Skip to main content

tv   The Nineties  CNN  July 22, 2017 7:00pm-9:00pm PDT

7:00 pm
complicated world and how we use ordinary human beings to do that job. don't touch that dial. we're to be flip it for you. >> in five, four, three, two. >> tv is changing dramatically now with 150 channels that might be available in the near future. there. >> there's a lot of things that we do that you couldn't have on network television. >> people are really trying to do something adventurous. >> channel 7, shame on you. >> this is more celebration of culture and opening the doors and allowing america to come on inside. >> there is always something on television and some of it may be better than we deserve. >> that was cool. ♪
7:01 pm
♪ >> listen to it. they know when it hits the bottom, it will be 190. good-bye to the '80s in -- >> ten, nine, eight, eight, eight, eight! >> oh, will this horrible year never end? >> when the '90s began, we started to see a lot of experimentation.
7:02 pm
>> five, four, three, two, one. >> and the simpsons" i think in some senses was inspired by not necessarily hatred of television, but a distrust of a lot of the ways in which television was talking to us. >> tv respects me. it laughs with me. not at me. >> you're stupid. >> doh! >> i think the sitcoms of the '80s -- >> i love you guys. >> -- were such a warm safe humor. >> the kids, they listen to the rap music which gives them the brain damage. >> and i think there was a real yearning for another type of humor. ♪ >> we were able to spoof fatherhood -- >> what a bad father. >> -- which at the time, and i stress at the time, was bill cosby as the shining example.
7:03 pm
♪ did you ever know that you're my hero ♪ >> the stuff they got away with because it's a cartoon. the father strangling the child. >> why you little -- >> we are going to keep on trying to strengthen the american family to make american families a lot more like the waltons and less like the simpsons. >> we go to a completely bizarre period of time in 1992 when a sitting president is raging against a sitcom. >> they have dealt with politics. they have dealt with popular culture. they've dealt with all kinds of issues of racism, of sexism. >> don't ask me, i'm just a girl. >> right on, say it, sister. >> it's not funny, bart. millions of girls will grow up thinking this is the right way to act. >> they have found a way to talk about everything that's going on in our lives through the filter of "the simpsons."
7:04 pm
>> them immigrants. they want all the benefits to living in springfield, but they ain't even bothered to learn themselves the language. >> yeah, those are exactly my sentimonies. >> i think one of the governing things that's happening with "the simpsons" is a distrust of anyone who tells us we should trust them and doesn't earn that trust. >> i'll take that statue of justice too. >> sold. >> when they make fun of how fox works -- >> you are watching fox. >> we are watching fox. >> they are telling you don't trust us either. >> eat my shorts. >> all right. i'll eat -- eat your shorts? >> "the simpsons" is like shakespeare in the sense that we quote the simpsons" all the time, very often without even knowing it. >> excellent! >> i wish i could create something that culturally indelible. it's unlike anything else tv has ever run.
7:05 pm
>> "twin peaks" showed up out of nowhere at the beginning of the decade. the pilot episode of that was one of the strangest and most exciting things i have ever seen. >> i'm at the twin peeks county morgue with the body of the victim. what'ser name? >> it was incredible. just how slowly in the beginning the news spread around this little town that this young, beautiful girl had died and that haunting music was so dark and so beautiful. ♪ >> i've got good news. the gum you like is going to come back in style. >> what on earth is essentially
7:06 pm
a art film doing in prime time television? >> american network television has long been considered the home of the blands, the cautious and the predictable. so it was with some trepidation 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 change tv. it's directed by david lynch. >> david lynch was a filmmaker known for his taste in the eccentric and memorable. the idea that he would do television in the '90s was crazy. >> do you watch much of it? >> i like the idea of television, but i'm too busy to see very much of it. >> what do you think of that which you do see on television? >> some of it i really enjoy. >> are you being diplomatic? >> sort of. [ screaming ] >> the beautiful thing about television is you have the
7:07 pm
chance to do a continuing story. and that's the main reason for doing it. >> i think that "twin peaks" with the initial attention it got allowed all the other networks to say, let's do something different. >> what was interesting about "northern exposure" it was an odd sort of universe that this guy was dropped into. >> the day's coming. it ain't going to be long when you april the even going to have to leave your living room. no more schools, no more bodegos is, nomar tabernacles, no more cineplexes, all right? you're going to snuggle up to your fiberoptics and bliss out. >> you also had experimentation that set the stage for a lot of what came later. >> it's kind of hard to pin down what exactly "the x files" is. i mean, on the surface, it's a show about investigating paranormal activities. >> unidentified flying objects. i think that fits the description pretty well.
7:08 pm
tell me i'm crazy. >> multier, you're crazy. >> that dynamic, that dramatic tension of believer versus skeptic is one of the engines of the show. you were always seeing it from a specific point of view. >> they're equals? >> yeah, absolutely. they're equals and in a way they've kind of switched gender stereotypes because the character i play, mulder, is the intuitive one. >> large intestine. >> and scully is the rationist, the doctor. >> a lot of folks who enjoyed "the x files" who otherwise didn't watch tv might have been drawn to the show by its, for lack of a better way to put it, it's stick it to the man ethos. don't trust the government, don't trust big business, don't trust anybody but yourself and your friends and family i guess. it's a message that's somewhat dark and cynical but was kind of a breath of fresh air in the early '90s.
7:09 pm
>> the '90s was a time of conspiracies. and the internet was starting to spread beyond just like hard-core computer users. so you could have message boards and use net news groups. and everybody wanted to talk about the black oil and the bees and mulder's sister and what the cigarette smoking man was up to. and i would go to alt tv.v hyphen x hyphen files and people were so nuts for this show. >> it's just pure science fiction. that's probably what i like most about it. >> "the x files" changed the way people watched television. >> you could sense the successful creators trying to see how they could do things different than they had done five or ten years ago. sometimes that led to really challenging network television that was cool and fun to watch. and sometimes it seemed to fall off the edge a little bit. ♪ let's be careful out there >> at the time, steven bochco was a very successful producer
7:10 pm
of hour dramas and wanted to try something brand-new. >> we're the police! we have a warrant for your arrest. >> so his idea was to combine a gritty cop sw th a broadway musical. >> i saw one in which a bunch of gang bangers were in jail. they began to sing. life in the hood ain't no pizza pie, everybody die when the bullets fly. ♪ life in the hood ain't no pizza pie, people die when the bullets fly ♪ >> and i said wait a minute. i thought, well, this is it. this is going to be great. this is going to be as innovative as anything i have ever done. ♪ he's guilty, judge, he's get, you can see it in his eyes ♪ ♪ he did the crime and now he's got to pay ♪ .
7:11 pm
>> it circled the drain. >> i will give credit to anybody who goes outside the box and swings really hard for the fences. ♪ i worked real hard and i got my education ♪ >> i'm creatively proud of it. still. you know, i'm very glad we tried it. i don't think i'd want to do it again. we, the people, are tired of being surprised with extra monthly fees. we want hd. and every box and dvr. all included. because we don't like surprises. yeah. like changing up the celebrity at the end to someone more handsome. and talented. really. and british. switch from cable to directv. get an all included package for $25 a month. and for a limited time, get a $100 reward card.
7:12 pm
call 1-800-directv. when heartburn hits fight back fast with new tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum new tums chewy bites. you're not taking these. hey, hey, hey! you're not taking those. whoa, whoa! you're not taking that. come with me. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. mom, i'm taking the subaru. don't be late. even when we're not there to keep them safe, our subaru outback will be. (vo) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.
7:13 pm
how to win at business. step one. point decisively with your glasses. abracadabra! the stage is yours. step two. choose laquinta. where you'll feel like the king of the road.
7:14 pm
check out our summer rates now at lq.com. time's up, insufficient we're on prenatal care.es. and administrative paperwork... your days of drowning people are numbered. same goes for you, budget overruns. and rising costs, wipe that smile off your face. we're coming for you, too. for those who won't rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. optum. how well gets done.
