History GenreTurningPoint / LiveActionTV

* Series/SavedByTheBell (1989-1992) forever changed how teen characters were handled in sitcoms with it notably being the first show where all of the main characters were teens. Previously teen characters in sitcoms were mainly in supporting roles, even previous shows that did have teen main characters like Series/WelcomeBackKotter and Series/SquarePegs also had a heavy focus on the adult characters. In fact the original incarnation of the show "Good Morning Miss Bliss" was very much in the vein of shows like "Kotter" with the adults like the title character getting just as much focus as the kids. Once the original show was retooled, the teens got all of the focus with the adults in supporting roles(as Peter Engel knew from the beginning that the success of the show would be down to the kids and not the teachers). The series featured similar subject matter to the Series/AfterschoolSpecial format, but done in a much more light-hearted tone and in a much less preachy and heavy-handed manner. The episodes usually focused on the main characters' ZanyScheme. The main character of Zack Morris was repeatedly BreakingTheFourthWall to address the audience( something that was very uncommon at the time). The show also was notable for airing among NBC's animated shows, with the network desiring to broaden their audience beyond young kids. It paved the way for networks to aim more programming towards teens, with the show in particular being a huge influence on many sitcoms on both Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}(especially those created by Creator/DanSchneider) and Creator/DisneyChannel(especially since many of those shows used the exact same high school setting as "Saved by the Bell").

* Speaking of ''Series/TheMortonDowneyJrShow'' (1987-89), it popularized a very different sort of TV TalkShow: one in which the host was openly combative towards his guests, using his program as a bully pulpit to pontificate on political and cultural issues. While Downey's career as a talk show host only lasted two years before going down in disgrace, he was also a clear case of ShortLivedBigImpact, as the style of his show has been pointed to as an inspiration for the "trash TV" boom of TheNineties in the short term, and the rise of RealityTV and Fox News in the long term. Even Al Sharpton, a pundit who sits on the opposite end of the political spectrum from the conservative Downey, cited him as an inspiration for his confrontational style; perhaps not coincidentally, Sharpton was a frequent guest on Downey's show. Andrew O'Hehir, [[https://www.salon.com/2013/06/04/morton_downey_jr_the_man_who_broke_talk_tv/ writing]] for ''Salon'', said that "[i]f he wasn't quite the first host to understand a political talk show as primarily a form of theater or a revival meeting, rather than a conversation or debate, he pushed that realization to its illogical extreme."

* Series/SavedByTheBell (1989-1992) forever changed how teen characters were handled in sitcoms with it notably being the first show where all of the main characters were teens. Previously teen characters in sitcoms were mainly in supporting roles, even previous shows that did have teen main characters like Series/WelcomeBackKotter and Series/SquarePegs also had a heavy focus on the adult characters. In fact the original incarnation of the show "Good Morning Miss Bliss" was very much in the vein of shows like "Kotter" with the adults like the title character getting just as much focus as the kids. Once the original show was retooled the teens got all of the focus with the adults in supporting roles(as Peter Engel knew from the beginning that the success of the show would be down to the kids and not the teachers) and featuring similar subject matter to the Series/AfterschoolSpecial format but done in a much more light-hearted tone and in a much less preachy and heavy-handed manner with episodes usually focusing on the main characters ZanyScheme and featuring the main character of Zack Morris repeatedly BreakingTheFourthWall to address the audience( something that was very uncommon at the time). The show also was notable for airing among NBC's animated shows with them desiring to broaden their audience beyond young kids and it paved the way for networks to aim more programming towards teens with the show in particular being a huge influence on many sitcoms on both Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}(especially those created by Creator/DanSchneider) and Creator/DisneyChannel(especially since many of those shows used the exact same high school set as "Saved by the Bell").

* ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'' (1984-86) introduced a number of changes from previous depictions of Myth/RobinHood: being the first version to get away from the green-tights-and-hat-with-a-feather image in favour of something a band of 12th century outlaws might actually wear, introducing the idea of a Saracen outlaw which was copied by later adaptations, returning Maid Marian to being an ActionGirl after being a DamselInDistress since Victorian times, and portraying King Richard as just as bad as Prince John (although that didn't catch on as much).

* ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' (1966-67) for {{Toku}}satsu. Prior to the show, the genre was defined almost entirely by {{kaiju}} like Franchise/{{Godzilla}} and Film/{{Gamera}} stomping around on cinema screens and destroying things. With the debut of ''Ultraman'', it not only introduced the idea that heroes could battle these destructive monsters and win regularly, but that Toku could be adapted to the schedules and budgets of television with the same results and great success. The result? Toku transformed into a primarily television-based genre revolving around {{superhero}}es battling [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters of the Week]], allowing for the birth of popular franchises like ''Franchise/KamenRider'' (which started the "[[HenshinHero Henshin]] Boom") and ''Franchise/SuperSentai''. The kaiju flicks were nearly put out of business, as people loved being able watch Toku weekly over having to wait for a new movie to come out each year in a period where home video releases were still just a dream.

* Series/SavedByTheBell (1989-1992) forever changed how teen characters were handled in sitcoms with it notably being the first show where all of the main characters were teens. Previously teen characters in sitcoms were mainly in supporting roles, even previous shows that did have teen main characters like Series/WelcomeBackKotter and Series/SquarePegs also had a heavy focus on the adult characters. In fact the original incarnation of the show "Good Morning Miss Bliss" was very much in the vein of shows like "Kotter" with the adults like the title character getting just as much focus as the kids. Once the original show was retooled the teens got all of the focus with the adults in supporting roles(as Peter Engel knew from the beginning that the success of the show would be down to the kids and not the teachers) and featuring similar subject matter to the Series/AfterschoolSpecial format but done in a much more light-hearted tone and in a much less preachy and heavy-handed manner with episodes usually focusing on the main characters ZanyScheme and featuring the main character of Zack Morris repeatedly BreakingTheFourthWall to address the audience( something that was very uncommon at the time). The show also was notable for airing among NBC's animated shows with them desiring to broaden their audience beyond young kids and it paved the way for networks to aim more programming towards teens with the show in particular being a huge influence on many sitcoms on both Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}(especially those created by Creator/DanSchneider) and Creator/DisneyChannel.

* Series/SavedByTheBell forever changed how teen characters were handled in sitcoms with it notably being the first show where all of the main characters were teens. Previously teen characters in sitcoms were mainly in supporting roles, even previous shows that did have teen main characters like Series/WelcomeBackKotter and Series/SquarePegs also had a heavy focus on the adult characters. In fact the original incarnation of the show "Good Morning Miss Bliss" was very much in the vein of shows like "Kotter" with the adults like the title character getting just as much focus as the kids. Once the original show was retooled the teens got all of the focus with the adults in supporting roles(as Peter Engel knew from the beginning that the success of the show would be down to the kids and not the teachers) and featuring similar subject matter to the Series/AfterschoolSpecial format but done in a much more light-hearted tone and in a much less preachy and heavy-handed manner with episodes usually focusing on the main characters ZanyScheme and featuring the main character of Zack Morris repeatedly BreakingTheFourthWall to address the audience( something that was very uncommon at the time). The show also was notable for airing among NBC's animated shows with them desiring to broaden their audience beyond young kids and it paved the way for networks to aim more programming towards teens with the show in particular being a huge influence on many sitcoms on both Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}(especially those created by Creator/DanSchneider) and Creator/DisneyChannel.

* Series/SavedByTheBell forever changed how teen characters were handled in sitcoms with it notably being the first show where all of the main characters were teens. Previously teen characters in sitcoms were mainly in supporting roles, even previous shows that did have teen main characters like "Series/WelcomeBackKotter" and "Series/SquarePegs" also had a heavy focus on the adult characters. In fact the original incarnation of the show "Good Morning Miss Bliss" was very much in the vein of shows like "Kotter" with the adults like the title character getting just as much focus as the kids. Once the original show was retooled the teens got all of the focus with the adults in supporting roles(as Peter Engel knew from the beginning that the success of the show would be down to the kids and not the teachers) and featuring similar subject matter to the Series/AfterschoolSpecial format but done in a much more light-hearted tone and in a much less preachy and heavy-handed manner with episodes usually focusing on the main characters ZanyScheme and featuring the main character of Zack Morris repeatedly BreakingTheFourthWall to address the audience( something that was very uncommon at the time). The show also was notable for airing among NBC's animated shows with them desiring to broaden their audience beyond young kids and it paved the way for networks to aim more programming towards teens with the show in particular being a huge influence on many sitcoms on both Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}(especially those created by Creator/DanSchneider) and Creator/DisneyChannel.

