Family guy makes the PTC's "Worst of the Week" again

[Matt Hazuda]

It's always humorous to read these things I think. Family Guy's 4th season premiere won the Parents Television Council's worst of the week crown yet again.

http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/bw/2005/0508worst.asp

Reading serious descriptions of the stuff in this episode just makes me chuckle for some reason.


There is nothing redeeming about this series, yet Fox has decided to inflict it once again on television audiences. Parents should be aware that even though it is animated and has “Family” in the title, this series is absolutely not safe for child consumption.

I do miss how they used to have the offending clips online though :(

[Yash]

Parents should be aware that even though it is animatedOMG ANIMATION = KIDZ LOLOLOL

Well, there's one advantage of CN making their ratings icons huge as hell.

[livingfruitvirus]

These cock-blocks have had Family Guy on their list enough times that I'm surprised no campaign has been formed ala Sex and the City or The Shield.

[Youko Recca]

One of the most outrageously offensive scenes includes a parody of the classic children’s tale of Pinocchio in which Geppetto bends over with his buttocks in front of Pinocchio’s nose, then tries to get Pinocchio to lie, so that his nose will grow and, viewers are led to conclude, penetrate his anus.
Gotta love how they have no problem going in detail about certain scenes.

[randomguy]

My favorite part is where the reviewer refers to Peter and Lois having sex as "offensive sexual content".

Well, that is what married couples do, isn't it?

[Tienshin]

http://img100.echo.cx/img100/876/dadandson8ua.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

"Hey son, look it's Pinocchio! What's Geppeto saying? holy ****....COVER YOUR EYES!"

[livingfruitvirus]

My favorite part is where the reviewer refers to Peter and Lois having sex as "offensive sexual content".

Well, that is what married couples do, isn't it?They try. It's practically an endurance challenge.

BTW, I noticed there's a form for FCC complaints on their website. So I just filled out this fake one-

From: "Li'l" Connor Peterson
Email: dads.little.chum@101megahertz.com
Station: KCRA-TV, Sacramento
Msg: My name is Connor, and I found something on television today that I found rather obscene. The weather lady was bright blonde, yet she was wearing blue clothing. This is springtime, so it's no time for blue! And that color scheme just doesn't compliment. I was shocked and offended, darnit. I demand you step in and dye her hair orange and give her a warmer colored wardrobe. Now you may think I'm jealous because I won't be old enough to have my own head of hair, but I assure you I'm 100% serious about this complaint. Unfortunately I have to stop writing now as I'm going on a fishing trip today, but I'm sure my point is clear.

- Li'l Connor

[Youko Recca]

You know, I got to thinking. What if the PRR is affiliated with the PTC? Their overbearing urges to control what we watch raises many questions. There is most definitely a plot behind this...

[Aztec]

You are aware that this "organization" is little more than a front for lunatics along the lines of Pat Robertson right? Religious fanatics are seizing too much power in this country. The scariest part is that there's not enough outrage about it. Be wary.

[Tienshin]

From: "Li'l" Connor Peterson
Email: dads.little.chum@101megahertz.com
Station: KCRA-TV, Sacramento
Msg: My name is Connor, and I found something on television today that I found rather obscene. The weather lady was bright blonde, yet she was wearing blue clothing. This is springtime, so it's no time for blue! And that color scheme just doesn't compliment. I was shocked and offended, darnit. I demand you step in and dye her hair orange and give her a warmer colored wardrobe. Now you may think I'm jealous because I won't be old enough to have my own head of hair, but I assure you I'm 100% serious about this complaint. Unfortunately I have to stop writing now as I'm going on a fishing trip today, but I'm sure my point is clear.

- Li'l Connor

The feds are so going to rip you a new one for that, and it will probably involve a ball gag and some kind of drano enema.

[randomguy]

You are aware that this "organization" is little more than a front for lunatics along the lines of Pat Robertson right? Religious fanatics are seizing too much power in this country. The scariest part is that there's not enough outrage about it. Be wary.Yes and no.

