a good laugh. >> a good, deep, mortal laugh, even if i don't hear it. ♪ it's a time of enormous turmoil. >> the '60s are over, dad. >> here's michael at the foul line. good! >> we intend to cover all the news all the time. we won't be signing off until the world ends. >> isn't that special? >> any tool for human expression will bring out both the best and worst in us. and television has been that. >> they don't pay me enough to deal with animals like this. >> people are no longer embarrassed to admit they watch television. >> we have seen the news, and it is us.

♪ ♪ ♪ there's two parts to the 8 1980s. johnny carson is able to combine them all. he does it night after night, with that brilliant nonthreatening, nonedgy

edginess. >> you are in a good mood tonight. >> you are in a good mood tonight, and i tell you, we have put a great show together. it will be on a week from thursday. [ laughter ] >> johnny carson in the '80s is making the transition from being the king of late night to being a national treasure. he was a throwback to the old show biz stuff. >> i've been on with you for some time. >> it's been a long time. >> well, you've been busy with other things. >> and the tide is starting to turn in terms of where late-night television is going to go, but johnny is kind of holding out. he was not necessarily of his time in the '80s, but he did sustain a certain timelessness. he's the king. [ laughter ] >> he's all right, he's just playing. >> playing? [ bleep ]. >> my next guest not only has a college degree, but he also has

a high school degree. >> that's right, i do. >> as well. he's hosted "the tonight show" practically as long as johnny carson and now he has his very own show, weekday mornings at 10:00 on nbc. >> what you're witnessing here is a good idea gone awry. a fun-filled surprise turning into an incredible screw-up. >> david letterman originally had a one-hour daytime show, and nbc, after like 13 weeks, decided to cancel it. >> today is our last show on the air. monday, las vegas -- [ booing ] have these people been frisked? >> it was a dismal failure in terms of the ratings, but not in terms of introducing us to letterman. >> david, thank you for being with us tonight. >> thank you very much for having me, i appreciate it. >> in spite of all this nonsense that goes around in the background, stay with it and don't give up. stay with us here in new york. >> dave is back in new york.

you're going to host a late-night television program that premieres monday night. what are critics likely to say tuesday morning? >> i don't much care because i found a way to deal with that, pills and whiskey. >> david, you're on. >> oh, i'm on? >> proceed. >> i'm enjoying listening to you snort. >> they gave him "the late night show" after "the tonight show."" and at the time, people thought who is going to watch television at 12:30 at night. who is up? i'll tell you who is up. young people. college people. >> i know this is the first show and i think this guy needs a little support, dave letterman. >> he was anti-establishment at his core. he was thumbing his nose to any existing social structures. >> who are those women out there by the way? >> neighbors.

>> i'll get rid of them. hey, excuse me. keep it moving. come on, get out. >> he kind of spoofed the whole notion of talk shows. >> it's the late-night guest cam. please say hello to tom hanks. there he is. >> no one could go on "the david letterman show" and try to steer it towards a point of view or push something in particular. he just wouldn't stand for it. you're on to do one thing and one thing only, be as funny as the rest of the show. >> we could get in a two-shot here, david. >> we could actually send the crew home, couldn't we? >> as a comedian, you want the biggest audience that you could get. for dave, he knew a lot of things that he would do that were going to alienate people, and he didn't care. he wanted his thumbprint out there, and that's the most important thing. >> it's time for small-town news. paul -- excuse me, paul? paul shaffer, ladies and gentlemen. >> the show making fun of itself and turning itself inside-out that way was something kind of new. >> i mean, don't we look like guys you'd see hanging around together? >> absolutely. >> would you like to hang around with me? >> nope.

>> i'll say it again, this is the stupidest show -- >> i thought i would never want to do this show with you. >> now why? >> because you thought i was -- >> 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's only television. we're not doing cancer research. if 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? >> actually, steve, that's a -- that's 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've watched johnny carson. and you are no johnny carson. [ laughter ]

>> welcome the great white north. i'm bob mckenzie, this is my brother doug. today we got a real big show -- >> there was a second city chicago company, there was a second city toronto company. the toronto one is the one that fueled the sc-tv series that was originally syndicated and got to the states that way. >> hail, hail! >> hail, hail. thank you very much for that marvelous reception. i particularly want to thank my supporters over there in the cesarean section. >> it's healthy to be an outsider. as a comedian, and canadians are always outsiders, but they are looking at the other culture which is right next door to them. >> i love you, i want to bear your children! >> it was the type of comedy that had only been accessible if you could have gotten into the improv clubs in chicago and toronto. i had never seen anything like second city tv.

