Editing 1982 in American television (section)

==Events==
{| class="wikitable"
! Date || Event
|-
!rowspan="2"|January 1
|[[CNN|Cable News Network]] (CNN) initiates an associated channel, dubbed CNN2, that features a round-the-clock "news wheel" format. The channel would be renamed [[CNN Headline News]] a year later and is now known as [[HLN (TV channel)|HLN]].
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|The [[National Association of Broadcasters]] ends its long-standing [[Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters|Television Code]] in response to a [[Washington, D.C.]] circuit court ruling which declared parts of it unconstitutional.
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!January 2
|''[[American Playhouse]]'' on [[PBS]] member station [[WNET]]/[[Newark, New Jersey]] presents [[John Cheever]]'s [[teleplay]] ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', featuring [[George Grizzard]], [[Polly Holliday]], [[Judith Ivey]], E. Katherine Kerr and [[Celeste Holm]] as The Celebrity.
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!rowspan="3"|January 4
|[[Bryant Gumbel]] begins his 15-year stint as co-anchor of [[NBC]]'s ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today Show]]''.
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|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] broadcasts a [[The Elephant Man (1982 film)|TV adaptation]] of ''[[The Elephant Man (play)|The Elephant Man]]'', with [[Philip Anglim]] and [[Kevin Conway (actor)|Kevin Conway]] reprising the roles they originated for the Broadway version of the story.
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|In [[Panama City, Florida]], [[NBC]] affiliate [[WMBB]] swaps affiliations with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[WJHG-TV]].
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!January 10
|[[NFL on CBS|CBS]] televises the [[1981–82 NFL playoffs#NFC Championship: San Francisco 49ers 28, Dallas Cowboys 27|NFC Championship Game]] between the [[1981 San Francisco 49ers|San Francisco 49ers]] and [[1981 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys]]. In what would become one of the most iconic images in [[National Football League|NFL]] history, San Francisco [[tight end]] [[Dwight Clark]] makes [[The Catch (American football)|"The Catch"]] to enable the 49ers to defeat the Cowboys, 28–27, and go to their first ever [[Super Bowl XVI|Super Bowl]]. [[Vin Scully]] called the game alongside [[Hank Stram]] on television while [[Pat Summerall]] (who would do the play-by-play for Super Bowl XVI with [[John Madden]] two weeks later) called the game with [[Jack Buck]] for [[NFL on Westwood One Sports|CBS Radio]].
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!January 23
|''[[CBS Reports]]'' broadcasts ''[[The Uncounted Enemy|The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception]]'', a documentary alleging a manipulation of intelligence estimates before the [[Tet Offensive]] in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]]. Retired [[General (United States)|Gen.]] [[William Westmoreland]], the commander of U.S. military operations at the time of the alleged estimates, would [[Westmoreland v. CBS|file a libel suit]] against [[CBS]] believing the report described him unfairly.
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!January 30
|The [[39th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]] air for the second consecutive year on [[CBS]]. The ceremony would soon become embroiled into controversy when actress [[Pia Zadora]] won that year's [[Golden Globe Award]] as [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress|Best New Star of the Year]] amid charges that her husband [[Meshulam Riklis]] had purchased the award with a promotional campaign that included Zadora's image presented prominently on Sunset Boulevard billboards,<ref name="waitwait">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=35&prgDate=01-20-2007&view=storyview |title=Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! |publisher=NPR |date=2007-01-20 |access-date=2012-12-12}}</ref> an appearance in ''Playboy'' magazine, and entertaining Golden Globe voters.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Duke|first1=Alan|title=Pia Zadora charged in fight with son over bedtime|url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/showbiz/pia-zadora-arrest/index.html|website=CNN Entertainment|date=June 3, 2013 |publisher=Cable News Network|access-date=31 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Abramovitch|first1=Seth|title=Golden Globes: Pia Zadora Defends Controversial Win, Insists Ex-Husband "Did Not Buy" Award|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/golden-globes-pia-zadora-defends-761222|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=January 8, 2015 |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=31 March 2018}}</ref> After CBS decided to negate their broadcasting contract in light of the controversy, the Golden Globes would not be seen on broadcast network television again until [[53rd Golden Globe Awards|1996]], when [[NBC]] picked them up. 
|-
!rowspan="2"|February 1
|''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'' debuts on [[NBC]]; Letterman's first guests are [[Bill Murray]] (who dances around to the song [[Physical (Olivia Newton-John song)|"Physical"]]) and "Mr. Wizard" [[Don Herbert]].
