2005 in television - Definition and Overview

See also: 2004 in television, other events of 2005, and the list of 'years in television'.

Events

• January 1 - DirecTV drops the Trio channel from its lineup. The network loses two-thirds of its 20 million viewers, putting in doubt the future of the NBC Universal channel.
• January 5 - The 35th anniversary episode of All My Children airs on ABC. The special episode, which brought back former characters Mark Dalton (Mark LaMura), Nick Davis (Larry Keith), and Tom Cudahy (Richard Shoberg), was also unique in that it was the first appearance of ailing actress Ruth Warrick since August 2002; Warrick has played Phoebe since the show's debut in 1970.
• February 2 - Paramount Television and UPN announce the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise. When the series leaves the air in May, it will bring to a close an 18-year, uninterrupted run of four consecutive Star Trek series dating back to 1987.

Scheduled and expected events

• February 6 - American Dad pilot episode will be aired on FOX.
• February 8 - Teachers' TV, run by the Department for Education and Skills, to be launched on Sky Digital and Freeview.
• February 17 - LOGO, a TV channel aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults, is scheduled to launch in the United States.
• February 19 - EastEnders celebrates its twentieth anniversary on the air.
• February 26 - Sound TV, previously known as The Great British Television Channel, created by Richard Digance, will launch on Sky Digital.
• March - Nine years after its last new episode and over fifteen years since its last regular run, Doctor Who returns to BBC1 for a new season, the twenty-seventh in total since 1963. Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper star.
• March - UKTV Style Gardens, a channel dedicated to gardening programmes, scheduled to launch.
• November 8 - Days of Our Lives celebrates its fortieth anniversary on the air.

Debuts (including scheduled)

• January 3 - Medium on NBC (2005-present).
• January 4 - Committed on NBC (2005-present).
• January 6 - Wickedly Perfect on CBS (2005-present).
• January 8 - The Will on CBS (2005-present).
• January 14 - Battlestar Galactica on SciFi in the US (2005-present).
• January 25 - NUMB3RS on CBS (2005-present).
• March 17 - Law & Order: Trial by Jury on NBC.
• March - In the Game on ABC.
• May 1 - American Dad on FOX.
• June - Weeds on Showtime.

