Top 75 Most Impactful Television Moments
In celebration of the Emmy Awards' 75th Anniversary, we invited Television Academy members to review several hundred programs and news moments submitted by our Peer Group Executive Committees, and to then vote on those they felt have had the greatest impact on the viewing public over the past 75 years.
The Top 75 Most Impactful Television Moments is an exciting look at the television experiences that have shaped our culture and society, selected by members of the Television Academy -- and a first for our organization to present this type of recognition.
We invite you to enjoy a walk down memory lane as you review the information below – Happy 75 years, Emmy!
The List
| Rank | Decade | Program | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1960s | News Item | After Apollo 11 landed on the moon, astronaut Neil Armstrong proclaims "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. |
| 2 | 2000s | News Item | Live coverage of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001. |
| 3 | 1960s | The Ed Sullivan Show | The Beatles performance. |
| 4 | 1970s | Roots | "Part I" Premiere episode where we see the newborn Kunta Kinte being held aloft by his father, an image of freedom and possibility. |
| 5 | 1960s | News Item | Walter Cronkite announces the death of President John F. Kennedy. |
| 6 | 1960s | News Item | Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his iconic "I have a dream" speech at the March on Washington. |
| 7 | 1960s | Mister Rogers' Neighborhood | "Episode 1065" Mister Rogers (Fred Rogers) invites Officer Clemmons (Francois Clemmons) to share a wading pool on a hot day. |
| 8 | 1980s | M*A*S*H | "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" B.J. (Mike Farrell) gives Hawkeye (Alan Alda) a ride to his chopper, saying he left a note this time. As the helicopter takes off, Hawkeye sees the word "goodbye" spelled out with rocks. |
| 9 | 1980s | MTV | First music video airs, "Video Killed the Radio Star," by The Buggles |
| 10 | 1970s | Saturday Night Live | Premiere, hosted by George Carlin. |
| 11 | 1950s | The Ed Sullivan Show | Elvis performance. |
| 12 | 1980s | News Item | CNN covers the Space Shuttle Challenger launch and subsequent explosion live. |
| 13 | 1990s | Ellen | "The Puppy Episode" Ellen (Ellen Degeneres) tells Susan (Laura Dern) she's gay, inadvertently broadcasting the announcement over the airport's public address system. |
| 14 | 1960s | A Charlie Brown Christmas | Linus tells Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas. |
| 15 | 1970s | The Carol Burnett Show | Episode 10.8: Starlett (Carol Burnett) makes a dress out of the curtains (and curtain rod) of her plantation, Terra, in the sketch "Went with the Wind! |
| 16 | 1990s | News Item | Live coverage across every network of the slow-speed car chase of O.J. Simpson and his white Ford Bronco. |
| 17 | 1950s | I Love Lucy | "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" Lucy (Lucille Ball) becomes intoxicated while rehearsing for a television commercial by downing spoonfuls of Vitameatavegamin, an alcohol-laced vitamin elixir. |
| 18 | 1960s | News Item | First Kennedy-Nixon Presidential debate. |
| 19 | 1970s | All in the Family | "Sammy's Visit" While picking up a briefcase he left in Archie's (Carroll O'Connor) car, Sammy Davis, Jr. kisses Archie on the cheek just as a picture is being taken. |
| 20 | 2020s | News Item | Release of the video of George Floyd’s murder. |
| 21 | 1980s | Dallas | "A House Divided" J.R. (Larry Hagman) steps into his outer office to pour himself a drink. He steps outside his door to investigate a noise and is gunned down by an unknown assailant. |
| 22 | 1970s | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | "Chuckles Bites the Dust" After admonishing her friends to treat the death of Chuckles more somberly, Mary (Mary Tyler Moore) begins to giggle uncontrollably during the funeral. |
| 23 | 2020s | News Item | Live coverage of Congress counting electoral votes captures the January 6 insurrection. |
