Editing 1988 in American television (section)

==Events==
{| class="wikitable"
! Date || Event
|-
|rowspan=3|January 1
|The season finale of the original ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' animated series airs in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]] with "[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series) season 1#Episodes|Shredder & Splintered]]". The series will return for a [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series) season 2|second season]] in fall.
|-
|''[[Australia Live]]'', a 4-hour TV special about [[Australia's Bicentennial]], airs on [[A&E Network|A&E]].
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|[[NBC Sports|NBC]] [[List of Rose Bowl Game broadcasters|broadcasts]] the [[Rose Bowl Game]] for the [[1988 Rose Bowl|final time]], ending a 37-year partnership. [[College Football on ABC|ABC Sports]] picked up rights to broadcast the game [[1989 Rose Bowl|the following year]].
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|January 3
|[[WWTI|WFYF]] in [[Watertown (city), New York|Watertown, New York]] begins broadcasting, giving the Watertown market its first full-time [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate.
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|rowspan="2"|January 4
|[[Nick Jr.]] begins as a block of [[Nickelodeon]] programming for younger children.
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|''[[Blackout (game show)|Blackout]]'', hosted by [[Bob Goen]], premieres on [[CBS]]. The game show runs for only thirteen weeks, after which ''[[The $25,000 Pyramid]]'', the show it replaced, returns to the air on April 4 while CBS develops a revival of ''[[Family Feud]]''.
|-
|January 8
|The [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] sitcom ''[[I Married Dora]]'' had low [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]] and was canceled halfway into its only season. The final episode ended with a scene, known as "breaking the [[fourth wall]]," that ranked number 49 on [[TV Land]]'s list of ''The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments.'' The cameras pulled back to show the entire stage as the cast and crew waved goodbye and performed [[curtain call]]s.
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|January 16
|Due to comments he made about breeding practices during slavery leading to blacks becoming superior athletes, [[CBS]] fires [[Jimmy Snyder (sports commentator)|Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder]], who had been a regular on ''[[NFL Today]]'' since [[1976 NFL season|1976]].
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|January 22
|[[KYMA-DT (1988-2020)|KYMA]] in [[Yuma, Arizona]] signs-on the air, returning [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] programming to the Yuma market for the first time since [[KECY-TV]] dropped its affiliation to rejoin [[CBS]] in 1985.
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|January 24
|The inaugural [[Royal Rumble (1988)|Royal Rumble]] event airs live on the [[USA Network]]. The [[Card (sports)#Main event|main event]] saw [[The Islanders (professional wrestling)|The Islanders]] defeat [[The Young Stallions]] in a 2 out of 3 falls match. The [[Royal Rumble match|titular match]] was won by [[Jim Duggan|"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan]].
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|January 25
|During that night's edition of the ''[[CBS Evening News]]''; anchor [[Dan Rather]] enters a nearly 10-minute confrontation with [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[George H. W. Bush]] over what Bush knew about the [[Iran-Contra scandal]].
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|January 29
|The ''[[Peanuts]]'' musical television special ''[[Snoopy! The Musical (TV special)|Snoopy! The Musical]],'' based on the [[Snoopy! The Musical|musical comedy of the same name]], premiered on [[CBS]].
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|January 31
|The [[The Wonder Years (season 1)|pilot]] for ''[[The Wonder Years]]'' airs following [[Monday Night Football|ABC]]'s coverage of [[Super Bowl XXII]].
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|February 5
|Wrestlers [[Hulk Hogan]] and [[André the Giant]] compete on ''[[The Main Event (1988)|The Main Event]]'' on [[NBC]], marking the return of [[professional wrestling]] to network prime-time for the first time since 1955. 
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|rowspan="2"|February 6
|UK animated television series for children ''[[Count Duckula]]'' (a spinoff of ''[[Danger Mouse (1981 TV series)|Danger Mouse]]'') begins on [[Nickelodeon]] prior to airing in its homeland which will start on September 6 of the same year.