The PTC are pretty damn far to the right, but I'd be careful about being too quick to condemn them. For all the fanaticism they often can display, there are fundamental underlying points raised by the PTC, like the peddling of sexuality to teenagers and children, which are actually legitimate.

I'd agree that the religious right has a growing influence in this country, but at the same time, I do get kinda worried when I see the widespread tendency to demean or dismiss these kinds of people. Writing them off too quickly risks an inability to see validity when and where it does exist. Besides, the PTC's got, like, over a million members. That's a lot of people to judge immediately as lunatics.

It's still all pretty silly, of course, and there are viewer advisories, but nevertheless.

[Fone Bone]

So all of those viewer descretion advisories mean nothing?

Again, I like how PTA is loud enough to demand a V-Chip but too stupid to actually use it.

[Tienshin]

So all of those viewer descretion advisories mean nothing?

Again, I like how PTA is loud enough to demand a V-Chip but too stupid to actually use it.

Interestingly, the PTC conducted a study and concluded that the viewer advisories were inadequate, and as such the V Chip cannot be effectively used since it relies on the advisories to filter programs.

[Yash]

http://img100.echo.cx/img100/876/dadandson8ua.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

"Hey son, look it's Pinocchio! What's Geppeto saying? holy ****....COVER YOUR EYES!"
You can say ****? Huh, news to me.

Anyway, don't most parents have satellite? I know DirecTV has ratings lockouts, and I think Dish has them too. For the cable ones, eh... I'd like to remind them that family hour is pretty much nonexistent. Besides, what do they expect from a show that's sandwiched between "American Dad" and "The Simpsons"?

On an unrelated note - I've noticed that CN doesn't just have the TV rating at the beginning of a show, but puts it on when the show returns from commercial breaks, too. Have they always done this?

[SirLemming]

You are aware that this "organization" is little more than a front for lunatics along the lines of Pat Robertson right? Religious fanatics are seizing too much power in this country. The scariest part is that there's not enough outrage about it. Be wary. Call me crazy, but I see a lot more outrage about it than I see... "it".

[Natey]

Holy crap when you see TV-14 and your lil billy watching it. its not for family or the family that won't let thier kids watch anything but seasme street.

~Nate~

[Aztec]

Call me crazy, but I see a lot more outrage about it than I see... "it". The problem is that nobody wants to think that these people are actually gaining power so they just ignore them, or roll their eyes. The sad reality is that from the science classroom, to the pharmacy, to the labs, to the various arts, to the media, to the justice system this dangerous and anti-American agenda is gaining steam. Thanks largely to a Republican majority in Congress who are looking to pander to religious fanatics. I guess votes are more important than say...the Constitution. The REAL threat is a lot closer than you think.

[Aquadementia]

At least on Family Guy you need to be old enough to read between the lines with the Pinocchio joke, but on their web site they just blatantly spell out penetrating Geppetto's whoops-a-daisy.
Shame on you parentstv.org.
Oh, unless they think that no children will be viewing their web site.
But no, that couldn't be it. They don't even have an age appropriateness warning.


What I find even more disturbing is they have "Wife Swap" as a past "Best show of the week."
I guess disrupting some children's family unit so they can be exploited for a reality show inspired by infidelity is a-o.k. in their book.

[Timmay]

The problem is that nobody wants to think that these people are actually gaining power so they just ignore them, or roll their eyes. The sad reality is that from the science classroom, to the pharmacy, to the labs, to the various arts, to the media, to the justice system this dangerous and anti-American agenda is gaining steam. Thanks largely to a Republican majority in Congress who are looking to pander to religious fanatics. I guess votes are more important than say...the Constitution. The REAL threat is a lot closer than you think.
Depends on your interpretation of the Constitution.. which by the way your interpretation is an opinion so one person isn't clearly wrong or right.

I fail to see how a bunch of people who believe in religious values qualify as a real threat by the way.

[Yash]

I wrote them a letter (serious). Watch it get shrugged off, or a simple response saying "We know what's best for you".

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/images/star_off_sm_2.gif Bryn Tanner to Letters
More options 9:53 pm (15 minutes ago) I'll put this nicely: stop.

