♪ >> the 1970s are disappearing. 1980s will be upon us and what a decade it is coming up. happy new year! >> as you begin the '80s in the television world, the landscape was on any given evening 9 out of 10 people were watching only one of three networks. >> more than 30 million people are addicted to it. social critics are mystified by its success. what is it? it's "dallas".

>> a move like that will destroy all of ewing oil. >> a thought like that never crossed my mind. >> brother or no brother, whatever it takes, i'll stop you from destroying ewing oil. >> it literally captivated america for 13 years. >> "dallas" is a television show which is rooted in the 1970s and one of the crazy things that emerges is this character j.r. ewing. >> tell me, which slut are you going to stay with tonight? >> he was such a delicious villain. everyone was completely enamored by this character. >> so many people were watching television that you could do something so unexpected that it would become news overnight.

the national obsession in 1980 around who shot j.r., it's hard to imagine how obsessed we all were with that question. but we were. >> who shot j.r. is about as ideal a cliffhanger as you possibly may get. >> the people who produced that program are going to keep us in suspense for as long as they can. >> we shot j.r. and broke for the summer. then the actors went on strike and it delayed the resolution and it just started to percolate through the world. >> i remember going on vacation to england that summer and that's all that people were talking about there. >> well, we know you don't die. you couldn't die. >> you don't know that. >> how could you die? you couldn't come back next season? >> i couldn't come back, but the show would still go. >> oh, but you wouldn't? what is the show without j.r.

>> if you don't know who shot j.r., you probably don't care. some 82 million americans did and they watched "dallas." it could become the most watched television show ever. >> who shot j.r. is a reflection of old-fashioned television. it gathers everybody around the electronic fireplace which is now the television set. >> about about one program, a critic said it transcends in popularity every other american statement about war. and something special happened today to mobile army surgical hospital 4077 that will touch millions of americans. >> it was the kind of event that would draw the world's press, fox studios, the end of the korean war, the television version of "m.a.s.h." >> i'm proud to have known you. >> there were those landmark times when shows that had been watched through the '70s and

into the '80s like "m.a.s.h." had its final episode and we were all sad to see them go. >> i'll miss you a lot. >> all over the country, armies of vans crowded around television sets to watch the final episode and to bid "m.a.s.h." farewell. >> 123 million people watched one television program at the same time. >> you know, i really should be allowed to go home. there's nothing wrong with me. >> when we ended the show, we got telegrams of congratulations from henry kissinger and ronald reagan. the size of the response and the emotional nature of the response that we were getting was difficult for us to understand. >> who shot j.r. and the last

episode of "m.a.s.h." is the last call for the precable world of television. they are the last time that that huge audience will all turn up for one event. >> that's it. let's roll. >> hey! be careful out there. >> dispatch, we have a 911. armed robbery in progress. >> when quality does emerge on television, the phrase too good for tv is often heard. one recent network offering that seems to deserve that phrase is "hill street blues." >> it's one of the changing points of the entire industry and history of tv. >> we had all watched a documentary about cops and had this real handheld in the moment quality that we were very

enamored of. >> you could almost smell the stale coffee. >> we didn't want to do a standard cop show where you have a crime and two cops and you go out and you catch the bad guy and you sweat him and he confesses. that's it. cops have personal lives that impact their behavior in profound ways. >> well, what about it? is he? >> we're working on it. >> how is it if she's not here? he's lost. >> not lost. >> never in my life have i listened to so much incompetence covered up by so much unmitigated crap. find my client or i'll have you up on charges. >> there are these ongoing arcs for characters that would play out over five, six episodes and in a way for certain stories over the entire series. and no one had really done that

in an hour-long show. >> these past four months, i've missed you. i had to find that out. come home, pizza man. >> i think in the past people had watched television passively and the one thing i think we did set out to be were provocateurs. >> what the hell is the matter with you, man? >> they don't pay me enough to deal with animals like this. the first thing they see is a white face and all they want to do -- >> it was a white man who pulled the trigger, not a black one. >> i thought that was important to finally get across. we wanted to make a show that made you participate, made you pay attention. and i think that worked pretty well. >> and the winner is --

