Travel back in time

1984
Doctor Who: Warriors Of The Deep, Part 3

Doctor WhoThe 605th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This story opens the 21st season, and marks the first appearance of the Silurians and Sea Devils since 1972 (and the first joint appearance of both); this is also the last Silurian story of the original series. Ingrid Pitt and Ian McCulloch guest star.

More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store

Doctor Who: Warriors Of The Deep, Part 4

Doctor WhoThe 606th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This story opens the 21st season, and marks the first appearance of the Silurians and Sea Devils since 1972 (and the first joint appearance of both); this is also the last Silurian story of the original series. Ingrid Pitt and Ian McCulloch guest star.

More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store

Chocky: Episode 2

The ChockyThe second episode of Chocky airs on Thames Television, adapting the novels of John Wyndham into a television serial starring Andrew Ellams and James Hazeldine.

More about Chocky in the LogBook

Categories Television
Doctor Who: The Awakening, Part 1
Doctor Who: The Awakening, Part 2
Apple Macintosh

MacintoshApple Computer releases a new home and business computer, the Macintosh, with a sharp black & white display and an eye-grabbing, object-oriented graphical user interface. Early software includes the what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) word processor MacWrite and the graphics program MacPaint, the combination of which jumpstarts an entire new industry, “desktop publishing” – typesetting via computer instead of manual layout. This decisive step away from the now-seven-year-old Apple II architecture is Apple’s answer to the IBM PC.

Categories Computers
Chocky: Episode 3

The ChockyThe third episode of Chocky airs on Thames Television, adapting the novels of John Wyndham into a television serial starring Andrew Ellams and James Hazeldine. Jeremy Bulloch (The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi) guest stars.

More about Chocky in the LogBook

Categories Television
President Reagan commits to space station

Space Station FreedomAs part of his annual State of the Union address, President Ronald Reagan commits NASA’s resources to building a space station in Earth orbit using the unique space cargo delivery and construction/repair capabilities of NASA’s Space Shuttle fleet. The space agency draws up various plans for stations of varying sizes, ranging from not much bigger than the Apollo/Saturn-derived Skylab of the 1970s to an eventual proposal for a large, “dual keel” design that could become home base for lunar and planetary exploration. All of the proposals, with their multi-billion-dollar cost estimates, instantly find opponents in Congress: the road to a permanently crewed space station will be a long one.

Doctor Who: Frontios, Part 1

Doctor WhoThe 609th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Peter Gilmore, William Lucas and Lesley Dunlop guest star.

More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store

Doctor Who: Frontios, Part 2

Doctor WhoThe 610th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Peter Gilmore, William Lucas and Lesley Dunlop guest star.

More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store

Chocky: Episode 4

The ChockyThe fourth episode of Chocky airs on Thames Television, adapting the novels of John Wyndham into a television serial starring Andrew Ellams and James Hazeldine.

More about Chocky in the LogBook

Categories Television
Doctor Who: Frontios, Part 3

Doctor WhoThe 611th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Peter Gilmore, William Lucas and Lesley Dunlop guest star.

More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store

Doctor Who: Frontios, Part 4

Doctor WhoThe 612th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Peter Gilmore, William Lucas and Lesley Dunlop guest star.

More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store

STS-41B

ChallengerSpace Shuttle Challenger lifts off on a satellite delivery mission, but the launches of both satellites go awry when their boosters (the Payload Assist Modules designed to launch satellites from the shuttle) put them in the wrong orbits. A German satellite is retrieved, repaired, and placed back into its orbit. A few days after launch, a member of Challenger’s crew will become the first free-floating human satellite. On this flight, Challenger’s crew consists of Commander Vance Brand, Pilot Robert Gibson, mission specialists Bruce McCandless, Ronald McNair and Robert Stewart. This is the first shuttle flight to end on the runway at Kennedy Space Center, eliminating the need for a costly, time-consuming 747 ferry flight to retrieve the shuttle from Edwards Air Force Base.