After having seen some of my favorite shows be censored to death due
to the measurements you take (specifically a cartoon called "One
Piece" airing weekly on Fox, which I run a website about), this is
starting to become a bigger issue for me. TV ratings exist for a
reason. They are there to help you know what's appropriate and what's
inappropriate. After seeing Family Guy time and time again make it on
your "Worst of the Week" list, it's become annoying. First of all,
there is a TV-14 rating on almost EVERY episode. That alone should
give you the heads up that it's probably not going to be something
you'll find acceptable for your family. Second off, Fox has begun
putting disclaimers in front of their episodes. All of them. This
started with the May 1st airing, which to my knowledge is the last
episode to make your "Worst of the Week" list.

Everything you need is there to inform you that your kids shouldn't be
watching. Those would be the ratings. They are in the top left corner
of the screen, usually found at the beginning of the episode. I don't
understand what gives YOU the right to take away someone's favorite
show because YOU don't like it. I like a lot of cartoons, and nothing
disappoints me more than the knowledge that one of my favorites was
censored because groups like you thought it was too offensive.
Animated does not equal children's entertainment. It equals animated.
Nothing else.

Do you know why people can't die in One Piece anymore? It's because of
parents like yourselves. You may argue that TV is not meant to give
our kids the breaks, and I'll agree with you. You are. If your kid has
no concept of death, you need to stop lying to them and tell them the
truth. Why should my entertainment be spoiled because of bad
parenting? I'm sorry, the TV is not meant to babysit your children.
You can not sit them down in front of it and expect everything to be
fine.

Shows want to portray realism, and if you're too sensitive to accept
that... just turn it off. If I want to watch a show unaltered with
nothing in the way of allowing me to view it without any form of
censorship, I should be able to. There is nothing forcing you to watch
these shows. I can tolerate minimal censorship, but if you start
interfering with the heart of the show, and then this starts
penetrating video releases, then you're crossing the line.

By the way, I'm 13 years old, which would probably make me one of the
people you're trying to PROTECT in the first place.

Sincerely,
Bryn Tanner

[SirLemming]

At least on Family Guy you need to be old enough to read between the lines with the Pinocchio joke, but on their web site they just blatantly spell out penetrating Geppetto's whoops-a-daisy.Yeah, seriously. I mean, it took about 10 seconds to dawn on me, and there's no way that someone who doesn't know about anal sex would have any idea what's going on.

The problem is that nobody wants to think that these people are actually gaining power so they just ignore them, or roll their eyes. The sad reality is that from the science classroom, to the pharmacy, to the labs, to the various arts, to the media, to the justice system this dangerous and anti-American agenda is gaining steam. Thanks largely to a Republican majority in Congress who are looking to pander to religious fanatics. I guess votes are more important than say...the Constitution. The REAL threat is a lot closer than you think.We could go on reasserting our same points over and over, but that'll get this thread closed.

[Marinite]

Zeke, the fact you had to mention an anime in your post indicates they won't take you seriously. Try arguing a point that matters, like American shows.

[LordByronius]

I fail to see how a bunch of people who believe in religious values qualify as a real threat by the way.
Because they're trying to make sure that their religious values are everybody's religious values. I enjoy being a dirty, faithless heathen, thanks.

But this is a stupid argument. Stupid! Let's ignore it. Forever.

[Yash]

Zeke, the fact you had to mention an anime in your post indicates they won't take you seriously. Try arguing a point that matters, like American shows.To them it's just another cartoon. Come on, it's not like these idiots have any sense of logic.

[Marinite]

Trust me, groups like those think Japanese cartoons are the worst of the bunch and think all anime is perverted ,sexual, violent stuff.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Zeke, the fact you had to mention an anime in your post indicates they won't take you seriously. Try arguing a point that matters, like American shows.
You just have to crawl out of the woodwark anytime someone mentions One Piece, don't you? Your anti-anime(except Yugiouh, which is the work of God, Jesus, Buddha, Zeus, and Thor) stance has long since worn out its welcome.

The Parents TV Council is a joke, and only about 20 people in the world actually take them seriously.

