The years of the 60s which end in a few hours have a bad reputation that is not entirely justified. Some things got worse, obviously. But tv and other News Coverage is better, not worse. We simply developed more demanding standards. When i think of tv, i think of the 70s. What is this world coming to . The american public was hungry for more. More was allowed that hadnt been before. It was the last decade where it was a campfire television, where there was one in the living room. I want to watch an Allblack Show for a change. Oh, where are you going to find one . Heres one the Los Angeles lakers against the milwaukee bucks. Young people were interested in relevant things. And so television began to reflect that. This is cbs. Really it was very simple. You had three channels plus pbs. When the decade turned over into the 70s, television was very rural. Hee haw the beverly hillbillies. Cbs had the beverly hillbillies. Green acres. Petticoat junction. And these rural fantasies of mayberryism. The Hillbilly Shows were everywhere and then they werent. Fred silverman who was running programming at cbs said, were going to get rid of the shows thaT Are most highly rated and replace them with shows that they thought would be more appealing to that younger audience. They changed the face of television. My name is norman lear. Until 1971, he was a very successful, if largely unheralded Producer Writer in hollywood. But then he burst upon the public consciousness when he took on bigotry with his all in the family. Norman lear created absolutely iconic shows. They revolutionized not only cbs buT All of american television. Our world is coming crumbling down, the coons are coming. To use language like that on tv was just unheard of it. But it really captured a certain moment. Archie, 12 of the population is black. There should be a lot of black families living out here. Yeah, this is only a beginning but i think its wonderful. Well, lets see how wonderful it is when the Watermelon Rinds come flying out the window. It scared me when i saw all in the family, i thought they better be careful. There was no doubt in my mind The American people were going to accept it. Do you have a quick answer for the people who say the show reinforces bigotry . And that charge started from the very beginning. Yes. My quick answer is no. Everybody is going to see something they knew damn well was going on and nothing that surprising. Edith, were out of Toilet Paper no, were not, i bought some yesterday, its in the closet in the kitchen. I aint in the kitchen oh hearing a Toilet Flush for the first time was a big deal and made headlines. [ Toilet Flushes ] whats this country coming to anyhow . What is it, archie . Bad news . What else . Did we get out of Vietnam Or Something . Dont be a wise guy, huh . I wasnt going to play around with mom dented the car. How are we going keep dad from finding ouT About it . Not when i see everything thats going around in our country. Just because a guy is sensitive and hes an intellectual and he wears glasses, you make him ouT A queer. I never said a guy who wears glasses is a queer. A guy who wears glasses is a foureyes, a guy whos a fag is a queer. All in the family did something really new for television. It put before The American public archies friend, who was very masculine and who happened to be gay. How long you known me . 10, 12 years . Yeah. In all that time did i ever mention a woman . Oh, Come On, steve. I do not think that you glory on Public Television homosexuality. Nixon objecting to the show, that was a badge of honor. It was really culturally on point. Every time. For a sitcom that was unheard of. One, two, three. I wanted to do an episode where somebody could give archie what he earned. Shut up all of you we created a character that could really let him have it. Maude. Im only here because of edith. The fact that you happen to be here with her is beyond my control. Like any other freak of nature. Before that show was off the air, Fred Silverman was on the telephone with me saying, theres a show in that woman. Hello . No, this is not mr. Findley, its mrs. Findley. Yes, mr. Findley has a much higher voice. Now get your coaT And Come On what makes you think you can order me around like that, henry . Youre my wife, that gives me the right. When he says wife he means possession. So what, maude, you told me A Hundred times you want to feel possessed. Walter finley, i never said that standing up and you know it. Norman Lear And Bud yorkin really turned the Spinoff Series into an art form. Norman lear hates to hear it called the lear factory. All his series come out of this building, allowing lear to move from show to show like a dervish. Good times was like holy smokes. Theres black people on tv there had never been