Editing 1987 in American television (section)

==Events==
{| class="wikitable"
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! Date || Event
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|{{nowrap|January 3{{spaces|10}}}}<!--don't allow the Date column to wrap-->
|After being canceled by [[CBS]] at the end of the [[1984–85 United States network television schedule|1984–85 season]], ''[[Charles in Charge]]'' resurfaces in [[Broadcast syndication|first-run syndication]], where it would run for an additional four seasons.
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|January 5
|''[[Remington Steele]]'' is resumed by [[NBC]] after a six-month hiatus. During the hiatus, the series' main actor [[Pierce Brosnan]] won the film role of [[James Bond]], only to lose the role when NBC unexpectedly renewed the television series. ''Remington Steele'' adopts a TV-movie length format but only runs for a few installments before being canceled permanently.
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|January 17
|[[NBC]] announces purchase of [[CBS]] [[List of former CBS television affiliates|affiliate]] [[WTVJ]], and stripped off [[WSVN]], thus the switch did not take effect until two years later.
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|January 22
|[[R. Budd Dwyer]] shoots and kills himself at a televised press conference. The decision by some companies to broadcast the footage results in a debate concerning journalistic ethics.
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|January 23
|After being dropped by [[CBS]] following its third season, ''[[Airwolf]]'' is resurfaces on the [[USA Network]], who funded the fourth season, to be produced in Canada by [[Alliance Atlantis|Atlantis]] and The Arthur Company (owned by [[Arthur L. Annecharico]]) in association with [[MCA Inc.|MCA]]. This was intended to increase the number of episodes to make the show eligible for [[broadcast syndication]]. The principal cast is deemed too expensive to hire, so entirely new cast is created. [[Jan-Michael Vincent]] (Stringfellow Hawke) however, appears in the first transitional episode. This particular iteration of ''Airwolf'' would last for a single, [[List of Airwolf episodes#Season 4 (1987)|24 episode long season]], concluding on August 7, 1987.
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|January 25
|[[NFL on CBS|CBS']] broadcast of [[Super Bowl XXI]] becomes the first [[National Football League|NFL]] game to be broadcast in [[Dolby Surround]] sound and in stereo.<ref>{{cite web|title=Small-format video technology pictured for 1987|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1987/BC-1987-01-05.pdf|work=Broadcasting Magazine|access-date=April 5, 2017|pages=178–180|date=January 5, 1987}}</ref> CBS also debuted the theme music (composed by Lloyd Landesman) that would later be used for their [[SEC on CBS|college football coverage]] during this game, as well as its open that was used through [[1990 NCAA Division I-A football season|1990]].
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|February 2
|[[PBS]] broadcasts the critically acclaimed series ''[[Eyes on the Prize]]''.
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|February 7
|In the [[very special episode]] of ''[[The Hogan Family|Valerie]]'' titled [[List of The Hogan Family episodes#Season 2 (1986–87)|"Bad Timing"]], David and a former girlfriend debate whether to [[sexual intercourse|have sex]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/08/nyregion/albany-tv-station-cancels-nbc-show-over-condom-issue.html | title= Albany TV station cancels NBC show over condom issue | work=[[The New York Times]]| agency=Associated Press | date=February 8, 1987 | access-date=August 14, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=Lewin, Tamar | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/08/arts/new-sex-mores-are-chilling-tv-ardor.html | title= New sex mores are chilling TV ardor | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=March 8, 1987 | access-date=August 14, 2008}}</ref> The episode featured the first use of the word [[condom]] on a [[prime time]] television program.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G7esYC1LNM4C&q=%22hogan+family%22+condom&pg=PT21|title=Totally Awesome 80s: A Lexicon of the Music, Videos, Movies, TV Shows, Stars, and Trends of that Decadent Decade|first=Matthew|last=Rettenmund|date=October 15, 1996|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9780312144364|via=Google Books}}</ref> Parental advisory warnings were issued in ads for the episode and [[NBC]] placed an advisory warning before the episode aired stating that parents may want to watch the episode with their children. Because of the episode's subject matter, some of [[List of NBC television affiliates (table)|NBC's affiliates]] either aired the show outside of prime time or refused to air it at all. The episode was later released to home video, especially for teachers and health educators to use as a tool to promote [[safe sex]].
