On this day, 26 years ago, The Sopranos premiered on HBO and television (not to mention organized crime) would never be the same.  Today, it can be easy to forget just how revolutionary that first season of The Sopranos was.  What originally sounded like a joke — a gangster goes into therapy (a plot that had already been used in the film Analyze This) — turned out to be a powerful portrait of American society at the crossroads.

And it all started on January 10th, 1999.

Previous Moments In Television History:

1. Planet of the Apes The TV Series
2. Lonely Water
3. Ghostwatch Traumatizes The UK
4. Frasier Meets The Candidate
5. The Autons Terrify The UK
6. Freedom’s Last Stand
7. Bing Crosby and David Bowie Share A Duet
8. Apaches Traumatizes the UK
9. Doctor Who Begins Its 100th Serial
10. First Night 2013 With Jamie Kennedy
11. Elvis Sings With Sinatra
12. NBC Airs Their First Football Game
13. The A-Team Premieres
14. The Birth of Dr. Johnny Fever
15. The Second NFL Pro Bowl Is Broadcast
16. Maude Flanders Gets Hit By A T-Shirt Cannon
17. Charles Rocket Nearly Ends SNL
18. Frank Sinatra Wins An Oscar
19. CHiPs Skates With The Stars
20. Eisenhower In Color
21. The Origin of Spider-Man
22. Steve Martin’s Saturday Night Live Holiday Wish List
23. Barnabas Collins Is Freed From His Coffin
24. Siskel and Ebert Recommend Horror Films
25. Vincent Price Meets The Muppets
26. Siskel and Ebert Discuss Horror
27. The Final Scene of Dark Shadows
28. The WKRP Turkey Drop
29. Barney Pops On National TV
30. The Greatest American Hero Premieres
31. Rodney Dangerfield On The Tonight Show
32. The Doors Are Open
33. The Thighmaster Commercial Premieres
34. The Hosts of Real People Say “Get High On Yourself”
35. The 33rd NFL Championship Game Is Broadcast In Color