a complete Back Family on tv with a father. What made it so unique and universal was that we had the same problems in our household, and we do not live in the projects in chicago. Dynomite you want to worry your head about nothing, Go On and do it. We got 32 in the Shoe Box and i noT Another 6 in my pocket. You worked all nighT And all they paid you was 6 . There were a lot of folks who were not happy with the show. The Black Panthers were very upset. When Huey Newton came to see me, the big complaint was, why cant we see a Black Man thats doing better than that . The jeffersons started as neighbors of archie bunker. Dont call me honky. Why are you so sensitive All Of A Sudden . How would you like it if i called you nigger . He called me nigger thats no worse than honky. Youre right. Nothing is worse than being called a honky except being married to one. Norman lear set the stage for other shows in the 70s that just brought gravitas to television. WhaT Are you staring at . I was just thinking, i ought to bring my neighbors kids over here. This place is better than the zoo. My auntie called me. She said uncles had a hearT Attack. I needed him to be here. Your Heart Isnt just yours. Protect it with bayer aspirin. Be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. Your Skin Isnt just skin, its a beautiful reflection of everything youve been through. Thats why dove renews your skins ceramides and strengthens iT Against dryness for softer, smoother skin you can lovingly embrace. Renew the love for your skin with dove body wash. 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 the tempurpedic breeze makes sleep. Feel. Cool. Because the tempurbreeze transfers heaT Away from your body. So you feel cool, Night After night. During the tempurpedic summer of sleep, save 500 on all tempurbreeze mattresses. realtor the previous owners left in a hurry, so the house comes with everything you see. Follow me. realtor so, any questions . wife well take it realtor great. vo it will haunt your senses. The Heartpounding Audi Suv family. Get exceptional offers at your local audi dealer. On Saturday Nights, the Cbs Lineup in the early 70s was amazing. 8 00, all in the family. 8 30, m. A. S. H. 9 00, the Mary Tyler Moore show, and you have the bob newhart show. And it ended with the Carol Burnett Variety show at 10 00. They used to call it murderers row. People had no dvrs, no vhs, nothing with initials. So people would stay home on Saturday Nights. They wouldnt go to the movies. They wouldnt go to restaurants. That may be the best night of television in all of television history. Mary Tyler Moore was a single woman working as an Associate Producer on a nightly tv show. You know what . Youve got spunk. Yeah. I hate spunk there were a lot of young women entering the workplace then. And for some of them, Mary Tyler Moore was like a port of entry. Im doing as good a job as he did. Better. Better and im being paid less than he was because youre a woman. The Television Female could be a hero. She could be the main event. Read it. All right. Out loud the first script Written By Allen Burns and Jim Gricks had mary coming to minneapolis divorced. And very quickly cbs says, no, no, no, no, no. At the beginning of the decade, divorce was considered somewhat scandalous. She went on dates with a lot of guys. But the guys were really important. We seem to be hitting it off. And i just thought you just thought . Shes not obsessed with finding a husband. Dont forget to take your pill. I wont. I wont. This was about people coping with one another. And the workplace was like a family. I told ted to close with the copy for sue ann. Oh, my god. Whats wrong . I told the projectionist it was the other way around. Oh, my god. Local Pig Farmers served Notice Today that rising Corn Prices are forcing them to find other means to feed their stock. Heres one pig. Just look at her gobble up that slop. Starting tomorrow well be presenting a new feature on wjm, dining out with sueann nivens. Once Jim Brooks said to me, i know theres a world of comedy in my wifes purse, i just Cant Access it, weve got to find some female writers for this show. Did you crash the Mens Room . Of course not. I wenT As somebodys guest. Why do you think its such a winner . I think because of the casting. And i think because of the writing. They dont sacrifice the character for the sake of a good joke. That effort to keep the female sensibility is what made iT Authentic and good. People would say youre just like me and my girlfriends. How can you gorge yourself like thaT And stay so skinny . Im going crazy with hunger. Well, eat something. I cant. I got to lose ten pounds by 8 30. Pretty soon the head of network at the time said, valerie, listen, im going to spin you off. And i thought, oh my god, im fired. Because spinoff is a term that was originated in the 70s. If we start living together, weve got to tell Each Other everything. Okay, joe. I want to be married. Rhoda and joes wedding became a huge national event. 