Mattel Electronics shorts out

IntellivisionThe video game division of #1 toy maker Mattel closes its doors immediately after the parent company announces that it lost well over $300,000,000 over the course of 1983, with all of thoses losses occurring within its video game business. The remaining stock of Mattel’s Intellivision video game system and its software are liquidated, and the entire electronics division is laid off. The popularity of its Masters Of The Universe toys and perennial favorites such as Hot Wheels and Barbie are barely enough to keep the entire company out of bankruptcy court.

More about Intellivision in Phosphor Dot Fossils

Categories Video Games
Chocky: Episode 5

The ChockyThe fifth episode of Chocky airs on Thames Television, adapting the novels of John Wyndham into a television serial starring Andrew Ellams and James Hazeldine.

More about Chocky in the LogBook

Categories Television
Manned Maneuvering Unit

Manned Maneuvering UnitAstronaut Bruce McCandless becomes the first untethered human spacewalker when he leaves the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Challenger aboard a Manned Maneuvering Unit, a jetpack-like device allowing him to maneuver freely with no hoses or cables connecting him to the shuttle. In development since the Gemini era, and tested briefly aboard Skylab in prototype form, the MMU will see use on only three missions before NASA puts it in mothballs.

Soyuz T-10

Soyuz T-10Delayed many months during the investigation into the causes of the Soyuz T-10a near-disaster in 1983, Soyuz T-10 lifts off from the Soviet Union. Cosmonauts Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov and Oleg Atkov take up residence on space station Salyut 7 for a 236-day stay – the longest duration crew of the entire Salyut space station program – during which they have to conduct repairs to the station both inside and outside in a series of spacewalks. Left unoccupied months longer than expected, the station has powered down and must be reactivated, a process taking nearly ten days. A fuel line break on the exterior of the station must be repaired as well. The crew remains aboard Salyut 7 through October.

Doctor Who: Resurrection Of The Daleks 1

Doctor WhoThe 613th and 614th episodes of Doctor Who air on BBC1, in a special 50-minute format due to the BBC’s coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics. Terry Molloy assumes the role of Davros; Maurice Colbourne, Rula Lenska, Rodney Bewes and Leslie Grantham guest star.

More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store

Beamrider

Atari 2600Activision releases the Beamrider cartridge for the Atari 2600 home video game system.

More about Atari 2600 in Phosphor Dot Fossils

Pitfall II: Lost Caverns

Atari 2600Activision releases the Pitfall II: Lost Caverns cartridge for the Atari 2600 home video game system, adding new adventures to Pitfall Harry’s resume and wowing players with sophisticated polyphonic music from a console infamous for its buzzes, bleeps and bloops. (The secret: the cartridge contains its own special audio chip.)

More about Atari 2600 in Phosphor Dot Fossils

Circus Charlie

Circus CharlieKonami introduces the arcade game Circus Charlie in the United States. Patterned after the Olympic-themed Track & Field, Circus Charlie is a “multi-event” game based on circus tricks.

More about Circus Charlie in Phosphor Dot Fossils

Categories Video Games
Chocky: Episode 6

The ChockyThe sixth episode of Chocky airs on Thames Television, adapting the novels of John Wyndham into a television serial starring Andrew Ellams and James Hazeldine. The concludes the first season; the story will pick up in 1985 under the title Chocky’s Children.

More about Chocky in the LogBook

Categories Television
Doctor Who: Resurrection Of The Daleks 2

Doctor WhoThe 615th and 616th episodes of Doctor Who air on BBC1, in a special 50-minute format due to the BBC’s coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics. Terry Molloy assumes the role of Davros; Maurice Colbourne, Rula Lenska, Rodney Bewes and Leslie Grantham guest star. This is Janet Fielding’s last on-screen appearance as long-time TARDIS traveler Tegan Jovanka until 2023.

More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
Order VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store

Weird Al Yankovic: In 3-D

Weird AlScotti Bros. Records releases Weird Al Yankovic‘s second album, In 3-D, featuring the singles “Eat It” and “I Lost On Jeopardy”.

More about Weird Al Yankovic in Music Reviews

Categories Music