3. Video Killed The Radio Star
42:37
Michael Jackson released the greatest selling album of all time, Madonna created a persona just as important as her music, and Public Enemy exhorted their fans to 'Fight the Power'. And there was a new visual component to it all courtesy of MTV. The digital revolution hit the music world as CDs replaced LPs. Whitney Houston, Guns N' Roses, U2, David Bowie and Run-DMC were some of the other major artists of the decade.
2. Raised On Television Part Two
42:38
Part two looks at the phenomenon of talk show hosts and news reporters as celebrities. David Letterman emerges whilst Walter Kronkite retires. Women take their rightful place in all facets of presenting, journalism and production, while the civil rights movement reaches a crescendo. CNN launches and Australian newspaper mogul Murdoch dares to start Fox TV. Golden Girls is a massive hit, while reality TV raises a fairly ugly head, contrasted with the excesses of soaps such as Dynasty and The Colbys.
1. Raised On Television Part One
42:33
The Eighties is a fascinating documentary series that examines the revolutionary decade of the 1980s, with extraordinary insight into a decade that had a profound impact on America, taking a look at significant events and individuals such as the Cold War, AIDS crisis, Ronald Reagan and Steve Jobs. This first episode looks at the pre-cable world with the enormous free-to-air ratings of Dallas and the finale of M.A.S.H. The sitcom is revitalised by The Cosby Show and Cheers, and Hill Street Blues and St Elsewhere changed the rules of story-telling on television. Cable TV makes new heroes out of sporting (ESPN) and the first channel focused on the youth market (MTV) launches. TV as The Confessional spawns both good and bad television.
