>> a [ bleep ]. >> there is one rule i keep trying to abide by, and, unfortunately, i only get to it about 12% of the time. and that is, it is only television. we're not doing cancer research. in the 40-year odd history of commercial broadcasting has taught us one thing, there is nothing sacred about television. >> steven is upstairs. >> dave, i was just curious, is there any way i can get mtv on this? >> that is just a monitor and all you can get on that is our show. >> oh, that's okay. >> there was a degree of cynicism that was needed in the art form at that time, and it was a cynicism that became common sense after awhile because it never got old. >> i watched johnny carson, and you are no johnny carson. [ laughter ] >> welcome the great white

north. today we got a real big show. >> there was a second city chicago company and a second city toronto company. the toronto one is the one that fueled the sc tv series that was syndicated and got to the states that way. >> thank you very much for that marvelous reception. i particularly want to thank my supporters over there in the cesarean section. >> it is healthy to be an outsider. as a comedian, and canadians are always outsiders, but they are looking at the culture that is right next door to them. >> it was the type of comedy that had only been accessible if you could have gotten into the improv clubs in toronto or chicago. i had never seen anything like second city tv.

>> it was far more conceptual in its humor because it didn't have to be performed in front of an audience. and there was also just the idea it was this low-rent thing. by the seat of our pants kind of operation that give it an authenticity. >> now that our programming day has been extended -- >> where do you want me to put the kielbasa? >> put it in the fridge. >> you were rooting for the show and the characters they created. there was something you got behind. whereas "snl," right from the gate and through the '80s was this big enterprise. >> after five golden years, lorne decided to leave and so did those close to him, including me, al franken. so nbc had to pick a new producer. now most knowledgeable people,

as you might imagine, hoped it would be me, al franken. >> well, there was a question of whether "saturday night live" would continue at all. whether it would die. >> the press hasn't been very kind. >> is "saturday night live" "saturday night dead"? >> my favorite is vile from new york. >> they were having a hard time. and then came the man to save the show, eddie murphy. >> there was buzz about him so you tuned in. and there was this kind of explosion of talent in front of your eyes. ♪ >> it really kind of rejuvenated the show. >> i'm gumby. you don't talk to me that way. >> after awhile, the show regained its status and clout and became even more of an institution than it had been. >> hey, bob. >> looks great today. >> listen, if you're unhappy,

tell me right now. >> you'll never work in this town again. >> don't leave me hanging by a thread. let me know where i stand. >> we were a little worried because we had a new cast, but everyone loves us. >> you guys have been so nice to us during our stay. >> isn't that special? >> i am hans. >> and i am franz. >> and we just want to pump you up. >> a lot of things they could do on "saturday night live" they couldn't do on a regular sitcom. it was more daring and satirical and political. >> you still have 50 seconds left, mr. president. >> let me just sum up, on track, stay the course. a thousand points of light. stay the course. >> governor dukakis, rebuttal? >> i can't believe i'm losing to this guy. >> it is "the garry shandling show." >> people were taking the old

principles of comedy and trying to turn them into something new. we spent years watching sitcoms and dramas and talk shows and we knew them by heart, that if somebody played on that and parodied that, we got it instantly. >> i appreciate you coming in under these conditions. you want to hold the credits? we were going to roll the credits but you screwed that up because you were late. >> "the garry shandling show" was aware that it was a situation comedy. it highlighted the cliches in funny ways. >> are you looking into the camera? >> no. >> don't look into the camera. >> i didn't. >> you don't come in here and look in the camera. >> i didn't. >> i'll bop you. i will. if i see a tape of this show and you're looking into the camera -- >> well, it's about that time. >> "pee-wee's playhouse" on cbs, a saturday morning kids show that adults could watch and wink at each other at the same time was very clever.

>> the word is good. >> it was a show certainly for kids, and it was for stoned baby boomers who were totally wasted on saturday morning and watched "pee-wee's playhouse" and saw god. >> i sure had a lot of fun. see you all real soon. until then, everybody be good.

