Portal:Television

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Television Portal

Flat-screen television receivers on display for sale at a consumer electronics store in 2008

Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set, rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, entertainment, news, and sports. The medium is capable of more than "radio broadcasting", which refers to an audio signal sent to radio receivers.

Television became available in crude experimental forms in the 1920s, but only after several years of further development was the new technology marketed to consumers. After World War II, an improved form of black-and-white television broadcasting became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, and television sets became commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions. During the 1950s, television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion. In the mid-1960s, color broadcasting was introduced in the U.S. and most other developed countries.

In 2013, 79% of the world's households owned a television set. The replacement of earlier cathode-ray tube (CRT) screen displays with compact, energy-efficient, flat-panel alternative technologies such as LCDs (both fluorescent-backlit and LED), OLED displays, and plasma displays was a hardware revolution that began with computer monitors in the late 1990s. Most television sets sold in the 2000s were flat-panel, mainly LEDs. Major manufacturers announced the discontinuation of CRT, Digital Light Processing (DLP), plasma, and even fluorescent-backlit LCDs by the mid-2010s. LEDs are being gradually replaced by OLEDs. Also, major manufacturers have started increasingly producing smart TVs in the mid-2010s. Smart TVs with integrated Internet and Web 2.0 functions became the dominant form of television by the late 2010s. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Excel Saga is a manga series by Koushi Rikudou, and a TV anime series based on it and directed by Shinichi Watanabe (pictured). Both the anime and the manga are absurdist comedies following the attempts of the "secret ideological organization," Across, to conquer the city of Fukuoka as a first step towards world domination. Excel, the title character, is a key member of Across and ranks below only the organization's enigmatic leader, Ilpalazzo. In both the manga and anime, the city is defended by a shadowy government agency led by Dr. Kabapu, whose subordinates engage Excel and her junior officer, Hyatt on several occasions. The manga focuses on the development of its principal characters by means of satirizing life and culture in Japan. The English-language reception of the Excel Saga anime was generally positive, likening the humor in nature and quality to the works of Tex Avery and Monty Python. The Excel Saga manga began publication in Japan in the mid-1990s, serialized in Shonen Gahosha's Young King OURs, and as of August 2006 sixteen collected volumes have been published.

More selected articles

Read more

Selected image - show another

Credit: Alan Light

The Emmy Award is an American television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the TV equivalent of the Oscars. The best-known of the awards are the Primetime Emmys, and the Daytime Emmy Awards, with both having categories classified as Creative Arts Emmys.

More selected pictures

Read more

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that Donald A. Morgan is the first director of photography to be inducted into the Television Hall of Fame?
... that WNJU, a Spanish-language television station serving New York City, was the first in the United States to air a hard-liquor advertisement?
... that the exclusive secret society Hamilton House from the television show Gossip Girl was based on St. Anthony Hall, a social and literary fraternity?
... that Digital pulled their HiNote Ultra laptop out of a manila envelope on television nearly 15 years before Apple did the same?
... that Life with Father was the first network television series originating in Hollywood that was broadcast in color?
... that people were scammed on New Zealand television by the host of You've Been Scammed?

Selected quote - show another

Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than at each other.

— Ann Landers

More selected quotes

More at Wikiquote

More did you know

...that David Letterman parodied Werner Erhard in the 1978 Mork & Mindy episode Mork Goes Erk?

...that the television adaptation of the BBC Radio 2 sitcom Teenage Kicks, originally for BBC Two, has been taken over by ITV?

...that Augie Hiebert not only built Alaska's first television station, KTVA, but also founded the state's first FM radio station, KNIK-FM?

...that Olivia Newton-John made at least 16 appearances on The Go!! Show, an Australian popular music television series which aired between 1964 to 1967, before she found international success?

...that Russian television implied that Filipp Kirkorov won the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with "Kolibelnaya Dlya Vulkana" when he in fact only came 17th?

More did you know facts

Selected biography - show another

Cronkite in 1983

Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years, from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll. Cronkite received numerous honors including two Peabody Awards, a George Polk Award, an Emmy Award and in 1981 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.

