2012
May
25
1988: SNOW FALLS ON 'ST. ELSEWHERE,' CREATING A FINALE TO REMEMBER By Christy Slewinski
 
 
On this day in 1988, TV viewers saw one of the most famous — and perhaps the most debated — series finales in TV history. The episode marked the end of St. Elsewhere, an NBC drama about St. Eligius, a run-down Boston hospital...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
24
2010: THE CLOCK STOPS TICKING ON FOX'S '24' By Christy Slewinski
 
 
On this day in 2010, the clock stopped ticking for 24, the Fox actioner that starred Kiefer Sutherland as a Counter Terrorist Unit agent charged with stopping terrorist activity...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
23
1990: THE START OF THE SUMMER OF 'TWIN PEAKS' By Christy Slewinski
 
 
This day in 1990 marked the first season finale of the serial drama, Twin Peaks, on ABC and kicked off the summer of speculation into the show's primary question: Who killed Laura Palmer?...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
22
1992: JOHNNY CARSON SAYS GOODBYE AS 'TONIGHT SHOW' HOST By Christy Slewinski
 
 
On this day in 1992, Johnny Carson made his final appearance as host of The Tonight Show, and bid his audience a very heartfelt good night. Carson's final week was filled with memorable moments...Taped before an invitation-only audience, episode 4,531 was a retrospective that offered clips from Johnny's 30-year reign as the king of late night...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
20
1997: 'ROSEANNE' ENDS ITS NINE-SEASON RUN By Christy Slewinski
 
 
On this day in 1997, ABC aired the final episode of Roseanne. The sitcom — which revolved around a blue-collar family — was the most watched television show in the United States during its second season, and ranked among Nielsen's top five shows for its first six seasons...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
19
2002: 'THE X-FILES' COMES TO A CLOSE By Christy Slewinski
 
 
This day in 2002 marked the last original telecast of The X-Files, one of Fox's most popular shows. The science fiction series starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI special agents assigned to investigate unsolved cases that involved paranormal and unexplained phenomena...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
18
1996: COMEDY CENTRAL DROPS 'MST3K' By Christy Slewinski
 
 
This day in 1996 marked Mystery Science Theater 3000's final outing on Comedy Central. The cult series revolved around a man (and his robot friends) who were trapped on a space station and forced to watch bad sci-fi movies. Throughout the presentation of the featured film, the motley crew could be seen in silhouette, providing a colorful commentary about what was happening on the screen...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
17
1997: HBO PREMIERES ‘WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRACTION’ By David Bianculli
 
 
On this day in 1997, HBO presented Larry Gelbart’s penultimate telemovie, a sharp satire about a pro football team being pursued hotly by warring media barons – one played by Ben Kingsley, the other by Gabriel Byrne...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
16
2004: CBS REVISITS 'HELTER SKELTER' By Christy Slewinski
 
 
On this day in 2004, CBS presented the miniseries, Helter Skelter, a film based on the 1969 murder spree that left seven people — including actress Sharon Tate, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, and supermarket president Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary — dead. Jeremy Davies (Justified, Lost) portrayed convicted killer Charles Manson...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
15
1989: NBC DRAMATIZES ROE VS. WADE By Christy Slewinski
 
 
In 1989, NBC presented the telefilm Roe vs. Wade, a dramatization of the 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States. Holly Hunter portrayed Norma McCorvey (called Ellen Russell in the telefilm), the pseudonymous plaintiff in the landmark case..
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This Day in TV History

1982: NBC Presents Mailer's 'The Executioner's Song'
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