52 Million people tuned in to see that. Suddenly rhoda is in a happy relationship. They didnt know what to do with that. Then they had to have her get divorced to try to reboot the show. Why did you marry me . JusT Answer me that. Why did you marry me . You made me marry you. I feel so funny. Its a matter of trust. Oh, shes not going to do it. Where does that leave us, Where Do We Go From Here . That well have to discuss at future sessions. The 70s also had this therapeutic overlay. Hi, bob. Hi, bob. Hi, bob. Hello . We decided to make him a psychologist. We seem to have run out of things to say. Why dont we pray . Lets pray for The End of this session. I didnt know anything about therapy prior to that. Im from the planet bluthar. Its in the galoo galaxy. How how long you going to be in town . I didnt want to do a show, where are your children . I didnt want to be the dumb dad. Sit, boy. Howard, i dont care, i just dont want to make any more decisions. People will say, gee, my dad and i used to watch the show. And it was great. And then you realize youre part of peoples lives. The 70s was the era where a certain artistry developed. M. A. S. H. Really changed Peoples Perception of what the sitcom can be. The sitcom could be cinematic. M. A. S. H. Was shot like a movie. And m. A. S. H. Was maybe the single most unique Situation Comedy ever. I have a headache. A tremendous headache. It goes all the way down to my waist. The Television Series M. A. S. H. Had one thing the movie in my estimation did not, which was heart. There are certain rules abouT A war. And Rule Number one is young men die and Rule Number two is, Doctors Cant Change Rule Number one. It was about korea but we were talking abouT And doing things that had to do with Vietnam And Everybody knew it. Rolling. Action. War isnt hell. War is War And Hell is hell and of the two war is a lot worse. We had 30 Million people a week watching m. A. S. H. Have you ever really considered the foot . Yeah, but i prefer girls. Better not bump into henry in that jungle. I intend only to bump into nurse baker. Repeatedly if possible. Programming practices. These were people who would go through the scripts and say, you Cant Use this word. We felt like we were in the midst of a battle. This is freedom of speech. At the senate hearings on Television Violence today, strong charges were leveled at the commercial television networks. The Broadcasting Industry now stands charged with having molested the minds of our nations children to serve the cause of corporate profit. The Family Hour was established by the three networks and the federal Communications Commission in response to complaints of too much Sex And Violence on early evening television. The Family Hour, the two hours from 7 00 to 9 00 p. M. During which parents and children are supposed to be able to watch television without being made to feel uncomfortable. Its topless, edith and so it seemed altogether unfair, and we sued. Family hour is under attack from some producers, unions and others in the television industry. They have filed a lawsuit to have iT Abolished. As those scheduled to testify arrive, they passed through a Picket Line protesting the hearing. Congress has no right whatsoever to interfere in the content of the media. If you can censor a joke today, and tomorrow you can censor expression of any thought if you can censor a joke. It just becomes easier the next day. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled the socalled Family Hour on television from 7 00 to 9 00 p. M. Was unconstitutional, a violation of the first Amendment Guarantee of free speech. The firsT Amendment was upheld and a most important decision, and its really truly a victory for everybody. Cookies and breyers. Thats like getting two desserts wait. Do we have to thank our moms twice . I dont know. laughs breyers. 100 grade a milk and cream, and loaded with delicious cookie pieces. Better starts with breyers. Seeing blood when you brush or floss can be a sign of early gum damage. New parodontax active Gum Repair kills Plaque Bacteria at the Gum Line to help keep the Gum Seal tight. New parodontax active Gum Repair toothpaste. vo conventional thinking doesnt disrupt the status quo. 