90s. - ♪ s so take thehe photograps and d stillframemes in your r ♪ ♪ hang it on a shelf, in good health and good time ♪ [fans screaming] ♪ tattoos of memories ♪ ♪ and dead skin on trial ♪ ♪ for what it's worth, it was worth all the while ♪ ♪ it's something unpredictable ♪ ♪ but in the end, is right ♪ ♪ i hope you had the time of your life ♪ [lively strumming] - don't touch that dial. we're about to flip it for you. - in five, four, three, two... - tv is changing dramatically now with 150 channels that might be available in thehe near fututure. - ththere's a lolot of things thatat we do

that you couldn't have on network television. - peoplele are realllly tryg to do something adventurous. [both gasp] alall: channelel 7, shame e on. - this is morere a celebrbration of c culture and opening the doors and allowing america to come on i inside. - therere's alwaysys somethg on t television,n, and sosome of it may b be ber than we e deserve. - [laughs]s] that wasas cool. [d[dramatic musisic] ♪ ♪

- listen to it. oh! [crowd cheering] they know when it hits the bottom, it'll be 1990. good-bye to the '80s in... all: ten, nine... all: eight... eieight! eight! eight! - oh, will this horribible year never enend? - when the '90s begin, we're starting to see a lolot of expererimentation. [gununshots] all:l: [quickly]y] seven, six, , four, three, two, , one! [cheerining] - anand "the simimpsons," i ththink, in sosome sensess was s inspired by not necessarily a hatred o of television bubut a distrurust of a a lot of ththe ways in whichch televisioion was s talking toto us. - tv respects meme. it l laughs withth me, nonot at me. - - [laughing]g] you stupid---- - - d'oh! - i think k the sitcomoms of the '80s... - i i love you g guys. - were s such a sort of warmr, safefe humor.

- ohohh, ohh. you see,e, the kids,s, they lisisten to t the rap mususic which gigives them the braiain damage.. - and i ththink there e was a real yeaearning for r another tytype of hum. [danny e elfman's "the simimpsons thememe"] [all screaeaming] - wewe were ablele to spopoof fatherhrhood. - whwhat a bad f fat. - which,h, at the titime-- anand i stressss "at the time- was billll cosby asas the shinining examplel. - ♪ d did you evever know that youou're my herero? ♪ - the ststuff they g got away h bebecause it's's a cartoon. the e father stranangling the e. - why, y you little-e-- [gruntnting] - - [choking]] - - we are goioing to keepep ong to strtrengthen the american family to make american families a lot more like the waltons and a lot less like the simpsons. - huh? - we go to a completely bizarre period of time in 1992,

when a a sitting presidentnt is r raging agaiainst a sitct. - [screams] - they have dealt with politics, they have dealt with popular culture, they've dealt with all kinds of issueues of racisism, of s sexism. - don't ask me, i'm just a giri. [gigglgles] - righght on. say y it, siste. - it's not funny, bart. millllions of gigirls will grow up t thinking ththat this isis the rightht way to a act. - they h have found d a way to talk about everything that's going on in our lives ththrough the e filter of "the e simpsons."." - them "immigants," they want all the benefits of living in springfield, but they ain't even bothered to learn themself the language. - yeah, those are exactly my "sentimonies." - yeah, well-- [babbling incoherently] - i think one of the governing things ththat's happepening wiwith "the sisimpsons" is a disistrust of a anyone who tells s us thatat we shouldld trust thm anand doesn't t earn that t . - oh, and,d, uh, i'll take that s statue of j justice to. - sold!! - anand when thehey make fn of h how fox works...

male announcer: you are watching fox. all: we are watching fox. - they're telling you, "don't trust us either." - eat mymy shorts. - all righght, i'll eaeat-- eat your shorts? [c[children lalaughing] - "the simimpsons" is like e shakespearee in thehe sense thahat we quoe "the s simpsons" a all the ti, very oftften withoutut even knonowing it. - excecellent. - - i wish i c could creaeate somethihing that c culturally y indelibl. it's unlnlike anythihing else tv's evever wrought.t. - "twiwin peaks" s showed p out ofof nowhere at thehe beginningng of the ded. and the pipilot episodode of tht was onone of the s strangest and most e exciting ththins i'i've ever seseen. - dianane, i'm att the twinin peaks couounty morgue with thehe body of t the victim- what's's her name?e? - laura papalmer. [g[girl screamaming] - - it was incncredible. i mean, justst how slowlwly in thehe beginningng the newsws spread araround ththis little e town that thihis young, beautifuful girl hadad die.

- laura! - - and that haunting music was soso dark and d so beautifi. - ♪ then i saw ♪ ♪ your r smile ♪ [dialogue audio plays in r reverse] - what o on earth is essentially a a art filmm doing inin prime-time e televis? - americanan network t televisin has s long been n considered ththe home of f the bland, the e cautious,, anand the prededictable. so it wawas with somome trepidan that the abc network recently launched a new series that was none of those things. "twin peaks" has already been described by one critic as, "the series that will change tv." it's directed by david lynch. - david lynch was a filmmaker known for his taste inin the eccenentric and memorarable.

the ididea that hehe would do netwowork televisision in the '90s was crazy. - do youou watch mucuch of i? - well, , i-i-- i like the idea of television, but i'm too busy to see very much of it. - and i-- what do you think of that which you do see on television? - well, some of it i-- you know, i really enjoy. - are you being diplomatic? - sort of. [both laughing] - [screaming] - ththe beautifuful thing about t televisionon is, , you have t the chancee to d do a contininuing story. and ththat's the m main reaso, you knknow, for dodoing it. - i think that "twin peaks," with the initial attention thatat it got, allowed d all the otother netws to s say, "letet's do something g differe" [eerie music] - whatat was intereresting about "n"northern exexposur" it was a an odd sortrt of unive that t this guy was dropopped i. - the day'y's coming,, and itit ain't gononna be lon, when youou ain't eveven gonna have to leleave your l living r.

no morore schools,s, no more e bodegas, no more tatabernacles,s, no morore cineplexexes, all ri? you're g gonna snuggggle up to your fiber optics, baby, anand bliss ouout. - you alalso had expxperimentn ththat set thehe stage foror t of what cacame later.. [marark snow's " "the x-filel] - it's kinda hard to pin down what exactly "the x-files" is. i mean, onon the surfaface, it's a shohow about investigigating paranormrmal activitities. - unidentifified flying g obje. i thinink that fitits the e descriptioion pretty w . tellll me i'm crcrazy. - - mulder, yoyou're crazyz. - [c[chuckles] - that dynamicic, thatat dramatic c tension ofof believer r versus skekec isis one of ththe enginess of thehe show. and d you were a always seeiet from a s specific popoint of . - [s[screaming] ] help! helplp! - they'r're equals.. - yeahah, absolutetely. yeah, they're equals, and in a way, they've kind of switched gender stereotypes. because the character i play--mulder-- is the intuitive one. - the largrge intestinine.

- and scscully is the ratationalist,, the e doctor. - - a lot of f folks who e end "the x-fililes" who otheherwise didndn't watchv might'veve been drawawn to the w by itsts--for lackck of a b better way y to put it- itits stick-itit-to-the-maman s that said, "dodon't trustt the e governmentnt, "don't trust big business, don't trust anybody but yourself and your friends and family," i guess. it's a m message that't's sosomewhat darark and cynin, bubut was kindnd of a a breath of f fresh airr in thehe early '9090s. - the '90s was a time of c conspiracieies, and ththe internetet was startg to s spread beyoyond jujust, like,, hard-c-core compututer users. so you could have message boards and usenet newsgroups, and everybody wanted to talk about the black oil and the bees and mulder's sister and whwhat the cigigarette smg man was upup to. and i i would go to alt.t.tv.the-x-fifiles and people were so nuts for this show. - it's's just purere science fiction, and that's probably what i like most about it.

- "the x-files" changed the way people watch television. - yoyou could sesense ththese succesessful creatats tryiying to see e how they cd do things s differentt ththan they hahad done five or r ten years s ago. somemetimes thatat led to rey challengining network k televn ththat was cooool and fun n to . and d sometimes s it just seseeo fall off t the edge a a little . - - ♪ and l let's be cacarel out there e ♪ - at thehe time, steveven boo was a a very succecessful producer of hour dramas and wanted to try something brand-new. - this i is the polilice! wewe have a wawarrant for yoyour arrest!t! - hit t it! - you hahave ten sececonds to open ththis door! - and so h his idea was to c combine a grititty cop shohow with a a broadway y musical. [hip-h-hop music]] - i saw w one in whihich a bh ofof gangbangegers were inin. and d they beganan to sing... ♪ life e in the hood ain't nono pizza pieie ♪ ♪ everyrybody die when thehe bullets f fly ♪

all: ♪ life inin the hoodd ain't nono piece of f pie ♪ ♪ anybody c could die when the bullelets fly ♪ - and i sasaid, "wait t a minu. hold on,n, wait a miminute." ♪ ♪ - and i i thought, w well, ththis is it.. thisis is gonna a be great.. this is s gonna be as innovatative asas anything g i've ever r d. - ♪ he'e's guilty, , judge, he's guilty y ♪ ♪ you couould see it t in his e♪ ♪ he did d the crime and nonow he's gototta pay ♪ - merprp. [lauaughs] i mean, itit just-- it circlcled the drarain. [groroovy rock m music] - i i will give e credit to o ay who goes o outside thehe box anand swings realllly hard fofor the fencnces. - ♪ i w worked realal hard ♪ ♪ a and i got m my educatioi♪ - i'm crcreatively p proud of , stilill. you know, , i'm very g glad wewe tried it.t. um... i don't ththink i'i'd wanna dodo it again..