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|The writers of ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'' create a controversial [[List of The Facts of Life episodes#Season 9 (1987–88)|storyline]] in which Natalie ([[Mindy Cohn]]) becomes the first of the girls to lose her [[virginity]]. [[Lisa Whelchel]] (Blair) refused this particular storyline that would have made her character, not Natalie, the first among the four young women in the show to lose her virginity. Having become a [[Christians|Christian]] when she was 10, Whelchel refused because of her religious convictions. Whelchel appeared in every episode but asked to be written out of "The First Time".<ref>{{cite book|last=Whelchel|first=Lisa |title=The Facts of Life: And Other Lessons My Father Taught Me|year=2001|publisher=Multnomah Books |isbn=1-576-73858-2|pages=35–37}}</ref> The episode ran a parental advisory before starting and placed 22nd in the ratings for the week.<ref name="thefirsttime">{{cite web|url=http://www.televisionhits.com/factsoflife/ratings.html|title=Facts of Life Site: Ratings History}}</ref>
|-
|February 13
|[[ABC Olympic broadcasts|ABC]] broadcasts the Opening Ceremonies for the [[1988 Winter Olympics|Winter Olympic Games]] from [[Calgary]]. This is ABC's tenth and final Olympic Games that they would broadcast to date.
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|February 21
|[[Televangelist]] [[Jimmy Swaggart]], involved with a sex scandal, admits to being with prostitutes and temporarily ends his television ministry.
|-
|February 22
|The [[Nickelodeon]] game show ''[[Double Dare (franchise)|Double Dare]]'' begins its third season, airing simultaneously on Nickelodeon and [[List of Fox Broadcasting Company affiliates (by U.S. state)|Fox affiliates]]. Besides the presence of a new network, another big change was the stage left team now wearing blue (the stage right team would continue to wear red) so viewers and crew members could tell the teams apart more easily. Previously, both teams wore red.
|-
|February 23
|Future [[Grammy Award]]-winning [[recording artist]] [[Lauryn Hill]] ([[Fugees|The Fugees]] frontwoman) makes her television debut on ''[[Showtime at the Apollo]]'' as a contestant of [[Amateur Night]], where the 13-year-old Hill performed "[[Who's Lovin' You]]" by [[Motown Records]] singer [[Smokey Robinson]], and gets booed by the audience.
|-
|February 25
|''[[Totally Minnie]]'', a 45-minute live-action/animated special, premiers on [[NBC]]. This marks the first time [[Russi Taylor]] voiced [[Minnie Mouse]].
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|February 26
|[[List of General Hospital characters (1970s)#Tom Hardy|Tom Hardy]] marries [[List of General Hospital characters (1980s)#Simone Hardy|Simone Ravelle]] on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] soap opera ''[[General Hospital]]'', the first interracial wedding on American daytime television.
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|March 2
|[[Michael Jackson]] performs a live, extended version of the song "[[Man in the Mirror]]" at the [[30th Annual Grammy Awards]] on [[CBS]], having [[Siedah Garrett]], [[the Winans]], and the [[Andraé Crouch]] choir perform with him.
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|March 18
|In what would turn out to be her final television appearance, [[Gilda Radner]] [[List of It's Garry Shandling's Show episodes#Season 2 (1987–88)|guest stars]] on [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]'s ''[[It's Garry Shandling's Show]]''.
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|March 19
|"[[I Heard It Through the Grapevine]]" experiences a surge of popularity caused by television commercials featuring [[claymation]] raisin figures. [[The California Raisins]]' version of the song peaks at No. 84 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].
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|March 20
|''[[Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats]]'', the fifth installment of the ''[[Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10]]'' telefilm series, is broadcast in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]].
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|March 27
|The first edition of ''[[Clash of the Champions]]'' airs on [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]] opposite [[WrestleMania IV]] on [[pay-per-view]]. The [[Card (sports)#Main event|main event]] would be [[Ric Flair]] and [[Sting (wrestler)|Sting]] wrestling to a time limit draw.
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|April 3
|In [[Jacksonville, Florida]], [[NBC]] affiliate [[WCWJ|WJKS]] (now [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[WCWJ]]) and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[WTLV]] swap affiliations, reversing a swap that took place in 1980. NBC will later dub this swap one of its most successful affiliation switches ever.
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|April 4
|[[James Brown]] appears on [[CNN]] after allegedly assaulting his wife with a lead pipe and shooting at her car. During the interview with [[Sonya Friedman]], Brown shouted song titles of his own songs instead of answering questions.
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|April 8
|[[Ana Alicia]]'s character, [[List_of_Falcon_Crest_characters#Main_characters|Melissa Agretti]], dies in a house fire on the [[CBS]] drama ''[[Falcon Crest]]''.
