So does that mean Paris and Nicole are out of a job? Doubt it. Ihere's indecent, then there's indecent ammount of money to be made on those shows, ultimately money will win out - at least that's something Hollywood and Washington have in common if you throw enough money at something, it doesn't look so indecent anymore. Good news at least it looks like 'Playing it Straight' is off the air. Bad news Forever Eden is on twice next week. Most of FOX's most popular shows have skated the line of indecency, that's what FOX is known for. Oh man, I think someone needs to tell her that the most indecent thing she has done is made the descission to keep airing trash instead of quality television when given the chance.

RavenU | April 04, 19:49 CET

Exactly. I mean, what's the point of cleaning up the crap they're airing anyway, it's still gonna be crap. They're indecency is killing shows like Wonderfalls and Firefly. All their doing is turning brainless reality shows into brainless reality shows with flowers and pink pom-poms. Where's the sense Fox?... make and RECOGNISE better shows, ones that actually mean something, show something, say something MEANINGFUL. Then you'll be cleaning up television and making it a better place for families.

kaivaal | April 04, 21:22 CET

Fox is the new WB which was the old Fox.

Simon | April 04, 21:39 CET

the way i see, if its indecent to you, then dont watch it. i personally cant wait for the simple life 2. i loved the first show and it was indecent.

norman | April 04, 22:17 CET

I agree norman...When other people start talking about what is decent for YOU to watch I am highly skeptical...It just sounds like we are going to be time-warped back to the fifties!

Simpleba | April 05, 00:16 CET

Ugh, the pendulum swings and right now the decency crusaders are in the pilot seat again. Reminds me of the 80's when Tipper Gore was on her witch hunts.

Interesting quotes are lines like this: "As a network President I have heard, and as a parent I understand, the concerns being expressed by the American public and by this Subcommittee that television content can at times be inappropriate for children"

Right. That reminds me of something Steven Grant once wrote about a court case where a comic shopkeeper in Texas got arrested and convicted for selling an 'adult' comic (With a little more violence and or sex than a kid should read). Of course what's funny there is that he was arrested for selling said adult comic....to an adult!! And undercover agent who was an adult. He got convicted anyway.

The underlying theme there (besides the fact that the DA was just zeroing in on someone to use as an example while trying to build a career on a decency crusade) was that it didn't matter that the comic was sold to an adult, was placed in a guarded corner of the shop and was too high up for little kids to reach. It didn't matter because to the texan jury, it was a comic and therefore must have been for children. That the average age of a comic reader is around 30 these days is of course unknown to them.

But Steven Grant pointed out that it went further than that. Like with rock music, or rap music or now with Janet's boob. Like the above quote of the Fox exec, which suggests that TV that is 'not suited for children' should be regulated and censored and altered or cancelled. There's a tendency under it all to make ALL CULTURE suitable for children.

I mean what a ridiculous notion. As an exec or a parent I am worried that there's TV that's not for kids. Does he want every program on TV to be Blues Clues, Veggietales and 7th Heaven?? There are things in culture not suitable for kids so it should all disappear?

If you don't want to watch something. DON'T WATCH IT! If you don't want your kids to watch it, BE A PARENT! Be aware of what they watch instead of just letting the TV raise your kids for you and then complain it shows them things you don't want it to show them.

I can only think of one word....."MOO"!!

EdDantes | April 05, 00:42 CET

I would much rather that the FCC legislate against crap and reality. In the long run, it'd help the public more to see a wee bit of *cough* indecency than the mind-sucking drivel that's being foisted upon them.

But the problem is, I don't rule the world.

*sigh*

txvoodoo | April 05, 01:44 CET

txvoodoo: If you did, it would be a sparkly one :).

Why don't they just call it censorship and be honest about it. I'm telling you, give it a few more years and they'll be burning books for the sake of the children of course.

Simon | April 05, 01:55 CET

What angers me so much about mealy-mouthed BS like Fox's statements isn't that programming is "indecent" - but rather that the so-called indecent programming is offensive because it lacks any shred of artistic creativity. Anyone can flip the channel if they find something "offensive". I'm just angry as hell that I have to suffer a lack of quality, thought-provoking, humorous, intelligent, touching tv like Wonderfalls and Angel and instead be confronted with crap like "Simple Life", "Forever Eden", etc. Do I really need to see more stupid human tricks? No. I can walk out my front door and see people act like complete and utter freaking morons. I don't need to turn on my tv to see it!

