Slowly but surely, the 1970s are disappearing. The 1980s will be upon us. And what a decade it is coming up. Happy new year as we begin The 80s in the television world, the landscape was, on any given evening, nine out of ten People 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 . Its televisions primetime Prairie Pot boilers dallas. a move like that will destroy all of Ewing Oil and ruin our family name. I assure you, a thought like that never crossed my mind. Brother or no brother, whatever it takes, ill stop you from destroying Ewing Oil. Dallas established new ground in terms of a weekly Onehour Show that literally captivated america for 13 years. Dallas is a Television Show which in some ways is rooted in the 1970s, and one of the crazy things that emerges is this character, jc. R. Ewing as a pop phenomenon. Tell me, j. R. , which slut are you going to stay with tonight. What difference does it make . Its got to be more interesting than the slut im Looking at right now. He was such a delicious villain. Everyone was completely enamored by this character. At this point, so many People were watching television that you could do something so unexpected that it would become news overnight. Whos there . [ gunshots ] the national obsession in 1980 around who shot j. R. Its 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 could get. Who did shoot j. R. . We may never get the answer to that question. The People who produce Thats Program are going to keep us in suspense for as long as they possibly can. We shot j. R. , and then we broke for the summer. Then coincidentally 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 thats all that People were talking about there. Well, we know you dont die. I mean you couldnt die. We dont know that. How could you die . You couldnt come back next season. Thats what i meant. I couldnt come back, but the show could still go. But you wouldnt. What is that show without j. R. . Thats what i figure. I guess if you dont Know By Now who shot j. R. , you probably do not care. But last night some 82 Million americans did, and they watched the much touted dallas episode. It could become the most watched Television Show ever. Who shot j. R. Is a reflection of oldfashioned television. Its a moment that gathers everybody around the electronic fireplace which is now the television set. One special american Television Program. Critics said it transcends in popularity ever 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 grab The Worlds breath. Stage 920th century fox studio, tend of the korean war, the Television Version M. A. S. H. Its been an honor and a privilege to have worked with you. And im very, very 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. Ill miss you. Ill miss you. A lot. All over the country, armies of fans crowded around Television Sets to watch the final episode and to bid m. A. S. H. Farewell. The finale of m. A. S. H. Was unprecedented. 123 Million People watched one Television Program at the same time. You know, i really should be allowed to go home. Theres 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. Are the Last Call for the precable world of television. Its like they are the last time that that huge audience will all turn up for one event. All right. Thats it. Lets roll. Hey. Lets 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. Hill street is one of the changing points of the entire industry in the 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. The minute you Looked at it, it Looked different. It had a mood to it. You could almost smell the stale coffee. We didnt want to do a standard Cop Show where, you know, youve got a crime, and youve got your two cops. And you go out and you catch the bad guy, and you sweat him, and he confesses, and thats it. Cops have personal lives that impact their behavior in profound ways. Well, what about it . Is he here, or is he elsewhere . Dont get excited, counselor. Were workinG On it. How is this for logic . If hes not here, and if hes not elsewhere, hes lost. We didnt say that. You lost never in my entire life have i listened to so much incompetence covered up by so much unmitigated crap. Find my client, or, i swear, ill have you up on charges. There would be these ongoing arcs for these characters that would play out over five, six episodes, sometimes an entire season. And in a way for certain stories, over the entire series. And no one had really done that in an hourlong dramatic show. These past four months, ive 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. You fill it out. What the hell is the matter with you, man . Ill tell you something, they dont pay me enough to deal with animals like this. The first thing they see is a white face, and all they want to do listen to me. It was a white man that pulled the trigger, not a black one. It was a white one it set a trend. The idea that the audience can accept characters being deeply flawed, even though they are wearing a uniform. 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. we got 21 nominations, and we went on to win eight emmys. It put us on the map literally, and thats when People finally checked us out. Programming chief of one of the networks used to say to me about shows like Hill Street and st. Elsewhere, what the american People want is a cheeseburger. What you are trying to give them is a french delicacy. And he said, your job is to keep shoving it down their throat until after a while, theyll say, that doesnt taste bad. And maybe theyll even order it themselves when they go to the restaurant. Nice for you to join us. The success of Hill Street blues is a critical phenomenon. It influenced everything that came after. Then you saw shows like st. Elsewhere. You know what People call this . Not st. Eligis. St. Elsewhere. A place you wouldnt want to send your motherinlaw. When it first came on, it was promoted as Hill Street in a hospital. You gave your patients the wrong antibiotics. You dont know what medications theyre on. You write the worst progress notes. Youre pathetic. Pathetic bill . What . Dr. Mora needs you right away. Im sorry. St. Elsewhere broke every rule there was and then built some new rules. The Blood Bank called a little while ago. They ran a Routine Panel on that pint of blood. Tcell count was off. They would have tragic things happen to these characters. There was real heartache in these Peoples lives and you really felt for them. Ive got aids . Television at its best is a mirror of society in the moment. St. Elsewhere challenged People, and they challenged you as an actor, much less the audience, to think. 