7:15 pm
generation x, the 20 something's, boomerangers, baby busters, whatever these 46 million young souls are called are turni out to be a hard sell. >> in the '90s, what we realized is advertisers would pay premiums for college educated young adults 18 to 49. we started reinventing nbc and trying to speak to that audience. >> where is someone? i'm starving. >> this is him right here. >> is there a table ready? >> the chinese restaurant was one of the very, very early episodes of "seinfeld." and truly nothing happened in the episode. they were waiting for a table. >> i feel like just walking over there and taking some food off of somebody's plate. >> we said to larry david, hey, like nothing happens. and larry was offended. he was like wildly offended. >> nbc believed in the show so
7:16 pm
they said we're committing to four episodes. >> yes, yeah, right. four episodes. >> normally it's 13 or eight or something. >> yes, at least. >> so we really didn't think that they had too much confidence in the show. >> we didn't think it would work, but we felt that they had to go through their process and they would learn, and ultimately, they knew better than we did. >> my mother caught me. >> caught you? doing what? >> you know. i was alone. >> the turning point for "seinfeld" from like nice show that all of the cool peoe kind of know about but that's it to massive hit was an episode called "the contest" where they tried to abstain from self-pleasure for as long as possible. >> 6:30, time for your bath. >> george, i'm hungry.
7:17 pm
>> hang on, ma. hang on. >> once you do 30 minutes on masturbation, you can pretty much get away with anything. >> i guess you'll be going back to that hospital. >> my mother, jerry. >> but are you still master of your domain? >> i am king of the county. >> the week after that aired, people were talking about that in the workplace the entire week. they still are talking about it. 52 seconds and two of the greatest words in sitcom history. >> i'm out. >> one of the shorthand descriptions of "seinfeld" is no hugs, no lessons. let's push it a little further than it's ever been pushed before. >> i think the big breakthrough of "seinfeld" was that the characters were not nice people. >> someone help. >> shut up, you old hag.
7:18 pm
>> they were narcissistic. >> help! >> they would screw each other over at the drop of a hat. >> he's just a dentist. >> and you're an anti-dentite. >> and yet be best friends the next week. >> we don't have to love them. we just have to laugh at them. >> i'm really sorry. >> i was in the pool. i was in the pool. >> the idea of a character with darker tendencies, that was so taboo in television comedy. >> are you about done? >> i'm just getting warmed up. >> we're in the confines of network tv with commercials with still a lot of things that are very highly structured and yet we're able to find ways of
7:19 pm
pushing in those boundaries. >> no soup for you. >> it took us to a new level of comedy. and it kind of defined like, yeah, nbc, thursday night, this show, expect the unexpected. >> can you sing the theme song from "cheers"? >> cheers," yeah. how does it start? ♪ making your way in the world today ♪ today. >> come on, i know. it's cute. ♪ 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 want to go where everybody knows your name ♪ >> we decided to end "cheers" in the 11th year. over 93 million people watched the finale of "cheers." but it's a sad experience for everybody. this was our baby for 11 years and we're not going to be around these people every day. >> you people are as dear to me as my own family. >> we had been serving fake suds forever.
7:20 pm
it was time for everybody to sip. in fact, i was sipping along with them. >> time goes by so fast. people move in and out of your life. you must never miss an opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you. >> we had been through so much together. you spend that much time with the same set of people, it does become your family. >> i feel pretty lucky to have the friends i do. >> i think the legacy of "cheers" is our need to belong. and i think that's what we as americans are longing for. >> thank you, guys. >> the final scene of "cheers" was really what was sam's real first love. >> you can never be unfaithful to your one true love. >> i'm the luckiest son of a -- on earth. >> his real first love was the bar. >> sorry, we're closed.
7:21 pm
un-stop right there! i'm about to pop a cap of "mmm fresh" in that washer with unstopables in-wash scent boosters by downy. because this scent lasts up to 12 weeks, which is longer than any relationship i've ever been in. freshness for weeks! [boy] cannonball! [girl] don't... [man] not again! [burke] swan drive. seen it. covered it. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ [woman] we did it. [man] we're campers. look at us. look at us. it's so nice to get out of the city. it's so... quiet. is it, too quiet? it's awful. yeah.
7:22 pm
feel at home, pretty much wherever you are. t-mobile is america's best unlimited network. the unpredictability of a flaree may weigh on your mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go, and how to work around your uc. that's how i thought it had to be. but then i talked to my doctor about humira, and learned humira can help get and keep uc under control... when certain medications haven't worked well enough. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. raise your expectations and ask your gastroenterologist
7:23 pm
if humira may be right for you. with humira, control is possible. yeah, and i can watch thee bgame with directv now.? oh, sorry, most broadcast and sports channels aren't included.
7:24 pm
this is fu we're having fun. yeah, we are. no, you're not jimmy. don't let directv now limit your entertainment. xfinity gives you more to stream to more screens. okay, let's play show business. >> as a young kid in cleveland, i always knew i would one day
7:25 pm
end up doing a talk show. >> it's arsenio hall! >> in less than two years, arsenio hall has fired a talk show for the mtv generation into a contender for the crown of late night television. >> yes, yes! >> how come i didn't hear all of that wolfing going on? when i would watch you -- >> too many white people. >> 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 and would never have been on any late night show. ♪ >> 2livecrew came on and sang
7:26 pm
"meso horny," it was like the sex pistols. i'd never seen anything like it. it was an explosion in the audience. >> he appealed to a black and white young audience, and it was a much broader appeal than the powers that be estimated. >> rap. rap is real big among our teens. that's poetry. >> of course it is. >> having maya angelou on, i mean, where would you have seen her otherwise? >> paul i 1892 wrote a poem called "a negro love song." it says 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. but if you were hip, you wanted to be on arsenio. >> this is something that i heard a political analyst talking about recently.
7:27 pm
he said you kind of were -- i use the word chilling out. he said you were pulling back a little bit. you had been instructed not to say as makeup or be as outspoken. no? >> i've heard that, but i never know who says it. it's wishful thinking on the part of some people. >> guess who suggested to bill to do the arsenio hall show if you want to get a younger demo? hill-dawg. ♪ >> he attracted a lot of people who weren't fans before that night. ♪ >> the '90s was a glorious moment for black television. because you saw these representations that you'd never seen before. ♪ the premise of "the fresh prince" was this kid comes from
7:28 pm
philadelphia. ♪ in west philadelphia born and raised on the playground is where i spent most of my days ♪ >> his mom says i'm going to send you to live with your uncle. he shows up at this mansion in bel air, baseball cap on backward. like he doesn't even know how to act in this environment. the black producers and directors and writers were always playing with this kind of subverting expectations of what is blackness. >> the incredible work of "the fresh prince" at its most triumphant is when it was showing the ways that being black is always going to be a problem no matter what. >> vehicle registration, please. >> just a second. but the thing, officer, this isn't my car. >> there's the episode i remember where they get pulled over in a car. >> what? >> he is going to tell us to get out of the car. >> you watch too much tv. >> get out of the car. >> we have an interaction with the police officer that is horrible and racist in a lot of ways.
7:29 pm
and carlton has this epiphany about how money won't save him. >> no map is going to save you. and neither is your glee club or your fancy bel air address or who your daddy is. because 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 doing it at a clip that was way ahead of their time. >> now 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. ♪ ♪ in living color >> ladies and gentlemen. keenan ivory wayans. >> "in living color" was the first show that was created by, written by, directed by, starring an african-american, all of those things in one. >> this is more celebration of
7:30 pm
culture and exchange. you know, us sort of opening the door and allowing america to come on inside. >> yo, yo, yo, all you bad bargain hunters out there, welcome to the homeboys shopping network. >> a lot of what they did on "in living color" was trying to take the stereotypes or the misperceptions about what black men are and turn them upside down. >> not only will you get 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 black folks had never seen before that centered around their life experiences. >> who are you? >> i am the minister louis farrakhan. >> african-americans composed 25% of fox's market. >> i always get trapped in the corner with somebody named bob. hey, listen, martin, i just saw "boys in the hood," all right?