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| rowspan="2" |April 11
|[[WNCN|WYED-TV]], an [[Independent station (North America)|independent station]], serving both [[Goldsboro, North Carolina|Goldsboro]], [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]] and [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]] launches.
|-
|[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[WVAH-TV]] moves to channel 11, one of the last remaining channel allocations in the U.S., from UHF channel 23.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1988-04-11|title=Print ad promoting the move to channel 11|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/88-OCR/BC-1988-04-11-OCR-Page-0073.pdf|access-date=2021-12-17}}</ref>
|-
|April 13
|[[Geraldo Rivera]]'s live special ''Murder: Live from Death Row'' is broadcast in syndication; a highlight is Rivera's pre-taped interview with [[Charles Manson]].
|-
|rowspan="2"|April 18
|[[Disney Channel|The Disney Channel]] celebrates its fifth anniversary.
|-
|[[Nickelodeon]] debuts the [[1988 Kids' Choice Awards|first]] [[Kids Choice Awards]] ceremony.
|-
|April 25
|Lieutenant [[Tasha Yar]] is killed off in [[Skin of Evil|an episode]] of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' after actress [[Denise Crosby]] asked to be released from her contract.
|-
|May 1
|''[[Magnum, P.I.]]'' broadcasts its [[List_of_Magnum,_P.I._episodes#Season_8_(1987–88)|2-hour series finale]] on [[CBS]].
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|May 6
|''[[The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound]]'', the sixth installment of the ''[[Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10]]'' telefilm series, is broadcast in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]] as part of the 30th anniversary of the character [[Huckleberry Hound]]. This film marks the final time [[Daws Butler]] voiced Huck, [[Quick Draw McGraw]] and [[Baba Looey]], [[Snagglepuss]], [[Hokey Wolf]], and [[Peter Potamus]], as he died two and a half weeks after its telecast from a heart attack.
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|May 7
|The [[List of The Facts of Life episodes#Season 9 (1987–88)|series finale]] of ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'' airs on [[NBC]]. In the two-part episode, [[List_of_The_Facts_of_Life_characters#Blair_Warner|Blair]] buys Eastland to prevent its closing. Blair finds that the school is in such dire financial straits that she is forced to make the school co-ed. Blair then essentially adopts the Mrs. Garrett role as she presides over the school and is forced to deal with the trouble-making students in a plot line that is highly reminiscent of the season two premiere. The new Eastland students included [[Seth Green]], [[Mayim Bialik]], future [[Academy Award nomination|Oscar]]-nominee [[Juliette Lewis]], and [[Meredith Scott Lynn]]. 
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|May 13
|In the season finale of the [[CBS]] drama ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'', character [[J.R. Ewing]] pushes over the railing of his high-rise office building the character Nicholas Pierce, and [[Sue Ellen Ewing|Sue Ellen]] is so enraged that she fires three shots at Ewing. 
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|May 15
|''[[Beverly Hills Cop]]'' makes its broadcast network television debut on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].
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|May 18
|''[[The Late Show (Fox TV series)|The Late Show]]'' on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] hosts a reunion of the entire cast of ''[[Gilligan's Island]]''. This would prove to be the last time that all of the regular cast members appeared together as [[Jim Backus]], who was suffering from [[Parkinson's disease]] at the time, died the following year.
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|May 18–26
|The [[1988 Stanley Cup Finals|Stanley Cup Finals]] between the [[1987–88 Edmonton Oilers season|Edmonton Oilers]] and [[1987–88 Boston Bruins|Boston Bruins]] is broadcast on [[NHL on ESPN|ESPN]]. This was the final year under ESPN national three-year deal with the [[National Hockey League]]. Under the U.S. TV contracts that would take effect beginning [[1988–89 NHL season|next season]], [[NHL on SportsChannel America|SportsChannel America]] would take over as the NHL's American television partner. ESPN's coverage of the 1988 Cup Finals is blacked out locally in the Boston area due to [[WSBK-TV|WSBK]] and [[NESN]]'s [[List of Boston Bruins broadcasters|local rights to Bruins games]].
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|May 22
|[[NBC]] broadcasts ''[[The Incredible Hulk Returns]]'', a continuation of the [[The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series)|TV series]] that aired on [[CBS]] from 1978 to 1982. The film also serves as a [[Television_pilot#Backdoor_pilot|backdoor pilot]] for a potential series centering on the [[Marvel Comics]] superhero [[Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor]].
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|May 24
|[[CBS Olympic broadcasts|CBS]] wins the broadcasting rights to the [[1992 Winter Olympics]] after bidding around $243 million. 
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|May 28
|The [[List of St. Elsewhere episodes#Season 6 (1987–88)|series finale]] of [[NBC]]'s ''[[St. Elsewhere]]'' reveals that the entire series was the product of an [[Tommy Westphall|autistic boy's]] imagination.