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|February 14
|[[Pee-wee Herman]] [[List of 227 episodes#Season 2 (1986–87)|guest stars]] on the [[NBC]] sitcom ''[[227 (TV series)|227]]''.
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|February 15
|''[[Amerika (TV miniseries)|Amerika]]'', the science-fiction drama miniseries, showing life ten years after the United States is defeated and occupied by the [[USSR]], was broadcast on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].
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|February 20
|[[David Hartman (TV personality)|David Hartman]] anchors [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Good Morning America]]'' for the final time. He would be succeeded by [[Charles Gibson]], who would anchor the program alongside [[Joan Lunden]].
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|February 24
|[[James Coco]] makes his final recurring [[List of Who's the Boss? episodes#Season 3 (1986–87)|appearance]] as Tony Micelli's father–in–law, Nick Milano on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] sitcom ''[[Who's the Boss?]]'' Just one day later, Coco would die of a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] at the age of 56. The Season 4 episode "A Farewell to Nick" would later be produced in Coco's honor.
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|February 25
|On [[CBS]], [[Frank Sinatra]] makes a [[List of Magnum, P.I. episodes#Season 7 (1986–87)|guest appearance]] on ''[[Magnum P.I.]]'', in what would be his last credited [[Frank Sinatra filmography|screen performance]].
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|March 9
|[[KETK-TV]] in [[Jacksonville, Texas]] signs on the air, giving the [[Tyler, Texas|Tyler]] market its first full-time [[NBC]] affiliate. (NBC had previously been shared on [[KLTV]] with [[CBS]] (until [[KFXK-TV|KLMG-TV]] signed on in 1984), and later [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] which KLTV retains as a full-time affiliate.)
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|March 12
|"[[A, My Name is Alex]]", a [[Very special episode|special]] hour-long episode of ''[[Family Ties]]'' is broadcast on [[NBC]]. The second half-hour was broadcast without commercials. The episode would win numerous awards, including a [[Primetime Emmy Award]], a [[Humanitas Prize]] and a [[Writers Guild of America Award]] for writing as well as a [[Directors Guild of America Award|DGA Award]].
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|March 19
|[[Televangelist]] [[Jim Bakker]] resigns as the host of ''[[The PTL Club]]'' after involvement in a sex scandal.
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|rowspan="2"|March 23
|The [[1987 Soul Train Music Awards|first ever]] [[Soul Train Music Awards]] is broadcast in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]].
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|The soap opera ''[[The Bold and the Beautiful]]'' debuts on [[CBS]].
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|March 27
|On [[CBS]], ''[[The Price Is Right (American game show)|The Price Is Right]]'' surpasses ''[[Concentration (game show)|Concentration]]'' as the longest-running daytime game show in history.
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|March 28
|The forerunner to the [[Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards|Kids' Choice Awards]], dubbed '[[The Big Ballot]]', airs on [[Nickelodeon]]. The Big Ballot was actually aired over four consecutive weeks (with the movie winners, TV winners, music winners, and finally sports winners being announced for each week) as part of the movie review program ''[[Rated K: For Kids by Kids]]''.
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|March 29
|In front of 93,173 fans [[Hulk Hogan]] retains the [[WWF World Heavyweight Championship]] at [[WrestleMania III|WrestleMania 3]] at the [[Pontiac Silverdome]] in [[Pontiac, Michigan]] defeating his former friend [[André the Giant|André The Giant]].
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|March 30
|[[College Basketball on CBS|CBS Sports]] uses the song "[[One Shining Moment]]" for the first time during the highlight package at the end of their coverage of [[1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA men's basketball tournament final]].
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|March 31
|On [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]'', Maddie and David consummate their relationship [[List of Moonlighting episodes#Season 3 (1986–1987)|after two and a half years]] of romantic tension.
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|April 5
|The [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox TV network]] makes its prime-time debut, marking the first time since [[1955 in television|1955]] that there were four U.S. networks with prime-time programming. The network debuted two shows, ''[[Married... with Children]]'' and ''[[The Tracey Ullman Show]]'', which are broadcast three times each during the night so that viewers watching other networks can switch over and sample the shows.
