TV WRITERS AIM FOR RACIER FARE IN SHOWS DURING `FAMILY HOUR'.Byline: Lynette Rice Daily News Staff Writer Within networks, what gets on the air is often the result of disputes between writers and in-house censors. ``It's really arbitrary. You get to the point where you're negotiating `hells' and `damns,' '' said Russ Woody, co-executive producer of CBS' ``Cybill.'' ``There will be a show that has eight `damns' and the network will come back and say, `You can't do that many damns. How about three or four?' '' Parents, politicians and TV watchdog groups are calling upon the networks to police their prime-time shows for profanity Irreverence towards sacred things; particularly, an irreverent or blasphemous use of the name of God. Vulgar, irreverent, or coarse language. The use of certain profane or obscene language on the radio or television is a federal offense, but in other situations, profanity and sexual conduct. Networks are currently self-policed, with in-house regulators making sure programming is tame enough for viewers young and old. Yet programming standards, it seems, are not always set in stone - especially when it comes to shows in the so-called ``family hour.'' When ``Cybill'' moved from 9:30 p.m. Mondays to 8 p.m. Sundays last season, the writers said they never felt the need to tailor the scripts to families. That was especially true of an episode last season that called for Cybill's daughter, Zoe, to serve as a tour guide in a museum that exhibited a well-endowed totem pole totem pole Carved and painted vertical log, constructed by many Northwest Coast Indian peoples. The poles display mythological images, usually animal spirits, whose significance is their association with the lineage. Each figure represents a type of family crest. . The statue's large penis was never shown, but the innuendo innuendo n. from Latin innuere, "to nod toward." In law it means "an indirect hint." "Innuendo" is used in lawsuits for defamation (libel or slander), usually to show that the party suing was the person about whom the nasty statements were made or why the comments was clear. ``There were no edicts to change or tone down the show,'' Woody recalled. ``We just kept creating the same product we have been creating. It's up to (Standards and Practices) to say where they want to put it - which is good. I'd much rather write an adult show than a children's show.'' Eileen Conn of Sherman Oaks, a former writer for NBC's ``Mad About You,'' said she knew that she and the other writers were pushing the envelope when scripting some racy rac·y adj. rac·i·er, rac·i·est 1. Having a distinctive and characteristic quality or taste. 2. Strong and sharp in flavor or odor; piquant or pungent. 3. Risqué; ribald. 4. exchanges between the Buchmans (Paul Reiser Paul Reiser (born March 30, 1957) is an American actor, author and stand-up comedian, best known for his role in Mad About You. Biography Born to a Jewish-American family, Reiser attended the East Side Hebrew Institute on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and and Helen Hunt Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning American actress, perhaps most widely known for her role in the television sitcom Mad About You. ). NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. has taken some heat for placing the adult comedy in the 8 o'clock hour, once reserved for family-oriented fare. ``There's a lot of sexuality on that show, but it's between a married couple who are crazy in love with each other, so that's fine,'' said Conn, who is developing a midseason show for NBC called ``Just Shoot Me.'' ``We said `penis' in one. I never really saw it as shocking (or) something families couldn't watch. It was a married couple.'' |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion