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Lucy Goes to the Candy Factory
ImageI Love Lucy was, in many ways, one of television’s most innovative shows: fronted by an interracial couple, shot on film rather than kinescope (which is why it’s so well preserved), done in a “three-camera” setup that became the sitcom norm. But it was easy to hide all that innovation behind the show’s naked entertainment value. Fans will fight forevermore over Lucy’s finest hour, but this one leans towards the second-season premiere, “Job Switching” (airing September 14, 1952), in which Lucy an -
The Kennedy/Nixon Debate
ImageIf anyone should’ve known the political power of television, it was Nixon. Yet he didn’t fully grasp the importance of his mere appearance when he met rival John F. Kennedy on September 16, 1960, in the first televised presidential debate. Those who listened on the radio thought Nixon had won. But on television, the poised, handsome, and well-rested Kennedy was the clear winner; Nixon, tired from a long day of campaigning and wearing a suit that blended badly with the background, looked nervous. -
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
ImageEight years later, a congratulatory telegram from Presley was part of Sullivan’s presentation of another revolutionary rock act, a quartet of “youngsters from Liverpool who call themselves The Beatles.” It was the group’s first live performance on American television, and viewership shattered even the record Presley numbers: 73 million viewers, over 45% of American households with televisions (not just those that were watching television, but that owned one). -
Sammy Davis Jr. Visits All in the Family
ImageIt’s hard to fully grasp exactly how combustible Norman Lear’s All in the Family was when it first aired, starting in 1971. Never before had a popular sitcom addressed the issues of the day with such unblinking nerve and wit — and with the country in the midst of upheavals and controversies regarding feminism, religion, civil rights, homosexuality, and war, there was plenty for the show to tackle. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
image“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” commanded Ronald Reagan in June of 1987, and two years later, the job was done. Gorbachev’s radical notions of perestroika and glasnost changed thinking in the EasternBloc, and in 1989, after months of protests, the East German government unexpectedly opened up the lines of free travel between East and West Germany. Citizens flooded, creating such a rampage that police stopped bothering to check documents. -
Johnny Carson’s Final Tonight Show
ImageIn the pre-cable days, when all three of the networks went to test patterns after the evening news, The Tonight Show was quite literally the only game in town, and though others would attempt to challenge him,Johnny Carson remained the undisputed king of late night. But in 1992, after 30 years on the job, Johnny decided it was time to step down. The months-long run-up to his final program was a parade of stars, with everyone in Hollywood stopping in for one more chat with Johnny. -
The O.J. Simpson Chase
ImageOn a June night in 1995, nearly 95 million viewers tuned in to watch the weirdest goddamn car chase in history. It wasn’t really a chase: a fleet of LAPD cruisers followed a white Bronco ever-so-slowly down Interstate 5. Inside was former football star O.J. Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman had been killed three days earlier; charged with the double murder, Simpson was to turn himself in earlier that day. He didn’t. -
Muhammad Ali Lights the Olympic Torch
Image/VideoMuhammad Ali’s personal charisma, challenging politics, and unmatched athletic skill had rendered him one of television’s most prolific and, ultimately, beloved figures. From his victory at the 1960 Olympics through his celebrated verbal sparring with Howard Cosell to his 1975 “Thrilla in Manilla." Ali always meant ratings. But his appearance at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta was kept a secret until the moment he appeared to take the Olympic torch. -
The September 11th Attacks
Image The morning news shows were winding down on that Tuesday morning in September when reports came in to their control rooms: a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Initial word was that it was a small passenger plane, but it was soon revealed as a commercial airliner, and when another smashed into the second tower, it was clear that a coordinated attack was underway. Those revelations, those of an attack on the Pentagon, and the crumbling of each tower all happened on live television. -
Hurricane Katrina
ImageSevere weather coverage has, by now, become a series of visual cues: breaking waves, heavy rains, on-the-scene reporters braving the forces in network windbreakers. But Katrina became more than just a weather story, as New Orleans’ levees broke, thousands of residents pleaded for help from news cameras, and reporters on the ground relayed stories of heartbreak and fear from the streets, the roofs, and the New Orleans Superdome — sometimes telling those stories to politicians on their air.