>> "hill street blues." >> 21 nominations and we went onto win eight emmys and it put us on the map. that's when people finally checked us out. >> programming chief of one of the networks used to say to me about shows like "hill street" the american public wants a cheeseburger, and what you're trying to give them a french delicacy. your job is to keep shoving it down their throat until they'll say, that doesn't taste bad and maybe order it themselves when they go to the restaurant. >> the success of "hill street blues" is a critical phenomenon and influenced everything that came after. you saw shows like "saint elsewhere." >> a place you wouldn't want to send your mother-in-law. >> when it first came on, it was promoted as "hill street" in the

hospital. >> you don't know what medications they're on. you're pathetic. pathetic! >> phil. >> what? >> the doctor needs you right away. >> "st. elsewhere" broke every rule there was and made some new rules. >> t-cell count was off. >> they would have tragic things happen to these characters. there was heartache in these people's live and is you felt for them. >> i've got aids. >> television at its best is a mirror of society in the moment. >> they challenged people and challenged you as an actor, much less the audience, to thank. the stuff they gave you was extreme and what they did whether they were dealing with aids or having one of their main doctor characters raped in a prison. they tackled lots of different subjects. >> it was run by people who were

trying to stretch the medium. television producers were encouraged to stretch the medium. >> clear. online last night ♪

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a lot of people used to say,

i was there. now people say, they watched it on television. >> there's just a lot of excitement connected to sports in the '80s. you used to have to depend on the five minutes at the end of your local newscast. there just hadn't been enough. you know? give us a whole network of sports. >> there's just one place you need to go for all the names and games making sports news. espn "sportscenter." >> what happens in the 1980s is sports becomes a tv show. and what are tv shows built around? they're built around characters. >> you can't be serious, man. you cannot be serious! you got the absolute pits of the world, you know that? >> mcenroe, the perfect villain. the new yorker that people loved to hate. borg, the cool swede, never giving any emotion away. >> what tennis really wants is to get its two best players playing over and over again in the final. whether they are john mcenroe and bjorn borg, or chris everett and martina navratilova. that's what we want to tune into over and over.

>> oh, goodness me, midcourt and three match points to martina navratilova. >> this man has a smile that lights up a television screen from here to bangor, maine. >> and that there is magic johnson, this urban kid from michigan, and larry bird, this guy who worked carrying trash. one plays for the los angeles lakers. the other plays for the boston celtics. it's a great story. >> lakers had several chances. here's larry bird. >> magic johnson leads the attack. look at that pass. oh, what's a show! oh, what a show! >> when those championship games are in primetime and people are paying attention to that, television feeds into those rivalries and makes them bigger than they've ever been before. >> the idea is to challenge me with somewhat primitive skill. they're just as good as dead. >> every mike tyson fight was an event.

because every fight was like an ax murder. when he fought michael spinks, the electricity you could just feel watching it on tv. >> he leads with the right hand! there he goes! >> tyson was made for tv because there was drama. >> it's all over! mike tyson has won it! >> not a lot of junior high school kids can dunk. especially at -- >> but everybody tries. everybody tries. >> i think that he is starting to transcend just his sport, that he's becoming something of a public figure. >> michael jordan becomes the model that every other athlete wants to shoot for. they want to be a brand. and that's what television does for these athletes. turns them into worldwide iconic brands. >> the inbounds pass comes in to jordan. here's michael at the foul line. a shot -- good! the bulls win it! >> athletes in the '80s became part of an ongoing group of people that we cared about. we just had an enormous pent-up demand for sports, and the '80s began to provide. thank goodness. >> cable television is continuing to grow.

