Bochco left the party a hell of a lot later than I did

Reuters reports some musings by Steven Bochco on the end of his innovative cop series NYPD Blue. Among them:

"The medium has become increasingly conservative," he told reporters who visited the "Blue" set on the 20th Century Fox lot Thursday as part of the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour.

Prime time network TV has become more conservative? Than what? Fellini's Satyricon?

More:

The Emmy-winning police drama, co-created by Bochco and David Milch, will conclude its 12-season run March 1. "I don't think today we could launch or sell a show like 'NYPD Blue,"' Bochco said.

He had hoped the series would pave the way for more sophisticated drama, but said the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction in the past five years. After the controversy generated in large part by Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during last year's Super Bowl halftime show telecast on CBS, "NYPD Blue" has had to fight with ABC over content issues that never were questioned in the past, Bochco said.

"So you stop doing them," he said. "It's a setback."

Ultimately, he said, TV will go back to allowing more adult drama. "You're never going to put the genie back in the bottle," Bochco said. "We're never going to see television go back to what it was 20 years ago."
....
Ending the series was the suggestion of ABC, not Bochco, but the executive producer said he had no problem with the decision. "I'd rather leave the party an hour early than an hour late," he said.

I can't help but admire Bochco's talent and his desire to make good stuff for TV, but I would be remiss if I didn't note that I left the party about eight seasons ago, and even that stretched me beyond the limit of being able to listen to all that cop-shop talk.