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. Every day in business brings something new. So get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. Introducing Comcast Business mobile. You get the fastest, most reliable network with Nationwide 5g included. And you can get unlimited data for just 30 Dollars per line per month when you get four lines or Mix And Match data options. Available now for Comcast Business Internet customers with no lineactivation fees or Term Contract required. See if you can save by switching today. Comcast business. Powering possibilities. The rookies will not be seen tonight so we may bring you the following special program. Tonight television takes a look at itself. We are looking at what you watch most of the time. Entertainment programming on the three commercial networks. WhaT Are you looking at . Is it good for you . Somewhere around the middle or late 70s, its like people got tired of talking about real stuff. If the good lord provided us with berries, i think we ought to eat them. There was a longing for simpler time when it didnt seem like there was so much anger and contentiousness, when people werent so mad at Each Other. During last season, The Waltons caught on. Good night, john boy. Good night. This year there will be more nostalgia and wholesome family drama. Now that dinner is over, lets try out the piano. Oh, good. I am taking requests. Sunday monday Happy Days i created Happy Days not whaT A family really was. I thought it would be good if there were some families that didnt get divorced. You guys are really wow it wasnt by Accident Everybody on Happy Days hugged Each Other. It wasnt by accident that everybody in the family ate at the same time at the same table. It was a sweet, tender show in the vein of american graffiti. Looking back on the era of the 50s with a certain affection. Haaay abc wanted Fonzis Haaay to compete directly with jimmy j. J. Walkers dynomite. Cause im the Fonz Haaay Catch phrases were big. Sit on it, marvin. Sit on out howard. Does any one say, thank you, arnold . You know what they say . Sit on it, arnold. Thats what they say. You watch fonzi and you just want to be fonzi. Oh. Hey, girls. Knock yourselves out. Im really sorry it was a slip of the fingers, slip of the fingers. Its a fantasy of what Teen Life could be. Hey, dafazio. Theyre here. All right. Laverne. This is laverne dafazio. Shes mine. This is shirley feeney. Shes yours. As you can see. Nice to meet you, ritchie. My pleasure. When Laverne Shirley made a guesT Appearance, one of the cameramen said, look at this two shot. Thats a series. Shamele, Shamozle Hossenfere incorporated. Tuesday night between 8 00 and 9 00 is called the death spot, death to any program that dares to go headon againsT Abcs Happy Days and Laverne Shirley. Laverne shirley was one of the few sitcoms that debuted as Number One. The absolute top Number One show this season is Laverne Shirley. A seemingly harmless but essentially brainless exercise in adolescent silliness. You have to go all the way back to I Love Lucy to get the same sort of slapstick and physical comedy. We never thoughT About its importance, except that, you know, it was two girls trying and the value of friendship. It must have something going for it. I dont rodeododo. You rodeododo. I dont rodeododo. They couldnt say sex. But they said rodeodo. You rodeodo. Everybody knew what they were talking the about. Once. My son didnt want to watch Laverne And Shirley or Happy Days. I said, you dont like it . He said, i like it. But whats missing . Spacemen. Because we were getting into space. So thats when i created a space man. WaiT A minute, who are you . I am mork from ork. The writers all rolled their eyes, an alien. He wants an alien. I had to make up a story. Fonzi is running out of adversaries. Thats right, fonzi never losT A Hall Attacker yet. We got the home planeT Advantage. Then weve got him on his own show. And Mork Mindy was the Hip Show of the 70s. The audience, talk abouT A willing suspension of disbelief, is willing to buy the premise. Mind if i do . Just so they can watch robin williams. Nanunanu. Well, excuse me that was an interesting part of the balance i think of the television diet. That there was an attempt to explore deeper into the psyche of what makes us tick. But there was also, you know, a need to escape. Im going to a beach barbecue. Uhhuh. I can see whats going to heat up the coals. If theres any single phenomenon thats tilted the ratings books in abcs direction, its T A. At the cbs affiliates meeting, they explained how these T A shows were conducted. They take the clothes off three times. They get idea. And then they have to run three times. So they jiggle. Theyre all wellendowed. Of course. And then they say, now, lets get three undressed scenes. And three jiggles. And write a scripT Around it. There are some who will tell you T A has peaked and is on its way out. Abc has shows like the Love Boat and threes company. Jiggle tv referred to the fact that these were women who were, you know, who were, you know good morning, angels. Good morning, charlie. Charlies