The week-long national syndication window opens for the 17th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 17th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The second episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2.
CBS airs the 18th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. James Avery (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) guest stars.
The third episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2.
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.
CBS airs the 21st episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Edward Albert guest stars.
CBS airs the 22nd episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. This is the first season finale.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 20th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the second of three occasions in the series in which the Enterprise’s saucer section is separated from the rest of the ship.
ITV airs the 109th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Liza Goddard and Peter Davison (Doctor Who) guest star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 21st episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Merritt Butrick (Star Trek II & III) and Judson Scott (The Phoenix) guest star.
ITV airs the 110th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Glynis Barber (Blake’s 7) guest stars.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 22nd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This marks the final appearance of Denise Crosby as series regular Lt. Tasha Yar; the actress has decided to move on to less limited roles. Crosby returns to TNG several times, and later hosts several documentaries on the Star Trek phenomenon.
The 12th episode of the American-made Max Headroom series premieres on ABC, starring Matt Frewer and Amanda Pays. (This is the the American-made drama series, not the music video/talk show series featuring the same character.) This is the final episode to air on ABC; two further episodes, Lost Tapes and Baby Grobags, aren’t seen until the series goes into reruns on cable years later.
ITV airs the 111th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Michael Brandon (Dinotopia, Dempsey & Makepeace) guest stars.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 23rd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is one of the late first season episodes most notably affected by the Writers’ Strike, as filming had to begin without a completed final draft script. Michelle Phillips guest stars.
ITV airs the 112th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. David Suchet (Poirot) and Jemma Redgrave (Doctor Who) guest star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 24th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the goriest episode of the series’ entire run; even improved make-up effects in later seasons never quite match up to this story’s exploding head and torso (graphic visuals which any network with creative input or oversight would likely have nixed). Despite ending on an obvious cliffhanger, this story is never revisited by any later episodes or spinoff series.
ITV airs the 113th and final episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Chaim Topol guest stars in the series finale.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 25th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode marks the end of the first season (with no guarantee, due the 1988 Writers’ Guild strike, that the series will be back in production anytime soon), and the return of the Romulans to the Star Trek universe, a sign that Gene Roddenberry is relaxing his stance on revisiting elements of the original series.