Bare boob coming to ER? Maybe not now...
02-04-04, 10:02 AM
#1
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Bare boob coming to ER? Maybe not now...
http://www.tvweek.com/news/web020304.html
See, now this is silly. If it were to air on ER 1) It is an elderly ladies breast during a medical exam 2) It doesn't involve "similated" sexual assault, and 3) It would have a warning in the rating system and be on at 10 pm.
People that think the SUperbowl hoopla was just over a breast don't get that. I have no problem with boobies on tv (though possibly with old boobies
).
I think it is obvious that NBC affiliates are overreacting. Pre-superbowl, this would have hardly been worth mentioning, and no one would probably care....except those who wouldn't watch the show anyway.
Post-Super Bowl, Bare Breasts on 'ER' Raise Alarm
Only days after the firestorm created when Janet Jackson exposed her breast during the Super Bowl, the possibility to air an episode of "ER" on NBC Thursday evening that includes a view of an elderly female patient's bare breast are raising serious concerns among the network's affiliates.
Some NBC affiliates are so uneasy about the prospect of that scene airing on the first night of sweeps that at least one station group executive described himself Tuesday as "considering what my options are" should NBC decide to air the hour with the exposed breast. "You're not going to find the stations very willing to take the heat," said the station group executive. "I think people are going to be backing off big-time."
NBC had no comment at presstime but is aware of the potential for some affiliates to refuse to air the episode. Senior network executives had screened the scene for members of the NBC affiliates advisory board during a Las Vegas meeting held in conjunction with NATPE in mid-January.
At the time, affiliates expressed what were described as "concerns" about the scene and whether it is, even if done in good taste, essential to the drama, but no final decision was reached. After the board discussion, some affiliates had been told that award winning "ER" executive producer John Wells was unwilling to cut the scene.
Now many affiliates are even more concerned. The post-Super Bowl climate has every station owner feeling super sensitive.
There is a pending FCC investigation of the Super Bowl incident. Last week some stations were fined for earlier incidents and the White House endorsed a call for a ten-fold increase in fines for indecency on TV. There are already indecency hearings on Capitol Hill scheduled and more being threatened.
In light of the atmosphere of fear which has been created, even a tastefully shot, full-on glimpse of a bare breast in a network primetime show inspires less academic and more fearful discussions and concerns. That context led the group executive to predict that should NBC keep the breast scene in, there could be significant defections by affiliates who won't air the show.
John Wells was unavailable for comment.
Sherman Leaves ABC to Head Up Abrams' Production Company: In the thick of development season, ABC's head of drama development Thom Sherman is leaving the network to become president of J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot Television.
More story in the link
Only days after the firestorm created when Janet Jackson exposed her breast during the Super Bowl, the possibility to air an episode of "ER" on NBC Thursday evening that includes a view of an elderly female patient's bare breast are raising serious concerns among the network's affiliates.
Some NBC affiliates are so uneasy about the prospect of that scene airing on the first night of sweeps that at least one station group executive described himself Tuesday as "considering what my options are" should NBC decide to air the hour with the exposed breast. "You're not going to find the stations very willing to take the heat," said the station group executive. "I think people are going to be backing off big-time."
NBC had no comment at presstime but is aware of the potential for some affiliates to refuse to air the episode. Senior network executives had screened the scene for members of the NBC affiliates advisory board during a Las Vegas meeting held in conjunction with NATPE in mid-January.
At the time, affiliates expressed what were described as "concerns" about the scene and whether it is, even if done in good taste, essential to the drama, but no final decision was reached. After the board discussion, some affiliates had been told that award winning "ER" executive producer John Wells was unwilling to cut the scene.
Now many affiliates are even more concerned. The post-Super Bowl climate has every station owner feeling super sensitive.
There is a pending FCC investigation of the Super Bowl incident. Last week some stations were fined for earlier incidents and the White House endorsed a call for a ten-fold increase in fines for indecency on TV. There are already indecency hearings on Capitol Hill scheduled and more being threatened.
