All language subtitles for remux-The.Eighties.S01E01.Part1.WEBRip.x264-ION10_track3_[eng]

Pauley: It seems that television
has become a kind of

electronic confessional

It is juicy, newsy,
exciting stuff.

What are we doing here?
Why did we start this business?

Any tool for human expression
will bring out both

the best and worst in us,
and television has been that.

Durham: Here's Michael at the
foul line, a shot on Ehlo. Goal!

They don't pay me enough to deal
with animals like this.

Why don't you just get
off my back, okay?

People are no longer embarrassed
to admit they watch television.

Hello.
Man: People used to say,
"I was there."

Now people say they watch it
on television.

♪♪

Clark: Slowly but surely,
the 1970s are disappearing.

The 1980s will be upon us.

What a decade it is coming up.

Happy new year!
[ Cheers and applause ]

Auletta: As you begin the '80s
in the television world,

the landscape was,
on any given evening,

9 out of 10 people were watching
only one of three networks.

More than 30 million people
are addicted to it.

Social critics are mystified
by its success.

What is it?

It's television's prime-time,

prairie pot boiler, "Dallas."

Bobby: A move like that will
destroy all of Ewing Oil,

and it'll ruin
our family name.

I assure you, a thought like
that never crossed my mind.

Brother or no brother,
whatever it takes,

I'll stop you from destroying
Ewing Oil.

"Dallas" really did establish
new ground

in terms of the weekly,
one hour show

that literally captivated
America for 13 years.

"Dallas" is a television show
which in some ways is rooted

in the 1970's,
and one of the crazy things

that emerges is this character,
J.R. Ewing as a pop phenomenon.

Tell me, J.R., which slut
are you gonna stay with tonight?

What difference does it make?

Whoever it is it's got to be
more interesting

than the slut I'm looking at
right now.

Levine:
He was such a delicious villain.

Everyone was completely enamored
by this character.

Bianculli: At this point,
so many people were watching

television that you could do
something so unexpected

that it would become news
overnight.

Who's there?

[ Gunshot ]

[ Groans ]

[ Gunshot ]

[ Gasping ]

The national obsession in 1980
around who shot J.R. --

It's hard to imagine
how obsessed we all were

with that question,
but we were.

Who shot J.R. is about
as ideal a cliffhanger

as you possibly could get.

Brokaw: Who did shoot J.R.?

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.

Duffy: 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 that's all that people
were talking about there.

Lovejoy: Well, we know you don't
die. I mean, you couldn't die?

-You don't know that.
-Well, how could you die?

You couldn't come back
next season.
That's what I mean.

I couldn't come back,
but the show could still go.

Oh, but you wouldn't?

What is that show
without J.R.?

Well, that's what I figure.
[ Chuckles ]

Well, I guess if you don't
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.

Troy:
Who shot J.R. is a reflection
of old-fashioned television.

It's 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.

Bowen:
It was the kind of an event that
would draw the world's press.

Stage nine,
20th Century Fox Studios,

the end of the Korean War --

The television version,
"M.A.S.H."

O'Houlihan: It's been an honor
and a privilege

to have worked with you.

And I'm very,
very proud to have known you.

Hart:
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 were all sad to see them go.

I'll miss you.

I'll miss you.
A lot.

Naversen: All over the country,

armies of fans
crowded around television sets

to watch the final episode
and to bid "M.A.S.H." farewell.

Levine: 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.

There's nothing wrong
with me.

Farrell:
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.

Connelly: Who shot J.R. and
the last episode of "M.A.S.H."

are the last call for the
pre-cable world of television.

It's like they are the last time

that that huge audience
will all turn up for one event.

Bianculli:
TV is growing up with cable,

TV is growing up with content,

TV is growing up
with different genres.

Aluetta: The fundamental thing
that cable did and the VCR did,

or the remote control did,

is it gave consumers
more choice,

and everything was
about to change.

[ Bleating ]

-Thomas Magnum?
-Marion Hammond?

The private investigator?

Oh.
[ Chuckles ]

You're probably wondering
about the goat.

Um, just let me drop off
my friend, and then we'll talk.

Levine:
When we entered the '80s,

a lot of one-hour dramas
that were light hearted,

like "Magnum, P.I.,"
were very popular.

[ Gunfire, tires squeal ]

Bianculli: After "M.A.S.H."
went off the air,

the next season, there wasn't
a single sitcom in the top 10.