7:31 pm
i didn't know, martin, i didn't know. >> they knew that they needed to capture this audience to grow. >> i guess you think you smart and cool. but if you think you get a job here, you're a damn fool. >> so they basically gave the black creators freedom to do whatever you want. just get the audience. >> the wb and upn took that concept from fox. >> your shoulders are harder than cheap breast implants. >> going after this underserved audience of urban minority viewers and really ran with it. >> i'm a new millennium woman who will not be defined by traditional female roles, okay? >> a lot of the networks built themselves up partly on african american viewers. >> shake it to the east, shake it to the west. >> the african-american shows indexed lower in terms of household income. so over the course of the decade, the network started to move away from those shows. >> i don't know about you
7:32 pm
people, but i'll be damned if i'm going to let them destroy my neighborhood. >> black creators felt used and abused. you made your money. you built your audience on us and now, you know, you're done. ♪ no, please, please, oh! ♪ (shrieks in terror) (heavy breathing and snorting) no, no. the running of the bulldogs? surprising. what's not surprising? how much money aleia saved by switching to geico. fifteen minutes could save you
7:33 pm
fifteen percent or more. but their nutritional needs (vremain instinctual.d, that's why there's purina one true instinct. nutrient-dense, protein-rich, real meat number one. this is a different breed of nutrition. purina one, true instinct. damaged hair deserves intense repair. garnier whole blends honey treasures repairing mask. with the essence of royal jelly and honey. heals to the ends. for naturally beautiful hair. honey treasures garnier whole blends. over six million women have found their blend. find yours. over six million women have found their blend. ugh, no bars. oh no, looks like somebody needs a new network. when i got this unlimited plan they told me they were all the same. they're not. verizon has the largest, most reliable 4g lte network in america. it's basically made for places like this. honey, what if it's just us out here? right. so, i ordered you a car. thank you. you don't want to be out here at night 'cause of the coyotes. ok, thanks bud. bye. be nice to have your car for some shelter. bye. (vo) when it really, really matters you need the best network and the best unlimited. plus, get the pixel, by google with no trade-in required.
7:34 pm
anyone can get you ready, holiday inn express gets you the readiest. because ready gives a pep talk. showtime! but the readiest gives a pep rally. i cleared my inbox! holiday inn express, be the readiest. holiday inn express, itthe power of nexium 24hr protection from frequent heartburn. all day, and all night. now packed into a pill so small, we call it mini. new clearminis from nexium 24hr. see heartburn differently.
7:35 pm
7:36 pm
the following movie is rated r. >> in 1990, '91, there was not a whole lot of original programing for cable, but they were airing movies. so we needed to compete and i felt that if we didn't, we were going to kind of get swept out. so i came up with a notion of doing a cop show that was r rated. when abc's broadcast standards read our script, they went berserk. >> i was sitting with a pad and a pencil drawing pictures of breasts to try to show them what we would show and what we wouldn't show. grown-ups sitting in a room you know, doodling. >> then we started on the language. >> we heard it with the brains
7:37 pm
of a flea and the balls of a moth. >> the program premiered with an advertising boycott. >> channel 7, shame on you! >> but it was such an immediate hit, that boycott lasted, oh, four weeks. >> they could use the nudity and the curse words to go deeper into the actual emotional burden of being a cop. >> i'm an asshole. >> and it had this character, andy sipowicz. he is a raging alcoholic, racist, sexist, violent. he created the tv anti-hero. >> you know, i know that great african-american george washington carver discovered the peanut. but can you provide names and addresses of these friends? >> you know, you're a racist scumbag. >> despite his flaws, despite his prejudices, i think people identified with his pain. >> i wish there was a way to say this that wouldn't hurt you. >> there's a famous early
7:38 pm
episode where they're investigating the rape and murder of a young boy. and they find a homeless child molester who murdered the kid and sipowicz to get the confession has to be very sensitive and very good cop. >> i know this has got to be tearing you up inside. but you're going to feel a lot better if you just tell the truth. >> you can sort of see on dennis franz's face this is killing him to not destroy this guy right now. finally, he gets the confession he gets a signed statement. he walks out of the room, he goes to another interrogation room, and he breaks the door in two with his fist. and i'm choking up talking about it right now, because that's how great a moment of tv that it is. >> 20 years from now, the best tv dramas, what do they look like? >> i don't know. >> will they be bolder than what we see today? >> oh, assuredly, assuredly they will be. >> the '90s gave us several shows that didn't explode in the ratings, but were influential to
7:39 pm
other people making television. "homicide" is one of them. ♪ shell me with questions all night ♪ ♪ i'm living in a danger zone >> "homicide: life on the street" was innovative in terms of its style. it used music in ways that advanced the narrative and also used feature film directors that brought a look and style to the show that really stood out on television. >> tears coming out of your eyes. >> ain't no tears coming from my eyes. >> his eyes are brimming with tears. >> they had so many african american characters in the cast that on several occasions they were the only people on camera interacting with one another. and that sounds like, so, but as late as the '90s, that wasn't done on television. >> when a cop shoots somebody, he stands by. he picks up the radio mike and he calls it in. he stands by the body. if not, cops are no better than anybody else. >> in the '90s, television was getting moreomplicated, stories were starting to become more episodic and chacters
7:40 pm
were starting to develop and change. none of that happened on "law and order." >> this was a show that completely delivered on its formula every time. you get a crime, you got the investigation into the crime. >> you better be packing more than a dirty mouth. >> you got an arrest. >> what's the charge? hey, i'm asking you a question! what's the charge? >> there's no charge. this one's on us. >> you had a trial. >> he's badgering, your honor. >> sit down and shut up. >> overruled. you will address the court from now on, mr. mccoy. >> so every time you watched, you got what you came for. >> tell me, doctor. all those women you ran through your examination rooms, do you remember their faces or did you not even bother to look up? >> you had in "law and order" the kinds of characters that people take to heart. >> i'll let you take me to lunch. one-time offer. >> and if you're an actor and
7:41 pm
you say, well, gee, you know, maybe it's not such a bad medium after all. >> miranda, the supreme court's minnick decision, the whole thing's illegally obtained. they were both represented by counsel. >> you get hooked in. it's life and death and stuff. >> we know what you did. >> counsel. >> you hear me? >> do you hear me? >> "law and order" was like crack. you'd have to sit and watch me for 50 minutes just like, not moving, barely breathing. there's times i have almost passed out watching "law and order." >> i need your help. >> "e.r." had originally been written as a movie, for steven spielberg to direct. we had this two-hour piece which was a reflection of michael's experiences as a medical
7:42 pm
student. >> and joeio cath with a needle. do you know how to start an iv? >> actually, no. >> "e.r." is a hospital show, but it's really an action movie. >> three walking wounded. red urgent, yellow critical and black a gurney. >> got it. >> a gurney comes in, people are shouting instructions, climbing on the body and doing cpr and racing off to the surgical suite. >> get that gurney out of there! >> someone wanders in. they're tossing around medical jargon. they don't stop to explain what it is. prep for a peritoneal lavage. i think i know what that is now, but only because i watched a lot of "e.r." over the years. lavage. >> you can try but i don't think his heart would take it. >> we can bypass him. >> would that would be the fastest way but what do you think? >> you're the attending. >> there was so much information coming at you that i think it made the experience feel as if you had to watch it in the same way that you'd watch a film. you had to stay involved in the whole time. >> come on, ben. hold on, buddy. hold on. >> there was a lot of research
7:43 pm
that said people didn't want to watch anybody have anything other than a happy outcome. >> it's not flat line. it's defib. another seven makes epi. >> we argued that that wasn't really showing what the world was for physicians. i had unbelievable amount of respect for the people who did this because i understood how human they were. a new era of technology is we, the people, are tired of being surprised with extra monthly fees. we want hd. and every box and dvr. all included. because we don't like surprises.