[Yash]

Trust me, groups like those think Japanese cartoons are the worst of the bunch and think all anime is perverted ,sexual, violent stuff.Well, you've got a point there.

Still, it's a show that's been ruined due to censorship.

[SirLemming]

Because they're trying to make sure that their religious values are everybody's religious values. Trying and losing. For every Janet Jackson fiasco that they get a hold of (and that's not even the PTC, really), there are a whole bunch of new things being allowed on TV that they're unable to do anything about. I know we all like to play the victim or underdog sometimes, but the simple fact is that if these groups actually succeeded substantially often, The Simpsons, South Park, WWE, the entire MTV network, and countless other TV mainstays wouldn't even be on the air anymore. These censorship groups will always be annoying, but I really don't think we have anything to worry about. Of course, I guess we can do our part to make sure this stuff continues to have the right to air, but I think the battle is won for the most part.

[LordByronius]

Trying and losing. For every Janet Jackson fiasco that they get a hold of (and that's not even the PTC, really), there are a whole bunch of new things being allowed on TV that they're unable to do anything about. I know we all like to play the victim or underdog sometimes, but the simple fact is that if these groups actually succeeded substantially often, The Simpsons, South Park, WWE, the entire MTV network, and countless other TV mainstays wouldn't even be on the air anymore. These censorship groups will always be annoying, but I really don't think we have anything to worry about. Of course, I guess we can do our part to make sure this stuff continues to have the right to air, but I think the battle is won for the most part.
Okay, so, you're talking specifically about the censorship groups here. I was confused and thought you were mentioning the hardcore religious right in general.

Yeah. Mostly harmless, though recent FCC actions to try and enroach their power beyond network television into subscription television worries me greatly.

[Chrono1995]

What tickled me was that they said Family Guy had "inappropriate sexual jokes." In that case, which ones are appropriate?

[SirLemming]

Okay, so, you're talking specifically about the censorship groups here. I was confused and thought you were mentioning the hardcore religious right in general. I could go into that, but I'm not going to.

[jbanks97]

Noone should take these wackjobs seriously


I mean come on, Look what they listed as the best program of the week a few weeks ago
http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/bw/2005/0508best.asp

[Aztec]

Noone should take these wackjobs seriously


I mean come on, Look what they listed as the best program of the week a few weeks ago
http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/bw/2005/0508best.asp

Oh dear lord! They're crazier than I thought! I heard clips from that movie on Stern, I laughed my behind off.

[Fone Bone]

Just wanted to throw a question out there for those who say the religious right are the ones stifling creativity and encouraging censorship: Who is Tipper Gore married to again?

[Aztec]

1)Depends on your interpretation of the Constitution.. which by the way your interpretation is an opinion so one person isn't clearly wrong or right.

2)I fail to see how a bunch of people who believe in religious values qualify as a real threat by the way.

1) The Constitution calls for Freedom of Speech and a separation of Church and State. That makes it pretty clear.

2) America is supposed to founded upon freedom and individual choice. Forcing one specific "moral/religious" agenda (which ironically radically contradicts the teachings of the religion its claimed to represent) down EVERYONE's throat clealy violates these values.

People of scared of certain people across the sea "destroying America", when in reality they pose little threat of actually doing so. Meanwhile there are religious fanatics right here who are slowly gaining more political power. They are attacking the very values that we as Americans are accustomed to. This clearly makes them the true threat.

The Taliban by any other name still stinks the same.

[Tienshin]

Okay, let's stop with the "religious right lol" derail. This discussion is quickly becoming entirely irrelevant to the topic at hand.

[peacebyanymeans]

Don't look at me! I voted for Nader.

:shrug: jk jk jk

I don't know where that came from...

[beren]

All seperation of church and state means is that there won't be any denomination officially integrated and supported by the goverment. That is to say there won't be any Church of America, it was written not to make faith illegal, or to prevent people from having religious beliefs, it was written to prevent the things the Church of england had done in the past/present from happening in America.

