Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that answer the question.
Query: When did the TV show ER first air?
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist and medical doctor Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994, to April 2, 2009, with a total of 331 episodes spanning over 15 seasons. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Television, in association with Warner Bros. Television. "ER" follows the inner life of the emergency room (ER) of fictional County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, and various critical issues faced by the room's physicians and staff. The show became the longest-running primetime medical drama in American television history, also became the 2nd longest medical drama across the globe (behind BBC's "Casualty"). It won 23 Primetime Emmy Awards, including the 1996 Outstanding Drama Series award, and received 124 Emmy nominations. "ER" won 116 awards in total, including the Peabody Award, while the cast earned four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Drama Series. As of 2014, "ER" has grossed over in television revenue.
"General Hospital" is the longest running American television serial drama, airing on ABC. Created by Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set it in a general hospital (hence the title), in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the city was named Port Charles, New York. The series premiered on April 1, 1963. This is a list of notable characters who significantly impacted storylines and began their run, or significantly returned, from the years 1990 to 1999.
After seven years on the air, the soap opera started slowly to lose viewers. Still a ratings success several cast changes seemed to hurt the show in the process. When Das Erste decided to change the airtime of both soaps, "Verbotene Liebe" (5:50 pm) and "Marienhof" (6:20 pm), particularly "VL" had now to challenge RTL's soap opera "Unter uns", which ended at 6:00 pm. After two years, Das Erste changed the airtime again. "Verbotene Liebe" started around 6:00 pm and still provided the lead-in for "Marienhof", which started around 6:25 pm again. In the meanwhile, the Pay-TV channel Passion started airing repeats in late 2006. However, the original airings of "Verbotene Liebe" and "Marienhof" continued to lose viewers and in late 2010 cancellation rumors started to surround fan bases. Das Erste eventually canceled "Marienhof" after over 18 years on the air and continued "Verbotene Liebe", extending their episodes to 50 minutes with commercial breaks. The glamor soap served as the lead-in for various new crime dramedy series'. With the extension, "VL" now aired repeats on several ARD stations.
"General Hospital" is the longest running American television serial drama, airing on ABC. Created by Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set it in a general hospital (hence the title), in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the city was named Port Charles, New York. The series premiered on April 1, 1963. This is a list of notable characters who significantly impacted storylines and began their run, or significantly returned, from the years 1963 to 1969.
The Young and the Restless (often abbreviated as Y&R) is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictionalized version of Genoa City, Wisconsin. First broadcast on March 26, 1973, "The Young and the Restless" was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes, five times a week. The show expanded to one-hour episodes on February 4, 1980. In 2006, the series began airing encore episodes weeknights on SOAPnet until 2013, when it moved to TVGN (now Pop). As of July 1, 2013, Pop still airs the encore episodes on weeknights. The series is also syndicated internationally.
"General Hospital" was created by Frank and Doris Hursley and premiered on April 1, 1963. The first stories were mainly set on the seventh floor of General Hospital, in an unnamed midsize Eastern city (the name of the city, Port Charles, would not be mentioned until the late 1970s). "They had this concept of the show that it was like a big wagon wheel – the spokes would be the characters and the hub would be the hospital," John Beradino (Steve Hardy) later reflected to "Entertainment Weekly" in 1994.
In its original broadcast, "Love's Labor Lost" finished first in the ratings for the week of March 6–12, 1995, with a 24.2 Nielsen rating and 40 percent audience share. It was the highest rated show on NBC that week with episodes of "Seinfeld" and "Friends" second and third respectively. In 1997, "TV Guide" ranked it as the third in its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2009, it ranked the episode sixth. The show's producers also consider it to be one of "ER"s best episodes, with John Wells saying he holds it up as "an example to everyone involved creatively of what the best of the show could be."
On 3 March 2008, Paul and Jonny made British television history by becoming the first couple on a primetime soap opera to enter a civil partnership since the Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force on 5 December 2005. Although radio soap "The Archers" and daytime soap "Doctors" had previously featured civil partnerships, "Emmerdale" was the first primetime soap opera to do so. Matthew Bose, who plays Paul, said he was "proud" "Emmerdale" was the first, and commented that soaps "have a great responsibility to show things as they change and be cutting edge".
An NFL game was televised for the first time when NBC broadcast a Brooklyn Dodgers–Philadelphia Eagles game. The experimental broadcast was broadcast only to viewers in New York and Albany; regular broadcasting of NFL games would not begin until 1951.
NBC was the first major television network to cover an NFL game, when on October 22, 1939, it broadcast a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Brooklyn Dodgers; the network was still only in its infancy, with only two affiliates, the modern day WRGB (now a CBS affiliate) in Schenectady and W2XBS in New York City. Portions of that game still survive via films, but the film is not footage from the telecast (recordings of television broadcasts did not begin until 1948). The use of a sideline camera, the sole camera used in the 1939 broadcast, would become the standard for all future NFL broadcasts until 2017; the angle is particularly suited for estimating yardage, compared to more mobile camera angles that began to appear in the 21st century.