First time that had ever
happened in TV history.

The prevailing feeling
was that the sitcom was dead.

Greenfield: Brandon Tartikoff,
NBC programming chief,

says reports of the sitcom's
death were greatly exaggerated.

Time and time again,
if you study television history,

just when someone is counting
a form out,

that is exactly the form
of programming

that leads to the next big hit.

♪♪

Graham: So 1984,
"The Cosby Show" comes on.

Now, Bill Cosby's not new to TV.
He's had other TV shows.

But "The Cosby Show"
is very different.

It stands apart from
everything else he's done.

Mom, I wanted my eggs
scrambled.

Coming right up.

Mandabach:
They talked about parenting.

Previous to that, on television

the kids were cool
and the parents were idiots.

And then Cosby says
the parents are in charge,

and that was something new.

Instead of acting disappointed
because I'm not like you,

maybe you can just accept
who I am

and love me anyway
because I'm your son.

That's the dumbest thing
I've ever heard in my life!

Shales: 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 wouldn't tell you.

You don't have to tell me
what you did.

Just tell me what they're
gonna do to you.

Graham:
Unlike every other show on TV,

it's showing an
upper-middle-class black family.

This wasn't "All in the Family."

They weren't tackling,
you know, deep issues.

But that was okay.

The mere fact that they existed
was a deep issue.

Mandabach: The decade was
waiting for something real.

In other words, unless it's real

it doesn't seem like
it moves anybody.

If someone's feeling something,
you get to the heart, you get
to the mind.

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.

Long: Cosby's show brought
this tremendous audience to NBC.

And that was a bridge to us.

I mean, our ratings went way up.

♪ Sometimes you want to go ♪

♪ Where everybody knows
your name ♪

Even the theme song to "Cheers"
put you in a good mood.

Evening everybody.

Norm! Norm!
Norm! Norm!

-Norman.
-What's shaking Norm?

All four cheeks
and a couple of chins, Coach.

Levine: 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 gonna happen.

Bianculli: It's like all you
have to do is watch it once,

you're gonna love these people.

These are universal characters

and the humor worked
on so many levels.

Last night I was up
till 2:00 in the morning

finishing off Kierkegaard.

I hope he thanked you
for it.

You have to create a community

that people
are identifying with.

And "Cheers" gives you
that community.

Boy I tell you, I've always
wanted to sky dive.

I've just never had
the guts.

What did it feel like?

Well, imagine it's
a lot like sex, Sammy.

Not that I have to imagine
what sex is like.

But I've had plenty of sex,
and plenty of this, too.

What don't you just
get off my back, okay?

Long: In the first episode,

there was a rather passionate
annoyance.

I was saying, uh,
something's going on here.

A really intelligent woman
would see your line of B.S.

a mile away.

I've never met an intelligent
woman that I'd want to date.

On behalf of the intelligent
women around the world,

may I just say, phew!

Burrows: When we saw what
Ted and Shelley had together,

we said, "Oh no,
we gotta do this relationship."

Ted and I understood what
they were writing right away.

If you'll admit
that you are carrying

a little torch for me,

I'll admit that I'm
carrying a little one for you.

Well, I a-am carrying
a little torch for you.

Well, I'm not carrying
one for you.

Diane knew how to tease Sam.
Sam knew how to tease Diane.

And I guess we knew
how to tease the audience.

Burrows:
This incredible chemistry

between the two of them
ignited the show.

And that's what drove the show
for the first five years.

Oh, I'm devastated.

I need something expeditious

and brutal to numb
my sensibilities

and blast me into
sweet oblivion.

-How about a boilermaker?
-Make it a mimosa.

Burrows: We had the luck
to be able to rotate cast

and every time we put somebody
in, there were explosions.

Bwah!

Levine: 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 mid-course corrections.

But you can't cut all comedies
from the same cookie cutters.

All you can hope is that every
night turns out like Thursday.

Yo, Angela!

Larry, Larry.

Next...

How rude.

[ Cat yowling ]

He's quick,
I'll give him that.

Bianculli:
All of television said,

"Oh, well, maybe the sitcoms
are alive again."

And that's all that it took.
It took one success.

Greenfield: A few years
from now, something new

may tempt the people
who pick what we see.

But it's a very safe guess
that whatever gets hot

for a season or two,
the men and women who create

good television comedy

will be laughing
all the way to the bank.

