TV Programs That Debut in 1989:
January - The newsmagazine series Inside Edition premieres in syndication.
January 3 - The Arsenio Hall Show (1989–1994) premieres in syndication. His first musical guest is Luther Vandross.
January 8 - Agatha Christie's Poirot premieres on ITV in the UK.
January 9 - The Pat Sajak Show (1989-1990) debuts on CBS.
January 29 - Shining Time Station premieres on PBS (1989-1993)
March 5 - Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers premieres on Disney Channel,
later to move into first-run syndication (1989-1993).
March 11 - Cops premieres on FOX, which shows footage shot in
real life situations with US police officers (1989—2009)
March 26 - Quantum Leap premieres on NBC (1989-1993).
March 27 - Generations premieres on NBC.
April 24 - The New Mickey Mouse Club premieres on Disney Channel (1989-1994)
June 10 - Tales from the Crypt premieres on HBO (1989–1996).
July 5 - The Seinfeld Chronicles premieres on NBC. The show would later be
retitled Seinfeld and become one of the most popular sitcoms in
television history (1989–1998).
August 20 - Saved By The Bell premieres on NBC in prime time.
The show was moved to Saturday mornings after three episodes,
where it became perhaps the most popular teen sitcom of all-time.
(1989-1993)
September 12 - Life Goes On premieres on ABC (1989–1993).
September 16 - American Gladiators premieres in syndication (1989-1996)
September 19 - Doogie Howser, M.D. premieres on ABC (1989-1993).
September 22 - Baywatch premieres on NBC (1989–1990, 1991-2001).
September 22 - Family Matters premieres on ABC (1989–1998).
October 30 - That's Entertainment premieres on TVB Pearl
November 26 - America's Funniest Home Videos premieres on ABC
with Full House star Bob Saget as host.
December 17 - The Simpsons premieres on FOX with a special Christmas episode
(1989— ). The characters had first appeared two years earlier as a
segment on The Tracey Ullman Show.
Dink,the Little Dinosaur premiers on CBS.
TV Programs Ending this year - 1989:
January 21 - Simon & Simon (1981–1989).
March 9 - Webster (1983–1989).
March 18 - It's a Living (1980–1982, 1985–1989).
March 24 -
$ale of the Century (1983–1989).
Super Password (1984–1989).
March 31 - Card Sharks (1978–1981, 1986–1989, 1986-1987, 2001-2002).
May 1 - The Benny Hill Show (1955–1989).
May 10 - Dynasty (1981–1989).
May 14 - Family Ties (1982–1989).
May 14 - Moonlighting (1985–1989).
May 21 - Miami Vice (1984–1989).
May 22 - Kate and Allie (1984–1989).
August 4 - Highway to Heaven (1984–1989). On every week of your high school years...
October 5 - Sonda (Poland) (1977-1989).
October 7 - American Bandstand (1952–1989).
October 9 - Major League Baseball on NBC (1947–1989).
October 28 - The Sharon Cuneta Show (1983-1989).
November 3 - The Phone Home Game (1983-1989) from The Price Is Right.
Pinwheel (1977–1989)
Deaths
February 5 - Joe Raposo, 51, composer (various songs from Sesame Street and The Electric Company, as well as the Three's Company theme song)
April 26 - Lucille Ball, 77, actress, comedian (I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy)
May 1 - Douglass Watson, 68, soap opera actor (Mac on Another World)
May 20 - Gilda Radner, 42, actress, comedian (Saturday Night Live)
July 3 - Jim Backus, 76, actor (Thurston Howell on Gilligan's Island and voice of Mr. Magoo)
July 10 - Mel Blanc, 81, voice actor who voiced Bugs Bunny and countless other characters
July 18 - Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, actress (My Sister Sam)
September 17 - Jay Stewart, 71, announcer of Let's Make a Deal and other game shows, (suicide)
October 4 - Graham Chapman, 48, comedian (Monty Python's Flying Circus), one day before the 20th anniversary of that show's premiere.
The Year on TV - 1988 [September 1 1988 was the beginning of our Senior Year]
1988 TV-related Events:
February 26 - Tom Hardy marries Simone Ravelle on General Hospital. It is a milestone for the genre as it is the first interracial wedding between two characters on American daytime television.
April - The Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West go on strike. The strike lasted until August and delays the beginning of the fall season by a month.
May 1 One of the most popular detective shows in the 1980s was set in Hawaii. Magnum, P.I. came to an end with a two-parter. Tom Selleck drove-off in the distance with his red Ferrrai for the last time on CBS.
May 13 - J. R. Ewing pushes Nicholas Pierce over the railing of his high-rise office building and Sue Ellen is so enraged that she fires three shots at him on the season finale of Dallas.
July 4 - The hit game show Family Feud returns to the air after a 3-year hiatus. Ray Combs is the new host, replacing original host Richard Dawson.
July 19 - The Bill broadcasts the first episode of its fourth season and switches to a year-round serial format.
