Buck (Gil Gerard) and the crew of the Search have an interesting encounter this week when they become The Guardians. Written by Paul and Margaret Schneider this episode was first broadcast on 29 January, 1981. After a strange encounter with a dying man, who claims to have been waiting for Buck, Hawk (Thom Christopher) and…
Tag: january 1981
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1981) – Journey to Oasis
Mark Lenard guest stars in the second feature length instalment of what is Buck Rogers derided second season. Written by Bob Mitchell, this double episode first aired on 22 January, 1981, and sees Buck (Gil Gerard) leading a party – despite the presence of a higher ranking officer, COLONEL Wilma Deering (Erin Gray) in the…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1981) – Time of the Hawk
So the retooled Buck Rogers launched on 15 January, 1981, with a two hour premiere that was written by Norman Hudis. Fans at the time, and anyone rewatching the series, like me, must have been scratching their head over the nonsensical changes that had been forced onto the series, even as it tried to shoehorn…
M*A*S*H (1981) – Tell It to the Marines, Taking the Fifth, and Operation Friendship
Harry Morgan directs Tell It to the Marines, which first aired on 12 January, 1981, and was written by Hank Bradford. Charles (David Ogden Stiers) takes over as CO while Potter (Morgan) is away, and turns Klinger (Jamie Farr) into his personal attaché, and seems intent on living in a means he’s more accustomed to….
M*A*S*H (1980/1981) – Death Takes a Holiday, A War for All Seasons, and Your Retention Please
Mike Farrell directs this episode that he wrote alongside John Rappaport, and Dennis Koenig from a story by Thad Mumford, Dan Wilcox, and Burt Metcalfe. It aired on 15 December 1980 and was used as that year’s Christmas episode. Farrell knows how to pack his story with emotional impact without being super sappy about it….
Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – The Keeper of Traken
Tom Baker’s penultimate tale as The Doctor was a four-parter written by Johnny Byrne that aired from 31 January to 21 February, 1981. It introduced a new companion, Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) and the return of The Master in the form of Geoffrey Beevers and the Anthony Ainley. The Doctor and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) arrive…
Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – Warriors Gate
This four part story that was written by Steve Gallagher and ran from 3 January to 24 January, 1981 saw, by stories end the departure of Romana (Lalla Ward) as well as K9 from the TARDIS, as the E-Space Trilogy comes to an end. Biroc (David Weston) gets aboard the TARDIS, and steers it…
Magnum, P.I. (1981) – Never Again… Never Again & The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii
Thomas (Tom Selleck) finds his way into more trouble this week, with this double dose of the Hawaii detective (sorry, investigator). The first episode, Never Again… Never Again, hit televisions on 22 January, 1981. It was written for the series by Babs Greyhosky, based on a story by Jim Carlson and Terrence McDonnell. It was directed…
Magnum, P.I. (1981) – No Need to Know & Skin Deep
The new year starts off with a bang for Thomas (Tom Selleck). First off, he ends up tangling with the IRA in No Need to Know. This episode originally aired 8 January, 1981, and was written by Frank Lupo. It seems Robin has offered the estate to be used by one of Higgins’ (John…
The Mind Reels 