MTV TURNS 20 RHYTHM NATION HOW A FLEDGLING CABLE NETWORK CHANGED THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT.

Byline: David Kronke Television Writer

A time of introspection is a curious thing for MTV, a network that even president Van Toffler concedes is ``not reflective at all.''

And yet, approaching the cable station's fast-approaching 20th anniversary on Aug. 1, even a cursory glance reveals that MTV has had as far-reaching an influence on many facets of popular culture as any cable television network. Its effects on music, movies, TV and lifestyle fashions have been deep and enduring. For just one recent example, NBC's current reality hits owe a huge debt to MTV: ``Spy TV'' is ``Candid Camera'' with Tom Green's attitude, while ``Fear Factor'' is just a watered-down version of MTV's extreme-stunt comedy show ``Jackass.''

While one critic can decry that ``the entire decline of American culture can be pointed to MTV,'' as Robert Wilonsky, the Dallas Observer's pop-culture critic does, another can just as cogently argue, as Robert Thompson, the founding director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television does, ``You can credit them with educating a new generation in a way that others failed to do.''

Video shilled the radio stars

When MTV first erupted on the cable scene, on Aug. 1, 1981, it churned out a never-ending, intoxicating and addicting series of music videos: visually imaginative, impressionistic mini-epics that told stories in four minutes that traditional television took 30 or 60 minutes to unspool.

``A lot of viewers were seeing their heroes for the first time,'' Wilonsky notes. ``Celebrities were not as accessible then. It made music accessible in a way, and a lot of these bands had not been played on radio before. It was this great exotica.''

Thompson adds, ``For the first time, the young target audience wasn't laughing at the pathetic attempt to get them. Whenever the networks attempted to be cool, more often than not, they failed miserably. But MTV was hipper than the kids watching it.''

Toffler says, ``MTV made it safe to be a niche network with narrow appeal. Demographically we aimed at viewers aged 13-34, and we not only embraced the notion, we shouted about it.''

As a result, Thompson says, ``MTV lit the fuse of the cable explosion in a way it has never been given credit for. In the late '70s, there were so many reasons people weren't bothering to get hooked up. Then, along came something that you had to get cable for. MTV did for cable what 'The Milton Berle Show' did for broadcast in the first place - it forced people to plug in. Millions of parents had to listen to the squawking of their kids that they couldn't get along without MTV.''

Alan Hunter, one of the network's original VJs, can attest to cable's lowly reputation. ``Its image at the time was really poor - my family understood I had a job on a cable show, and I was frequently dispelling the notion that it was a porno operation.''

Blazing a corporate trail

Of course, once the media understood MTV's impact, everyone jumped on the bandwagon. As a result, movies - increasingly aimed at younger audiences - began aping the Ritalin-ready editing styles, steamrolling subtlety in the process. Films increasingly filled in narrative patches with musical montages.

``Was that an inevitable change?'' Hunter asks. ``That time span and people's capacity to hold a thought would begin to get shorter - what brought what on? Was that the cause or the effect?''

Moreover, Hollywood saw that MTV was a great marketing tool and began throwing in a pop song whose video was played on the network; by the '90s, most mainstream films featured a soundtrack of pop songs that may or may not have accentuated the on-screen action, but ensured CD sales nonetheless. The album, the long-standing art form of a band or solo artist, was commercially subsumed to a degree by the soundtrack CD boasting tracks by various artists.

The network also showed corporations how to turn a brand into a lifestyle statement. Before MTV, few teens would have bought a T-shirt with a corporate logo; now, as the Gap, Limited Too, Tommy Hilfiger, Hurley and many others will attest, they're loathe to do anything but.

``MTV was on the cutting edge of figuring that out,'' Thompson observes. ``With companies like Nike, they managed to weave their way into the public consciousness in a way that wearing a product, that allying oneself with a corporate product became revolutionary, an act of defiance. What's ironic, of course, is that the exact opposite is true. It was an incredibly bizarre sleight of hand, and MTV did that to an extent.''

Toffler says the trick is pretty simple. ``We are never too reverential of our brand - we make fun of ourselves,'' he says. ``We're not just about putting the brand on a T-shirt. We're more about the subtlety of walking the walk, having the attitude, living life and never taking yourself too seriously.''

Still, as Thompson points out, ``MTV is the closest thing to anti-establishment communications that many of its viewers will get.''

Part of the reason is because MTV spoke frankly with its audience about tough subjects - safe sex, race relations, presidential races - while other media tended to be circumspect, too polite and even ambivalent.

``As forced as they were, their discussions of race and the attitude of tolerance they preached, through the Pedro Zamora thing (an HIV-positive ``Real World'' cast member) did a pretty decent job of creating citizens of the United States,'' Thompson says. ``The constant images of misogyny are not good, but MTV managed to make pro-social messages something more to listen to than to laugh at.''