| 24 | 1970s | M*A*S*H | "Abyssinia, Henry" Radar (Gary Burghoff) enters the operating room to announce that Colonel Blake's plane was shot down, and there were no survivors. |
| 25 | 1960s | Sesame Street | "Gordon Introduces Sally to Sesame Street" Premiere episode where Gordon (Matt Robinson) welcomes a girl named Sally to Sesame Street. |
| 26 | 1990s | Newhart | "The Last Newhart" Series finale where Bob awakens Emily to tell her about the strange dream he just had where he was an innkeeper in a small Vermont town. |
| 27 | 1990s | Seinfeld | "The Soup Nazi" Elaine gets rejected from the soup kitchen when she offends the "Soup Nazi. |
| 28 | 2000s | News Item | President-Elect Obama's Election Night speech in which he proclaimed "Change has come to America." |
| 29 | 1960s | 60 Minutes | Debut episode hosted by Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner, featured coverage of the Nixon and Humphrey presidential campaigns. |
| 30 | 1950s | I Love Lucy | "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" Lucy (Lucille Ball) gives birth to Little Ricky. |
| 31 | 2000s | Breaking Bad | "Pilot" Walter (Bryan Cranston), fleeing from sirens, drives his RV into a ditch. He stumbles out in his underwear and records a video message to his family. |
| 32 | 1970s | All in the Family | "Meet the Bunkers" Premiere episode where Mike (Rob Reiner) and Gloria (Sally Struthers) plan a surprise party to celebrate Archie (Carroll O'Connor) and Edith's (Jean Stapleton) 22nd anniversary. |
| 33 | 2020s | Academy Awards - 2022 | Will Smith slaps Chris Rock. |
| 34 | 1990s | News Item | Release of video recorded by George Holiday of four police officers beating Rodney King. |
| 35 | 1970s | Schoolhouse Rock! | "Conjunction Junction" Animated short explaining the main function of conjunctions. |
| 36 | 2000s | The Sopranos | "Made In America" The Sopranos meet at a diner and sit down together. The bell of the diner door rings, and as Tony (James Gandolfini) looks up, the screen cuts to black. |
| 37 | 1980s | Live Aid | Multi-venue benefit concert raising money for relief of the famine in Ethiopia. |
| 38 | 1990s | News Item | News coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial verdict. |
| 39 | 1980s | The Simpsons | "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" Premiere episode in which Bart and Homer get Santa's Little Helper for Christmas. |
| 40 | 1950s | The Twilight Zone | "Time Enough at Last" After a nuclear catastrophe, loner Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith) is left with all the time in the world to read his beloved books, only to shatter his glasses, leaving him virtually blind. |
| 41 | 1980s | CNN | After an introduction by Ted Turner, David Walker and Lois Hart anchor CNN's first newscast. |
| 42 | 2000s | Six Feet Under | "Everyone's Waiting" In flash-forwards, we see milestone events in the main characters' lives, and ultimately their deaths. |
| 43 | 1970s | Maude | "Maude's Dilemma" Maude (Bea Arthur) and Walter (Bill Macy) admit that neither one of them particularly wants a child and that abortion is the right choice at this stage of their lives. |
| 44 | 2000s | American Idol | "American Idol Season 1 Finale" Kelly Clarkson wins the first season of American Idol. |
| 45 | 1970s | Roots | "Part II" Kunta Kinte (Levar Burton) is whipped repeatedly while being asked his name, with the whipping only ceasing when he capitulates and names himself Toby. |
| 46 | 1950s | Merry Melodies | "What's Opera, Doc?" Elmer Fudd (as Siegfried) tearfully carries off the seemingly dead Bugs Bunny (as Brunhilde) to Valhalla. |
| 47 | 1980s | The Golden Girls | "The Engagement" Premiere episode in which Dorothy's (Bea Arthur) mother, Sophia (Estelle Getty), unexpectedly moves in with her and her roommates Rose (Betty White) and Blanche (Rue McClanahan). |
| 48 | 1980s | MTV | Debut of "Thriller" video, from Michael Jackson. |
| 49 | 2000s | The Oprah Winfrey Show | Oprah gives everyone in her audience a car. |
