TVSquad

Let it be known that Seth MacFarlane is doing his patriotic duty. He is keeping Americans employed by running 'Family Guy', the television program that generates more FCC complaints than any other.

Remember when 'The Simpsons' was the most controversial show on television? Now it seems tame by comparison to a plethora of others. Of course, now 'Family Guy' will set the standard for the future in terms of crudeness.

Mind you, the FCC only investigates complaints about network channels (the ones that can be seen for free). So programs like 'South Park' and 'Jersey Shore' are safe ... for now.

And what sort of depraved and immoral activities will the animated sitcom of the future hold? Will it have baby eating? Sex with vegetables? Politics? Whatever the lowest common denominator program of the future is, the only guarantee that can be certain in the future is that it will be shown on Fox.

Who says that quiz show scandals don't happen anymore? In the 1950s, shows and sponsors got in trouble for supplying game show contestants with answers to questions. Now it looks like it might be happening again, and the FCC is getting involved.

Questions arose several months ago about FOX's new game show 'Our Little Genius.' At first it seemed like the show was just going to reshoot the first episodes because there might have been a problem with contestants hearing the answers to the questions (or at least in the way the young kids were coached). Then the show was put on the shelf completely.

Now the FCC is investigating the matter. According to The Los Angeles Times, the father of one of the contestants tipped off the FCC about how producer Mark Burnett and his staff were running the show. One of the aspects of the show was that, at the very least, the kids knew what topics the questions would cover.

This would be dumb on so many levels. One, we don't need game shows/reality shows to be rigged or even slightly tampered with (for obvious reasons), and two, it involved kids aged six to twelve. Gah. I wonder if this could lead to investigations of other reality and/or game shows?

When Adam Lambert was competing on American Idol, there were times when his performances reminded the judges -- and viewers -- of Elvis Presley. And other rock icons, too. It was all part of Adam's appeal. But now that he's promoting his new CD and did a "scandalous" performance at the American Music Awards, he's really getting the Elvis treatment. There's fear that his actions, which are more graphic than anything Elvis ever did, will go too far.

Today, Adam tweeted that ABC had cancelled two more spots on the network -- his upcoming Jimmy Kimmel Live! date and a New Year's Eve performance. Adam added that nobody should blame ABC for the cancellations because it was pressure from the FCC that prompted ABC's action. So maybe we should really be blaming Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for the infamous Super Bowl breast/costume malfunction? ABC previously dumped Adam from Good Morning America.

Lately, what we've been hearing about reality television has been awful. The winner of Big Brother became a drug dealer by using his prize money to bankroll his illegal activities. A family that appeared on Wife Swap perpetrated a hoax involving their six-year-old son and a helium balloon. Is there anything good to say about reality TV?

Here's something. Survivor: Cook Islands winner Yul Kwon is joining the FCC. He has been named deputy chief of the consumer and governmental affairs bureau for the FCC.

That's the Federal Communications Commission. Chairman Julius Genachowski made the appointment, and it wasn't because Yul did well in challenges.

The Parents Television Council has added FOX's Family Guy to the list of shows it's going after.

They are filing another complaint with the FCC, this time over last Sunday's episode of the cartoon that featured (from the PTC complaint) "bestiality, orgies, and babies eating sperm." By sheer coincidence, this was the same plot as the latest episode of The Hills.

Actually, I was kinda shocked by the episode myself, but I'm always shocked by episodes of Family Guy. That's what makes it funny.

Biggest Loser fans, this one is for you.

I don't watch the show. I hope the contestants get as healthy as they need to be but I don't really want to watch a reality show where people lose weight. But I kinda wish I had seen last night's episode because it appears that someone said the F word, and NBC didn't even bleep it.

It occurred when the Green Team's Tara looked at the wall of keys (I have no idea what that sentence means) and said "I don't f***ing know." For some reason, NBC let it slide. And this is on an 8pm show (not that they would have been allowed to do it 9pm, but it just really sticks out in the family hour).

You've seen the countless ads with the dire warnings: switch to digital TV by February 17 or you won't be able to watch any of your favorite shows and you'll have to read a book or play with your kids. And I bet your local news stations have been running various tests and a crawl at the bottom of the screen to remind you about the transition. Now it looks like it might not happen when it's supposed to..

The Obama transition team is asking Congress to extend the deadline because the way the transition has been handled hasn't been the smoothest: there's been a problem with the coupons that the government is giving out so people can get a converter box, the education on the new technology has been inadequate, and the government doesn't have the funds to make the current date a reality. Consumers unions are also asking for the date to be extended.

My sister asked me if I was ready for the digital transition, and I told her that I've been ready for years. Then I met someone last week who says she still has a small portable TV with rabbit ears. Are you ready for the change?

The MPAA has warned the FCC against allowing cable subscribers a la carte pricing for their cable channels. This was done in reaction to several consumer rights groups feeling that the current bundling method of pricing was against the spirit of the First Amendment.

The television networks (and, by extension, the cable companies) and the MPAA have been in bed with each other since the word "television" entered our lexicon. I learned in a marketing class that the majority of advertisements for any movie are found on television and they tend to be broadcast on Thursday nights when people are deciding what to do with their weekend.