In light of the atmosphere of fear which has been created, even a tastefully shot, full-on glimpse of a bare breast in a network primetime show inspires less academic and more fearful discussions and concerns. That context led the group executive to predict that should NBC keep the breast scene in, there could be significant defections by affiliates who won't air the show.
John Wells was unavailable for comment.
Sherman Leaves ABC to Head Up Abrams' Production Company: In the thick of development season, ABC's head of drama development Thom Sherman is leaving the network to become president of J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot Television.
More story in the link
People that think the SUperbowl hoopla was just over a breast don't get that. I have no problem with boobies on tv (though possibly with old boobies
).I think it is obvious that NBC affiliates are overreacting. Pre-superbowl, this would have hardly been worth mentioning, and no one would probably care....except those who wouldn't watch the show anyway.
02-04-04, 10:13 AM
#2
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Didn't they just show that last week when they reran the season premiere? I assume it was the season premiere since Dr. Jackass was alive and getting his fake arm put on for the first time. Right at the beginning of the episode they had an old woman completely uncovered.
02-04-04, 10:34 AM
#6
DVD Talk Limited Edition
You have got to be shitting me. Its not bad enough people made the Janet incident bigger than it should have ever been, but now its "wrong" for showing a breast in a show that is set in a hospital?
Seeing a breast isnt what tramatizes the kids, its having to listen to the BS afterwards.
02-04-04, 10:39 AM
#7
DVD Talk Legend
The "post-Super Bowl climate"???? That just goes to show that the stations have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE what people's concerns were.
The people who had an issue with the halftime show were upset because it should be a given that you can sit down with your family to watch the Super Bowl without being subjected to a bump-and-grind routine (with a guy tearing a woman's clothes off, no less).
Showing an elderly patient's chest during an exam on ER? That's going to cause exactly ZERO problems, for the 3 reasons that kvrdave indicated.
The "pack mentality" of network execs is really amazing sometimes.
The people who had an issue with the halftime show were upset because it should be a given that you can sit down with your family to watch the Super Bowl without being subjected to a bump-and-grind routine (with a guy tearing a woman's clothes off, no less).
Showing an elderly patient's chest during an exam on ER? That's going to cause exactly ZERO problems, for the 3 reasons that kvrdave indicated.
The "pack mentality" of network execs is really amazing sometimes.
02-04-04, 11:27 AM
#8
DVD Talk Legend
This pretty much sums up my feelings on this whole charade....
MITCH ALBOM: In search of Janet, I get full exposure
February 4, 2004
BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
With all the fuss over Janet Jackson's exposed breast during halftime of the Super Bowl, I figured I'd better get a second look.
But it wasn't easy.
First I went to my TV, where I had taped the game. I hit rewind, then hit play, and up came a beer commercial in which semi-naked women were slow-dancing into men.
I rewound again, then hit play, and up came a commercial showing Madonna kissing Britney Spears.
I rewound more, and up came a beer guy singing about how much he loved "TWINS!" and suddenly there were two bodacious blondes, scantily dressed and blowing kisses in my direction.
I quickly hit the fast-forward button. I saw some football, followed by gorgeous cheerleaders in low-cut outfits, a little more football, more seductive cheerleaders.
Finally, I got to the halftime show. I saw the "safe" part -- you know, the part the NFL and CBS approved -- in which Nelly, the rap singer, grabbed his crotch as if shifting gears.
I saw more of the "safe" part, in which Kid Rock draped himself in an American flag and sang a song that mentioned "hookers trickin' in Hollywood" and "homies in cell block six."
I saw more of the "safe" part, in which Justin Timberlake was behind Janet Jackson, simulating what, in a family newspaper, can only be referred to as "the nasty."
But wouldn't you know it? Just before they sang the "approved" lyrics -- "Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song" -- my tape ran out.