Cronkite reported many events from 1937 to 1981, including bombings in World War II; the Nuremberg trials; combat in the Vietnam War; the Dawson's Field hijackings; Watergate; the Iran Hostage Crisis; and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr., and Beatles musician John Lennon. He was also known for his extensive coverage of the U.S. space program, from Project Mercury to the Moon landings to the Space Shuttle. He was the only non-NASA recipient of an Ambassador of Exploration award. Cronkite is known for his departing catchphrase, "And that's the way it is", followed by the date of the broadcast. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
James T. Aubrey Kroger Babb Rudolph Cartier Sydney Newman Eric Bana Kylie Minogue Peter Jennings KaDee Strickland Austin Nichols Aaron Sorkin Jake Gyllenhaal Dan Rather Brad Pitt Tom Brokaw John Le Mesurier George Formby Dan Castellaneta Perry Como Red Skelton Rose Catherine Pinkney

General images

The following are images from various television-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Smart TVs on display (from Smart TV)
Image 2LG Smart TV using the Web browser (from Smart TV)
Image 3Color bars used in a test pattern, sometimes used when no program material is available (from History of television)
Image 4An early Smart TV from 2012 running the discontinued Orsay platform (from History of television)
Image 5The Nipkow disk. This schematic shows the circular paths traced by the holes, which may also be square for greater precision. The area of the disk outlined in black shows the region scanned. (from History of television)
Image 6Baird in 1925 with his televisor equipment and dummies "James" and "Stooky Bill" (right) (from History of television)
Image 7First television test broadcast transmitted by the NHK Broadcasting Technology Research Institute in May 1939 (from History of television)
Image 8A map depicting digital terrestrial television standards (from Digital television)
Image 9The first mass-produced Czechoslovak TV-set Tesla 4001A (1953–57) (from History of television)
Image 10Ferdinand Braun (from History of television)
Image 11This live image of actress Paddy Naismith was used to demonstrate Telechrome, John Logie Baird's first all-electronic color television system, which used two projection CRTs. The two-color image would be similar to the basic Telechrome system. (from Color television)
Image 12RCA CT-100 at the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention playing Superman. The RCA CT-100 was the first mass-produced color TV set. (from Color television)
Image 13Samsung's discontinued Orsay platform (from Smart TV)
Image 14A color television test at the Mount Kaukau transmitter site, New Zealand in 1970.
A test pattern with color bars is used to calibrate the signal. (from Color television)
Image 15Hovannes Adamian c. 1900s (from Color television)
Image 16The Philco Predicta, 1958. In the collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis (from History of television)
Image 17Comparison of image quality between ISDB-T (1080i broadcast, top) and NTSC (480i transmission, bottom) (from Digital television)
Image 18Ad for the beginning of experimental television broadcasting in New York City by RCA in 1939 (from History of television)
Image 19Philo Farnsworth in 1924 (from History of television)
Image 20Public television in France uses 819 line b&w high definition, from 1959 until 1983 (TF1). (from History of television)
Image 21DBS satellite dishes (from History of television)
Image 22Manfred von Ardenne in 1933 (from History of television)
Image 23LG Electronics smart TV from 2011 (from Smart TV)
Image 24Family watching TV, 1958 (from History of television)
Image 25RCA 630-TS, the first mass-produced television set, which sold in 1946–1947 (from History of television)

Featured lists - load new batch

Featured lists have been determined by the Wikipedia community to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.

Image 1
Moonlight is an American paranormal romance television drama created by Ron Koslow and Trevor Munson, who was also executive producer for all episodes with Joel Silver, Gerard Bocaccio, Gabrielle Stanton and Harry Werksman. The series follows private investigator Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin), who was turned into a vampire by his bride Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon) on the couple's wedding night fifty-five years earlier. In the present day, he struggles with his attraction to a mortal woman, Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), his friendship with his mentor and fellow vampire Josef Kostan (Jason Dohring), and his dealings with other vampires in Los Angeles.