Esterhaus: All right, that's it.
Let's roll.

Hey.

Let's be careful out there.

Woman:
Dispatch, we have a 9-11 --

armed robbery in progress.

McQueen: 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.

Bochco: We had all watched
a documentary about cops,

and it had this real hand-held,
in-the-moment quality

that we were very enamored of.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

[ Telephone rings ]

Graham: 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.

Bochco: We didn't 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 that's it.

Cops have personal lives

that impact their behavior
in profound ways.

Well, what about it?
Is he here or is he elsewhere?

Let's -- don't get excited
counselor. We're working on it.

How's this for logic,
Furillo?

If he's not here and if he's not
elsewhere, he's lost.

We didn't 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...I'll have you
up on charges.

Yost: There'd 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 hour-long, dramatic show.

These past four months,
I've missed you.

I had to find that out.

Come home, pizza man.

Bochco: 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 hell's
the matter with you, man?

I'll tell you something --
they don't pay me

enough to deal
with animals like this.

The first thing they see
is a white face,

and all they want to do
is do me in.

You listen to me, Renko.

It was a white finger
that pulled the trigger.

Not a black one,
it was the white one.

Graham: It set a trend --
the idea that the audience

can accept its characters
being deeply flawed, you know,

even though they're wearing
this uniform.

And I thought that that was
important to finally get across.

Don't do it.
No biting.

Bochco:
We wanted to make a show

that made you participate,
made you pay attention,

and I think
that worked pretty well.

Farr:
And the winner is...

"Hill Street Blues."

Bochco:
We got 21 nominations,

and we went on
to win eight Emmys.

And it put us on the map
literally,

and that's when people
finally checked us out.

Tartikoff: 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
you're 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, they'll say,

'That doesn't taste bad.'

And maybe they'll even
order it themselves

when they go to the restaurant."

Nice of you to join us,
Dr. Morrison.

Connelly: 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 wouldn't want
to send your mother-in-law.

Yost:
When it first came on,

it was actually promoted
as "Hill Street" in a hospital.

You give your patients
the wrong antibiotics.

You don't know
what medications they're on.

You write the worst
progress notes.

You're pathetic.
Pathetic.

-Phil!
-What?!

Dr. Moray
needs you right away.

I'm 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.

T-cell count was off.

Yost:
They would have tragic things
happen to these characters.

There was real heartache
in these people's lives,

and you really felt
for them.

I've got AIDS?

Television at its best
is a mirror of society

in the moment.

Harmon: "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 80's,
television producers

were encouraged
to stretch the medium.

Okay, clear.

Corday: As the '80s got serious,
there was more drama,

they were getting
a little bit more adventurous

with the types of shows
that were getting a shot.

-What are you doing?
-I'm doing what I...

...should have done all along.
-Should have done all along.

-What I wanted to do originally.
-Originally.

What I should
have done last night.
Last night.

-Stop that, David!
-Stop that, David!

-I'm calling the police, David.
-The police, David.

[ Buttons clicking ]

-Hello, police?
-Hello, police?

Shriver: The networks realized
there was an audience

looking for something
less predictable

than traditional prime-time
fare.

-[ Groans ]
-[ Gasps ]

Bianculli: "Moonlighting"
was another of those shows

that said, "Okay,
I see the formulas

that we've had up to here.

Let's do different things.

-Hello.
-Hello.

We're looking a little
"pale" [pail] today, aren't we?

And who have we here?
-I don't know.

"Moonlighting" was a really
experimental show.

They had a Shakespeare episode.

They had a black-and-white
episode.

They did a musical episode.

They tried a lot
of different stuff.

I don't give a flying fig
about the lines in my face,

the crow's feet by my eyes,
or the altitude of my caboose.

Well, I'm at a loss.

I don't know what
a flying fig is.

That's okay, they do.

[ Cheers and applause ]

There's no trouble on the set.
There is no trouble on the set.

Well, we have a very
volatile relationship.

There is a hate/love
element to it.

Easy come, easy go!
Ha!

Burrows:
The flirtations were great,

and Bruce and Cybill were great.

Glenn Caron kept them apart
for a long time.

And bravo to him.

Bianculli:
What they did was they took
the Sam and Diane dynamic

from "Cheers" and escalated it.

"Cheers" was,
"Will they or won't they?"

"Moonlighting" was,
"Do they even want to?"

Stay away from me.

Here I come.