angels became a very enduring trademark out of the 70s. Ive already made arrangements for you three to go to prison. Open your towel. Ill be standing as erecT As ever. Good luck, angels. Oh god, i did Battle Of The Network Stars a couple of times. And i hated it. I think i made up some pretty good time on billy crystal. Networks would loan out their Tv Stars to compete in a series of quasi olympictype events. She is leaning so far over she seems to be wobbling a great deal. Erin gray. With that spry, supple body. Shes goT A great set of legs, what the heck . I think we have a lot to apologize for for the worst of television. My only defense was, it was the 70s. Did i jiggle much . Live and learn. Lisa here, has had many jobs. Shes worked in retail during the holidays. As a barista during rush hour. And a nanny to a couple of rambunctious kids. Now, 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, with a career that makes a difference. Apply today. 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 Fixodent ultra dual power provides you with an unbeatable hold and strong seal against food infiltrations. Fixodent. And forget it. Public television has been expected to do a great deal. Almost half of noncommercial program hours are aimed at children. And it has come to be so many things to so many people. The pbs Childrens Programming in the 70s became the Platinum Standard on the planet for how you use this medium to educate kids. Would you be mine could you be mine wont you be my neighbor it was Fred Rogers who made it okay to speak to an audience of kids like they were human beings. There are some new things thaT Are very difficult to understand in a newspaper. Every now and then i think back to mr. Rogers and i think, he would say dont be scared, life is good, life is special. Everybody is so special because everybody is different. Just go and do the thing you love. ThaT Always stuck with me. See you tomorrow. Can you tell me how to get how to get to Sesame Street Sesame street introduced my children to the interaction of people with different backgrounds. Its not that easy being green count that penny. Count that penny . Yeah, count it. Okay. Count. One. Sesame street was aggressive in terms of learning not only concepts of reading, but concepts of interacting. I may be small. I may be small. But i am. But i am. Somebody. Somebody. Sesame street was as big as it got in terms of celebrity. Everybody wanted to hang with the muppets. Arent you Johnny Trash . Cash. Cash, cash. Educational Childrens Television really matured in the 70s. Im leaving. I love you. I love you, too. Oh, thanks. Now for something completely different. When i was 13, the show from england came on pbs, which before that was only the realm of my parents. Ew what do you mean, ew . I dont like spam. Suddenly theyre doing the most outlandish, racy, non Sequitur Type of humor. And killing me, the 13yearold. Its extraordinary what you cant do on american television. I think you can do it on pbs. Thats why i hope you all watch it. DonT Attack me with it Come On oh you have this generation of Comedy Nerds who dont nooeven w theyre Comedy Nerds. This is no more. It has ceased to be. Monty python turned out to break so many rules. I mean, it changes everything. Just like with the beatles, you can say, oh, they came after the beatles. Look at Saturday Night live, you look at sctv. Oh, after. After monty python. Beginning october 11th, Saturday Night will open up a Whole New Live Venture from new york city. We just happen to have the producer of the program and members of his company. What should we look for on the program . Anxiety. Loren michaels, this canadian comedy producer, was given free rein. Hi. Im loren michaels. The producer of Saturday Night. He hires a bunch of improv comics. Rehearsal and warmup, lets do 28 face slaps. Come on. Slap. Come on. Pick a hand. George carlin was the first host. Wanted to be permanent host. Nice to see you. Welcome and thanks for joining us live. There were a lot of names bandied about in terms of permanent hosts. Thats one of those Tv Rules you mustnt break, until you do. Then you realize, why dont you have a different host every week . But it was the cast that finally won peoples hearts. Come on, who is this . Andygram. You cut your own steaks. We give you the sauce. Im barbara wawa. Thank you, thank you very much. Youre beautiful. Youre beautiful. Thank you. You were drawn to the tv set, because you knew something insane might happen. Live live live from new york partly because it was live. Partly because you knew television was now in the hands of the television generation. And these were kids in quotes who just might do anything. Yes, having sex with women, the president within these very walls. That never happened