| 50 | 1960s | Star Trek | "Plato's Stepchildren" Kirk (William Shatner) and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) kiss. |
| 51 | 2010s | Game of Thrones | "The Rains of Castamere" At Robb's (Richard Madden) wedding, Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) reveals chain mail under Bolton's (Michael McElhatton) clothes just as Robb's wife is murdered, Robb is shot with arrows, and his men's throats are cut. |
| 52 | 1970s | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | "The Last Show" The group gathers in the newsroom to say goodbye to each other, culminating in a group hug that shuffles en masse toward a box of tissues. After everyone else exits, Mary (Mary Tyler Moore) smiles before turning off the lights and closing the door. |
| 53 | 1950s | The Twilight Zone | "Where is Everybody?" Premiere episode featuring a man seemingly all alone in a small town. |
| 54 | 1980s | Sesame Street | "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" Big Bird's friends have to remind him that Mr. Hooper has died, and must explain what death is. |
| 55 | 1980s | The Day After | Television Movie: Aware that he is dying from radiation exposure after a nuclear war, Dr. Oakes (Jason Robards) returns to bombed-out Kansas City. He finds squatters there who offer him food, as he collapses and weeps. |
| 56 | 2020s | The Last of Us | "Long, Long Time" Bill (Nick Offerman) places a lethal dose of sleeping tablets in Frank's (Murray Bartlett) wine and reveals he poisoned his own drink as well. |
| 57 | 1950s | The Nat King Cole Show | Premiere episode featuring The Boataneers and Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra. |
| 58 | 1990s | News Item | Worldwide live television broadcast of Princess Diana's funeral. |
| 59 | 1950s | News Item | Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. |
| 60 | 2000s | Lost | "Pilot, Part 1" Following a horrific plane crash, 48 survivors find themselves on an uncharted tropical island full of secrets. |
| 61 | 2000s | Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show | Justin Timberlake accidentally pulls off part of Janet Jackson's costume, exposing her right breast. |
| 62 | 1980s | General Hospital | Episode 1.4757: Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis) get married. |
| 63 | 1990s | News Item | News coverage of the Los Angeles riots, following the verdict in the beating of Rodney King. |
| 64 | 2010s | Game of Thrones | "Winter is Coming" Premiere episode opens with men of the Night's Watch encountering a White Walker. |
| 65 | 1990s | Super Bowl XXV Pregame | Whitney Houston performs the "Star Spangled Banner. |
| 66 | 1960s | The French Chef | Premiere episode where Julia Child makes boeuf bourguignon. |
| 67 | 1990s | The Real World | Premiere introduces Julie, an aspiring dancer, to her new roommates, six twentysomethings with diverse backgrounds. |
| 68 | 2000s | Friends | "The Last One" The six friends all leave their keys to the apartment on the kitchen counter and decide to go for one last cup of coffee together, to which Chandler (Matthew Perry) quips "Where? |
| 69 | 1960s | Julia | "Mama's Man" Premiere episode introducing widowed single mother Julia Baker (Diahann Carroll). |
| 70 | 1990s | Will & Grace | "Pilot" Will (Eric McCormack) puts their friendship at risk when he tells Grace (Debra Messing) she's making a mistake getting married. |
| 71 | 1950s | Peter Pan | Peter Pan (Mary Martin) teaches the Darling children how to fly. |
| 72 | 1940s | Meet the Press | First episode featuring guest James Farley, former Postmaster General and Democratic National Committee Chairman. |
| 73 | 1990s | Cheers | "One for the Road" Series finale where Sam (Ted Danson) looks around the empty bar at the end and says "I'm the luckiest son of a bitch on earth. |
| 74 | 1950s | Walt Disney's Disneyland | "The Disneyland Story" Premiere episode in which Walt Disney gives a preview of his upcoming park called Disneyland. |
| 75 | 1990s | The Tonight Show | S30.E120: Bette Midler sings "One More for My Baby" to say farewell to Johnny Carson. |
updated 1.12.24