The Parents Television Council has targeted NBC for cutting references to God out of episodes of VeggieTales, the popular Christian home video series that began airing on the network two weeks ago. NBC claims that some episodes had to be cut in order to fit into the alloted runtime (the videos are typically thirty minutes in length). However, VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer says some of the episodes were edited already before being sent to NBC, and the the network requested any direct references to God be removed from the episodes. The question I have is whether Vischer knew about this stipulation before signing on with NBC, and if he did, and he wanted to maintain his vision for VeggieTales, he should have declined. On the other hand, it seems more than a little naive that something with an obvious Christian scope wouldn't occasionally make references to God. All in all, this doesn't seem like the perfect match for either the series or the network.NBC's Veggie cuts
The Parents Television Council has targeted NBC for cutting references to God out of episodes of VeggieTales, the popular Christian home video series that began airing on the network two weeks ago. NBC claims that some episodes had to be cut in order to fit into the alloted runtime (the videos are typically thirty minutes in length). However, VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer says some of the episodes were edited already before being sent to NBC, and the the network requested any direct references to God be removed from the episodes. The question I have is whether Vischer knew about this stipulation before signing on with NBC, and if he did, and he wanted to maintain his vision for VeggieTales, he should have declined. On the other hand, it seems more than a little naive that something with an obvious Christian scope wouldn't occasionally make references to God. All in all, this doesn't seem like the perfect match for either the series or the network.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-22-2006 @ 9:11PM
rob said...
I don't know what the contract would have said, but yeah, I wouldn't be shocked that some of the obvious references to Jesus would be taken out. Some of the references to God I'd be a little surprised they would be taken out. Either way, I think the VeggieTales series is really good. Some of the stories are hilarious...and the Silly Songs are usually great!
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9-22-2006 @ 11:34PM
erroneous_nick said...
As a parent who's watched every, or nearly every, VeggieTales short, the silly songs and the Jonah movie (albeit some years ago now), I don't see how it's possible to cut out references to God. There wouldn't be much left, unless they meant literally using the word "God" at all, and since God is the central theme of that series it would be ridiculous to expect such cuts.
BTW rob, there's very little mention of Jesus in VeggieTales. While they're Christian-based, they do their best to make the messages more about God and treating each other with respect and dignity so as to avoid conflicts with non-Christian faiths.
If NBC really does want all overt references to God removed, then they simply picked the wrong series to air.
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9-25-2006 @ 6:03PM
Writer Jim said...
For what it's worth, the episodes of 3-2-1 Penguins (also a Big Idea production) that run an hour after VeggieTales has included the scenes of the two kids praying at the end of the show.
That said, I thought it was interesting that the VeggieTales episodes didn't include the sign-off from the videos (God made you special and He loves you very much). What the Times article doesn't make clear is whether Phil Vischer edited that stuff out or if NBC did it unilaterally.
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