Introduction: "Ridicule is nothing to be scared of"
Part 1. Pictures came and broke your heart : "Video killed the radio star" to "Thriller," 1981-1983 : It's the greatest thing in the world: first glimpses of MTV
I didn't know how to plug in a light: music videos (only they weren't called that) in the 1970s
We were just idiots in hotel rooms: John Lack, Bob Pittman, and the creation of MTV
What's a VJ?: How MTV hired its hosts (including a case of mistaken identity
A total, unmitigated disaster: MTV launches with the Buggles, Blotto, and thirty Rod Stewart videos
Girls sliding on poles: the first dirty music video
A Hail Mary pass: how $1 saved MTV from bankruptcy
Midgets, models, and trannies: the first visionaries and victims of the music-video era
Pouting and shoulder pads: effeminate British bands spread weird haircuts across the U.S.
Shut that door!: Office sex and power struggles at MTV
They figured out a whole new persona: how three gnarly old dudes became unlikely video stars
Girls belong in cages: metal takes over the airwaves
That racism bullshit: MTV's AOR format comes under fire
I'm not like other boys: Michael Jackson saves a struggling network from itself
Part 2. I play my part and you play your game : "Burning up" to "Here I go again," 1983-1987 : The two M's: Madonna touches MTV for the very first time
You got char-as-ma: Prince, Bruce, Billy Idol, and the gods of 1984
He's got a metal plate in his head: MTV and Van Hale team up to nearly kill a super-fan
Wannabe Cecil B. DeMilles: everything, budgets, ideas, hair, gets bigger
Why don't I just take $50,000 and light it on fire?: The backlash against MTV
Don't be a wanker all your life: "Do they know it's Christmas?," "We are the world," and Live Aid
A whopping, steaming turd: the worst video ever made
A wedding dress with nothing underneath it: Madonna takes, and pops out of, the cake at the first Video Music Awards
No cable network is worth $500 million: MTV gets new owners, the founding team trashes a hotel, then heads for the exit
Gacked to the tits: twenty-four stories about drugs
They diss the Beatles: Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys smuggle rap into MTV
His name is David Fincher, he's a genius: Rick Springfield, Christopher Cross, and the humble beginnings of a Hollywood star
There I am, with my rack: the rise of the superdivas, male and female
The legion of decency: censoring videos, for fun and profit
Hickory, dickory dock, this bitch was ...: backstage at the Video Music Awards
I'd like to thank my cheekbones: Jon Bon Jovi and Tawny Kitaen take hair metal to the top


Part 3. Where do we go now : "With or without you" to "U can't touch this," 1987-1990 : The island of misfit toys: 120 minutes and the rising up/selling out of alternative rock
Martha was heartbroken: MTV finds a new, mouthier squad of VJs
A true television network: the new boss orders up a riotous show that forever changes the network
That's what hype can do to you: Club MTV launches the "upskirt shot" and a pop scandal
The first time I smelled freebase: MTV parties down at spring break
I brought snowballs to the desert: sucking up to MTV's laddish new power broker
People in the hood rushed to get cable: How Ted Demme did, didn't, maybe did, and absolutely did create Yo! MTV raps
We've always loved Guns n' Roses: Chicks and a snake, Headbangers Ball, and the return of hard rock
Those harem pants came out of nowhere: rap buses a move into the MTV mainstream
Ego-fucking-maniacs: Michael Bay, Cher, and all 9:08 of "November rain"
I want to have a nickname: how MTV helped Michael Jackson elect himself "the king of pop"
Part 4. Nothing lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change : "Justify my love" to "Jeremy," 1990-1992 : Rhythm nation: superstars and one-hit wonders stage a dance-off in your living room
Your manager's an asshole: Fistfights and pyro farts: war breaks out at the Moscow Peace Festival
Kermit unplugged: an acoustic music show morphs into a worldwide megabrand
Silly, superficial, and wonderful: Cindy Crawford and Jon Stewart bring beauty and laughs to MTV
Tired of cheap sex songs: R.E.M., U2, and Van Halen (!) elevate the art form in the nineties
A monkey could do it: Pauly Shore and the third generation of VJs
A pop rally gone wrong: "smells like teen spirit," grunge, and the hair metal apocalypse
You're no better than a rabbit!: fearless twentysomethings shape a presidential election
Getting out of the music business: this is the true story of what happened when the real world took over MTV and made music videos obsolete
Let's get crazy tonight!: tears, tequila and broken glass: MTV VIPs celebrate the first decade
Fat city: the bubble bursts on music videos' golden era
You have no idea how I miss it: fans, stars, staff, and detractors reflect on the video age.