Let the Digital Television Revolution begin! Oh, wait, millions of us have converted to digital cable boxes already. Let me try this again. Let the Government-Enforced Digital Television Revolution begin! Okay, much better.

In order to test out the conversion of all media outlets and consumer televisions to digital service by February 17th, 2009, Wilmington, North Carolina decided to beat everyone to the punch and perform the conversion early. So, at noon on Monday, Wilmington mayor Bill Saffo and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin pulled a huge, symbolic power switch to convert all of the city from analog to digital broadcasts. Of course, things went off without a hitch. Uh-huh. And, Platyrrhini Cebidae soar out of my tushie!

Not long after the cut-over broadcasters in the area reported dozens of calls from residents within the city limits and surrounding counties who either weren't prepared for the conversion or couldn't get their brand-new digital-converter boxes to work with their old analog sets. Both the networks and the FCC knew that this would happen and expected to receive calls over the next few weeks from the 14,000 households who received their signals from over-the-air broadcasting.

I remember watching the halftime show of the 2004 Super Bowl and seeing Janet Jackson's nipple at the end of her duet with Justin Timberlake. I couldn't believe what I had just seen and I knew it was going to be a big thing. Of course, no one knew at the time just how big it was going to become. It actually changed the way TV shows are presented now.

But here's some good news for logic: a federal appeals court has thrown out the $550,000 fine that the FCC gave CBS for broadcasting the football boob scene. In the ruling the court said the FCC acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" when they handed out the fine.

Interesting piece over at Nikki Finke's site. While everyone is concentrating on a possible actors strike (the deadline is Monday for SAG to make an agreement), there's another little controversy going on. The Writers Guild of America West has asked the FCC to look into the ever-increasing habit of product integration in network shows. Not only does the WGA want to see the use of products on television eased up, which the FCC is already looking into, they also want to go one step further and make viewers fully aware that they are seeing an ad.

And how would the networks do that?

You know that shiny new personal video recorder you got from TiVo or your cable company? You know, the one that records high definition movies and TV shows in crystal clear quality? Yeah, well the MPAA isn't so thrilled about those high quality recordings that you make from "free" over the air broadcasts.

Sure, you pay by watching (or skipping) the commercials or subscribing to cable/satellite channels. And movie studios get paid a wee bit o' cash every time a deal is struck to broadcast a movie. But the MPAA wants the FCC to allow the use of technology called Selectable Output Control that would block your PVR from recording some HDTV movies.

The MPAA filed a petition with the FCC last month asking for the abillity to prevent users from recording movies that are broadcast before they are released on DVD. The idea is that if you can record a higher than DVD quality video before it's available for purchase, why would you go out and purchase it? So obviously, the solution is to prevent you from using perfectly legal technology to record it. Never mind the fact that the film studios could easily avoid this problem simply by moving up DVD release dates and/or refusing to sell broadcast rights before the DVD release.

The FCC is seeking public comment on the proposal. If you have some thoughts you'd like to share, you can file a comment at the FCC web site. The docket number is 08-82.

As I'm sure you've heard by now, the FCC has levied a $1.4 million fine against Disney for an episode of NYPD Blue. The fine comes as a reaction to an extended shot of Charlotte Ross's bare butt in an episode of NYPD Blue back in 2003.

Now, I'm sure we all have different opinions about the fine. Some of you think it's wrong to fine creative works for their mode of expression, even a TV show. Some of you think the fine is appropriate because you don't want your children accidentally seeing any nudity and some of you, like me, think that Disney and ABC should be given an award for showing us what is very possibly the most beautiful butt ever seen on film.

If you're still holding on to that analog television, waiting for a great deal before making the jump, I can't really blame you. The longer you wait, the better deal you're going to get. You'll be able to point and laugh when you hear what I paid for my lowly little 37" LCD, while the entire wall of your living room is lit up in shining HD light that looks like you're getting cable broadcast straight out of Heaven, on some contraption you paid 12 bucks for at Walmart.

Now comes word from our old pal Kevin Martin at the FCC that you'll be able to wait, at least, until 2012 before you have to step into the future. Currently, the digital transition is supposed to happen in February 2009, although we've heard that before, so I'm not holding my breath. Even if it does finally happen though, it's not the end of analog TV. The FCC voted 5-0, deciding that cable operators must continue to make all local broadcasts available to their users, even those with analog televisions, until 2012. It's up to them whether they do it by continuing to carry an analog signal, or by using set top boxes. And if that still isn't enough notice or warning, write the FCC (they like that), because the whole thing will be revisited as the 2012 deadline approaches.

"Gee whiz, that crazy nut just shot at me! I'd like to give that silly so-and-so a bop on the noggin, by golly!"

Yeah, I just can't imagine a World War II veteran talking about his experiences and not using a few expletives, and there are more than a few curse words bandied about in Ken Burns' seven-part documentary The War. The swearing comes not only from the soldiers themselves who use phrases like "holy s**t" and "***hole," but from the narrator, who explains what the military acronyms "FUBAR" and "SNAFU" stand for (if you don't know, Google it).