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1968, the summer before high school and i don't mind saying i was a pretty fair little athlete. >> "the wonder years" was a guy in modern times looking back on his childhood. that in itself is not new, but "the wonder years" did it with the wit and the music. and it was brilliantly written and a great performance by that entire young cast. >> hey, steve -- looks like his baby brother and girlfriend have found each other. >> she's not my girlfriend. >> kevin arnold has to cope with all the timeless problems of growing up during one of the most turbulent times that we've known. >> kevin arnold is just like a regular kid except in the 1960s,

and he's not really aware of many of the events. like in one of the episodes, the whole family is watching the apollo 8 take off, but i'm sitting there trying to call a girl. >> the first episode of "the wonder years," anybody who saw it remembers the ending where the first kiss with winnie and kevin arnold. the song they play is "when a man loves a woman." that moment seems to pure and so real. ♪ when a man loves a woman can't keep his mind on nothing else ♪ >> it is about rebellion and being students. by the 1980s, it is time to grow up. and so they shave their beards and put on power suits, a whole new notion. >> oh, the yuppies. last year the politicians were talking about winning their votes, and now the rest of the baby boom generation are being wooed by advertisers and their agencies.

>> by the '80s, it was pretty clear that after the generation of the '60s, was going to be embodied by alex keaton on "family ties" were more interested in the corner office than the new jerusalem. >> you are a young man you shouldn't be worried about success. you should be thinking about hopping on a steamer and going around the world. >> the '60s are over, dad. >> thanks for the tip. >> you weren't laughing at michael j. fox's character for being too conservative. you were laughing at the parents for being too hopelessly liberal. >> what is this? i found it in the shower. >> that is generic brand shampoo. >> this is him. this is the guy i've been telling you about. this is everything you want in a president. >> the genius of "family ties," it allows a youthful reaganite that is focused on the future

and the critique of the '60s. >> michael j. fox as alex keaton really became the center of the show. and writers were smart enough to see that they had something special, and they wrote to that. >> it's not fair, alex. >> yeah, there is nothing you can do about it, jen. my advice to you is that you just enjoy being a child for as long as you can. i know, i did. it was the best two weeks of my life. >> alex is a little bill buckley. the "wall street journal" is his bible. he has a tie to go with his pajamas. he is very conservative and very intense 17-year-old. >> the first thing the teacher will ask is what you did over the summer. a lot of kids will say i went to the zoo or i went to the beach or to a baseball game. what are you going to say? >> i watched the iran/contra hearings. >> if mom and dad thought this generation was going to the dogs, think again. this is the generation that has discovered hard work and success.

>> american culture is changing in the '80s. and in terms of television, there is demographic segmentation. >> networks were beginning to not be afraid to appeal to a very specific demographic. >> hey, handsome. look at that shirt. is that a power shirt or what? >> nice shirt, alan. good shoulder pads. you looking to get drafted by the eagles? >> 30-something said we're not going to have cops, lawyers or doctors. we're just going to be people. >> why did we start this business? >> to do our thing. but right now we have two wives, three kids, four cars, two mortgages a payroll. that's life, pal. you're the breadwinner now. >> "30 something" is a very important show as you are going into the era of television being more introspective and emotional. and some people weren't buying it. but for other people when they were talking about having kids and going back to work and some of the issues that hadn't been

talked about a whole lot, it was important to people. >> i was so looking forward -- i was so looking forward to doing this. to be a grown-up for just an hour. >> in the beginning, there was talk of this being the yuppie show. and you mentioned it tonight. you said if there were a category for the most annoying show, this might win as well. >> what some people perceive as annoying has nothing to do with yuppie. it is a word that is made up by demographers and advertisers. it doesn't have anything to do with what the show is. >> "30 something" was not a giant hit, but it was a niche hit. it attracted an enormously upscale group of advertisers. >> the network cared who was watching and not how many were watching, and that was more and more catching on in the '80s. >> the prosecution will ask you to look to the law, and this you must do, but i ask you to look to your hearts as well. thank you.