- generation x, the twentysomethings, boomerangers, baby busters-- whatever these 46 million young souls are called-- are turning out to be kind of a hard sell. - in the '90s, what we realized is, advertisers would pay premiums for college-educated young adults, 18-49. and we started reinventing nbc and trying to speak to that auaudience. - [sigighs] where e is someonen? i'm ststarving. - think ththis is him m right h. - oh. uh, , is there a a table reaea? - "the chihinese restataurant" was one e of the verery, very ey epepisodes of f "seinfeld." and d truly, notothing happepd in t the episode.. they were e waiting fofor a ta.

- [sigighs] i feelel like justst walking g over therere and takiking some fofood off ofof somebody'y's plate. - wewe said to l larry david, "heyey, like, nonothing happpp" anand larry wawas offendede. [laughs] he w was, like, , wildly offff. - nbc belilieved in ththe shw so they said, "we're committing to four episodes." - yes, yeah, right. four episodes. - 4--normally it's 13 or 8 or something. - yes, at least. so we didn't really think that they had too much confidence in the show. - we didn't think it would work. but t we felt ththat they hahado through h their prococess and ththey would l learn. and ulultimately,, they k knew betterer than we d. - mymy mother caught . - caughtht y? doing what? - yoyou kn. i was alalo. - ththe turning g point for "seieinfeld" frorom, li, nice show w that all of the c cool peoplele kinda a know aboutut but that't toto massive h hit

was ththe episodee calleded "the contest,"" wherere they triried to abstsn from self-f-pleasure for as l long as posossibl. all: y yeah! - 6:6:30. titime for youour bath. - geororge, i'm huhungry! - hang o on, ma. hahang on. - once y you do 30 m minutes onon masturbation, you coululd pretty m much get t away with h anything.. - well, , i guess yoyou'll be going baback to thatat hospit. - wewell, my motother, jerryry. - but arare you stilill mastster of yourur domain? - - i am king g of the couounty. - the e week afterer that air, peopople were tatalking about t in the workplace the entire week. - they still are talking about it. 52 seconds and two of the greatest words in sitcocom history.y. - i'm m out. - one of t the shorthahand descscriptions o of "seinfel" is, , you know, , no hugs, no lessosons. - [gasps]]

- let's push itt a little further than it't's ever been pusushed beforere. - what's's the matteter with yo? - i ththink the bibig breakthrh ofof "seinfeldld" wawas that thehe characteres werere not nice people. - someonone help! - shut up,p, you old b bag! - - they were e narcissistst. - - no! - vandelayay! save it! - ththey would s screw eaeach other o over at thehe drop of a a hat... - he's j just a dentist. - yeahah, and you'u're an antnti-dentite.e. - and yeyet be best t friends the nextxt week. - - ♪ when n you wish u upon a ♪ ["shinining star"" by e earth, windnd & fire pl] - wewe don't havave to love . we j just have t to laugh at t. - - [laughing]g] i'm realllly . - i i was in thehe pool! i was in t the pool! - the e idea of a a character with d darker tendndencies... - fifire! [allll screamingng] - geget out of t the way! - that w was so taboboo in telelevision cocomedy.

- [sighs] are--arere you aboutut done? - oh, i'm just getting g warmed up. - we're in the confifines ofof network t tv with c commercialsls, withth still a l lot of thins that arere very highghly struructured, and yet t we're ablele to find s of p pushing in n those bounund. - no soup p for you! [snaps fingers] - itit took us t to a new lell of comedy,y, anand it kind d of defineded, , yeah, nbnbc, thursdaday nigh, ththis show, expect t the unexpecected. - can yoyou sing thehe theme sog from "cheers"? - "cheers," yeah. how does it start? ♪ making your way in your world today ♪ oh, i can't do that. - go ahead, go ahead! - no, that's so corny. - go on. i know, i know. but it's cute. come on, just sing it. - okay. ♪ takes everything you got ♪ - ♪ taking a break from all your worries ♪ ♪ sure can help a lot ♪ - ♪ wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ sometimes you wanna go ♪ - ♪ where everybody knows your name ♪ - wewe decided t to end "che" in the 11t1th year. and d over 93 mimillion peope watchehed the finanale of "cheh"

bubut it's a s sad experieiee fofor everybody. - oh, , man. - ththis was ourur baby for 11 y years. and we'r're not gonnnna be arod these e people evevery day. - yoyou people a are as dearare as my own n family. - we had been seserving fake sududs forever.r. it was time for everybybody to sipip. in facact, i was s sipping alalong with them. - time goeoes by so fast. pepeople move e in and outt of youour life. you mumust never m miss anan opportuninity to t tell these e people how much t they mean t to yo. we had been through so much together. you spend that much time with the same e set of people, it does become your familyly. - i i feel pretty lucky to havave the frieiends i do. - yeah.. - i thinink the legagacy ofof "cheers"" is our neeeed to belonong. anand i think k that's whahae asas americansns are longiging. - good nigight, you guys. - - the final l scene of "cheer" was realally, whatat was sam's's real firsrst?

- - you can nenever be unfnfail to your onone, true loveve. - - i'm the luluckiest soson of a bititch on earth. - and his real first love was the bar. [k[knock at door] - sorrrry. we'r're closed..

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- okay. let's play show business. as a young kid in cleveland, i always knew i would one day end up doioing a talk k show. male announcer: it's arsenio... hall! - in less than two years, arsenio hall has fired his talk show for the mtv generation into a contender for the crown of late-night television. [audience hooting] - yes, yes. - now, how come-- how come i didn't hear all that woofing going on? when i would watch you-- - too many white people, man. johnny was the big dog. but i knew everybody on the planet wasn't watching him. and it dawned on me that i could go many weeks and not see a motown group on "the tonight show." - arsenio hall has been dubbed "the prince of late night."

- there was a whole world of talent that had never, anand would nenever have b b, on a any late-ninight show.. - ♪ sititting at hohome watching arsenio hall ♪ - 2 live crew came on and sang "me so horny." - ♪ i'm gonna say, oh, me so horny ♪ - like, i had never-- it was like the sex x pistols. i'd d never seenen anything g l. it w was an explplosion in the audience. - ♪ ain't no party like a thug life party ♪ - he appealed to a black and white young audience. and it was a much broader appeal than the powers that be had estimated. - rap--rap is real big among our teens. that's poetry. - of course it is. - the poetry of the ghetto. - having maya angelou on-- i mean, whwhere would d you haveve seen her r otherwise? - - paul laurence dunbar in 1892 wrote a poem called "a negro love song." it said, "seen my lady home last night. "jump back, honey, jump back. "held her hand and squeezed it tight. jump back, honey, jump back."

- he didn't just have black people on his show. [audience cheering] but if you were hip, you wanted to be on "arsenio." - thisis is someththing that i d a political analyst talking about recently. he said you kind of were-- i used the word "chilling out." he said you were pulling back a little bit. you've been instructed not to say as much or be as outspoken. no? - i don't--i've heard that, but i never know who says it. i think it's wishful thinking on the part of some people. - [laughs] hmm. guess who suggested to bill to do "the arsenio hall show" if you wanna get a y younger de. hihill dog. - [plalaying "hearartbreak hot" on saxophone] ♪ ♪ - he attracted a lot of people who weren't fans before that night. ♪ ♪ - the '90s was a glorious moment for black television, becacause you sasaw these represesentationss

that you'd'd never seeeen befor. ["yoyo home to b bel-air" byj jazzy jeffff & the freresh pr] the e premise of "the e fresh prinince" wawas, this kikid comes from p philadelphihia... - ♪ in west p philadelphihia, born andnd raised ♪ ♪ on the plplayground i is whe i spent t most of mymy days ♪ - - his mom sasays, "i'm g gonnd you u to live wiwith your unu" hehe shows up p at this mamann in bel a air, baseseball cap o on backward, like he dodoesn't even know hohow to act in this environment. [hip-hop music] the black producers and directors and writers were always playing with this kind of subverting expectations ofof what is b blackness.. - the incredible work of "the fresh prince" at its most triumphant was when it was showing the ways that being black is alwayays going toto be a prom no m matter whatat. - vehihicle registstration, plp. - just a sec. but the thing is, officer, this isn't my car. - there's the episode i remember

where they get pulled over in a car. - what? - he's gonna tell us to get out of the car. - you watch too much tv, will. - get out of the car. - they have an interaction with a police officer that is horrible and racist in a lot of ways. and carlton has this epiphany about how money won't save him. - no map is gonna save you. and neither is your glee club or your fancy bel air address or who your daddy is. 'cause when you're driving in a nice car in a strange neighborhood, none of that matters. they only see one thing. - the writers of "the fresh prince of bel air" had a really hard task to approach these topics with nuance and were d doing it atat a clipt was s way ahead of their t ti. - now, d don't touch that dial. we're about to flip it for you to one of this year's most talked about tv shows. it is, as they say, on another network--fox. - ♪ you can do what you wanna do ♪ ♪ in living color ♪ [cheers and applause] - ladies and gentlemen, keenen ivory wayans.

