NYPD Blue<\/em> that actually ended up on The Supreme Court docket. I’d probably agree that the nude scene in question wasn’t necessary but it’s ironic that a program that had far more heart and was less lurid than most of the current crop of fetish-obsessed procedurals is what garnered legal action.\u00a0 While I don’t think the nudity was required, I personally find it far less objectionable than the abject cruelty that litters too much the current TV landscape.<\/p>\nWhat’s needed isn’t government censorship but more consumer choice. And it’s coming. Web-to-TV technology will soon allow consumers to subscribe to individual channels (rather than entire cable menus) that meet their own tastes and values. That will change the landscape considerably by putting a crimp in the sort of demographic games that declare one sliver of the audience to be more valuable than the rest of the audience — thereby presenting non-hits as hits.<\/p>\n
The reason, in my opinion, we’re seeing more faith and family-friendly films and less faith and family-friendly television is because films rise and fall based directly on consumer response at the box office.\u00a0 They can’t hide behind demographic smoke screens.\u00a0 Success is based on actual audience acceptance. And, while there’s an audience for the low-grade stuff, most people are actually seeking quality shows that celebrate qualities like faith, kindness and forgiveness.\u00a0 Life is edgy enough. Most of us want aspirational programming that lifts us up and doesn’t wallow in cruelty and the worst that humanity has to offer.<\/p>\n
And, speaking of NYPD Blue<\/em>, I’ve run it here before, but here’s my favorite scene from 2004. I truly wonder if it would make air now.<\/p>\n