Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Big Goodbye

Star Trek: The Next GenerationThe week-long national syndication window opens for the 11th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode, the first to take place almost entirely within the holodeck aboard the Enterprise, goes on to win a Peabody Award. Read more

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Datalore

Star Trek: The Next GenerationThe week-long national syndication window opens for the 12th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode introduces Data’s “brother” Lore, also played by Brent Spiner, and establishes an origin story for both. Read more

Captain Power: New Order Part 1: The Sky Shall Swallow Them

Captain PowerThe 19th episode of the young-adult-audience science fiction series Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future premieres in syndication, starring Tim Dunigan, Maurice Dean Wint (Robocop: Prime Directive), Jessica Steen, and Sven-Ole Thorsen. This is part one of a two-part story. Read more

Writers’ Guild goes on strike

TVWith nearly all of its members voting in favor of a work stoppage, unionized Hollywood writers go on strike for five months, crippling the TV and movie industry. Several shows’ fall premieres are delayed significantly, and many television series and movies have to commence production on partially-finished scripts with no opportunities for rewrites (including Tim Burton’s Batman and the James Bond movie Licence To Kill). In the unusually long “off season,” attempts are made at reviving prime-time variety shows, and fledgeling network Fox rushes several “unscripted” series, including Cops and America’s Most Wanted, into production to fill the gap; these prove to be surprise hits, giving “reality” TV a permanent foothold on many network schedules. Many returning shows do not air new episodes until November or December, if they even generate new material before the end of 1988.