- "in living color" was the first show that was created by, written by, directed by, starring an african-american. alall of thosese things inin . - this is s more a celelebratn of c culture anand an exchahange, you k k? usus sort of o opening thehe s and allowing america to come on inside. yo, yo, yo, all you bad bargain hunters out there, welcome to... both: the homeboy shopping network. - a lot of what they did on "in living color" was tryiying to takeke the ststereotypes or the misperceptions about what black men are and turn them upside down. - not only will you get, like, all the cable stations out there... - but you'll be able to talk directly to the astronauts. - it brought this smart, very controversial comedy that blackck folks had never r seen beforore thatat centered d around ththeir life e experiencese. - who are you? - i am the minister louis farrakhan. [dramatic fanfare]

- african-americans composed 25% of fox's market. - alalways get t trapped in n ar with somebebody named d bob. [mocking tone] "hey, listen, martin, "i just saw 'boyz n the hood,' all right? i didn't know, martin. i didn't know." - and they knew that they needed to capture this audience to grow. - well, i guess you think you smart and cool. but if you think you gettin' a job here, you a damn fool. now get up out my office. - so they basically gave the black creators freedom to, yoyou know, do whatetever you wawant. just get the audience. - ♪ on the w-w-w... ♪ - wb! - the wb and upn took that concept from fox... - - your shoululders are h har than cheapap breast imimplant. - going after this underserved audience of urban minority viewers and really ran with it. - - i'm a new-w-millenniumum n whwho will notot be defined by t traditionalal female ror, okokay? - a a lot of thehe networkss built t themselves up partially y on africanan-amerin viewers.s. - ♪ s shake it toto the east, shake it to the west ♪

- the african-american shows indexed lower in terms o of householold inco. - what? - so over the course of the decade, the networks started to move away from those shows. - i don't know about you people, but i'll be damned if i'm gonna let them destroy my neighborhood. - black creators felt used and abused. you made your money, you know, you built your audience on us, and now, you know, you're done.

- the following movie is rated r. - in 1990, '91, there was not a whole lot of original programming for cable. but they were airing movies. so we needed to compete, and i felt that if we didn't, we were e gonna, youou know, kinda get t swept out.t. - - oh! you soson of a bitit! hehey! - and so i i came up w with the notionon of doing g a copw that was r r-rated. when abc's broadcast standards read our script, they went berserk. [sexy jazzzzy music] - ♪ whoa, oh,h, ohh ♪ - - i was sitttting wiwith a pad a and a penci, drdrawing pictctures of brbres to try to o show themm

what w we would shshow anand what we e wouldn't s . [l[laughter] i have g grown-ups sisitting in a a room, you know, , doodling.. then we started in on the language. - we h heard some e reporter called a l lowlife asssshole turd pimimp with thehe brains a fleaea and the b balls of a a . - - the prograram premiererd withth an advertrtising boycy. all:l: channel 7 7, shame onon. - but it was such an immediate hit, that b boycott lasasted, oh, , four weeksks. - comeme on, line e 'em up. - ththey could u use ththe nudity a and the cururss to go o deeper intnto the e actual emomotional burun of b being a copop. - i'i'm an asshohole. i'm--i'm a a--i'm an a asshole,? - - and it hadad this chararar andy sipowowicz. he's a a raging alalcoholi, racist, , sexist, viviolen. - hey!y! - he crereated the t tv antihe. - you u know, i knknow that grg- ththe african-n-american geororge washingngton carverer discoverered the peaeanut, bubut can you u provide nanames and d addresses s of these f fr? - you knknow, yoyou a racist scucumbag.

- - despite hihis flaws, despitite his prejejudices, i thinink people i identified with h his pain. - - i wish thehere was y to s say ts that w wouldn't huhurt, mr. wentn. - there'e's a famousus earlrly episodee where they're investigating the rape and murder of a young boy. and theyey find a hohomeles child momolester who mumurdered thehe kid. anand sipowiczcz, to g get the cononfession, hahas to be, l like, vevery sensititive anand very gooood cop. - i know this has gotta be tearing youou up insidede. bubut you're g gonna feell a lot t better ifif you just t tell the t tr. - you cacan sort of f see on dennis s franz's faface, thisis is killining him to not, , like, destroroy this guyuy right no. and d finally, he getets the confnfession, he gets a a signed statatemen, hehe walks outut of the roro, he goes s to anotherer interrogation room, and he b breaks the e door io wiwith his fisists. - [gruntnting] - and i'm m choking upup talkining about itit right nw because,e, like, thahat's how gt a a moment of f tv that itit. - 20 yeaears from n, the bebest tv drama,

what'll they look like? - i don't know. i don't know whether-- - will they be bolder than what we see today? - oh, assuredly. assuredly, they will be. - the '90s gave us several shows that didn't really explode inin the ratinings bubut were verery influentntl to other people making television. "homicicide" is onone of th. - ♪ shell me e with queststios all night t ♪ ♪ i'm livining in a dananger zo♪ - "homicidide: lilife on the e street" was reallyly innovativive inin terms of f its style. it used mumusic in wayays thatat advanced d the narrata. and it alslso used feature e film direcectors that brorought a looook and d style to t the show thatat really ststood out on televevision. - - tears comiming out of your eyeyes. - ain'n't no tearsrs comingng from my e eyes. - hihis eyes arere brimmingg with teaears. - they hadad so many african-n-american c charactes in the cast that on n several ococcasion, they were e the only p people on camerera interactcting with o one anothe. and that s sounds likeke, "so" but asas late as t the '90s, that wasn'n't done on n televis. - whwhen a cop s shoots somemeb, hehe stands byby it.

he picksks up the raradio mic and he calalls it in.. hehe stands byby the body.y. if n not, cops a are no betttter than a anybody elslse. - inin the '90s,s, television was s getting momore complicic, stories wewere startining to bececome more e episodic, characacters were e starting to develelop and chahange. nonone of thatat happenedd on "lalaw & order.r." ["lalaw & order"r" dramatic c] - this was a showw that c completely y delivered on itsts formula e every tim. [siriren wails]] yoyou'd get a a crime. - - all right,t, let's rolo. - you u got the ininvestigatin ininto the cririme. - you u better be e packing mome than a a dirty mououth. -- you got t an arrest.t. - whatat's the chaharge? hey,y, i'm askining you a quque. what's thehe charge? - ah, therere's no chaharge. ththis one's o on us. - and ththen you hadad a tria. - he's's badgeringng, your hon. - sit dodown and shuhut up, mr. finemaman. - - overruled.d. and yoyou will addddress the ct from nowow on, mr. m mccoy. - and so every time you watctch, yoyou got whatat you came e . - tetell me, dococtor, all l those womemen you ran throrough your e examinationon , do you r remember ththeir fac, or didid you

not even b bother to l look u? - you had, in "lawaw & order" ththe kinds ofof characters ththat people e take to heh. - i'i'm gonna lelet you take me to lununch. one-titime offer.. - and d if you're e an actor and you u say, "welell, gee, yoyou know, maybe itit's not reaeally suchch a bad mededium after r a" - miranda,a, bartolamemeo, the e supreme cocourt's minnick dedecision. ththe whole ththing's illegally y obtained.. they werere both repepresentd by counsnsel. - you jujust get hooooked in. it's lifife and deatath and st. - we knonow what youou did. - counsel!l! - okay? you hearar me, ryan?n? do y you hear meme? - counsel!l! i'll h have your c client detat! - do you h hear me? look at t me! do you h hear me, cucutrona? - "law & & order" wawas like cr. - gun! [all screaeaming] - you'u'd have to o sit anand watch me for 50 miminut, jujust like..... not momoving, barely brereathing. ththere are titimes i'i've almost t passed outt watctching "law w & order."" ["lalaw & order"r" dramatic c] - hey,y, carter, g get over he! i i need your r he! - - "er" had o originally yn written asas a movie