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|April 6
|During an episode of the [[ABC News (United States)|ABC]] late-night news program ''[[Nightline]]'' devoted to the upcoming 40th anniversary of [[Jackie Robinson]]'s [[Baseball color line|debut]] in [[Major League Baseball]], [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] [[General manager (baseball)|general manager]] [[Al Campanis]] makes racially insensitive comments when asked about the scarcity of [[African American|black]] [[Manager (baseball)|field]] or general managers in MLB. Campanis would be fired two days later.
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|April 17
|[[Bill Murray]] announces a [[1987 Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs]]-[[1987 Montreal Expos season|Montreal Expos]] game at [[Wrigley Field]] on [[WGN-TV|WGN]]. Working alongside [[Steve Stone (baseball)|Steve Stone]], Murray was filling in while broadcaster [[Harry Caray]] was recovering from a stroke. Caray would eventually return to the booth on May 19.
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|April 19
|[[Matt Groening]]'s ''[[The Simpsons]]'' debuts as a series of [[The Simpsons shorts|short animated segments]] as part of ''[[The Tracey Ullman Show]]'' on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]].
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|April 29
|[[Independent station (North America)|Independent station]] in [[New York City]], WOR-TV changes its call sign to [[WWOR-TV]].
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|May 4
|[[Valerie Harper]] makes her [[List of The Hogan Family episodes#Season 2 (1986–87)|final appearance]] as Valerie Hogan on what was initially called ''[[The Hogan Family|Valerie]]''. After Harper was fired from the series following contractual disputes, the series was renamed ''Valerie's Family'' and finally, ''The Hogan Family'' come the fourth season. 
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|May 6
|''[[Mr. Belvedere]]'' is canceled after three seasons; however criticism causes [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] executives to rethink the decision and renew the series for a fourth season. (Since the fall programming schedules were already set, ''Mr. Belvedere'' would not premiere until late October.)
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|May 7
|[[Shelley Long]] makes her [[I Do, Adieu|final regular appearance]] as [[Diane Chambers]] on the [[NBC]] sitcom ''[[Cheers]]''. She would appear once more in the [[One for the Road (Cheers)|series finale]] in 1993.
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|rowspan="2"|May 15
|[[Pam Ewing|Pamela Ewing]]'s car speeds out of control, crashes into a tanker, and explodes on the [[Dallas (1978 TV series, season 10)|season finale]] of the [[CBS]] drama ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]''.
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|[[Joan Rivers]] makes her final appearance as host of [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]'s talk show ''[[The Late Show (1986 talk show)|The Late Show]]'' following her recent firing by the network. For the final show, the set is vandalized with toilet paper, slime, and shaving cream. Her guests are [[Howie Mandel]], [[Pee-Wee Herman]], then-fledgling comedian [[Chris Rock]], [[Wendy O. Williams]], and show stage manager Michelle Aller as her alter-ego Mavis Vegas Davis.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-05-17-8702060610-story.html|title=Rivers Says Goodbye Not A Minute Too Soon|work=Chicago Tribune|accessdate=10 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/1993-01-15/entertainment/25958839_1_dark-ages-black-music-berry-gordy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220160414/http://articles.philly.com/1993-01-15/entertainment/25958839_1_dark-ages-black-music-berry-gordy|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 20, 2014|title=Name Is Fake But The Songs Are Her Own|work=Philly.com|accessdate=10 December 2014}}</ref> Soon afterward, the program is renamed ''The Late Show'' and features rotating guest hosts including [[Suzanne Somers]], [[Richard Belzer]], and [[Robert Townsend (actor)|Robert Townsend]]. After firing prospective guest host [[Frank Zappa]], producer John Scura replaces him with [[Arsenio Hall]], who would make his debut as a talk show host. Eventually, Hall is named the permanent replacement host in mid-1987.
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|May 17
|''[[The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman]]'', which features [[Lee Majors]] and [[Lindsay Wagner]] reprising their roles as [[Steve Austin (character)|Steve Austin]] and [[Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman)|Jaime Sommers]] respectively, airs on [[NBC]]. This would be followed by two more television movies, ''[[Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman]]'' (1989) and ''[[Bionic Ever After?]]'' (1994).
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|June 4
|[[CBS]] becomes the last American network to cease a chime intonation at the beginning of telecasts; satellite feeds have made the tones obsolete (their function was to signal to the affiliates to start broadcasting the network feed in synchronization with the others).
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|June 30
|U.S. daytime television was interrupted for the [[Iran–Contra affair|Iran-Contra hearings]].
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|July 15
|[[Genie Francis]], of ''[[General Hospital]]'' fame, starts a new soap opera role as Diana Colville on the [[NBC]] soap opera ''[[Days of Our Lives]]'', which she will play until 1989.
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|July 17
|The initial [[List of Saved by the Bell episodes#Good Morning, Miss Bliss (1987–89)|pilot]] for ''[[Good Morning, Miss Bliss]]'' airs on [[NBC]]. One year later, the series proper would air on the [[Disney Channel]], becoming the first program to be produced by a [[major television network]] for [[Cable television|cable TV]]. After one season on Disney Channel, ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' would be retooled into ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'', which would air as part of [[Children's programming on NBC|NBC's Saturday morning line-up]].
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|July 28
|Actor [[Crispin Glover]] appears on [[NBC]]'s ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'' to promote ''[[River's Edge]]''.<ref name="TIME 2009">{{cite magazine|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2009/02/13/top-10-disastrous-letterman-interviews/slide/crispin-glover-goes-back-to-the-crazy/|title=Crispin Glover Goes Back to the Crazy – Top 10 Disastrous Letterman Interviews|date=February 13, 2009|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413194926/http://entertainment.time.com/2009/02/13/top-10-disastrous-letterman-interviews/slide/crispin-glover-goes-back-to-the-crazy/|archive-date=April 13, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> To the surprise of [[David Letterman|Letterman]] and the audience, Glover appears wearing platform shoes and a wig. During the interview, Glover behaves erratically and nearly kicks Letterman in the face, causing Letterman to walk off the set.<ref name="TIME 2009" /><ref name="Reed 2021">{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-letterman-late-night-moments/|title=David Letterman's Most Memorable Late-Night Moments|last=Reed|first=Ryan|date=20 May 2021|website=[[Ultimate Classic Rock]]|access-date=29 May 2021}}</ref> Four years later, the film ''[[Rubin & Ed]]'' premiered, in which Glover has a starring role as titular character Rubin Farr. After the release of ''Rubin & Ed'', some speculated that Glover was acting in-character as Rubin Farr during his appearance on ''Late Night''.<ref name="TIME 2009" /><ref name="Reed 2021" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Lory|date=1999|title=Party in a Box: The Story of the Sundance Film Festival|publisher=[[Gibbs Smith]]|page=3|isbn=978-0879058616|quote=The movie starred Crispin Glover as Rubin - he was actually in the Rubin character the infamous night he nearly karate-kicked off David Letterman's nose.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/01/bill-hader-beaver-trilogy-part-iv-sundance-trent-harris-1201354077/|title=Bill Hader To Narrate Cult Film Documentary 'Beaver Trilogy Part IV' – Sundance|last=Yamato|first=Jen|date=20 January 2015|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=29 May 2021}}</ref> 
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|July 31
|Movietime, forerunner to [[E!]], goes on the air.
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|August 1
|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[KRCR-TV]] in [[Redding, California]] launches full-time satellite KAEF-TV in [[Arcata, California]], giving the [[Eureka, California|Eureka]] market its first full-time ABC affiliate.
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|August 19
|During the 4 p.m. edition of [[KNBC]]'s ''Channel 4 News'', a gun-wielding man named Gary Stollman gets into [[NBC]]'s [[Burbank Studios]] as a guest of an employee and takes [[Consumer protection|consumer reporter]] [[David Horowitz (consumer advocate)|David Horowitz]] hostage live on the air. With the gun pressed on his side, Horowitz calmly reads the gunman's statements on camera but unbeknownst to the gunman, the news feed has been taken off the air. The unidentified man reveals at the end of his statement that the gun is an empty [[BB gun]] and sets the gun down on the news desk, at which point anchorman [[John Beard (news anchor)|John Beard]] quickly confiscates it. The incident leads Horowitz to start a campaign to ban realistic toy guns.<ref name="Carter">{{cite book |last=Carter |first=Gregg Lee |title=Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law, Volume 3 |year=2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-38670-1 |page=832 |edition=2nd |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeGJH48PT0kC&q=horowitz |chapter=Toy Guns}}</ref>
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|rowspan="2"|August 31
|[[CBS]] airs the special ''Michael Jackson: The Magic Returns'', which features the broadcast premiere of [[Michael Jackson|Jackson]]'s 18 minute long music video "[[Bad (Michael Jackson song)|Bad]]".