But I don't want you.
I never wanted you.

Yeah, right.

Does entertaining mean
at some point stopping the tease

of Dave and Maddie?

I mean, do they get together
at some point?

I hope so. Well, that, that's
gonna be resolved this year.

We like to think of it as two
and a half years of foreplay.

Bianculli:
People who had been watching

"Moonlighting" for years
were waiting for this moment.

And your emotions
are already there,

built onto the emotions that
you're seeing on the screen.

So when "Be My Baby"
by the Ronettes starts playing,

it's like a perfect storm
of romance.

[ "Be My Baby" plays ]

♪ The night we met I knew I ♪

♪ Needed you so ♪

[ Indistinct conversations ]

Man: A lot of people used
to say, "I was there."

Now people say they watch it
on television.

Connelly: There's just a lot
of excitement connected

to sports in the 80's.

You used to have to depend
on the five minutes

at the end
of your local newscast.

There just hadn't been enough,
you know?

Give us a whole network
of sports.

Announcer: There's just one
place you need to go

for all the names and games
making sports news --

ESPN "Sports Center."

What happens in the 1980's
is sports becomes

a TV show, and what
are TV shows built around?

They're built around characters.

McEnroe:
You can't be serious, man.

You cannot be serious!

You guys are the absolute pits
of the world, you know that?

Connelly:
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're John McEnroe
and Bjorn Borg

or Chris Evert
and Martina Navratilova,

that's what we want to tune in
to over and over and over again.

Announcer: 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.

Futterman: 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.

It's a great story.

Announcer: Off the mark.

Lakers had several chances,

and here's 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!

Futterman:
When those championship games

are in primetime and people
are paying attention to that,

television feeds
into those rivalries

and makes them bigger
than they've ever been before.

Connelly: 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.

Announcer:
Here comes Mike Spinks in!

He leads with a right hand!
Down he goes!

Tyson was made for TV
because there was drama.

Announcer: It's all over!
Mike Tyson has won it!

Firestone: Not a lot of junior
high school kids can dunk,

especially at five feet.

But everybody tries now.
Everybody tries.

[ Laughs ] I bet now.

I think that he is starting
to transcend just his sport.

He's becoming something
of a public figure.

Futterman:
Michael Jordan becomes the model

that every other athlete
wants to shoot for.

They want to be a brand.

And that's what television does
for these athletes.

It turns them into worldwide,
iconic brands.

Announcer: The inbound pass
comes in to Jordan.

Here's 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.

It's 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.

That's an earthquake.

I want my MTV!
I want my MTV! I want my MTV!

I want my MTV.

I want my MTV.

♪♪

Goodman:
A new concept is born --

the best of TV combined
with the best of radio.

This is it.

Welcome to MTV,
music television --

the world's first 24-hour,
stereo, video music channel.

Brown: Music television --
what a concept.

MTV was, "Pow!"
In your face.

You were not gonna turn us off.

Hanks: MTV did nothing

but play current music videos
all day long.

So let me get this straight --

You turn on the TV,
and it's like the radio?

I'm Martha Quinn.

The music will continue non-stop
on MTV music television,

the newest component
of your stereo system.

When MTV launched,
a generation was launched.

18 to 24-year-olds were saying,
"I want my MTV."

I want my MTV videos.
I want my MTV fashion.

Yo!

Connelly:
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.

Bianculli: MTV had a giant
impact visually and musically

on every part of the TV culture
that came next.

-Freeze! Miami Vice.
-Freeze!

Pauley: Friday nights on NBC
are different this season,

thanks to "Miami Vice."

It's a show with an old theme,
but a lot of new twists.

Described by one critic

as containing flashes
of brilliance, nonetheless.

Shot entirely on location
in South Miami,

the story centers around
two undercover vice cops.

I don't know how this is
gonna work Tubbs.

I mean, you're not exactly up my
alley style- and persona-wise.

Heaven knows
I'm no box of candy.

Mann: Television
very much was the small screen.

What was interesting

about Tony Yerkovich's
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 we're gonna make one-hour
movies every single week.

Okay, here we go.
Standby.

-Action!
-Police, police!

Pauley: You were just
describing the show

as sort of
a new-wave cop show.

Johnson: Yeah,
it's 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.

Graham: In a lot of ways,

you don't get "Miami Vice"
without MTV

because in a lot of ways,
"Miami Vice" was a long video.

The music was such a big part
of that show.

