This Day In TV History

2012

Nov

1968: NBC CUTS AWAY FROM JETS-RAIDERS NAILBITER FOR 'HEIDI' By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1968, AFL rivals the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders were locked in a back-and-forth battle for dominance when, with just over a minute to play, NBC cut away from the game to broadcast the previously-scheduled film, Heidi, in the Eastern time zone...

2012

Nov

1981: 'GENERAL HOSPITAL' CELEBRATES LUKE AND LAURA'S WEDDING By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1981, one of television's most famous wedding celebrations took place, with General Hospital's Luke and Laura saying "I do" in front of 30 million viewers...

2012

Nov

1989: THE COMEDY CHANNEL GOES LIVE By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1989, Time Warner introduced cable's first all-comedy channel, simply called The Comedy Channel...

2012

Nov

1988: CBS DEBUTS 'MURPHY BROWN' By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1998, CBS introduced Murphy Brown...

2012

Nov

1969: VEEP SPIRO AGNEW BLASTS THE TV NEWS MEDIA By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1969, Vice President Spiro Agnew stood before an audience at the Midwestern Regional Republican Conference in Des Moines, Iowa and spoke out against "the tiny, enclosed fraternity of privileged men elected by no one" whom he felt showed an unfair bias against President Richard Nixon — specifically, the television news media...

2012

Nov

1984: 'THE THERESA SALDANA STORY' AIRS ON NBC By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1984, actress Theresa Saldana played herself in the gut-wretching NBC telefilm, Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story...

2012

Nov

1980: ABC LAUNCHES TED KNIGHT'S 'TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT' By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1980, ABC debuted the sitcom Too Close for Comfort, a series based on the British show Keep It in the Family...

2012

Nov

1969: PBS BROADCASTS THE FIRST EPISODE OF 'SESAME STREET' By David Bianculli

On this day in 1969, PBS presented its first episode of Sesame Street...

2012

Nov

1985: LORNE MICHAELS RETURNS FOR SECOND STINT WITH 'SNL' By Christy Slewinski

This day in 1985 marked the eleventh season premiere of NBC's Saturday Night Live, with host Madonna and musical guest Simple Minds. But the episode's true significance was that it marked the return of the show's creator and founding producer, Lorne Michaels...