for steven spielberg to direrec, and so we had this two-hohour piece which wawas a reflection ofof michael's's experiencns as a a medical s student. - use an a angiocath with a 1 16 needle.. you need a a large borore in casase they're e bleeding and you u need to trtransfuse t. do you knonow how to s start an? - uhuh, actuallyly, no. - "er"r" is a hospspital sho, but it's's really anan action m. [baby cryiying] - - this way, , this way.. - greeeen, walkingng wounded. yellowow, urgent. . red, criti. anand black, d doa. you gogot? - got it.. - good. - a gugurney comeses in, people are shohouting instructctions, climbing u up onto thehe body and, like,e, doing cprpr. and susuddenly, they'r're racing o off to the s surgical susuite. - geget that gururney out ofof ! - sosomeone wandnders in, ththey're tossssing around medicacal jargon.. - cvc typepe and hold d two un. - theyey don't stotop toto explain w what it is. you know,, "prep fofor a peritotoneal lava" i think k i know what that t is now, but ononly becausese i watchd a lot t of "er" ovover the yea. - - can you dodo pleural l la? - you can n try, but i i don't k his heheart would d take it. we can b bypass himm and warmrm his bloodod directly. - - that'd be e the fastesest. what do yoyou think? - - you're thehe attendingn. - therere was so m much informrn coming a at you thatat i thinkt madede the expererience feelelf

you u had to watatch it in the s same way ththat you d watch h a film, that you h d toto stay invovolved in it ththe whole titime. - - come on, b ben, you cacan - hold o on, buddy.. hold on.n. - there wawas a lot ofof reseah that s said that peoplple didn't w wanna wawatch anybodody have a anything otother ththan a happypy outcome.. - itit's not flalatlined, it's fininding v-fibib. another r seven makekes epi. - and we argrgued that that w wasn't realally showg what t the world w was for r physiciansns. - [pananting] [heart mononitor flatlining] - - i had unbebelievable amount o of respectt for the people w who did thihs because i i understoodod how huhuman they w were. [h[heart monititor flatlinin]

- a new era of technology and competition is forcing network news operations to reexamine the way they do business. - new owners spent billions buying the networks recently, ge buying nbc; capital cities, abc;

and loews/tisch brothers buying cbs. and all of them want their money's worth. - we'll now have the strongest network, we'll have a stronger defense piece. this is gonna be one dynamite company. - there's a danger that news will be mixed up with the rest of television and considered just another profit center. - late 1920s/early 1930s to the early 1980s, the sensnse was, we'e'll give some of f the broadcdcasting te to pubublic servicice. but in t the 1990s,, joururnalism in the country changed a great deal. you couldn't talk about public service. it was, "what are the ratings going to be? "what are the demographics going to be? what is the profit going to be?" well, sensationalism sells. - in a plelea bargain,n, 18-y-year-old amamy fisher got up to 15 years in prison for shooting the wife of her alleged lover. - so intense is the interest in this case that there are three--three-- made-for-tv movies now in the works about it. - you make money off sex.

you make money off death. you make m money off c crime. - the prpress calls s the cae the beverly hills mansion murders. and the story reads like one of the unsold scripts that circulate here in hollywood. - we enter into the world of the television news soap opera. - a story of basic instincts, anger, and fear. - i was scared and i just wanted him to leave me alone. - and so broadcast journalism loses its purity and it becomes much more shoddy, sensationalistic. and then it all comes together with o.j. simpson. [dramatic orchestral music] - i'm larry carrol in los angeles. the los angeles county district attorney has just filed murder charges against orenthal james "o.j." simpson. - okay, i'm gonna have to interrupt this call. i understand we're gonna go to a live picture in los angeles. police believe that... that o.j. simpson is in that car. - the o.j. simpson story starts with the chase and then goes on to his arrest and then culminates with the trial,

which goes on and on and on. and it's televised day after day after day. - this is gonna be a long trial. there's a lot of evidence to come in. the o.j. simpson case was such a national phenomenon that t those of usus who o were coverering it just lived this case 24 hours a day because there was so much demand for people talking about it. - - as simpsonon struggleded toe the e gloves ontnto his hans and turned toward jurors, saying, "they're too small," prosecutors were incensed. - the trial was on television during the hours that had traditionally been the time for soap operas. - he appears to have pulled the gloves off, counsel. - and o.j. was very much a soap opera. - hehe is impeacached by h his own wititness. - i ask that you put a stop to it. either put cordoba on the stand... - excuse me, mr. bailey. - or stop her from testifying. - stand up and speak when it's your turn. - no question that the best tv show of the '90s was the o.o.j. simpsonon tria. and evererybody on i it wawas riveting. - nbc news in depth tonight:

the simpson trial finally winding to a close. - we the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant, orenthal james simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder in violation of penal code section 187(a). - the verdict of the o.j. simpson trial, viewed by 150 million people. it's more people than watch presidential election returns. ththat's crazyzy. - becacause there e was trtrial footagage every da, cnn saw its audience increase, like, five times. the success of cnn was not lost on other people. and so there were competing forces coming into play. - how delighted i am that we've now reached this moment when we can firmly announce the starting of a fox news channel. - unfortunately, with cable news and the ability or the need to be on the air 24/7,

where you're trying to get as many eyeballs as possible at one time to gravitate toward those stories that are sensational, you know, it brought us the ability to go too far. - is the jonbenét ramsey murder investigation turning into a media circus? - yes, it's tabloid. but on the other hand, it's a tabloid era. and here's the point. here's where the fear comes into it, i think, larry. it's the fear that says, "gosh, if we don't cover it big-time, "our competition is, and when they cover it big-time, they're gonna get a big jump in the ratings." and the first thing is to last. if we're gonna last, if we're gonna survive, we gotta do it. - what you also see is a w whole army y of commentn. people who make their business talking about the news. - what i say is what we should do is we should bomb his capability of producing oil. take out his refineries, his stations, his wells. - they don't have any capability of producing oil. - well, they're certainly selling a lot of oil to-- - the networks were doing good journalism,

but they became much more preoccupied by profits. it's much cheaper to have someone in y your studioio pontificacg than to o have repororters ot in the fieield reportiting. - i don't t know if a any of thisis is true.. but what i've heard is that the father went down, opened this basement room which the fbi had bypassed... - every single sentence-- on cnn, perhaps, on cnbc, on fox, on msnbc-- begins with the words "i think." but after a while, people get confused by what is speculation, by what is innuendo, by what is fact. and as far as the viewer is concerned, be very, very careful of unsubstantiated information presented with great hype.

loving this pay bump in our allowance. wonder where mom and dad got the extra money? maybe they won the lottery? maybe they inherited a fortune?

maybe buried treasure? maybe it fell off a truck? maybe they heard that xfinity customers can save hundreds when they buy one unlimted line and get one free. now i can buy that electric scooter! i'm starting a private-equity fund that specializes in midcap. you do you. visit xfinitymobile.com today. - tv is changing dramatically now, with 150 channels that might be available in the near future. - there are more choices than ever before. and it's a tough job. you have to try and get a sense of, what is the audience gonna really make an attachment to? in the '90s, cable was coming on strong. so we had to examine, who are we gonna be? wewell, we wananted to bee smart,t, sophisticicated come. - - six months ago,, i was liliving in boboston.

my wife e had left m me, which h was very p painful. then she c came back t to me, whwhich was exexcruciatingn. well, , you know, , i thought frasier r was dead w with "chee" [playfyful music]] but wewe thought, , we've got a bubuilt-in aududience anand great popotential fof, you u know, building o out the chaharactr to anotherer place. - ♪ ohhhh ♪ - ♪ ohh, ohh h ♪ - ♪ o ohh, ohh ♪ - ♪ ohh, ohh h ♪ - "frarasier" was s kind of le one-e-act plays.s. [dramamatic organ n music pla] - "mother and i i moved heree when i i was a smamall boy "aftfter the.... tragicic death of f my fathe. "i kept t the pain o of that ls buriried deep wiwithin me lilike a serpepent coiledd withinin a damp cacave." okay, ththat's it. - we alwayays assumedd the audidience was s smarter than m most other r people di. and d we played d to that. she e is just ununschooled,, like eliliza doolittle. - ohoh. - you u find her t the right henrnry higgins,s, she'll b be ready fofor a ball i in no time.e.

- leavave it to yoyou to put the "pigig" back in "pygmalion" - thanank you. - kelsey g grammer playayed pomposisity like nony you'u've ever seseen and got huhuge laughs. - it's n not considedered a me until mymy fingers hahave completetely clearerd the e piece. - wellll, what's t taking so l? - i amam analyzingng my optio. unlikeke your wingnged approa, i lilike to planan a strateg. lilike a genereral leadingg his troooops into babattle. - chcheckmate, s schwarzkopfpf. - i ththink "frasisier" prprobably statands as thehe single momost successl spspin-off, at leaeast in the e history of sitcoms. - and ththe emmy goeoes to... - "frasier"! - "frasier"! - "frasier"! [cheers and applause] - we were lightning-hot, and it was critical for us to be leading the way, not just following. [thehe rembrandtdts' "i'l'll be therere for you] ♪ ♪ - "friendsds" is aboutut that t time in youour life when y your friendnds are yoyour family.y.