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 difficult subjects. St. Elsewhere was run by People who were trying to stretch the medium, and in The 80s, Television Producers were encouraged to stretch the medium. Okay. Clear. brad how does apartmentsdotcom maintain the superhuman levels of productivity necessary to help more renters get into new homes than any other site . Its really as simple as taking the Ol Power Nap once in a while. [brad makes a snoring sound] and cockadoodledooskie wakeywakey. That should clear out the digital cobwebs for a few months or so. Apartmentsdotcom. The most popular place to find a place. A lot of People used to say, i was there. Now People say they watch it on television. Theres 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 hadnt been enough, you know . Give us a whole network of sports. Theres just one place you need to go for all the names and games making sports news. Espn sportscenter. what happened in the 1980s is sports becomes a tv show. And what are Tv Shows built around . Theyre built around characters. You cant be serious, man. You cannot be serious you got the absolute 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 Evert and martina navratilova, thats what we want to tune in to over and over and over. Oh, goodness me, midcourt and three Panther Match points to martina navratilova. This man has a smile that lights up a Television Screen from here to bangor, maine. And then there is magic johnson, this urban kid from michigan, and larry bird, this guy who worked carrying trash. One plays for the lakers. The other plays for the boston celtics. Its a great story. Lakers had several chances. Heres larry bird. Jumping down the court. Magic johnson leads the attack. Look at that pass. Oh, whats a show oh, what a show when the championship games are in primetime and People are paying attention to that, television feeds into those rivalries and makes them bigger than theyve ever been before. Primitive skill. Theyre 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. Its all over. Mike tyson has won it not a lot of Junior High School kids can dunk. Especially at five. Everybody tries, man. Everybody tries. I think that he is starting to transcend his sport that hes becoming a public figure. Michael jordan becomes the model every other athlete wants to shoot for. They want to be a brand. And thats what television does for these athletes. It turns them unit worldwide, iconic brands. The Inbounds Pass comes in to jordan. Here is michael on the foul line. The shot good the bulls win it athletes in The 80s became part of an ongoing group of People that we cared about. We had an enormous pentup demand for sports and The 80s began to provide. Thank goodness. Cable television is continuing to grow. Its estimated it will go into 1 Million more u. S. Households this year. With Cable Television suddenly offering an array of different Channel Choices that audience bifurcated, thats 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 worlds first 24hour 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 its like the radio . Im 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 24yearolds 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. its 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 dont know how this is going to work, tubbs. I mean youre not exactly up my Alley Style and personawise. Heaven knows im no box of candy. Television very much was the small screen. It was interesting about Tonys Pilot Screen play for Miami Vice. it was not that. Very much the approach was, okay, they call this a Television Series. But were going to make onehour movies every single week. Here we go. Stand by. Action. Police you were just describing the show as sort of a new wave Cop Show. Yeah, its 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 dont 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 not only was it not afraid to let long scenes play out, it would drag. A car going from point a to point b could be a Fourminute Phil collins song, you know. And it was. Being able to take a Television Series like Miami Vice and lets really Rock And Roll with this until somebody says, stop, are you guys crazy . You cant do that. And nobody ever did. Freeze police. Among my patients i often see them have Teeth Sensitivity as well as gum issues. Does it worry me . Absolutely. Sensodyne Sensitivity And Gum gives us a dual Action Effect that really takes care of both our Teeth Sensitivity as well as our gum issues. Theres no question its something that i would recommend. Vo Nobody dreams in conventional thinking. It didnt get us to the moon. It doesnt ring the bell on Wall Street. Or disrupt the status quo. Tmobile for business uses unconventional thinking to help you realize new possibilities on americas largest, fastest, and most reliable 5g network. Plus Customer Experience that finds solutions in the moment. And firstclass benefits, like 5g with every plan. Network, Support And Value without any tradeoffs. Thats tmobile for business. Lisa here, has had many jobs. And all that experience has led her to a job that feels like home. With home instead, you too can become a caregiver to older adults. Apply today. Look. If your Wireless Carrier was a guy, youd leave him tomorrow. Not very flexible. Not great at saving. You deserve better xfinity mobile. Now, they have unlimited for just 30 a month. 30 dollars. And theyre number 1 in customer satisfaction. His number . Delete it. Deleting it. So break free from the big three. Xfinity internet customers, take the Savings Challenge at xfinitymobile. Com mysavings or visit an Xfinity Store to learn how our Switch Squad makes it easy to switch and save hundreds. Thomas magnum . Marian hammond . The private investigator . Oh, youre probably wondering about the goat. Just let me drop off my friend, and then well talk. When we entered The 80s, a lot of onehour dramas that were lighthearted like magnum p. I. Were very popular. After m. A. S. H. Went off the air, the next season, there wasnt 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 Sitcoms 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 leads to the next Big Hit. 1984 the Cosby Show comes on. Bill cosby is not new to tv. Hes had other Tv Shows, but the Cosby Show is very different. It stands apart from everything else hes done. I wanted my eggs scrambled. Coming right up. They talked about parenting. Previous to that, the kids were cool, and the parents were idiots. Cosby says the parents are in charge and that was something new. Instead of acting disappointed because im not like you, maybe you can just accept who i am and love me anyway because im your son. Thats the dumbest thing ive ever heard In My Life you know, it helps the castinG Of anything helps a lot in television. And the kids were just great. If you were the last person on this earth, i still wouldnt tell you. You have to Tell Me what you did. Just Tell Me what theyre going to do to you. Unlike every other show on tv, its showing an upper Middle Class black family. This wasnt All In The Family they werent tackling, you know, deep issues. But that was okay. The mere fact they existed was a deep issue. The decade was waiting for something real. In other words, unless its real, it doesnt seem like it moves anybody. If someones feeling something, you get to the heart. You get to the mind. And if you can hit the hearts