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Major TV Moments
The following timeline showcases some of the major TV moments in history! -
Lucy Goes To The Candy Factory
Photo via google imagesI Love Lucy was, in many ways, one of television’s most innovative shows, but it was easy to hide all that innovation behind the show’s naked entertainment value. Fans will fight forevermore over Lucy’s finest hour, but this one leans towards the second-season premiere, “Job Switching” (airing September 14, 1952), in which Lucy and neighbor Ethel Mertz get jobs at a candy factory and fight a losing battle against a very fast conveyor belt of chocolate. -
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
Photo via google imagesIt was the group’s first live performance on American television, and viewership shattered even the record Presley numbers: 73 million viewers, over 45% of American households with televisions (not just those that were watching television, but that owned one). Overnight, the Beatles had gone from a European sensation to an American one. -
The End of The Fugitive
Photo via google imagesFor four years and 120 episodes, audiences were riveted by The Fugitive, one of television’s first serialized dramas. Each episode had its own self-contained story, but all were part of the overarching narrative of wrongfully convicted Dr. Richard Kimble’s hunt for the “one-armed man” who had murdered his wife. Seventy-two percent of those watching television that night were watching “The Judgment,” making it the highest-rated episodic television installment in TV history... until 1980. -
Sammy Davis Jr. Visitd All In The Family
Photo via google imagesNever before had a popular sitcom addressed the issues of the day with such unblinking nerve and wit — and with the country in the midst of upheavals and controversies regarding feminism, religion, civil rights, homosexuality, and war, there was plenty for the show to tackle. Nobody was a bigger fan than Sammy Davis Jr., who badgered Lear for months to give him a guest shot on the show. -
Do You Believe In Miracles?
Photo via google imagesFew types of programming captured the magic and energy of live television like sports, which found fans across the world glued to their sets, yelling at their screens, and shaking their friends in excitement. And one of the greatest TV sports moments ever came on February 22, 1980, when the ragtag underdog US Olympic hockey team faced the heavily favored Soviet team at Lake Placid, New York. The Soviets had dominated Olympic play from 1956 to 1976, but the never-say-die spirit of the Americans. -
The Wedding of Charles and Diana
Photo via google imagesGranted, we may laugh at their silly monarchy, but we sure do love a good royal wedding. The modern phenomenon of these affairs as Must-See TV began on July 29, 1981, when Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles at St. Paul’s Cathedral in an opulent spectacle of a ceremony, viewed by nearly three-quarters of a billion people. It was a lavish introduction for “the People’s Princess”; 16 years later, people around the world would again turn to their televisions, this time to mourn her untimely d -
The Rescue of Baby Jessica
Photo via google imagesThe story of Jessica McClure, an 18-month-old playing in the back yard of her aunt’s home in Midland, Texas, who took a tumble down a 22-foot well became the center of the most riveting program on television. Within hours, the still-young 24-hour news network CNN was broadcasting “Baby Jessica’s” plight to the nation. Her eventual emergence from the well two days later, three pounds lighter and injured but alive, became one of the medium’s most inspiring moments. -
The Fall Of The Berlin Wall
Photo via google images“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” commanded Ronald Reagan in June of 1987, and two years later, the job was done. Citizens flooded, creating such a rampage that police stopped bothering to check documents. On the night of November 10, the first concrete slab was removed; while this official removal took place, people all along the wall chipped away at this concrete symbol of separation and tyranny. And television cameras captured it all. -
Johnny Carson’s Final Tonight Show
Photo via google imagesIn 1992, after 30 years on the job, Johnny decided it was time to step down. His classy final show, airing on was a more personal affair. Carson told his audience, “It has been an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you. And I hope when I find something I want to do and I think you will like, you’ll be as gracious in inviting me to your home as you have been. I bid you a very heartfelt good night." -
Election Night
Photo via google imagesFor all the months of anticipation, leaving pundits and anchors to fill time and announce forgone conclusions. But that wasn’t the case on November 7, 2000, when the campaigns of George W. Bush and Al Gore came to a close. With various networks and exit polling service calling, then recanting, both the state of Florida and the entire election for both Bush and Gore election night ended without a clear winner.