September 1 - Children's cable network YTV launches in Canada.
October 4 - Following in Cher's footsteps, actress Shirley MacLaine calls David Letterman an "a**hole", on the air during a taping of Late Night.
October 27 - The last of Harding Lemay's "comeback" episodes air on Another World. In the final minutes of the episode, Australian actress Carmen Duncan took over the role of the legendary nasty lady Iris Cory Wheeler, after the role had been vacated for many years by Beverlee McKinsey.
November 3 - Talk show host Geraldo Rivera's nose is broken during a taping of his show, when a fight erupts on the set between guests. The theme of the episode was "Young Hate Mongers" and the fight originated between white supremacist Tom Metzger and civil rights activist Roy Innis.
The song "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" experiences a surge in popularity sparked by television commercials featuring claymation raisin figures. The California Raisins version of the song peaks at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart is the focus of a sex scandal and later admits to being with prostitutes and steps down from his television ministry.
The Young and the Restless tops the daytime ratings (deposing longtime winner General Hospital) starting an unbeaten streak of #1 victories that still continue to this day.
Ana Alicia's character, Melissa Agretti, dies in a house fire on Falcon Crest.
After rejecting an offer to join CBS News, Peter Mansbridge replaces Knowlton Nash as anchor of CBC's The National.
A young Countess Vaughn joins the cast of 227 as Alexandria DeWitt, a young 11-year old talented college student, whom the Jenkins' have as a houseguest for a year.
Future Grammy Award-winning recording artist Lauryn Hill (The Fugees frontwoman) makes her television debut on Showtime at the Apollo as a contestant on Amateur Night, where a 13-year-old Hill sung "Who's Lovin' You" by Motown star Smokey Robinson and gets booed by the audience.
TV Shows that Debut in 1988:
January 16 - Home and Away airs its pilot episode
January 17 - the series proper began the following night
January 19 - 48 Hours (1988— ).
January 31 - The Wonder Years premieres (1988–1993).
February 7 - America's Most Wanted debuts (1988— ).
March 6 - In the Heat of the Night - a 1967 movie, premieres on NBC (1988-1994).
April 26 - China Beach premieres on ABC (1988-1991)
July 4 - Family Feud makes a comeback on CBS at 10:00 am EDT with host Ray Combs and announcer Gene Wood following its cancellation from ABC daytime 3 years earlier (1988-1993). A syndicated version (1988-1995) premieres in the fall.
August 6 - Yo! MTV Raps premieres on MTV (1988-1995).
September 6 - Count Duckula premieres on ITV in the UK (1988-1993).
September 10 - A Pup Named Scooby Doo premieres on ABC (1988-1991)
September 10 - The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh premieres on ABC (1988-1991)
September 16 - The popular Canadian dance music series Electric Circus debuts on MuchMusic (1988–2003).
September 17 - Garfield and Friends, a Saturday morning cartoon series based on the popular comic strip character, debuts on CBS (1988–1995).
October 8 - Empty Nest, a spinoff of The Golden Girls, premieres on NBC (1988–1995).
October 16 - The Kids in the Hall premieres on CBC Television.
October 17 - Playbus premieres on BBC (1988-1997)
October 18 - Roseanne premieres (1988–1997).
October 27 - Paradise premieres on CBS (1988-1991).
November 14 - Murphy Brown premieres (1988–1998).
November 24 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 has its TV premiere on KTMA TV 23 (1988–1999). The show moved to the Comedy Channel in 1989.
The American Experience (1988— ).
COPS (1988— ).
This Morning debuts (1988— ).
The Adventures of Superboy (1988–1992).
T. and T. (1988–1990).
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley (1988).
1988 Miniseries
Dadah is Death
War and Remembrance
TV Shows that started in the 1960's
It's Academic (1961–present)
Wide World of Sports (1961–1997)
General Hospital (1963–present)
Another World (1964–1999)
Days of our Lives (1965–present)
Play School (1966–present)
60 Minutes (1968–present)
One Life to Live (1968–present)
Hee Haw (1969–1993)
Sesame Street (1969–present)
The Benny Hill Show (1969–1989)
TV Shows that started in the 1970's
All My Children (1970— )
Monday Night Football (1970— )
Masterpiece Theatre (1971— )
Soul Train (1971— )
Emmerdale Farm (UK) (1972— )
The Price Is Right (1972— )
The Young and the Restless (1973— )
Derrick (1974–1998)
Good Morning America (1975— )
Ryan's Hope (1975–1989)
Saturday Night Live (1975— )
the fifth estate (Canada) (1975— )
Wheel of Fortune (1975— )
This Week in Baseball (1977–1998, 2000–present)
20/20 (1978— )
Dallas (1978–1991)
Knots Landing (1979–1993)
Nightline (1979–present)
SportsCenter (1979–present)
This Old House (1979–present)
TV Shows that started in the 1980's
Moneyline (1980–present; known as Lou Dobbs Moneyline 2001–2003 and Lou Dobbs Tonight since 2003)
Dynasty (1981–1989)
Entertainment Tonight (1981— )
Falcon Crest (1981–1990)
What Now (1982— )
Cheers (1982–1993)
Family Ties (1982–1989)
Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993)
Newhart (1982–1990)
Loving (1983–1995)
Webster (1983–1989)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (UK) (1984–1988, 1991–1994)
Highway to Heaven (1984–1989) It was on through your entire High School experience
Michael Landon, Ma, the girls, nasty Nellie Olsen and her mercantile Mom...
