Tonight, television takes a look at itself. Whats on the idiot box . Its only an idiot box if someone is looking at it. Ill tell you about the golden age of sligs. This period of time will be looked upon as the platinum age. Our obligation is to entertainment. If weve left something to think about, so much the better. Television should not be just entertainment. Charges were leveled at the commercial television networks. Congress has no right to interfere in the media. Excuse me we have the responsibility to give the audience what it tuned in to see. The years of the 60s which end in a few hours have a Bad Reputation that is not entirely justified. Some things got worse, obviously. But tv and other News Coverage is better, not worse. We simply developed more demanding standards. When i think of tv, i think of the 70s. What is this world coming to . The American Public was hungry for more. More was allowed that hadnt been before. It was the last decade where it was a campfire television, where there was one in the living room. I want to watch an allblack show for a change. Oh, where are you going to find one . Heres one the Los Angeles Lakers against the milwaukee bucks. Young people were interested in relevant things. And so Television Began to reflect that. This is cbs. Really it was very simple. You had three channels plus pbs. When the decade turned over into the 70s, television was very rural. Hee haw the beverly hillbillies. Cbs had the beverly hillbillies. Green acres. Petticoat junction. And these rural fantasies of mayberryism. The hillbilly shows were everywhere and then they werent. Fred silverman who was running programming at cbs said, were going to get rid of the shows that are most highly rated and replace them with shows that they thought would be more appealing to that younger audience. They change the face of television. My name is norman lear. Until 1971 he was a very successful if largely unheralded producer writer in hollywood. But then he burst upon the public consciousness when he took on bigotry with his all in the family. Norman lear, created iconic shows. They revolutionized not only cbs but all of american television. Our world is coming crumbling down, the coons are coming. To use language like that on tv was just unheard of it. But it really captured a certain moment. Archie, 12 of the population is black. There should be a lot of black families living out here. Yeah, this is only a beginning but i think its wonderful. Well, lets see how wonderful it is when the watermelon rinds come flying out the window. It scared me when i saw all in the family, i thought they better be careful. There was no doubt in my mind the American People were going to accept it. Do you have a quick answer for the people who say the show reinforces bigotry . And that charge started from the very beginning. Yes. My quick answer is no. Everybody is going to see something they knew damn well was going on and nothing that surprising. Edith, were out of toilet paper no, were not, i bought some yesterday, its in the closet in the kitchen. I aint in the kitchen oh hearing a toilet flush for the first time was a big deal and made headlines. [ toilet flushes ] whats this country coming to anyhow . What is it, archie . Bad news . What else . Did we get out of vietnam or something . Dont be a wise guy, huh . I wasnt going to play around with mom dented the car. How are we going keep dad from finding out about it . Not when i see everything thats going around in our country. Just because a guy is sensitive and hes an intellectual and he wears glasses, you make him out a queer. I never said a guy who wears glasses is a queer. A guy who wears glasses is a foureyes, a guy whos a fag is a queer. All in the family did something really new for television. It put before the American Public archies friend, who was very masculine and who happened to be gay. How long you known me . 10, 12 years . Yeah. In all that time did i ever mention a woman . Oh, come on, steve. Glorify on Public Television homosexuality. Nor do you glorify horrors. Nixon objecting to the show, that was a badge of honor. It was really culturally on point. Every time. For a sitcom that was unheard of. One, two, three. I wanted to do an episode where somebody could give archie what he earned. Shut up all of you we created a character that could really let him have it. Maude. Im only here because of edith. The fact that you happen to be here with her is beyond my control. Like any other freak of nature. Before that show was off the air, Fred Silverman was on the telephone with me saying, theres a show in that woman. Hello . No, this is not mr. Findley, its mrs. Findley. Yes, mr. Findley has a much higher voice. Now get your coat and come on what makes you think you can order me around like that, henry . Youre my wife, that gives me the right. When he says wife he means possession. So