it's estimated it will go into 1 million more u.s. households this year. >> with cable television suddenly offering an array of different channel choices, the audience bifurcated. that's an earthquake. >> i want my mtv! >> i want my mtv! >> i want my mtv! ♪ >> a new concept is born. the best of tv combined with the best of radio. this is it. welcome to mtv music television. the world's first 24-hour stereo video music channel. >> music television, what a concept. mtv was, pow, in your face. you were not going to turn us off. >> mtv did nothing but play current music videos all day long. so let me get this straight. you turn on the tv, and it's like the radio? >> i'm martha quinn. the music will continue nonstop on mtv music television, the newest component of your stereo

system. >> when mtv launched, a generation was launched. 18 to 24-year-olds were saying, i want my mtv. i want my mtv videos. i want my mtv fashion. >> yo. >> mtv was the first network really focused on the youth market. and becomes hugely influential because they understand each other. the audience and the network. >> mtv had a giant impact, visually and musically, on every part of the tv culture that came next. >> freeze, miami vice! >> friday nights on nbc are different this season thanks to "miami vice." it's a show with an old theme but a lot of new twists. described by one critic as containing flashes of brilliance, nonetheless. shot entirely on location in south miami, the story centers around two undercover vice cops. >> i don't know how this is going to work, tubbs. i mean, not exactly up my alley

style and persona-wise. heaven knows i'm no box of candy. >> television very much was the small screen. what was interesting about tony yerkovich's pilot screenplay for "miami vice," it was very much not that. very much the approach was, okay, they call this a television series. but we're going to make one-hour movies every single week. >> here we go. stand by. >> action! >> police, police! >> they were describing the show as sort of a new wave cop show. >> yeah, it's a cop show for the '80s. we use a lot of mtv images and rock music to help describe the mood and feeling of our show. >> in a lot of ways you don't get "miami vice" without mtv because in a lot of ways "miami vice" was a long video. the music was such a big part of that show. ♪ >> there was an allure to using great music that everybody was listening to as opposed to the routine kind of tv scoring of that period. ♪ i can feel it coming in the

air tonight ♪ >> it was only not afraid to let long scenes play out. it would drag -- a car going from point "a" to point "b" could be a four-minute phil collins song, you know. and it was. ♪ hold on >> being able to take a television series like "miami vice" and let's really kind of rock and roll with this until somebody says, stop, are you guys crazy, you can't do that. and nobody ever did. >> freeze! police! when it comes to autism,

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♪ thomas magnum? >> hammond? >> private investigator? >> oh, you're probably wondering about the goat. just let me drop off my friend, and then we'll talk. >> when we entered the '80s, a lot of one-hour dramas that were lighthearted like "magnum p.i." were very popular. after "m.a.s.h." went off the air, the next season there wasn't a single sitcom in the top ten. first time that had ever happened in tv history. the prevailing feeling was that the sitcom was dead. >> brandon tartikoff, nbc programming chief, says reports of the sitcom's death were greatly exaggerated.

>> time and time again, if you study television history, just when someone is counting a form out, that is exactly the form of programming that's leads to the next big hit. ♪ >> 1984 "the cosby show" comes on. bill cosby is not new to tv. he's had other tv shows. but "the cosby show" is very different. it stands apart from everything else he's done. >> i wanted my eggs scrambled. >> coming right up. >> they talked about parenting. previous to that, on television the kids were cool and the parents were idiots. then "cosby" says, the parents are in charge, and that was something new. >> instead of acting disappointed because i'm not like you, maybe you can just accept who i am and love me anyway because i'm your son. >> that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard in my life!