when Dick Nixon was in the white house. It was counter television. Thats partly what made iT Attractive. No problem. Every one of their episodes became worthy of talmudic study, if thats the word. When i hosted, loren called me into his office and said, you realize the kids are the stars. The Host Wasnt nearly as impactful. Thats not quite it. Uh because the thing was all the rage. They called themselves the not ready for primetime players. Not because they felt they werent good enough, but because they felt they were too good. Good evening, im Chevy Chase. And youre not. Chevy chase became an instant star. Our top Story Tonight. Our top Story Tonight [ indiscernible ] Chevy Chase was on the show for one year. Are you sorry you left Saturday Night live . Im deeply, deeply sorry. Chevy decided he was too big for the show. So he left. In some ways, chevy leaving after the first year was a blessing. Because it showed that Saturday Night live was going to do much more than survive. There are some things that jusT Arent explainable hello, im Bill Murray. You can call me billy. BuT Around here everybody calls me the new guy. When Chevy Chase leaves, Bill Murray comes in. Come on, pop cut, cut cut makeup, can we get in here, please. Sorry fellas. That just opened up other doors. And Saturday Night live was just kind of taking on. Two wild and crazy guys you will never have to scale or cuT Again. Roseann, roseannadanna. Cheeseburger, cheeseburger. Where do we come from . France. It was the show for us. It was the show about us. You wanted to be a part of it. It was inextricably linked with the times. Good afternoon. Good night. Have a pleasant tomorrow. Hey google, turn up the heat. 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. Monday, monday, monday, its the greatest day of the week throughout high school, there was one show religious broadcasting that you had to watch. Because if you didnt see it, you would about have anything to talk about for all of tuesday and most of wednesday anden a big part of thursday. Why . Because Monday Night is nfl football night. Thats why. Monday Night Football got its start on september 21st, 1970, with the Cleveland Browns hosting the new york jets. Welcome to abcs Monday Night primetime national Football League Television series. And this game is under way on abc. Frank was there to do playbyplay. Don was there to do replays. And provide some humor to the telecast. And howard was there to be the straw that stirred the drink. Come on lets go lets go the pairing of Howard Cosell with Don Meredith is a classic sitcom odd Couple Kind of pairing. You couldnt help but be swept up by what those guys were saying. The booth itself was almost like a variety show. We have our expert with us here this evening. I called iT A traveling Freak Show and it really was a Traveling Freak and the Head Freak was howard, no question about that. The tension between the two of them made for the kind of the thing that you wanted to see every week. Professional football is rapidly growing into a very big business. You understand football. Our football, not what they call football in europe. I like to watch it. I dont understand too much about it. Would you look to learn more about it . We were on a mission that took us very close to saying, screw the Football Fan because hes going to come anyway. What we needed to do is appeal to women. We needed to appeal to the casual Football Fan. Thats why we started telling stories that humanized the players. Joe namath, one of the greatest of all time. Unfortunately his legs do not go with thaT Arm. The things that people associate with. Recognize this fellow . Whats been your view of this american Professional Football season . It is an amazing event, sight. It makes Rock Concerts look like tea parties. Id like to have your job, be a sportscaster. That show became week after week one of the most highly rated shows in america. Turn out the lights the partys over it showed football was an Entertainment Experience on par with any primetime show you could imagine. Maybe it was better because you didnt know how it was going to end. 60 minutes decided to peer into the electronic future to take a look at what may be in store for Television Viewers in the decade of the 70s. It is television by cable, a Communications Revolution that could radically alter our way of life. Cable for quarter of a century, theres nothing distinctive about it. JusT A way for you to get what everybody else can already get. And thats the way it is up until welcome to Home Box Office subscription television. Hbo debuts november 8, 1972, and it is noT An overnight success. Presenting the pennsylvania polka festival. The oftrepeated saying was getting people to pay for tv will be like getting them to pay for