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|[[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]] [[Independent station (North America)|independent station]] [[WWHO|WWAT-TV]] goes in the air.
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|September 5
|[[Dick Clark]]'s ''[[American Bandstand]]'' is broadcast for the 2,751st and last time by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], after 30 years on the network. (It continued in syndication, then on cable for 2 more years.)
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|September 7
|The original series of [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]'s well known animated series ''[[DuckTales (1987 TV series)|DuckTales]]'' begins airing on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] in the UK before being shown in its normal country.
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|September 7
|[[CBS]] begins broadcasting its prime time programs with stereo sound dubbed ''CBS StereoSound''.
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|September 11
|[[Dan Rather]] of the ''[[CBS Evening News]]'' leaves the newscast when a televised [[Tennis on CBS|tennis]] [[1987 US Open (tennis)|match]] runs two minutes over. He is missing for six minutes.
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|September 12
|The final episode of ''[[Down and Out in Beverly Hills (TV series)|Down and Out in Beverly Hills]]'', an adaptation of the 1986 [[Down and Out in Beverly Hills|film of the same name]], airs on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]. It has the distinction of being the first ever show to be cancelled by Fox; 5 of the 13 produced episodes did not air.<ref>[http://www.tv.com/down-and-out-in-beverly-hills/show/2863/episode_listings.html "Down and out in Beverly Hills: 13 episodes"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930082806/http://www.tv.com/down-and-out-in-beverly-hills/show/2863/episode_listings.html |date=September 30, 2007 }}, TV.com</ref>
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|September 14
|[[Filmation]]'s final animated series ''[[BraveStarr]]'' has its broadcast premiere in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]].
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|September 18
|''[[DuckTales (1987 TV series)|DuckTales]]'' finally begins airing in the U.S. for the first time ever in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]].
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|September 19
|[[NBC]] debuts a weekday package of sitcoms for its owned-and-operated stations called "[[Prime Time Begins at 7:30]]". The shows included are ''[[Marblehead Manor]]'' (airing Mondays), ''[[She's the Sheriff]]'' (airing Tuesdays), a series adapted from the [[George S. Kaufman]] play ''[[You Can't Take It with You (play)|You Can't Take It with You]]'' (airing Wednesdays), ''[[Out of This World (American TV series)|Out of This World]]'' (airing Thursdays), and a revival of the short-lived 1983 NBC series ''[[We Got It Made]]'' closing out the week on Fridays.
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|September 21
|Following its cancellation by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[List of Webster episodes#Season 5 (1987–88)|after four seasons]], the sitcom ''[[Webster (TV series)|Webster]]'' is relaunched in [[Broadcast syndication|first-run syndication]], where it would run for two additional seasons.
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|September 22
|Long-running sitcom ''[[Full House]]'' created by [[Jeff Franklin]] [[Full House season 1|debuts]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].
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|September 24
|[[Kirstie Alley]] makes her debut as [[Rebecca Howe]] in the [[Home Is the Sailor (Cheers)|sixth-season premiere]] of  ''[[Cheers]]'' on [[NBC]].
