TeleVision from Hell

From the PTC website, a “news” article filed under this headline: PTC Denounces CBS for New Show, “$#*! My Dad Says”.

Hey, The Parent’s Television Council loves to denounce shit. They live for that kind of stuff. That headline could simply read PTC denounces $#*! and be equally accurate.

Anyway, the article goes on to outline all the many ways PTC will exercise its mighty wrath against CBS, threatening stations, advertisers … all the usual: “The PTC will not stand silent and allow this program title to become the new accepted norm.”

“Denouncements” like this are a kind of a win/win for the PTC. If the show fails for any reason, PTC can claim credit. If the show succeeds–and given Shatner’s record on TV, it just might–PTC can shout about how the networks are corrupting our youth.

Overlooked is the simple fact that this title contains a censored form of the profanity in question. But at least the PTC recognizes that this kind of “censorship” is almost a wasted effort. Everyone knows what it really says, so why bother? It’s like spelling bad stuff around your kid after she wins the local spelling bee. You can beep all the words you want, but guess what? We know what you really said. Better still, regardless of what you might have said, we’re gonna fill in the worst possible option in our heads.

I’m not sure how, on one hand, it’s okay to use $#*! in your headline but it’s not okay for CBS to use the same symbols for the title of its show.  PTC uses the very thing they are all worked about in their own headline. Which is the more-or-less the same reason that CBS uses it in the title of the program. Shit My Dad Says (in case you missed it) is the real, unfiltered title from the internet/twitter phenomenon–and popular book–which is the inspiration for the sitcom.  I’m not sure if Jason’s recent tweet is related to the PTC’s protest, but from May 21 (uncensored and in all its glory): “They’re offended? Fuck, shit, asshole, shitfuck; they’re just words…Fine. Shitfuck isn’t a word, but you get my point.”

I agree.  But then, I’ve always been pretty certain that the PTC was mostly full of $#*! anyway.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 at 10:21 am and is filed under Televisionary, What the Hell?!?!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.