7:44 pm
yeah. like changing up the celebrity at the end to someone more handsome. and talented. really. and british. switch from cable to directv. get an all included package for $25 a month. and for a limited time, get a $100 reward card. call 1-800-directv. finding the best hotel price is now a safe bet. because tripadvisor searches over 200 booking sites - so you save up to 30%
7:45 pm
on the hotel you want. lock it in. tripadvisor. (vo) nutritional needs...og's all in one. purina one. healthy energy, all in one. strong muscles, all in one. highly digestible, and a taste he loves, all in one. purina one smartblend is expertly blended... with 100% nutrition, 0% fillers, always real meat #1. lifelong smart nutrition. it's all in one. purina one. "how to win at business." step one: point decisively with the arm of your glasses. abracadabra. the stage is yours. step two: choose la quinta. the only hotel where you can redeem loyalty points for a free night-instantly and win at business. its raised 1 dare devil, 2 dynamic diy duos, and an entrepreneur named sharon
7:46 pm
its witnessed 31 crashes, 4 food fights, and the flood of '09. it's your paradise perfected with behr premium plus low odor paint. the best you can buy starting under $25. unbelievable quality. unbeatable prices. only at the home depot. man: let's go! man #2: we're not coming out! man #1: [ sighs ] flo: [ amplified ] i got this. guys, i know being a first-time homeowner is scary, but you don't have to do this. man #2: what if a tree falls on our garage? woman: what if a tornado rips off our roof? flo: you're covered. and you've bundled your home and auto insurance, so you're saving a ton. come on. you don't want to start your new life in a dirty old truck. man #3: hey. man #1: whoa, whoa. flo: sorry. woman: oh. flo: you're safe. you're safe now. woman: i think i'm gonna pass out. can you stop using the bullhorn? flo: i don't make the rules.
7:47 pm
a new era of technology is in competition is forcing networks to re-examine 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 going to be one dynamite company. >> there's a danger that news will be mixed up with the rest
7:48 pm
of television and considered just another profit. center. >> late 1920s, to early 1930s, to the 1980s, the sense was we'll give some of the broadcasting time to public service, but 1990s, journalism 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 plea bargain, 18-year-old amy fisher got up to 15 years in prisonor 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 money off crime. >> the press calls the case the beverly hills mansion murders. and the story reads like one of the unsold scripts that surface here in hollywood.
7:49 pm
>> we enter into the world of the television news so rap. >> a story of basic instincts, anger and fear. >> i was scared and i just wanted him to leave me an sloan. >> so broadcast journalism loses its purity and it becomes much more shoddy, sensationistic, and then it all comes together with o.j. simpson. >> the los angeles district attorney has just filed murder charges against orenthal james simpson. >> we're going to go to a live picture in los angeles. police believe that o.j. simpson is in that car. >> the o.j. simpson story starts with the chase and then goes onto his arrest and culminates with the trial which goes on and on and on and is >> this is going to be a long trial. there's a lot of evidence to come in. >> the o.j. simpson case was such a national phenomenon, that
7:50 pm
those of us who were covering it just lived this case 24 hours a day because there was so much demand for people talking about it. >> as simpson struggled to slide the gloves onto his hands and turned towards jurors and said, they're too small, prosecutors were incensed. >> the trial was on television during hours that traditionally had been for soap operas. >> he appears to have pulled the gloves on, counsel. >> and o.j. was very much a soap opera. >> impeached by his own witness. >> i ask you to put a stop to it. >> excuse me, mr. bailey. will you stand up and speak when it's your turn. >> no question that the best tv show of the '90s was the o.j. simpson trial and everyone on it was riveting. >> the simpson trial finally winding to a close. >> we the jury in the above entitled action find orenthal james simpson not guilty of the crime of murder.
7:51 pm
>> the verdict of the o.j. simpson trial viewed by 150 million people. it's more people than watch presidential election returns. that's crazy. >> because there was trial footage every day, 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 we have 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 try to get as many eyeballs as possible at one time, to gravitate toward those stories that are sensational, it brought us the ability to go too far.
7:52 pm
>> is the jonbenet ramsey murder investigation turning into a media circus? >> it's tabloid but on the other hand, it's a tabloid era. 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. when they cover it big time, they'll get a big jump in the ratings. the first thing is to last, to survive, we've got to do it. >> what you also see is a whole army of commentators, people who about the news. ess talking >> say we should bomb his capability of producing oil. take out his refineries, his stations, his wells. >> they don't have any capability. >> they're certainly selling a lot of oil -- >> the networks were doing good journalism but they became much more preoccupied by profits. it's cheaper to have someone in your studio pontificating than to have reporters out in the field reporting. >> i don't know if any of this is true. but what i heard is that the
7:53 pm
father went down, opened his 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. as far as the viewers are concerned, be very, very careful of unsubstantiated information presented with great hype. ♪ when heartburn hits fight back fast with new tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum new tums chewy bites.
7:54 pm
i'm the one clocking in... when you're clocking out. sensing your every move and automatically adjusting to help you stay effortlessly comfortable. there. i can even warm these to help you fall asleep faster. does your bed do that? oh. i don't actually talk. though i'm smart enough to. i'm the new sleep number 360 smart bed. let's meet at a sleep number store. anyone can get you ready, holiday inn express gets you the readiest. because ready gives a pep talk. showtime! but the readiest gives a pep rally. i cleared my inbox! holiday inn express, be the readiest. holiday inn express, [woman] we did it. [man] we're campers. look at us. look at us. it's so nice to get out of the city. it's so... quiet.
7:55 pm
is it, too quiet? it's awful. yeah. feel at home, pretty much wherever you are. t-mobile is america's best unlimited network. it's looking up, not down.ng fit's being in motion. boost® high protein it's intelligent nutrition with 15 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. boost® the number one high protein complete nutritional drink.
7:56 pm
7:57 pm
tv is changing dramatically now with 150 channels that might be available in the near future. >> there are more choices than ever before. it's a tough job. you have to try and get a sense of what is the audience going to really make an attachment to. >> in the '90s, cable was coming on strong. so, we had to examine who are we going to be? well, we wanted to be smart, sophisticated comedy. >> six months ago i was living in boston. my wife had left me, which was very painful. then she came back to me. which was excruciating. >> i thought "frasier" was dead with "cheers."
7:58 pm
but we thought, we built an audience, great potential to build out the character to another place. ♪ >> "frasier" was kind of like one-act plays. ♪ >> mother and i moved here when i was a small boy after the tragic death of my father. i kept the pain of that loss buried deep within me like a serpent coiled within a damp cave. okay, that's it. >> we always assumed the audience was smarter than most other people did. and we played to that. >> just unschooled like liza doolittle. if she finds the right henry higgins, she'll be ready for a ball in no time. >> leave it to you to put the pig back. >> kelsey grammar played pomposity and got huge laughs.
7:59 pm
>> what's taken so long? >> but i am analyzing my options unlike your wink and approach i like to plan a strategy, like a general leading his troops into battle. >> checkmate, schwarzkopf. >> i think "frasier" stands as the single most successful spinoff, at least in the history of comedies. >> and the emmy goes to "frasier". >> "frasier". >> "frasier". >> we were lightning hot and it was critical for us to be leading the way not just following. ♪ >> "friends" is about that time in your life when your friends are your family. >> ow! >> when david crane and i lived in new york we were part of a
8:00 pm
group of six people. we were all attached at the hip. we went everywhere together and celebrated everything together. >> look! >> and there's that period where you're looking to be out there on your own and the people you rely on are the ones who live down the hall. >> here we go. pivot. pivot. pivot! pivot! pivot! pivot! >> shut up! shut up! shut up! >> "friends" permeated the culture in a way that was really special. everyone was obsessed with the show. and it became like which one of these characters are you. if you were a girl, were you phoebe, monica or rachel? >> it really does put me in a better mood. >> the kids watching the young audience saw a lifestyle that was aspirational. i wish i had an apartment in new
8:01 pm
york city that no one seems to be worried about the rent for. i wish that i looked like matt leblanc. i wish that i had jennifer aniston's hair. one of the things that made "friends" a phenomenon is people beyond the laughs actually bonded with these characters. they were emotionally invested in ross and rachel's relationship. >> without you. >> okay. more clothes in the dryer? >> i was dropping my daughter off for sunday school at our temple and literally my rabbi stopped me and said, what's going to happen with ross and rachel? >> you look pretty tonight. >> oh, thanks. >> the one with the prom video is one of my favorites. >> you guys, we don't have to watch this. >> yeah, we do. >> come on. come on. >> where's chip? why isn't he here yet? >> he'll be here, okay? take a chill pill.