- owow! - owow! ow! boboth: ow! owow! ow! ow!! [both shshouting] - when d david cranene andi lived inin new york,k, we were part of a group of six people. we were e all attachched at thep and d we went eveverywhere t tor and d celebrateded everything totogether. - okayay, let's opopen them! - and d there's ththat period wherere you're l looking to be e out there e on your on and d the peoplele you rely n are e the ones who lilive down ththe hall. - here w we go. pivot. pivot. pivovot! pipivot! pipivot! pipivot! - - shut up! s shut up! shshu! - "frienends" permeaeated ththe culture e in a way that wasas really spspecial. eveverybody wawas obsessed with the shohow. and it bececame, like,e, whice of t these chararacters are ? ifif you were e a girl, weweu phoebe, , monica, or racach? - - you know, , i gotta tetell, this reaeally does put me i in a betterer mood. - mm. - the kikids who werere watchi, the e young audidience...

- - five, six,x, seven, eieight. - - saw a lifefestyle that wasas aspiratioional. - - ohh! - i wish i had an aparartment in newew york cityty that no one seemems to be woworried about the e rent for.. i wiwish that i i looked like matt t leblanc. i wish that i had jennifer aniston's hair. - one of the things that made "friends" a phenomena was s that peoplple-- bebeyond the l laughs-- actuallyly bonded with t these chararacters. theyey emotionalally were inid in r ross and rarachel's relationonship. - i i could not t have done e ts withthout you. - it's--itit's-- - mwmwah! - okayay, um, uh..... momore clotheses in the drdr? [laughs]s] okay. oh! - - i was dropopping mymy daughter r off for r sunday schchool atat our templple, and literally, my rabbi s stopped mee and said, , "what's gogonna han with r ross and rarachel?" - you lolook really y pretty totonight. - - oh, thank. - - "the one w with the prprom " is one o of my favororites.

- - you guys, , we don't h have to w watch this.s. - ohoh, yeah, itit's fun. - yeah, , we do. - - come on. - fun. whwhere's chipip? whwhy isn't hehe here yet?t? - hehe'll be herere, okay? take a c chill pill.l. - - this seememed like a a really sururprising wawy to get racachel to knonow how roross feels.. - i cacan't go to o my own prm withouout a date.. - - take her.. you coululd wear my y tux. - dad, shehe won't wananna go w with me. - she's lelearning somomething , and he thihinks, "oh, , god, plplease don't't let her s see. pleasese don't letet her see t " - rachchel, ready y or not, here comomes your knknight inin shining---- oh, no. - bye! donon't wait upup! - okayay. - chipip! - oh, dedear. - ross s sees himselelf, anand you seee that look on his face and how sad he is becaususe he wanted to take her to the prom. - whwhen she crorossed the r ro- i still l kinda get t chills frfrom it. whenen she crossssed the room and gagave him thahat kiss...

[audience e cheering]] the audienence went ininsane. [audience e cheering]] - at the height of must see tv, thursday nights on nbc, 75 million americans watched thursday night. that wasas, at the t time, 1/1/3 of the c country. - ooooh. what isis this stufuff? - the sweaeater? it's s angor. - well, itit's wonderfrful. - the e machine ththat was c in the '90s for comedy was ununtouchable.e. - - you're not from around her, are you? - it genenerated so much viviewership and d money and d awards. - we do not need this. - that's the top of our wedding cake. - we're not-- this--it's not a scrapbook. it's a freezer. - no! - we kind of all were part of, i think, this chapter in television where e we realizezed we werere in the r right plae at thehe right time.

lelet's see hohow you likeke , naughty boboy. - whwhoa! - - [shriekingng] - - we certaininly associae nbc c of the '9090s with h having extremelely successfsful sit. but theyey weren't the only n network that foundnd their wayay to havining some sucuccess. [jesesse frederirick's "everywherere you lookok"] tgif wasas on abc onon frid. and d it was theheir block of famamily-orientnted comed. - i can'n't take it.t. i need t the cake. - oh, michelle! miche-- - it was not sophisticated television. but these were shows that people adored. - [lauaughs, snortrts] [laughining] oh!! [draramatic musisic] mamale announcncer: cbs. - cbs was in a really bad spot. they had just fallen apart over the early part of the '90s. and ththey'd gone e through a ae different t network exexecutiv. - [whistliling descendnding ton] [mimics explososion] - but then, , suddenly, they hadad this hitt

wiwith an unknknown comic. this was t the era of f "seinfe" no hugugging, no l learning. and this w was a showw being mamade as if i it was produceded in the erera ofof the "dickck van dyke e " - i love you! - oh! - - there was s hugging, there e was learnining. - i i love you, , son. - alall right, a all right.. - ifif you workeked for me,, your jobob was to gogo home, geget in a figight with yoyour, and come b back in and tell m me about itit. - dodon't sleep p on the cououc! i i just cleananed down thth. - in f fact, the p pilot, i i put in thihis true thihg thatat happened d to me, whwherein i sesent my pareres a gigift for thehe holidayss of thehe fruit of f the month h. - didid you knowow you sene a bobox of pearsrs from a e calllled fruit o of the mont? - yeyeah, yeah.. that's right, ththat's rightht. how arare they? - and my mother reactedd as if f i had sentnt her a bobox of headsds from a mumur. - why y did you dodo this to ? - ohoh, my god!! - i can'n't talk! ththere's tooh frfruit in thehe house! - - ohh! what t is happenining? - what do o you think k we are? invalids??

we canan't go out t and get our own frfruit? - i trtried to telell him. - all righght! i'i'm cancelining the fruiuit c! - - the real s story is whwhe the real c connection with y your audienence is. ththank god alall your famamis are crazy y too. - looks lilike you gotot the whwhole familyly togethe. - yeah, , yeah. itit's dysfunctionpaloozoza.

- and now, ladies and gentlemen,

here's johnny! [cheers and applause] [band plays "johnny's theme"] - johnny carson wasn't just the host of "the tonight show." johnny carson was the man that america said good night to for 30 years. - we'll be right back. [drumroll] ♪ ♪ - and on my watch, johnny decided that 30 years w was a greatat time to take a a bow anand say thanank you anand good nigight. - - 30 years i is enough.. you knknow? you know, it's a good time to get out while you're still on top of your game plan. - johnny carson retiring in the early '90s was the great moment where a huge chunk of the icece shelf brereaks o. someththing that h has been the fofor centurieies, for ththousands ofof years, suddenlyly is... nono longer ththere. - he's a a tremendouous part of history, and that's lovely to major mark on an era like that. - johnny had told no one what he planned to do,

and we weren't prepared. and ththat set offff a game of musicical chairss fofor who woululd get the e th. anand there ononly was onee late-night throne. - hi, you u guys. - jay leleno had beeeen pretty much carson's regular substitute host whwhen he wentnt on vacatiti. - you know what's amazing? now, this is true. only six months ago, people were talking about donald trump as a presidential candidate. right? that's true. now, since then, he's had an affair, he's left his wife, he's run up a debt of several million dollars. so i guess he's gonna be running as a democrat, huh? - jay leno wanted to essentially just continue doing a a johnny cararson-type s s. and d david letterman was the show immediately following carson. and they had different styles. - whatat is your name?e? - i'm gonna ask k you to turn the cameras off, please. - okay, we just wanted to drop off this basket of fruit. - part of dave's thing used to always be attacking authority. he liked t that. - - cut the cacameras, pleas.

- he needed a corporate bad guy to go up against. i was oftentimes that target. - i i can hear t this wawarren littltlefield guyy whining all year long about not getting his name on the card last year. - he's on there. - so he's--well, what about-- look, what about me? just put it on there. me. i can be on there, couldn't i? - who is he? - it was always letterman's dream to b be the hostst of "ththe tonight t show." he i idolized jojohnny carsos- rirightfully s so. - ththe big decicision that't'd the entertrtainment inindusty buzzing is due this week. that, of course, is the fate of nbc's late-night stars jay leno and david letterman. - most of us thought the person who deserved to get it was david d letterman.n. he dididn't get itit. jay leno got it.t. - leleno, who eaearlier roe his s motorcyclele into a news conference hosted by nbc entertainment president warren littlefield, still has a bruised ego about the way the network wavered in its support for him. - when we found out that leno was gonna get "the tonight show," we were all obviously... depressed.

we felt t like we were being punisheded for makingng fun of ththem and d not coopererating and nonot being asas collaborae asas we could d have been.. and wewe also feltlt like we were bebeing disresespecte, because wewe did 11 yeyears of g great showsws. - - just how p pissed off f ar? [audience cheers and laughs] - by all rights, david letterman should've taken over for johnny carson. but his agent took a very, very aggressive stand. "we're gonna really control all of late night. it's gonnana cost you u a fortu" anand they putut our backss to thehe wall. - - i can onlyly tell youu that i it has beenen an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you. and i hope when i find something that i want to do and i think you will like and come back that you'll be as gracious inviting me into your home as you have been. i bid you a very heartfelt good night. [cheers and applause]

- "the tonight show" without johnny carson as the regular host made its debut last night. jay leno emerged from behind the curtain, stepping into the big shoes that were filled for 30 years by johnny. - cbs came to us and made a very attractive offer. - - here we gogo, number t t. number nine... - letterman did place a call to johnny carson, asking for his advice, and johnny said, "if it was me, i would leave." and i thinink that advdvice was s really thehe lynchpin. letterman n always tooook johnnyny's advice. - the latete-night warars are e about to b begin in eaeat on american television. david letterman is now headed for cbs. - cbs had lured him over with a salary more than four times that of leno and given him what he really wanted: the 11:30 time slot. now, as dave and jay prepare to go head-to-head, one thing is clear: late-night tv will never be quite the same.