Jeopardy! (1964–1975, 1984— )
Kate and Allie (1984–1989)
Miami Vice (1984–1989)
Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996)
Night Court (1984–1992)
Santa Barbara (1984–1993)
The Cosby Show (1984–1992)
Who's the Boss? (1984–1992)
227 (1985–1990)
Growing Pains (1985–1992)
It's a Living (1980–1982, 1985–1989)
MacGyver (1985–1992)
Moonlighting (1985–1989)
Mr. Belvedere (1985–1990)
Sally (1985–2002)
Turn on to T-Bag and T-Bag's Christmas Cracker
The Golden Girls (1985–1992)
The Twilight Zone (1959–1964, 1985–1988, 2002)
ALF (1986–1990) remember Wise Cracking ALF
[That Fluffy, he's quick, I'll give him that.]
Amen (1986–1991)
Designing Women (1986–1993)
Double Dare (1986–1993)
Hey Dad...! (1986–1994)
L.A. Law (1986–1994)
Mama's Family (1983–1984, 1986–1990)
Matlock (1986–1996)
Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986–1991)
Perfect Strangers (1986–1993)
The Disney Sunday Movie (1986–1988)
ends on September 11 to resume as
The Magical World of Disney (1988–1990) on October 9
The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986— )
A Different World (1987–1993)
Full House (1987–1995)
Going Live! (1987–1993)
Inspector Morse (1987–2000)
Married... with Children (1987–1997)
Star Trek: The Next Generation TNG (1987–1994)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987–1996)
The Bold and the Beautiful (1987— )
The Tracey Ullman Show (1987–1990)
thirtysomething (1987–1991)
Unsolved Mysteries (1987-1998, 2001-2002, 2008-present).
Family Feud (1976–1985, 1988–1995, 1999— )
TV Shows Ending this year - 1988
Button Moon (1980–1988)
February 12 - Sledge Hammer! (1986–1988)
May 1 - Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988)
May 3 - Hotel (1983-1988)
May 7 - The Facts of Life (1979–1988)
May 13 - Tales of the Unexpected (UK) (1979–1985, 1987–1988)
May 16 - Cagney & Lacey (1982–1988)
May 25 - St. Elsewhere (1982–1988)
May 27 - Punky Brewster (1984–1988)
July 23 - Tales from the Darkside (1984–1988)
Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (1963–1988, 2002–present)
Solid Gold (1980–1988)
Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
What's Happening Now!! (1985–1988)
1988 Entertainers/Producers Births
February 20 - Rihanna, singer
March 28 - Lacey Turner, actor
April 10 - Haley Joel Osment, actor
May 5 - Brooke Hogan, actress
June 28 - Ryan Waring
August 26 - Evan Ross, actor
August 27 - Alexa Vega, actress
September 24 - Kyle Sullivan, actor
November 15 - Zena Grey, actress
1988 Entertainers/Producers Deaths
February 1 - Heather O'Rourke, actress from Poltergeist and Happy Days, age 12
March 10 - Andy Gibb, 30, actor/songwriter of the Bee-Gees
April 5 - Alf Kjellin, 68, actor, director.
May 15 - Andrew Duggan, 64, character actor.
May 18 - Daws Butler, prolific voice actor whose work included The Jetsons and several animated TV commercials.
May 27 - Florida Friebus, 78, actress (The Bob Newhart Show).
July 9 - Barbara Woodhouse, 78, dog trainer (Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way)
July 21 - Jack Clark, 67, game show announcer.
July 25 - Judith Barsi, 10, American child actress
July 31 - Trinidad Silva, 38, actor (Jesus Martinez on Hill Street Blues), in a car accident
September 11 - John Sylvester White, 78, actor (Welcome Back, Kotter).
September 20 - Roy Kinnear, 54, actor/comedian.
September 29 - Charles Addams, 76, cartoonist whose macabre drawings inspired The Addams Family.
October 11 - Wayland Flowers, 58, puppeteer (Madame's Place), from AIDS.
October 31 - John Houseman, 86, actor (The Paper Chase, Silver Spoons)
December 6 - Timothy Patrick Murphy, 29, actor (Dallas), from AIDS
December 12 - Dick Clair, television comedy writer, who asked to be cryogenically frozen
December 20 - Max Robinson, ABC News correspondent, from AIDS
December 27 - Jess Oppenheimer, comedy writer who created I Love Lucy
