When we went on the air, I didn't want to be interrupted for an act-one curtain.

So we gravitated to shows and issues and causes that made people care.

The establishment uses that rationale all the time, and that's why we do what we do. But leadership requires some understanding that you can say no. People have base instincts, but the transcendent also appeal to them.

But you know, my dad called me the laziest white kid he ever met. When I screamed back at him that he was putting down a race of people to call me lazy, his answer was that's not what he was doing, and that I was also the dumbest white kid he ever met.

The movies had a slogan at the time, to distinguish themselves from TV, that said 'movies are better than ever.'

I don't know how you can look back with regret if you're at a moment when everything seems fine.

I think for television generally, the question that often arises is, "Does television lead, or does it follow?" You know, does it lead the conversation, or culture, or does it follow what's going on? And I think it does both.