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|May 30
|After rejecting an offer to join [[CBS News]], [[Peter Mansbridge]] replaces [[Knowlton Nash]] as anchorman of [[CBC Television]]'s series ''[[The National (CBC)|The National]]''.
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|June 4
|The [[Universal Pictures Debut Network]] broadcasts a special edition of the 1984 film ''[[Dune (1984 film)|Dune]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Willman|first=Chris|date=June 5, 1988|title='Dune II: The Re-edit'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-05-ca-6381-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|location= |access-date=}}</ref> as a two-night event, with additional footage not included in the film's original release.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cinema of David Lynch: American Dreams, Nightmare Visions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l5JwyKjpH2QC&pg=PA207|author=Erica Davison|author2=Annette Sheen|publisher=Wallflower Press|page=207|date=2004|access-date=April 9, 2015|isbn=190336485X}}</ref> This version totalled at 186 minutes, including a "What happened last night" recap and second credit roll. Director [[David Lynch]] disavowed this version and had his name removed from the credits, [[Alan Smithee]] being credited instead.
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|June 14
|The [[CBS]] soap opera ''[[The Young and the Restless]]'' tops the daytime ratings (deposing longtime winner ''[[General Hospital]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelfairmansoaps.com/news/yr-marks-26-years-as-the-number-1-daytime-drama/2014/12/18/ |title=Y&R Marks 26 Years As The Number #1 Daytime Drama! |website=michaelfairmansoaps.com |access-date=2015-06-20 |archive-date=2015-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906124810/http://michaelfairmansoaps.com/news/yr-marks-26-years-as-the-number-1-daytime-drama/2014/12/18/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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|June 21
|Game 7 of the [[1988 NBA Finals|NBA Finals]] between the [[1987-88 Los Angeles Lakers season|Los Angeles Lakers]] and the [[1987-88 Detroit Pistons season|Detroit Pistons]] airs on [[NBA on CBS|CBS]]. With a 21.2 [[Nielsen ratings|rating]] / 37 share, it would prove to be the [[NBA Finals television ratings|highest-rated NBA game]] in the 17 years that CBS [[National Basketball Association on television|broadcast the NBA]] (1973-1990). It's also the only NBA game that scored more than 20 ratings points for the network.
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|July 4
|Three years after its cancellation by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]] resurrects ''[[Family Feud]]'' for its daytime lineup, featuring new host [[Ray Combs]].  A syndicated nighttime version would premiere later in the autumn.
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|July 11
|The day before the [[1988 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|Major League Baseball All-Star Game]] from [[Cincinnati]], [[Major League Baseball on TBS|TBS]] televised the annual All-Star Gala<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/mlb-all-star-game-cincinnati-1988-gala-zoo-home-run-derby-rain-baseball-video-weird-tbs-mark-mcgwire-snake-marge-schott-elephant-larry-king/hdbqo39kca7a1f67d2eivphwf|title=The last time Cincinnati hosted the MLB All-Star Game, things got weird|work=The Sporting News|date=13 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721185454/http://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/mlb-all-star-game-cincinnati-1988-gala-zoo-home-run-derby-rain-baseball-video-weird-tbs-mark-mcgwire-snake-marge-schott-elephant-larry-king/hdbqo39kca7a1f67d2eivphwf|archive-date=2018-07-21}}</ref> from the [[Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden|Cincinnati Zoo]]. [[Larry King]] hosted the broadcast with [[Craig Sager]] and [[Pete Van Wieren]] handling interviews. The broadcast's big draw would've been the [[Home Run Derby (Major League Baseball)|Home Run Derby]], which TBS intended on taping during the afternoon, and later airing it in [[prime time]] during the Gala coverage. The Gala coverage also had some canned features such as highlights from previous All-Star Games, a segment on [[History of the Cincinnati Reds|Cincinnati's baseball history]], a video recap of the [[1988 Major League Baseball season|season]]'s first half and, a slow-motion highlight montage set to "This Is the Time" by [[Styx (band)|Styx]] frontman [[Dennis DeYoung]]. Unfortunately, the derby and a skills competition were canceled due to rain. As a result, TBS scrambled to try to fill nearly an hour of now-open airtime. For example, the [[Larry Gatlin#With the Gatlin Brothers|Gatlin Brothers]], the event's musical guests, who had already played a full concert, were asked to come back out and play some more.
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|July 12
|The [[1988 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|Major League Baseball All-Star Game]] is broadcast on [[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]]. This would be the last time that ABC would televise the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|Midsummer's Classic]] until the [[1995 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1995 game]] from [[Arlington, Texas]].
