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First airing in August 1990, Channel 4's The Word both revolutionised youth-oriented broadcasting and predated reality TV by many years. Deliberately aiming to achieve something new and exciting, The Word continually pushed at the conventional boundaries of television to court controversy and outrage the Establishment. The show combined a unique mix of cutting-edge bands like Nirvana, Oasis and Snoop Dogg, irreverent and anarchic interviews of A-lister guests like Whitney Houston, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Oliver Reed. With stories from the margins of society, and downright bizarre and outrageous studio stunts, The Word soon became loved by its target audience and loathed by the press in equal measure.