CBS airs the 19th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Josh Blake guest stars.
CBS airs the 19th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Josh Blake guest stars.
The 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. 
With 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.
The first episode of the present-day science fiction series Probe airs on ABC. The pilot movie is written by Michael Wagner (Hill Street Blues) from a premise Wagner devised with famed SF author Isaac Asimov, a fact that figures heavily into promotion of the series. Parker Stevenson and Ashley Crow star. 
The 44th episode of ALF airs on NBC, centering around Paul Fusco’s puppet creation of a furry, wisecracking alien marooned on Earth.
The fourth episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2.
The third episode of the Glen A. Larson’s futuristic action series The Highwayman airs on NBC, starring Sam Jones (Flash Gordon), Jane Badler (V), and Tim Russ (Star Trek: Voyager). Wendie Malick (Baywatch) guest stars in an episode written by Larson.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 18th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In an rare example of what passes for a “story arc” in early TNG, the characters of Admiral Quinn and the disagreeable Commander Remmick make their first of two first-season appearances.
The fifth episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. Future late night talk show host Craig Ferguson makes his first television appearance in this episode.
CBS airs the 20th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. James Avery and Armin Shimermaan guest star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 19th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the first episode of the series to focus on the Klingon race – a holdover from the original series and movies that series creator Gene Roddenberry had planned to avoid revisiting until co-producer (and fellow classic Trek producer) Bob Justman convinced him otherwise during pre-production, leading to the very late creation of a “Klingon Marine” named Worf.
The sixth episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. This concludes the first season, but the BBC rushes a second season into production due to the popularity of the first six episodes.
The German arm of CBS Records releases the album Fantasie by Münchener Freiheit. The same album, except with English lyrics, will be issued in North America and the UK later in the year.