>> james bridgeman, parkdale. >> sorry, no, never mind, i'm sorry. >> 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 that it was this sort of low-rent thing. it was this sort of by the seat of their pants kind of operation that gave it an authenticity. >> now that our programming day has been extended i'm going to be spending -- >> 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 real question of whether "saturday night live" would continue at all, whether it would just die. >> the press hasn't been very overly kind. >> yeah, write that stuff. is "saturday night live" "saturday night dead"? >> my favorite is "vile from new york." >> that's funny, that's funny. >> 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 am gumby, dammit! 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.

>> hey, peters. looks great today. >> listen, if you're unhappy with my work, tell me 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 sitcom. the humor was more daring and more satirical, and it was 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.

this is my last broadcast as the anchorman of the "cbs evening news." for me it's a moment for which i long have planned but which nevertheless comes with some sadness. for almost two decades, after all, we've been meeting like this in the evenings, and i'll miss that. and that's the way it is, friday, march 6th, 1981. i'll be away on assignment and dan rather will be sitting in here for the next few years. good night. >> uncle walter had dominated, certainly cbs, but in a way, the country. people used to say he was the most trusted man in the country. >> once walter cronkite retires, all three network news anchors within a period of a couple years switch over to a new generation. the '80s may have been the last gasp where people watching the media liked and trusted the media. >> nuclear arms and how to prevent global destruction are

expected to be the major topic of president reagan's news conference tonight. that conference will be nationally televised within the hour. leslie stahl is at the white house. >> the white house is hoping -- >> in the '80s, women came into the newsroom. when i first joined, it was '72. there were very few. by the '80s, there were more and more. the decade of the '80s was still a time of sink or swim. you had to be resilient in your own way to survive in a period when you were going up against a lot of people who still didn't think women had what it took. >> these are some of the most famous faces in broadcasting. all of whom happen to be women. >> the best producers, i'm going to get fired -- the best producers at cbs news are women. and they are at the level of taking hold and making decisions about individual pieces. they're not yet executive producers of all the news shows, but they will be. >> the past 24 hours, christine craft has taken her cause to many of the nation's news and

talk programs. >> i didn't set out to be joan of ark, but i think what happened to me deserves some attention. >> christine craft had a very successful career, but there she was in her late 30s and the tv station said to her, we're taking you off the air because you've gotten older and you're not as attractive as you once were, which was outrageous. and she decided to make an issue of it. she filed a lawsuit, and it became a huge topic of national discussion. >> a jury said she got a raw deal because she is a woman. >> women in television news everywhere were asked, what do you think about christine craft. >> unfortunately in recent years the emphasis has been increasingly on physical appearance. and to the extent this decision helps swing the emphasis back to substance and good journalism, i think we've got something to be happy out. >> it was important to make the point that what mattered was, what kind of reporter are you? it took the christine craft incident, i think, to bring that conversation out into the open. >> this coming sunday, a new television network opens for business.

cnn. cable news network. you are throwing all the dice on this one. >> why not? nothing ventured, nothing gained. >> well, on that original point, mr. turner, thank you very much, indeed. >> i wanted to see what was going on in the world. and there was no way that you could do it watching the regular television stations. the news only comes on at 6:00 and 10:00. but if there was news on 24 hours, people could watch it anytime. >> we signed on on june 1, and barring satellite problems in the future, we won't be signing off until the world ends. >> there was a widespread belief there was a fool's errand. how could this possibly find an audience? well, he did. >> ready, camera three. >> good evening. i'm david walker. >> i'm lois harp. >> television news before this was stuff that had already happened. for the first time, cnn brought

the world to people in realtime. >> cnn, the world's most important network. >> i didn't do cable news network because somebody told me it couldn't be done. i figured it was a very viable concept, and i went ahead and did it. it was after we announced that we were going to do it that the detractors showed up. >> is cable news network just going to be a new means of delivering the same kind of fare? >> no. it already does provide different fare. cable news network is a perfect and maybe the best example of that. >> people love news, and we had lots of it. and the other guys had not very much. so choice and quantity won out. >> new york city, hello. >> a major catastrophe in america's space program. >> i am lou dobbs along with myron kandel. >> jessica mcclure trapped for almost three days in a dry artesian well. >> the iron curtain between east germany and west berlin has come tumbling down. >> i'm pat buchanan, the conservative on "crossfire."

