Backstory
Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/8/2001
In 1986 when the Fox Network was but an embryo in Rupert Murdoch's new broadcast ventures, the mogul had high hopes for the programs to be attached to his progeny. "The only rule we will enforce is that the program must have good taste, must be engaging, must be entertaining, must be original, whether it is a comedy, an hour-long drama, a television movie or some new form not yet born," he announced at that year's Independent TV convention.
As reported by Broadcasting, Murdoch (shown left, at the INTV convention) was reportedly locked on to the idea of quality television.
It hasn't always seemed that way since, of course. And with the rise of reality TV now, his words come like the ghost of television's past. Maybe, somehow, Fox's Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire? and this season's Temptation Island qualify as that new form about which he spoke.