what, maude, you told me a hundred times you want to feel possessed. Walter, i never said that standing up and you know it. Norman lear and bud yorkin really turned the Spinoff Series into an art form. Norman lear hates to call it the lear factory. All his series come out of this building, allowing lear to move from show to show like a dervish. Good times was like holy smokes. Theres black people on tv there had never been a complete black family on tv with the father. What made it so unique and universal was that we had the same problems in our household, and we do not live in the projects in chicago. Dynomite you want to worry your head about nothing, go on and do it. I have 32 in the shoe box. And i got another 6 in my pocket. You worked all night all they paid you was 6 . There were a lot of folks who were not happy with the show. The black panthers were very upset. When huey newton came to see me, the big complaint was why cant we see a black man thats doing better than that . The jeffersons started as neighbors of archie bunker. Dont call me honky. Why are you so sensitive all of a sudden . How would you like it if i called you nigger . He called me nigger thats no worse than honky. Youre right. Nothing is worse than being called a honky except being married to one. Norman lear set the stage for other shows in the 70s that just brought gravitas to television. What are you staring at . I was just thinking, i ought to bring my neighbors kids over here. This place is better than the zoo. When itrust the brandtburn, doctors trust. Nexium 24hr is the number one choice of doctors and pharmacists for their own frequent heartburn. And all day, all night protection. When it comes to heartburn, trust nexium 24hr. How to win at business. 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On saturday nights, the cbs lineup in the early 70s was amazing. 8 00, all in the family. 8 30, m. A. S. H. 9 00, the Mary Tyler Moore show, and you have the bob newhart show. And it ended with the Carol Burnett variety show at 10 00. They used to call it murderers row. People had no dvrs, no vhs, nothing with initials. So people would stay home on saturday nights. They wouldnt go to the movies. They wouldnt go to restaurants. That may be the best night of television in all of television history. Mary tyler moore was a single Woman Working as an associate producer on a nightly tv show. You know what . Youve got spunk. Yeah. I hate spunk there were a lot of young women entering the workplace then. And for some of them, Mary Tyler Moore was like a port of entry. Im doing as good a job as he did. Better. Better and im being paid less than he was because youre a woman. The television female could be a hero. She could be the main event. Rita. All right. Out loud the first script written by allen burns and jim gricks had mary coming to minneapolis divorced. And very quickly cbs says, no, no, no, no, no. At the beginning of the decade, divorce was considered somewhat scandalous. She went on dates with a lot of guys. But the guys were really important. We seem to be hitting it off. And i just thought you just thought . Shes not obsessed with finding a husband. Dont forget to take your pill. I wont. I wont. This was about people coping with one another. And the workplace was like a family. I told ted to close with the copy for sue ann. Oh, my god. Whats wrong . I told the projectionist it was the other way around. Oh, my god. Local pig farmers served notice today that rising corn prices are forcing them to find other means to feed their stock. Heres one pig. Just look at her gobble up that slop. Starting tomorrow well be presenting a new feature on wjm, dining out with sueann nivens. Once jim brooks said to me, i know theres a world of comedy in my wifes purse, i just cant access it, weve got to find some female writers for this show. Did you crash the mens room . Of course not. I went as somebodys guest. Why do you think its such a winner . I think because of the casting. And i think because of the writing. They dont sacrifice the character for the sake of a good joke. That effort to keep the female sensibility is what made it authentic and good. People would say youre just like me and my girlfriends. How can you gorge yourself like that and stay so skinny . Im going crazy with hunger. Well, eat something. I cant. I have to lose 10 pound by 8 30. Pretty soon the head of network at the time said, valerie, listen, im going to spin you off. And i thought, oh my god, im fired. Because spinoff is a term that was originated in the 70s. If women start living together weve got to tell each other everything. Okay, joe. I want to be married. Rhoda and joes wedding became a Huge National event. 