asner: i'll tell you about the golden age of television. thisis period inin time will be looked upon as the platinum age. lear: our obligation is to entertain, anand if we'veve left somethino think k about, so o much the b . kunta. kunta kinte. televisionon should nonot be jujust entertainment. charges were leveled at the commerercial televevision netw. congress has no right interfere with the media. well, excuse m me! we havave a respononsibility to give e the audienence what it tuned in to see. ththe years ofof the '60s,, which h end in a f 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. whwhat is thisis d coming to?o? the american public was hungry for more. what was allowowed that hadn't bebeen before?e? it was t the last dedecade whe it wasas a campfirire televisi, wherere there wawas one in the liviving room.. i i want to wawatch an allll-blk shshow for a c chan. where you gonna find one? here's one -- the los angeles lakers against the milwaukee bucks. bianculli: young people were interested in relevant things, and so television began to reflect that. man: this s is cbs. really it was very simple -- you had three channels, and plplus pbs. ken: whehen the decacade turnrned over ininto the '70, television was very rural. cbs had d "beverly h hillbilli" "grereen acres."." "petticoatat junction"n" and te kind of f rural fantntasies ofof mayberry y as a -- the hihillbilly shshows wewere everywhwhere, anand then they weren't.t. elana:a: fred silvererman, whos runnnning programming at cbs, said we're gonna get rid of the shows that are the most highly rated, and replace them with shows that they thought would bebe more appepealing to that yoyounger audidience. they changed the face of television. mymy name is n norman leara. 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." gilligan: norman lear and bud yorkin created absolutely iconic shows. shales: theyey revolutioionizd not only cbs, but all of american television. our world d is comingg crumblining down. the coons are coming. to use language like that on tv was just unheard of, bubut it realllly capturedd a certrtain momentnt. 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 it's wonderful. well, let's see how wonderful it is when the watermelon rinds come flying out the window. it scared me when i first saw "all in the family" a little bit. i thought,t, "they y better be e careful." lelear: ththere was nono doubt in n myd the american people were gonna accept it. do you havave a quick k answer fofor the peopople who sayay the show reinforces bigotry, and you know that charge started from the very beginning? yes, my quick answer is no. everybody was gonna see something they knew damn w well wawas going onon, and i thinink that's s surpris. archie: edith, we're out of toilet paper. no we're not. i bought some yesterday. it's in the closet in the kitchen. i ain't in the kitchen. oh! hearing a toilet flush for the first time was a big deal and mamade headlinines. [ toilet flushes ] archie: what's this country coming to, anyhow? what is it, archie? bad news? what else? we get out of vietnam or something? don't be a wise guy, huh? i wasn't gonna play around with "mom dented the car, now how are we gonna k keep dad from fininding out a about it" not when i i see everyrything that's's going aroround in o our countryry. just because a guy is sensitive, a-and he's 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 four-eyes. a guy who's a fag is a queer. elana: "all in the family" did something really new for television. it put before the american public archie's f friend, whwho was veryry masculinen, 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. nixon objejecting to t the sho- that w was a badgege of hono. anand it was r really cultltuy on point e every time.e. for a sisitcom -- that wasas unheard o of. 1, 2, 3. [ camera shutter clicks ] lear: i wanted to do an episode where somebody could give archie what he earned. shut up,p, all of yoyou! shh.h. archie: we created a character that could really let him have it. maude! i'm 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. lear: before that show was off the air, fred silverman was on the telephone with me saying, "there's a show in that woman." [ telephonone rings ]] hello? no, this is not mr. findlay. it's mrs. findlay. yeah, mr. findlay has a much higher voice. now, get your coat and come on. what makes you think you can order me around like that, henry? you're my wife. that gives me the right. when he says "wife," he means possession. so what, maude? you've told me a hundred times you want to feel possessed. walter findlay, i never said that standing up, and you know it. gilligan: norman lear and bud yorkin really turned the spin-off series into an art form. man: 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 smokokes, there's black people on tvtv." ththere had nenever been a completete black famamily on tv before witith the fathth. hanks: what made it so unique and universal was that we have the same problems in our household, and we do not live in the projects in chicago. dy-no-mite! you want to worry your head about nothing, go on and do it. but we got $32 in the shoebox, and i got another $6 right here 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 e black pantnthers werere very upseset. lear: when huey newton came to see me, the big complaint was, "why can't we see a black man ththat's doingng better ththan " "the jeffersons" started as neighbors of archie bunker. don'n't call me e honky! oh! why you so sensitive all of a sudden? how would you like it if i called you "nigger"? [ gasps ] he called me "nigger." that's no worse than "honky." you're right. nothing's worse than honky except being married to one. norman lear set the stage for other shows in the '70s ththat just brbrought gravavs toto televisioion. what are you staring at? i was just thinking, i'd bring my neighbor's kids over here. this place is better than the zoo. ken: on saturday nights, the cbs lineup in the early '70s was amazing. connelly: 8:00 -- "all in the family," 8:30 -- "m-a-s-h," 9:00 --- "the m mary tyler r moore sho" you u had ththe "the bobob newhart s sh" anand it endeded with "the carol b burnett varariety " at 1 10:00. they used to call it murderers' row. ken: people had no dvrs, they had no vhs, they had nothing with initials, so people e would stayay home on saturdaday nights. ththey wouldn'n't go to ththe m. they wouldldn't go to o restaur. that may be the best night of television in all of f televisionon histo. connellyly: mary tylyler mooe was a sisingle woman woworking as a an associatate pr on a n nightly tv v show. you knowow what? you got spspunk. well, , yes. i hahate spunk! there wewere a lot o of young wn enentering thehe workplacece , and for sosome of themem, mary tylyler moore was likeke a port ofof entry. i'm doing g as good a a job asas he did. betterer. betterer. and i'm bebeing paid l less ththan he was s because.... you're a w woman. the telelevision fememale coululd be a herero. she could be thehe main evene. read i it? all l right. out loud! asnener: the firirst script t wn allan buburns and jijim broos had mary c coming toto minneapololis divorcec, and,d, oh, very y quickly cbcbs, "no, no,o, no, no."" elana: at the begeginning of f the dec, divorce e was consididered sosomewhat scacandalous. connellyly: she wentnt on dats with a a lot of guguys, but ththe guys weren't rereally imporortant. we seememed to be hihitting it , and i jujust thoughtht -- you just t thought. she's s not obsessssed with f finding a h husband. don't t forget to take yoyour pi. i won't.t. i won'. haharper: thisis was aboutut pe copiping with onone another, and ththe workplacace was s like a famamily. i told ted to close with the copy for sue ann. oh, my godod. what's wrorong? i i told the p projectionint it w was the othther way aror. oh, , my god. lolocal pig fafarmers servrved e today y that risining corn pris are forcining them to o find or means s to feed ththeir stoc. hehere's one p pig thatat doesn't s seem to noto. just l look at herer gobble p that s slop. startiting tomorrorow, we'll e presenenting a newew feature o , "dining g out wiwith sue annnn nivens." harprper: ononce jim brorooks said t to, "i know ththere's a woworld ofof comedy inin my wife's's p. i jujust can't a access it." we'v've got to f find some f fe writers fofor this show. did you crcrash ththe men's roroom? of course e not. i i went as sosomebody's g gu. man: whyhy do you ththink itit's such a a winner? i think k because of the casasting, and i think because of the writingng. they donon't sacrififice the e characterr for r the sake of a gooood jo. ththat effort t to keep the femamale sensibibility is whahat made itt authenentic and gogood. people w would say, , "you're t likeke me and mymy girlfriene" how can yoyou gorge yoyoursef like that and d stay so skskin? i'm m going cry withth hunger. well, eaeat somethining. i can't.t. i gotta l lose 10 p pounds by 8 8:. frfreddie