[ Phil Collins'
"In the Air Tonight" plays ]

Mann: 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 ♪

Bianculli:
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 four-minute
Phil Collins song,

you know, and it was.

♪ Oh, Lord ♪

Mann: Being able
to take a television series

like "Miami Vice" and let's
really kind of rock 'n' roll

with this until somebody says,

"Stop, are you guys crazy?
You can't do that."

And nobody ever did.

[ People screaming ]

Go!

Freeze! Police!

In recent years, it seems
that television has become

a kind of an electronic
confessional

where guests are willing
to expose painful

and sometimes embarrassing
aspects of their lives

quite readily
to millions of viewers.

Bianculli:
At the beginning of the decade,

we get the dominance
of Phil Donahue.

And that's sort of
a maturation of women's issues.

And he seemed to talk to them
in the audience.

He seemed to talk to them
through the TV screen.

I'm glad you called.
Kiss the kids.

[ Laughter ]

We'll be back in just a moment.

Donahue: If you look at the body
of work we've had,

you know, you're gonna see
the '80s there.

I'm not here to say
you're wrong,

but let's understand this.

When you bring a moral judgment
without knowing them,

against them for the way
that they look

they feel that confirms
the reason for their rebellion,

if that's what you
want to call it.

Mitchell: He really believed
that daytime television

needed to talk about the ideas
we were thinking about,

the issues we were
concerned about.

[ Chuckles ] I don't want to
characterize his question,

but why don't you get this fixed

instead of doing
this screwy stuff?

There's not
a single recorded case

in history of any transsexual,
that ever,

through psychological treatment,
changed.

It has never happened yet.

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 magic carpet ride.

You really do paint
a very, very grim, picture

of the sitting President
of the United States.

Let me just say this --
I think he's probably

the laziest president
that I've ever seen.

Bianculli:
The audience for Phil Donahue
built and built and built

and built
and led the way to "Oprah."

♪♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

Whoo!

Hello, everybody.
Hello!

Mitchell: Oprah has a
particularly magical combination

of her own background,
her own experience,

her own incisive mind,
and empathetic spirit.

Thank you.
I'm Oprah Winfrey.

And welcome to the very first
national "Oprah Winfrey Show"!

[ Cheers and applause ]

Donahue: I was surprised
at the rocket pace

that "Oprah" took off
because it took us a lot longer.

The Donahue show rearranged
the furniture,

but Oprah remodeled
the whole house.

Winfrey: There are a lot of
other people who are watching

who really don't understand
what you mean when you say,

well, you know, we're in love.

Because I remember questioning
my gay friends saying, you mean,

like, you feel about him
the way I feel about...

It's kind of a strange concept,

you know, for a lot of people
to accept.

Oprah was connecting
with people in a way

that no one had on TV before.

And it was really special
to see.

Well, did you know
that for the longest time,

I wanted to be a fourth grade
teacher because of you?

My, I was not aware
of inspiring anyone.

I think you did exactly what
teachers are supposed to do.

They create a spark
for learning.

That's the reason I have
a talk show today.

Oprah Winfrey now dominates
the talk show circuit

both in the ratings
and popularity.

I want to use my life as
a source of lifting people up.

That's what I want to do.

That's what I do every day
on my show.

You know, we get accused
of being tabloid television

and sensational and so forth,

but what I really think we do
more than anything else

is we serve as a voice
to a lot of people

who felt up until perhaps
my show or some of the others,

that they were alone.

This is what 67 pounds of fat
looks like.

[ Audience murmurs, gasps ]

I can't -- I can't lift it.

It is amazing to me
that I can't lift it,

but I used to carry it around
every day.

There's nothing
more endearing to an audience

than to have that kind of
honest and humility and courage

on the part of a host.

And that, I think,
has a lot to do with her power.

It 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 it's never seen anything
like Morton Downy, Jr.

I want to tell you
this story --

Sit down and shut up!

Troy:
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.

Hart: The '80s brought a lot
of belligerence to television.

Whether it was
Morton Downey, Jr.

being the offensive,

caricature-ish person
that he was,

or Geraldo.

He did his own
outlandish things.

Stay with us ladies
and gentlemen.

We're gonna get into the mind
of another all American boy

who came under the influence
of Satanism

and took part in a crime
without passion or motive.

Troy: Geraldo Rivera
takes the power

of the talk show
to a whole other level,

trying to put people on stage

who hate each other,
who are gonna fight.