52 Million People tuned in to see that. Suddenly rhoda is in a happy relationship. They didnt know what to do with that. Then they had to have her get divorced to try to reboot the show. Why did you marry me . Just answer me that. Why did you marry me . You made me marry you. I feel so funny. Its a matter of trust. Oh, shes not going to do it. Where does that leave us, where do we go from here . That well have to discuss at future sessions. The 70s also had this therapeutic overlay. Hi, bob. Hi, bob. Hi, bob. Hello . We decided to make him a psychologist. We seem to have run out of things to say. Why dont we pray . Lets pray for the end of this session. I didnt know anything about therapy prior to that. Im from the planet bluthar. Its in the galoo galaxy. How how long you going to be in town . I didnt want to do a show, where are your children . I didnt want to be the dumb dad. Sit, boy. Howard, i dont care, i just dont want to make any more decisions. People will say, gee, my dad and i used to watch the show. And it was great. And then you realize youre part of peoples lives. The 70s was the era where a certain artistry developed. M. A. S. H. Really changed peoples perception of what the sitcom can be. The sitcom could be cinematic. M. A. S. H. Was shot like a movie. And m. A. S. H. Was maybe the single most unique situation comedy ever. I have a headache. A tremendous headache. It goes all the way down to my waist. The Television Series m. A. S. H. Had one thing the movie in my estimation did not, which was heart. There are certain rules about a war. Rule number one is young men die. Rule number two is doctors cant change rule number one. It was about korea but we were talking about and doing things that had to do with vietnam and everybody knew it. Rolling. Action. War isnt hell. War is war and hell is hell and of the two war is a lot worse. We had 30 Million People a week watching m. A. S. H. Have you ever really considered the foot . Yeah, but i prefer girls. Better not bump into henry in that jungle. I intend only to bump into nurse baker. Repeatedly if possible. These were people who would go through the scripts and say you cant use this word. We felt like we were in the midst of a battle. This is freedom of speech. At the Senate Hearings on Television Violence today, strong charges were leveled at the commercial television networks. The broadcasting industry now stands charged with having molested the minds of our nations children to serve the cause of corporate profit. The family hour was established by the three networks and the federal Communications Commission in response to complaints of too much sex and violence on early evening television. The family hour, the two hours from 7 00 to 9 00 p. M. During which parents and children are supposed to be able to watch Television Without being made to feel uncomfortable. Its topless, edith and so it seemed altogether unfair, and we sued. Family hour is under attack from some producers, unions and others in the television industry. They have filed a lawsuit to have it abolished. As those scheduled to testify arrive, Mary Tyler Moore enterprises. They passed through a picket line protesting the hearing. Congress has no right whatsoever to interfere in the content of the media. If you can censor a joke today, and tomorrow you can censor expression of any thought if you can censor a joke. It just becomes easier the next day. A federal judge in los angeles ruled the socalled family hour on television from 7 00 to 9 00 p. M. Was unconstitutional, a violation of the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. The First Amendment was upheld and a most important decision, and its really truly a victory for everybody. 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Entertainment programming on the three commercial networks. What are you looking at . Is it good for you . Somewhere around the middle or late 70s its like people got tired of talking about real stuff. If the good lord provided us with berries, i think we ought to eat them. There was a longing for simpler time when it didnt seem like there was so much anger and contentiousness, when people werent so mad at each other. During last season the waltons caught on. Good night, john boy. Good night. This year there will be more nostalgia and wholesome family drama. Now that dinner is over lets try out the piano. Oh, good. I am taking requests. Sunday monday happy days i created happy days not what a family really was. I thought it would be good if there were some families that didnt get divorced. You guys are really it wasnt by accident everybody on happy days hugged each other. It wasnt by accident that everybody in the family ate at the same time at the same table. It was a sweet, tender show. In the vein of american graffiti. Looking back on the era of the 50s with a certain affection. Haaay abc wanted fonzis haaay to compete directly with jimmy j. J. Walkers dynomite. Cause im the fonz haaay catch phrases were big. Sit on it sit on out howard. Does any one say, thank you, arnold . Y