and minds, you got yourself a hit. How was school . School, dear. I brought home two children that may or may not be ours. The Cosby 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. Whats 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. Its like all you have to do is watch it once. Youre going to love these People. These are universal characters, and the humor worked on so many levels. Last night 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 identify with. And cheers gives you that community. Boy, i tell you, ive always wanted to sky dive. Ive just never had the guts. What did it feel like . I imagine a lot like sex. Not that i have to imagine what sex is like. I have plenty of Sex And Plenty of this too. Why dont you just get off my back, okay . In the first episode, there was a rather passionate annoyance. I was saying, oh, something is goinG On here. A really intelligent woman would see your line of b. S. A mile away. I never met an intelligent woman that id want to date. On behalf of the intelligent women around The World, may i just say, phew. When we saw what ted and shelly had together, we said, oh, no. Weve got to do this relationship. Ted and i understood what they were writing right away. If youll admit that you are carrying a little torch for me, ill admit that im carrying a little one for you. Oh, i am carrying a little torch for you. Well, im 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. Thats what drove the show for the first five years. Whats the matter . Im devastated. I need something expeditious and brutal to 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, there were explosions. 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 cant cut all comedies from the same cookie cutters. All you can hope is every night turns out like thursday. Yo, angela next. How rude. Hes quick. Ill give him that. All of television said, oh, well, maybe the sitcoms are alive again. And thats 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 its 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. Can you be free of Hair Breakage worries . We invited mahault to see for herself that new Dove Breakage Remedy gives damaged hair the strength it needs. 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Its hard for People to k how much their Accident Case is worth. H barnes. T Ouour Juryry aorneneys hehelpou the Insurance Company Getenwasnt fair. Ity y cablele. I didnt know what my case was worth, so i called the barnes firm. Llll theararnes rmrm now the best result possible. Call one eight hundred, Eight Million this is my last broadcast as the anchorman of the cbs evening news. for me its a moment for which i long have planned but which nevertheless comes with some sadness. For almost two decades, after all, weve been meeting like this in the evenings, and ill miss that. And thats the way it is, friday, march 6th, 1981. Ill 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 Reagans 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 didnt 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, im 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. Theyre 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 Nations News and talk programs. I didnt set out to be joan of arc, 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, were taking you off the air because youve gotten older and youre 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 weve 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. Faint heart never 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. 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 wont be signinG Off until The World ends. There was a widespread belief there was a fools errand. How could this possibly find an audience . Well, he did. Ready, camera three. Good evening. Im david walker. Im lois harp. Now heres the news. Television news before this was stuff that had already happened. For the first time, cnn brought The World to People in realtime. Cnn, The Worlds most important network. I didnt do Cable News network because somebody told me it couldnt 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 americas 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. Good evening. Im pat buchanan, the conservative in crossfire. The american People certainly appreciated the new information. 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 werent the only ones. And it was hard. You know, its 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 Twopart 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 moneys 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 isnt profitable, at some point there wont 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. Im morgan, and theres more to me than hiv. More love, more adventure, more community. But with my Hiv Treatment, theres not more medicines in my pill. I talked to my doctor and switched to fewer medicines with dovato. Dovato is for some adults who are starting Hiv1 Treatment or replacing their current hiv1 regimen. With just 2 medicines in 1 pill, dovato is as effective as a 3drug regimen. To help you reach and stay undetectable. Research shows People who take Hiv Treatment as prescribed and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit hiv through sex. Dont take dovato if youre allergic to its ingredients or if you take dofetilide. Taking dovato with dofetilide can cause serious or lifethreatening Side Effects. Hepatitis b can become harder to treat while on dovato. Dont Stop Dovato without talking to your doctor, as your Hepatitis B may worsen or become lifethreatening. Serious or lifethreatening Side Effects can occur, including allergic reactions, lactic acid buildup, and liver problems. If you have a rash and other symptoms of an allergic reaction, Stop Dovato and get medical help right away. Tell your doctor if you have Kidney Or Liver problems, or if you are, may be, or plan to be pregnant. Dovato may harm your unborn baby. Use effective Birth Control while on dovato. Do not breastfeed while taking dovato. Most common Side Effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, tiredness, and anxiety. So much goes into who i am. Hiv medicine is one part of it. Ask your doctor about dovatoi did. Youre clearly someone who takes care of yourself. So why wait to screen for Colon Cancer . Because when caught in early stages, its more treatable. Im cologuard. Im noninvasive and detect altered dna in your stool to find 92 of Colon Cancers even in early stages. Tell me more. Its for People 45 plus at average risk for Colon Cancer, not high risk. False positive and negative results may occur. Ask your prescriber or an online prescriber if cologuard is right for you. Im on it. Sounds like a plan. Flowers are fighters. Thats why the alzheimers Association Walk to end alzheimers is full of them. Because flowers find a way to break through. Just like we will. Join the fight at alz. Org walk sometimes ambition in a woman is considered to be a dirty word unfortunately. I dont hear a