>> "l.a. law" was partly a classic lawyer show. but it was intertwined with their personal lives and different lawyers who were sleeping together and trying to get ahead. >> the reality level on that show was like a foot or two off the ground. and you're willing to go with that because it was a whole new spin on a law show. >> tell the truth. if you had to do it all over again and she walked into your office and said take my case, would you? of course, you would. because it is juicy, newsy, exciting stuff. >> it is really fun to take the "hill street blues" format and use it to frame an entirely different social and cultural strata with vastly different results. >> i wonder if i might engage with my client privately. >> certainly. >> will you join me for dinner tonight? >> i was planning on having you.

>> okay, skip lunch. >> the formula had gotten established of how you can do a dramatic show, and yet still have an awful lot of fun. >> we didn't used to be able to accept that very easily in a tv hour. and even before the '80s were out, it is like, okay, i get it. so it is like, all right, what are the rules now? >> what are you doing? >> i'm doing what i should have done all along. what i wanted to do originally. what i should have done last night. stop that, david. i'm calling the police, david. hello, police. >> the networks realized there was an audience looking for something less predictable than traditional primetime fare. >> "moonlighting" was another show that said i see the formulas we've had up until here. let's do different things. >> hello. >> hello. >> we're looking a little pale here today. who do we have here? >> i don't know. >> "moonlighting" was a really

experimental show. they had a shakespeare episode, a black and white episode and a musical episode. they tried a lot of stuff. >> i don't give a flying fig about the lines on my face or the altitude of my caboose. >> well, i'm at a loss. i don't know what a flying fig is. >> that's okay. they do. >> there is no trouble on the set. >> we have a very volatile relationship. there is a hate/love element to it. >> the flirtations were great and bruce was great. glenn karen kept them apart for a long time and bravo to him. >> and they took the sam and diane dynamic from "cheers" and escalated it. "moonlighting" was, do they even want to? >> stay away from me. >> here i come. >> but i don't want you. i never wanted you. >> yeah, right. >> does entertaining mean at

some point stopping the tease of dave and mattie? do they get together at some point? >> that is going to be resolved this year. we like to think of it as two and a half years of foreplay. >> people were waiting for this moment and your emotions are already there so when "be my baby" starts playing, it is a perfect storm of romance. ♪ ♪ the night we met i knew i needed you so ♪ l'oreal's lash paradise. creating a buzz. a soft wavy bristle brush for a feathery-soft lash experience. voluptuous volume. intense length. take your lashes to paradise. new lash paradise mascara. from l'oreal paris. with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis? how do you chase what you love do what i did. ask your doctor about humira.

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in recent years, it seems that television has become a kind of electronic confessional. where guests are willing to expose painful and sometimes embarrassing aspects of their lives quite readily to millions of viewers. >> at the beginning of the decade, we get the dominance of phil donahue, and that is a maturation of women's issues and he seemed to talk to them in the audience and through the tv screen. >> i'm glad you called. kiss the kids. we'll be back in just a moment. >> if you look at the body of work we've had, you're going to see the '80s there. >> i'm not here to say you're wrong, but let's understand this. when you bring a moral judgment

without knowing them, against them for the way that they look, they feel that confirms the reason for their rebellion, if that is what you want to call it. >> he really believed that daytime television needed to talk about the ideas we were thinking about, the issues we were concerned about. >> i don't want to characterize his question, but why don't you get this fixed instead of doing this screwy stuff? >> there is not a single recorded case in history of any transsexual that ever, through psychological treatment, changed. it has never happened yet. >> and we were putting very important people on the program. all kinds of people. gay people. people going to jail. people running for office. sometimes the same people. it was a magic carpet ride. >> you really do paint a very, very grim picture of the sitting president of the united states. >> let me just say this, i think he's probably the laziest president i've ever seen. >> the audience, for phil

