An entertainment watchdog organization’s list of the 10 best and 10 worst programs on broadcast television may soon need revising as network executives reportedly are considering further testing the limits of decency.
The Parents Television Council (PTC) placed “Doc” of the Pax Network at the top of its 10 best list and named “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” of the United Paramount Network as the worst of the worst.
Six of the 10 best shows were new. That fact, plus the renewal for a new season of most of the 10 best programs, prompted PTC President Brent Bozell to say, “It appears that the networks are finally starting to listen to the collective voice of parents who want to sit down with their children and enjoy high-quality, family-friendly programming in prime time.”
Long way to go
The rankings, however, demonstrate “the networks have a long way to go before parents can be assured that their children will not be bombarded with filth during prime time,” Bozell acknowledged in a written statement. “The networks irresponsibly market these adult-oriented programs to younger audiences, and they refuse to consider the consequences of what happens when children are continuously exposed to lewd and offensive programming.”
That kind of programming may grow even worse when the new season opens this fall. Network executives are demonstrating a willingness to push the decency envelope even further in the wake of such new cable TV programs as “The Shield” and “The Osbournes,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. “The Shield,” a FX channel show about a rogue policeman, is marked by sex and obscene language, while MTV’s “The Osbournes,” a reality program about rock singer Ozzy Osbourne’s family, is replete with foul words.
“What’s going on in cable, the movies, music and shock radio isn’t creating pressure to loosen up,” Alan Wurtzel, who oversees standards at NBC as president of research and media development, told The Reporter. “And to some extent, we have.”
Steven Bochco, producer of “NYPD Blue,” which pushed broadcast TV into new territory with its partial nudity, obscene language and sex during the last nine years, told The Reporter network executives approached him about providing him with even more license regarding sex and language. “I’ve had conversations with ABC about going a little further than we’ve been going,” he said. While cable premium channel HBO has produced in recent years shows marked by sex, violence, obscenities and profanities, networks such as FX and MTV have been successful at pushing basic cable’s limits in the last year. This summer, reality programs such as NBC’s “Dog Eat Dog” and CBS’ “Big Brother III” have further tested broadcast television’s standards, according to The Reporter.
Bochco said, according to The Reporter, “The one thing you learn over the years with broadcast standards is there’s no such thing as broadcast standards. The standard is anything you can get them to let you do.”
The PTC’s 10 best list of broadcast programs after “Doc” consisted, in order, of “Touched by an Angel” (CBS), “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” (Warner Brothers), “7th Heaven” (WB), “Baby Bob” (CBS), “Smallville” (WB), “Reba” (WB), “The Ponderosa” (Pax), “George Lopez” (ABC) and “Bernie Mac” (Fox).
The shows in the Nos. 5 to 10 slots were all new.
The inclusion of “Sabrina” demonstrates the existence of some occultic themes does not automatically disqualify a program from PTC’s positive rankings.
After “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” the PTC’s 10 worst were, in order, “Off Centre” (WB), “Will and Grace” (NBC), “Friends” (NBC), “WWE Smackdown” (UPN), “Big Brother II” (CBS), “CSI” (CBS), “Temptation Island II” (Fox), “That ‘70s Show” (Fox) and “Boston Public” (Fox). (BP)
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