http://tvguide.com/special/100moments/2.asp
80. IDOL FINAL: CLAY VS. RUBEN (5/21/03)
Two candidates with passionate supporters and the results are celebrated by all? That's the American way.
79. KERRI STRUG'S GOLDEN VAULT (7/23/96)
When it's all over, the '96 Olympic hero has to be carried, but the rest of us are doing cartwheels.
78. NIXON ASKS, "SOCK IT TO ME?" (9/16/68)
Does Tricky Dick's comic cameo help him win the election? You bet your sweet bippy!
77. SCHWEDDY BALLS (12/12/98)
SNL's deadpan NPR satire served up a nutty holiday treat that pushed the boundaries of taste.
76. ALEXIS AND KRYSTLE: WET AND WILD (4/13/83)
Dry cleaning for soaked fine washables: $500. Watching two rich, catty ladies deliver soggy haymakers on Dynasty: priceless.
75. NYPD NUDE (9/21/93)
The "blue" rear view of David Caruso and Amy Brenneman in the premiere brings in viewers, but NYPD's grit gives it enough street cred to hold them.
74. AL CAPONE'S EMPTY VAULT (4/21/86)
The mob boss teaches headline chaser Geraldo Rivera a "valuable" lesson: Apparently, you can take it with you.
73. THE FIRST MILLIONAIRE (11/19/99)
John Carpenter phones home, becomes a millionaire and helps Regis Philbin revitalize a stale genre — what a winning combination!
72. HILL AND RENKO GUNNED DOWN (1/15/81)
A shocking denouement illustrates that Hill Street Blues' pioneering blend of humor and pathos would be high caliber.
71. AN AMERICAN FAMILY: THE LOUDS (3/8/73)
The first family of reality TV learns the hard lesson of transferring their lives from real to reel when Mrs. Loud asks for a divorce.
70. THE COSBY SHOW DEBUTS (9/20/84)
Theo — and viewers — quickly learn that great TV parenting is a question of Cos and effect.
69. BELUSHI'S SAMURAI DELI (1/17/76)
TV's great sword-and-sandwich sketch, courtesy of John Belushi, our favorite wry ham.
68. TIM RUSSERT TALLIES THE VOTE (11/7/00)
On a confusing night, NBC's Russert turns his low-tech election whiteboard into a board of education.
67. LETTERMAN'S VELCRO SUIT (2/28/84)
David Letterman shows why his true-believing fans cling to him.
66. ROSS AND RACHEL'S FIRST KISS (11/9/95)
I can't separate Ross and Rachel's first real kiss on Friends from the potent studio-audience reaction I heard on my TV that night. Even with shows filmed in front of a live audience, the requisite whoops and cheers are often, as they say in the biz, "sweetened" — that is, sound effects are amplified or added in the editing process. But all of us had waited for this moment through the entire first season, from the fans lucky enough to be watching it live to the millions like me at home. We weren't disappointed, seeing two people whose chemistry defined what we loved about this show, finally giving in to destiny. I pointedly recall not whooping, but listening to the audience do so felt right after Ross and Rachel, held apart at first by the locked door at Central Perk, had that stirring kiss and took their place among sitcom TV's most beloved couples. Theirs was the ideal Must-See romance to counterbalance Seinfeldian cynicism and the whoops were, most assuredly, live, and real, and heartfelt. — Robert Edelstein
65. KIRK KISSES UHURA (11/22/68)
Going where no series has gone before, Star Trek sends a powerful racial message in the turbulent '60s.
64. RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE: ALI VS. FOREMAN (10/30/74)
Everybody says, "Nope," Ali has no hope, so he hangs on the rope, 'cause he is no dope.
63. ELVIS' '68 COMEBACK SPECIAL (12/3/68)
Now this is Elvis: clad in black leather, cranking up the charm, creating revels without a pause. That's all right.
62. AMERICA HELD HOSTAGE (11/29/79)
In the midst of the Iranian hostage crisis, Ted Koppel first hosts the show that will become Nightline, and helps make sense of some of our longest hours.
61. JORDAN'S LAST CHAMPIONSHIP SHOT (6/14/98)
Michael Jordan's title-shot toss proves that Air has no heir.