Television Gets Real

S1, E1: It was in the 1970s that television matured into the medium we know today. There was a new candor to network programming as reflected in shows like MASH, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the half-hour comedies of Norman Lear – All in the Family, Maude and The Jeffersons. New formats that would become television on staples – the made-for-TV movie (Brian’s Song, Duel, That Certain Summer) the mini-series (Rich Man Poor Man, Roots, I, Caudius) emerged. And two of the most successful franchises in television history, Monday Night Football and Saturday Night Live, were born in the Seventies. In addition, PBS as well as the cable networks, ESPN, HBO and Showtime were all launched.