Striptus interruptus.
To the Internet and MTV
So I went to my backup source, the Internet.
I searched on "Janet Jackson" and "breast," but before I could get anywhere, up popped a porno ad for a girl named Janet.
Then an ad for a guy named Jackson.
I spiked those and returned to my search, but the first result was a porno site for "girls with big breasts."
So were the next 197.
This was going nowhere, so I shut off the computer and went to MTV. After all, these folks had created the halftime show. I figured they must be running replays.
Unfortunately, when I flipped on MTV, the first thing I saw was an orgy. At least it looked like an orgy, it was hard to tell, because each camera shot lasted only three-tenths of a second. There were mostly naked men and women, making love, reaching for unmentionables, and generally getting hot and steamy to a hip-hop beat.
I waited for that video to finish.
The next was pretty much the same.
Four hours later, having seen enough bumping, grinding, tight jeans, brassieres, sultry necks, pouty lips and lower back tattoos to last a lifetime, I concluded MTV was not going to replay the Janet thing.
I looked at my watch and realized it was 8:30 p.m. -- about the time the controversial incident with Janet and Justin took place. Many had complained that this was "family hour" and their kids, at that time, should never be exposed to such raunchy filth as a naked breast.
So, out of curiosity, I flipped through the channel guide to see what else was on at that East Coast hour during school nights (which the Super Bowl was). The offerings included:
"The Bachelorette," in which a sexy girl chooses from sexy strangers. "The Apprentice," in which sexy yuppies try to backstab their way to a job. And "Friends," in which six sexy stars deal with issues, mostly sex.
But enough TV.
I went to buy a newspaper.
Some heavy reading to cover
At the newsstand, I noticed the magazines. There was Maxim, with a topless Michelle Branch on the cover, and Stuff magazine, with Carmen Electra in a tiny pink bikini on the cover, and FHM magazine, with a completely naked woman covered only in body paint on the cover, alongside an article titled "The Sexy Girls of the Winter X Games."
I saw women's magazines with slim, seductive bodies, and articles about "better sex" and "longer sex" and "longer, better sex."
There was even an ad promising the next Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, due any day now.
And these were the magazines that weren't hidden in brown wrapping.
Alas, when I finally got a newspaper, there were no photos of Janet's moment of exposure.
What's a guy to do? I walked back past the magazines about sex, drove home while listening to a radio show about sex, shut off the TV show about sex, shut down my computer screen about sex, and put away the CDs about sex.
Then the fax machine rang. A note from a friend, saying, "Did you see this?"
And out came a picture of Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl, one breast exposed.
How disgusting!
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or [email protected]. Catch "The Mitch Albom Show" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760).
MITCH ALBOM: In search of Janet, I get full exposure
February 4, 2004
BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
With all the fuss over Janet Jackson's exposed breast during halftime of the Super Bowl, I figured I'd better get a second look.
But it wasn't easy.
First I went to my TV, where I had taped the game. I hit rewind, then hit play, and up came a beer commercial in which semi-naked women were slow-dancing into men.
I rewound again, then hit play, and up came a commercial showing Madonna kissing Britney Spears.
I rewound more, and up came a beer guy singing about how much he loved "TWINS!" and suddenly there were two bodacious blondes, scantily dressed and blowing kisses in my direction.
I quickly hit the fast-forward button. I saw some football, followed by gorgeous cheerleaders in low-cut outfits, a little more football, more seductive cheerleaders.
Finally, I got to the halftime show. I saw the "safe" part -- you know, the part the NFL and CBS approved -- in which Nelly, the rap singer, grabbed his crotch as if shifting gears.
I saw more of the "safe" part, in which Kid Rock draped himself in an American flag and sang a song that mentioned "hookers trickin' in Hollywood" and "homies in cell block six."