Blending the network's irreverent attitude with edgy social commentary, Toffler says, was, ``to tell the truth, not difficult at all. It was really about never betraying viewer trust and just connecting with the audience. We were honest and candid and didn't sugarcoat or put a polite veneer when entering into dialogues with young people.'' As recent examples, Toffler mentions Tom Green's cancer special and ``Total Request Live's'' interview in which members of the Backstreet Boys announced that a member was entering rehab.

Toffler credits his network's enduring success with ``never becoming fat, lazy and happy about our successes. We're always looking forward, we change with young people. We decided not to grow old with our audience. It does alienate some viewers who don't like what has happened in the culture. But we wanted to become a home - not a safe home for young people, but one that is irreverent and evolving.''

'It removed the romance'

Still, it's hard not to notice the commercial degradation of the ``M'' in MTV, the music. When the network debuted 20 years ago, fans believed in the power of music to transform and uplift the listener; today, few think of popular music except in terms of consumable product.

``MTV turned music into a commercial, and commercials by definition have a limited shelf life,'' Wilonsky says. ``Looking back at old Duran Duran or Flock of Seagulls videos is no different from turning on TV Land and looking at old Alka Seltzer or 'Mikey likes it' commercials. Once visuals were added to music, it removed the romance. Music became as disposable as a TV show that doesn't let you imagine it. It became about the way people looked.

``Can you imagine the Beach Boys making videos for 'Pet Sounds' or Pink Floyd making videos of 'Dark Side of the Moon'?'' Wilonsky adds. ``There'd be no mystery to those albums; they'd probably be forgotten today.''

Toffler, naturally, disagrees, but notes MTV hasn't always been successful in its mission. ``Kids have a very sensitive b.s. barometer,'' he says. ``But part of the beauty of our audience is that they let us fail, too, and we've failed often. That's what happens when you've taken risks. Sometimes you fail, sometimes you win.''

And win big. As Thompson observes, those who have assailed MTV over the years have unwittingly propelled its credibility with its target audience. ``With shows like 'Jackass,' there's something going on, and those who see it as sick are simply not getting it. MTV doesn't have to appeal to those folks, because they're not watching it; their job is to complain about it.''

1981

Aug. 1 MTV debuts at 12:01 a.m. with the first hour featuring videos by the Buggles, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, the Who, the Pretenders, Styx and others. The MTV VJs are introduced - Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson, Mark Goodman and Martha Quinn. ``There was an interesting void of information in the beginning,'' Hunter recalls. ``The frightening thing was when you looked for a leader, there isn't one. You'd ask, 'What am I supposed to do?' and they'd say, 'We don't know.' There was no template. We were just thrown to the wolves, but obviously, they were kind and wonderful wolves to be thrown to, because there were no rules, no regulations.'' Year's end - 2.1 million subscribers.

1982

March 1: The ``I Want My MTV'' campaign begins, with Pete Townshend, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, the Police and Pat Benatar participating. Later in the year, MTV merchandise goes on sale, leading the way to making corporate branding a cool thing. ``MTV was tremendously responsible for that, with those 'I want my MTV' spots,'' Dallas Observer pop-culture critic Robert Wilonsky says. ``When the Police said, 'I want my MTV!' I thought that was cool. I wanted to be part of that. That was MTV at its best. It was so odd, and so rare. My friends and I'd walk around saying, 'I want my MTV!' because we didn't have it yet but knew someone who did.'' Year's end: 9.3 million subscribers.

1983

March 31: All-white MTV adds a little color to its mix, with Michael Jackson's ``Beat It.'' Later that year, the 14-minute mini-film ``Thriller'' premieres. Jackson's ``Thriller,'' thanks to MTV, becomes the best-selling album of all time. Year's end: 16.2 million subscribers.

1984

MTV's contests become extravagantly elaborate affairs - a weekend with Van Halen (which draws 1 million entries), a pink house in Indiana and a personal concert by John Mellencamp. Year's end: 21.3 million subscribers.

1985

As the year begins, three of the four highest-grossing films are represented by music videos on MTV.

July 17: The birth of the network's burgeoning conscience comes when MTV presents 17 hours of live coverage of ``Live Aid,'' a concert on two continents benefiting famine relief. ``At that point, we knew where MTV stood in the world, but Live-Aid ratcheted that up one notch,'' Hunter notes. ``I was in awe all 17 hours. I was criticized, and rightfully so, that my only comment after the Led Zeppelin reunion was, 'That was great.' '' Year's end: 25.8 million subscribers.

1986

March 21: MTV's inaugural coverage of Spring Break in Daytona Beach begins. ``You'd see that nowhere else on the dial,'' Syracuse University's TV professor Robert Thompson says. ``It was part of the gonzo attitude MTV excelled at.''