The series was commissioned by Warner Bros. Television in 2007 as a presentation lasting 14–20 minutes. Alex O'Loughlin, Shannon Lucio, Rade Šerbedžija and Amber Valletta were cast in the lead roles, and Rod Holcomb was hired as director. David Greenwalt joined the staff in May 2007 as showrunner and executive producer with Joel Silver; however, health reasons forced Greenwalt to leave the series. All of the original actors, apart from the male lead role, were recast in June 2007 with Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossamon. A retooled, full-length pilot for television audiences was then shot. (Full article...)
Image 2
1"The Parting of the Ways"WebisodeSimon MeyersDavid Roden31 October 2009 (2009-10-31)
2"Children in Need special"CharityN/AN/A20 November 2009 (2009-11-20)
3"EastEnders 25th Anniversary"OtherN/AN/A19 February 2010 (2010-02-19)
4"Blue Peter special"OtherN/AN/A10 March 2010 (2010-03-10)
5"Short Story – Part One"WebisodeReza MoradiMark Catley12 March 2011 (2011-03-12)
6"Short Story – Part Two"WebisodeReza MoradiMark Catley2 April 2011 (2011-04-02)
7"Under Fire"WebisodeGareth BrynCatrin Clarke12 April 2012 (2012-04-12)
8"The Kids Aren't Alright"WebisodeAnne EdyveanMatt Redd21 July 2012 (2012-07-21)
9"Mistletoe and Rum"WebisodeSunetra SarkerDavid P. Davis15 December 2012 (2012-12-15)
10"Nurse Factor"WebisodeSimon NormanJanine H. Jones28 December 2012 (2012-12-28)
11"Gone in Sixty Seconds"WebisodeJon SenPaul Quiney5 January 2013 (2013-01-05)
12"Scars and Nightmares"WebisodeDafydd PalfreyAsher Pirie2 November 2013 (2013-11-02)
13"The Spirit of Christmas"WebisodeSeán GleesonHenrietta Hardy14 December 2013 (2013-12-14)
14"Radio Holby − Part One"WebisodeKodjo TsakpoSimon Norman18 October 2014 (2014-10-18)
15"Radio Holby − Part Two"WebisodeKodjo TsakpoRoss Southard25 October 2014 (2014-10-25)
16"Mrs Walker-To-Be"WebisodeJohn QuarrellSarah Beeson22 August 2015 (2015-08-22)
17"On Call"WebisodeJack RyderKayleigh Llewellyn10 October 2015 (2015-10-10)
18"Back to Ours"OtherMatt TaylorN/A20 August 2016 (2016-08-20)
19"The First Noel"WebisodeAnthony SutcliffeN/A24 December 2016 (2016-12-24)
19"Our Holby City"WebisodeAnthony SutcliffeN/A29 March 2022 (2022-03-29) (Full article...)

Season	Episodes	Originally aired		Rank	Rating
Season	Episodes	First aired	Last aired	Rank	Rating
1	9	March 27, 2005 (2005-03-27)	May 22, 2005 (2005-05-22)	8	11.6
2	27	September 25, 2005 (2005-09-25)	May 15, 2006 (2006-05-15)	5	12.5
3	25	September 21, 2006 (2006-09-21)	May 17, 2007 (2007-05-17)	7	12.1
4	17	September 27, 2007 (2007-09-27)	May 22, 2008 (2008-05-22)	9	10.4
5	24	September 25, 2008 (2008-09-25)	May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)	10	9.6
6	24	September 24, 2009 (2009-09-24)	May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)	11	9.0
7	22	September 23, 2010 (2010-09-23)	May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)	17	7.5
8	24	September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)	May 17, 2012 (2012-05-17)	21	7.6
9	24	September 27, 2012 (2012-09-27)	May 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)	18	7.7
10	24	September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)	May 15, 2014 (2014-05-15)	11	8.5
11	25	September 25, 2014 (2014-09-25)	May 14, 2015 (2015-05-14)	17	7.8
12	24	September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)	May 19, 2016 (2016-05-19)	11	7.9
13	24	September 22, 2016 (2016-09-22)	May 18, 2017 (2017-05-18)	16	7.3
14	24	September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)	May 17, 2018 (2018-05-17)	12	7.1
15	25	September 27, 2018 (2018-09-27)	May 16, 2019 (2019-05-16)	20	6.5
16	21	September 26, 2019 (2019-09-26)	April 9, 2020 (2020-04-09)	30	7.0
17	17	November 12, 2020 (2020-11-12)	June 3, 2021 (2021-06-03)	36	7.6
18	20	September 30, 2021 (2021-09-30)	May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26)	34	6.4
19	20	October 6, 2022 (2022-10-06)	May 18, 2023 (2023-05-18)	42	5.2
20	10	March 14, 2024 (2024-03-14)	May 30, 2024 (2024-05-30)	TBA	TBA

(Full article...)