|-
|Two months after new owners Pacific Media Corporation changed its call letters from KECC-TV, [[CBS]] affiliate [[KECY-TV]] in [[Yuma, Arizona]] leaves the network to join [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. This will leave Yuma without a CBS affiliate for 3 years, until KECY-TV rejoins the network in 1985 (it is now a [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate).<ref name=ERP316>{{citation |title=For the Record |periodical=Broadcasting |page=78 |date=November 16, 1981}}</ref><ref name=KECC_KECY>{{cite web |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=51208&Callsign=KECY-TV |title=Call Sign History |work=FCC CDBS database |access-date=July 20, 2016}}</ref><ref name=affiliation_switch_1982>{{citation |title=InterMedia |periodical=Broadcasting |page=104 |date=February 8, 1982}}</ref>
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!February 3
|Singer [[Jermaine Jackson]] guest-features, as [[Tootie Ramsey|Tootie]] ([[Kim Fields]]) gets to meet the person she admires on a [[very special episode]] of the [[NBC]] sitcom ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]''.
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!February 7
|As part of a two-night event, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] airs the network television broadcast premiere of ''[[Superman (1978 film)|Superman: The Movie]]''.
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!March 4
|The crime drama spoof ''[[Police Squad!]]'' premieres on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]; though it only lasts 6 episodes (the last being broadcast July 8); the comedy would serve as the origin of the [[Lieutenant Frank Drebin|Frank Drebin]] character and the inspiration for the ''[[The Naked Gun|Naked Gun]]'' movie series.
|-
!March 8
|''Night of 100 Stars'', a benefit for the [[Actors' Fund]] taped at [[Radio City Music Hall]], is broadcast by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].
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!March 26
|The soap opera series ''[[Search for Tomorrow]]'' is broadcast for the final time by [[CBS]]. [[NBC]] immediately purchases it and begins broadcasting it the following Monday.
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!April 2
|[[John Chancellor]] anchors the ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' for the final time, replaced on April 5 by the team of [[Roger Mudd]] and [[Tom Brokaw]], a partnership that lasts 17 months.
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!rowspan="3"|April 21
|[[Norman Lear]] purchases [[Avco Embassy Pictures]] and rechristens his [[TAT Communications Company]] as [[Embassy Television]].
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|[[WGXA]] in [[Macon, Georgia]] signs-on the air, giving the Macon market its first full-time [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate.
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|[[WTTO]] in [[Birmingham, Alabama]] signs-on the air, giving the Birmingham market its first independent station.
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!May 2
|[[The Weather Channel (United States)|The Weather Channel]] is begun in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://weatherboy.com/weather-channel-celebrates-38th-birthday/ |author=Weatherboy Team Meteorologist |title=Weather Channel Celebrates 38th Birthday |date=2 May 2020 |website=Weatherboy |publisher=Isarithm LLC |access-date=10 September 2021}}</ref>
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!May 15
|[[Danny DeVito]] hosts an [[Saturday Night Live (season 7)|episode]] of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' soon after ''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]'' is canceled after its [[List of Taxi episodes#Season 4 (1981–82)|fourth season]]. During the opening monologue, DeVito reads a letter supposedly from his mother asking God to forgive [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] for cancelling the show, adding that "but I'll understand if you don't." A filmed bit has him driving around New York looking morose until inspiration strikes, and he blows up the ABC building. In addition, the ''Taxi'' cast members are given an opportunity for [[Closure (psychology)|closure]], which up to that point had been denied for them due to the abrupt cancellation. The actors took their "final" bows during DeVito's opening monologue, only to have [[NBC]] (which aired ''SNL'') pick up the show.
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!May 22
|In [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], [[CBS]] affiliate [[WNAC-TV (Boston)|WNAC-TV]] ceases operations due to improprieties by its parent company [[RKO General]], having lost the license (as well as those of [[KCAL-TV|KHJ-TV]] and [[WWOR-TV|WOR-TV]], both of which RKO temporarily retain on appeal) after General Tire admitted to a litany of corporate misconduct (including, among other things, committing financial fraud over illegal political contributions and bribes) as part of a settlement with the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]], and RKO General withheld evidence from the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] of General Tire's misconduct, and also failed to disclose evidence of accounting errors on its own part. Several hours later, New England Television begins operations of WNEV-TV (now [[Independent station (North America)|independent station]] [[WHDH (TV)|WHDH]]) on channel 7, retaining WNAC-TV's former CBS affiliation.<ref>"It's all over for RKO's WNAC-TV." ''Broadcasting'', April 26, 1982, pp. 27–28. [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/82-OCR/1982-04-26-BC-OCR-Page-0027.pdf][http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/82-OCR/1982-04-26-BC-OCR-Page-0028.pdf]</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/82-OCR/1982-05-10-BC-OCR-Page-0128.pdf |title=In brief |magazine=Broadcasting |date=May 10, 1982 |page=128 |access-date=September 24, 2021}}</ref>
|-
!May 24
|The ''[[Peanuts]]'' special ''[[A Charlie Brown Celebration]]'' premiered on [[CBS]]. Which it includes several stories with one or two-word titles, was later adapted for the Saturday morning series, ''[[The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show]]'', which premiered in 1983.
