Listen to it. They know when it hits the bottom, itll be 1990. Goodbye to the 80s in ten, nine, eight, eight, eight, eight oh, will this horrible year never end . When the 90s began, we started to see a lot of experimentation. And the simpsons i think in some senses was inspired by not necessarily hatred of television, but a distrust of a lot of the ways in which television was talking to us. Tv respects me. It laughs with me. Not at me. Youre stupid. Doh i think the sitcoms of the 80s were such a warm, safe, humor. I love you guys. The kids, they listen to the rap music which gives them the brain damage. And i think there was a real yearning for another type of humor. We were able to spoof fatherhood what a bad father. Which at the time, and i stress at the time, was bill cosby as the shining example. Did you ever know that youre my hero the stuff they got away with because its a cartoon. The father strangling the child. Why you little we are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American Family to make American Families a lot more like the waltons and less like the simpsons. We go to a completely bizarre period of time in 1992 when a sitting president is raging against a sitcom. They have dealt with politics. They have dealt with popular culture. Theyve dealt with all kinds of issues of racism, of sexism. Dont ask me, im just a girl. Right on, say it, sister. Its not funny, bart. Millions of girls will grow up thinking this is the right way to act. They have found a way to talk about everything thats going on in our lives through the filter of the simpsons. Them immigrants. They want all the benefits to living in springfield, but they aint bothered to learn themselves the language. Yeah, those are exactly my sentimonies. I think one of the governing things thats happening with the simpsons is a distrust of anyone who tells us we should trust them and doesnt earn that trust. Ill take that statue of justice too. Sold. When they make fun of how fox works you are watching fox. We are watching fox. They are telling you dont trust us either. Eat my shorts. All right. Ill eat eat your shorts . The simpsons is like shakespeare in the fact that we quote the simpsons all the time, very often without knowing it. Excellent i wish i could create something that culturally indelible. Its unlike anything else tv has ever run. Twin peaks showed up out of nowhere at the beginning of the decade. The pilot episode of that was one of the strangest and most exciting things i have ever seen. Im at the twin peaks morgue. With the body of the victim. Whats her name . It was incredible. Just how slowly in the beginning the news spread around this little town that this young, beautiful girl had died and that haunting music was so dark and so beautiful. Ive got good news. The gum you like is going to come back in style. What on earth is essentially a art film doing in prime time television. American Network Television has long been considered the home of the bland, the cautious and the predictable. So it was with some trepidation that it the abc Network Launched a new series that was none of those things. Twin peaks is already described by one critic that will change tv. Its directed by david lynch. David lynch was a filmmaker known for his taste in the eccentric and memorable. The idea that he would do television in the 90s was crazy. Do you watch much of it . I like the idea of television, but im too busy too see very much of it. What do you think of that which you do see . Some of it i really enjoy. Are you being diplomatic . Sort of. [ screaming ] the beautiful thing about television is you have the chance to do a continuing story. And thats the main reason for doing it. I think that twin peaks with the initial attention it got allowed all the other networks to say, lets do something different. What was interesting about northern exposure it was an odd sort of universe that this guy was dropped into. The days coming. It aint going to be long when you aint going to have to leave your living room. No more schools, no more tabernacles. No more cineplexes, all right . Youre going to snuggle up to your fiberoptics and bliss out. You also had experimentation that set the stage for a lot of what came later. Its kind of hard to pin down what exactly the x files is. I mean, on the surface, its a show about investigating paranormal activities. Unidentified flying objects. I think that fits the description pretty well. Tell me im crazy. Moulder, youre crazy. That dynamic, that dramatic tension of believer versus skeptic is one of the engines of the show. You were always seeing it from a specific is point of view. Theyre equals . I said, wait a minute. I thought, well, this is it. This is going to be great. This is going to be as innovative as anything ive ever done. It circled the drain. Im creatively proud of it still. You know, im very glad we tried it. I dont think id want to do it again. Your big idea. Will people know it means theyll get the lowest price guaranteed on our rooms by booking direct on choicehotels. Com . Hey badda book. Badda boom mr. Badda book. Badda boom book now at choicehotels. Com theres nothing more important than your health. So if youre on medicare or will be soon, you may want more than parts a and b heres why. Medicare only covers about 80 of your part b medical expenses. The rest is up to you. You might want to consider an aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. Like any Medicare Supplement insurance plan, these help pick up some of what medicare doesnt pay. And, these plans let you choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. You could stay with the doctor or specialist you trust. Or go with someone new. Youre not stuck in a network. 