Arthur Franz and Susan Cummings.

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Science Fiction Theatre: End Of Tomorrow

Science Fiction TheatreThe 52nd episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Christopher Dark and Diana Douglas.

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DuMont goes dark

DuMont Television NetworkThe first American TV network to go out of business transmits its final broadcast, a live boxing match from New York. The DuMont Television Network has simply run out of money, despite countless innovations that will be adopted by its competitors in years to come: the first made-for-TV movie, the first sitcom, the first soap opera, the first interstate coax cable link between stations (connecting the east coast to St. Louis), and the first to sell ad time within a single show to multiple advertisers, rather than letting a single advertiser sponsor an entire show (usually controlling the content as well). DuMont was also home to the first American science fiction TV series, Captain Video and his Video Rangers, which thrilled young viewers between 1949 and 1955. The DuMont Network goes off the air after operating for only ten years. The DuMont name continues to be used by its core of owned-and-operated stations in major cities, though that business unit will eventually rename itself Metropolitan Media, and later Metromedia. (Ironically, the Metromedia stations will eventually be purchased by the nascent Fox Broadcasting Company in the 1980s, becoming the core of another upstart TV network.)

Science Fiction Theatre: The Legend of Crater Mountain

Science Fiction TheatreThe 55th episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Marilyn Erskine and Bradford Jackson.

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The first hard disk drive

IBM RAMACIBM announces the IBM 305 RAMAC (Random Access Memory Accounting) mainframe, a computer as large as two refrigerators, containing the new 350 Disk Storage Unit, the world’s first hard disk drive. The nearly-six-foot-high drive consists of a huge metal case surrounding a towering stack of 50 double-sided magnetic platters, adding up to a total capacity of four megabytes. In 1958, IBM will introduce the option to double capacity by adding a second stack of drive platters to the casing. The 305 RAMAC and 350 Disk Storage Unit together weigh over a ton, and are leased to IBM’s clients for $3,200 per month.

Science Fiction Theatre: Miracle Of Doctor Dove

Science Fiction TheatreThe 59th episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Gene Lockheart, Cyril Delevanti, and Rhodes Reason.

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Science Fiction Theatre: One Thousand Eyes

Science Fiction TheatreThe 60th episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre airs on stations across the U.S. Hosted by Truman Bradley, the episode stars Vincent Price and Jean Byron.

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West Point: The Operator and the Martinet

West PointThe second episode of the military anthology series West Point is broadcast on CBS in the United States. This episode, titled The Operator and the Martinet, is an early TV script written by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who has now retired from police work and is a full-time TV writer; this is his first televised work credited to his real name. Robert Vaughn (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) guest stars. Hear more about it on the Gene-ology podcast