I have no reason to turn my tv ON in the first place!

cubiclesatan | April 05, 02:50 CET

You're right cubiclestation, they whine about 'indecency' when in Wonderfalls two women fall for each other and they may *gasp* kiss, but the reality shows they keep pooping out! Now there's stuff I wouldn't want my kid to see!

Here, eat cow guts, here eat live cockraoches, here be buried in scorpions! And and all the 'who gets voted off this week' crap, do not forget to terrorize the other contestants with the most immoral, petty and sneaky tricks and subterfuge. Yeah, have your little kid see THAT!

Foaming at the mouth now.....better stop....

EdDantes | April 05, 03:58 CET

It's censorship, period. I find this new wave of "deceny" (excuse me while I vomit) stuff here in the U.S. extremely scary. Where to draw the line? Paris' sleazy shenanigans are decent but a flash of Janet's boob isn't? Or really stupidly, a view of an elderly woman's boob on ER is suddenly deemed "indecent?" Whatever. I despise reality crap and would love it if it would be outlawed (in my fantasty world) but outlawing stuff is a slippery slope. I'm of the school that if you don't like it, don't watch it. I'd draw the line at snuff films and porn on network tv, obviously, but the kind of hair-splitting going on in the U.S. media is fanatic-crusader scary. McCarthy era anyone? J. Edgar Hoover era anyone?

phlebotinin | April 05, 05:06 CET

McCarthy era anyone?

Are you or have you ever been? Watch it and you'll see what is going on with the FCC.
What you said just reminded me of that Angel episode, time to watch it.

tvmoobunny | April 05, 06:18 CET

Phlebotinin - all I can say is, this November, Support the Environment (and Civil Rights and Free Speech, etc. etc. etc.) and Plant a Bush back in Texas....

cubiclesatan | April 05, 07:35 CET

Season 2, Episode 2, Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been. Great episode, and yeah, this FOX release just seethes paranoia. I don't live in America, so I'm not sure, but how many big cases would there have been where someone has sued a network for indecency?

kaivaal | April 05, 07:43 CET

"and Plant a Bush back in Texas...."

I'll bring the shovel!

Firefly Flanatic | April 05, 07:51 CET

*covers mouth with hand and hisses in laughter* I should keep quiet, the radical right is probably tracking me right now...one nation under surveillance, you know!

cubiclesatan | April 05, 07:57 CET

"and plant a Bush back in Texas..."

I'll bring a whole passel of shovels!

"....one nation under surveillance"

Exactly. And oh so scary.

phlebotinin | April 05, 08:14 CET

Phlebotinin, if you like those sayings, there's a whole website full of bumper stickers and stuff I could direct you (It's not my website, tho). Email me at danita0521 [at] hotmail . com if you're interested.

cubiclesatan | April 05, 08:58 CET

In case anyone is interested TV Guide is looking for contributions on whether "the government be involved in policing what the networks put on television".

Simon | April 05, 13:23 CET

Ha. I'd like to see a grassroots national vote (either referendum or initiative) on whether or not the majority of Americans approve of sending over $87 billion to a country that wants us dead. Since the government doesn't see fit to ask us our opinion on THAT, I highly doubt they give a flying **** about whether or not we want them messing with our tv.

cubiclesatan | April 05, 18:10 CET

I'm seriously in the minority here. I was watching the Super Bowl, with my 9, 6, and 4 year old kids, and WAS offended at Justin and Janet. Thanks guys, for forcing me to explain why "he pulled off her shirt".
And, for the curious, the government (read: FCC) has ALWAYS had a hand in what does and does not air on television.
Further, before you tell me "don't like it, don't watch it"; I don't. I don't watch ER (mostly because I never got into it eons ago), I don't watch Nip/Tuck because the commercials gross me out, and I don't watch slime like "The Simple Life" or "Bachelor/ette".
I find nothing wrong with an attempt to clean up some of the crap on TV in prime time. "Forever Eden", anyone?
It can go too far, but I think drawing a parallel to McCarthyism is extreme.

meredith | April 05, 21:30 CET