But it’s true, when you see some television, you carry it with you. It’s like 90210. Tell me what young shows were being done then… We were thrilled about the ratings around the world.
When we did ‘Dynasty’, it was the clothes. I think the clothes affected every woman around the world. I got so many letters, I think we made the designer a millionaire!
It’s been a straight strip, I must tell you, I’ve enjoyed it all the way. If I’m saying things to make it sound like it’s hard, hard work, it’s not. It’s beautiful work. It’s fun work. It’s everything you’d ever want to do.
But, I don’t know, the violence, I can’t even talk about. We don’t do a lot of violent shows. When I started in television, breaking a pencil was a violent act.
I don’t remember a drama on TV that had shown a couple could be married but still love each other very much, spend every day as if they were still on their honeymoon, be sensuous, and have fun together.
I must tell you, I haven’t done the drug problem that is faced by cops and people on the border. It’s a hard show to do, but I think it’s going to say a lot about drugs and the problems related to them. I just hope people can watch it, it’s a pretty strong show.
Nowadays people always say, ‘How come he’s doing such young shows?’ But they never mention ‘The Mod Squad’. I was very proud of that show. It’s the first time an African-American guy kissed a white girl.
We do 32 episodes a season and will have shot 267 episodes by the end of the ninth season… It’s impossible to sell that many episodes in the foreign market.
Do you know what our suicide rate would be if we didn’t have television? Do you know how much happiness I’ve brought to people who couldn’t get out of the house but could watch Love Boat?
It’s OK to do cute little things like kissing a turtle, but you can’t kiss another person because he’s a different color? Give me a break. And you have to remember, I’m from Dallas, Texas.
Now I’ve even gotten to running out to the fan buses that pass by our house, so I can talk to the people. I think I’m trying to gather fans, frankly. They’re very, very nice people – they really understand. It’s fun talking to them.
A show that no one thought had a chance has just finished its fifth year: Charmed. I think it’s tougher for the younger networks, so I think they have a little more patience for the sake of the show. But who knows?
Right now I’m doing four shows at a time, trying to read four outlines every week, four scripts every week, and watching four rough cuts; it’s a lot of good work. It’s fun to do it, but it does wear you out.
I think there are two ways to depict a family. One is what it’s really like, and one is what the audience would like it to be. Between you and me, I think the second one is what I would prefer.
I’ll tell you what I miss most. What I would love to do, more than anything, is just anthologies. With an anthology, you can tell any story and be in every division of television. We don’t have any anthologies anymore, do we?
