I guess back then, we had a "thicker skin" as a society. I think in some ways, the 1970's and 1980's were the best for TV, we didn't have to worry about political correctness then or whose ox is being gored. I can't imagine a TV show like "All in the Family" (along with "Chico and The Man" for example being made today or anytime past 1987 or so, you had raw discussions, usually between Meathead and Archie, about anything and everything from race relations, to religion, war, and so on along with the sound effects of the toilet flushing. Also, back in the 1970's, ABC was well known as having the most violent shows of the (then) Three Networks and made a lot of campy made for TV movies like "Killdozer," "Bad Ronald," and so forth.
A side note, Senator Teddy Kennedy sure looked young.
As I'm looking at this promo, the first thing that catches my eye is that haunting illustration of the woman, apparently horrified that she is about to be raped, as indicated by the approaching hand in front of her that gestures in a clutching position, and I'm thinking to myself, "If you were a network executive, and it was your task to come up with a plausible way to illustrate to the viewing audience that the horror genre is one of the many facets of entertainment we present on this network, would you show something that unequivocally would grab the audience's attention, despite the risk that some advocacy group might come out of the woodwork and cry foul over it?".
I suppose, since this was a promo for ABC's initial late night programming, they presumably felt they were in the clear, since only an insomnial few would be brave enough to ever stay up late to watch anything that was on in the wee hours of the night.
I'm sure I'm not the only one that believes that that picture could bring nightmares to anyone.
Quote O' Matic
Bixby Berkeley: I'd buy that for a dollar!
-Bixby Berkeley