One year later, "Verbotene Liebe" faced rumors of cancellation, when Das Erste announced intended changes to the lineup. The show was revamped, and eventually it was lead-out soap "Marienhof" that went off the air in mid-2011. "Verbotene Liebe" was extended to an hour and took over "Marienhof"'s problematic time-slot, resulting in a dip in ratings. The ratings got much worse in 2012, which again led to rumors that the soap opera might get canceled. Overall, "Verbotene Liebe" halved its ratings in the last five years.
The Sun 1,447,959 -7%
NBC's network operations were officially launched with a gala broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on November 15, 1926. In anticipation, one newspaper reported: "The most pretentious broadcasting program ever presented, featuring among other stars of the theatrical, concert and radio field, some of whom have never been heard on the air, will mark the introduction of the National Broadcasting company to the radio public Monday evening", with NBC president Merlin H. Aylesworth characterizing the event as "a four-hour program beginning at 8 o'clock, which will live long in their memories as an occasion marking another milestone in the history of radio broadcasting". Carl Schlegel of the Metropolitan Opera opened the inaugural broadcast, which also featured Will Rogers and Mary Garden. This broadcast, which included a remote link from KYW in Chicago, was coordinated through WEAF, and carried by twenty-two eastern and Midwestern stations, located as far west as WDAF in Kansas City, Missouri.
Following the US premiere of "Glee" the first episode was aired as a sneak peek on 15 December 2009, one month before the actual premiere. Due to the launch of the second series of "90210" and the UK premiere of "Glee" both premiered with a "double bill" effect, the first two episodes of the second series of "90210" ("To New Beginnings" and "To Sext or Not to Sext") was screened on 5 January 2010, with the first two episodes of "Glee" ("Pilot" – which was already screened on 15 December 2009 as a sneak-peek and "Showmance") on 11 January 2010. "The Cleveland Show" and "Accidentally on Purpose" also premiered like this.
On Friday August 24, 1962, Trinidad and Tobago Television was launched one week before the two-island state of Trinidad and Tobago became an independent nation on 31st August 1962 within the British Commonwealth. Mervyn Telfer, a former Radio Trinidad announcer, read the first broadcast, the 7PM News. The two channels to transmit the service to the new twin island state were channels 2 and 13. News shown during that first week included highlights of Independence Day preparations.
Group C
In the beginning, "Verbotene Liebe" aired weekdays at around 5:55 pm on Das Erste and was followed by fellow soap opera "Marienhof", creating a soap line-up for the network. The line-up proved successful in its early years and showed a lot of contrast. "VL" was labeled as glamor soap, while "Marienhof" showed the working-class of fictional district in Cologne. Becoming a huge success, Das Erste decided to show reruns in the early morning. With a break from about nine months, the network aired the first 250 episodes, who later were labeled as the show's first season.
History of "General Hospital" refers to the ABC Daytime soap opera "General Hospital".
"General Hospital" was created by Frank and Doris Hursley and premiered on April 1, 1963. The first stories were mainly set on the seventh floor of General Hospital, in an unnamed midsized Eastern city (the name of the city, Port Charles, would not be mentioned until the late 1970s). "They had this concept of the show that it was like a big wagon wheel – the spokes would be the characters and the hub would be the hospital," John Beradino (Steve Hardy) later reflected to "Entertainment Weekly" in 1994. Storylines revolved around Dr. Steve Hardy and his friend, Nurse Jessie Brewer (Emily McLaughlin). Steve was Chief of Internal Medicine and extremely dedicated to his work. Jessie's turbulent marriage to the much-younger Dr. Phil Brewer (originally portrayed by Roy Thinnes; lastly by Martin West) was the center of many early storylines. In 1964, Audrey March (Rachel Ames), a former flight attendant and the sister of Nurse Lucille March (Lucille Wall), joined the canvas and started a relationship with Steve. Other notable nurses during the 1960s and 1970s included Meg Bentley (Patricia Breslin, later Elizabeth MacRae), Diana Taylor (Valerie Starrett, later Brooke Bundy), Sharon McGillis (Sharon DeBord) and Jane Harland (Shelby Hiatt). Meg marries Lee Baldwin (Ross Elliott, later Peter Hansen), who adopts her son Scotty and becomes his only family when Meg dies. Diana is torn between two men, Dr. Peter Taylor (Paul Carr, later Craig Huebing) and Dr. Phil Brewer. Sharon marries Dr. Henry Pinkham (Peter Kilman) while Jane marries Howie Dawson (Ray Girardin). In one fast-paced plot in 1971, Audrey is accused of murdering her son's babysitter and "General Hospital" was briefly elevated to the number one position, beating longtime ratings giant "As the World Turns". In 1972, Howie Dawson becomes involved with Brooke Clinton (then Indus Arthur), who is found murdered the day after she spurns his advances. In 1973, Audrey marries alcoholic Dr. Jim Hobart (James Sikking) before finally realizing she loves Steve. Augusta McLeod (Judith McConnell) arrives the same year, bringing back Phil Brewer in an attempt to break up Peter and Diana Taylor. Augusta is pregnant with Peter's child. In December 1974, Phil Brewer is murdered with a geode paper weight and Jessie Brewer is put on trial. She is acquitted and Augusta is sent to prison and gives her son up for adoption.