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!May 27
|The [[List of Mork & Mindy episodes#Season 4 (1981–82)|series finale]] of ''[[Mork & Mindy]]'' entitled "The Mork Report" is broadcast on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. While it actually was not the final episode to be filmed, ABC still aired it last in hopes of giving the canceled series some proper closure.
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!rowspan="2"|May 28
|At about 5:00&nbsp;p.m., Joseph Billie Gwin, wanting to "prevent [[World War III]]", forces his way into the studios of [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] [[CBS]] affiliate [[KSAZ-TV|KOOL-TV]], fires a gunshot, takes 4 people hostage (holding one of them, cameraman Louis Villa, at close gunpoint), and demands national broadcasting time. Three hours later, Gwin releases 2 hostages, Jack Webb and Bob Cimino. At 9:30&nbsp;p.m., with Gwin sitting next to him with a gun, KOOL anchor Bill Close reads a 20-minute statement; when finished, Close takes Gwin's gun and sets it on the table.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=luMPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iosDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3457,4049449&hl=en |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711041203/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=luMPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iosDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3457,4049449&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-date=11 July 2012 |title=Gunman forces TV anchorman to read message |agency=AP |date=29 May 1982 |via=Google News |journal=[[The Free Lance–Star]] |page=12 |access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WQgOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=l20DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7050,6270801&dq=kool+tv&hl=en |title=Gunman holds two in TV studio |agency=AP |department=Nation/World |date=29 May 1982 |via=Google News |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |page=3 |access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wfgSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PvsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6677,5118241&dq=kool-tv&hl=en |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715125337/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wfgSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PvsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6677,5118241&dq=kool-tv&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-date=15 July 2012 |title=Gunman releases TV-station hostages |agency=The Associated Press |date=30 May 1982 |via=Google News |journal=[[The Ledger]] |page=18A |access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref>
|-
|American [[film critic]] [[Leonard Maltin]] makes his first appearance on the television [[news magazine]] ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]''.<ref name="Timeline">{{cite web |url=http://web.knoxnews.com/advertising/worldsfair/timeline.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101212405/http://web.knoxnews.com/advertising/worldsfair/timeline.html |archive-date=1 January 2010 |title=20th Anniversary of the 1982 World's Fair |department=Timeline |year=2002 |publisher=[[The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.]] |access-date=9 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Karl |first=Michele |title=What Celebrities Collect! |chapter=Leonard Maltin: Movie Stills and Movie Memorabilia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VGPjEqbpi68C&pg=PA52 |publisher=[[Pelican Publishing Company]] |location=[[Gretna, Louisiana]] |year=2006 |page=52 |isbn=1-58980-142-3 |access-date=12 September 2021}}</ref>
|-
!June 6
|The [[CBS]] affiliate in [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]], [[WKMG-TV|WDBO-TV]], changes its name to WCPX-TV.
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!July 11
|[[Wide World of Sports (American TV program)|ABC]] broadcasts the [[1982 FIFA World Cup final|FIFA World Cup Final]] between [[Italy national football team|Italy]] and [[Germany national football team|West Germany]] from [[Madrid]]. It's the first time that the World Cup's final match is aired [[Live television|live]] on American television. 
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!July 13
|[[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]] broadcasts the [[1982 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|Major League Baseball All-Star Game]] from [[Olympic Stadium (Montreal)|Olympic Stadium]] in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], [[Canada]]. It's the first time that the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|Mid-Summer's Classic]] is played outside of the United States.
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!July 21
|The only episode of the sitcom ''[[Cass Malloy]]'' airs on [[CBS]]. Although not picked up as a regular series, it serves as the [[Television pilot|pilot]] for the 1987–1989 [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated]] sitcom ''[[She's the Sheriff]]''.
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!July 29
|Professional wrestler [[Jerry Lawler]] slaps actor [[Andy Kaufman]] in the face on the [[NBC]] program ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]''; Kaufman responds by throwing coffee and shouting profanities at Lawler. The incident was later revealed to have been staged.
