ABC airs the eighth episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp. Duncan Regehr (Wizards & Warriors) guest stars in the first season finale.
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ITV premieres the first episode of the HTV West-produced children’s fantasy series Into The Labyrinth, co-created by Bob Baker (Sky, Doctor Who, K-9) and starring Ron Moody and Pamela Salem. 
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The final first-generation Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz 40, is launched on a week-long spaceflight by the Soviet Union. With Leonid Popov and Romanian cosmonaut Dumitru Prunariu aboard, Soyuz 40 visits space station Salyut 6 for several days, and is the last spacecraft to dock at the five-year-old space station. The Soyuz 40 crew returns to Earth on May 22nd. Future Soyuz launches will use the upgraded Soyuz-T vehicles.
Atari releases the vector graphics arcade game Tempest, created by programmer Dave Theurer. This is the first game to use Atari’s “Quadrascan” vector display, capable of displaying a limited color palette instead of the strictly black & white graphics of the company’s previous vector games. (more…)
BBC 1 premieres the third episode of the short-run series The Nightmare Man, written by former Doctor Who script editor Robert Holmes, directed by ’70s Doctor Who director Douglas Camfield, and starring many faces familiar to fans of that series. Not intended to be an ongoing series, this one-off four-part serial is commissioned to fill a gap in the BBC’s summer schedule. (more…)
Researchers and storm chasers from the National Weather Service’s Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma make the first field deployment of the 300-pound TOtable Tornado Observatory (TOTO) instrument package, a modified oil drum filled with meteorological instrumentation which is intended to be placed directly into the path of an oncoming tornado. The first deployment, in north Texas, yields no data – no tornado forms for TOTO to study. Over the next five years, despite several “close calls”, TOTO is never successfully placed in the direct path of a tornado. The TOTO program is discontinued in 1987.
ITV airs the 41st episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. James Warwick guest stars.
The ninth episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the science fiction blockbuster Star Wars airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S. Mark Hamill stars as Luke Skywalker and Perry King stars as Han Solo. (more…)
Decca Records releases the tenth Moody Blues album, Long Distance Voyager, featuring the singles “Gemini Dream” and “The Voice”. (more…)
ITV airs the second episode of the HTV West-produced children’s fantasy series Into The Labyrinth, co-created by Bob Baker (Sky, Doctor Who, K-9) and starring Ron Moody and Pamela Salem. (more…)
NOAA’s GOES-5 Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite is launched from Cape Canaveral into a geosynchronous orbit over 85 degrees west longitude on Earth, a position which will change several times over GOES-5’s career until 1988, allowing it to monitor weather over the continental United States and Europe. GOES-5’s primary set of “eyes” will fail in 1984, forcing NOAA to return GOES-1 and GOES-4 to service until a replacement can be launched in 1987. Its usefulness as a weather satellite at an end, GOES-5 will be boosted into a graveyard orbit in 1990.
BBC 1 premieres the fourth and final episode of the short-run series The Nightmare Man, written by former Doctor Who script editor Robert Holmes, directed by ’70s Doctor Who director Douglas Camfield, and starring many faces familiar to fans of that series. Not intended to be an ongoing series, this one-off four-part serial is commissioned to fill a gap in the BBC’s summer schedule. (more…)
ITV airs the 42nd episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Colin Blakely guest stars.
The tenth episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the science fiction blockbuster Star Wars airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S. Mark Hamill stars as Luke Skywalker and Perry King stars as Han Solo. (more…)
A team of American astronomers discovers what they believe is a third moon of Neptune from ground-based telescope observations, but S/1981N1 isn’t seen again for several years, so the discovery is left in the “unconfirmed” category…until it is next seen by Voyager 2 in 1989, confirming the original sighting many years later. In 1991, the International Astronomical Union will name this moon Larissa. (Voyager 2 photo of Larissa shown)
ITV airs the third episode of the HTV West-produced children’s fantasy series Into The Labyrinth, co-created by Bob Baker (Sky, Doctor Who, K-9) and starring Ron Moody and Pamela Salem. (more…)
ITV airs the 43rd episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Gary Burghoff (M*A*S*H) and Damian London (Babylon 5) guest star.
