Apollo 11 Moon Landing, Beatles, MLK’s “I Have A Dream” Speech Among TV’s 75 Biggest Moments
12.01.2024 - 18:35
/ deadline.com
Ahead of the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, the Television Academy has compiled a list of the 75 Most Impactful TV Moments.
In collaboration with a group of academic professionals, the Television Academy scoured eight decades on television in search of the moments that have made the most impact on viewers, the industry and culture.
Chosen were classic moments (from the late 1940s until the 2020s) of TV’s most beloved programs, as well as news events that brought the U.S. and the world together to watch them in real time. Many of the selected televised events influenced politics and shifted the common wisdom about race, LGTBQ+ representation and more.
At the top of the list is the Apollo 11 moon landing, followed by coverage of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade center and the Beatles’ 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
You can read the entire list here and watch a video compilation above.
Other highlights include Roots’ premiere episode with the newborn Kunta Kinte; Hawkeye’s (Alan Alda) goodbye from B.J. (Mike Farrell) spelled out with rocks on the final episode of M*A*S*H, Saturday Night Live’s premiere hosted by George Carlin, Ellen (Ellen DeGeneres) telling Susan (Laura Dern) that she’s gay inadvertently over an airport’s public address system, Linus telling Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas, Sammy Davis Jr. kissing Archie (Carroll O’Connor) on the cheek and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) getting rejected from the soup kitchen when she offends the Soup Nazi.
Other television shows on the list include The Sopranos, The Twilight Zone, Maude, American Idol, The Golden Girls, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Star Trek, Game of Thrones, The Day After, The Last of Us, The Nat King Cole Show, General