8:02 pm
>> this seemed like a really surprising way to get rachel to know how ross feels. >> i can't go to my own prom without a date. >> take her. you can wear my tux. >> dad, she won't want to go with me. >> she's learning something new and he thinks, oh, god, please don't let her see this. don't let her see this. >> rachel, ready or not? here comes your knight in shining -- oh, no. >> bye! >> chip! >> oh, dear. >> ross sees himself and you see that look on his face and how sad he is because he wanted to take her to the prom. >> when she crossed the room, i still kind of get chills from it. when she crossed the room and gave him that kiss -- [ cheers and applause ] >> -- the audience went insane.
8:03 pm
>> at the height of must see tv, thursday nights on nbc, 75 million americans watched thursday night. that was at the time one-third of the country. >> oh. what is this stuff? >> the sweater is angora. >> well, it's wonderful. >> the machine that was nbc in the '90s for comedy was untouchable. >> you're not from around here, are you? >> it generated so much viewership and money and awards. >> you do not need this. >> it's the top of our wedding cake. >> it's not a scrapbook. it's a freezer. >> we were all kind ofart of this chapter in television where we realized we were in the right place at t right time. >> let's see how you like this, naughty boy. >> we certainly associate nbc of
8:04 pm
the '90s of having extremely successful sitcoms but they weren't the only network that found their way to having some success. tgif was on abc on friday and it was their block of family-oriented comedies. >> i can't take it. i need the cake. >> it was not sophisticated television. but these were shows that people adored. [ laughing ] >> cbs. >> cbs was in a really bad spot. they had just fallen apart over the early part of the '90s and had gone through a couple different network executives. >> but then suddenly they had this hit with an unknown comic. this was the year of seinfeld, no hugging, no learning and this was a show being made as if it was produced in the era of the dick van dyke show. >> i love you. >> there was hugging.
8:05 pm
there was learning. >> i love you, son. >> all right, all right. >> if you worked for me, your job was so go home, get in a fight with your wife and come back in and tell me about it. >> don't sleep on the couch. i just cleaned down there. >> in fact, the pilot i put in this true thing that happened to me wherein i sent my parents a gift for the holidays of the fruit of the month club. >> and did you know you sent me a box of pears from a place called fruit othe month. >> tt's right. that's right. how are they? >> and my mother rcted as if i had sent her a box of heads from >> whyid you do th to me? >> oh, my sh. >> i can't talk. there's too much fruit in the house. >> oh! what is happening? >> what do you think we are, invalids? we can't go out and get our own fruit? >> i tried to tell him. >> all right. i'm cancelling the fruit club. >> the real story is where the real connection with your audience is.
8:06 pm
thank god, all your families are crazy, too. >> looks like you got the whole family together. >> yeah, yeah, it's dysfunction palooza. we, the entertainment-loving people, want an unlimited data plan that gives us more. we want more than just texting. more than just surfing and shopping. because sure, we want to use this to call the people we love- - like our directors. but mostly, to get the entertainment we love. maaaaark ! ! ! switch to at&t for the only unlimited plan that gives you 60 channels of live television on any screen all for $70 a month.
8:07 pm
...better than a manual, and my hygienist says it does. but... ...they're not all the same. turns out, they're really... ...different. who knew? i had no idea. so, she said look for... ...one that's shaped like a dental tool with a round... ...brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to... ...gently remove more plaque and... ...oral-b crossaction is clinically proven to... ...remove more plaque than sonicare diamondclean. my mouth feels so clean. i'll only use an oral-b! the #1 brand used by dentists worldwide. oral-b. brush like a pro. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it?
8:08 pm
yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ i have to tell you something. dad, one second i was driving and then the next... they just didn't stop and then... i'm really sorry. i wrecked the subaru. i wrecked it. you're ok. that's all that matters. (vo) a lifetime commitment to getting them home safely. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. ♪ i love you, basement guest bathroom. your privacy makes you my number 1 place...
8:09 pm
...to go number 2. i love you, but sometimes you stink. ♪ new febreze air effects with odorclear technology cleans. ...away odors like never before. because the things you love the most can stink. and try febreze small spaces to clean away odors for up... ...to 30 days. breathe happy with new febreze. and now ladies and gentlemen, here's johnny! ♪ >> johnny carson wasn't just the host of "the tonight show."
8:10 pm
johnny carson was the man that america said good night to for 30 years. ♪ >> and on my watch, johnny decided that 30 years was a great time to take a bow and say thank you and good night. >> 30 years is enough. 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 ice shelf breaks off. something that's been there for centuries, for thousands of years, suddenly is no longer there. >> a tremendous part of history. and that's lovely to have made your mark on an era like that. >> johnny told no one what he planned to do and we weren't prepared. and that set off a game of musical chairs for who would get the throne and there was only
8:11 pm
one late night throne. >> jay leno had been carson's regular substitute host when he went on vacation. >> only six months ago, people were talking about donald trump as a presidential candidate. that's true. since then he's had an affair, left his wife, run up debt of several million dollars so i guess he's going to be running as a democrat, huh? >> jay leno wanted to just continue doing a johnny carson type show. david letterman was the show immediately following carson. they had different styles. >> i'm going to ask you tourn off the cara. >> we wanted to drop off this basket of fruit. >> david liked attacking authority. he liked that. >> he needed a corporate bad guy to go up against. i was oftentimes that target. >> i can hear this warren littlefield guy whining all year long about not getting his name on the card last year.
8:12 pm
what about me? i can be on there, couldn't i? >> it was always letterman's dream to be the host of "the tonight show." he idolized johnny carson, rightfully so. >> the big decision that's had the entertainment industry buzzing is due this week. that is the fate of nbc late night stars jay leno and david letterman. >> most of us thought the person who deserved to get it was david letterman. he didn't get it. jay leno got it. >> leno who rode his motorcycle into a news conference hosted by warren littlefield still has a bruised ego about the way the network wavered in its support of him. >> when we found out leno was going to get "the tonight show," we were all obviously depressed. we felt like we were being punished for making fun of them and not cooperating and not being as collaborative as we could have been.
8:13 pm
and we also felt like we were being disrespected because we did 11 years of great shows. >> just how pissed off are you? >> by all rights, david letterman should have taken over for johnny carson, but his agent took a very, very aggressive stand. we're going to really control all of late night. it's going to co you a fortune and they put our backs to the wall. >> i can only tell you it's been an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you. i hope when i find something i want to do and i think you will like and come back, that you will be as gracious inviting me into your home as you have been. i bid you a very heartfelt good night. >> "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
8:14 pm
shoes that were filled for 30 years by johnny. >> cbs came to us and made a very attractive offer. >> number ten, head cbs tails. cbs, number nine. >> letterman placed a call to johnny carson asking for his advice and johnny said, if it were me, i would leave. and i think that advice was really the linchpin. letterman always took johnny's advice. >> the late night wars are about to begin in earnest 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. last night tv will never be quite the same. >> all of a sudden, there's a talk show war. >> start up your remote controls. the late night race is about to begin. >> on monday, david letterman's
8:15 pm
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. they join jay leno, arsenio and "nightline." >> it became a crowded space and the competition became that much more difficult. >> the third corner his ratings fading rapidly, arsenio hall. some tv writers think arsenio could be the big loser in this free-for-all. >> when letterman came in, it essentially diluted arsenio's brand because there were so many alternatives. >> i'm sad to see you go because america is going to have a big chunk missing out of its existence. >> losing arsenio, yeah, it was bad. he was the lone voice, gone.