Sept. 6: MTV officially enters the popular vernacular - and celebrates the fact - when the Dire Straits' video ``Money for Nothing'' (sample lyric: ``That ain't working/That's the way you do it/You play the guitar on the MTV'') is named Video of the Year at the annual MTV video awards. The song parrots ``I want my MTV'' as a mantra. Year's end: 29.3 million subscribers.

1987

MTV expands beyond simply airing videos with a series of shows: ``Club MTV,'' the first regularly scheduled daily show; repeats of ``Monty Python's Flying Circus''; and the cheeky TV-trivia quiz show ``Remote Control.'' ``MTV understood sooner than most that a cable channel couldn't just program one thing,'' says Thompson. ``It provided an alternative to network TV, but with the same variety. The shotgun approach was the network approach - something for everyone.'' The network goes global, expanding to Europe and Australia; the following year, a Spanish-language version is unveiled. Year's end: 35.2 million subscribers.

1988

Feb. 12: Rock journalist Kurt Loder becomes anchor of ``MTV News.''

Aug. 6: ``Yo! MTV Raps'' debuts. Over the years, hip-hop will enjoy a greater presence on the network, and rap will become all the rage in the suburbs. ``I think we weren't responsible for it, but we exposed it to the masses and helped accelerate its popularity,'' notes MTV president Van Toffler. Year's end: 40.2 million subscribers.

1989

MTV makes further strides toward defining the lifestyle of its viewers: ``House of Style,'' hosted by Cindy Crawford, examines youth couture; ``Club MTV Live: The Tour'' is the first in a series patterned after one of the network's shows.

Sept. 6: Neil Young's ``This Note's for You,'' originally banned at the network for satirizing its contribution to the encroaching corporatization of pop music, is named Video of the Year.

Dec. 23: Michael Jackson is awarded the Video Vanguard of the Decade Award. Year's end: 44.25 million subscribers.

1990

Jan. 21: ``MTV Unplugged'' debuts with acoustic performances by Squeeze, Syd Straw and Elliot Easton of the Cars. Two years later, Eric Clapton's appearance will inspire a best-selling, Grammy-winning album; CD releases of ``Unplugged'' sessions will become a staple of an artist's repertoire (Tony Bennett's 1994 recording will likewise win a Grammy). Year's end: 47.2 million subscribers.

1991

June 2: ``Liquid Television,'' MTV's first animated series, debuts; one of the recurring features is Mike Judge's ``Beavis and Butt-head,'' whose deadpan anti-social antics inspired protests, as well as future icons of bad behavior Tom Green and Johnny Knoxville. ``The way parents or intellectuals or teachers responded to these shows was so out of sync with the way that their charges responded,'' Thompson notes. ``People who didn't watch just didn't get it. They're like rock 'n' roll; they established a new language and culture that wasn't shared with the viewers' parents.'' Year's end: 53.1 million subscribers.

1992

Feb. 3: Tabitha Soren hits the campaign trail as MTV's political correspondent as the network's ``Choose or Lose'' campaign, in which pop stars encourage viewers to register and vote, begins. Concurrently, Howard Stern appears on the MTV Awards as ``Fartman.''

May 21: The current incarnation of the reality-TV craze is born when ``The Real World,'' placing strangers in a cool house and letting the sparks fly, debuts from New York. ``The poet laureate of MTV - the trials and tribulations of selmportant kids, elevated to high tragedy,'' notes Thompson.

June 10: Awards shows get their just desserts with the airing of the first ``MTV Movie Awards,'' a canny parody honoring the things people really care about like ``Best Kiss'' and ``Best Action Sequence.'' ``Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' is named Best Movie. Year's end: 57 million subscribers.

1993

Jan. 20: MTV embraces the establishment - and vice versa - with ``The MTV Rock 'n' Roll Inaugural Ball,'' attended by President Clinton and Vice President Gore and featuring live performances by rock acts.

Oct. 25: MTV's first talk show, ``The Jon Stewart Show,'' first introduces the acclaimed host of ``The Daily Show'' to America. Year's end: 58.4 million subscribers.

1994

May 15: MTV emerges as a communal force, helping fans deal with their grief over Kurt Cobain's suicide.

June 15: ``Dead at 21'' is the network's first action show, focusing on a plot to control the nation's youth.

June 23: Bay-area bike messenger and snot-spewer Puck is unleashed on the world at large in the latest ``Real World'' series. Year's end: 57.8 million subscribers.

1995

June 5: Jenny McCarthy is unleashed upon America in the dating-game show ``Singled Out.''

July 19: ``Road Rules,'' a reality-competition series, debuts. Year's end: 62.8 million subscribers.

1996

MTV Books becomes a force in the publishing world, with best sellers ``The Real Real World'' and ``Beavis and Butt-head: This Book Sucks.'' Other titles are keyed to MTV series ``Unplugged'' and ``Aeon Flux.'' Later, a series of novels will appear under the imprimatur.