I saw more of the "safe" part, in which Justin Timberlake was behind Janet Jackson, simulating what, in a family newspaper, can only be referred to as "the nasty."
But wouldn't you know it? Just before they sang the "approved" lyrics -- "Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song" -- my tape ran out.
Striptus interruptus.
To the Internet and MTV
So I went to my backup source, the Internet.
I searched on "Janet Jackson" and "breast," but before I could get anywhere, up popped a porno ad for a girl named Janet.
Then an ad for a guy named Jackson.
I spiked those and returned to my search, but the first result was a porno site for "girls with big breasts."
So were the next 197.
This was going nowhere, so I shut off the computer and went to MTV. After all, these folks had created the halftime show. I figured they must be running replays.
Unfortunately, when I flipped on MTV, the first thing I saw was an orgy. At least it looked like an orgy, it was hard to tell, because each camera shot lasted only three-tenths of a second. There were mostly naked men and women, making love, reaching for unmentionables, and generally getting hot and steamy to a hip-hop beat.
I waited for that video to finish.
The next was pretty much the same.
Four hours later, having seen enough bumping, grinding, tight jeans, brassieres, sultry necks, pouty lips and lower back tattoos to last a lifetime, I concluded MTV was not going to replay the Janet thing.
I looked at my watch and realized it was 8:30 p.m. -- about the time the controversial incident with Janet and Justin took place. Many had complained that this was "family hour" and their kids, at that time, should never be exposed to such raunchy filth as a naked breast.
So, out of curiosity, I flipped through the channel guide to see what else was on at that East Coast hour during school nights (which the Super Bowl was). The offerings included:
"The Bachelorette," in which a sexy girl chooses from sexy strangers. "The Apprentice," in which sexy yuppies try to backstab their way to a job. And "Friends," in which six sexy stars deal with issues, mostly sex.
But enough TV.
I went to buy a newspaper.
Some heavy reading to cover
At the newsstand, I noticed the magazines. There was Maxim, with a topless Michelle Branch on the cover, and Stuff magazine, with Carmen Electra in a tiny pink bikini on the cover, and FHM magazine, with a completely naked woman covered only in body paint on the cover, alongside an article titled "The Sexy Girls of the Winter X Games."
I saw women's magazines with slim, seductive bodies, and articles about "better sex" and "longer sex" and "longer, better sex."
There was even an ad promising the next Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, due any day now.
And these were the magazines that weren't hidden in brown wrapping.
Alas, when I finally got a newspaper, there were no photos of Janet's moment of exposure.
What's a guy to do? I walked back past the magazines about sex, drove home while listening to a radio show about sex, shut off the TV show about sex, shut down my computer screen about sex, and put away the CDs about sex.
Then the fax machine rang. A note from a friend, saying, "Did you see this?"
And out came a picture of Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl, one breast exposed.
How disgusting!
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or [email protected]. Catch "The Mitch Albom Show" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760).
02-04-04, 11:55 AM
#9
DVD Talk Hero
Originally posted by brizz
This pretty much sums up my feelings on this whole charade....
This pretty much sums up my feelings on this whole charade....
Kvrdave, I actually think most people ARE upset about seeing the boob. Not the "simulated sexual assault." Not the song lyrics. Just the boob.
So I can understand NBC's nervousness.
However, I've already seen "dead" boob on the original CSI during an autopsy. At least two years ago too.
02-04-04, 12:28 PM
#12
DVD Talk Hero
Originally posted by kvrdave
Sorry.
Sorry.
Apparently that wasn't an issue
02-04-04, 12:37 PM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
I still don't really get the logic of the "boobs are bad nudity" thing. It's okay for a guy to go without a shirt, even if he has "man boobs". But a woman, even a flat chested one, has no shirt on and it's 'inappropriate'. How did this ever come to be? If anything, a woman has more reason to expose her nipples, seeing as they actually have a function (feeding infants) as opposed to men's.
