David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place. "Damages" damages our nation's future?
“Damages,” FX’s terrific new legal thriller starring Glenn Close, was damned today by The Parents Television Council, for being, well, naughty. Which they accepted somewhat stoically when it’s on FX at 10 p.m., but they did pretty much take issue with it when it was on MyNetwork (also owned by Fox) at 8 p.m.:
“The programming executives at News Corp. and its subsidiaries have demonstrated once again their blatant disregard for children and families, in spite of giving considerable lip-service about being responsible. … Such wanton behavior exposes this corporation’s true intentions, despite what executives tell the Congress about their desire to act ‘responsibly’ and treat its viewing audience with ‘respect’. … Their FX channel has proven to be a cable network that regularly – and proudly – attacks the decency sensibilities of most American families, and now this same graphic and gratuitous content is airing on broadcast television at 8 p.m.”
It goes on like this for a while until you can practically see the froth foaming at the mouth of the author of the press release, calling for heads on pikes and censorship for everyone and forcing all TV outlets to air only pictures of pages from the Bible round the clock and so on.
To which I can only respond: Dude, it was on MyNetwork. Trust me, no one saw it.
And anyway, that sex scene you’re crabbing about was shot in tight close-up on the couple’s faces, the violence wasn’t even as grisly as can be seen on other shows that have aired at 8 p.m., “NCIS,” “Cold Case” or “Lost,” and you even admit that the expletives were bleeped out. So take a chill pill and let’s move on and discuss tonight’s episode.
Gotta love the opening-title theme song lyrics, though: “There won’t be anything left when I am through with you.”
Tonight, Patty Hewes (Close) manages a couple of more of those sinisterly manipulative maneuvers she’s so delectably good at, but gets a bit of a comeuppance when, working on a case with an extremely tight deadline, a grenade shows up at her office.
“Who would want to do this to you?” she’s asked.
“How much time do you have?” she replies.
After the grenade incident, six understandably shaken employees take personal days. Understanding humanist that she is, she fires them. Wishing away the threats and the assaults doesn’t stop them, however.
Ellen (Rose Byrne) isn’t one of those tremulous half-dozen, of course, and you know that whole being-engaged thing? She takes her first steps towards throwing that out the window. (Of course, we already know that her fiancé is going to wind up dead, so maybe that’s not such a huge loss in the scheme of things. But we sense a huge guilt trip in the offing.)
Anyway, if “Damages” wasn’t already addictive, tonight’s episode ensures it’s well on its way to being one of the summer’s must-see series. Even without condemnation from the Parents Television Council.
- “Damages:” 10 tonight; FX.
Comments
The PTC is just full of a bunch of whiney babies. They lash out at corporations for so-called "indecent" programming and pull the advertisers from the show, but they (the PTC) are so ignorant, they basically don't use the V-Chip technology our government has provided to protect them and their children, and yet, the parents go ahead and let the smut flow in. I'm sick of the PTC's continuous bitching. This watchdog group has got to go. It is their own fault they do not supervise what their children watch.
The PTC is full off irresponsible ignorant "A"-holes. And let's leave it at that.
Posted by: Randy Lee | August 10, 2007 3:10 PM