lot of female voices reverberating in the halls of power in this business. Im surprised there arent 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 wasnt 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 were 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 didnt go after this job because i couldnt 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 didnt even realize this was going to be such a big deal. And strangely, all these guys would say to us, well, yeah. I mean, its a good script, but who is going to save them in The End . Come on. Were taking you out of here. Come on. Where are you taking my wife . You dont take one more step. You understand me . Sergeant nelson, you have until 8 00 Tomorrow Morning to turn yourself in to iad. If you dont, 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 couldnt see, why didnt 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 televisions most gifted creative writers. When you Look back at the past Women Role models on television, well, its 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 Womans Voice as a writer . Womans voice . Generally they speak higher, softer. I should have known not to ask that of a writer. Yes, of course theres a Womans Voice. Women have a different perspective. Women laugh at different things. So, yes, there very definitely is a Womans 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. Its cutthroat primetime time this fall as some 23 new shows compete in one of the hottest ratings races in years. Heres one just about everybody predicts will be a Big Hit, Designing Women on cbs. Four friends form an Interior Decorating business and give Each Other The Business. Suzanne, if sex were fast food, there would be an arch over your bed. 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 Lindas Voice came through shining. Men can get away with anything. I mean, Look at reagans neck. It sags down to here. Everybody raves about how great he Looks. Can you imagine if nancy had that neck . Be putting her in a Nursing Home for turkeys. Theyve given me this 23 minutes to address whatever topic i want. And its such a privilege. Its more than the president of the United States gets and its kind of thrilling to have that every week. I would be lying, if i said i didnt 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. I am a woman, and i am a writer. But i i dont really enjoy being called a womans righter. I think labels are harmful to us. Just about everything about that program felt new. The civil Rights Movement and the Womens Movement had just begun to sort of be reflected in the programming that you saw on television in The 80s. Murphy, you know the club is for men only. And they have great dinners with great guests and i dont get to go for one reason, and one reason only and it has to do with something youve got, and i dont. 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 do you believe this, jim . He thinks its neat that his Office Chair swivels and he is calling me unprofessional. man so when in doubt, just say, let me talk to my manager. Next, carvanas 100 online shopping experience. Oh, man. Carvana lets People buy a car get this from their couch. Oh, how disruptive. No salesman there to help me pick out the car i need. How does anyone find a car on this site without someone like us Checking In . Shes a beauty, huh . Oh, golly laughter i can help you find the color you want. That sounds nice. Let me talk to my manager. vo buy your next car 100 online. With carvana. Ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. Whoo hoo ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, now introducing ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. Watch the Olympic Games on Xfinity Root for Team Usa and feel the energy 7000 plus hours of the olympics on display with xfinity you get every hour of every day different sports on different screens, you can watch it anywhere and with the Voice Remote you never have to leave your chair show me Team Usa. All of this innovation could lead to some inspiration and you might be the next one to represent our nation this summer on your tv, tablet, or any Screen Xfinity is here to inspire your biggest dreams 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. 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 showbiz stuff. I have been on with you for some time. Its been a long time. Yeah, well you have been busy with other things. Thats the tide is starting to turn, in terms of where Latenight Television is gonna 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. Hes the king. My next guest not only has a college degree, but he also has a high school degree. Thats right, i do. As well. Uhhuh. Hes 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. Ladies and gentlemen, what you are witnessing here is a good idea gone awry. Funfilled Surprise Turning into an incredible Screwup Right here. David letterman, originally, had a onehour daytime show. And nbc, after, like, 13 weeks, decided to cancel it. Today is our last show on the air. Monday. Las vegas. Have these People been frisked before . 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. And in spite of all this nonsense that goes around in the background, stay with it. Dont give up and stay with us here in new york. Thank you very much. Dave is back in new york. You are going to host a latenight Television Program that premieres monday night. What are what are critics likely to say Tuesday Morning . Um, i dont much care because i found a way to deal with that. Pills and whiskey. Youre on. Oh, im on . Im sorry. Enjoying listening to you snort. They gave him the latenight show, after the Tonight Show and at the time, People thought, whos going to watch television at 12 30 at night . Who is up . Ill tell you who is 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 at the establishment at his core. He was thumbing his nose to any existing social structures. Who are those women out there, by the way . Neighbors. Ill get rid of em. Hey. Excuse me. Keep it moving. He kind of spoofed the whole notion of Talk Shows. Its the latenight guest cam. Please, Say Hello to tom hanks. Here 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 he just wouldnt stand for it. You are on to do one thing, and one thinG Only. Be as funny as the rest of the show. You know, we can get in a two shot here today. We could actually send the crew home, couldnt we . You know, as a comedian, you want the biggest audience that you can get. For dave, he knew a lot of things that he would do were going to alienate People and he didnt care. He wanted his thumbprint out there and thats the most important thing. Its time for smallTown News. Paul . Excuse me, paul, do you have any accompanying music here for small Town News . Paul schafer, ladies and gentlemen. The show making fun of itself and turning itself inside out that way was something kind of new. Dont we Look like guys that you would see hanging around together . Absolutely. Would you like to