donahue, built and built and built and led the way to oprah. >> hello, everybody. >> oprah has a particularly magical combination of her own background, her own experience, her own incisive mind, and empathetic spirit. >> thank you. i'm oprah winfrey, and welcome to the very first national "oprah winfrey show." >> i was surprised at the rocket pace that oprah took off. because it took us a lot longer. the donahue show rearranged the furniture, but the oprah show remodeled the whole house. >> people out there don't understand when you say we're in love. i remember questioning my gay friend, you mean you feel about

him the way i feel about -- it is a strange concept for a lot of people to accept. >> oprah was connecting with people in a way that no one had on tv before. and it was really special to see. >> did you know that for the longest time i wanted to be a fourth grade teacher because of you. >> i was not aware of inspiring anyone. >> i think you did exactly what teachers are supposed to do, they create a spark for learning. it is the reason i have a talk show today. >> oprah winfrey now dominates the talk show circuit, both in the ratings and popularity. >> i want to use my life as a source of lifting people up. that is what i want to do. that is what i do every day on my show. we get accused of being tabloid television and sensational and so forth, but what we do more than anything else is we serve as a voice to a lot of people that felt perhaps up until my show or perhaps others, that they were alone. >> that is what 67 pounds of fat looks like.

i can't lift it. it is amazing that i can't lift it but i used to carry it around every day. >> there is nothing more endearing to an audience than to have that kind of honesty and humility and courage on the part of a host. and that, i think, has a lot to do with her power. >> it feels like i could do some good here, and i really do think that show does a lot of good. >> american television is drowning in talk shows, but it has never seen anything like morton downey jr. >> sit down and shut up. >> other competitors come and take the television talk show in two different directions. so you see the phenomenon of daytime television shows becoming less tame and more wild. >> the '80s brought a lot of belligerence to television. whether it was morton downey jr. being the offensive person that he was or geraldo.

he did his own outlandish things. >> stay with us, we're going to get into the mind of an american boy who came under the influence of satanism. took part in a crime without passion or motive. >> he takes the power of the talk show to a whole different level to put people on stage who hate each other and who will fight. >> in the case of the temple and the church of satan, we have not had problems with criminal behavior. >> but when you hear story after story of people committing these wretched and violent crimes in the devil's name. >> the more tension there is, the more conflict and violence there is, the more the ratings go up, and the american people love to complain about it, but they also love to watch. >> rivera drew sharp criticism with his recent television special on devil worship, but today he's in a real free-for-all. >> i get sick and tired of seeing an uncle tom here trying to be a -- >> go ahead. >> sit down.

>> hey, hold it. hold it. >> rivera suffered a broken nose but said the show will be broadcast later this month in its entirety. >> well, that is not something i would have done, but there was a lot of hypocrisy. one of the major magazines put the picture of geraldo getting hit with the chair on the front of the cover. and they said this is awful, look at what happened to television and yet they couldn't wait to use it to sell their own magazine. >> over the years, broadcasting has deteriorated and in this area of deregulation, it is deteriorating further. >> give people light, and they will find their own way. relax, america will survive the talk shows. how are your teeth whiter than mine? your strips are slippy...

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♪ the big thing that changes in the '80s is the number of hours spent watching television goes up. the number of hours spent talking about television is going up. and one of those symbols of television phenomenon is "entertainment tonight."

