💡 Angela Lansbury was not the first choice for Jessica Fletcher; the role was originally offered to Jean Stapleton, who turned it down.

💡 Andy Griffith based Ben Matlock's signature light gray seersucker suits on the cheap wardrobe he wore while playing a lawyer in a TV movie.

💡 It revolutionized TV drama by introducing handheld camera work, multi-episode story arcs, and a massive ensemble cast.

💡 Jim Henson intentionally designed the show to be internationally co-produced, creating different human segments for broadcast in different countries.

💡 The series used the actual modified Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter shell built for the hit 1983 Roy Scheider movie of the same name.

💡 Automan's reflective, glowing suit did not use CGI; it was constructed using a special highly retro-reflective material lit by directional lamps during filming.

💡 Expecting cancellation at the end of Season 1, the creators ended it with a nuclear explosion destroying the city, forcing them to set Season 2 as a prequel when renewed.

💡 The iconic sports car featured in the show, the Cody Coyote, was custom-built using a kit car body mounted on a Volkswagen Beetle chassis.

💡 Producer Aaron Spelling pitched the show as a modern-day mashup of traditional cowboy culture and slick 1980s detective glamour.

💡 The success of William Conrad's character on this show directly inspired CBS to spin off the hit detective series *Diagnosis: Murder*.

💡 The show was originally titled 'Life and Stuff' before Roseanne Barr pushed to name it Roseanne.

💡 Patrick Stewart wore a wig for his 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' audition.

💡 The show revolutionized television sound by spending around $10,000 per episode to license contemporary pop and rock songs.

💡 Despite becoming a massive hit, Cheers was nearly canceled in its first season after finishing dead last in the Nielsen ratings.

💡 Queen Elizabeth II was such a huge fan that she invited the cast to perform live at the Royal Variety Performance in London.

💡 The voice of K.I.T.T. was provided by William Daniels, who requested to be uncredited in the show's early run.

💡 Despite the constant gunfire, explosions, and car crashes, practically no characters are ever explicitly shown dying on screen.

💡 Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen got the role of Michelle Tanner because they were the only twin babies who didn't cry during auditions.

💡 Tom Selleck had to turn down the role of Indiana Jones in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' because of his commitment to this show.

💡 It was the first primetime series to air on the newly launched Fox network, helping put the channel on the map.

💡 Scott Bakula (Sam) performed almost all of his own stunts and musical singing/playing scenes during the show.

💡 The show hired technical consultants to ensure the science tricks were real, though they often omitted a key ingredient for safety reasons.

💡 At age 13, Fred Savage became the youngest actor ever nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category.

💡 Operating the puppet required a complex set of trapdoors across the floorboards, making filming notoriously frustrating for the cast.

💡 The 1980 episode answering 'Who shot J.R.?' was viewed by an estimated 83 million people in the U.S. alone.

💡 The iconic theme song for the 1980s reboot was composed and performed by the rock band The Grateful Dead.

💡 Michael J. Fox was almost missed for the role because creator Gary David Goldberg initially didn't want to audition him.

💡 The iconic scene where the alien character Jane Badler swallows a whole guinea pig was done using a combination of animatronics and clever edits.

💡 This show was Bruce Willis's breakout role, selected out of over 3,000 actors who auditioned for David Addison.

💡 The real helicopter used for Airwolf was later sold and repurposed as an air ambulance in Germany.