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A free trial of gocentral from godaddy the follows movie is rated r. There was not a whole lot of original programming for cable, but they were airing movies. So we needed to compete, and i felt that if we didnt, we were going to kind of get swept out. So i came up with the notion of doing a cop show that was r rated. When abcs broadcast standards read our script, they went berserk. I was sitting with a pen and a pencil drawing pictures of breasts to try to show them what we would show and wouldnt show. Grownups sitting in a room doodling. Then we started on the language. We heard it with the brains of a flea and the balls of a moth. The program premiered with an advertising boycott. Channel 7, shame on you but it was such an immediate hit, that boycott lasted, oh, four weeks. They could use the nudity and the curse words to go deeper into the actual emotional burden of being a cop. Im an and it had this character, andy sipowicz. He is a raging alcoholic, racist, sexist, violent. He created the tv antihero. I know the great African AmericanGeorge Washington carver discovered the peanut. But can you provide names and addresses of these friends . You know, youre a racist scumbag. Despite flaws and prejudices, i think people identified with his pain. I wish there was a way to say this that wouldnt hurt you. Theres a famous episode where they are investigating the rape and murder of a young boy. And they find a homeless child molester who murdered the kid and sipowicz to get the confession has to be very sensitive and very good cop. I know this has to be tearing you up inside. But youre going to feel a lot better if you just tell the truth. You can sort of see on dennis franzs face this is killing him to not destroy this guy right now. Finally, he gets the confession he gets the signed statement. He walks out of the room, he goes into another Interrogation Room and he breaks the door in two with his fist. And im choking up talking about it right now, because thats how great a moment of tv that it is. 20 years from now, the best tv dramas, what do they look like . I dont know. Bolder than what we see today . Oh, assuredly, assuredly they will be. The 90s gave us several shows that didnt explode in the ratings, but were influential to other people making television. Homicide is one of them. Shell me with questions all night im living in a danger zone homicide life on the street was innovative in terms of style. It used music in ways that advanced the narrative and also used feature film directors that brought a look and style to the show that really stood out on television. Tears coming out of your eyes. Aint no tears coming from my eyes. Those eyes are brimming with tears. They had so many African American characters in the cast that on several occasions they were the only people on camera interacting with one another. And that sounds like, so, but as late as the 90s, that wasnt done on television. When a cop shoots somebody, he stands by. He picks up the radio mike and calls it in. He stands by the body. If not, cops are no better than anybody else. In the 90s, television was getting more complicated, stories were starting to become more episodic and characters were starting to develop and change. None of that happened on law and order. This was a show that completely delivered on its formula every time. You get a crime, you got the investigation into the crime. You better be packing more than a dirty mouth. You got an arrest. Whats the charge . Hey, im asking you a question whats the charge . Theres no charge. This ones on us. You had a trial. Hes badgering, your honor. Sit down and shut up. Overruled. You will address the court from now on, mr. Mccoy. Every time you watched you got what you came for. Tell me, doctor. All those women you ran through your examination rooms, do you remember their faces or did you not even bother to look up . You had in law and order the kind of characters people take to heart. Ill let you take me to lunch. Onetime offer. And it youre ab actor and you say well, gee, maybe its not really such a bad medium after all. Miranda, the supreme courts mimic decision. The whole thing was illegally obtained. They were both represented by counsel. Its life and death and stuff. We know what you did. Counsel. You hear me . Do you hear me . Law and order was like crack. Youd have to sit and watch me for 50 minutes just like, not moving, barely breathing. Theres times i have almost passed out watching law and order. I need your help. E. R. Had originally been written as a movie, forced Steven Spielberg to direct. We had this twohour piece which was michaels reflection of experiences as a medical student. You need a large in case they bleed. Do you know how to start an iv . Actually, no. E. R. Is a hospital show, but its really an action movie. Walking wounded. Red urgent, yellow critical and black a gurney. Got it. A gurney comes in, people are shouting instructions, climbing on the body and doing cpr and racing off to the surgical suite. Get that gurney out of there someone wanders in. Theyre tossing around medical jargon. They dont stop to explain what it is. Prep for a peritoneal lavage. I think i know what that is now, but only because i watched a lot of e. R. Over the years. You try. We can bypass him. What do you think . Youre the attending. There was so much information coming at you that i think it made the experience feel as if you had to watch it in the same way that youd watch a film. You had to stay involved the the whole time. Come on, ben. Hold on, buddy. Hold on. There was a lot of research that said people didnt want to watch anybody have anything other than a happy outcome. Its not flood Flight Attendant line. Another seven makes epi. We argued that wasnt really showing what the world was for physicians. I had unbelievable amount of respect for the people who did this because i understood how human they were. A new era of technology is forcing networks to reexamine no, please, please, oh shrieks in terror heavy breathing and snorting no, no. The running of the bulldogs . Surprising. Whats not surprising . How much money aleia saved by switching to geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. Pcountries thatk mewe traveled,t what is your nationality and i would always answer hispanic. So when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. Im everything. Im from all nations. I would look at forms now and wonder what do i mark . Because im everything. And i marked other. Discover the story only your dna can tell. Order your kit now at ancestrydna. Com. Reporter can you sing the theme song from cheers . How does it go. Making your way. In the world today come on, i know. Its cute. Takes everything you got taking a break from all your worries sure can help a lot wouldnt you like to get away sometimes you want to go where Everybody Knows your name we decided to end cheers in the 11th year. Over 93 Million People watched the finale of cheers. Its a sad experience for everybody. This was our baby for 11 years and were not going to be around these people every day. You people are as dear to me as my own family. We had been serving fake suds forever. It was time for everybody to sip. In fact, i was sipping along with them. Time goes by so fast. People move in and out of your life. You must never miss an opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you. We had been through so much together. You spend so much time with the same set of people, it does become your family. I feel pretty lucky to have the friends i do. I think the legacy of cheers is our need to belong. And i think thats what we as americans are longing for. Thank you, guys. The final scene of cheers was really what was sams real first love. You can never be unfaithful to your one true love. Im the luckiest son of a on earth. His real first love was the bar. Sorry, were closed. Okay, lets play show business. As a young kid in cleveland, i knew i would one day end up doing a talk show. Out of the sad, sad sorrow, i was like, what are we going to do . Tv is changing dramatically with 150 channels that might be available in the near future. There are more choices than ever before, and its a tough job. You have to try and get a sense of what is the audience going to really make an attachment to. In the 90s, cable was coming on strong. So we had to examine who are we going to be. Well, we wanted to be smart, sophisticated comedy. Six months ago, i was living in boston. My wife had left me, which was very painful. Then she came back to me, which was excruciating. I thought frasier was dead with cheers. We thought, we got to build an audience and Great Potential for building out the character to another place. Frasier was kind of like oneact plays. Mother and i moved here when i was a small boy after the tragic death of my father. I kept the pain of that loss buried deep within me like a serpent coiled within a damp cave. Okay, thats it. We always assumed the audience was smarter than most other people did. And we played to that. Just unschooled like liza doolittle. If she finds the right henry higgins, shell be ready for a ball in no time. Leave it to you to put the pig back. Kelsey grammar played pomposity and got huge laughs. Whats taken so long . But i am analyzing my options unlike your wink and approach i like to plan a strategy, like a general leading his troops into battle. Checkmate, schwarzkopf. I think frasier stands as the single most successful spinoff, at least in the history of comedies. And the emmy goes to frasier. Frasier. Frasier. We were lightning hot and it was critical for us to be leading the way not just following. Friends is about that time in your life when your friends are your family. Ow when david crane and i lived in new york we were part of a group of six people. The machine that was nbc in the 90s for comedy was untouchable. Youre not from around here, are you . It generated so much viewership and money and awards. You do not need this. Its the top of our wedding cake. Its not a scrapbook. Its a freezer. We certainly associate nbc of the 90s of having extremely successful sitcoms but they werent the only network that found their way to having some success. Tgif was on abc on friday and it was their block of family oriented comedies. I cant take it. I need the cake. It was not sophisticated television. But these were shows that people adored. [ laughing ] cbs. Cbs was in a really bad spot. They had just fallen apart over the early part of the 90s and had gone through a couple Different Network executives. But then suddenly they had this hit with an unknown comic. This was the year of seinfeld, no hugging, no learning and this was a show being made as if it was produced in the era of the Dick Van Dyke show. I love you. There was hugging. There was learning. I love you, son. All right, all right. If you worked for me, your job was so go home, get in a fight with your wife and come back in and tell me about it. Dont sleep on the couch. I just cleaned down there. In fact, the pilot i put in this true thing that happened to me wherein i sent my parents a gift for the holidays of the fruit of the month club. And did you know you sent me a box of pears from a place called fruit of the month. Thats right. Thats right. How are they . And my mother reacted as if i had sent her a box of heads from a murderer. Why did you do this to me . Oh, my gosh. I cant talk. Theres too much fruit in the house. Oh what is happening . What do you think we are, invalids . We cant go out and get our own fruit . I tried to tell him. All right. Im cancelling the fruit club. The real story is where the real connection with your audience is. Thank god, all your families are crazy, too. Looks like you got the whole family together. Yeah, yeah, its dysfunction palooza. Whoa thats amazing. Hey, im the internet i know a bunch of people who would love that. The internet loves what youre doing. So put your idea online with a domain name from godaddy. Enter your idea and well find you a one of a kind name. Weve helped