>> the american people appreciated the new television. they certainly came to cnn in droves. >> mr. gorbachev and i both agree on the desirability of freer and more extensive personal contact between the peoples of the soviet union and the united states. >> we began to realize that the best way to get a message to a foreign leader was to have the president go in the rose garden and make a statement because everybody was watching cnn. >> cnn was a breakthrough. it changed the whole world. >> it changed quickly. the network news business. that business that we weren't the only ones. and it was hard. you know, it's hard to be on the top little perch and have to come down off it. >> on "special segment" tonight, the network news. the first in a two-part series on the profound changes taking place in television news. changes being brought about by business, competition and technology. >> there were a variety of

reasons why people who worked at the broadcast networks were freaked out in 1980s. one of them was cnn and the rise of cable. another was being taken over by foreign entities in corporate america. >> new owners spent billions buying the networks recently, and all of them want their money's worth. >> people began to find out that news could be a profit center. and that focused a lot of attention on us. a lot from people in wall street, for instance. >> if you think about the news divisions of cbs, nbc and abc, they were part of a really proud tradition. a journalistic tradition that really matters. we serve the public. this is not about profit and loss. the people who worked at those news divisions were totally freaked out by what it meant that they were now owned by these larger corporate entities. >> if the television news isn't profitable, at some point there won't be any more television news on the networks. >> i worry about people who are interested only in money and power getting a hold of television. it has higher purposes than that. >> we have seen the news, and it is us.

♪ sometimes ambition in a woman is considered to be a dirty word unfortunately. >> i don't hear a lot of female voices reverberating in the halls of power in this business. >> i'm surprised there aren't more shows about women talking about who they are. >> directing seems to be an area

that is almost impossible to break through. >> i think the '80s were the era when women were being looked at with a little skepticism but definitely with more acceptability. you could see the door opening, but it wasn't wide-open. >> "cagney & lacey" was huge. that there would be two women and they had a serious job and they solved crimes and they were out on the streets, they were tough, that was emblematic or maybe out in front a little of what was actually happening in the country. >> so we're a terrific team. >> this is true. >> there had been by that point hundreds of buddy cop shows. but these buddies were women. it had never been done before. >> i didn't go after this job because i couldn't find anything else. all right. i did not come here because i

needed some kind of work to help pay the orthodontist. this means something to me. >> what the hell are we talking about here? >> we didn't even realize this was going to be such a big deal. and strangely, all these guys would say to us, well, yeah. i mean, it's a good script, but who is going to save them in the end? >> come on. we're taking you out of here. come on. >> where are you taking my wife? >> you don't take one more step. you understand me? sergeant nelson, you have until 8:00 tomorrow morning to turn yourself in to iad. if you don't, i will. >> it was the time where you really saw an emergence of women on television who were not necessarily just 20 and blonde and had a small role, but women who had substantial roles. ♪ thank you for being a friend ♪ travel down the road and back again ♪ >> it was unpredictable that an audience, a young audience, a not so young audience and lots in between could relate to those older ladies.

>> ma, if you couldn't see, why didn't you call me to come get you? >> i tried to, but every time i put in a dime and dialed, a condom popped out. i got five in my pocket. here, dorothy. a lifetime supply. >> she was recently named along with norman lear and jim brooks as one of television's most gifted creative writers. when you look back at the past women's role models on tv, it's easy to see susan harris' impact. >> susan harris was the greatest writer of her generation at that time, singularly. so all credit to her for coming up with so many iterations of something so amazing. >> do you think there is a woman's voice as a writer? >> woman's voice? generally they speak higher, softer. >> i should have known not to ask that of a writer. >> yes, of course there's a woman's voice. women have a different

perspective. women laugh at different things. so, yes, there very definitely is a woman's voice. >> oh, do you know how many problems we have solved over a cheesecake at this kitchen table? >> no, dorothy. exactly how many? >> 147, blanche. >> hi, brian. it's cutthroat prime-time time this fall as some 23 new shows compete in one of the hottest ratings races in years. here's just about one everybody predicts will be a big hit. "designing women" on cbs. four friends forming an interior design business giving each other the business. >> suzanne, if sex were fast food, there would be an arch over your bed. one of the funniest shows. they were a different group of women than you really saw on television. they were feisty and sexy, and linda's voice came through shining.