silvlverman, hehead of the e network atat th, said, , "valerie, , listen, i'm goining to spin n you of, and d i thought,t, "oh, my y god, i'm f fired," is a term that was originated in t the '7. if we're gonna start living together, we gotta t tell eachch other eveverything. okayay, joe, i want to o be married. rhododa and joe'e's weddingg becameme a huge nanational eve. 52 milillion peoplple tunened in to sesee that. suddenenly rhoda's's in a hapappy relatioionship, and ththey didn't t know whwhat to do w with that.. thenen they had d to have her get t divorced to tryry to rebootot the sho. why did d you marry y me? justst answer meme that. why didid you marrrry me? you madede me marry y you. i feel so o funny. just a m matter of t trust. [ giggggles ] oh, shshe's not gonna dodo it. rhoda: butut, doc, whwhere does t that leave e us, and where e do we go from herere? that, we'l'll have to o discus in futurure sessions. the e '70s also o had this therapeueutic overlalay. hi, bob! oh, hi, , bob. hi, bobob! hello? we decideded to make h him a psycychologist. you u seemed to o have run ot of t things to s say. why don't we pray? yeah, let's pray for the end of this session. i didn't know anything about therapy prior to that. i'm from the planet blothar. it's's in the gagaldou galaxaxy. how w -- how lonong are youu going g to be in t town? i didn't w want to do o a shw where we h had childreren. i didn't w want to bee the dudumb dad. sit, w whitey. howardrd, i don't t care wherere we eat. i i just don't want toto make anyny more decicisions. pepeople will l say, "gee,e, md and i usused to watctch this s, and itit was greatat." and d then you r realize you're parart of peoplple's li. [ "suicicide is paininless" pla] ththe '70s wasas the era w we a a certain arartistry devevel. gilligan:: "m-a-s-h-h" really c changed many peoeople's percrception ofof what a sisitcom cann b. a sitcomom could be e cinemat. ken: "m-a-a-s-h" was s shot like e a, and "m"m-a-s-h" wawas maybe the singlele most uniqique situtuation comemedy ever. i have a h headache, a tremendodous headachche. it goes alall the way y down toto my waist.t. gilligan:: the telelevision sereries "m-a-" had d one thing g the movie, inin my estimamation, did d , whicich was hearart. therere are certrtain ruless about t a war, and rurule number r one is y young men d di. rurule number r two is dococs cacan't changege rule numbmber. farrell: i it was abouout kor, but we w were talkining about anand doing ththings ththat had to o do with vivie, and evererybody knewew it. man:n: rolling. . action. hawkeye: war isn't hell. war is war, and hell is hell, and of t the two, war is a a lot worsese. we had 3 30 million n people a k wawatching "m-m-a-s-h." have you e ever reallyly consididered the f foot? yeah, , but i prefefer girls. better n not bump ininto heny and thatat general. i intend only to bump into o nurse bakeker, rerepeatedly i if possiblel. prograram and pracactices -- these wewere peoplee who woululd go throuough the scs and say, "you can't't use this s word" we felelt like we e were inin the midstst of a batttt. this is frfreedom of s speec. at the senenate hearinings on t television n violence t t, strong charges were leveled at the commercial television networks. the broadcasting industry now stands charged with having molested the minds of our nation's 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. wallace: 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. so it just seemed altogether unfair, and we sueued. family h hour is undnder attak from s some producucers, unio, and others in the television industry. they have filed a lawsuit to have it abolished. brown: as those scheduled to testify arrive, like grant tinker and allan burns of mary tyler moore enterprises, they pass through a picket line protesting the hearing. congress has no right whatsoever to interfere in the content of the media. alda: if you can censor a joke today, then tomorrow you can censor the expression of any thought if you can censor a joke. it just becomes easier the next day. brinkley: a federal judge in los angeles ruled the so-called "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 in a most important decision, and it's really, truly a victory for everybody. first time i connected with kim, she told me that her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you. "thehe rookies"" will n not be seenen tonigt so that we may bring you the following special program. grimsby: 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, and is it good for you? somewhere around the middle or late '70s, it's like people got tired of talking about real stuff. well, , if the gooood lord provided us s with berriries, i think we ought to eat them. connelly: there was a longing for a simpler time when it didn't seem like there was so much anger and contentiousness, when people weren't so m mad at each other.r. grimsby: dururing last s seas, "t"the waltonsns" caught on. girl: good nightht, john-boyoy. jojohn-boy: gogood n. this year there'll be more nostalgia and wholesome family drama. now that dinner's over, let's try out the piano. okay. i i am taking g requests.. [ plays s flourish ] ] ♪ sununday, mondaday, happy d ♪ i created d "happy dayays" not t what a famamily reallyly. i thought t it would b be god ifif there werere some famamis that didndn't get didivorced. oh, , you guys are realally m-- wow! itit wasn't byby accidentt everybybody on "hahappy days" hugs eacach other. itit wasn't byby accidentt everybody in t the familyy ate e at the same time at the same table. shales: it w was a sweetet tender shw in the v vein of " "american g graffiti."" looking baback on thatat era ofof the '50ss withth a certainin affection. ay-y-y!! abc wanteded fonzie's s "ay-y" to comompete direcectly with j jimmy "j.j.j." walkers "dy-nono-mite!" 'cause i i'm the fononz! ay-y-y-y! catchphrasases were bibig. sit on it,t, marvin! sit onon it, marvivin! sit t on it, howoward. dodoes anyone e say, "t"thank you, , arnold"? no. you know w what they s say? sit onon it, arnolold. sisit on it, a arnold. that's what t they say.. you watctch fonzie,, and you u just want t to be fon. [ snaps fifingers ] aww. hey,y, girls. knock yoururselves outut. i'm rereally sorryry. it w was a slip p of the fini. it's a a fantasy of what t teen life e could b. hey, d defazio! they're hehere. all right.t. mwah! lavernrne. thisis is lavernrne defazio.o. she's s mine. and d this is shshirley feenen. shshe's yours,s, as you cacan. ninice to meetet you, ririchie. my pleasasure. marsrshall: whwhen lavernene and shirlry made a a guest appppearance, one ofof the camereramen sai, "l"look at thihis two-shoto. thatat's a serieies." schlemiel!l! schlimazezel! hasenpfefferer incorporarate. wallace: t tuesday nigight betwtween 8:00 a and 9:00 is calalled the dedeath spot - dedeath to anyny program that dareses to go heaead-on against abc's "happy days" and "laverne & shirley." "laverne & & shirley"" was onone of the f few sitcos that ever r debuted asas number. the ababsolute topop number-onow this seasoson 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 g get the samame sort off slapststick and phphysical com. i meanan, we neverer thoughght about itits importan, except that, you know, it was two girls trying, and the value of f friendship. itit must haveve somethingg going g for it. i don'tt vo-deeee-oh-doe-d. you vo-deeee-oh-doe-dodoe. i don'n't vo-d-dee-oh-doe-e. ththey couldn'n't say "sexe" so t they said " "vo-dee-oh-h-" you vovoe-dee-oh.. everybody y knew whwhat they wewere talkingng a. once.. my s son didn't t watch "laverne & & shirley"" or "hahappy days."." i saidid, "you donon't like i" he says, " "i like it,t, but whwhat's missising? spspacemen!" 'cause we were getting into space. and so that's when i created a spaceman. whoo-oo-o-oo! wait a mininute. who are you?u? i am mork k from ork.. the wrwriters all l rolled their eyeses. "a"an alien? he wantsts an alien.n." i i had to makake up a stotor- fonzie's's running o out of advdversaries.. that's rigight. fonznzie's neverer lost a.....y. and we gotot the home-e-planet adadvantage. then we e got him onon his own , and "morork & mindy"y" was ththe hip showow of the '70s. [ [ thunk! ] shazazbot! ah! hah!h! rosesenthal: the audienence -- talklk about a w willing suspensionon of disbelelief - is willingng to buy ththe premi. mimind if i dodo? ...jusust so they y can watch robin wiwilliams. [ burps ]] nana-nu! na-nunu! well, excucuse me! burton: ththat was an n interesg partrt of the babalance, i t t, ofof the televevision diete. that thehere was an n attempto explorore deeper i into the pse of w what makes s us tick. bubut there wawas also, yoyou , a need t to escape.. i'm going to a beach barbecue. uh-huh. i can see what's gonna heat up the coals. wallace: if there's any single phenomenon that has tilted the rating book in abc's direction, it's "t" and "a." herb jacobs, at the cbs affiliates meeting, he explained to us how these "t"-and-"a" shows are conc