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|July 14
|The first ever edition of "[[Shark Week]]" airs on [[Discovery Channel]].
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|August 1
|The word "Family" is incorporated into the [[Freeform (TV channel)|CBN Cable Network]]'s name to better reflect its programming format, [[rebranding]] as '''The CBN Family Channel'''; shortly after the new name was adopted, however, references to CBN within its name began to be excised in on-air [[continuity announcer|continuity announcements]] and print promotions for its programs (with the exception of the initialized reference to its parent ministry featured within its logo), referring to it as simply "The Family Channel".
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|August 9
|As a special [[prime time]] edition of the ''[[Major League Baseball Game of the Week|Game of the Week]]'', [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC]] broadcasts the first official [[night game]] at [[Chicago]]'s [[Wrigley Field]] between the [[1988 Chicago Cubs season|Cubs]] and [[1988 New York Mets season|New York Mets]]. 
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|August 27
|[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[WATM-TV|WWPC-TV]] in [[Altoona, Pennsylvania]] (a satellite of [[WWCP-TV]] in [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania|Johnstown]]) breaks from its simulcast with WWCP-TV to become an [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate, returning ABC to Altoona/[[State College, Pennsylvania|State College]] (and giving Johnstown its first full-time ABC affiliate) after Altoona/State College's previous ABC affiliate WOPC-TV went dark in 1982.
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|August 29
|Some of the stations in markets [[WMYA-TV|WAXA]] in [[Greenville, South Carolina]], [[WTOG]] in [[Tampa Bay|Tampa Bay, Florida]], [[KMSP-TV|KMSP]] in [[Minneapolis]]/[[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]], and [[KPTV]] in [[Portland, Oregon]] left [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] due to disappointments with the weak network's offerings. The replacement affiliates were [[WHNS]] in Greenville, South Carolina, [[WFTS-TV|WFTS]] in Tampa Bay, Florida, [[WFTC]] in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and [[KPDX-TV|KPDX]] in Portland, Oregon.
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|August 29
|The World Wrestling Federation (now [[WWE]]) telecasts the [[SummerSlam (1988)|inaugural]] [[SummerSlam]] event on [[pay-per-view]].
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|September 2
|[[Dick Clark]] hosts his final episode of the game show ''[[Pyramid (game show)|Pyramid]]'', ending his 15-year run as host of the program. Clark would make guest appearances on both the 1991 revival hosted by [[John Davidson (entertainer)|John Davidson]] and the 2002 revival hosted by [[Donny Osmond]].
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|September 5
|[[WABC-TV|WABC]]'s ''The Morning Show'' makes its national [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]] debut under its new title ''[[Live with Kelly and Mark|Live with Regis and Kathie Lee]]''.
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|September 10
|In [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], [[CBS]] affiliate [[WBIR-TV]] swaps affiliations with [[NBC]] affiliate [[WVLT-TV|WTVK]] in time for [[NBC Olympic broadcasts|NBC Sports]]' coverage of the [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Summer Olympic Games]]. Shortly after the switch, WTVK moves to channel 8, one of the last remaining VHF channel allocations in the U.S., and becomes WKXT-TV (now [[WVLT-TV]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbir.com/about/|title=About WBIR in Knoxville|website=wbir.com}}</ref>
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|September 18
|''[[Rockin' with Judy Jetson]]'', the seventh installment of the ''[[Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10]]'' series, is broadcast in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]]. This film marks the final time [[Daws Butler]] voiced Elroy Jetson, as it was telecast posthumously.
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|September 25
|[[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Michael Dukakis]] participate in the first of the [[1988 United States presidential debates|1988 presidential debates]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wait Chapel event a homecoming for the debate commission - October 12, 2000 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/10/12/debate.notebook/index.html |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=www.cnn.com}}</ref>
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|rowspan="2"|October 3
|[[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]], the fourth cable network owned by [[Turner Broadcasting System|Turner Broadcasting]], commences programming with a broadcast of the movie ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''.
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|The Bonus Round in ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' now adopts a ''Three-and-a-vowel'' format, which was used till this day, with letters "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" and "E" provided immediately, and the time limit was reduced from 15 seconds to 10.
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|rowspan="3"|October 4
|As did [[Cher]], actress [[Shirley MacLaine]] calls [[David Letterman]] an "[[asshole]]" during a taping of the [[NBC]] talk show ''[[Late Night with David Letterman|Late Night]]''.
