About this season
By blending history with the portrayal of sex, violence, minorities, women and homosexuality on television, "TV Revolution" touches on some of the greatest and most controversial moments of the small screen.
Episodes (5)
1. Out of the Closet
Aired 23 May 2004 • 60 min
The portrayal of homosexuality on television, from the less than flattering depiction of gays in the 1950s, through Billy Crystal's gay character on ""Soap"" to the present-day phenomenon of ""Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.""
2. Maids, Babes & Mothers
Aired 23 May 2004 • 60 min
How women have been portrayed on TV, from the 50's housewife in pearls on ""Leave It to Beaver"", through the depicion of an independent woman in ""The Mary Tyler Moore Show"" and the ""jiggle TV"" of ""Three's Company"" and ""Charlie's Angels"", to the complex schemers of ""Dynasty"" and ""All My Children.""
3. Sex in the Box
Aired 24 May 2004 • 60 min
A history of sex on American TV includes the sexless 50's, when TV husbands and wives slept in separate beds, through the sexual revolution in the 1960s and the magically powerful women of ""Bewitched"" and ""I Dream of Jeannie"", the ribald comedy of ""Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"", the development of ""T&A TV"" in the 70s, and finally the impact of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.
4. Black & White & Living Color
Aired 25 May 2004 • 60 min
The depiction of minorities on American TV, and how it changed with the development of the civil-rights movement, up to the present with ""The Bernie Mac Show."" And Julia was the first show that had a African American lead.
5. Body Count
Aired 26 May 2004 • 60 min
How violence has been depicted on TV over the years and how it may affect viewers, from the gritty crime dramas of the 50s like ""The Untouchables"" to the gritty crime dramas of today like ""The Sopranos"" and ""The Shield"", including the westerns of the 50s and news coverage of the Vietnam War.