New TV Season Nothing to Cheer About

The new television season is off and running and what is running is mostly more garbage. A New York Times story says producers are again pushing against censors to let the broadcast networks carry stuff that now one sees and hears on cable only. We learn that one producer wants to take the Lord's name in vain. Others want to use the foulest of language. It's all about attracting younger viewers for whom this is supposed to be a mark of maturity.

The WB network kicked off a new sitcom called One on One, which the Washington Post TV critic, Tom Shales, calls "a disgrace to television and a disservice to the audience."

It's about a divorced father and his daughter. He's always trying to have sex with women and he's trying to keep his daughter from having sex with boys. She's 12 years old. The UPN press release is vague about her age. The premiere show says she's 12, but the UPN Web site says she's a 14-year-old actress playing a 15-year-old. That would still be statutory rape in virtually every state.

This is outrageous, but who cares anymore? The networks are after smaller and smaller audiences for advertisers only. They care nothing about the impact they are having on the public. No wonder so many people are getting rid of their TV's.