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!August 8
|In [[Columbia, Missouri]], [[NBC]] affiliate and [[University of Missouri]]-owned [[KOMU-TV]] swaps affiliations with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[KMIZ|KCBJ-TV]]. The swap would eventually be reversed in 1986.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1982-08-02|title=In Brief|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/82-OCR/1982-08-02-BC-OCR-Page-0089.pdf|access-date=2021-12-16}}</ref>
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!August 30
|[[Field Communications]] begins its liquidation by selling off [[WFLD]] to [[Metromedia]].
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!September 6
|After [[Tom Wopat]] and [[John Schneider (screen actor)|John Schneider]] quit the [[CBS]] action series ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'' as a result of a contract dispute, their characters, Bo and Luke Duke, are written out of the series as joining a [[NASCAR]] team and are replaced by cousins Coy and Vance (played respectively by [[Byron Cherry]] and [[Christopher Mayer (American actor)|Christopher Mayer]]). Bo and Luke—and Wopat and Schneider—would return to the series by season's end.
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!rowspan="2"|September 11
|[[NBC]] resurrects ''[[Texaco Star Theater]]'' as a one-time special; however, instead of inviting [[Milton Berle]], the man who hosted the original series during the 1950s, the special presents a salute to musicals.
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|In [[Savannah, Georgia]], [[NBC]] affiliate [[WSAV-TV]] swaps affiliations with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[WJCL (TV)|WJCL]], citing ABC's stronger ratings. The swap would eventually be reversed in 1986.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1982-06-21|title=Intermedia|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/82-OCR/1982-06-21-BC-OCR-Page-0066.pdf|access-date=2021-12-16}}</ref>
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!September 12
|[[KNLC]], a [[Religious broadcasting|religious]] [[Independent station (North America)|independent station]] in [[St. Louis]] goes on the air.
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!September 13
|[[Mary Hart]] joins ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'' as reporter and later co-host; she would fill the latter role until 2011.
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!September 20
|[[USA Network]] begins 24-hour operations, featuring the debut of the ''[[USA Cartoon Express]]'', cable television's first structured animation block.
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!September 25
|''[[Saturday Night Live (season 8)|Saturday Night Live]]'' begins its 8th season on [[NBC]], with host [[Chevy Chase]] and musical guest [[Queen (band)|Queen]]. Among the new additions for this season include future ''[[Seinfeld]]'' actress [[Julia Louis-Dreyfus]], who will stay for 3 years (1982–1985) as a featured player/regular cast member.
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!September 30
|The [[Give Me a Ring Sometime|pilot episode]] for ''[[Cheers]]'' airs on [[NBC]].
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!October 1
|[[Independent station (North America)|Independent station]] [[KDOC-TV]] commences broadcasting in [[Los Angeles]].
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!October 2
|[[Mary Jo Catlett]] replaces [[Nedra Volz]] on the [[NBC]] sitcom ''[[Diff'rent Strokes]]'', as the new housekeeper, Mrs. Pearl Gallagher. She will stay with the series until its conclusion in 1986.
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!October 3
|During the [[1982 NFL strike|National Football League players strike]] (on what would have been Week 5 of the [[1982 NFL season|season]]), CBS broadcasts four [[NCAA Division III|Division III]] football games using their regular [[NFL on CBS|NFL]] broadcast crews.
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!October 4
|[[KMTR]] signs-on in [[Eugene, Oregon]] as an [[NBC]] affiliate. Due to NBC's persistent low ratings, the network's former affiliate [[KVAL-TV]] had been preempting NBC programming (with increasing regularity) in favor of programs from [[CBS]] (shared with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[KEZI]]), forcing a frustrated NBC to seek a new station. With the move, KVAL-TV becomes a full-time CBS affiliate.
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!October 4
|The [[CBS]] affiliate in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], [[KSAZ-TV|KOOL-TV]], changes its name to KTSP-TV.
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!October 11
|[[WFTC|WFBT]], a [[Religious broadcasting|religious]] television station in [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul|Minneapolis/St. Paul]] goes on the air.
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!October 12
|[[Cindy Williams]] makes her [[Laverne & Shirley (season 8)|final appearance]] as Shirley Finney on ''[[Laverne & Shirley]]''.
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!October 22
|[[Susan Stafford]] departs as co-host of the [[NBC]] game show ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' to do humanitarian work. Auditions occur for her replacement, with [[Vanna White]] formally replacing Stafford on December 13. As of 2022, White remains the co-host of ''Wheel''.