8:16 pm
>> david letterman had the suits at nbc pausing for a moment. did we make the right choice? because he came out gang busters and he was beating jay leno in the ratings. >> some say you blew it, by picking leno to replace carson over letterman, that that was a big programming mistake. >> it was a shaky start. a really, really shaky first season start. >> it's true confessions time for actor hugh grant who is 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? >> it all came together in that moment and everyone saw it and that's it. we were never number two again.
8:17 pm
>> for us it was a fun experience. we got our own theater, an unlimited budget, access to every star in the business who wanted to do the show. >> somebody bring me the jaws of life! >> so, i think going to cbs was heaven-sent. it really was. >> good night, everyone! laquinta presents how to win at business. step one. point decisively with your glasses. abracadabra! the stage is yours. step two. choose laquinta. where you'll feel like the king of the road. check out our summer rates now at lq.com. it's ok that everybody ignoit's fine.n i drive. because i get a safe driving bonus check every six months i'm accident free. because i don't use my cellphone when i'm driving. even though my family does, and leaves me all alone. here's something else... i don't share it with mom. i don't. right, mom? i have a brand new putter you don't even know about! it's awesome. safe driving bonus checks, only from allstate.
8:18 pm
sometimes i leave the seat up on purpose. switching to allstate is worth it. is that we can bounceg back from anything. and so can our hair. total repair 5 from l'oréal. fights 5 signs of damage. 5 problems, 1 solution. total repair 5 from l'oréal. so, if anyone has a reason that these two should not be wed, speak now. (coughs) so sorry. oh no... it's just that your friend daryl here is supposed to be live streaming the wedding and he's not getting any service. i missed, like, the whole thing. what? and i just got an unlimited plan. it's the right plan, wrong network. you see, verizon has the largest, most reliable 4g lte network in america. it's built to work better in cities. tell you what, just use mine. thanks. no problem. all right, let's go live. say hi to everybody who wasn't invited! (vo) when it really, really matters,
8:19 pm
you need the best network and the best unlimited. plus, get the pixel, by google with no trade-in required. you get to do the dishes.ed... bring 'em on. dawn ultra has 3 times more grease-cleaning power. a drop of dawn and grease is gone.
8:20 pm
yeah, and i can watch thee bgame with directv now.? oh, sorry, most broadcast and sports channels aren't included. and you can only stream on two devices at once. this is fun, we're having fun. yeah, we are. no, you're not jimmy. don't let directv now limit your entertainment. xfinity gives you more to stream to more screens.
8:21 pm
in the mid-1990s if you took a look at the most watched cable shows the top would be nickelodeon, "rug rats," "blues clues". >> don't you know cartoons will ruin your mind. >> "ren and stimpy" had high concept humor to it. this is the beginning of the splintering of the television audience and splintering of the family audience, reall because with families having three or four tvs in the house you had a kid watching nickelodeon, the dad watching espn sports, the mom watching lifetime. you know, they were in their own separate universes watching television. 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 were also shows and programs that stood on their own.
8:22 pm
>> yes! >> that was cool. >> "beavis and butthead" were about making fun of music videos just like people in the audience were doing. >> they got his neck. there's all these bones and stitches moving around. >> yeah. >> my manager would call me, like, hey, you got this big bump because you were on "beavis and butthead" last night. >> i sit there like a doughnut watching these guys. 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. >> mtv has a detrimental, damaging, developmental effect on the sexuality, on the morality, on the spirituality,
8:23 pm
even maybe the physical development of our young people. ♪ >> now we hit the '90s and once you can go for an audience of five million and have a successful show, you can say i don't care if the parents don't like this. >> can i tell you something, miss ellen. >> don [ bleep ] with me! >> what? >> you heard me. stay away from my man, bitch or i'll whip you back to last year. >> trey parker and matt stone were two of the funniest people i ever met. their success story is proof that if you just stay true to yourself, you don't have to do anything else. >> people think, oh, you came and did the show and now you're big sellouts. the truth is, we were sellouts to begin with. >> perhaps there is no stopping the corporate machine. >> i mean, we were sleeping at friends' houses, had no money and one fox executive had seen a
8:24 pm
cartoon we had made in college and he said, make me another christmas video i can send out as a christmas card. he gave us like 700 bucks. we went and made this five-minute short. >> i come seeking retribution. >> he's come to kill you because you're jewish, kyle. >> oh [ bleep ]. >> it went around the tv community like wildfire. >> i mean, it -- it was the funniest thing you'd ever seen in your life. >> go get 'em! >> somebody showed me the short. >> go, jesus. >> i thought it was hysterical. i called and said get them in here right away. >> oh, my god! they killed kenny. you bastards. >> "south park" was able to be topical. >> "south park" really, really detests hypocrites. >> christians and republicans and nazis, oh, my! >> okay, i'll legalize 40th
8:25 pm
trimester abortions for you. >> could you imagine back then that these people would ever get on network television or any kind of television? >> it's a miracle. "south park" is a miracle. >> the early '90s the hbo show starts to come into their own. >> and then have i always had these breasts? >> a lot of people want freedom. they don't want to go back to the networks, which are saying you can come to us where you'll make more money but you'll also have content restricted. you could go to cable and have no restrictions. not make as much money but have freedom of expression, which almost everybody who works in these mediums wants. >> some of the content truly was you can't get this anywhere else.
8:26 pm
>> you're a fantasy maker is the only limit on the kind of fantasies is people's imagination. >> hbo turned to people who said, i can't do that on television, but you can do it on hbo. >> white people don't trust 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 grasson't be cut. dishes piled up. cousins running through the white house. cookouts. basketball going in the back. >> in the late '80s hbo was gaining ground for series. >> by the '90s hbo had started to begin its explosion. >> when we started doing "dream on" one of the things hbo said to us was, it's got to be something that couldn't be on network tv.
8:27 pm
>> because hbo was driven by subscribers and not by commercials and selling advertising time, they had a different way of looking at success or failure. what they were looking for was critical acclaim. >> you have watched letterman, you've watched leno, but what about larry? larry sanders, that is. he's the tv alter ego of comedian garry shandling. >> garry shandling wanted to do a show that deconstructed the kind of show "the tonight show" was. >> pretend like you're talking to me. we're off the air. >> okay. blah, blah, blah, blah. >> the larry sanders show was kind of cathartic because in the world of the show there was a network. >> you want me to [ bleep ] your budget? that what you want me to do? >> it became this fun house mirror thing where you could use stuff from your misery, your career as fodder. >> don't take this as a threat but i killed a man like you in korea, hand-to-hand. my boy doesn't want to do any more commercials.
8:28 pm
>> larry sanders to me was, aside from being a brilliant television show. >> can you say, hey now. >> hey now. >> it was my everyday life. >> i'm here for three good reasons. last show. big ratings. movie coming out. bim, bam, boom. >> "the larry sanders show" was very unique in that it was very deadpan. and really groundbreaking in its day. >> i think it made people really go, that's the level of work you may be able to do on a cable network. >> please, do not flip around. come right back. >> hey now! >> oh, you sound good. ♪ when heartburn hits fight back fast with new tums chewy bites.
8:29 pm
fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum new tums chewy bites. what's going on here? um...i'm babysitting. that'll be $50 bucks. you said $30. yeah, well it was $30 before my fees, like the pizza-ordering fee and the dog-sitting fee... and the rummage through your closet fee. who is she, verizon? are those my heels? yeah! yeah, we're the same size...in shoes. with t-mobile taxes and fees are already included, so you get four lines of unlimited for just $40 bucks each. the price we say is the price you pay. afi sure had a lot on my mind. my 30-year marriage... ...my 3-month old business... plus...what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i made a point to talk to my doctor. he told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again.
