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            List of years in television       (table)
 1971 .  1972 .  1973 .  1974  . 1975  . 1976  . 1977 
1978 1979 1980 -1981- 1982 1983 1984
 1985 .  1986 .  1987 .  1988  . 1989  . 1990  . 1991 
       In radio: 1978 1979 1980 -1981- 1982 1983 1984     
          In film: 1978 1979 1980 -1981- 1982 1983 1984     
Related time period  or  subjects
 1978 . 1979 . 1980 - 1981 - 1982 . 1983 . 1984 
1950s . 1960s . 1970s -1980s- 1990s . 2000s . 2010s

 19th century . 20th century . 21st century 

Art . Archaeology . Architecture . Literature . Music . Science +...

The year 1981 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1981.

For the American TV schedule, see: 1981-82 American network television schedule.

Contents

Events

  • January 13 – Colour television was introduced in Israel.
  • February 20 – Comedian Andy Kaufman ruins sketches and starts a brawl live on the air during ABC's Fridays.
  • March 6 – After a 19-year run, Walter Cronkite resigns as head anchor of The CBS Evening News and is succeeded the following Monday by Dan Rather.
  • March 21 – After an unprecedented seven years starring in Doctor Who, Tom Baker makes his final appearance as the Fourth Doctor in Part 4 of Logopolis. Peter Davison makes his first appearance as the Fifth Doctor at the conclusion of that story.
  • April 11 – Van Halen's lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen marries One Day at a Time actress Valerie Bertinelli.
  • July 27 – In a specially timed event by the show's writers, Ken Barlow marries Deirdre Langton on Coronation Street, just two days before the real-life wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. The wedding of Ken and Deirdre is watched by over 24 million viewers in Britain, beating the Royal wedding in the ratings.
  • August 1 – The MTV network debuts on cable television, playing music videos 24 hours a day.
  • November – The Doctors airs its milestone 5000th episode.
  • November 2 – American soap opera As the World Turns debuts a new opening sequence and theme song for the first time in its 25-year history.
  • November 16 and November 17 – Luke and Laura's wedding on General Hospital becomes one of the most watched weddings in American television history, second only to the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.
  • December 25 – Chuck Woolery hosts his last episode of Wheel of Fortune after a salary dispute with show producer and creator Merv Griffin. Pat Sajak takes over as host the next Monday, the 28th. He hosts the daytime Wheel till 1989.; Sajak hosts the nighttime Wheel to this day.
  • June 30 – Fred Silverman is fired as president of NBC, after failing to improve that network's third-place standing, and is replaced by Grant Tinker.
  • Berlinda Tolbert and Michael Jonas Evans makes their final appearance as Lionel and Jenny Willis Jefferson in the seventh (1980–1981) year, of The Jeffersons, also departing with Tolbert and Evans, Paul Benedict makes his final appearance as the British neighbor of George and Louise, Harry Bentley, Benedict returns to the series in 1983.
  • November 9 – The cast and crew had begun work on episodes for The Incredible Hulk (TV series) fifth season on CBS when the network's head of programming, Harvey Shepherd, delivered a surprise blow: despite maintaining solid ratings, The Incredible Hulk (TV series) was to be canceled immediately. Author Frank Garcia, while interviewing Johnson, learned that CBS executive Harvey Shepherd disliked "The Incredible Hulk" and felt that there "wasn't a full season left in it", thus putting an end to David Banner's struggles. Producer Kenneth Johnson tried to convince Sheppard to buy six additional episodes so that CBS could have a half-season of new episodes but he declined. The series was canceled so suddenly that Johnson never had a chance to film an INCREDIBLE HULK series finale which would feature David on trial for the murder of Elaina Marks. Several scripts including "David Banner, RIP", and "Killer On Board" never went before the cameras to become small-screen Hulk adventures. The notice came so quickly and so suddenly that Johnston and Corea were unable to film a proposed two hour finale in which David was brought to trial for the murder of Elaina Marks. Production officially halted in the summer of 1981.
  • July 4 – Showtime ends its part-time status and inaugurates a 24/7 schedule.
  • December 31 – Colour television is introduced Turkey, it will go full-time in 1984.
  • During the course of the year, all soap operas produced by Proctor and Gamble change title sequences and theme songs. Another World, Guiding Light, Search for Tomorrow, and The Edge of Night all have new title sequences.

Debuts

Miniseries

Television shows

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

Ending this year

Changes of network affiliation

Births

Deaths








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