>> it helps the casting a lot in television. the kids were just great. >> if you were the last person on this earth, i still wouldn't tell you. >> you have to tell me what you did. just tell me what's they're going to do to you. >> unlike every other show on tv, it's showing an upper middle class black family. this wasn't "all in the family." they weren't tackling deep issues. but that was okay. the mere fact that they existed was a deep issue. >> the decade was waiting for something real. in other words, unless it's real, it doesn't seem like it moves anybody. if someone's feeling something, you get to the heart, you get to the mind. if you can hit the hearts and minds, you've got yourself a hit. >> how was school? >> school? dear, i brought home two children that may or may not be ours. >> cosby's show brought this tremendous audience to nbc. and that was a bridge to us. i mean, our ratings went way up.

♪ sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name ♪ >> even the theme song to "cheers" puts you in a good mood. >> evening, everybody. >> norm! >> norman! >> what's shaking, norm? >> all four cheeks and a couple of chins, coach. >> by the end of the "cheers" pilot, not only did you know who everybody was, but you wanted to come back and see what was going to happen. it's like all you have to do is watch it once. you're going to love these people. these are universal characters, and the humor worked on so many levels. >> i was up until 2:00 in the morning finishing off kierkegaard. >> i hope he thanked you for it. >> you have to create a community that people are identifying with. and "cheers" gives you that community. >> boy, i tell you, i've always wanted to skydive. i've just never had the guts. >> what's did it feel like? >> i imagine a lot like sex.

>> i have to imagine what sex is like. but i have plenty of sex. and plenty of this, too. why don't you just get off my back, okay? >> in the first episode, there was a rather passionate annoyance. i was saying, ah, something's going on here. a really intelligent woman would see your line of b.s. a mile away. >> i've never met an intelligent woman that i'd want to date. >> on behalf of the intelligent women around the world, may i just say, whew! >> you saw what ted and shelly had together. we said, oh, no. we've got to do this relationship. >> ted and i understood what they were writing right away. >> if you'll admit that you are carrying a little torch for me, i'll admit that i'm carrying a little one for you. >> well, i am. carrying a little torch for you. >> well, i'm not carrying one

for you. >> diane knew how to tease sam. sam knew how to tease diane, and i guess we know how to tease the audience. >> this incredible chemistry between the two of them ignited the show. that's what's drove the show for the first five years. >> what's the matter? >> oh, i'm devastated. i need something expeditious and brutal to numb my sensibilities and blast me into sweet oblivion. >> how about a boilermaker? >> make it a mimosa. >> we had the luck to be able to rotate cast, and every time we put somebody in, they were explosions. >> buh! >> there was something very special about that setting, those characters, that i never got tired of writing that show. >> sophisticated surveys, telephonic samplings, test audiences. all of those things help to separate winners from losers and make midcourse corrections. but you can't cut all comedies from the same cookie cutters. all you can hope is every night

turns out like thursday. >> yo, angela! >> next! >> how rude. >> he's quick, i'll give him that. >> all of television said, oh, well, maybe the sitcoms are alive again. and that's all that it took. it took one success. >> a few years from now, something new may tempt the people who pick what we see. but it's a very safe guess that whatever gets hot for a season or two, the men and women who create good television comedy will be laughing all the way to the bank. to help you lose weight! more simplicity with what's in your fridge? which suggests meals based on what you have. more motivation with on-demand workout classes. more freedom with over 300 zero point foods. and new tools to boost your mood and help keep you hydrated! get more of what you need to help you lose weight.

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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 of 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 that tomorrow's -- >> 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 are 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 arc, but i think that 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. she decided to make an issue of it. she filed a lawsuit and it became a huge national topic of discussion. >> a jury said she got a raw deal because she is a woman. >> so women in television news everywhere were asked, what do you think about cristine craft? >> i think 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 to good journalism, i think we've got something to be happy about. >> it was important to make the point that what mattered was, what kind of reporter are you?

but 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're throwing all the dice on this one. >> why not? nothing ventured, nothing gained. faint heart ne'er won fair lady. >> 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. news only comes on at 6:00 and 10:00. but if there was news on 24 hours, people could watch it any time. >> we decided on june 1, and barring satellite problems in the future, we won't be signing off until the world ends. >> it was a wide belief, this was a fool's errand. how can this possibly find an audience? well, he did. >> ready camera 3 -- >> good evening. i'm david walker. >> i'm lois harp. now here's the news. president carter has arrived --