8:30 pm
not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots. eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis had both... ...and that turned around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding. both made eliquis right for me. ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you.
8:31 pm
8:32 pm
in the '90s you suddenly had shows that were aiming at a younger audience. one of the things that really made "90210" stand out is it was the first drama to get into the teenager's point of view. >> do you have protection? >> of course. it's always been my problem. lots of protection but nothing to protect. >> i wanted to do a tv series that was going to be relevant to teenagers.
8:33 pm
and it's not about the parents solving the kids' problems. it's about the kids basically solving their own problems. >> what are we supposed to do, sit him down and have a kid-to-parent talk. >> no you can't talk to parents on that mature level. tragic but true. >> if the '60s had beatle mania, the '90s had "90210" mania. when tv guide had "youth-quake" cover, that was a sign television was focused on these young people. "my so-called life" was the punk rock version of "90210." it was earnest but not saccharin. it didn't have easy answers. it showed teen heartbreak in a way that was staggeringly real for the time. >> you like this. >> like what? >> like how you are? >> you coming or not? >> how am i? how am i?
8:34 pm
>> "my so-called life" was your actual life. and the idea that everyone in high school is a misfit, that you have this deep insecurity about who you're supposed to be. >> you know how sometimes last thing you said echos in your brain and i keep sounding stupider? and you have to say something else just to make it stop. >> oh, i just remembered. i owe you $30. >> "my so-called life" was not necessarily the show the cheerleader or captain of the football team were watching. they were watching "90210". maybe it was the ones that didn't recognize themselves in "90210" are now watching "my so-called life". >> i don't want to be a girl. i just want to hang with girls. >> ricky was out on the show eventually and that was a story line treated with great sensitivity. >> and i belong nowhere.
8:35 pm
with no one. that i don't fit. >> it was so deeply felt. it was saying to the viewer, things you have gone through, they matter. >> "buffy the vampire slayer" depictigh school in a similar way to "my so-called life" but rather than just feeling like hell, it actually was hell. her high school was literally built on top of hell. and so all of these creatures would come up that she would have to fight. >> three in one night. >> it was a brilliant metaphor for adolescence and all the demons you have to slay. >> buffy was a teenager and she was still finding out who she was. one of the story lines that was
8:36 pm
popular and talked about is when she had sex with her boyfriend for the first time and in the world of buffy, he becomes literally evil. >> there must be part of you inside that remembers who you are. >> dream on, school girl. >> in order to save the world, literally, she knows she has to send him to hell. >> buffy knows in an instant that angel has become good again. so she has this moment of reckoning she has to decide whether to do this or not and she makes the sacrifice to push him back into hell. >> the show was working on multiple levels. buffy in particular, we saw a character that was a reluctant protagonist, forced to make tough decisions. >> there was a kind of opening
8:37 pm
of the flood gates in the '90s for women. the idea of being an ideal, i think was kind of smashed through a lot of characters on television. >> look, if you're a successful saleswoman in this city, you have two choices. you can bang your head against a wall and try to find a relationship or just say screw it and go out and have sex like a man. >> "sex in the city" was a huge success from the start. it was funny, clever and very candid. >> our relationships, the religion of the '90s? >> these are women who are making a good living, they were independent, single and feeling their power. >> i said all of them. bad waiter, bad waiter. >> what do you tip? >> i wanted these women to be objectifying men in the way men always objectify women. >> my turn. >> sorry, i have to go back to work. >> you couldn't discuss sex as
8:38 pm
sex. network shows, there were never people talking about orgasms or organs or sex. >> words are essential. tell me exactly how he worded it. >> we've been seeing each other for a couple weeks. i really like you. and tomorrow night after dinner, i want us to have anal sex. >> these are women who shared everything with each other and they're discussing what anal sex means. >> it goes up there, there's going to be a shift in power. either he'll have the upper hand or you will. >> should she do this or not. >> this was a physical expression the body was designed to experience. p.s., it's fabulous. >> what are you talking about? i went to smith. >> it took an interesting turn by focusing on the relationship between women and focusing on them as soul mates together as well. >> you did the right thing buying that apartment. you love it, right? >> yeah. >> and you won't be alone forever.
8:39 pm
>> historically women are often set up in narratives in which only one can succeed. so, showing women not competing with each other and as supporting each other was also an important narrative change. >> okay, girls, see you tomorrow. >> okay. >> night-night. >> the show had a message of freedom and liberation especially for women that really resonated. i think "sex and the city" helped hbo a place for people to think, i wonder what they're doing next. where are mom and dad? 'saved money on motorcle insurance with geico! goin' up the country. love mom and dad' i'm takin' a nap. dude, you just woke up! ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪
8:40 pm
♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ wise man, i'm nervous about affecting my good credit score. i see you've planted an uncertainty tree. chop that thing down. the clarity you seek... lies within the creditwise app from capital one. creditwise helps you protect your credit. and it's completely free for everyone.
8:41 pm
it's free for everyone? do hawks use the stars to navigate? i don't know. aw, i thought you did. i don't know either. either way it's free for everyone. cool. what's in your wallet? the unpredictability of a flaree may weigh on your mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go, and how to work around your uc. that's how i thought it had to be. but then i talked to my doctor about humira, and learned humira can help get and keep uc under control... when certain medications haven't worked well enough. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal inctions and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores.
8:42 pm
don't start humira if you have an infection. raise your expectations and ask your gastroenterologist if humira may be right for you. with humira, control is possible.
8:43 pm
we're going out in an hour...? fast. allegra® relieves your worst allergy symptoms two times faster than claritin®. allegra® gelcaps... not just fast. allegra® fast. in 1991 we got a call from mtv and they were toying with the idea of doing some kind of a scripted show about young people. >> they said it was like a mix between "the big chill" and "the breakfast club". >> and ultimately decided a show with writers and actors would be too expensive. >> the real world, that's what this was supposed to be. >> so we essentially applied all the drama rules to documentary to get our, what we called at that time, a docusoap. >> this is the true story. >> of seven strangers. >> a social experiment to watch what happens when you put these strangers together in a house. when people stop being polite
8:44 pm
and start getting real. >> do you sell drugs? why do you have a beeper? >> you hadn't seen anything like that on television, that kind of open, honest discussion of race. >> i can try as much as i can to try to deal with you, but ignorance is ignorance. stupidity is stupidity. that's it. black white, green, purple, blue, whatever. >> "the real world" becomes this big bang moment for reality tv. all we have to do is put cameras on people and we'll get great stuff. the next season in l.a. a young woman who gets an abortion and the camera goes right up to the doctor's door. >> give me a hug. >> by the third season in san francisco you have a young man who is dealing with aids. >> i'm hiv positive. >> he told me he was hiv positive, it was just like, no, not him. i like this guy and i don't want him to have to suffer. >> it was such a triumph that
8:45 pm
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, shawn, have a ceremony. you know, this is long before same-sex marriage was legal. the tv shows weren't doing this. movies weren't doing this. >> i have to believe that all the pain i'm going through, that all the anger, the frustration, that there's something bigger than that. >> aids has claimed a young man who made an enormous impact on a young generation of americans. pedro zamura died in miami at the age of 22. >> i'm really glad i got to know pedro. >> i'm glad his rich and fulfilling work is still remembered today. i hope you enjoyed and learned from pedro's life of compassion and fearlessness. >> you have to credit "the real world" with helping the acceptance of the lgbt community.
