TV's Great Writer

David Milch is the dark writing genius behind NYPD Blue and Hill Street Blues, and Deadwood. MIT World provides a lecture by Milch from last spring, when Milch appeared as part of MIT's Television in Transition lecture series.

When asked about the inspiration for his writing, Milch reveals how his life has intersected with his work:

Prodded to reflect on some of his twisted but charismatic TV characters, Milch says, "My old man used to beat me pretty good. And I adored him. He wound up taking his own life." That’s for starters. Milch goes on to describe his surgeon father’s gangland relatives; his father’s suicide; and where he’d learned that his father had died (at a "pitch" meeting). It should not surprise, then, that Milch deeply understands "the torment some souls are exposed to." He has suffered bouts of heroin and alcohol addiction, and describes himself as an obsessive-compulsive who doesn’t let his hands touch anything while writing, and so dictates his TV scripts.

Video length -- 1:23:15.