hang around with me . Nope. And i will 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 [ bleep ]. There was one rule i keep trying to abide by and unfortunately, i only get to it about 12 of the time. And, that is, its only television. Were not doing cancer research. If the 40year odd history of Commercial Broadcasting has taught us one thing, Theres Nothing sacred about television. All right. Steven is upstairs. Hey, dave, i was just curious, is there any way i can get mtv on this . Actually, steve, thats thats just a monitor and all you can get on that is our show. Oh. Thats okay. There was a degree of cynicism that was needed in the art form, at that time. And its a cynicism that just became common sense, after a while, because it never got old. Ive watched Johnny Carson. And you are no Johnny Carson. Good day, welcome the Great White North canadian corner. This is my Brother Doug and 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 filled the sc tv series, which originally was syndicated and got to the states that way. Thank you very much for that marvelous reception. I particularly want to thank my supporters over there in the cesarean section. Its healthy to be an outsider as a canadian 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 bury our 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. It was far more conceptual in in its humor because it it didnt have to be performed in front of an audience. And there was, also, just the idea that it was this sort of lowrent thing. It was this sort of by the seat of their pants kind of operation that gave it an authenticity. Now, that our programming days been extended, i am going to be spending a lot put it in the fridge, butch. You were rooting for the show and the characters that they created. There was just something that you you got behind. Whereas, you know, snl right from the from the from the gate and and through The 80s was this this big enterprise. After five golden years, lorne decided to leave and so did those close to him, including me, al frank. 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 whether Saturday Night live would continue at all. Whether it would just die. The Press Hasnt been overly kind. Yeah, i read that stuff. Saturday night live is Saturday Night dead. Oh, come on. My favorite, though, is vile from new york. Its funny. Its 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. It really kind of rejuvenated the show. You dont Talk To Me that way. After a while, the show regained its status and its clout and became even more of an institution than it had been. Hey, bob. That penis Looks great today. Listen, harry, if you are unhappy with my work, Tell Me now. Youre through, hear me . Through. Youll never work in this town again. Dont leave me hanging by a thread. Let me know where i stand. Everyone loves us. You guys have been so nice to us durinG Our stay. Isnt that special . I am frans and we just want to pump you up. Lot of things that they could do on Saturday Night live, they couldnt do on a sitcom. The humor was more daring and more satirical and it was political. You still have 50 seconds left. Well, let me just sum up, on track, stay the course. A thousand points. Stay the course. Governor Dukakis Rebuttal . I cant believe im losing to this guy. Ill get it. Its Gary Shandling Show. People were taking all 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. If somebody played on that and parodied it, we got it, instantly. Yeah, 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 youre late. The Gary 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 . No. No, i didnt dont Look into the camera. I didnt. Dont. You dont come in here and Look at the camera. I didnt. Ill bop you. I will. If i see a tape of this show and youre Looking into the its about that time. Pee Wees Playhouse on cbs, a socalled saturdaymorning kids show that adults could watch and wink at Each Other as they were watching it. It was very clever. Morning. Whats todays secret word . Todays secret word is good. It was a show, certainly, for kids. And it was for stoned Baby Boomers that were totally wasted on Saturday Morning and watched pee Wees Playhouse and saw god. I sure had a lot of fun. See you all real soon. Until then, everybody be good. Is now a good time for a flareup . Enough, crohns for adults with moderate to severe crohns or ulcerative colitis. Stelara® can provide relief and is the only approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. You, gettinG On that flight . Back off, uc stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection. Flulike symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. Pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. Some serious allergic reactions and Lung Inflammation can occur. 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The Heartpounding Audi Suv family. Get exceptional offers at your local audi dealer. 1968. The summer before Junior High School and i dont mind saying i was a pretty fair, little athlete. The wonder years was a Guy In Modern Times Looking back at his childhood. That, in itself, is not new but the The Wonder Years did it Wa Whit and bewith the music. It was a brilliantly written show and a great performance by that entire, young cast. Shes 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 hes not really aware of many of the events. Like, in in one of the episodes, the whole familys watching the Apollo 8 take off. But im just sitting there trying to call a girl. The first episode of The Wonder Years, anybody who saw it remembers The Ending where, you know, the first kiss with Winny 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, cant keep his mind on nothing else the tone of the 1960s is about rebellion about being students. By the 1980s, its time to grow up. And so, they shave Author Beards and they put on power suits. A whole, new notion. The yuppies. Last year, the politicians were all talking about winning their votes. Now, those young, urban professionals and the rest of their Babyboom Generation are being wooed advertisers and their agencies. By The 80s, it was pretty clear the generation after the generation of the 60s may be embodied by Alex Keaton on Family Ties. Seemed to be a lot more interested in the Corner Office than the new jerusalem. You are a young man. You shouldnt be worried about success. You should be thinking about hoppinG On a steamer and going around The World. The 60s are over, dad. Thanks for the tip. You werent laughing at michael j. Foxs 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. Thats genericbrand shampoo. This is him. This is the guy ive been telling you act. About. This is everything youd want. The genius of Family Ties is it allows a kind of youthful reaganite to emerge that is focused on the future, that is focused more on critique of the 60s. Michael J Fox as Alex Keaton really became the center of the show and writers were smart enough to see that they had Something Special. And they wrote to that. Not fair, alex. Yeah. Theres 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. Know i did. Its the best two weeks of my life. Alex is a little bill buckley. He the Wall Street journal is his bible. He has a tie to go with his pajamas. He very conservative and very intense, 17yearold. The first thing your teachers going to ask is what you did over the summer. Now, a lot of kids are going to 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 . If Mom And Dad thought this generation was going to the dogs, think again. This is the generation that has discovered hard work and success. American culture is changing in The 80s and in terms of television, there is 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. Good shoulder pads. You Looking to get drafted by the eagles . 