>> 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. >> the major catastrophe in america's space program -- >> i am lou dobbs along with financial editor 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. >> good evening, i'm patrick 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. >> a 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 are 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. >> 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 hold of television. it has higher purposes than that. >> we have seen the news, and it is us. so you only pay for what you need. wow. that will save me lots of money. this game's boring. only pay for what you need. liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. at wand get way more,spend less you look like this. but you feel... like this. sofas from one-ninety-nine. coffee tables from seventy-nine dollars. decor from twenty-nine dollars. oh yeah. feels good to save. ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ ...little things...

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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 and 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 happening in the country. >> so we're a terrific team.

>> there had been by that point hundreds of buddy cop shows. but these buddies were women. that 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's going to save them in the end? >> come on. we're taking you out of here, come on. >> 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. >> phyllis! >> 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 blond and had a small role.

but women who had substantial roles. ♪ thank you for being a friend ♪ traveled 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. 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 creator 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, in my opinion, of her generation, of 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 know 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 cut-throat primetime time this fall, as some 23 new shows compete in one of the hottest ratings races in years. here's one just about everybody predicts will be a big hit. "designing women" on cbs. four friends forming an interior decorating business and giving each other the business. >> suzanne, if sex were fast food, there would be an arch over your bed.

>> linda bloodworth-thomason created one of the funniest, most unusual shows in "designing women." they were a different group of women than you really saw on television. they were feisty, they were sexy. and linda's voice came through shining. >> a man can get away with anything. i mean, 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's such a privilege, it's 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 said i didn't 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 that you have completely misassessed

the situation at this table. >> moving on to scene "d." >> 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 that you saw on 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. james, she was unprofessional, am i right? >> well, i, uh -- >> do you believe this, jim? he thinks it's neat that his office chair swivels and he's calling me unprofessional. when it comes to autism,

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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 that old show biz stuff. >> i've been on with you for some time. >> it's been a long time. >> yeah, well, you've been busy with other things. [ laughter ] >> 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 often 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, 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. [ laughter ] >> david, you're on. >> oh, i'm on? i'm sorry. >> 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's going to watch television at 12:30 at night? who's up? i'll tell you who's up. young people. college people. >> is it going well? 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. >> you know, we could get in a two-shot here, dave. >> we could actually send the crew home, couldn't we? >> you know, as a comedian, you want the biggest audience that you could get. for dave, he knew a lot of things that he would do 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? do you have any accompanying music here for small-town news? 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 that 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's nothing sacred about television. >> all right, steven is upstairs. >> hey, dave, i was just curious. is there any way i 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's a cynicism that just became common sense after a while, because it never got old.