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|September 26
|The [[Television pilot|pilot]] episode for the sitcom ''[[Second Chance (1987 TV series)|Second Chance]]'' airs on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]. In the opening scene, as a [[throwaway line|throwaway joke]], [[Muammar Gaddafi|Colonel Muammar Gaddafi]] is shown being [[Divine judgment|judged]] after his death, with the date given as July 29, 2011. In the year after the [[1986 West Berlin discotheque bombing|Berlin discotheque bombing]] and the [[1986 United States bombing of Libya|U.S. response]], the 1987 pilot was playing off Gaddafi's prominent negative perception by the American public. Twenty-four years later, by coincidence, [[Death of Muammar Gaddafi|Gaddafi's death]] (on October 20, 2011) occurred within three months of the "predicted" date and was from the same cause (multiple gunshot wounds).<ref name="GaddafiDeath">{{cite web|url=http://www.aoltv.com/2011/10/20/matthew-perry-sitcom-second-chance-predicted-gaddafi-die-2011/ |title=Matthew Perry Sitcom 'Second Chance' Predicted Gaddafi Would Die in 2011 |first=Alex |last=Moaba |date=October 20, 2011 |publisher=[[AOL|AOL TV]] |accessdate=2011-10-20 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021030432/http://www.aoltv.com/2011/10/20/matthew-perry-sitcom-second-chance-predicted-gaddafi-die-2011/ |archivedate=October 21, 2014 }}</ref>
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|September 28
|The [[Encounter at Farpoint|pilot episode]] for ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' [[Star Trek: The Next Generation (season 1)|premieres]] in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]].
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|October 3
|''[[Once a Hero]]'', the show's lowest rated program of the season holds its last aired episode on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. The following week, specials replaced it until the debut of ''[[Sable (TV series)|Sable]]'' in its time period on November 7.
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|October 4
|On the final day of the [[1987 Major League Baseball season|Major League Baseball season]], the [[1987 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]] clinch the [[American League East]] title against their divisional rivals the [[1987 Toronto Blue Jays season|Toronto Blue Jays]]. The game was broadcast on Sunday afternoon on [[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]] with [[Al Michaels]], [[Jim Palmer]] and [[Tim McCarver]] on the call.
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|October 12
|[[Valerie Harper]] files a lawsuit against [[NBC]] and [[Lorimar Television|Lorimar]] for breach of contract after being dismissed from her sitcom ''[[Valerie (TV series)|Valerie]]''.
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|October 14
|[[CNN]] quickly reports on the story of 18-month-old toddler [[Rescue of Jessica McClure|Jessica McClure]] falling down a well in [[Midland, Texas]], and the event helped [[History of CNN (1980–2003)|make its name]].
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|October 15
|[[Bob Barker]] stops dyeing his hair brown and appears on the [[CBS]] game show ''[[The Price Is Right (American game show)|The Price is Right]]'' for the first time with white hair. He is given a minute-long standing ovation by the audience.
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|October 16
|''[[Max Headroom (TV series)|Max Headroom]]'' makes its final airing on its Friday night timeslot on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. The previously unaired episodes will later burn off in its Thursday night time slot during the [[1988 Writers Guild of America strike|1988 WGA strike]] on ABC, replacing ''[[Probe (1988 TV series)|Probe]]''. The fourth season opener of ''[[Mr. Belvedere]]'' and the premiere of ''[[The Pursuit of Happiness (1987 TV series)|Pursuit of Happiness]]'' will replace ''Headroom'' two weeks later, on October 30 on its Friday night time period.
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|October 24
|[[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]] allows Game 6 of the [[1987 World Series|World Series]] between the [[1987 Minnesota Twins season|Minnesota Twins]] and [[1987 St. Louis Cardinals season|St. Louis Cardinals]] to be played at 3 p.m. [[Central Time Zone|CT]] (4 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|ET]]) on Saturday afternoon &ndash; the only day game of the series, and the last World Series game to date to be played in the daytime (although as the game was played in the [[Metrodome]], the game took place under artificial illumination all the same).
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|October 26
|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] airs a special, secondary edition of ''[[Monday Night Football]]'' for the [[Minneapolis]] and [[Denver]] markets. The game between the [[1987 Minnesota Vikings season|Vikings]] and [[1987 Denver Broncos season|Broncos]] was moved from Sunday, October 25 to the following Monday night because the [[Metrodome|Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome]] was being used for Game 7 of the [[1987 World Series|World Series]]. [[Gary Bender]] and [[Lynn Swann]] would call this special contest from Minnesota while the rest of the nation sees the [[1987 Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles Rams]] face off against the [[1987 Cleveland Browns season|Cleveland Browns]].