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|As part of a [[television special]] hosted by [[Patrick Stewart]], called ''The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next'', the first pilot episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', called [[The Cage (Star Trek: The Original Series)|"The Cage"]] is broadcast in its entirety for the first time. In some markets, the airing of this special was delayed until October 15, 1988. Prior to this, footage of "The Cage" was incorporated into the [[Star Trek: The Original Series (season 1)|Season 1]] two-parter episode [[The Menagerie (Star Trek: The Original Series)|"The Menagerie"]].
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|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] under the guidance of new executive producer Geoffrey Mason,<ref>{{cite news |last=Nidetz|first=Steve|date=September 23, 1988|title=ABC SPORTS HONCHO IS IN PURSUIT OF GRAPHIC CHANGES|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-09-23-8802010991-story.html|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> debuts fatter and wider graphics that gave off a cleaner, sharper look complete with a black border for their [[Major League Baseball]] [[Major League Baseball on ABC|coverage]]. ABC also debuts a new energetic, [[Orchestral pop|symphonic-pop]] styled musical theme,<ref>{{YouTube|title=The ABC baseball theme, 1988-'89|id=tWjThaT4fWs}}</ref><ref name="Foster">{{cite web |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/best-network-baseball-theme-songs-music-of-all-time-nbc-abc-cbs-espn-tbs-fox-mlb/1n6v4oqetdasi15wv50vbur2cm|title=The 9 best network baseball theme songs of all time, ranked|last=Foster|first=Jason|date=September 19, 2015|website=Sporting News}}</ref> composed by [[Kurt Bestor]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Robinson|first=Doug|date=October 28, 2002|title=Kurt Bestor: Private discord, public acclaim|url=https://www.deseret.com/2002/10/28/19781682/kurt-bestor-private-discord-public-acclaim#kurt-bestor|work=Deseret News}}</ref> which would become an all-compassing theme of sorts for [[ESPN on ABC|ABC Sports]] during this time period.
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|rowspan=2|October 5
|Senators [[Dan Quayle]] and [[Lloyd Bentsen]] participate in the 1988 vice presidential debate with the line "[[Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy]]" becoming popular.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Boyd |first=Gerald M. |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1988-10-05 |title=Quayle Getting His Big Chance To Clear Doubts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/05/us/quayle-getting-his-big-chance-to-clear-doubts.html |access-date=2024-08-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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|Game 2 of the [[1988 National League Championship Series|National League Championship Series]] between the [[1988 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]] and [[1988 New York Mets season|New York Mets]] is broadcast on [[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]]. The scheduled start time is approximately 10 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]]. This is due to [[ABC News (United States)|ABC]]'s prior commitment to broadcasting the [[1988_United_States_presidential_debates#October_5:_Vice_presidential_debate_(Omaha_Civic_Auditorium)|vice presidential debate]] between [[Dan Quayle]] and [[Lloyd Bentsen]]. This is the latest ever scheduled start for a [[League Championship Series]] [[Major League Baseball|baseball]] game.
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|October 8
|A young [[Countess Vaughn]] (winner of ''[[Star Search]]'') joins the cast of the [[NBC]] comedy ''[[227 (TV series)|227]]'' as Alexandria DeWitt, a young 11-year-old talented [[college]] student, whom the Jenkins' have as a houseguest for a year.
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|October 11
|[[Turner Broadcasting System|Turner Broadcasting]] purchases [[Jim Crockett Promotions]] and subsequently rebrands it as [[World Championship Wrestling]]. The sale would be completed on November 2, 1988. Three days later, on ''[[WCW Saturday Night|NWA World Championship Wrestling]]'', [[Ric Flair|"Nature Boy" Ric Flair]] cut a promo and pointed out a large group of Turner executives in the crowd. This was a subtle nod to [[Ted Turner]] purchasing Jim Crockett Promotions.