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!October 25
|The [[List of Cagney & Lacey episodes#Season 2 (1982–83)|second season]] of ''[[Cagney & Lacey]]'' premieres on [[CBS]] with [[Sharon Gless]] now assuming the role of Det. Christine Cagney. [[Meg Foster]] portrayed Cagney in the first season. Foster was dismissed after the first six episodes because CBS deemed her too aggressive and too likely to be perceived as a lesbian by the viewers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/dont-wagers-66518/|title=I don't have any wagers, ...|author=TV Guide News|date=February 16, 2006|work=TV Guide}}</ref>
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!November 13
|[[Boxing on CBS|CBS]] broadcasts a world championship boxing match between [[Ray Mancini]] and [[Kim Duk-koo]] that results in Kim's death five days after the bout.
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!November 18
|After originating as a four-hour long [[programming block]] on a channel known as Escapade in January 1982, the channel as a whole is officially relaunched as [[Playboy TV|The Playboy Channel]]. 
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!November 20
|At the age of 7, [[Drew Barrymore]] [[Saturday Night Live (season 8)|becomes]] the youngest person to ever [[List of Saturday Night Live guests|guest-host]] ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' on [[NBC]]. As fate would have it, she ends up hosting the same episode that saw [[Andy Kaufman]] banned from ever performing on the show again.
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!November 26
|[[Howard Cosell]] denounces professional [[boxing]] during the [[Boxing on ABC|ABC]] broadcast of a [[World Boxing Council|WBC]] [[List of WBC world champions#Heavyweight|heavyweight championship]] bout between titleholder [[Larry Holmes]] and a clearly outmatched [[Randall "Tex" Cobb]] at the [[Astrodome]] in [[Houston, Texas]]. Cosell, horrified over the brutality of the one-sided fight, said that if the referee did not stop the fight he would never broadcast a professional fight again.
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!December 5
|''[[Southwest Championship Wrestling]]'' becomes the first weekly wrestling program on the [[USA Network]], airing Sundays at 11:00&nbsp;a.m. [[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|Eastern Time]]. However, because of a particularly bloody match between [[Tully Blanchard]] and [[Bob Sweetan|"Bruiser" Bob Sweetan]] (which USA refused to air), the inability of the promotion to keep paying USA the $7,000 per week to keep the time slot, and a monetary offer made to the cable channel by [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWF]] owner [[Vince McMahon]] to replace ''Southwest Championship Wrestling'' with his own programming,<ref>[http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=44371 KM : Reading Topic : swc on usa<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> USA will end up canceling the program in September (in spite of the high [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]] the show was garnering for the network), replacing it with ''[[WWF All American Wrestling (show)|WWF All American Wrestling]]''.
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!rowspan="3"|December 11
|[[ESPN]] broadcasts its first live college football game, simulcasting the [[1982 Independence Bowl|Independence Bowl]] match-up between [[Kansas State Wildcats football|Kansas State University]] and the [[Wisconsin Badgers football|University of Wisconsin]].
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|[[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]] in association with [[Lorimar Sports Network|Sports Productions, Inc.]] broadcasts a heavily anticipated college basketball match-up between the [[1982–83 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|Virginia Cavaliers]] (led by [[Ralph Sampson]]) and [[1982–83 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team|Georgetown Hoyas]] (led by [[Patrick Ewing]]). TBS paid approximately US$600,000 for the broadcasting rights to the game that was called by [[Skip Caray]] and [[Abe Lemons]].
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|[[Eddie Murphy]] becomes the first and to date, only person to [[Saturday Night Live (season 8)|guest-host]] [[NBC]]'s ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' while still a [[List of Saturday Night Live cast members|cast member]]. Murphy's ''[[48 Hours (film)|48 Hours]]'' co-star [[Nick Nolte]] was originally supposed to host until he fell ill.
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!December 27
|[[TBS (American TV channel)|SuperStation WTBS]] debuts one of the first video game-themed TV series, ''[[Starcade]]''.
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!rowspan="2"|December 29
|[[Nastassja Kinski]] makes a puzzling appearance on the [[NBC]] program ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'', seeming somewhat oblivious to the jokes and everything else that was going on around her and appearing with an unusual hair style Letterman describes as "looking like there was an owl perched on top of her head." (Letterman's second guest, [[John Candy]], comes out with his own hair moussed up in a pile as a spoof of Kinski's hair.)
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|[[Surround Sound]] is introduced for home use by [[Dolby]].
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!December 31
|''[[Texas (TV series)|Texas]]'' and ''[[The Doctors (1963 TV series)|The Doctors]]'' have their final episodes aired on [[NBC]].
|}