1986 in television
See also:
1985 in television,
other events of 1986,
1987 in television and the
list of 'years in television'.
Events
- January 28 - NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger spacecraft explodes, live on television.
- January - A Vicks Formula 44 ad premieres, starring Peter Bergman from All My Children, in which he told the viewing audience "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." This phrase, first used in the early 1970s by Robert Young of Marcus Welby, M.D. fame, was subsequently parodied in many pop culture references.
- February 11 - Culture Club lead singer Boy George appears on an episode of The A-Team.
- February 14 - Frank Zappa appears on an episode of the popular television series Miami Vice. Zappa portrays a crime boss named "Mr. Frankie".
- February 22 - In honor of the 20th anniversary of The Monkees premiering on television, MTV broadcasts "Pleasant Valley Sunday," a 22-hour marathon of Monkees episodes.
- February 26 - Dragon Ball premieres on Fuji TV.
- February - On the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, the entire town of Henderson is washed away in a flood. Lead character Joanne Tourneur's (Mary Stuart) motel is the only structure in town left standing.
- May 10 - Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe marries actress Heather Locklear.
- May 22 - Cher calls David Letterman an "A**hole" on the air during a taping of Late Night with David Letterman.
- July 18 - A tornado is broadcast live on KARE TV in Minnesota when the station's helicopter pilot makes a chance encounter.
- September - The original Rovers' Return sets are set ablaze on the British soap opera Coronation Street; in the story, the pub was gutted with owner Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) inside, sleeping.
- October - The FOX Broadcasting Company becomes the United States' fourth commercial broadcast television network.
Debuts
Popular Television Shows
Ending this year
Changes of Network Affiliation
- Silver Spoons moves from NBC to first-run syndication
Births
Deaths