- all of a sudden, there's a talk show war. - starart up your r remote cono. the late-night race is about to begin. on monday, david letterman's new show debuts here on cbs, followed a week later by chevy chase on fox and, a week after that, by conan o'brien on nbc. these combatants join "the tonight show with jay leno," "arsenio," and "nightline." - it became a crowded space, and the competition became that much h more diffificult. - in the third corner, his ratings fading rapidly, arsenio hall. some tv writers think that arsenio could be the big loser in this free-for-all. [cheers and applause] - when letterman came in, it essentially diluted arsenio's brand because there were so many alternatives. - i'm sad d to see youou go becacause americica is gonnana e a big chunk missing out of its existence. [cheers and applause] - losing arsenio...

yeah, it was bad. he w was the lonone voice. gone. - david d letterman n had the ss atat nbc pausising for a m mo. "d"did we make the rightht choi" because hehe came out gangbustes and he w was beatingng jay leo in the r ratings. - - there are e some peoplple wy you blblew it. that by picking leno to replace carson over letterman, that that was a big programming mistake. - it was a shaky start-- a really, really, shakaky first seseason start. - well, itit's true coconfessis time f for actor h hugh gran, who's trying hard to put his recent encounter with a hollywood prostitute behind him. - when hugh grant was arrested, it was big, live action news. and hugh grant was supposed to do "the tonight show" that night. - what the hell were you thinking? [laughter] [rimshot] - it all came together in that moment,

and everyone saw it, and that's it. we were nenever numberer two ag. [cheerers and applplause] - hey, heyey! - for us, it was a fun experience. hey, we got our own theater, we got an unlimited budget, we'v've got accecess to evevery star in the business who wants to do the show. - somebody bring me the jaws of life! - so i think going to cbs was heaven sent. itit really wawas. - gogood night, , everybody!

i'm a little anxious, i'm a little excited. i'm gonna be emotional, she's gonna be emotional, but it's gonna be so worth it. i love that i can give back to one of our customers. i hope you enjoy these amazing gifts. oh my goodness. oh, you guys. i know you like wrestling, so we got you some vip tickets. you have made an impact. so have you. for you guys to be out here doing something like this,

it restores a lot of faith in humanity. - in the mid-1990s, if you took a look at the list of the 50 most-watched shows on cable, atat the top would bebe nickelodeon. - [screamiming] - "rugratsts"... - ohoh, bye-bye,e, bye-bye.. - "blue's clues." - don't you know cartoons will ruin your mind? - "ren and stimpy" had some very surreal, high-concept humor to it. and this is the beginning of the splintering of the television audience and the splintering of the family audience, really. i meanan, because.e... - - ♪ happypy, happy, j joy,♪ - with families having three or four tvs in the house, you had a kid watching nickelodeon, you had the dad watching espn sports, you had d the mom watchihing lifetime. you know, they were in their own, separate universes, watching television. [upbeat music] - by the time of the '90s, mtv wasn't

merely a music channel. they were having great success in terms of creating shows that incorporated music but that also were shows and prprograms that stoodod on their r ow. - yes! [both laughing] - that was cool. - certainly, "beavis and butt-head" sort of established what mtv could be, because the show was about people making fun of music videos, just like people in the audience were doing. - whoa. [l[laughs] check ouout his neckck. - yeah. [laughs] - there's, like, all these bones and "vestigeses" moving around. - yeah. [laughs] - my manager would call me, like, "hey, you got this big bump 'c'cause you w were on 'bebs and butt-h-head' last t nigh" ♪ unable to express ♪ - i sit there just like a doughnut, watching these guys. - that's what it's for. - now--and i find them endlessly entertaining because i know and you know and the world knows these guys are, always will be, and cannot be anything but idiots. - that's right. - ♪ duh, duh, duh, duh ♪ ♪ duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh ♪

♪ duh, duh, duh, duh ♪ ♪ duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh ♪ - mtv has a detrimental, damaging, developmental effect on the sexuality, on the morality, on the spirituality, on the-- maybe even the physical development of our young people. - yeah, yeah! - uhh! uhh! [straining grunts] - now we hit the '90s, and once you can go for an audience of 5 million and have a successful show, you can say, "i don't care if the parents don't like this." - can i tell youou somethingn, ms. . ellen? - of course, wendy. - don't [bleep] with me! - what? - you heard me! stay away y from my man, bitch! or i'll whup y your sorry-ho as back to last year! - trey parker and matt stone were two of the funniest people i ever met. and their success story is proof that if you just stay true to yourself, you don'n't have to o do anytything else.e. - peoplele think, "o"oh, you cae and didid this shohow and now you're big sellouts." the truth is, i mean,

we were sellouts to begin with. - "perhaps there is no stopping ththe corporatate machine.e" - ahahh! - i mean, , we were slsleeping atat friends' ' houses, had no money, and then one fox executive had seen a cartoon we had made in college. and he said, "make me another christmas video that i can send out as a christmas card." and, you know, he gave us, like, 700 bucks, and we went and made this five-minute short. - i come seeking retribution. - [gasps] he's come to kill you 'cause you're jewish, kyle. - oh, [bleep]! - it went around the tv community like wildfire. - yeahah! - ohohh! - i mean, it was the funniest thing you'u'd ever seeeen in y your life.. bothth: go, santnta! - somebody showed me the short. both: go, jesus! - and i thought it was hysterical. so i called and said, "get them in here right away!" ♪ ♪ - [muffled speech] [train horn blares] - oh, my god! they killed kenny! - you bastards! - "south park" was able to b be topical.l. - jujust call meme your old dl saddddam husseinin.

- "south p park" realllly, reay deteststs hypocritites. - chchristians a and republilics and d nazis, oh,h, my! [gunshot] - well, okay, mrs. cartman. i'll legalize 40th trimester abortions for you. [laughter] - cocould you imimagine backckn that thesese people would everer get on network televisision? oror any kind d of televisis? - howdy hoho! [all gasp] - it's a a miracle.. "southth park" is s a miracl. [rock mumusic] [c[cheers and d applause]] - the early '90s, the hbo shows start to k kind of comome into thehei. - nonow--now, dadan, have i i s had these e breasts? - a lot of people want freedom. they don't wanna go back to the networks, which are saying, "you can come to us "whehere you'll l make more e , but you alalso haveve content r restricted." you u could go t to cable and hahave no reststrictions. not make as much money but have freedom of expression,

which almost everybody who works in these mediums wants. [dance music playing] - some of the content truly was, "you c can't get t this anywywhere else.e." - here a at fantasy y makers, the only limit on the kinds of fantasies is people's imagination. [upbeat music] - hbo turned to people who had said, "i can't do that on television, but you can do it on hbo." - white pepeople dodon't trust t black people. that's why they won't vote for no black president. like, a black brother will [bleep] up the white house. like, the grass won't be cut. dishes piled up, cousins running through the white house, cookouts, basketball goal in the back. - in the late '80s, hbo was just sortrt of gainining ground for seriries. [eerie music] - by the '90s, hbo had started to begin its explosion. - - when we ststarted doing "d"dream on,"" one of thehe things that hbobo said to u us wa,

"it's s gotta be s something that couldldn't be on n network" [upbeat mumusic] - because e hbo was drdrivn by subscriribers and d not by comommercials and sellining advertisising tim, they h had a diffeferent way f lookoking at sucuccess or fafa. what thehey were looooking fr was crititical acclalaim. - yoyou've watchched lettermr. yoyou've watchched leno. but what about larry? larry sanders, that is. he's the tv alter ego ofof comedian n gary shandndl. - gagary shandliling wanted d o a show thahat deconstrtructed the kikind of showow that " "the tonighght show" w. - just p pretend likike you'u're talkingng to me till w we're off t the air soso it won't t seem weirdr. - okayay. all righght. - so..... - blah, blblah, blah,, blah, blblah. - "the lararry sandersrs sho" was sort o of cathartitic, because in the wororld of " "the larry y sanders shs" there was s a network.k. - - do you wanant me to [b[bl] with your r budget? is that whwhat you wanant me to? - so i it became t this wei, funhnhouse mirroror thing, where you could use stuff from your misery from your career as fodder.

- now, d don't take e this asas a threat,t, but i killed a manan like y you in korerea, handnd-to-hand.. my boyoy doesn't w want to do any more commercials. - "larry sanders" to me was, you know, aside frfrom being a brilliliant televivision sho. - can you say, "hey, n now"? all: heyey, now! - it wasas my everydyday li. - i'm here for three good reasons: lastst show, bigig ratings,, movie cocoming out.. bim, bamam, boom. [blows] - "the lararry sandersrs sh" was very u unique inin that it w was very dedean and reallyly groundbrereaking in its day. - i think it made people really go, "that's the level of work you may be able to do on a cablele network."." - please, , do not flilip arou. cocome right b back. do n not flip araround. [cheers anand applausese] do not flilip. - hey, now! all: hey, now! - oh, you sound good.