In the case of the Temple of Set
and the Church of Satan,

we have not had any problems
with criminal behavior.

Yet when you hear story after
story after story of people

committing
these wretched crimes,

these violent crimes
in the devil's name?

Troy: The more tension there is,
the more conflict there is,

the more violence there is,
the more the ratings go up.

And the American people
love to complain about it,

but they also love to watch.

Brokaw: Geraldo Rivera is back
in a controversy tonight.

Rivera drew sharp criticism

with his recent television
special on devil worship.

But today he found himself
in a real free for all.

I get sick and tired of seeing
Uncle Tom here, sucking up,

trying to be a white man.

Go ahead, Troy, go ahead.
Now, let me tell you --

Sit down, man.
Come on. No.
Hey!

You got to be kidding.
You got to be kidding.

-Dude...
-You got to be kidding.

-Nah.
-Hey, hold it!

Hold it!
-Sit down!

[ Indistinct shouting ]

Brokaw:
Rivera suffered a broken nose

but he says the show
will be broadcast

later this month
in its entirety.

Well, that's 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,
"Isn't this awful?

Look what's happened
to television."

And yet they couldn't wait
to use it

to sell their own magazine.

Let's go to the audience,
all right.

I want to speak to you guys.
You guys are...

Shales: Over the years,
broadcasting has deteriorated.

And now in this era
of deregulation,

it's deteriorating further.

Give people light, and they will
find their own way. Relax.

America will survive
the talk shows.

Arnold: 1968, the summer before
junior high school.

And I don't mind saying I was
a pretty fair little athlete.

Bianculli: "The Wonder Years"
was a guy in modern times

looking back on his childhood.

That in itself is not new,

but "The Wonder Years" did it
with a wit and with the music.

It was a brilliantly written
show and a great performance

by that entire young cast.

Hey, Steve.
It looks like my baby brother

and his girlfriend
have found each other.

She's not my girlfriend.

Kevin Arnold has to cope
with all the timeless problems

of growing up during
one of the most turbulent times

that we have known.

Kevin Arnold is just
like a regular kid

except in the 1960s.

And he's not really aware
of many of the events.

Like in one of the episodes,

the whole family's watching
the Apollo 8 take off.

But I'm just sitting there
trying to call a girl.

Bianculli: The first episode
of "The Wonder Years,"

anybody who saw it
remembers the ending

where, you know --
the first kiss

with Winnie and Kevin Arnold.

The song that they play
is "When a Man Loves a Woman."

That moment seemed
so pure and so real.

♪ When a man loves a woman ♪

♪ Can't keep his mind
on nothing else ♪

Troy:
The tone of the baby boomers
of the 1960s is about rebellion,

about being students.

By the 1980s,
it's time to grow up.

And so they shave their beards,

give up their dashikis,
and they put on power suits --

a whole new notion.

Ah, the yuppies.

Last year,
the politicians were all

talking about winning
their votes.

Now those young,
urban professionals

and the rest of
their baby boom generation

are being wooed by advertisers
and their agencies.

Greenfield: By the '80s,

it was pretty clear
that the generation

after the generation of the '60s

may be embodied by Alex Keaton
on "Family Ties."

Soon to be a lot more interested
in the corner office

than the new Jerusalem.

You're a young man.

You shouldn't be worried
about success.

You should be thinking about
hopping on a tramp steamer

and going around the world.

The '60s are over, Dad.

Thanks for the tip.

Bianculli: You weren't laughing
at Michael J. Fox's character

for being too conservative.

You were actually
laughing at the parents

for being too hopelessly
liberal.

What is this?
I found it in the shower.

That's generic brand shampoo.

Ah!

This is him. This is the guy
I've been telling you about.

This is everything
you'd want in a President.

Troy: The genius
of "Family Ties" is it allows

a kind of youthful Reaganite
to emerge

that's focused
more on the future,

that's focused more on
the a critique of the '60s.

Levine:
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.

It's not fair, Alex.

Yeah.

There's nothing you can do
about it, Jen.

My advice to you is
that you just enjoy

being a child for
as long as you can.

I know I did.

It's the best two weeks
of my life.

[ Laughter ]

Fox: Alex is a little
Bill Buckley.

He -- the Wall Street Journal
is his Bible.

[ Laughs ]

He has a tie to go with
his pajamas.