>> a man can get away with anything. look at reagan's neck, it sags down to here. and everybody raves about how great he looks. can you imagine if nancy had that neck? they'd be putting her in a nursing home for turkeys. >> they had given me this 23 minutes to address whatever topic i want, and it is such a privilege, more than the president of the united states gets, and it's kind of thrilling to have that every week. i would be lying if i didn't say i put my opinions in the show. >> excuse me, but you lovely ladies look like you are in need of a little male companionship here. >> trust me when i tell you you have completely misassessed the situation at this table. >> i am a woman and i am a writer, but i don't really enjoy being called a woman's writer. i think labels are harmful to us. >> with "murphy brown," just about everything about that program felt new.

the civil rights movement and the women's movement had just begun to sort of be reflected in the programming you saw in television in the '80s. >> murphy, you know the dunfree's club is for men only. >> and they have great dinners with great guests, and i don't get to go for one reason and one reason only, and it has to do with something you've got and i don't. a tiny, pathetic, little, "y" chromosome. >> murphy brown was sea change because she was so popular and such a strong, independent, tough woman. >> no matter what you think of a guest or their views, you are obligated to ask the questions in a dignified manner. she was unprofessional, am i right? >> well, i -- >> do you believe this, jim? he thinks it's neat that his office chair swivels and he's calling me unprofessional. (burke) parking splat. and we covered it.

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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 goes up. one of the symbols of this phenomenon is "entertainment tonight." >> hi, i'm tom hallic. welcome to our opening night. the premiere edition of "entertainment tonight." >> all of the critics were kind

of unanimous in that they said it will 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 television 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 like. >> thank you. >> a lot of what makes successful television programming is being in the right place at the right time. and it was the right time. >> entertainment journalism evolved as viewers got more curious and had more access. until that point, the entitlement business had been something we didn't know all that much about. >> we could go behind the scenes in our effort to really give an insider's look.

>> the crafty old j.r. of "dallas" fame was with his mother actress mary martin 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. and you would see actors speaking as actors instead of on a johnny carson show. >> what are you like on camera? >> i'm like this. this is on camera. >> this is on camera. >> it was the beginning of a lot of money being made talking about entertainment and celebrities. >> robert redford plays the good guy in the movies but don't tell that to his neighbors in utah, they are still bitter and redford is the target of their ire -- >> 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 prince ranier's 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 "lifestyles" was about the amazing real estate wizard 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? >> the answer is no, it's my business, it's my life. it's my lifestyle. i love it. the good, the bad. >> does this bring with it political aspiration? >> no political aspiration. >> your show has gotten a lot of ridicule.

there are people who say it's nothing more than trash. >> that doesn't upset me, because i think it's the best trash there is on television. i am not in the business of brain surgery. i am in the business of fluff. >> that's the fantasy element. at a time when the access is possible. it's escapism and it's as operational. 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." >> my name's michael lee wilson. it dawned on me the application of a small motor on a pair of roller skates might really be a

great thing. >> somebody once said that each one of us will be a star for 15 minutes, and i think that that's probably going to happen. >> american culture used to be a culture that celebrated privacy. in the 1980s as we're watching celebrities play out on stage, hey, i want to join, too. all the world becomes a stage. you start seeing shows like "real people" or "the people's court." >> "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! >> get over here! >> 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? how much horse power does this thing got? doing great dad!

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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's 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 today the stuff of fairy tales. >> good evening.

the royal couple at this hour is off on the honeymoon, while a lot of people here in london tonight are still talking about the events of the day. >> when you have great moments like the royal wedding, they are part of history and it's done beautifully and everybody has a chance to watch it all on television and everybody just wants to drink a toast to chuck and di. >> a princess who must now 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 a good time for daytime season op razz, especially for a show like "general hospital" which had that huge success with luke and laura's wedding. >> i remember when luke and laura got married because it was nighttime news worthy. >> the soap opera discovers the blockbuster mentality, the sweeps month mentality. like what can we do to get even more people watching? you have a wedding. you have a kidnapping. you have an evil twin. and primetime stole from daytime. >> after "dallas" proved that ewing oil was better than real oil for cbs, the networks rushed to give the public more. >> the great primetime open operas of the 1980s, "dallas," "dynasty," they're all about compels. this is about being over the top, stabbing each other in the back, going for the gusto, and

having fun. >> i know what's 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 bitch! >> 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 make-believe money has become ratings gold. >> the characters were larger than life, they were 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. >> yes? >> 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 all just ended up being a wonderful picture of fun and debauchery. >> greed was encouraged in the '80s. there was a sense of conspicuous consumption being okay. and those shows kind of 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 have featured the wealthy. ten years ago, that figure was zero. >> it was an accident. your father's dead. >> "falcon crest" was a wine family. there is lorenzo lamas and ronald reagan's first wife jane wyman 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's next? what's going to happen with that? he can't get away with that. you tune in, it was appointment television. >> what will become of the missing twins on "knots landing"? >> they all had spinoffs. "the colbys" was a spinoff for "dynasty." they were seeing 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 these 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's 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. we were glossy. there was no getting around it, we knew what we were there for, and we did it as best we could. it's time for our lowest prices of the season on