>> welcome to the premiere edition of "entertainment tonight." >> all of the critics were kind of unanimous in that they would say it would never last because there simply isn't enough entertainment news to fill a half hour every night. >> "entertainment tonight" has surveyed critics in the united states and canada to find out -- which television shows had the most impact on viewers over the years? >> up until this time, nobody had done television like this. nobody. >> burt reynolds, the hottest actor in hollywood. >> i'm surprised to see you here. >> i'm glad to see you. >> oh, thank you. >> we can meet here every night if you want. >> a lot of what makes successful tv programming is being in the right place at the right time. and it was the right time. >> entertainment journalism got more curious and more access and until that point, the entertainment business was something we didn't know all that much about. >> we could go behind the scenes

in our effort to really give an insiders' look. >> the actor of j.r. fame was with his mother as he was presented with a star on the hollywood walk of fame. >> it was very honorific of the industry. they would do serious coverage of it. it wasn't salacious. you would see actors speaking as actors instead of on a johnny carson show. >> this is on camera. >> this was the beginning of a lot of money being made talking about entertainment and celebrities. >> robert redford plays the good guy in movies, but -- >> the audience grew and grew and that was showing us the appetite for celebrity news was big. it was big. >> get ready for "lifestyles of the rich and famous." television's most dazzling hour of excitement. hi, i'm robin leach in monaco.

the glittering gem of the riviera. >> and you've got a vip ticket to the private party. >> your sunday newspaper is still delivered with the comics around the news. and that was what i always thought "lifestyles" was. we were the comic around the news. except we did it as seriously as they did news. >> finally in the driving seat of his own career, he burned rubber in a new direction. david hasselhoff, rock idol. >> it was a time where pushing the limits with wealth and ostentatiousness in a lot of cases was very comfortable. >> one of the earliest stories we presented to you on %-p donald trump. if he didn't shock and surprise you back then, he's had plenty of time since. >> with all of this costing billions, not millions, do the figures ever frighten you? >> no, the answer is it is my business and my life. it is my lifestyle. i love it. the good, the bad. >> does this bring with it

political aspiration? >> no political aspiration. >> and people say it is nothing more than trash. >> that doesn't upset me because i think it is the best trash there is on television. i'm not in the business of brain surgery. i'm in the business of fluff. >> that is the fantastic element at a time when the access is possible. it is escapism and aspirational. you want to stand in a hot tub with a glass of champagne, rock on. >> we've never seen that kind of wealth ever before. we didn't mock it. we didn't say it was right, and we didn't say it was wrong. we were just through the keyhole. sometimes it absolutely amazes me. i walk away from a shoot and i think, well, we did it again. >> there was more of everything in tv by the '80s. your opportunity for watching stuff is increasingly vast. >> nbc presents "real people."

>> somebody once said that each one of us will be a star for 15 minutes, and i think that will probably happen. >> american culture celebrated privacy. in the 1980s as we're watching celebrities play out on stage, hey, i want to join, too. all the world is a stage and you start seeing shows like "real people" or "the people's court." >> where reality television is taken one step further. >> to see more tv producers had to come up with new and different ways to give them television. >> don't be stupid! i told you not to be stupid. >> what "cops" did was, it took away the script and just brought the camera people and the crews on location to try and catch actual things happening. >> cocaine. possession of a stolen firearm no less. what else are you going to do? ♪

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♪ with this ring -- >> with this ring -- >> -- i thee wed. >> -- i thee wed. >> with my body -- >> with my body -- >> -- i thee honor. >> the biggest television event of the 1980s is the marriage of charles and diana. it is like the world stops when that happened. that was like, just massive. >> this was the final act of a spectacle that may never again be seen in this century, if ever. >> the archbishop of canterbury called the wedding of prince charles and lady diana spencer the stuff of fairy tales. >> the couple is off on the honeymoon while the people here in london are still talking about the events of the day. >> when you have great moments like the royal wedding, they are part of history and everybody

can watch it on television and everybody wants to drink a toast to chuck and di. >> a princess who must be aware as it was on this day that every single move she makes in public will be recorded and observed. a very difficult life indeed. >> we'll be back in just a moment with some closing observations and one final look at what has justifiably been called the wedding of the century. >> by the authority of the state of new york, i pronounce that they are husband and wife. you may kiss the bride. >> your wedding was seen by an astonishing number of people. 16 and 19 million viewers. how do you account for that kind of popularity? >> oh, i can't. i can't. the way it's grown is just amazing to me. >> it did appear in the '80s it was good for daytime soap operas, especially for "general hospital" which had the success with luke and laura's wedding.