30 something said were not going to have cops, lawyers, or doctors, were 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 thats life, pal. You be the breadwinner, now. Is that what i am . Thirty something is a very important show, as you are going into this era of television being more introspective and more emotional. And some People werent buying it. But for other People, when they were talking about things like having kids and who was going to go back to work. And some of these issues that hadnt been talked about a whole lot. It was important to People. I was so Looking forward i was so Looking forward to doing this. In the beginning, there was talk of this being the Yuppy Show and you mentioned it, tonight. You you said that if there were category for the most annoying show, this might win as well. Now, what some People perceive as annoying, has nothing to do with yuppy. I think yuppy is a word made up to sell soap. I dont think it has anything to do with what the show is. Thirty something was not a giant hit but it was a niche hit. It attracted enormously upscale group of advertisers. The network aired who was watching, now 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 classiclawyer 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 were willing to go with that because it was a whole, new spin on a law show. Uhuh. Tell the truth. If you had to do it all over, again, as 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. 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 didnt used to be able to accept that very easily in a tv hour. And even before The 80s are out, its like, oh, okay, i get it. You know . So its like, all right, what are the rules now . What are you doing . Doing what i should have done all along. What i wanted to originally. What i should have done last night. Stop that, dammit im calling the police. 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 have seen the formulas weve had up to here. Lets do different things. Hello. Hello. Looking a little pail today, arent we . Moonlighting was a really experimental show. They had a shakespeare episode. They tried a lot of different stuff. I dont give a Flying Fig about the lines in my face, the crows feet by my eyes or the altitude of miy caboose. Well, i am at a loss. Thats okay. They do. Theres no trouble in the set. There is no trouble in the set. Well, we have a very volatile relationship. There is a hatelove element to it. The flirtations were great. Glenn karen kept them apart for a long time. And bravo to him. What they did was they took the Sam And Diane dynamic from cheers. Escalated it. Cheers was will they or wont they . Moon lighting was do they even want to . Stay away from me. Here i come. But i dont want you. I never wanted you. Yeah, right. Does entertaining mean, at some point, stopping the tease of Dave And Maddie . Do they get together, at some point . Thats going to be resolved this year. We like to think of it as two and a half years of foreplay. People who had been Watching Moonlighting for years were waiting for this moment. And your emotions are already there, built on to the emotions that you are seeinG On the screen. So when be my baby starts playing, its like a perfect storm of romance. The night we met i knew i needed you so [ Me And You by barry Louis Polisar ] Me And You just singinG On the train Me And You listening to the rain Me And You we are the same Me And You have all the fame we need indeed, you and me are we Me And You singing in the park Me And You, were waiting for the dark 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 Donoghue and thats sort of a maturation of womens issues. And he seemed to talk to them in the audience. He seemed to talk to them through the tv screen. Im glad you called. Kiss the kids. Well be back, in just a moment. If you Look at the body of Work Weve had, you know, youre going to see The 80s there. Im not here to say youre wrong but lets 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 thats 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 i dont want to characterize his question. But why dont you get this fixed, instead of doing this screwy stuff . Theres not a singlerecorded 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. You know, sometimes, the same People. It was a magiccarpet 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 hes probably the laziest president ive ever seen. The audience for Phil Donoghue built and built and built and built and led the way to oprah. Hello, everybody. Hello. Oprah has a particularly magical combination of her own background, her own experience, her own incisive mind, and empathetic spirit. Thank you. Im 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 Donoghue Show rearranged the Furniture But Oprah remodeled the whole house. There are a lot of other People out there who are watching who really dont understand what you mean, when you say, well, you know, were in love because i remember questioning my gay friends saying you mean like you feel about him, the way i feel about its 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 4th Grade Teacher because of you . I was not aware of inspiring anyone. I think you did exactly what teachers are supposed to do. They create a spark for learning. Its thats the reason i have a Talk Show today. Oprah winfrey now dominates the talkshow circuit, both in the ratings and popularity. I want to use my life, as a source of lifting People up. Thats what i want do. Thats 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, that they were alone. This is what 67 pounds of fat Looks like. I Cant I Cant lift it. It is amazing, to me, that I Cant Lift it but i used to carry it around, every day. Theres 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 can do some good here. And i really do think that the show does a lot of good. American television is drowning in Talk Shows. But its never seen anything like Morton Downey Jr. I want to tell you the story. 