["beverly hills 90201" theme] - in the '90s, you suddenly had shows that were aimingng at a younung audienc. ♪ ♪ one of the things that really made "90210" stand out is that it w was one of the first d dramas to reaeally get ininto the e teenager's's point of f . - do y you have prprotection?? - of couour. thatat's always s been my prpr. lots o of protectn but t no one to o pro.

- i wawanted to dodo a tv sers that was goioing to be r relevt to teenanagers. [cheerleleaders chananting] and it's's not aboutut the pas sosolving the e kids' probob. it's's about thehe kids basiy solving g their own n problem. - what arere we suppososed to d, sit 'em m down, have a k kid-to-parerent talk? - no, yoyou can't tatalk to pars on t that maturere a level.. tragic b but true. - if t the '60s hahad beatlem, the '90s had "90210" mania. and when "tv guide" had its "youth-quake" cover, that was a sign that suddenly, televivision was f focused on these y young peoplple. - - ♪ it's s what i gototta ♪ - - "my so-calalled life" " we the punk r rock versioion of "90210.0." it was e earnest but not atat all sacchcharin. itit didn't hahave easy anans. it showed d teen heartrtbreak in a a way that t was stagaggeringly r real for ththe. - why arare you likeke this? - lilike what?

[dance mususic playingng in bacackground] - like howow you are.. - hey,y, jordan! you comiming or not?t? - how w am i? ♪ ♪ hohow--how am m i? - "my so-c-called lifefe" wawas your actctual life and d the idea t that everye inin high schohool is a mimi, that y you have this deeeep insecuririty about who yoyou're supppposed to bebe. - you knknow how somometimes the lastst sentence e you sai, lilike, echoeses in your b br, and it jusust keeps sosoundg stupider and you u have to sasay somethig elelse just toto make it s s? oh, i justst rememberered, i, u um--i owe y you $30. - "my soso-called lifefe" was nt nececessarily ththe show that the c cheerleaderer or thehe captain of t the football teteam werere watching.g. they were e still watctching "9020210." but it w was the peoeople who o maybe didndn't recognize e themselveses in "90" who o felt like,e, "aha! nonow i recogngnize mysf in 'my s so-called l life.'" - demarco o asked me i if you e gettining a sex chchange. - exacactly! i dodon't want t to be a girirl. i jujust wanna h hang with g g. - rickckie was outut on thehe show, eveventuall,

and that w was a storyry line ththat was trereated with grereat sensititivity. - that i i belong nonowhere. with no one. that i don't fit. - i mean, it was-- it was so deeply felt. it was saying to the viewer, "things that you have gone throuough, they m matter" - "buffyfy the vampipire sla" depipicted high h school inin a similarar way to "my so-o-called lifife." excecept rather r than just feeliling like hehell, it actuaually was hehell. heher high schchool was lilitey built onon top of hell. - [s[screaming]] - and d so all of f these creaes would cocome up that she w would have e to figh. - - [grunting] - [grurunts, roarsrs] - - [sighs] three in one n night. - anand it was a a brilliant metaphoror for adolelescence and all l the demons that y you have toto slay. - you knowow, buffffy was a teteenager

and she wawas still fifinding t who shshe was. onone of the s story lines thatat was very y popular and muchch talked ababout was wheree she e has sex wiwith her boyoyd for the fifirst time.. and ththen, in s sort of thehe world of f "" he b becomes lititerally evi. - there must b be some parart of y you insidee thatat still rememembers who you arare. - dream on, , schoolgirl. - in order to save thehe world, literalllly, she knows s that she has to senend him to h hell. - [g[gasps] - - buffy knowows in an ininstat angel l has becomeme good aga. - buffy. - and so s she has this momenent of reckokonig that shehe has to dedecide whwhether to d do this or r . and she mamakes the sasacrifie to push h him back i into hel. - - [gasps] ah! - - the show was reaeally workg on m multiple lelevels. and inin buffy, inin particu, we saw a c character t that ws a reluluctant prototagonist,

forced to make tough decisions. - - buffy. ♪ ♪ - there wawas a kind o of opening of t the floodgagates in the '90s for women. the idea of being an "ideal," i think, was kind of smashed througugh a lot ofof the charars on televisision. - look, , if you're e a succesl saleswswoman in ththis city, you have t two choiceses. you cacan bang youour head agagainst the e wall and try anand find a r relation, or youou can say s screw it and d just go ouout and d have sex, , like a man. ["sesex and the e city" the] - "sex a and the citity" was a huge success right from the start. it was verery funny and very clever and d very cand. - arare relationonships the reliligion of ththe '90s? - these e are women n who wee making a gooood living,, they were indedependent, they were singngle, and theyey were sort of fefeeling theieir pow. - i sasaid olive.. babad waiter, , bad waitere. - whwhat do you u tip for tht? - i wanteded these womomen toto be objectctifying thehen in the w way that memen hahad always o objectifieded. - alall righty.. my turn.n.

- oh, sorrrry. i haveve to go bacack to work.k. - - you didn't't used to b bee to discussss sex as sesex on networkrk shows. there e never werere people talking g about orgagasms or organs s or sex. - okay, wowords are esessential. tellll me exactltly how hehe worded itit. - "we've b been seeingng each or for r a couple o of weeks. "i r really likeke you, anand tomorrowow night aftfter , i i want us toto have analal " - - these are e women who o d everythihing with eaeach oth. and they'r're discussising whatat anal sex x means. - if he e goes up ththere, thes gonnnna be a shihift in power. either h he'll have e the uppeper hand, oror you will.l. - and shshould she d do this or? - this is s a physicalal expresn thatat the body y was-- well, , it was desesigned to experieience. and d p.s., it's's fabulous. - whwhat are youou talkining about? i went to o smith. - the showow took an interesesting turnn by really fofocusing on n the rerelationshipip between t then and d telling ththe story ofofm as reaeally soul m mates togeter as well. - - you did ththe right thth, bubuying that t apartment..

you u love it, r right? - - yeah. - and you u won't be alone f forever. - - historicalally, women ne often set t up in narrrratis in w which only y one can sus. and soso showing w women nonot competining with eacach r and as supporting each other was also an i important n narrative c . - okayay, girls. see you u tomorrow.. all: okay.y. - night,t, night. - - the show h had a messae ofof freedom and liliberation---- espepecially foror women-- that really resonated. i think "sex and the city" helped make hbo a place where people would think, "i wonder what they're doing next."

- in 1991, we got a call from mtv. anand they werere toying with thehe idea of d doing some e kind ofof a scripteted show about young people... - they said it was like a mixture between "the big chill" and "the breakfast club." - but ultimately decided the idea of a show with writers and actors would just be too expensive for them. - the real world, i guess that's what this was supposed to be. - so we essentially applied all the drama rules to documenentary to geget our-

what we e called at t that tie a docucusoap. - ththis is the true story. - true story. - of seven strangers. - it was kind of this social experiment to kind of watch what happens when you put these strangers together i in a house.e. you knknow, "when n people stop beingng polite and ststart gettining real." [beepeper beeping] - do you sell drugs? why do you have a beeper? [laughter] - you hadn't seen anything like that on television. that kind of open, honest discussion of race. - i i could try y as much asasn to try to o deal with h you, but ignorance is ignorance, stupidity is stupidity, and that's it. black, white, green, purple, blue, whatever. - "the real world" becomes this kind of, you know, big-babang moment t for realiti, where the e idea is ththat, "oh, my gogod, "all we have to do is just take cameras and put them on people and we'll get great stuff." you had, in the next season in l.a., a a young womaman who getss an a abortion, a and the camaa literally goes right up to the doctor's door. - you okay? give me a hug. - okay, yeah, fine. - by the third season in san francisco, you have a young man who is dealing with aids. - i'm hiv positive. - when pedro told me he was hiv positive, it was just like, no, not him.

like, i like this guy and i don't want him to have to suffer. - it was such a triumph that pedro had the courage at his age to come out as someone with aids. in my small gay community on campus, we all felt like, "wow," he was our hero. - he falls in love, and he and his partner sean have a ceremony. you know, and this is long before same-sex marriage was legal. tv shows weren't doing this. movies weren't doing this. - - i have to o believe that allll the pain that i'm going through, that all the anger, all the frustration, that there's something bigger than that. - aids has claimed a young man who made an enormous impact on a generation of young americans. pedro zamora died in miami today at the age of 22. - i'm really glad i got to know pedro zamora. i'm grateful that his rich and fulfilling work is still remembered today. and i hope you enjoy and learn from pedro's life of compassion

and fearlessness. - you have to really credit "the real world" with sort of helping the acceptance of the lgbt community because there weren't many portrayals of gay people, period, you u know, on t televin at thahat point. - heher name is s marla. i'm seeing a woman. - in the '90s, gay characters were always sesecondary oror third. there e was never r a gay charar that was t the lead ofof a sh. - - so you wananna go lookok at apartrtments tomomorrow? - - great ideaea! - okayay. - ellen n degeneres s the comen was about t to come ouout as a a lesbian.. - lolook, murphyhy. - [laughs] - i'm on the cover of "time." - and she does it on "time" magazine. "yep, i'm gay." but they decide that the character that ellen plays on tv will also o come out.. - it i is just repeprehensibe that a abc-- now owned by disney, of all companies-- is going to feature ellen as coming out of the closet.