The earliest known use of the "Eyewitness News" name in American television was in April 1959 when KYW-TV (now WKYC-TV) – at the time, based in Cleveland and owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting – launched the nation's first 90-minute local newscast (under the title "Eyewitness"), which was combined with the then 15-minute national newscast. The name was then adopted for use by Westinghouse's other television stations – KPIX in San Francisco; WJZ-TV in Baltimore; WBZ-TV in Boston; and KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh – for their local newscasts.
Effectively, the East, Mountain and West network feeds allow prime time on broadcast television networks to end at 10:00 p.m. Central and Mountain and 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. When it first expanded its programming into prime time in April 1987, Fox became the first major broadcast network in the U.S. to offer a "common prime" schedule; this type of scheduling subtracts an hour from the prime time schedule, reducing it to two hours on Monday through Saturdays and three hours on Sundays – ending evening network programming earlier than NBC, CBS and ABC did – and continue to do (Fox did expand its Sunday primetime schedule into the 10:00 p.m. timeslot in September 1987, before giving back that hour to its stations in September 1993). The WB and UPN followed the "common prime" scheduling model when they both launched in January 1995; the replacements for those networks, The CW and the MyNetworkTV program service, similarly used that model upon their launches in September 2006.
In 1977, Freeman became the first hospital to use ultrasound in diagnostic services and nuclear medicine.
In 1974, author Michael Crichton wrote a screenplay based on his own experiences as a medical student in a busy hospital emergency room. The screenplay went nowhere and Crichton focused on other topics. In 1990, he published the novel "Jurassic Park", and in 1993 began a collaboration with director Steven Spielberg on the film adaptation of the book. Crichton and Spielberg then turned to "ER", but decided to film the story as a two-hour pilot for a television series rather than as a feature film. Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment provided John Wells as the show's executive producer. The script used to shoot the pilot was virtually unchanged from what Crichton had written in 1974. The only substantive changes made by the producers in 1994 were that the Susan Lewis character became a woman and the Peter Benton character became African-American, and the running time was shortened by about 20 minutes in order for the pilot to air in a two-hour block on network TV. Because of a lack of time and money necessary to build a set, the pilot episode of "ER" was filmed in the former Linda Vista Hospital in Los Angeles, an old facility that had ceased operating in 1990. A set modeled after Los Angeles County General Hospital's emergency room was built soon afterward at the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California, although the show makes extensive use of location shoots in Chicago, most notably the city's famous "L" train platforms.
In 1996, Atlantic Records released an album of music from the first two seasons, featuring James Newton Howard's theme from the series in its on-air and full versions, selections from the weekly scores composed by Martin Davich (Howard scored the two-hour pilot, Davich scored all the subsequent episodes and wrote a new theme used from 2006–2009 until the final episode, when Howard's original theme returned) and songs used on the series.
In March 2012, Warner Bros. International Television announced that they would sell the format rights to "ER" to overseas territories. This allowed foreign countries to produce their own version of the series.
"Without a Trace" debuted as part of the CBS fall line-up in 2002, created by Hank Steinberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It was the first show to achieve strong ratings opposite longtime NBC hit medical drama "ER" which, like "Without a Trace," is produced by Warner Bros. Television. The first two showrunners were Steinberg and Ed Redlich. Between seasons two and three, Redlich moved away from active participation in the series, with staff writers Jan Nash and Greg Walker taking over. In the middle of season four, Steinberg left to produce the series "The Nine," while remaining executive producer. The show is the only primetime U.S. drama to feature two Australians (LaPaglia and Montgomery) and a Briton (Jean-Baptiste) playing Americans in the regular cast. In 2003, the TNT Network acquired syndication rights to the series for US$1.4 million per episode. As of January, 2018, "Without a Trace" can be seen on the basic cable channel POP and the digital TV channel ESCAPE. It apparently airs every day in large blocks, with episodes being shown in the order of their original air dates. Info as to when the show was added to the POP line-up is currently unavailable. "Without a Trace" ran on Thursdays at 10 pm until September 2006, when it was moved to Sundays. In the 2007–2008 season, it swapped timeslots with "Shark," returning it to its old timeslot on Thursdays. However, this lasted only until the 2008–2009 season, when it moved to Tuesdays at 10pm. On May 19, 2009, the morning the series finale aired, it was reported that the series would not be returning for an eighth season.
In its first year, "ER" attracted an average of 19 million viewers per episode, becoming the years second most watched television show, just behind "Seinfeld". In the following two seasons (1995-1997), "ER" was the most watched show in North America. For almost five years, "ER" battled for the top spot against "Seinfeld", but in 1998, "Seinfeld" ended and then "ER" became number one again. The series finale attracted 16.4 million viewers. The show's highest rating came during season 2 episode "Hell and High Water," with 48 million viewers and a 45% market share. It was the highest for a regularly scheduled drama since a May 1985 installment of "Dallas" received a 46. The share represents the percentage of TVs in use tuned in to that show.