The Day After Tomorrow (TV special)

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The Day After Tomorrow (alternately titled Into Infinity) was a 1975 science fiction television special produced by Gerry Anderson. It starred Brian Blessed and Nick Tate. It aired in the United States on NBC as part of their Special Treat children's series in December of 1975, and in the United Kingdom on the BBC in December of 1976.

Two families, led by Dr. Tom Bowen (Blessed) and Captain Harry Masters (Tate), departed a space station on a mission of discovery beyond the solar system aboard the starship Altares, bound for Alpha Centauri. Once their work was completed there, the two families decided to journey beyond Alpha Centauri. A meteor shower disabled computer guidance system. Then, their photon drive kicked in, driving Altares out of control at near-light speed, and with no way to return to Earth.

After an unknown amount of time, the drive gives out in the vicinity of a Red Giant star on the verge of going Super Nova. Captain Masters goes into the ship's reactor to repair the drive; finishing just as the star begins to collapse. After escaping the explosion, the ship is unable to maintain its intended course (back to Earth). They are caught in the gravity well of a Black Hole -- to escape they would need to travel faster than light. They are pulled into it and are hurled into another universe.

The special was created as a dramatic narrative to familiarize children with the theories of Albert Einstein. However, Gerry Anderson formatted it as a possible series pilot, but it was not picked up, which left only the single episode produced.