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|October 13
|[[Bernard Shaw (journalist)|Bernard Shaw]] of [[CNN]] asks [[Michael Dukakis]] during [[1988_United_States_presidential_debates#October_13:_Second_presidential_debate_(University_of_California)|the second presidential debate]] a question about [[Kitty Dukakis|his wife]] and the [[Capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]] that garners controversy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Chicago |date=1988-10-15 |title=`OUTRAGEOUS` DEBATE QUESTION ANGERS KITTY DUKAKIS |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/10/15/outrageous-debate-question-angers-kitty-dukakis/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>
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|rowspan="2"|October 15
|[[Kirk Gibson]] hits his now iconic [[Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run|walk-off home run]] off of [[Dennis Eckersley]] in Game 1 of the [[1988 World Series|World Series]] between the [[1988 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]] and [[1988 Oakland Athletics season|Oakland Athletics]]. [[Vin Scully]] and [[Joe Garagiola Sr.|Joe Garagiola]] are in the broadcast booth for [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC Sports]]. During the same game at the second inning, NBC affiliate [[WMGT-TV]] in [[Macon, Georgia]] is hijacked for 10 seconds replacing parts of the second inning with an [[adult movie]]. The technician was later fired, and Production Manager L. A. Sturdivant reported to ''[[The Atlanta Constitution]]'' at the incident was an accident.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/400190481/|title=WMGT-41's World Series hijacking incident|work=The Atlanta Constitution|date=October 15, 1988|access-date=July 9, 2020|language=en-US}}</ref>  
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|[[College Football on CBS Sports|CBS]] airs a highly anticipated [[1988 Notre Dame vs. Miami football game|college football game]] between the [[1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame Fighting Irish]] and the [[1988 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami Hurricanes]], colloquially known as "Catholics vs. Convicts".
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|October 16
|''[[Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School]]'', the eighth installment of the ''[[Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10]]'' telefilm series, is broadcast in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]]. It is also part of the [[List of Scooby-Doo media#Films|''Scooby-Doo'' animated film series]].
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|October 18
|The [[List_of_Roseanne_episodes#Season_1_(1988–89)|pilot episode]] for ''[[Roseanne]]'' is broadcast on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].
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|October 21
|[[Lori Loughlin]] makes her [[Full House (season 2)|first appearance]] as [[List of Full House and Fuller House characters#Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis|Rebecca Donaldson]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Full House]]''.
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|October 27
|The last of [[Harding Lemay]]'s "comeback" episodes are broadcast on the [[NBC]] soap opera ''[[Another World (TV series)|Another World]]''. In the final minutes of the episode, Australian actress [[Carmen Duncan]] assumed the role of the legendary [[bitch (insult)|bitch]] Iris Cory Wheeler, after the role had been vacated for many years by [[Beverlee McKinsey]].
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|rowspan="2"|November 3
|[[Talk show]] host [[Geraldo Rivera]]'s nose is broken during a taping of [[Geraldo (TV series)|his show]] when a fight begins on the set between guests. The theme of the episode was "Young Hate Mongers," and the fight originated between [[white supremacy|white supremacist]] [[Tom Metzger (white supremacist)|Tom Metzger]] and liberal activist [[Roy Innis]].
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|Australian-made 1986 cartoon television movie of ''King Solomon's Mines'' by Warwick Gilbert debuts on American television after multiple weeks of promotion and is one of the most-watched children's television shows of the year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462384/|title = King Solomon's Mines|website = [[IMDb]]}}</ref> 
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|November 10
|[[Milwaukee]] [[List of television stations in Wisconsin|television station]] [[WDJT-TV]] goes on the air.
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|November 12
|Australian-made 1986 cartoon television movie of ''King Solomon's Mines'' by Warwick Gilbert airs for a second time and is the most watched program for children for the second Saturday in a row.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462384/|title = King Solomon's Mines|website = [[IMDb]]}}</ref> 
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|rowspan="3"|November 13
|''[[Mickey's 60th Birthday]]'', which as the title suggests, was a [[television special]] produced for the 60th anniversary of the [[Mickey Mouse]] character, airs on [[NBC]].
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|''[[Back to the Future]]'' makes its broadcast network television premiere on [[NBC]].
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|''[[Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf]]'', the ninth installment of the ''[[Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10]]'' telefilm series, is broadcast in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]]. It is also part of the [[List of Scooby-Doo media#Films|''Scooby-Doo'' animated film series]]. This is also the last ''[[Scooby-Doo]]'' production to feature [[Scrappy-Doo]] (who debuted as a character in 1979's ''[[Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979 TV series)|Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo]]'') as a main protagonist. 
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|November 20
|''[[Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears]]'', the tenth and final installment of the ''[[Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10]]'' series, is broadcast in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]]. This film marks the final time [[Daws Butler]] voiced [[Yogi Bear]], as it was telecast posthumously.
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|November 21
|[[CBS]] broadcasts ''Inside the Sexes'', a documentary produced by ''The Body Human's'' [[Alfred R. Kelman]] that features explicit content about human sexuality (including detailed visuals inside human reproductive organs), which prompts several CBS affiliates to broadcast the program with a parental warning at the beginning of the program, at a later time of the day. Some affiliates canceled their broadcast of the program.
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|November 24
|''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' airs for the [[List of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes#KTMA-TV (1988–89)|first time]] on [[WUCW|KTMA-TV]] in [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]].