>> i remember because it was nighttime newsworthy. >> the soap opera discovers the blockbuster mentality, the sweeps month mentality. what can we do to get even more people watching? you have a wedding. you have a kidnapping, an evil twin, and primetime stole from daytime. >> the great time soap operas, "dallas" and "dynasty," they are all about excess. this is about being over the top, stabbing each other in the back and going for the gusto and having fun. >> i know what is wrong with you. the empty armed madonna, mourning the baby that she couldn't have and the baby that she almost got to adopt. that is it, isn't it? >> you miserable --

>> there was a bigness to the stories. and they could afford to do it on a network if you are doing one episode a week. you can't do that if you are doing five episodes a week for a daytime show. so just the production value gave it that pizzazz. >> if you can't have it, watch other people with it, or so say the three networks who are programming nearly 40% of the primetime fare with series about the very rich and the public is devouring it at such a rate that money has become gold. >> the characters were larger than life and more evil and more cunning and manipulative. and more gorgeous. i mean, really, look at the way they were dressed. look at the way they lived. everything, it was fascinating. >> alexis, i didn't thank you for your present. >> it's he you should slap,

dear. not i. >> we all wanted to live like everyone on "dynasty," like the carringtons and it was a wonderful picture of fun and debauchery. >> greed was encouraged in the '80s. there was a concept of conspicuous consumption being okay, and those shows exploited that. >> primetime families like the carringtons who live here in luxury on the "dynasty" sound stage are not the only rich folk on tv. in the last five years, more than half of all new shows featured the wealthy. ten years ago, that figure was zero. >> it was an accident. your father is dead. >> "falcon crest" was a wine family. there is lorenzo llamas and ronald reagan's first wife is on that show. >> emma is pregnant. >> i know a doctor who could take care of it right away. >> that will never happen. >> all of the shows, where, oh, my god, what is next? what is going to happen next?

and he can't do that. you tune in, it was appointment television. >> what will become of the missing twins on "knots landing"? >> and "the colbys" was a spinoff for "dynasty." they would see how much they could max this stuff out because it was really successful. >> where is your son miles? isn't he going to be part of this venture or just playing polo as usual? >> the colbys could always find room for another trophy. >> you had people fighting over oil and mansions and -- it was fantasy, but in a kind of so over the top way that it was fun. >> there is nothing devious about using your femininity. >> these shows took themselves so unseriously that they were camp, but that was okay with the central audience that was loving them. >> it was entertainment. we weren't trying to do high drama. we were there to entertain.

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he is building what forbes magazine said is the most extensive media empire in history. >> a huge development in television, the three television business in britain and he arrives in america and says, i don't see why i can't have three broadcast networks. i'm going to make another one. >> and meantime he'll have to become an american citizen if he is to own tv stations here which he said he will do. >> some people say it will take your fox network on the network with the par of the big three. are you prepared to wait that long. >> i intend to live that long but i don't believe the 20 years. >> the idea of the fourth network was similar to ted turner starting cnn. it is ridiculous. what does he know about television. >> we don't think of ourselves as cbs, abc or nbc. we don't have to reach everyone.

we have an inferior line-up of stations than our counterparts. we have to get our message across and get showed sampled. >> they had an idea, in order to succeed, we have to differentiate ourselves and do things they would not do. >> fox started throwing anything against the wall not knowing what would go. first things were like 21 jump street. joan rivers in terms of late night. >> we have been banned in boston which is wonderful. pick a finger wxme. >> and the tracy ulman show. >> it was a sketch show. and they needed something to go between the sketches. again, they were looking for something different. >> i've got to have those candy bars. >> you better not steal them. >> that's it! >> the simpsons would never have come along had it not been for the tracy ulman show.