He's very conservative
and a very intense 17-year-old.

Now the first thing
your teacher's gonna ask

is what you did
over the summer.

Now, a lot of kids are gonna
say, "I went to the zoo,"

or, "I went to the beach,"
or, "I went to a baseball game."

What are you gonna say?

I watched
the Iran Contra hearings.

[ Laughter ]

Peterson: 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.

Troy: American culture
is changing in the '80s.

And in terms of television,

there's a whole notion
of demographic segmentation.

Bochco: Networks were beginning
to not be afraid

to appeal to
a very specific demographic.

Hi, handsome.
Look at that shirt.

Is that a power shirt
or what?

Nice suit Ellen,
good shoulder pads.

You looking to get drafted
by the Eagles?

[ Chuckles ]

"Thirtysomething" said
we're not gonna have

cops, lawyers, or doctors.

We're just gonna be
about people.

What are we doing here?
Why did we start this business?

To do our thing.

But right now,
we got two wives,

three kids, four cars,

two mortgages, a payroll.

And that's life, pal.

You be the breadwinner now.

Is that what I am?

Holmes: "Thirtysomething"
is a very important show

as you're going into this era
of television

being more introspective
and more emotional.

And some people
weren't buying it.

But for other people, when they
were talking about things

like having kids and who
was gonna go back to work

and some of these issues
that hadn't been talked about

a whole lot,
it was important to people.

[ Fussing, crying ]

I was so looking forward --

[ Louder ] I was so looking
forward to doing this,

to be a grownup
for just an hour.

In the beginning,
there was talk of this being

the yuppie show,
and you mentioned it tonight.

You said that if there
were a category

for the most annoying show,
this might win as well.

No, what some people
perceive as annoying

has nothing to do with yuppie.

I think yuppie is a word
made up by demographers

and advertisers to sell soap.

I don't think it has anything
to do with what the show is.

"Thirtysomething"
was not a giant hit.

But it was a niche hit.

It attracted an enormously
upscale group of advertisers.

Shales: The network cared
who was watching,

not how many were watching.

And that was more and more
catching on in the '80s.

♪♪

Sifuentes: 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.

Holmes: "L.A. Law" was partly
a classic lawyer show.

But it was intertwined
with their personal lives

and different lawyers
who were sleeping together

and trying to get ahead.

Yost:
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.

Unh-unh, tell the truth.

If you had to do it
all over again

and she walked into your office
and she said,

"Take my case," would you?

-Well...
-Of course you would,

because it is juicy, newsy,
exciting stuff.

Bochco: 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.

[ Sighs ] What are you
doing for dinner tonight?

I was planning on
having you.

In that case, skip lunch.

Bianculli: The formula
had gotten established

of how you can do
a dramatic show

and yet still have
an awful lot of fun.

We didn't used to be able
to accept that very easily

in a TV hour.

And even before
the '80s are out,

it's like, "Oh, okay, I get it.

You know, so it's like, all
right, what are the rules now?"

Shriver: You say you're part
of a change that's going on.

Where's it coming from,
and where's it going?

I think it has to do
with networks being more willing

to put creative control
in the hands of producers

who have strong viewpoints,

and letting them do
what they want to do.

I think
what "Hill Street Blues" was

and what "Moonlighting" was,
what the best television is,

is it distinguishes itself
by its voice.

Furillo:
What we're supposed to be here

is the one thing
people can trust.

If you go out there like
a bunch of night riders,

what the hell are you but just
another vicious street gang?

There was great writing
in the '80s that was a core

group of brilliant people.

The audience's demands
were changing.

It's obvious
television has changed a lot

since the first Emmy
was awarded 35 years ago.

It's as though
the contemporary audience

was yearning for more
stories about themselves.

Bye, everybody out there on TV.
Bye.

As the '80's came to an end,
everything changed.

I think one of the --
when we look back at the 1980s

10 and 20 years from now
we're gonna be disgusted

at some of the TV
that you've just mentioned --

the super violent programs,
the terrible comedy shows.

But one of the great things
that's happening now

and will continue to happen
increasingly throughout

this decade is the replacement
of rotten entertainment

programing by news and talk
and information programing

on all three networks,
very slowly.

Man: Yes,
but will it be rotten?

Well, I don't think --
well, so far,

most of the news-oriented
programs, magazines,

information, talk shows,
on the networks

have been surprisingly --

at least to me,
surprisingly good.

♪♪