Image 4

American Horror Story is a horror television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The series is broadcast on the cable television channel FX in the United States. Described as an anthology series, each season is conceived as a self-contained miniseries, following a disparate set of characters and settings, and a storyline with its own "beginning, middle, and end".

Since its debut, American Horror Story has earned mostly positive reviews from critics, and has been nominated for a variety of different awards, including nineteen Critics' Choice Television Awards (four wins), ninety-four Emmy Awards (sixteen wins), nine Golden Globe Awards (two wins), six People's Choice Awards (one win), eleven Satellite Awards (three wins), and twenty-six Saturn Awards. (Full article...)
Image 5
John Le Mesurier (born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 1912 – 15 November 1983) was an English actor who performed in many mediums of light entertainment, including film, radio and theatre. Le Mesurier's career spanned from 1934 until his death in 1983. He is best remembered for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC situation comedy Dad's Army, between 1968 and 1977.

Le Mesurier made his professional stage debut in September 1934 in Dangerous Corner at the Palladium Theatre in Edinburgh under his birth name, and appeared on television for the first time four years later as Seigneur de Miolans in the BBC Television broadcast of "The Marvellous History of St Bernard". The broadcast was adapted from a 15th-century manuscript by Henri Ghéon. After wartime service as a captain in the Royal Tank Regiment, Le Mesurier returned to acting and made his radio debut on the BBC Home Service in a March 1947 broadcast of Escape or Die. He continued working in television roles throughout his career, but it was his portrayal in the BBC television play Traitor, of a character loosely based on Kim Philby, which earned him the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1972. (Full article...)

Season	Episodes	Originally released
Season	Episodes	First released	Last released	Network
1	22	September 22, 2004 (2004-09-22)	May 10, 2005 (2005-05-10)	UPN
2	22	September 28, 2005 (2005-09-28)	May 9, 2006 (2006-05-09)	UPN
3	20	October 3, 2006 (2006-10-03)	May 22, 2007 (2007-05-22)	The CW
Film		March 14, 2014 (2014-03-14)		—
4	8	July 19, 2019 (2019-07-19)		Hulu

(Full article...)

Image 7
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2019, until May 31, 2020, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was originally to be held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead hosted from the Staples Center, while winners gave speeches remotely from their homes or other locations. It aired live on September 20, 2020, following the 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 14–17 and 19. During the ceremony, Emmy Awards were handed out in 23 categories. The ceremony was produced by Done and Dusted, directed by Hamish Hamilton, and broadcast in the United States by ABC. Jimmy Kimmel served as host for the third time.

At the main ceremony, Schitt's Creek won all seven comedy categories including Outstanding Comedy Series, becoming the first comedy series to complete a sweep of those categories. Succession and Watchmen each won four awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Limited Series, respectively. Other winning programs include Euphoria, I Know This Much Is True, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Morning Show, Mrs. America, Ozark, RuPaul's Drag Race, and Unorthodox. Including Creative Arts Emmys, Watchmen led all programs with 11 wins and 26 nominations, while HBO took home 30 awards to lead all networks. (Full article...)
Image 8
Green Wing is a surreal medical sitcom starring Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt. All the episodes were written by a team of eight writers working on every episode together. The writers are Victoria Pile (who is also the producer), Robert Harley, Gary Howe, Stuart Kenworthy, Oriane Messina, Richard Preddy, Fay Rusling and James Henry. The series was directed by Tristram Shapeero and Dominic Brigstocke. The first series consisted of nine episodes broadcast between 3 September and 29 October 2004 on Channel 4. A DVD of the series was released on 3 April 2006. The scripts of the first series entitled Green Wing: The Complete First Series Scripts were released in paperback on 22 October 2006. The first series was received well by both critics and fans. The series also won several awards including a BAFTA, two Royal Television Society (RTS) awards, and a Rose d'Or.