air. Saturday mornings they would play Band Music and youd see slides of nothing. Nobody knew what you could do. Nobody knew what you couldnt do. But you were desperately trying not to be commercial television. How much time we got . Ladies and gentlemen, Robert Klein the beauty of it was, you didnt have to pack everything quickly. You could warm up and get to know and take the stage, so to speak. The Talk Shows are okay. You know, i do the tonight show. I come in, i have to be funny in a hurry. Gets a little tiring. Six minutes and Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom it wasnT As contrived. It was a fullthroated performance. This is not regular television. This is subscription. You can say anything. [ bleep ]. Because youre not using public airwaves, the Fcc Cant regulate your content. I understand you had two orgasms yesterday. Can you tell us about them . Hbo gave Cable Something to sell. You were getting Movies Uncut in your home. All the naughty bits intact. And then september 1975. We debut coasttocoast with the thrilla in manila, one of the alltime classic heavyweight fights. Frazier ali. And thats when hbo explodes. Its all over. And ali at The End of the 14th round, its a tko before that, youre count ing growth in tens of thousand of subscribers. After that, youre counting in millions. Thats really day one for both businesses. Hbo and the cable industry. If youre a fan, what youll see in the next minutes to follow may convince you youve gone to sports heaven. In the mid70s in the sports world, there were just these three giants. Cbs, nbc, abc. And then in connecticut, somebody goT Ahold of a transponder. The picture youre watching right now has been taken by a camera sent through sophisticated equipment to this Earth Transmitting system this guy, bill rasmussen, who had been fired from his job and just trying to figure ouT A way to deliver local cable sports. Then when they found ouT About the satellite they said, so can we cover the whole state . And the guy looked and he said, no, you dont understand. For another 25 cents or whatever, you can send this all over the country. And they went, oh, gee. Why would anyone want to do that . They didnt quite know what they had. And he wound up revolutionizing television sports. Welcome everyone to espn sportscenter. From this very desk in the coming weeks and months, well be filling you in on the pulse of sporting activity, around the country and around the world, as well. They didnt have the money to go ouT And buy Baseball Games or nfl games. What they did do was take all the leftovers out there. Im Joe Boyle and ill be handling the Play By play for Tonights Game between the badgers and the blue demons. It gave birth to arguably the greatest Media Success Story of alltime. At its best, Cable Television could provide a refreshing relief from the trend toward bigness, toward centralization. At its worst, Cable Tv could invade our privacy, tranquilize our children, remove us electronically from the Flesh And Blood world. And wed have to pay for the privilege. The question is, indeed, will the miracle be managed . Its dry. Theres no dry time. Makes us wonder why we booked fifteen second ad slots. Hi guys check out this side right here. Whatd you do . Tell me know you did it. Yeah. GeT A little closer. Thats insane. Thats a different car. Thats the same car. No yeah, thats before, thats after. Oh, thats awesome. Make it nu with nu finish. I brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. Those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks [sighs wearily] here, ill take that woohoo ensure max protein. With thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and now with two new flavors 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 vo conventional thinking doesnt disrupt the status quo. 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. Fixodent ultra dual power provides you with an unbeatable hold and strong seal against food infiltrations. Fixodent. And forget it. Opreza Trabajar En Recology es una tradicion familiar. i, Tome La Ruta De Mi padre cuando se retiro despues de 47 anos. Ahora Le Muestro a la Nueva Generacion Lo que es Recology Como Una Compania Que Pertenece a los empleados. Estamos Orgullosos De Haber Creado El sistema de reciclaje. Convirtiendo a san francisco, En La Ciudad Mas Verde de america. Sigamos Haciendo La Diferencia juntos. The best thing pbs did for adults in the 70s was the mini series. The idea of novels for television. Good evening. The ninth episode of i claudius. We ought to put up a sign, discretion is advised. I was noT Allowed to watch it because it had the nudity in it. I very much wanted to. Rather than try to come up with a show that would run for years and years, it was this idea that here is a