>> i've watched johnny carson. and you are no johnny carson. ♪ goo goo goo goo goo goo goo goo ♪ >> 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 sctv series which originally was 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. you know, as a comedian. and canadians are always outsiders, but they're looking at the other culture which is right next door to them. >> i love you, i want to bear your children! ha ha ha! >> 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, mrs. brickley? >> put it in the fridge, butch. >> 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 most question of whether "saturday night live" would continue at all, whether it would just die. night live" would continue at all, whether it would just die. >> the press hasn't been very overly kind. >> yeah, i read that stuff. is "saturday night live" "saturday night dead"? >> oh, man, come on. >> my favorite is "vile from new york." >> please, come on. >> that's funny, that's funny. >> they were having a hard time. and then came the man that saved 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. ♪ ♪ too hot in the hot tub >> 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 its 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're through, you hear me, through! 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 at first 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. [ phone rings ] >> i'll get it. >> it's the garry shandling show. >> people were taking the old principles of comedy and trying to turn them into something new. we spent years and years watching sitcoms and dramas and talk shows by then, we knew them by heart, that if somebody played on that and parodied it, we got it instantly. >> i appreciate you coming in under these conditions, lewis, i really do. you want to hold the credits? okay. now see, we were going to show the credits and you screwed that up, okay, because you're late. >> "the garry shandling show" was aware of the fact that it was a situation comedy. it highlighted the cliches in funny ways. >> are you looking into the camera? >> yeah. no, i didn't -- >> don't look into the camera. >> i didn't. >> don't. you don't come in here and look into 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 so-called saturday morning kids' show that adults could watch and wink at each other as they were watching it, is very clever. >> good morning. >> what's today's secret word? >> the secret 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 junior 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 a wit and with the music. it was a brilliantly written show and a great performance by that entire young cast. >> hey, steve -- it looks like my baby brother and his 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 have 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 just 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 seemed so pure and so real. ♪ when a man loves a woman can't keep his mind on nothing else ♪ >> the tone of the baby boomers in the 1960s is about rebellion, about being students. by the 1980s, it's time to grow up. and so they shave their beards, give up their dashikis, and put on power suits, a whole new notion. >> oh, the yuppies. last year the politicians were all talking about winning their votes. now the young urban professionals and the rest of their baby boom generation are being wooed by advertisers and their agencies. >> by the '80s, it was pretty clear that the generation after the generation of the '60s may be embodied by alex keaton on "family ties," seeming to be a lot more interested in the corner office than the new jerusalem.

>> you're a young man, you shouldn't be worried about success. you should be thinking about hopping on a tramp 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 actually laughing at the parents for being too hopelessly liberal. >> what is this? i found it in the shower. >> that's generic brand shampoo. >> no! >> 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 kind of youthful reaganite to emerge that's focused on the future, that's focused more on a critique of the '60s. >> michael j. fox as alex keaton really became the center of the show. and the writers were smart enough to see that they had something special, and they wrote to that. >> it's not fair, alex.

>> yeah. there's 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's a very conservative and very intense 17-year-old. >> the first thing your teacher is going to ask is what did you do over the summer? a lot of kids will say i went to the zoo or i went to the beach or i went 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's a whole notion of 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 suit, alan. good shoulder pads. you looking to get drafted by the eagles? >> 30-somethings said we're not going to have cops, lawyers or doctors. we're just going to be about people. >> what are we doing here, why did we start this business? >> to do our thing. but right now we got two wives, three kids, four cars, two mortgages, a payroll. and that's life, pal. you be the breadwinner now. >> is that what i am? >> "30 something" is a very important show as you are going into this era of television being more introspective and more emotional. and some people weren't buying it. but for other people when they were talking about things like having kids and who is going to go back to work and some of these issues that hadn't been talked about a whole lot, it was important to people. [ crying ] >> 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. >> now what some people perceive as annoying has nothing to do with yuppie. i think yuppie is a word made up by demographers and advertisers to sell soap. 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, not how many were watching. and that was more and more catching on in the '80s. >> the prosecution will ask you that you look to the law, and this you must do. but i ask of you that you 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. >> uh-uh, tell the truth. if you had to do it all over again and she walked into your office and she said, take my case, would you? >> well -- >> of course you would, because it is juicy, newsy, exciting stuff. >> it was 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. >> what are you doing for dinner tonight? >> i was planning on having you. >> in that case, 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's like, okay, i get it. so it's 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 of those shows that said, okay, i've seen the formulas that we've had up to here, let's do different things. >> hello. >> hello. >> we're looking a little pale today, aren't we? who have we here? >> i don't know. >> "moonlighting" was a really experimental show. they had a shakespeare episode, they had a black and white episode. they did a musical episode. they tried a lot of different stuff. >> i don't give a flying fig about the lines in my face, the crows' feet by my eyes, 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's no trouble on the set. there is no trouble on the set. >> well, we have a very volatile relationship. there is a hate/love element to it. >> the flirtations were great and bruce and cybill were great. glenn caron kept them apart for a long time, and bravo to him. >> what they did is they took the sam and diane dynamic from "cheers" and escalated it. "cheers" was will they, won't they? "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? >> well, that's going to be resolved this year. we like to think of it as two and a half years of foreplay.