The 11th episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the science fiction blockbuster Star Wars airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S. Brock Peters stars as Darth Vader and Bernard “Bunny” Behrens stars as Ben Kenobi. (more…)
Magnavox releases the video game Pachinko! for the Odyssey² home video game system in North America, designed and programmed by Ed and Linda Averett. The game is released later in Europe for the equivalent Videopac console, and in France for the Jopac. (more…)
Magnavox releases the video game Blockout! / Breakdown! for the Odyssey² home video game system in North America, designed and programmed by Ed and Linda Averett. The game is released later in Europe for the equivalent Videopac console, and in France for the Jopac. (more…)
Magnavox releases the video game Casino Slot Machine! for the Odyssey² home video game system in North America, designed and programmed by Ed and Linda Averett. The game is released later in Europe for the equivalent Videopac console, and in France for the Jopac. (more…)
Magnavox releases the video game Pocket Billiards! for the Odyssey² home video game system in North America, designed and programmed by Ed and Linda Averett. The game is released later in Europe for the equivalent Videopac console, and in France for the Jopac. (more…)
The first episode of the short-lived TVNZ series Under The Mountain premieres on New Zealand’s state-run television network. Shot entirely in New Zealand, the single-season children’s fantasy show is adapted by Ken Catran from Maurice Gee’s book of the same name. (more…)
ITV airs the fourth episode of the HTV West-produced children’s fantasy series Into The Labyrinth, co-created by Bob Baker (Sky, Doctor Who, K-9) and starring Ron Moody and Pamela Salem. (more…)
The first edition of British author Kenneth Gatland’s detailed non-fiction book “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Space Technology“ is published by Harmony Books, proving to be a fantastic distraction through the remainder of your webmaster’s time in the public school system. (more…)
Columbia Records releases an album of John Williams‘ soundtrack from Raiders Of The Lost Ark in advance of the movie’s theatrical premiere. (more…)
Midway releases the arcade video game Wizard Of Wor, a maze shooter for one or two players who can play cooperatively or against each other – though in many cases, a single game can start cooperatively and end competitively! (more…)
ITV airs the 44th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Anthony Quayle (Strange Report, The Evil Touch) and Nigel Hawthorne guest star.
The 12th episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the science fiction blockbuster Star Wars airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S. Mark Hamill stars as Luke Skywalker and Perry King stars as Han Solo. (more…)
The second episode of the short-lived TVNZ series Under The Mountain premieres on New Zealand’s state-run television network. The single-season children’s fantasy show is adapted by Ken Catran from Maurice Gee’s book of the same name. (more…)
ITV airs the fifth episode of the HTV West-produced children’s fantasy series Into The Labyrinth, co-created by Bob Baker (Sky, Doctor Who, K-9) and starring Ron Moody and Pamela Salem. (more…)
ITV airs the 45th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Micheline Presle guest stars.
The 13th episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the science fiction blockbuster Star Wars airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S. Mark Hamill stars as Luke Skywalker and Brock Peters stars as Darth Vader. This episode concludes the radio retelling of the first movie, and has proven to be Public Radio’s most popular (and, during fundraising pledge drives, profitable) radio drama production. (more…)
The third episode of the short-lived TVNZ series Under The Mountain premieres on New Zealand’s state-run television network. The single-season children’s fantasy show is adapted by Ken Catran from Maurice Gee’s book of the same name. (more…)
ITV airs the sixth episode of the HTV West-produced children’s fantasy series Into The Labyrinth, co-created by Bob Baker (Sky, Doctor Who, K-9) and starring Ron Moody and Pamela Salem. (more…)