The year 1989 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1989. For the American TV schedule, see: 1989-90 United States network television schedule. [edit] Events - January 9 - Pat Sajak leaves Wheel of Fortune for a CBS late night talk show while remaining on the nighttime version. His daytime hosting role will be taken by Rolf Benirschke, then by Bob Goen when Wheel switches networks from NBC to CBS.
- February 5 - The world's first commercial DBS system, Sky Television, goes on air in the United Kingdom.
- February 20 - Jane Wyman is rushed to the hospital, after suffering from diabetes and liver ailment.
- February 23 - Leslie Grantham makes his last appearance in EastEnders as Den Watts for fourteen years.
- May 18 - Donna Mills makes her final regular appearance as villainess Abby on Knots Landing.
- May 19 - Sue Ellen plans to reveal a tell-all movie on J.R. Ewing, and hopes to make him "the laughingstock of Texas," in the season finale of Dallas.
- June 22 - John Craven signs off for the last time on the UK children's news programme John Craven's Newsround. The show continues under the name Newsround.
- July 31 - Canadian cable television network CBC Newsworld is launched.
- September 29 - Susan Sullivan's character, Maggie Gioberti Channing, is killed off on the season premiere of Falcon Crest.
- September 30 - NBC airs its final edition of the Major League Baseball Game of the Week (before the package moves over to CBS). Bob Costas and Tony Kubek call the action from Toronto's SkyDome, as the Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Baltimore Orioles to clinch the American League Eastern Division Title.
- October 4 - Jeremy Paxman makes his first appearance as presenter of BBC2's Newsnight.
- October 6 - Jane Wyman is already on medical leave from Falcon Crest, when her character, Angela Channing, is in a coma.
- December 6 - The last episode of the original run of Doctor Who, 'Survival' (part three) is broadcast on BBC1. This marks the end of Sylvester McCoy's era as the Seventh Doctor.
- December 8 - Alan Bradley is run over by a Blackpool tram on Coronation Street, getting the programme's biggest ever audience at 26.93 million viewers, a record that remains to this day.
- December 18 - A seldom-seen 1956 Christmas special episode of I Love Lucy re-airs on CBS.
- December 29 - Deirdre Barlow confronts her husband Ken on Coronation Street before infamously throwing him out, ending their decade-long television marriage.
- David Spade, and Mike Myers join the cast of Saturday Night Live.
- Cliff and Nina Warner marry one another for the fourth (and seemingly final) time on All My Children, a record that has not been matched in the soap world.
- The ABT (Australian Broadcasting Tribunal) declares Nine Network executive Alan Bond "not a fit and proper person to own a television licence."
[edit] Debuts [edit] Television shows - Entertainment Tonight (1981— )
- Falcon Crest (1981–1990)
- What Now (1982— )
- Timewatch (UK) (1982— )
- Cheers (1982–1993)
- Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993)
- Newhart (1982–1990)
- The Journal (Canada) (1982–1992)
- Taggart, UK (1983-present)
- Loving (1983–1995)
- Jeopardy! (1964–1975, 1984— )
- Mother and Son (Australia) (1984–1994)
- Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996)
- Night Court (1984–1992)
- Santa Barbara (1984–1993)
- The Bill (UK) (1984— )
- The Cosby Show (1984–1992)
- Who's the Boss? (1984–1992)
- 227 (1985–1990)
- EastEnders (UK) (1985— )
- Growing Pains (1985–1992)
- MacGyver (1985–1992)
- Mr. Belvedere (1985–1990)
- Neighbours (Australia) (1985— )
- Only Fools and Horses (UK) (1981–1983, 1985–1993, 1996–1997, 2001–2003)
- Sally (1985–2002)
- T-Bag and the Revenge of the T-Set and T-Bag's Christmas Carol (There were various T-Bag series between 1985 and 1992)
- The Golden Girls (1985–1992)
- ALF (1986–1990)
- Amen (1986–1991)
- Casualty (UK) (1986— )
- Comic Relief (UK) (1986— )
- Designing Women (1986–1993)
- Double Dare (1986–1993)
- Hey Dad...! (Australia) (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 Oprah Winfrey Show (1986— )
- A Different World (1987–1993)
- Beadle's About (UK) (1987–1996)
- ChuckleVision (UK) (1987— )
- Full House (1987–1995)
- Dink, the Little Dinosaur (1989-1991)
- Going Live! (1987–1993)
- Inspector Morse (1987–2000)
- Knightmare (UK) (1987–1994)
- Married... with Children (1987–1997)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (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).
- America's Most Wanted (1988— )
- The American Experience (1988— )
- Red Dwarf (UK) (1988–1999)
- Fair City (1988— )
- Home and Away (1988— )
- This Morning (1988— )
- 48 Hours (1988— )
- The Adventures of Superboy (1988–1992)
- Children's Ward (UK) (1988–2000)
- Empty Nest (1988–1995)
- Family Feud (1976–1985, 1988–1995, 1999— )
- Garfield and Friends (1988–1995)
- Babar (1989-1991)
- Murphy Brown (1988–1998)
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988–1999)
- Roseanne (1988–1997)
- The Comedy Company (Australia) (1988–1990)
- T. and T. (1988–1990)
- The Magical World of Disney (1988–1990)
- The Wonder Years (1988–1993)
- Electric Circus (1988–2003)
- Juke Box Jury (1959–1967, 1979, 1989–1990)
- Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
- Lonesome Dove (miniseries on CBS)
[edit] Ending this year [edit] Changes of network affiliation [edit] Births - January 3 - Alex D. Linz, American actor
- February 7 - Louisa Lytton, British actress
- March 25 - Alyson Michalka, American actress
- April 18 - Alia Shawkat, American actress
- May 5 - Chris Brown, American singer and actor
- June 18 - Renee Olstead, American actress
- July 23 - Daniel Radcliffe, English actor
- August 19 - Lil' Romeo, American rapper and actor
- August 21 - Hayden Panettiere, American actress, model, and singer
- October 1 - Brie Larson, American actress
- October 17 - Derek J Nash, American model
- December 7 - Basia A'Hern, Anglo-Australian actress
- December 22 - Jordin Sparks, American singer
- December 28 - Mackenzie Rosman, American actress
[edit] 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.
|
