Controversial episodes
The show also garnered controversy. In 1985 there was an episode about the bombing of an abortion clinic which several CBS affiliates refused to air. Perhaps the most shocking and controversial episode was in 1987, The City is Burning, based on the December 1986 racial incident in Queens’ Howard Beach neighborhood. The explosive episode included racial slurs, such as “nigger,” that were, and still are, taboo in primetime. Other storylines included the birth of Lacey’s third child, Cagney’s experience as a victim of date rape, her struggle with alcoholism, and AIDS in the school system.