>> crime hurts the criminal. >> that is not true, mom, i got a free ride home. didn't i? >> bart. >> fox was thrilled that it was different. they said, sure, be experimental, do whatever you want. we're just happy to have a show on the air. >> i'm home! >> married with children was the first big hit in that way that said, if all of the rest of television is going this way, we're going that way. >> bud, kelly, you want to come down and help me in the kitchen? [ doors slam ] >> that should buy us about ten minutes. seven more than we'll need. >> the title of "married with children" wasn't "the cosby show". how great. you have to love that. taking the piss out of american families. great fun. >> hurry up, bud. never wanted to get married, i'm

married. never wanted kids, i get two. how did this happen? >> the bundys were like a purposeful reaction to the perfection of the huck stables because you had this wonderful perfect black family and this horrible miserable white family and each show works. you could find things to relate to in both. >> howdy neighbor. >> yeah, yeah. i hate these people. . >> let's sit down. >> there was a lot of fun to be had with al or peg bundy. >> after fox introduced married with children and it does very well, then back on abc they came up with another major hit. roseanne. >> you think this is a magic kingdom where you sit up here on your throne. >> oh, yeah? >> yeah. you think everything is done by a wonderful wizard. poof, the laundry is folded. dinner's on the table. >> you want me to fix dinner. i'll fix dinner. i'm fixing dinner. >> oh, honey, but you just fixed dinner three years ago. >> typical american families weren't on television for the longest time. the donna reed days, the early days and the father knows best, hardly anybody really lived like

that. that is the way advertisers wanted to you live. >> i know what will make you feel better. >> me, too, but i bet it's different than what you've got. >> the ideal situation is if you can sub vert whatever common stuff is said about families or parenting -- >> what's in this -- lead? >> oh, i got you kids new leg irons. her loudness and her unfilteredness were key to why we liked her. she was staying stuff about working-class people and saying stuff about men and women. so it was about marriage and raising kids and about how hard it is. >> oh, great. i'm going to look like a freak, that's all. >> what else is new? >> shut up. >> this is why some animals eat their young. >> tv in the '80s was a big decade for the evolution of comedy, and the evolution of drama. it just pushed everything forward. >> do you think perhaps this generation are paying more attention to the dialogue, to the relationships that they see on television than in years previous?

>> well clearly the people that are watching our shows are. and 30 something and cheers and st. elsewhere, these are shows that are smartly written. it is their words that define them. and i think that is what people like. >> we're supposed to be here, is the one thing people can trust. if you go out there like a bunch of night riders, what are you but just another vicious street gang. >> that decade spawned an extraordinary number of shows that really carved out a unique niche for themselves. we began to turn television into an artform. and for the first time people were proud to say, i write for television. >> up until that point, television was second-class. in the '80s, it was something else entirely and it was new and it was kind of interesting. >> it is like everyone in the '80s starts to want to tell their stories. that is what really changes

things. >> the unexpected were more welcome in the '80s. predictability lost its cache. >> television has an impact on every era, every decade. >> television still shapes the thinking of america like no other element in our country. sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. >> it gave rise to people pursuing artistic content that was raised the bar in television production exponentially. >> i love you guys! >> there is a shift in the '80s from wanting to placate the audience to wanting to please and challenge the audience and that is the decade when it happened. >> we had one hell of a run, didn't we, partner. >> we sure did, sonny. >> i'm going to miss you, man. >> i'm going to miss you, too, sonny. >> i can give you a ride to the airport. >> why not?

♪ we'll be doing for tv what fm did for radio. >> there are some that have accused your videos of being soft porn. >> we like to call them tastefully smutty. >> they never had any problems saying how they feel. u2. >> what are your dreams? >> to rule the world. >> michael jackson is the man of the '80s. >> music to a beat and talk. it's rap music. ♪ my life is over ♪ so i might as well speak my mind ♪ >> hea m