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australia's most important export may be neither its animals, nor its beers nor its

films. could in fact be one rupert murdoch. the 55-year-old mr. murdoch is in the midst of building what "forbes" magazine says is the most extensive media empire in history. >> a huge development in television, the hegemony of the three broadcast networks was presumed to be complete and rupert murdoch, having disrupted the newspaper business in australia, the television business in britain, he arrives in america and says i don't see why there should only be three broadcast networks, i'm going to make another one. thises with a big bold bet. >> meantime, he will have to become an american citizen if he is to own tv stations here. something murdoch says he is willing to do. >> some people are saying it will take you 20 years to get your fox network on par with the big three. are you prepared to wait that long? >> sure. i certainly intend to live that long. but i don't believe in the 20 years. >> the reaction to murdoch's idea for a network was similar to the reaction to ted turner starting cnn, it's ridiculous, what does he know about television.

>> we don't think of ourselves as abc, cbs, or nbc. we don't have to reach everyone. there's no question we have an inferior lineup of stations to our counterparts. it means we have to work harder to get our message across and get shows sampled. >> they had an idea that in order to succeed we have to differentiate ourselves from the network. we have to do things they would not do. >> fox started throwing anything against the wall, not knowing what was going to go. first shows were things like "21 jump street." >> what exactly are we looking for here? >> joan rivers in terms of late night. >> we have been banned in boston, which i think is wonderful. wxn pech wxne. pick a finger. >> and "the tracey ullman show"" >> oh, please! >> 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 be thinking of stealing those candy bars. >> that's it! >> "the simpsons" would never have come along had it not been

for "the tracey ullman show." >> ultimately crime hurts the criminal. >> that's 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 their first big, big hit in that way that said if all 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? there, that should buy us about 10 minutes. seven more than we'll need. >> the title of "married with children" on the script was "not the cosby show." how great. you have to love that. they were taking the piss out of american families. fun.

great fun. >> never wanted to get married, i'm married. never wanted kids, i got two of them. how the hell did this happen? >> the bundys were like a purposeful reaction to the perfection of the huxtables. it's wonderful because you had this wonderful black family and these horrible miserable white people. and each show worked on its own terms because you could find things to relate to in both. >> hi there, neighbor. >> please sit down. >> there was a lot of fun to be had in al and peg bundy. >> after fox introduces "married with children," 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 just sit up here on your throne. >> oh, yeah? >> yeah. you think everything gets done by some wonderful wizard. poof, the laundry's folded. poof, dinner's on the table. >> you want me to fix dinner? i'll fix dinner. i'm fixing dinner! >> oh, but honey, 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, "father knows best." hardly anybody lived that way. that was the way advertisers wanted you to live. >> i know what just might make you feel better. >> me too but i bet it's a different list than what you've got. >> the ideal situation is if you can subvert whatever common stuff is said about families and about 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 saying stuff about working class people, she was saying stuff about men and women. so it was about marriage and about raising kids and about how hard it is. >> great. i'm just 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, for the evolution of drama. it just pushed everything forward. >> you think perhaps this

generation are paying more attention to the dialogue, to the relationships they see on television than in years previous? >> clearly the people watching our shows are. "thirtysomething" and "cheers" and "st. elsewhere." these are shows that are smartly written. it's their words that define them, and i think that's what people like. >> i love you guys! >> decade spawned an extraordinary number of shows that really carved out a unique niche for themselves. we began to turn television into an art form. 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's like everyone in the '80s starts to want to tell their stories. that's what really changes things. >> the unexpected was more welcome in the '80s. predictability lost its cachet.

>> 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 in a way that i think has raised the bar in television production exponentially. >> i love you guys. >> there's a shift in the '80s from just wanting to placate the audience to wanting to please and challenge the audience, and that's the decade when it happened. >> we had one hell of a run, didn't we partner? >> yeah, we sure did, sonny. >> i'm going to miss you, man. >> i'm going to miss you, too, sonny. >> give you a ride to the airport? >> why not.

♪ tonight, television takes a look at itself. >> what's on the idiot box? >> it's only an idiot box if an idiot is watching. >> i'll tell but the golden age of television. this period in time will be looked on as the platinum age. >> our obligation is to entertainment. if we've left something to think about, so much the better. >> can't you kunta kinte. >> television should not be just entertainment. >> charges were leveled at the commercial television networks. >> congress has no right to interfere in the media. >> excuse me! >> we have the responsibility to give the audience what it tuned in to see. ♪