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|October 30
|The [[List of Punky Brewster episodes#Season 3 (1987)|third season]] of ''[[Punky Brewster]]'' begins after the series was off the air for over a year and a half. After [[NBC]] cancelled it at the end of the [[1985–86 United States network television schedule|1985–86 season]], the show would continue production throughout the [[1986–87 United States network television schedule|1986–87 season]] leading up to its return to the air via first-run [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]]. 
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|November 8
|[[ESPN]] broadcasts its first ever [[ESPN Sunday Night Football|Sunday night]] [[National Football League]] [[1987 NFL season|game]], a contest between the [[1987 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] and [[1987 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]]. It marked the first time that a [[cable television]] outlet broadcast an NFL game.
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|November 9
|[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]'s Salt Lake City affiliate [[KSTU]] moves its channel allocation from UHF channel 20 to VHF channel 13.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1987-06-29|title=In Brief|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/87-OCR/BC-1987-06-29-OCR-Page-0080.pdf|access-date=2021-12-17}}</ref>
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|November 13
|[[Sonny & Cher]] reunite for a performance on [[NBC]]'s late-night talk show ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]''.
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|November 15
|The animated [[Fictional crossover|crossover]] ''[[The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones]]'' premieres in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]].
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|rowspan="2"|November 22
|During a showing of the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story "[[Horror of Fang Rock]]", [[PBS]] member station [[WTTW-TV|WTTW-TV Channel 11]] in [[Chicago]] is interrupted for 88 seconds by a pirate television transmitter overriding the station's transmission signal to broadcast a video of himself in a [[Max Headroom (character)|Max Headroom]] mask being spanked. The similar incident (for 15–20 seconds) occurred during [[WGN-TV]]'s newscast when it showed the mask moving up and downwards.
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|''[[Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back]]'' makes its network broadcast television premiere on [[NBC]].
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|November 26
|The very first [[Survivor Series (1987)|Survivor Series]] [[professional wrestling]] event is broadcast on [[pay-per-view]]. That same night, the [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation]]'s competitor, [[Jim Crockett Promotions]] held their fifth annual [[Starrcade (1987)|Starrcade]] [[supercard]] event. Jim Crockett Promotions had previously aired [[Starrcade]] only on [[closed-circuit television]]. To compete with Starrcade, the WWF introduced the [[Survivor Series]] event, and held it on the same night as Starrcade. The WWF also limited the amount of pay-per-view providers that would carry Starrcade by not allowing providers to carry [[WrestleMania IV]] if they did not carry Survivor Series exclusively. Only a small amount of providers carried Starrcade, and it drew a 3.30 buy rate while Survivor Series drew a 7.0 buy rate.
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|December 7
|''[[Remote Control (game show)|Remote Control]]'', [[MTV]]'s first original non-musical program and first game show makes its debut. 
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|rowspan="2"|December 16
|[[San Antonio]] television station [[KABB]] goes on the air.
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|[[TBS (American TV channel)|SuperStation WTBS]] airs the 1983 film ''[[A Christmas Story]]''<ref>{{cite news|title=Tonight On Television|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times/161071901/|newspaper=The Roanoke Times|page=22|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=December 16, 1987|access-date=December 17, 2024}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Wednesday Movies|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-press/161072217/|newspaper=News-Press|page=178|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=December 13, 1987|access-date=December 17, 2024}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Christmas Specials on Cablevision|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle/161072281/|newspaper=The Wichita Eagle|page=103|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=December 13, 1987|access-date=December 17, 2024}}{{Open access}}</ref> for the very first time. [[Turner Broadcasting System|Turner Broadcasting]] (as both an independent company and, from 1996 onward, as a subsidiary of the company presently operating as [[Warner Bros. Discovery]]) would maintain ownership of the broadcast rights to ''A Christmas Story''. Beginning in the mid-1990s, they would air the film increasingly on both [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]] and [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]] throughout the [[Christmas and holiday season|holiday season]] annually.
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|December 27
|Through a short stint with [[NFL on NBC|NBC Sports]], [[Gayle Sierens]] became the first woman to do [[play-by-play]] for an NFL regular season football game when she called a game between the [[1987 Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks]] and the [[1987 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]].
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|December 28
|The first ever ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon series [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series) season 1|premieres]] in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]] starting off with the first four episodes.
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