And television has been that. They dont pay me enough to deal with animals like this. People are no longer embarrassed to admit they watch television. We have seen the news, and it is us. Slowly but surely, the 1970s are disappearing. The 1980s will be upon us. What a decade it is coming up. Happy new year as you begin the 80s in the television world, the landscape was, on any given evening, 9 out of 10 people were watching only one of three networks. More than 30 Million People are addicted to it. Social critics are mystified by its success. What is it . Its televisions primetime, prairie pot boiler, dallas. A move like that will destroy all of ewing oil, and itll 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 really did establish new ground in terms of the 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, jr ewing, as a pop phenomenon. Tell me, jr, which are you gonna stay with tonight . What difference does it make . Whoever it is, its got to be more interesting than the 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 . The National Obsession in 1980 around who shot jr its hard to imagine how obsessed we all were with that question, but we were. Who shot jr is about as ideal a cliffhanger as you possibly could get. Who did shoot jr . We may never get the answer to that question. I mean, the people who produced that program are gonna keep us in suspense for as long as they possibly can. We shot jr 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 . You dont know that. Well, how could you die . You couldnt come back next season. Thats what i mean. I couldnt come back, but the show could still go. Oh, but you wouldnt . What is that show without jr . Well, thats what i figure. Well, i guess if you dont know by now who shot jr, you probably do not care. But last night, some 82 million americans did and they watched the muchtouted dallas episode. It could become the most watched Television Show ever. Who shot jr is a reflection of oldfashioned television. Its a moment that gathers everybody around the electronic fireplace, which is now the television set. Now, about one special American Television program, a critic said it transcends in popularity every other american statement about war. And Something Special happened today to mobile Army Surgical hospital 4077 that will touch millions of americans. It was the kind of event that would draw the worlds press. Stage nine, 20th century fox studios, the end of the korean war the television version, mash. 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 mash, had its final episode. And 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 mash farewell. The finale of mash 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 jr and the last episode of mash 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. Alright, 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 it had this real handheld, inthe 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 you could almost smell the stale coffee. We didnt want to do a standard cop show where, you know, you got a crime and you 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 . Lets dont get excited counselor. Were working on it. Hows this for logic, furillo . If hes not here and if hes not elsewhere, hes lost. We didnt say that, counselor. Not lost, per se. You lost my client. Never in my entire life have i listened to so much incompetence covered up by so much unmitigated crap. Find my client, furillo, or i swear. Ill have you up on charges. Thered 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 want an accident report, you fill it out. What the hells 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 is do me in. You listen to me, renko. It was a white finger that pulled the trigger. Not a black one, it was a white one. It set a trend the idea that the audience can accept its characters being deeply flawed, you know, even though theyre wearing this uniform. And i thought that that was important to finally get across. Dont do it. No biting. 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. And 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 Public wants is a cheeseburger, and what youre 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 of you to join us, dr. Morrison. The success of Hill Street Blues is a critical phenomenon influenced everything that came after it. And then of course you saw shows like st. Elsewhere. Do you know what people call this place . Not st. Eligius, st. Elsewhere a place you wouldnt want to send your motherinlaw. When it first came on, it was actually promoted as hill street in a hospital. You give your patients the wrong antibiotics. You dont know what medications theyre on. You write the worst progress notes. Youre pathetic. Pathetic. Phil what . dr. Moray needs you right away. Im sorry. St. Elsewhere broke every rule there was and then built some new rules. Bobby, 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. It 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. Theres a different way to treat hiv. Its everyothermonth, injectable cabenuva. For adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete Hiv Treatment you can get every other month. Cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. Its two injections, given by a Healthcare Provider every other month. Its one less thing to think about while traveling. Hiv pills arent on my mind. A quick change in my plans is no big deal. Dont receive cabenuva if youre allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. Serious side effects