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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's sort of a maturation of women's issues, he seemed to talk to them in the audience, he seemed to talk to them 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's 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's 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 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 oprah remodeled the whole house. >> there are a lot of other people out there watching who really don't understand what you mean when you say, we're in love. because i remember questioning my gay friends, you mean you feel about him the way i feel about -- it's kind of a strange concept, you know, 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. >> well, did you know that for the longest time i wanted to be a fourth grade teacher because of you? >> my, 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's 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's what i want to do. that's what i do every day on my show. you know, we get accused of being tabloid television and sensational and so forth. but what i really think we do more than anything else is we serve as a voice to a lot of people who felt up until perhaps my show or some of the others, they were alone. >> this is what 67 pounds of fat looks like. i can't lift it. it is amazing to me that i can't lift it but i used to carry it around every day.

>> there's 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. >> 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's never seen anything like morton downey jr. >> i want to tell you -- >> sit down and shut up! >> other competitors come and take the television talk show into two different directions. so you start seeing 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 caricaturish person that he was, or geraldo. he did his own outlandish things. >> stay with us, ladies and gentlemen. we're going to get into the mind of another all-american boy who came under the influence of satanism and took part in a crime without passion or motive --

>> geraldo rivera takes the power of the talk show to a whole other level, trying to put people on stage who hate each other, who are going to fight -- >> in the case of the temple of set and the church of satan, we have not had any problems with criminal behavior -- >> but yet when you hear story after story after story of people committing these wretched crimes 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. >> geraldo rivera is back in a controversy tonight. rivera drew sharp criticism with his recent television special on devil worship. but today he found himself in a real free-for-all. >> i get sick and tired of seeing uncle tom here, sucking up, trying to be a white man -- >> go ahead. go ahead. >> sit down. >> hey, hold it. hold it. >> sit down. >> rivera suffered a broken

nose, but he said the show will be broadcast later this month in its entirety. >> well, that's 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 a chair on the cover, and the article said, isn't this awful, look what's happened to television. yet they couldn't wait to use it to sell their own magazine. >> let's go to the audience, all right? i want to speak to you guys. >> over the years, broadcasting has deteriorated. and now in this era of deregulation, it's deteriorating further. >> give people light, and they will find their own way. relax, america will survive the talk shows. ♪

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>> 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 tv critics in the united states and canada to find out which television shows had the most impact on viewers over the years. >> now 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. >> well, 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 entertainment 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 that 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 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." >> my name's michael lee wilson. this dawned on me, that 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 sort of 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 camerapeople 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. >> -- 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. i mean, that was like just massive. >> this was the final act of a spectacle that may never again be seen again 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 that it was a good time for daytime soap operas, 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 newsworthy. >> 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 soap operas of the 1980s, "dallas," "dynasty," they're all about excess. 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're doing one episode a week. you can't do that if you're 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 their 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 as 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's lorenzo lamas, and there's ronald reagan's first wife. jane wyman is on that show. >> emma is pregnant. >> i know a doctor who can 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. and then you tune in, it was appointment television. >> what will become of the missing twins on "knots landing"? >> what? >> they all had spinoffs. the "dallas" spinoff "knots landing." "the colbys" was a spinoff for "dynasty." they were seeing how much they could max this stuff out. because it was really successful. >> where's your son miles? isn't he going to be part of this venture or just playing

polo as usual? >> the colbys can 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. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean?