limited story. We are going to tell it in X Number of episodes and lets just do this one selfcontained thing. During the reign of my mad brother that he might not, otherwise, have done. It looks cheap. It was the scripT And the performances that mattered. In other words, it could be good for you but it was fun, at the same time. The mini series is such a huge success for Public Television. Abc was the network that hit gold with Rich Man Poor man. You can tell a story that isnt controlled by the clock. Characters can grow and change and differ. Hey, listen. Hmm . I want to talk to you. About what . About making an honest man out of me. Its a subject i rarely discuss in the nude. What we saw in the 70s was the bigevent television, if it was done righT And if it was compelling, the audience kept on coming back and back. Here, you have topics that start to get serious and importanT And groundbreaking for television. Theres no life left here, and i i dont want harm to come to you because of me. I wont. I wont listen to this. The Majority Reaction to the Holocaust Program has been positive. It has not been without debate. With holocaust, the heat was you shouldnt even touch this subject. Its disrespectful. But finally, the thinking was, no, to not talk about it would be disrespectful. To not perpetuate the memory for another generation. And so, if youre too young to know, heres a depiction. Not since the war, have emotions been so high in germany. The Holocaust Telecast caused heated discussion. Its most tangiblepolitical effect was shown when the german legislature debated the search for nazi war criminals. Holocaust made it easier for lawmakers to vote to continue the hunt for nazis. Holocaust brought it home. It made it real, even though it was a hollywood creation. Sunday night, roots begins in eight parts on abc. If it sounds like im plugging it, i am. Basically, Television Will never be the same, again. There was really nobigger Television Event than roots. It was based on a 1976 book by Alex Haley about his family in africa, and Coming To America as slaves and what happens to them as the centuries Go On. I will go to my grave believing that roots is americas story. Its not just blackamericas story. We might have come over in the bottom of the ship. But we, all, came over on ships. Your name means stay put but it dont mean stay a slave. As a 19yearold kid, you know, roots was my first job. Swer not children. We are very close to being men. Whats your name . Kun that. Kun kunta kinta. The adult was a dream role. It was really genius to casT All of Americas Favoritetelevision dads in the roles of the White Slave owners and the villains. I will be by to fetch you in the morning, captain. Sleep well. It is difficult to explain, in todays culture, how unprecedented roots was. No one had ever seen the story of slavery before, told from the point of The View of the africans. It may be the first time that television allowed an embracing of black pride. One of the reasons that roots was so, incredibly popular is not because abc had so much faith in it but because abc didnt. Earlier mini series were broadcast in weekly installments and the abc executives determined that, if roots were to fail, they could just be done with it in seven or eight nights. It was high risk, high reward. If it didnt work, you were ouT A lot of tv time and not many people watching. The Television Premiere on eightconsecutive nights attracted the largesT Audience in the history of the medium. There is something about it that seems to touch all human beings. It transcends age and race. Entertainment was meeting humanity and i think thats the primary value is to lead humanity forward. If theres a legacy of television in the 70s, its that you matter. While theres a lot going on in the world, television was a reminder of how much little things mean to us. The smallest of situations. No matter what the Subject Matter was, it wanted to include you. Youre in the family. Dont make fun of the outsider. Include them. Its legacy is look how long its lasted. Those shows about people who were kind and nice, they were not meanspirited shows. There was a certain elegance to that. I kind of miss it. Oh, it was so delicious. Five different flavors. Archie was sitting aT Another table with jefferson pratt. Remember him . Anyway, archie was trying to get my attention. So, first, he put two straws in his mouth like a walrus. Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. Im michael holmes. Coming up here on cnn newsroom. Release, release, release. A new era in the Space Race begins, just hours from now. As Richard Branson prepares for an historic trip to the final frontier. The latest on that, and the future of Space Tourism with my guest, formernasa astronaut, leroy chiao. Also