include allergic reactions, postinjection reactions, Liver Problems, and depression. If you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. Tell your doctor if you have Liver Problems or Mental Health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. Some of the most common side effects include injectionsite reactions, fever, and tiredness. If you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. Every other month and im good to go. Ask your doctor about everyothermonth cabenuva. Ever wonder what everyones doing on their phones . Theyre investing with merrill. Think miss allen is texting for backup . No shes totally in charge. Of her portfolio and daniel g. Shes building a greener future and hes. Running a pretend restaurant. And phil . Phil has questions, but none of them are about his portfolio. Digital tools so impressive, your money never stops working for you with merrill, a Bank Of America company. vo the fully electric audi etron family is here. With models that fit any lifestyle. And innovative ways to make your etron your own. Through elegant design and progressive technology. All the exhilaration, none of the compromise. The audi etron family. Progress that moves you. 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 happens 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 guys are the absolute pits of the world, you know that . Mcenroe the perfect villain the new yorker that people loved to hate. Borg the cool swede, never giving any emotion away. What tennis really wants is to get its two best players playing over and over again in the final. Whether theyre john mcenroe and bjorn borg or chris evert and martina navratilova, thats what we want to tune in to over and over and over again. Oh, goodness me. Net court at three match points to martina navratilova. You know that 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 los angeles lakers, the other plays for the boston celtics. Its a great story. Off the mark. Lakers had several chances, and heres Larry Bird Chugging down the court. Magic johnson leads the attack. Look at that pass. Oh, what show what a great play. Oh, what show when those championship games are in primetime and people are paying attention to that, television feeds into those rivalries and makes them bigger than theyve ever been before. I dare them to challenge me with their somewhat primitive skills. 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 it watching it on tv. Here comes mike spinks in he leads with a right hand down 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 feet. But Everybody Tries now. Everybody tries. I bet now. I think that he is starting to transcend just his sport. Hes becoming something of a public figure. Michael jordan becomes the model that every other athlete wants to shoot for. They want to be a brand. And thats what television does for these athletes. It turns them into worldwide, iconic brands. The inbound pass comes in to jordan. Heres michael at the foul line. A shot on ehlo. Good the bulls win athletes in the 80s became part of an Ongoing Group of people that we cared about. We just had an enormous, pent up demand for sports, and the 80s began to provide. Thank goodness. Cable television is continuing to grow. Its estimated that it will go into one million more u. S. Households this year. With Cable Television suddenly offering an array of different channel choices, the audience bifurcated. Thats an earthquake. I want my mtv I Want My MtvI 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 gonna 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 gonna work, tubbs. I mean, youre not exactly up my alley style and persona wise. Heaven knows im no box of candy. Television very much was the small screen. What was interesting about tony yerkovichs Pilot Screenplay for miami vice is that it was exactly not that. Very much the approach was, okay, they call this a Television Series, but were gonna make onehour movies every single week. Okay, here we go. Standby. Action police, police you were just describing the show as sort of a newwave cop show. Yeah, its a cop show for the 80s. I mean, 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. And 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. Oh, lord. Being able to take a Television Series like miami vice and lets really kind of rock n roll with this until somebody says, stop, are you guys crazy . You cant do that. And nobody ever did. Walk in, or call 1800aspendental. [upbeat music] [sound of tape application] i just need you to sign option three. [cheering] [upbeat music] for everything we need. For everything we want. For everything we do. [cheering] were all better off with an ally. Finding the perfect designer isnt easy. But, at upwork, we found her. Shes in austin between a dog named klaus and her favorite shade of green. Its actually salem clover. And you can find her right now on upwork. Com when the world is your workforce, finding the perfect project manager, designer, developer, or whomever you may need. Tends to fall right into place. Find toprated talent who can start today on upwork. Com go Freeze PoliceThomas Magnum . Marion hammond . The private investigator . Oh. Youre probably wondering about the goat. Um, just let me drop off my friend, and then well talk. When we entered the 80s, a lot of onehour dramas that were light hearted, like magnum, p. I. , were very popular. After mash went off the air, the next season, there wasnt a single sitcom in the top 10. First time that had ever happened in tv history. The