Television shows

• Meet the Press (1947-present).
• Candid Camera (1948-present).
• Guiding Light (1952-present).
• The Today Show (1952-present).
• Panorama (UK) (1953-present).
• Face the Nation (1954-present).
• The Tonight Show (1954-present).
• As the World Turns (1956-present).
• What the Papers Say (UK) (1956-present).
• The Sky at Night (UK) (1957-present).
• Blue Peter (UK) (1958-present).
• Grandstand (UK) (1958-present).
• Coronation Street (UK) (1960-present).
• The Late Late Show (Ireland) (1962-present).
• General Hospital (1963-present).
• Top of the Pops (UK) (1964-present).
• Days of Our Lives (1965-present).
• Play School (1966-present).
• 60 Minutes (1968-present).
• One Life to Live (1968-present).
• Sesame Street (1969-present).
• All My Children (1970-present).
• Monday Night Football (1970-present).
• Masterpiece Theatre (1971-present).
• Soul Train (1971-present).
• Emmerdale (UK) (1972-present).
• Newsround (UK) (1972-present).
• The Price Is Right (1972-present).
• Last of the Summer Wine (UK) (1973-present).
• The Young and the Restless (1973-present).
• Wish You Were Here...? (UK) (1974-present).
• Good Morning America (1975-present).
• Saturday Night Live (1975-present).
• the fifth estate (Canada) (1975-present).
• Wheel of Fortune (1975-present).
• 20/20 (1978-present).
• Grange Hill (UK) (1978-present).
• Entertainment Tonight (1981-present).
• Jeopardy! (1964-1975, 1984-present).
• The Bill (UK) (1984-present).
• EastEnders (UK) (1985-present).
• Neighbours (Australia) (1985-present).
• The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986-present).
• The Bold and the Beautiful (1987-present).
• Cops (1989-present).
• The Simpsons (1989-present).
• Law & Order (1990-present).
• The Jerry Springer Show (1991-present).
• Dateline NBC (1992-present).
• The Real World (1992-present).
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993-present).
• NYPD Blue (1993-present).
• The Late Show with David Letterman (1993-present).
• ER (1994-present).
• JAG (1995-present).
• 7th Heaven (1996-present).
• Dexter's Laboratory (1996-present).
• Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-present).
• Hey Arnold! (1996-present).
• Judge Judy (1996-present).
• The Daily Show (1996-present).
• Johnny Bravo (1997-present).
• King of the Hill (1997-present).
• South Park (1997-present).
• Stargate SG-1 (1997-present).
• The Wonderful World of Disney (1997-present).
• That '70s Show (1998-present).
• The King of Queens (1998-present).
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK) (1998-present).
• Will & Grace (1998-present).
• Family Feud (1976-1985, 1988-1995, 1999-present).
• Judging Amy (1999-present).
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present).
• Passions (1999-present).
• Rocket Power (1999-present).
• (1999-present).
• SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-present).
• Tenacious D (1999-present).
• The Sopranos (1999-present).
• The West Wing (1999-present).
• Third Watch (1999-present).
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (US) (1999-present).
• As Told by Ginger (2000-present).
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-present).
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-present).
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-present).
• Malcolm in the Middle (2000-present).
• Survivor (2000-present).
• The Weakest Link (UK) (2000-present).
• Yes, Dear (2000-present).
• 24 (2001-present).
• According to Jim (2001-present).
• Adult Swim (2001-present).
• Alias (2001-present).
• Braceface (2001-present).
• Fear Factor (2001-present).
• Home Movies (1999, 2001-present).
• JR Digs (Canada) (2001-present).
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001-present).
• My Wife and Kids (2001-present).
• Pop Idol (UK) (2001-present).
• Scrubs (2001-present).
• Six Feet Under (2001-present).
• Smallville (2001-present).
• The Amazing Race (2001-present).
• The Bernie Mac Show (2001-present).
• The Fairly OddParents (2001-present).
• 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter (2002-present).
• Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2002-present).
• American Dreams (2002-present).
• American Idol: The Search for a Superstar (2002-present).
• Codename: Kids Next Door (2002-present).
• CSI: Miami (2002-present).
• I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! (UK) (2002-present).
• Kim Possible (2002-present).
• Less Than Perfect (2002-present).
• Spooks (UK) (2002-present).
• The Bachelor (2002-present).
• The George Lopez Show (2002-present).
• The Osbournes (2002-present).
• Without a Trace (2002-present).
• All Grown Up! (2003-present).
• Arrested Development (2003-present).
• Battlestar Galactica (UK) (2003-present).
• Carnivàle (2003-present)
• Chappelle's Show (2003-present).
• Cold Case (2003-present).
• Dead Like Me (2003-present).
• Eve (2003-present).
• Hope and Faith (2003-present).
• Joan of Arcadia (2003-present).
• Las Vegas (2003-present).
• Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003-present).
• My Life as a Teenage Robot (2003-present).
• Navy NCIS (2003-present).
• Nip/Tuck (2003-present).
• One Tree Hill (2003-present).
• Postman Pat (UK) (1981, 1996, 2003-present).
• Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (2003-present).
• Reno 911! (2003-present).
• Romeo! (2003-present).
• Superstars (UK) (1975-1985, 2003-present).
• The O.C. (2003-present).
• Two and a Half Men (2003-present).
• Xiaolin Showdown (2003-present).
• Astro Boy (2004-present).
• Blue Collar TV (2004-present).
• Boston Legal (2004-present).
• Call for Help 2.0 (Canada) (2004-present).
• Corner Gas (Canada) (2004-present).
• CSI: New York (2004-present).
• Danny Phantom (2004-present).
• Green Wing (2004-present).
• Jack & Bobby (2004-present).
• Desperate Housewives (2004-present).
• Joey (2004-present).
• Lost (2004-present).
• Miguzi (2004-present).
• Quintuplets (2004-present).
• Stargate Atlantis (2004-present).
• The Apprentice (2004-present).
• Family Guy (1999-2002, 2005-present).
• Doctor Who (UK) (1963-1989, 1996, 2005-present).

Ending this year

• Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005).

Deaths

• January 2 - Cyril Fletcher, British comedian, star of That's Life, (b. 1913).
• January 23 - Johnny Carson, 79, American comedian, host of The Tonight Show for 29 years.