8:46 pm
>> her name is marla. i'm seeing a woman. >> in the '90s, gay characters were always secondary or third. there was never a gay character that was the lead of a show. >> so, you want to go look at apartments tomorrow. >> sure. >> ellen degeneres, the comedian, was about to come out. she does it on "time" magazine, yep, i'm gay. but she decided the character ellen plays on tv will alsme out. >> it's reprehensible that abc, who is 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, who knows. >> we were getting bomb threats. disney was really getting a lot
8:47 pm
of flack for even thinking of having a coming out episode with ellen. >> i'm 35 years old. i'm so afraid to tell people. i'm just -- susan, i'm gay. >> ellen coming out was a huge moment for me personally because, you know, i was a closeted gay guy. gay child at that time. and it was the bravest thing i saw. >> that felt great. that felt so great. >> initial reports suggest abc made a bundle on ellen's highly publicized outing on national tv last night. it 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 great thing. she was brave. >> i made the decision that i
8:48 pm
wasn't going to live my life 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. ♪ i love my mister ♪ tell me lazy tell me so ♪ tell me i'm crazy maybe i know ♪ ♪ can't help loving that man of mine ♪ >> and beret, beret, i'm gay! >> "will & grace" was a great show in sort of helping a mainstream straight community connect to the gay community. >> i think i can fix this thing with your landlord but might get a little ugly. >> play hardball, baby. throw low and inside. he's crowding the plate and we've got to -- >> grace, sports, you're losing me.
8:49 pm
>> i figured 25% of the country wouldn't watch the show just based on the fact that we had two gay men on it. >> give it to me! >> but if we could make-believe that will and grace would get together. >> will, i told you, you live with a hetero long enough, you're going to catch it. >> maybe we could get people to watch thinking that would happen, knowing it would never happen. >> you know, it's a shame. an image like this is completely wasted on us. >> i remember the network calling every other week saying, can will just fall in love with grace? and the creators were like, will, that's weird. he's gay. gay people don't do that. that's why they're gay. >> why wasn't i your girlfriend, queer bait? >> it was the first time you saw characters on television that
8:50 pm
made gay normal. you wanted to be friends with them. >> guess what we are. >> a catholic girl gone bad, and, karen, what are you supposed to be?. >> tbest feeling i get is when people come up and say thank you from the gay community and thank you for playing that part and being part of that show and you feel lucky to have been a part of something so great. we, the entertainment-loving people, want an unlimited data plan that gives us more. we want more than just texting. more than just surfing and shopping. because sure, we want to use this to call the people we love- - like our directors. but mostly, to get the entertainment we love. maaaaark ! ! !
8:51 pm
switch to at&t for the only unlimited plan that gives you 60 channels of live television on any screen all for $70 a month. you're not taking these. hey, hey, hey! you're not taking those. whoa, whoa! you're not taking that. come with me. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. mom, i'm taking the subaru. don't be late. even when we're not there to keep them safe, our subaru outback will be. (vo) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. listen up, heart disease.) you too, unnecessary er visits.
8:52 pm
and hey, unmanaged depression, don't get too comfortable. we're talking to you, cost inefficiencies and data without insights. and fragmented care- stop getting in the way of patient recovery and pay attention. every single one of you is on our list. for those who won't rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. optum. how well gets done. why? we can't stay here! terrible toilet paper! i'll never get clean! way ahead of you. charmin ultra strong. it cleans better. it's four times stronger and... ...you can use less. enjoy the go with charmin.
8:53 pm
or a little internet machine? [ phone ringing ] hi mom. it makes you wonder... shouldn't we get our phones and internet from the same company? that's why xfinity mobile comes with your internet. you get up to 5 lines of talk and text at no extra cost. [ laughing ] so all you pay for is data. see how much you can save. choose by the gig or unlimited. call or go to xfinitymobile.com introducing xfinity mobile. a new kind of network designed to save you money.
8:54 pm
what was happening at the end of the nineties was audiences started to look towards television for what they had only found before in feature film. >> victory is mine. victory is mine. great day of the morning, people. victory is mine. >> and actors no longer felt that it was a comedown to come work in television. >> what did i ever do to you except deliver the south? >> you shouldn't have made me beg. >> the segment of the audience that showed up to watch "west wing," they watched the macneill lehrer news hour, they watched "west wing" and documentaries in foreign languages, right? lehrer news hour, they watched "west wing" and documentaries in foreign languages, right? >> if the name of this nominee is leaked out before i want it to be leaked out, i'm going to blame you and you're going to find that unpleasant. >> i have to tell you something, toby, you're hot when you're like this.
8:55 pm
>> it's the first wave of what we now have, remarkably specific niche programming. >> "freaks and geeks" really sympathized with the losers and had great empathy for its characters. ♪ because you don't see that i got something going right here ♪ >> "freaks and geeks" breaks my heart every time i think about it. >> i'm sorry. did i crush your twinkies? >> it lasted 18 episodes. and they're perfect 18 episodes but nbc hated it so much. >> roll down the windows because i got a big one abrewing. >> they thought it was a show by losers, about losers for losers. they hated it. they wanted no part of it. they killed it. >> at the end of the nineties, the jig is starting to be up for the networks. basically quality migrates to cable.
8:56 pm
>> "oz" comes on in '97. and it's set in this fictional penitentiary. wow, what a strange show that was. >> in "oz" sometimes the thing you can't touch are more real than the things you can. for instance, fear, hatred, loneliness are more real to me than than a shank and a soul. it was jaw droppingly violent. it was a men's prison. it probably should be. but you know, it kind of announces the idea that hbo is going to get serious about doing scripted dramas. >> it's finished. it's over. >> but hbo really in my mind comes to its own in 1999 with "the sopranos." ♪ ♪ woke up this morning ♪ got yourself a gun >> "sopranos" was one of the
8:57 pm
shows that was a benchmark that changed like a lot of things for everybody. >> throw out the handbook. tony soprano, the lead actor in a drama, he killed a man. we watched him. he took his daughter on a college tour. >> pretty, huh? >> yeah. >> it was just a melding of a guy and a world -- >> [ bleep ] you doing? >> and a behavior that promoted all of the feelings that you would have for a guy that you love in a guy that you hate. you know? >> "sopranos" came on tv and it really showed us the future whether we realized that was going to be the future of television or not. >> this husband of yours, carmella, how much we love him. he's the best. >> he's like a father to me.
8:58 pm
>> just make sure nothing happens to him. >> that character in that show was a great inspiration to a great many shows that came after it including one that i worked on. >> you know what i want, tony? i want those kids to have a father. >> they got one, this one, me. tony soprano. and all that comes with it. >> oh, you prick. >> the '90s is an amazing decade of tv. some of my favorite shows of all time aired in that decade and everybody was watching them. there was still that communal sense from the earlier decades of tv but it was being applied to shows that were reaching higher and farther, and they were great. >> because there was so many channels and because so much storytelling was going on, you started to get more variety of stories being told. >> get the skull film, schedule a kat scan and call the neurosurgery resident. >> objection! >> television showed us women in their depth, it began to show us
8:59 pm
much more of a range of the african-american community. >> i'm always here for you. >> started focusing on teenagers in a more realistic way. >> things changed us. >> what are you talking about? >> and more outside the box in terms of what people might want to watch. >> you're out of order, he's out of order. this whole trial is sexy. >> after ten years of the '90s, we had a whole new television world that could take us anyplace we wanted and even places we had never imagined. >> was that the oven timer? >> that's right, my friend. it's time for "baywatch"! >> can you believe they gave stephanie skin cancer? >> i still can't believe they promoted her to lieutenant. >> you're just saying that because you're in love with yasmine bleeth. >> 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.
9:00 pm
all the time running, run. run. run, yasmine, run like the wind. the fbi arrested ten people for allegedly spying for russia for upo a decade. >> most of them spent decades blending in with american society. >> a long term fbi investigation. >> ten suspected sleeper spies. >> they just seemed like a nice quiet family. >> their whole goal was to disappear. literally disappear into a community and not be recognized for who they are. this is a different world. this is the world of those who are involved in trying to be able to hurt our country. ev

153 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on