[SirLemming]

STOP! Believe it or not, your political opinions are not so important that you must let the people know at any cost. Talk about it where it belongs -- your weblog, a politics message board, or a self-righteous graduation speech that annoys half the audience.

[Aquadementia]

What tickled me was that they said Family Guy had "inappropriate sexual jokes." In that case, which ones are appropriate?Oooo! Good one.
Noone should take these wackjobs seriously


I mean come on, Look what they listed as the best program of the week a few weeks ago
http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/bw/2005/0508best.aspI don't think I can fault them on calling a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation the best of the week. If positive messages and dealing with issues in a kind and caring way is your thing, I don't see anything wrong with that.

This group probably bears watching though.

It's not really so bad that they have a web site that tells parents that they probably shouldn't let young children watch Family Guy but Hallmark is okay, but a small organized group starting letter writing campaigns to get things thrown off the air and legislation passed based on their narrow agenda can throw things out of whack.

I don't care for foul language or innuendo in most programs either, but that's mostly because it's hardly necessary, not really funny most of the time and just bad tv.
But pushing for everything to be totally inoffensive is going to make for bad tv too.

I feel for people who are uncomfortable letting their kids watch the boob-tube, but at this point I think television has a bigger quality problem that's really the reason the content is so bad.

[LordByronius]

or a self-righteous graduation speech that annoys half the audience.
lol so true!1

wait what

[jbanks97]

Oooo! Good one.
I don't think I can fault them on calling a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation the best of the week. If positive messages and dealing with issues in a kind and caring way is your thing, I don't see anything wrong with that.

A Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation staring Rosie "Hey Everyone I'm still relevant, GIMME AN EMMY DAMMIT" Odonnel????? Rosie as a retarted person???????

Come on that show was begging to be made fun of by anyone with a sarcastic bone in their body the day it came out of the first production meeting.


ROSIE PEOPLE

[livingfruitvirus]

A Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation staring Rosie "Hey Everyone I'm still relevant, GIMME AN EMMY DAMMIT" Odonnel????? Rosie as a retarted person???????

Come on that show was begging to be made fun of by anyone with a sarcastic bone in their body the day it came out of the first production meeting.I heard Paul Reubens was suing Rosie for ripping him off. :D

[Carolina Red]

These PTC people have never heard of television program ratings before, have they? There is a reason why they have those things in the first place, and you'd think a program with a TV-14 rating would not be suitable for the family. Don't forget that during promos for the show they always throw in the 'viewer discretion' warning, so that gives you an idea.

You'd never see the stuff that these groups get all pissed off about on the promos because the audience may be very general during some Fox programs where you'd see ads for it. This is especially true for sporting events.

And as for that Rosie O'Donnell movie? I have not seen it (and i really wouldn't want to), but it looks like something Lifetime would churn out but with Hallmark and CBS branding.

[FerrariCake]

[almost pointless anecdote ahead]
Those parental watchdog groups amaze me. Every Sunday my whole family sits down to watch FOX. Whenever something comes up that my eleven year old little brother shouldn't see (I'm 17 btw), my dad - here's the incredible part- changes the channel. Then after a few seconds he goes back to Family Guy and we still enjoy it. So we missed all the crap the PTC was going on about (except the Passion 2 thing; that was great) but we still enjoyed it. My little brother's favourite part was when Mel Gibson walked off Mt. Rushmore. "Christians don't belive in gravity!"
Wait, why isn't PTC up in arms about that line?

[SirLemming]

I'd love to see how they react to the part in "A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas" where Peter gives his inaccurate speech about the "true" meaning of Christmas and that guy says "Outrageous, How dare he say such blasphemy. I've got to do something." and the other guy says "Bob, there's nothing you can do." and the guy says "Well, I guess I'll just have to develop a sense of humor."

[NewLib]

I love how people act like its just far right-wing Republicans who are pushing for censorship. Some people dont pay attention to the news.

[Spongebrain2.0]

I love how people act like its just far right-wing Republicans who are pushing for censorship. Some people dont pay attention to the news.

