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Violence, Censorship, and T.V., Part 3.

Senator Paul Simon. He's been spearheading the campaign in Congress against TV violence. Simon has given the networks and cable a January 1st deadline to come up with a way of regulating themselves, or face regulation by Congress.

David Milch, creator and a producer of ABC's police drama, "NYPD Blue". Teaming up again with Steven Bochco (who hired MILCH as a writer on "Hill Street Blues"), "NYPD Blue" has come under fire for the show's panorama of moral ambiguity, violence, partial nudity and profanity. The show's eccentric criminality may be traced to Milch's fondness for horse racing and gambling (he owns "about a dozen" thoroughbreds), and the time he spent in a Mexican jail.

Charles Dutton, star of the T-V comedy series "Roc." Dutton came to acting in a very roundabout way: while serving a manslaughter sentence in the Maryland State Penitentiary, he organized the performance of a play, and realized he loved acting. A future episode of "Roc" concerns guns in the schools, and how a single act of violence can escalate tragically.

21:30

Other segments from the episode on December 22, 1993

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, December 22, 1993: Interviews with Paul Simon, David Milch, and Charles Dutton; Interviews with John McNaughton and Steven Jones and Walter Hill.

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