TVSquad

Knowing FOX they've already cancelled 'Back to You' and didn't want people to get all excited about it before they cancel it like Drive. Frankly I'm surprised that FOX didn't cancel the Emmy's half way though because of the ratings, not even let it finish. An the winner is....


I'm actually amazed as I set up my season passes and pilots recordings on my TiVo I made it a point to not have FOX shows on there, it's just not worth it anymore. (Other than the Simpsons and Family Guy)

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I don't get bothered by opposing political views. Dialogue makes our country great. However, it causes me physical pain to hear a "GD". But, I doubt Sally Field meant to be hurtful.

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Sally Field: You don't like me! Right now you really don't like me!

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I'll never understand why people are so god damned sensitive about 'god damn'. I've always figured if there was a god then he/she can address the issue of using his/her name in vain by himself/herself. He/she does not need anyone defending him/her.

But that's just this atheist's opinion. As for bsgfan2003, if hearing someone say "god damn" causes you physical pain, might I recommend atheism for you? It makes life a lot less complicated and it frees up your entire weekend. (By the way, that's a joke. I'm concerned someone that sensitive might need that explained.)

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Didn't you realize that their odd censorship method was a "WTF happened to my TV program" tribute to "The Sopranos"? :-D
(Makes more sense than the Jersey Boys crooning while Tony & the gang killed people.)

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Well Elf, of all the expletives out there it really is the only one specifically banned by the 15 ^h^h 10 commandments.

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Actually the FCC does not consider "goddamn" to be profane. Here is the rulling: http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2004/FCC-04-43A1.html

And the salient part of the text:

37 See, e.g., Raycom, Inc, 18 FCC Rcd 4186 (2003) (referring to God as a ``sonofabitch'' not profane under section 1464) (citing Gagliardo v. United States, 366 F.2d
720, 725 (9th Cir. 1966) (``God damn it'' not profane under section 1464) and Warren B. Appleton, 28 FCC 2d 36 (B'cast Bur. 1971) (``damn'' not profane under section 1464) (also citing Gagliardo). See also Duncan v. United States, 48 F.2d 128, 134 (9th Cir. 1931) (conviction under section 1464 for using profane language upheld where ``the defendant . . . referred to an individual as `damned,' . . . used the expression `By God' irreverently, and . . . announced his intention to call down the curse of God upon certain individuals'').

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Actually I haven't seen many ads for 'Back to You' yet, but there is a plot point they don't want revealed and it's not just their past relationship.

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That was my big peeve with the whole thing, too. They could have used the *beep* sound and let the rest of the statement stand, not cut away to a funny shot of the back of the display. I told my husband, it looks like they are trying to pass it off as a "technical glitch" so it doesn't seem like they are censoring.

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FOX reacted immediately to a situation, people really do get offended from the GD word, and now for some reason a lot of people are offended that FOX made the effort to not offend others? Somehow I think a lot of people look to be offended, and they love blaming FOX or anything conservative for that so-called offense. I was on youtube yesterday. A lot of those dopes think theres a conspiracy to brainwash Americans into thinking that Sally Field is pro-war.

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I honestly didn't know goddamn was considered a curse until i was about 10. It was a common phrase in our Jewish-catholic household and used with wreckless abandon. Not sure why any word is censored on TV.

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One would like to think that if there is a God, one thing he would damn is war.

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"Actually I haven't seen many ads for 'Back to You' yet, but there is a plot point they don't want revealed and it's not just their past relationship."

I'm going to take a not-so-wild stab here. Heaton's character is a single mother. Grammer's character has been in Los Angeles for several years. Does anyone want to bet that he's been gone about as long as her child has been alive? Could he *gasp* be the kid's father? I swear (though not to god, I think I covered that above) that I have absolutely no advance knowledge of the show and don't know anybody involved with the production, but I'd be willing to bet a little cash on this.

And if this post miraculously disappears, I think that'll be all the proof I need...

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Heh - that's like here in the UK - you can say mother & you can say fucker but never the twain shall meet!

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"Not sure why any word is censored on TV."

So you think it wouldn't be inappropriate to use the N word? How about anti-semitic words? Anti-gay words? Should Sally Field be able to get up on stage and say anything she likes, perhaps calling for all non-white, non-Christian people on the planet to be systematically killed off?

Obviously those things would be horribly offensive to the vast majority of people (and I'm going to an extreme to prove a point). There IS a line of decency that should not be crossed. I find it very annoying when people refuse to acknowledge this when what they really mean is "I'm not offended by the particular terms that were used in this instance."

Everyone has a different opinion on what is decent or acceptable. I would prefer never to hear any swear words or off-color jokes on TV. I know that isn't realistic, but I wouldn't miss them if they were gone. I recognize that I have a more strict sense of decency than the majority of the population. Why can't others acknowledge that it's OK for me to feel this way?

Having said all that, I think Fox was trigger-happy on the blackout button not because they care about offending people, but because they care about being fined. No matter what the official FCC ruling says, they can decide to fine Fox for letting something slip through if enough people complain. Fox is definitely more about the bottom line than about freedom of expression or interest in their audience.

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Nothing censored in Canada.

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No, not everything can be said. Still, censorship is not a solution. American TV is so stupid bleeping every word it's ridiculous!

The only good thing that came out of this unnecessary censorship are Kimmel's version, liek this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltGmjMBrLjs

Cutting to audience shot for a few seconds is the worst idea ever, probably something else they saw on MTV and wanted to try, like that stage in the middle on the theater.... good ***king at Fox I see....

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Odd fact, yet happy to point out...the show wasn't censored in Canada. We're alright with people saying god damn up here :)

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The reason they cut away to another shot is that they also have to cover themselves in case of the famous 'wardrobe malfunction'. Instead of just running with audio delays in the system, as they have on lots of live stuff for years, now they're forced to also have something set aside when they need to dump the video too. Ever noticed how on Maury and Springer, they blur the mouths when the language goes way south? Same reason they dumped Katherine Heigl-- the FCC and some groups could go after them for it, and the people in charge of the dump button don't have time to consult with lawyers, usually they have 7-10 seconds at most. Now, I think that they could have used a better-composed shot, maybe something just showing the audience instead of what looked more like a security camera shot, or maybe a nice graphic?

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Bleeping the swear words was one thing; cutting away from the person on stage who had "crossed the line" to the big black disco ball was another. How stupid.

However, this controversy has given me a whole new view on "The Sopranos" ending. It wasn't a fade to black-what happened in the restaurant was being censored!

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