it won't be long before god knows what, you know, bestiality, incest, who knows? - we were getting bomb threats. disney was really getting a lot of flack for even t thinking ababout hag a comiming-out epipisode wiwith ellen.. - i'm 35 y years old.. i'm so a afraid to t tell peopl. i i mean, i jujust-- sususan... [o[over pa spepeakers] i'i'm gay. [audieience cheeriring] - ellelen coming o out was a he moment foror me, persosonall, becacause, you k know, i i was a clososeted gay g g. a a gay child d at that titi. and d it was the e bravest ththing i sa. - how did d that feel?l? - thatat felt greaeat. that felt t so great.. - ininitial repoport suggests abc c made a bunundle on ellls highly publicized outing on national tv last night. the broadcast was accompanied by coming-out parties all around the country, including one

in birmingham, alabama, where the local abc station refused to broadcast the show. - she did a a great thining. she e was brave.e. - i made t the decisioion tt i wasn't't gonna livive my le as a lie anymore. i was-- i belong with everybody else. and that's what i finally did. - we used to say ellen opened the door and we knocked it down. ♪ hey, lilisten, sistster ♪ ♪ i i love my m mister man ♪ both: : ♪ tell l me he's lal, tetell me he's's slow ♪ ♪ tell meme i'm crazyzy, maybybe i know ♪ ♪ canan't help loloving ththat man of f mine ♪ - take it,t, jackie! - and papas de bourrrrée, and papas de bourrrrée, anand soufflé.é. i'm gay!y! - "will & grace" was a great show in sort of helping a mainstream straight community coconnect to t the gay comommun. - i i think i cacan fix thisisg with your r landlord,, but t it might g get a littltle.

- plplay hardbalall, baby. throw him low and inside. he's crowding the plate and we've gotta go for it-- - grace. sportsts, you're losing me. - i figurered 25% of t the couy wouldn't't watch thehe show, jujust based o on the fact that we hahad two gay y men o. - ahah! - giveve it to me!e! - but if w we could mamake bee that w will and grgrace wowould get totogether... - wiwill, i told y you, yoyou live witith a heteroo long enougugh, you'u're going t to catch it. - maybe e we could get pepeople to wawatch thinking t that would d happe, knowing it wouldld never hapap. - sufferinin' sappho!! - you know, it's a shame, an image like thisis is comompletely wawasted on usu. - i remember t the networkk calllling every other weeke, saying, , "can will l just fal in lovove with grarace?" and the creators were e like, "well, thahat's weird.d. "he's gay.y. that's ththe whol- gay pepeople don't't do that.

ththat's why t they're gaya" um.....[laughs]] - why y wasn't i y your girlfrf, queer baitit? - "will & grace" was the first time you saw characters on television that made gay "norormal." you u wanted to be friendss withth them. - guess who we a are. - uhuh, a cathololic girl gone bad..... and, karenen, what arere you supppposed to bebe? - no!! - the bestst feeling i i gt is w when peoplele come up a an, "thanknk you for a all you do for ththe gay commmmunity, anand thank yoyou for playayg thatat part in t that show." and d you feel so fortrtunate to have e been a parart of sometething so grgreat.

- what was happeningng at t the end of f the '90s w , auaudiences ststarted to l lk towards tetelevision for whwhat they hahad only fod beforere in featurure film. - victctory is minine! vivictory is m mine! great daday in the m morning, people. victorory is mine.e. - and acactors no lolonger fet ththat it was s a comedownn to c come work i in televisis. - whwhat did i e ever do to ou exexcept deliviver the souou?

- you shouldn't have made me beg. - the segmgment of thehe audiene ththat showed d up to watcth "w"west wing,"," they watched the macneil-lehrer, you know, "newshour," they watatched "westst wing," and d documentararies inin foreign l languages, , r? - - if the namame of this s noe is leakeked out bebefore i wanant it toto be leakeded out, i'm gonna a blame you,u, and yoe gonnnna find thahat unpleasas. - - i got to t tell you something,g, toby. you're h hot when y you're likeke this. - '90s0s televisioion was the et wave of whwhat we now w have: remarkrkably specicific niche progogramming. [upbeaeat music] [rocock music] - - "freaks anand geeks" r ry sympathihized with t the los. it had g great empatathy for r its characacters. [f[funky rock k music] - ♪ go on andnd laugh at t me 'cauause you donon't see ♪ ♪ t that i got t something gg right here ♪ - [sighs] ] "freaks anand gee" breaks my y heart every timeme i think a about . - [sigighs] i'm sorry. did i crusush your twiwinkies?

- - it lasted d 18 episode! and theyey're perfecect 18 epis, but t nbc hated d it so much. - - yeah, rollll down the e wi, 'c'cause i gotot a big onee a-brewewin'. - - oh, no, plplease don't't. - they thohought it wawas a w by l losers, abouout losers, , for losers. they h hated it. they wananted no parart of i. they killeled it. [punk rockck music] - - at the endnd of the '9'9, ththe jig is s starting toto p for the nenetworks. [tv staticic drones] basicacally, qualility migrats toto cable. [tensese jazzy mususic] - "oz" comeses on in '9797. and it's s set in this ficictional penitentiar. wow. whwhat a strange show that was. - inin oz, sometetimes the t ts yoyou can't totouch are more r real thanan the thingngs you can. for ininstance, fefear, hatre, loneneliness are more r real to mee than a s shank and a a soul. - - it was jawaw-droppinglgly v.

and it's a a men's pririson. itit probably y should be.. bubut, you knonow, it k kind of annnnounces thehea that hbo's gonna get very serious about doing scripted dramas. - [choking] - it's finished! - [grunts] - it's over! - but hbo really, in my mind, comes into its o own in 19999 with " "the soprananos." [alababama 3's "woke upup this mornrning"] ♪ ♪ - ♪ youou woke up t this mornin, gogot yourselflf a gun ♪ - "sopranonos" just isis a-- onone of thosese shows that w was a benchchmark. it c changed, lilike, a a lot of thihings for evever. [d[duck quackiking] - throrow out the e handbook. tony s soprano, the leadad actor in n a dram. - [grurunting] - [gaspingng] - he killeled a man. we watcheded him. - [chohoking] - [gruntining] - when he e took his d daughtr on a colollege tour.r. - it's preretty, huh??

- yeyeah. - it was j just a meldlding of a guy a and a worldld... - opopen the [blbleep] door. opopen the [blbleep] door!r! - anand a behavivior that prpd all of the feeeelings that youou would havave for r a guy thatat you lovee in a guy that yoyou hate. [laughghs] you knonow? - "s"sopranos" c came on t, and d it reallyy showowed us the e future, whetheher we realilized that w was gonna b be the fute of t television n or not. - ah, ththis husbandnd of you, carmela,a, how muchch we love h him. mwah!! - he's t the best. - ohh. - come on!n! - he's's like a fafather to m. - jujust make susure nothining happens s to him. - that c character i in that sw was a a great inspspiration to a g great many shshows ththat came afafter it, includining one thatat i worked. - yoyou know whahat i want, , ? i want t those kidss to havave a fatherer. - - they got o one. ththis one. me. tony s soprano. and alall that comomes with i. - oh, , you prick.k. - the '90s0s was anan amazing d decade of t. some of my favorite showows of alall time airired in thatat d, and d everybodyy was s watching t them. - [gruntini] - there was still that communal sense

from the e earlier dececades of, bubut it was b being applid to s shows that were reaching higher and farther, and they were great. [upbeat brbrass music c playi] - because e there werere so manany channelsls and bebecause so m much storytelliling was goioing , you started to get more variety of stories being told. - get ththe skull fifilm, schehedule a catat scan, anand call thehe neurosurgrgery resisident. both: obobjection! - - televisionon showed ususn in their d depth. it began to show us much more of a range ofof the africican-americacn cocommunity. - i'm always here for you. - we started focusing on teenagers in a more realistic way. - things c change, dawawson. evololve. - whwhat are youou talking a a? - and d thinking a a little me outside the bobox in terms of what peoplee might want to wawatch. - you're out of order, he's out of order, this whole trial is...sexy. - after ten years of the '90s, we h had a wholele new tetelevision w world ththat could t take us anyplacece we wanteded and even places we had never imagined.

[b[bell dings]s] - was s that the o oven time? - that's right, my friend. it's time for... both: "baywatch"! - oh! - can you believe they gave stephanie skin cancer? - i still can't believe they promoted her to lieutenant. - ah, you're just saying that 'cause you're in love with yasmine bleeth. - well, how could anyone not be in love with yasmine bleeth? - hey! hey! they're running! - see, this is the brilliance of the show. i say always keep them running. all the time, running. run. run! run, yasmine! run like the wind!