I know, wasn't it those far left liberals who started the whole "No Stereotyping" thing. I remember them all getting mad at me & my friends for doing that old Indian call with our mouths & saying "That is offensive"

[SirLemming]

I know, wasn't it those far left liberals who started the whole "No Stereotyping" thing. I remember them all getting mad at me & my friends for doing that old Indian call with our mouths & saying "That is offensive"All left-wing liberals were present at this occasion?

But yeah, it's obviously true, even though most people don't mention it. The right handles moral censorship and the left handles politically correct censorship. It's a nice little system, isn't it?
In fact, I'd say that the infamous "Sweet Jesus!" fiasco is mostly the result of left-wing Christians, not right-wing Christians.

PTC does appear to mostly take right-wing stances, though.

[Fone Bone]

I know, wasn't it those far left liberals who started the whole "No Stereotyping" thing. I remember them all getting mad at me & my friends for doing that old Indian call with our mouths & saying "That is offensive"It's insane. I'm pretty left-wing but when all I hear is about how the conservative right is trying to create censorship I have to roll my eyes. Tipper Gore and Joe Leiberman are Democrats and they are some of the biggest pushers of "moral Standards" in the television and music industry.

As much as I loathe Bush I think it's VERY interesting that when HE is asked about what should be done about all of the crap on television he replies that people should simply change the channel if they don't like it.

[Aztec]

But yeah, it's obviously true, even though most people don't mention it. The right handles moral censorship and the left handles politically correct censorship. It's a nice little system, isn't it?
In fact, I'd say that the infamous "Sweet Jesus!" fiasco is mostly the result of left-wing Christians, not right-wing Christians.

PTC does appear to mostly take right-wing stances, though.
Yes of course there are PC left wing nutjobs as well. But the PTC, Pat Robertson, and other such lunatics are about as far right as imaginable.

[Artimus Gigan]

I'd like to point out that senators who are Democrats have expressed the need to have more control over what is on the airwaves as well.
It's just baisicly politics as usual....in other words take what they say with a grain of salt. I mean the entire set up for America is that it's a sin based culture, where in other countries it's guilt based, and so on and so fourth.

Nothing will really ever come from this except more bad Television...



Now if they wanted to regulate the number of plot holes, poor writing, and bad character development on the other hand...

[Yal]

It's not Democrats, even the conservative ones you're talking about, who are yanking lesbian families off PBS's childrens programming, or pushing TV stations to pull Saving Private Ryan from primetime, or driving Howard Stern off the public airwaves.

The Parents Television Council is almost solely responsible for the current obscenity crackdown (they generate something like 98% of all complaints the FCC receives), and they are thoroughly right-wing.

[NozeNuggets]

I do believe that this has suddenly dissolved into a political chat, which is not allowed on Toon Zone anywho.

[Aztec]

I do believe that this has suddenly dissolved into a political chat, which is not allowed on Toon Zone anywho.

How could it not? This IS a political issue that ties into a particular cartoon. Therefore it's completely on-topic. Quit being so scared of politics. It's a good thing that people care about these things. If your voice isn't heard, I can assure you that it will be lost.

[Aquadementia]

A Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation staring Rosie "Hey Everyone I'm still relevant, GIMME AN EMMY DAMMIT" Odonnel????? Rosie as a retarted person???????

Come on that show was begging to be made fun of by anyone with a sarcastic bone in their body the day it came out of the first production meeting.


ROSIE PEOPLEBelieve me, Rosie O'Donnel makes me sick. I just didn't think she could have so completely screwed up a Hallmark movie, which usually have strong stories and normally okay acting even if they are rather boring to anyone not dependent on a hoveround.
But after reading a few reviews I think you may have a point.

How could it not? This IS a political issue that ties into a particular cartoon. Therefore it's completely on-topic. Quit being so scared of politics. It's a good thing that people care about these things. If your voice isn't heard, I can assure you that it will be lost.
Oh, I don't think you got the memo.
http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=125805

When this kind of thing comes up, people should stick to what is being done by a group like this, and not try to figure out what political label you can nail on them.

[The Landstander]

Yeah, though the discussion has been intelligent, this has gotten off-topic and political.