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 heraldo. He did his own, outlandish things. Stay with us, ladies and gentlemen, we are going to get into the mind of another allamerican 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 nother level. In the church of satan, we have not had any problems with criminal behavior. AmonG Other things. You hear story after story after story of People committing these retched crimes, these violent crimes in the Devils Name . The more tengds there is, the more conflict 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 controversy tonight. He drew 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. You have got to be kidding. Youve got to be kidding. Hey, hold it. Sit down. Rivera suffered a broken nose but he said the show will be broadcast later this month, in its entirety. Well, thats not something, you know, 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, isnt this awful . Look whats happened to television. And yet, they couldnt wait to use it to sell their own magazine. Lets 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, its deteriorating further. Give People light and they will find their own way. Relax. America will survive the Talk Shows. Talk to me. What do we got . When you have xfinity xfi, with blazing speed. [ screaming ] a powerful connection. Thats another level. And ultimate control. Power us up. You can do more than you ever thought possible. Yes hold on. Get a powerful and secure connection you can count on. Only with xfinity xfi. And see f9 only in theaters. 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. Im tom and welcome to our opening night. The Premiere Edition of entertainment tonight. All of the critics were kind of unanimous, in that they said itll never last because there simply isnt enough Entertainment News to fill a halfhour, 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. Im surprised to see you here. Well, im glad to see you. Thank you. We can meet here every night if you like. A lot of what makes successful Television Programming is is being in the right place, at the right time. And it was the right time. Entertainment journalism evolved as the audience got more curious, and had more access. Until that point, the Entertainment Business had been something that we didnt know all that much about. We could go behind the scenes, in our effort to really give an insiders Look. The crafty, old jr 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 wasnt salacious. And you would see actors speaking, as actors, instead of on a Johnny Carson show. What are you like on camera . Im 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 dont 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 that the appetite for Celebrity News was big. It was big. Get ready for lifestyles of the rich and famous. Televisions most dazzling hour of excitement. Hi, im Robin Leach in monaco. The glittering gem of the riviera. And you have got a Vip Ticket to 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 earlier stories that we presented to you on lifestyles was about the amazing realestate wizard, donald trump. If he didnt Shock And Surprise you, back then, hes had plenty of time since. All of this costing billions, not millions. Do the figures ever frighten you . The answer is, no, its my business. Its my life. Its my lifestyle. I love it. The good, the bad. Does this bring with it [ inaudible ] . No political aspiration. Your show has gotten a lot of ridicule. I mean, there are People who say its nothing more than trash. That doesnt upset me because i think its the best trash there is on television. Um, i am not in The Business of brain surgery. I am in The Business of fluff. Its the fantasy element. At a time when the access is possible. Its escapism and its aspirational. You want to stand in a hot tub with a glass of champagne . Rock on. We had never seen that kind of wealth, ever before. We didnt mock it. We didnt say it was right and we didnt say it was wrong. We were just through the keyhole. Sometimes, you know, what absolutely amazes me. I walk away from a shoot and i think, well, we did it, again. It was more of everything in tv by The 80s. Your opportunities for watching stuff is increasingly vast. Nbc presents real People. My names michael wilson. 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 each One Of Us will be a star for 15 minutes and i think that thats probably going to happen. American culture used to be a culture that celebrated privacy. In the 1980s as we are watching celebrities sort of play out onstage. Hey, i want to join, too. All The World becomes a stage. And so, you start seeing shows like real People or the Peoples court. The Peoples 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. Dont be stupid i told you not to be stupid what cops did was it took away the script and just brought the camera People and the crews on location to try and catch actual things happening. Cocaine. Possession of a stolen firearm, no less. What else are you gonna do . Uo. Which is why tmobile for business uses unconventional thinking to help your business realize new possibilities. Only one 5g Partner offers unmatched network, support, and valuewithout any trade offs. brad People everywhere are discovering how 5g can change their lives. But apartmentsdotcom has changed millions of renters lives by helping them get into new homes. So, we already knew all about the power of 5g. Weve had it in every Town And City for years. And also 6g. And 4c. And 2r. And 7l. What else would you expect from the site with the most listings anywhere . Apartmentsdotcom. The most popular place to find a place. With this ring with this ring i thee wed. I thee wed. With my body with my body the biggest Television Event of the 1980s is the marriage of charles and diana. Its 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 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, theyre a part of history and its done beautifully. And everybody has a chance to watch it all on television. Everybody just wants to drink a toast to chuck and die. As it was on this day, that every single move she makes in public will be recorded and observed. A very difficult life, indeed. Theyll 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 cant. I cant. The the way its grown is just its 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 huge success with Luke And Lauras wedding. I remember when luke and laura got married because it was nightt nighttimenewsworthy. The Soap Opera discovers the blockbuster 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 Prime Time stole from daytime. After dallas proved that oil was better than real oil for cbs, the networks rush to give the public more. The great primetime Soap Operas of the 1980s. Dallas. Dynasty. Theyre 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 whats wrong with you. The emptyarmed madonna. Mourning the baby that she couldnt have. And the baby that she almost got to adopt. Z that is it, isnt it . You miserable bitch. There was a bigness to the stories. And that they could afford to do on a network, if you are doinG One episode a week. Now, you cant do that if you are doing five episodes a week for a daytime show. So, just the Production Value gave it the pizzazz. If you cant 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 Makebelieve 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 didnt thank you for your present. Its he you should slap, dear. Not i. We all wanted to live like, you know, dynasty. 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. Prime time families like the caringtons 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 allnew shows have featured the wealthy. Ten years ago, that figure was zero. There was an accident. Your fathers dead. A wine family. Theres lorenzo llamas and theres ronald reagans first wife 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 those shows were, oh, my god, whats next . Whats going to happen with that . He cant get away with that. And then, youd tune in, it was appointment television. What will become of the missing twins on Nots Landing . They all had spinoffs. Dallas had to spin off 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 is your son, myles . Isnt he going to be a part of this venture . Or is he just playing polo, as usual . The colbys can always find room for another trophy. You had these People fightinG Over oil and and mansions. And it was fantasy. But in a in a kind of sooverthetop way that it was fun. Theres 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 werent trying to do a 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. Flowers are fighters. Thats why the alzheimers Association Walk to end alzheimers is full of them. Because flowers find a way to break through. Just like we will. Join the fight at alz. Org walk when a Truck Hit my car, the Insurance Company Wasnt fair. I dididt T Kn Whahatmy c caswa, so i called the barnes firm. Im rich barnes. Its hard for People to k how much their Accident Case is worth. H barnes. T Ouour Juryry aorneneys hehelpou i was hit by a car get T Tand needed help. Oiblele. T Ouour Juryry aorneneys hehi called the barnes firm. That was the best call i couldve made. Im rich barnes. Its hard for People to know how much their Accident Case is let our Injury Attorneys know he how much their Accident Cget the best result possible. Australias most important export may be neither its animals nor its beers nor its films. Could, in fact, be one Rupert Murdoch. He is in the process of building the most extensive Media Empire in history. A huge development, Rupert Murdoch having disrupted the Newspaper Business in australia, the Television Business in britain. I dont see why there should only be three Broadcast Networks. He says im going to make another broadcast network. This was 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. There are some People that are saying it will take you 20 years to get your Fox Network on a par with the big three. Are you prepared to wait that long . Sure, i intend to live that long, but i dont believe in the 20 years. The reaction to Murdochs Idea for a fourth network was similar to the reaction of Ted Turner starting cnn. Its ridiculous. What does he know about television . We dont think of ourselves as abc, nbc, cbs. We dont have to reach everyone. Theres 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 other networks. We have to do things they would not do. Fox started throwing anything against the wall not sure what was going to go. First shows were things like 21 jumpstreet. What exactly are we Looking for here . Joan rivers in terms of Late Night. We have been banned in boston, which is wonderful. 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 got to have those candy bars. You better not be thinkinG Of stealing those candy bars. Thats it The Simpsons would never have come along had it not been for the Tracey Ullman show. Ultimately, crime hurts the criminal. Thats not true, mom. I got a free ride home, didnt i . Bart fox was thrilled that it was different. They said, sure, be experimental, do whatever you want. Were just happy to have a show on the air. Im 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, were going that way. Bud, kelly, you want to come down and help me in the kitchen . There, that should buy us about ten minutes. Seven more than well need. The title of Married With Children on the script was not the Cosby Show. How great. I mean, you know, you have to love that. They were taking the piss out of american families fun. Great fun. Hurry up, bud. Never wanted to get married, im married. Never wanted kids, i got two of them. How did this happen . The bundys were like a purpose. Reaction to the perfection of the huxtables. You had this wonderful black family and these horrible white People. And each show works on its own terms because you could find things to relate to in both. Howdy, neighbor. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hate why dont we 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, and you think everything gets done by some wonderful wizard. Poof, the laundrys folded. Poof, dinners on the table. You want me to Fix Dinner . Ill Fix Dinner. Im fixing dinner. Oh, but honey, you just fixed dinner three years ago. Typical american families werent on television for the longest time. The Donna Reed days, the father knows best. S hardly anybody really lived like that. That was the way advertisers wanted you to live. I know what just might make you feel better. Me too but i bet its a different list than what you got. The ideal situation is, if you can subvert whatever common stuff is said about families and about parenting whats in this, lead . Oh, i got you kids new leg irons. Her loudness and her unfilteredness were key to why we liked her. Chef 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. Ohhing, great, im just going to Look like a freak. 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 that they see on television than in years previous . Well, clearly the People that are watchinG Our shows are and 30 something and cheers and st. Elsewhere. These are shows that are smartly written. Its their words that define them, and i think thats what People like. What were supposed to be here is the one thing People can trust. If you G O out there like a bunh of night riders, what are you but just another vicious Street Gang . That 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. Its like everyone in The 80s starts to want to tell their stories. Thats 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. Theres a shift in The 80s from just wanting to placate the audience to wanting to please and challenge the audience, and thats the decade when it happened. We had one hell of a run, didnt we partner . Yeah, we sure did, sonny. Im going to miss you, man. Im going to miss you, too, sonny. Give you a ride to the airport . Why not. Tonight, television takes a Look at itself. Whats on the Idiot Box . Its only an Idiot Box if an idiot is watching. This will be Looked upon as the platinum age. Our obligation is to entertainment. If weve left something to think about, so much the better. 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