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I Love Lucy "Job Switching"
I Love Lucy started off it's second season with an episode fans and critics alike would call the show's finest hour, in which Lucy and Ethel get a job at a chocolate packing factory. Hilarity obviously ensues. -
Elvis and Ed
The Ed Sullivan show lasted from 1948 to 1971, and was host to hundreds of entertaining guests and musicians. Elvis Presly made his first apperance on the show in 1956, with a controversial rock and roll attitude which angered producers and certain audience members. He went on to appear on the show three times, and each one garnered more views than the last. -
Kennedy V. Nixon
Never before had a presidential candidate debate been televised until 1960, when John F. Kennedy went up against Richard Nixon in front of the whole nation. The televised debate helped make Kennedy the favored candidate, as his relaxed and charming personality won out over Nixon's serious and menacing stare. -
The Fugitive finale
Acclaimed serial drama television program The Fugitive ended it's four year run in August 1967. The final episode, entitled "The Judgement," found the wrongly convicted Dr. Richard Kimble facing off with his wife's murderer, the one armed man in a climactic fight scene. It was the highest rated episodic program at the time. -
One small step for man...
Whether you believe it happened or not, the crew of the Apollo 11 garnered tremendous ratings when it was televised live on CBS. The mission, to put a man on the Moon, was finally a success after years of promoting NASA's space shuttle program. Even today, the image of an astronaut next to an American flag remains an astounding image captured in the beginning of the final frontier. -
Sammy Davis Jr. vs. Archie Bunker
All in the family had some of the most controversial ideals in television history at the time of it's original run. In 1972, the show's ace in the hole came in the form of Sammy Davis Jr. when he came to visit the Bunkers. The episode built up Davis Jr's. presence until the moment came when he planted the first televised same-sex interracial kiss on the confounded Archie Bunker. That moment of pushing the envelope payed off in spades to the show's viewership. -
Roots premiers
Roots premiered in 1977 and was a twelve hour "miniseries" which ended up creating and defining the genre. Although the subject matter was controversial, it ended up earning 85 percent of all television viewers during it's 8 episode run. It also won nine Emmy Awards, which also helped legitimize the genre. -
Who shot J.R.?
The cliffhanger that left thousands of fans frustrated at the end of Dallas' third season made for a great hour of television. J.R., the family patriarch, had been shot by an unknown assailant. The answer woundn't be revealed until the next season, but the mystery of the finale helped make the fourth season premier the most watched program in television history at the time. -
M*A*S*H* ends
M*A*S*H* ended its eleven year run almost 20 years after the Korean war ended, and lasted almost four times as long. It;s final episode, "Goodbye, Farewell, Amen," was watched by about 125 million people, which broke all the records and remained the most-watched television program of all time until the 2010 Super Bowl. -
Johnny Carson steps down
Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show for almost 30 years--the longest lasting of the six main hosts the show has had. He announced his retirement months before it actually happened, allowing multiple famous guest celebrities to make an appearance on his nightly show. His final show was on May 1 1962, in which he directly addressed the audience in a heartfelt and honest speech.