* Series/SavedByTheBell forever changed how teen characters were handled in sitcoms with it notably being the first show where all of the main characters were teens. Previously teen characters in sitcoms were mainly in supporting roles, even previous shows that did have teen main characters like "Series/WelcomeBackKotter" and "Series/SquarePegs" also had a heavy focus on the adult characters. In fact the original incarnation of the show "Good Morning Miss Bliss" was very much in the vein of shows like "Kotter" with the adults like the title character getting just as much focus as the kids. Once the original show was retooled the teens got all of the focus with the adults in supporting roles(as Peter Engel knew from the beginning that the success of the show would be down to the kids and not the teachers) and featuring similar subject matter to the AfterschoolSpecial format but done in a much more light-hearted tone and in a much less preachy and heavy-handed manner with episodes usually focusing on the main characters ZanyScheme and featuring the main character of Zack Morris repeatedly BreakingTheFourthWall to address the audience( something that was very uncommon at the time). The show also was notable for airing among NBC's animated shows with them desiring to broaden their audience beyond young kids and it paved the way for networks to aim more programming towards teens with the show in particular being a huge influence on many sitcoms on both Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}(especially those created by Creator/DanSchneider) and Creator/DisneyChannel.

* "Series/SavedByTheBell" forever changed how teen characters were handled in sitcoms with it notably being the first show where all of the main characters were teens. Previously teen characters in sitcoms were mainly in supporting roles, even previous shows that did have teen main characters like "Series/WelcomeBackKotter" and "Series/SquarePegs" also had a heavy focus on the adult characters. In fact the original incarnation of the show "Good Morning Miss Bliss" was very much in the vein of shows like "Kotter" with the adults like the title character getting just as much focus as the kids. Once the original show was retooled the teens got all of the focus with the adults in supporting roles(as Peter Engel knew from the beginning that the success of the show would be down to the kids and not the teachers) and featuring similar subject matter to the AfterschoolSpecial format but done in a much more light-hearted tone and in a much less preachy and heavy-handed manner with episodes usually focusing on the main characters ZanyScheme and featuring the main character of Zack Morris repeatedly BreakingTheFourthWall to address the audience( something that was very uncommon at the time). The show also was notable for airing among NBC's animated shows with them desiring to broaden their audience beyond young kids and it paved the way for networks to aim more programming towards teens with the show in particular being a huge influence on many sitcoms on both Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}(especially those created by Creator/DanSchneider) and Creator/DisneyChannel.

** Eventually, as TV producers came to recognize the value of streaming as a second-run distribution platform and started charging more money for streaming rights, Netflix got into the business of making its own original shows that it would own the rights to... and revolutionized television for a second time. ''Series/HouseOfCardsUS'' (2013-18), ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' season 4 (2013), and ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'' (2013-19) completely changed TV audiences' perceptions of shows exclusive to streaming services, from mediocre stories and poor budgets to exceptionally well-made and highly successful shows that stand on par with prime-time television. It's no coincidence that, soon after, Netflix's rivals Creator/{{Hulu}} and Creator/PrimeVideo got in on original streaming productions in a big way in order to challenge them, that shows from all three services became contenders at the UsefulNotes/{{Emmy|Award}}s, and that other television networks and film studios launched their own streaming platforms.

** In its original run, it spawned numerous copycats, ranging from the long-running but much-mocked ''Series/TheTomorrowPeople1973'' to the dark and cerebral ''Series/SapphireAndSteel'', as well as many other less well-known examples. Since the '60s, virtually every British science fiction series has inevitably borne the influence of, or at least been compared to, ''Doctor Who'' in one way or another, and American media like the ''Film/BillAndTed'' films and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' have also homaged it. Even the word "cyber" was popularized by the recurring villains known as the Cybermen.