In the first series, the main plot involves a love triangle between surgical registrar Dr. Caroline Todd (Greig), anaesthetist Dr. Guy Secretan (Mangan), and surgeon Dr. "Mac" Macartney (Rhind-Tutt) and the affair between consultant radiologist Dr. Alan Statham (Mark Heap) who is in love with Joanna Clore (Pippa Haywood), the director of human resources. (Full article...)

Season	Episodes	Originally aired
Season	Episodes	First aired	Last aired
1	15	October 14, 2001 (2001-10-14)	March 3, 2002 (2002-03-03)
2	22	September 29, 2002 (2002-09-29)	February 23, 2003 (2003-02-23)
3	22	September 17, 2003 (2003-09-17)	April 5, 2004 (2004-04-05)
4	22	September 7, 2004 (2004-09-07)	February 14, 2005 (2005-02-14)
5	19	September 19, 2005 (2005-09-19)	March 20, 2006 (2006-03-20)
6	19	September 29, 2006 (2006-09-29)	May 14, 2007 (2007-05-14)
7	24	October 5, 2007 (2007-10-05)	June 23, 2008 (2008-06-23)
8	22	October 5, 2008 (2008-10-05)	August 14, 2009 (2009-08-14)
9	23	October 4, 2009 (2009-10-04)	July 16, 2010 (2010-07-16)
10	44	July 19, 2010 (2010-07-19)	April 22, 2011 (2011-04-22)
11	45	July 18, 2011 (2011-07-18)	May 18, 2012 (2012-05-18)
12	40	July 16, 2012 (2012-07-16)	June 21, 2013 (2013-06-21)
13	40	July 11, 2013 (2013-07-11)	July 29, 2014 (2014-07-29)
14	28	October 28, 2014 (2014-10-28)	August 2, 2015 (2015-08-02)

(Full article...)

Image 10

30 Rockefeller Plaza, the titular setting of 30 Rock

30 Rock is an American satirical situation comedy that premiered on NBC on October 11, 2006. Created by Tina Fey, the television series has won and been nominated for a variety of different awards during its seven season run. It received 103 Emmy Awards nominations, with 10 Emmy Award nominations for its first season alone, and a further 17 Emmy Award nominations in its second season. The show won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for its first three seasons and was nominated every year it was eligible.

Lead actress Tina Fey has been nominated for awards 27 times for her role as Liz Lemon, the head writer of the fictional television show TGS with Tracy Jordan. Fey has also been nominated eight times for her writing skills. Lead actor Alec Baldwin has been nominated 27 times for his portrayal of NBC television executive Jack Donaghy. Through its run, 30 Rock was nominated for 189 different awards, winning 47. A webisode series called Kenneth the Web Page has been nominated for one award. In this list, "year" refers to the year the award was presented to the winner. (Full article...)
Image 11
Timberlake at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con

American entertainer Justin Timberlake has released four video albums and has been featured in thirty-seven music videos, seventeen films, fifteen television shows, and six commercials. He achieved early fame when he appeared in the Disney Channel television series The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, alongside singers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and actor Ryan Gosling. Timberlake rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the boy band NSYNC. In 2002, he launched his solo career and released his solo debut single "Like I Love You", the music video for which was directed by Bucky Chrome. Francis Lawrence directed the video for "Cry Me a River". The video features Timberlake's character as he spies on a former lover, who according to the director portrays his former romantic interest Spears. At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, the video won the accolades for Best Male Video and Best Pop Video.

In 2005, Timberlake starred in the thriller Edison alongside Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. The film received negative reviews from film critics and was a box office bomb. He then portrayed Frankie Ballenbacher in the crime drama Alpha Dog (2006); it received mixed responses from critics and attained box office success. The same year, Timberlake released his second studio album FutureSex/LoveSounds—four music videos for singles from the album were shot. Samuel Bayer directed the music video for "What Goes Around... Comes Around" (2007) in which American actress Scarlett Johansson plays Timberlake's love interest. From 2007 until 2009, he appeared in the music videos for his collaborations with other artists including 50 Cent ("Ayo Technology"), Madonna ("4 Minutes") and T.I. ("Dead and Gone"). (Full article...)

More featured lists

News

Wikinews television portal

Upcoming events

Upcoming television series

Featured content

Extended content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Television}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.