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Another Show That Changed TV Debuted 30 Yrs. Ago Thursday
In 1971, "All In The Family" brought adult themes to CBS.
And on Sept. 21, 1993, "NYPD Blue" brought adult language to network television. The pioneering cop show was among the first to regularly use words like "shit" and "bitch" on over-the-air TV - not to mention show bare butts, not all of them attractive.
Creator Steven Bochco realized that cable was far exceeding the kind of adult programming that was available to most regular viewers and pitched a risqué chance-taking show to ABC, which took a gamble and bought it. But not everyone saw it - many more leery stations refused to air it, citing broadcast standards.
That all changed as soon as it was clear the show was a huge rating hit and suddenly, those concerns seemed to disappear.
TV has changed a lot since then and I'm guessing if you watched it today, you'd barely even notice some of its raunchier aspects. But it may be the one show that helped turn TV language from clean to "(NYPD) Blue."
NYPD Blue Changed the Course of Television History, If Not Quite as Predicted at the Time
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Re: Another Show That Changed TV Debuted 30 Yrs. Ago Thursday
RadioActive wrote:
In 1971, "All In The Family" brought adult themes to CBS.
And on Sept. 21, 1993, "NYPD Blue" brought adult language to network television. The pioneering cop show was among the first to regularly use words like "shit" and "bitch" on over-the-air TV.
I've always found it interesting that the word "shit" is still considered verboten (for the most part) on over-the-air U.S. television, whereas "piss" has been heard on OTA TV since about the mid-'90s, and I consider both of those words on the same wavelength. A late-'90s episode of Chicago Hope grabbed some attention when Mark Harmon's character uttered the phrase "Shit happens", but apparently garnered few complaints.
I just recently watched a rerun of Law & Order from around 2004 and heard one of the most creative substitutes of a swear phrase. Fred Dalton Thompson in his Arthur Branch character was summing up how a case was going so far: "The cow pies have hit the fan!" he exclaimed in his down-home southern drawl. That had me in stitches. 
PJ
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Re: Another Show That Changed TV Debuted 30 Yrs. Ago Thursday
Here's how TV Guide's 1993 Fall Preview issue described the show. Looks like they weren't too hot on it, and while acknowledging it was something different, they also called it "another cop show." Little did they know. 
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Thread Starter- Chrisphen
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Re: Another Show That Changed TV Debuted 30 Yrs. Ago Thursday
It was no 'Cop Rock'.
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Re: Another Show That Changed TV Debuted 30 Yrs. Ago Thursday
It was no 'Cop Rock'.
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Thread Starter- mace
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Re: Another Show That Changed TV Debuted 30 Yrs. Ago Thursday
I "don't ever remember hearing "Shit" on NYPD Blue. The one line that sent many ABC affilliates on spin cycle was Andy Sipowicz muttering to a female "pissy little bitch" Fortunately, WKBW wasn't one of them. Canadian networks have always been more liberal when language is involved. When CITY aired Forrest Gump, the bumper sticker on the car said "Shit Happens" U.S. viewers saw "it Happens" Back in the 70's when CHCH was notorious for scooping up blockbuster theatre films before anyone else, the only scene edited out of The Godfather was the audio of the squeaking door while Sonny was having sex with one of the bridesmaids. CTV ran the cable version of The Sopranos in primetime. The only movie I can think of where CITY had to do more editing was Boys In The Hood. They edited the "M's" but left the "F's" There were so many, a few got through.