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|December 2
|[[NBC]] wins the rights to [[NBC Olympic broadcasts|broadcast]] the [[1992 Summer Olympics]] from [[Barcelona]], [[Spain]], bidding over $401 million.
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|December 8
|[[Tichina Arnold]] (later of ''[[Martin (TV series)|Martin]]'' and ''[[Everybody Hates Chris]]'' fame) joins the cast of the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] soap opera ''[[Ryan's Hope]]'' for what will prove to be its final season.
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|December 11
|''[[Roots: The Gift]]'', the third installment of the ''[[Roots (1977 miniseries)|Roots]]'' series is broadcast on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].
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|December 13
|The [[American Wrestling Association]] airs its first and only [[pay-per-view]] card, [[SuperClash III]].
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|December 14
|[[Major League Baseball on CBS|CBS]] pays [[Major League Baseball]] approximately US$1.8 billion<ref name="NYT-CBS">{{cite news|title=A Billion-Dollar Bid By CBS Wins Rights To Baseball Games|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/15/sports/a-billion-dollar-bid-by-cbs-wins-rights-to-baseball-games.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 15, 1988}}</ref> for exclusive over-the-air television rights for over four years (beginning in [[1990 in baseball|1990]]). CBS paid about $265 million each year<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medialifemagazine.com:8080/news2002/apr02/apr15/4_thurs/news3thursday.html |title=Waning days of big $ TV sports |last1=Downey |first1=Kevin |date=18 April 2002 |website=Media Life |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225103228/http://www.medialifemagazine.com:8080/news2002/apr02/apr15/4_thurs/news3thursday.html |archive-date=25 February 2015 }}</ref> for the [[World Series]], [[League Championship Series]], [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]], and the Saturday ''[[Major League Baseball Game of the Week|Game of the Week]]''. CBS replaces [[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]] (which had broadcast [[Monday Night Baseball|Monday]] and later [[Thursday Night Baseball|Thursday night]] baseball games from [[1976 in baseball|1976]] to [[1989 in baseball|1989]]) and NBC (which had broadcast Major League Baseball in some shape or form since 1947 and the ''Game of the Week'' exclusively since [[1966 in baseball|1966]]) as the national broadcast network television home of Major League Baseball.<ref name="LATimes-CBS">{{cite news|title=Baseball to CBS; NBC Strikes Out : ABC Also Falls Short as 4-Year Package Goes for $1 Billion|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-15-sp-563-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=December 15, 1988}}</ref> It was one of the largest agreements<ref>{{cite news |last=Shames|first=Laurence|date=23 July 1989|title=CBS HAS WON THE WORLD SERIES......NOW IT COULD LOSE ITS SHIRT|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/23/magazine/cbs-has-won-the-world-seriesnow-it-could-lose-its-shirt.html|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> (to date) between the sport of baseball and the business of [[broadcasting]]. The cost of the deal between CBS and Major League Baseball was about 25% more<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erardi|last2= Luckhaupt|first1=John|first2= Joel|date= 29 September 2010|title=The Wire-to-Wire Reds: Sweet Lou, Nasty Boys, and the Wild Run to a World ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEEAWnCRL6UC&q=1990+baseball+cbs&pg=PA40|page=40|publisher=Clerisy Press |isbn=9781578604661}}</ref> than in the previous television contract with ABC and NBC.<ref>{{cite book|title=And There Was Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V4qcZDB8xvMC&q=Major+League+Baseball+on+CBS&pg=PA146|page=146|author=Ernest Cashmore|isbn= 9780415091305|year=1994| publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref> The deal with CBS was also intended to pay each team (26 in {{mlby|1990}} and then, 28 by {{mlby|1993}}) $10 million a year.
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|December 18
|''[[A Very Brady Christmas]]'' airs on [[CBS]] and with a 25.1 [[Nielsen ratings|rating]] and a 39 share, becomes the second highest rated television film of the year. Its success would soon lead to the creation of a new ''[[The Brady Bunch|Brady Bunch]]'' series called ''[[The Bradys]]'', which only lasts for six episodes.
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|December 26
|[[CBS]]' ''[[The Young and the Restless]]'' becomes the number 1 daytime drama on television, where it remains to this very day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.com/shows/the_young_and_the_restless/news/1004984/y-r-celebrates-27-consecutive-years-as-daytime-s-no-1-drama/ |title=Y&R Celebrates 27 Consecutive Years As Daytime's No. 1 Drama |website=CBS.com}}</ref>
|}