July 26: ``Joe's Apartment,'' about a schlub in a roach-infested apartment, is the first theatrical release from MTV Films. Better films, including ``Beavis and Butt-head Do America,'' ``Election,'' ``Varsity Blues,'' ``Save the Last Dance'' and ``The Original Kings of Comedy,'' follow. Year's end: 66.7 million subscribers.

1997

``Beavis and Butt-head'' die - the characters, that is - in the last original cartoon of the series, but a spinoff character from the series, the infinitely smarter ``Daria,'' gets her own animated series. Year's end: 68 million subscribers.

1998

Jan. 25: MTV swipes Super Bowl viewers during half-time with ``Celebrity Deathmatch,'' a clay-animation spectacle featuring, among others, ``Howard Stern'' squaring off against ``Kathie Lee Gifford.'' The feature is turned into a series later in the year; three years later, MTV will again go from establishment basher to establishment hero, programming the Super Bowl half-time show (and earning an Emmy nomination for its trouble).

Sept. 14: ``Total Request Live,'' starring host Carson Daly, premieres. Year's end: 68 million subscribers.

1999

Jan. 25: ``The Tom Green Show'' becomes an instant hit, thanks to the comic's willingness to drape himself in dead animal carcasses and sup from a cow's udder.

July 19: MTV debuts the soap opera ``Undressed.'' Year's end: 71.1 million subscribers.

2000

MTV enters the TV-movie field with ``2Gether,'' a parody of boy bands (and later a comedy series on the network) and ``Daria: Is It Fall Yet?''

Sept. 29: Johnny Knoxville gives Tom Green a run for his money - or is it just the runs? - with the extreme-prank series ``Jackass.'' ``Yes, four idiots have imitated him and gotten hurt, but you can't draw conclusions from that; it's statistically insignificant,'' says Thompson. ``Like Tom Green, this appeals to a sophisticated group of people regarding comedy. These people demonstrated intelligence and sophistication about the out-of-control spiral of humor in the U.S. He's onto something, taking Western comedy to its complete and utter extreme.'' Year's end: 73.5 million subscribers.

2001 AND BEYOND

Jan. 10: MTV's docudrama, ``Anatomy of a Hate Crime,'' offers a stylish look at the Matthew Shepard murder. MTV follows the film by going black for the first time in the network's history. For 17 hours uninterrupted by commercials - or anything else - the network scrolls the names of victims of hate crimes. MTV 360, a concept involving entertainment multitasking - switching back and forth from MTV to MTV2 and checking out www.mtv.com on the Internet - is introduced. ``This speaks to our mantra of 'Evolve or die,' '' notes Toffler. ``Our audience has disproportionately embraced new technologies - all their media toys are in the same room. They're watching TV, they're online, instant-messaging their friends and doing their homework simultaneously. The audience wants choice how to enter a TV network. Take Dave Matthews - you see him on 'Total Request Live,' switch to MTV2 and see his videos, then go to mtv.com and download his current single or chat live with him. It's what our viewers were doing anyway, in spite of us. Why be afraid if they were going online? Embrace it.''

CAPTION(S):

25 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) 20 years later, we still want our MTV

(2 -- color) ``The origional VJs''

(3 -- color) MTV merchandise

(4 -- color) Michael Jackson ``Thriller''

(5 -- color) Live Aid

(6 -- color) Dire Straits

(7) ``Yo! MTV Raps''

(8) Kurt Loder

(9 -- color) MTV's House of Style

(10 -- color) Michael Jackson: 1989 Video Vanguard of the Decade Award

(11 -- color) Tabita Soren: ``Choose or Lose''

(12 -- color) Kurt Cobain

(13 -- color) Jenny McCarthy

(14 -- color) ``Celebrity Deathmatch''

(15 -- color) ``Beavis and Butthead''

(16 -- color) Carson Daly: ``Total Request Live''

(17 -- color) Tom Green

(18 -- color) ``Daria''

(19 -- color) MTV online

(20) Madonna makes an early appearance on the cable channel. Such appearances fueled her meteoric career rise.

(21) Michael Jackson, in makeup, poses with View-Master senior photographer Hank Gaylord, center, and director John Landis, on the set of Jackson's ``Thriller'' video, which Landis directed.

(22 -- 24) Ken Ober, right, was the host, and Colin Quinn, left, later of NBC's ``Saturday Night Live,'' was the announcer of MTV's anti-game show, ``Remote Control.'' Not even the Soviet Union was immune to the power that MTV wielded among the world's young people, while MTV's influence around the world could no longer be denied during the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, below.

(25) Underground comic artist Richard Sala was the creator and driving force behind ``Invisible Hands,'' one of the segments featured on MTV's animation anthology ``Liquid Television.''