CBS President/CEO Les Moonves is hopeful about the strike talks, as reported in this TV Week article, but also prepared should they continue to stall. He's tapped sister network Showtime, for additional programming. That's right, kids, everybody's favorite serial killer Dexter just might be showing up on free TV, with some creative edits. Moonves feels that Dexter, specifically, would fit well with the network's popular crime procedurals. On that, I think he's right.
My vote is for Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, Brotherhood and Californication to hit next. Considering the low numbers original programming tends to get on Showtime, I think this idea could be really good for both Showtime and CBS. As long as the series can be edited effectively, it could actually entice viewers to fork over the money for the pay channel. Maybe we could convince someone to air Deadwood on broadcast television next. Of course, they'd have to beep out all the curse words ... which would be pretty much everything. Maybe they could just run audio from old episodes of Teletubbies. Swearengen grabs a whore and says "Biiiiig Huuuuug!"
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-04-2007 @ 3:56PM
David said...
Bringing "Dexter" and "Brotherhood" to network TV would be a win-win, for the network who airs them and for the series' cast and crew. I think "Brotherhood" is the best mob show on TV since Seasons 1-3 of "The Sopranos" but so few people get to see how amazing it is. "Dexter" would need very little editing, I think, to make it to network television. It's not particularly graphic in language, violence, or depictions of gore. (Just a few scenes here and there, really.)
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12-04-2007 @ 3:58PM
Ari said...
i think Dexter would be an easy fit for network tv. First of all there's is little nudity except for some Lila scenes in season 2 and relatively little cursing, only Deb has a dirty mouth. It's nothing compared to Soprano's the Wire or of course Deadwood.
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12-04-2007 @ 4:22PM
Midnight13 said...
What would be the point? The campagin for getting HBO and Showtime is to see television series you can't get on the other networks. So you're telling me that the shows I pay twenty dollars a month to see is going to be coming to CBS? And the series isn't even done with its run like "The Sopranos" pretty much were by the time it came to basic cable, like "Six Feet Under" was when it went to basic cable. "Dexter" doesn't even need to free publicity, its Showtimes's number one show. Why don't you just tell people to rent season 1 off Netflix?
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12-04-2007 @ 4:26PM
Scott said...
Wouldn't "Dexter" without the blood be like "The Sopranos" without the cursing? (In other words, miserable, as anyone who's watched 5 minutes of it on A&E can attest).
I've heard great things about "Dexter", but I've been reluctant to put it on my Netflix queue because I'm really not a fan of bloody gory stuff. Am I wrong?
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12-04-2007 @ 4:39PM
edgore said...
It's not that bad, though what gore there is is usually in context that makes it extra disturbing, since you are frequently rooting for the guy responsible.
I actually find the credits to be the most disturbing part of the show...
12-04-2007 @ 5:37PM
David said...
It's much more cerebral than it is gorey. I agree with the respose above me that the opening credits are more disturbing than just about every scene in any random episode.
12-04-2007 @ 4:28PM
Oreo said...
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! and Californication wouldn't work at all. Californication is soft porn half the time, and Bullshit just wouldn't fit. Dexter MIGHT work, but I wouldn't bother. better than "reality" shows. Brotherhood would probably work best, but still, just better not to do it.
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12-09-2007 @ 9:57AM
Sooz58 said...
I am in agreement with Oreo about Californicaton and Bullsh*t! Personally I don't care for either of the shows. Penn & Teller in particular annoyed me as non-drinkers talking of how AA is bullsh*t. ROTFL. What do they know. Penn & Teller ARE bullsh*t if you ask me. Check out www.ifeelgoodaboutmyself.com for our thoughts on that. Californication is bullsh*t too. If I were a man I would lobby to get rid of that show. It makes men look like a bunch of brainless self serving self centered idiots who wallow in their own self destruction and prey on young beautiful women.
12-04-2007 @ 4:42PM
radwimp said...
How could any of those shows be fit for network? I'd love to see what kind of ratings they would get, but watered down the shows just aren't the same.
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12-04-2007 @ 4:48PM
edgore said...
I really can't imagine Bullshit edited down for language and for nudity. It would be about 10 minutes long, since there are so many episodes that consist of almost nothing put Penn screaming obscenities at the top of his lungs. Plus, isn't the entire point of the show to provide a forum for the display of breasts?
12-04-2007 @ 4:58PM
Oreo said...
No edgore, it's not just to show breasts. It's to make fun of the government, to make fun of every religion, and to show boobs. :)
12-04-2007 @ 4:50PM
budder said...
Oh, I really hope this doesn't happen. Dexter would be terrible if I moved to a broadcast station.
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12-04-2007 @ 5:11PM
MUGger said...
Actually, the blood and gore on "Dexter" is no worse than the blood and gore on any of the CBS "CSI" shows. Put on the first season in a 10 pm slot, dub Deb and a few other characters, and you've got a pretty good prime time show. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if "alternate" scenes were shot for "Dexter", to clean it up for syndication -- they did it with "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" (while we're at it -- throw the first seasons of those shows on network TV, as well as some previously cancelled shows like "Kidnapped").
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12-04-2007 @ 7:13PM
SJ said...
Sex and The City already airs on The CW at nights. I don't think there's too much of a difference.
12-04-2007 @ 6:22PM
Steven Rubio said...
Every attempt to water down premium programming for broader audiences results in crap. The Wire is a travesty ... so is Queer As Folk, Dead Like Me, Sopranos, you name it. I think The Wire is the best show in the history of television, but I advised everyone I knew to avoid its BET incarnation. If you don't want to cough up the $$$ for HBO or Showtime, rent the DVDs. But bypass these faux-shows.
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12-04-2007 @ 8:34PM
mb said...
I never knew that BET got the diluted version of The Wire. Wow. It must be very bland if it was edited for "mainstream" cable (like A&E's watered-down Sopranos).
12-04-2007 @ 6:30PM
Joey Geraci said...
People, calm down and think for half a second. The one and only thing that would have to be changed as far as content would be the occasional curse word or nudity, which would not affect the core content of the show at all (The nudity and mature content are so brief they wouldn't even have to take out a single whole scene).
The one and only real concern to something like this is editing for time. Most Dexter episodes go to about 54 minutes, which if edited down to the 41-43 minutes of a typical broadcast episode, would have to omit a lot of content. I would hope they would do something like A&E did, where they had minimal editing for time, since they showed them in a 90 minute segment instead of 60.
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12-04-2007 @ 7:30PM
Rick said...
Please leave them on Showtime! I don't want them edited for children's eyes or ears, or shortened for commercials. I ESPECIALLY don't want to watch commercials. The shows are good because they are the way they are! Don't f**k with that!
Leave it up to money-hungry corporations and their executives to ruin a good thing.
What'll be next? Weeds?
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12-04-2007 @ 8:02PM
mb said...
Les Moonves is a scumbag for suggesting that pay-cable-only shows should be *moved* to network tv. This makes no sense, because the editing of storylines and other aspects are only the beginning.
The reason why shows like Dexter and Brotherhood are so good is because the writers are free to spin a story that isn't interfered with as it would be on network tv. Anyone who thinks that these shows' storylines won't be affected by the politics and standards of network tv IS SIMPLY DELUSIONAL.
I hope to God that this doesn't happen. Leave these wonderful shows alone.
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12-04-2007 @ 9:12PM
Oreo said...
I actually don't notice the difference that much on Dead Like Me, I don't know what you think is wrong with it.
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