Saturday, January 26, 2008

FIGHT CENSORSHIP!

One of my other all-time favorite dramas is NYPD Blue. They always had a tag up front that said 'Viewer Discretion Advised'. On the better episodes, the tag also read - 'This police drama contains partial nudity'. Now the FCC has fined ABC $1.43 million for the scene below, which aired in February 2003. You can read about the fine here. The scene in question features Charlotte Ross in, as the article states, "full dorsal nudity". I think it's a shame that the government is penalizing what is probably one of the top ten things ever to be shown on network television, in league with the Apollo 11 moon landing and the final scene from Newhart.

ironic footnote: VIDEO NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i have no respect for this woman if you would call her that. i wouldnt. It’s creepy to think that she got paid to expose herself to a child. (and everyone else)

Would you want your child to walk in on this as a kid? so easily accessible are things that take away innocence. Don’t get me wrong, pornography is a personal choice for adults. But shame for a station to show this without making you access it through parent control or pay per view. Btw If this is a best moment in history of tv, I know a store where you can buy an endless supply of it.
but this is hardly anything different than something in one of those stores.


ps. she still has an ugly face.

Matt Tauber said...

citrusdrop -
I think we have different definitions of pornography. I think of it as depicting a sex act and not simple nudity. The scene depicts an awkward situation where boy and future stepmom aren't quite used to living together yet and sharing a bathroom. He walks in on her, and both are embarrassed. A loss of innocence? Yes, but no different than the millions of kids who've accidentally seen their parents naked. Creepy to me would be the hint of something sexual between the woman and the boy, but that is not the case. And I'm sure the child actor didn't see a naked actress.

Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way advocating porn on television or even advocating that kids should watch 'NYPD Blue' or other dramas aimed at adults. But I think the parental controls should be the parents themselves who tell their kids what they can and can't watch. I also can't blame a network for airing a scene with partial nudity within two minutes after a disclaimer telling you the program contains partial nudity.