UK regional broadcaster TVS airs the 13th and final episode of Richard Cooper’s alternate-history series Knights Of God, portraying a struggle between oppressive government and rugged resistance fighters in a post-civil-war UK. Michael Sheard (The Empire Strikes Back) guest stars. 
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The 669th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. David Selby (Dark Shadows) guest stars as Glitz; this story introduces Sophie Aldred as new TARDIS traveler Ace. Bonnie Langford makes her final appearance as Melanie. This story concludes the 24th season.
This timeline entry leads to an entry covering this entire Doctor Who serial; there are plans to write new episodic entries in the future. You can support this effort!
Order Earl Green’s book VWORP!1 from theLogBook.com Store
Lewis Galoob Toys releases its first wave of toys from Star Trek: The Next Generation, consisting of six characters (all members of the Enterprise crew) and a die-cast metal miniature starship Enterprise. While there’s an instant interest from Star Trek collectors, Galoob is perhaps a bit premature: the series upon which its toys are based is in the middle of a very uneven first season, and has demonstrated more appeal to older viewers than to the age group that normally buys action figures. A more successful line, geared more toward adult collectors, will surface in the 1990s. (more…)
CBS airs the 11th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest stars.
ITV airs the 104th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Charles Dance and Zoë Wanamaker guest star in the ninth season premiere.
The Soyuz TM-4 mission is launched by the Soviet Union, en route to space station Mir. Cosmonauts Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov take up residence as the new long-duration crew aboard Mir, formally known as Expedition 3, and they eventually break all previous space endurance records by staying aboard Mir for exactly one year and one day, returning to Earth on December 21st, 1988. Cosmonaut Anatoli Levchenko, after the week-long overlap with the Expedition 2 crew, returns to Earth with Expedition 2 crew members Yuri Romanenko and Aleksandr Aleksandrov aboard the Soyuz TM-3 vehicle.
Titan Books UK publishes Neil Gaiman’s non-fiction account of the making of the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy franchise, Don’t Panic! – The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion. The book features numerous interviews with Douglas Adams and others involved in the making of the radio and television series, records and books. (more…)
CBS airs the 12th 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) and Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest star.
ITV airs the 105th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Pauline Collins and Gareth Thomas (Blake’s 7) guest star.
The 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. (more…)
CBS airs the 13th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Rosalind Chao and James Hong guest star.
ITV airs the 106th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. John Alderton guest stars in the final episode of the series to adapt a Roald Dahl short story.
The 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. (more…)
ITV airs the 107th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Richard Briers and Bruce Boa (Astronauts) guest star.
CBS airs the 14th 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) and John Amos (Good Times, Future Cop) guest star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 13th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. (more…)
ITV airs the 108th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Benedict Taylor and Jim Broadbent guest star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the tenth episode of Friday the 13th: The Series, starring John D. LeMay, Wendy Robie and Chris Wiggins. Ray Walston (My Favorite Martian) and David Hewlett (Stargate Atlantis) guest star. (more…)
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 14th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. (more…)
CBS airs the 15th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Isabella Hofmann guest stars.
The Black Adder special sketch Blackadder: The Cavalier Years airs on BBC1, starring Rowan Atkinson, as part of the annual Comic Relief telethon. (more…)
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 15th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. (more…)
CBS airs the 16th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Bruce Abbott (Re-Animator) guest stars.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 16th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. (more…)
The first episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2, captivating a somewhat bewildered audience. Mac MacDonald, Mark Williams and former Altered Images lead singer C.P. Grogan guest star. 
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CBS airs the 17th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Jim Metzler guest stars.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 17th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. (more…)
The 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 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. (more…)
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. (more…)