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the huge development in television of the three broadcast networks, it was presumed to be complete. i am going to make another one. this was a big, boll bet.

you have to become american citizens to own a tv station here something murdoch says he's willing to do. there is something people will say it will take you 20 years to get your fox network on par with the big three. are you prepared to live that long? >> sure, if you live that long. the reaction i do with murdoch was the same with cnn. what does he know about television. >> we don't have to reach everyone. there is no question we have inferior counter patrts. >> they had an idea that in order to succeed, we have to do things they would not do. >> fox started throwing anything against the wall not knowing what was going to go for shows like things like "21 jump street."

>> joans river in terms of late night. >> and "the tracy ullman show." >> again, they were looking for something different. >> i got to have those candy bars. >> you better not thinking of stealing it. >> t"the similapsons" would nev come along had it not been for "the tracy ullman show." >> fox was thrilled that it was different. sure, do whatever you want. we are happy to have a show on the air. >> i am home. "married with children" was their first big, big hit in that way that says if all the rest of

television is going this way, we are going that way. >> bud, kelly, you want to come down and help me in the kitchen? >> that should be about ten minutes. seven more than we'll need. >> the title of "married with children" was not "the cosby show." >> how great, you have to love that. it is like taking a piss out of american families -- great fun. >> never want to get married, i am married. and never wanted to have kids, i have two, how the hell did this happen? >> the bundy, you have this black family and these horrible miserable white people. each show works on its own terms because you can find things relating to both. >> howdy, neighbor. >> i hate these people. >> it was a lot of fun to be had

and al and peg bundy. >> after fox introduces "married with children," they did very well and back on abc they came up with "roseanne." >> you think this is a magic kingdom and you sit here on your throne. >> oh, poof, the laundry is folded and poof the landdinner n the table. >> you want to fix dinner? >> oh, honey, you fixed dinner three years ago. >> the donna reid's days and early days, father knows best, hardly anybody live like that. that's the way advertisers want you to live. >> i know what makes you feel better. >> me too. >> the ideal situation is if you can subvert whatever common stuff that's said about families and parenting. >> oh, i got you guys --

>> her loudness and unfilteredness. she was saying stuff about men and women and it was about marriage and raising kids and how hard it is. >> oh, great. i am going the 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 as big decade for the evolution of comedy and drama, it pushed everything forward. >> we think perhaps this generation are paying more attention to the dialogue and relationships that they see on television than in years previous? >> clearly the people that are watching our shows are and 30 something years seen elsewhere. these are shows that are smartly written. it is their words that defines them. i think that's what people like. >> well, we are supposed to be here is the one thing that people can trust. if you go out there like a bunch

of knight riders, what the hell are you? just another vicious street gang. >> that decade spawned an extraordinary number of shows that carved out a uniqueness of itself. we began to turn television into an art form and for the first time people are proud to say i write for television. up until that point television was second class. in the '80s it was something else byerentirely and it was ned spr interesting. everyone in the '80s started telling their stories, that's what changed. the unexpected was welcomed in the '80s. predictability lost its cache. >> television still shapes the thinking of america like no other elements of our country, sometimes for the better and the worse. >> it gave rise for people

pursuing artistic content in a way that raised the bar exponentially. >> there is a shift in the '80s for just wanting to placate the audience to wanting to please and challenge the audience, that's the decade when it happened. >> oh yeah, one hell of a run, didn't we, partner. >> we sure did. i am going to miss you man. >> i am going to miss you, sonny. >> can you give me a ride to the airport? why not.

in five, four, three, two. pbs is changing dramatically with 150 channels that may be available in the future. >> there are a lot of things that we do that you could not have on network television. people are trying to do something different. this is a celebration, opening the doors and allowing america to come inside. >> there is always something on television and some of it may be better than we deserve. >> oh, that was cool.

♪ ♪ 1990. 9, 8 -- >> oh, this horrible year that'll never end. when the 1980s feeling a lot of experimentation. >> "thesimpsons" inspired by the distrust of which television ta