Despite this, most women I meet would rather bow down to this sexist suppression of their freedoms than liberate their boobies from their cloth prisons. Sigh.
Despite this, most women I meet would rather bow down to this sexist suppression of their freedoms than liberate their boobies from their cloth prisons. Sigh.
02-04-04, 01:12 PM
#15
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
So nobody saw the rerun last week, or was I just imagining the unconsious granny on the gurney? A relative told them to cover her up because she wouldn't want to be naked.
02-04-04, 02:07 PM
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I was pretty shocked 10 years ago when Chicago Hope showed bare breasts and nobody said anything. I think a lady who had breast cancer had plastic surgery on her breasts and they showed them afterwards and I don't think there were even any scars. And yet when they said shit on CH, it was a huge deal.
02-04-04, 02:30 PM
#19
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Originally posted by nny
I was pretty shocked 10 years ago when Chicago Hope showed bare breasts and nobody said anything. I think a lady who had breast cancer had plastic surgery on her breasts and they showed them afterwards and I don't think there were even any scars. And yet when they said shit on CH, it was a huge deal.
I was pretty shocked 10 years ago when Chicago Hope showed bare breasts and nobody said anything. I think a lady who had breast cancer had plastic surgery on her breasts and they showed them afterwards and I don't think there were even any scars. And yet when they said shit on CH, it was a huge deal.
02-04-04, 02:42 PM
#20
DVD Talk Hero
Originally posted by majorjoe23
I could be wrong, but I think the boobs shown on Chicago Hope belonged to a 16 year old girl.
I could be wrong, but I think the boobs shown on Chicago Hope belonged to a 16 year old girl.
02-04-04, 03:56 PM
#21
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Originally posted by Dave Scarpa
Amazing that America is outraged over a bare boob. But Thousands die in Iraq including Hundreds of Soldiers and I don't see the same amount of Outrage. Nice Priorities America
Amazing that America is outraged over a bare boob. But Thousands die in Iraq including Hundreds of Soldiers and I don't see the same amount of Outrage. Nice Priorities America
02-05-04, 02:13 AM
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That Mitch guy is not a very good reporter I must say. First of all, he was using a VCR...get a TIVO man! And who tapes the Superbowl with a tape that doesn't even make it past halftime. 
Within minutes of seeing the lonely boob, I saw it on about 20 - 30 websites and it was platered on all the news stations, with nonstop boobage report. It all feels like an episode of Southpark. The outrage is much worse than the actual incident.
rant
Who cares if it was planned or not. It was on screen for 1 or 2 seconds, tell your kids it's called a breast, everybody's got them. Some pay for 'em others don't. Nobody mentions the streaker that somehow got to centerfield and did the Riverdance out there. Is that guy gonna get investigated by the FCC, clearly he planned that stunt...what if he had some bomb strapped to his body or a gun to shoot the players. So much for all the beefed up "homeland" security these days.
/rant
Oh well at least we got to see a boob on live TV!
Timmio
Within minutes of seeing the lonely boob, I saw it on about 20 - 30 websites and it was platered on all the news stations, with nonstop boobage report. It all feels like an episode of Southpark. The outrage is much worse than the actual incident.
rant
Who cares if it was planned or not. It was on screen for 1 or 2 seconds, tell your kids it's called a breast, everybody's got them. Some pay for 'em others don't. Nobody mentions the streaker that somehow got to centerfield and did the Riverdance out there. Is that guy gonna get investigated by the FCC, clearly he planned that stunt...what if he had some bomb strapped to his body or a gun to shoot the players. So much for all the beefed up "homeland" security these days.
/rant
Oh well at least we got to see a boob on live TV!
Timmio
02-05-04, 06:43 AM
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Didn't ER show a bare boob way back in like 1995?
My wife and I both swear there was a scene showing Hathaway and Tag in post-coitus, arguing over Doug. Tag sat up in bed with Hathaway lying next to him, and the shot was looking down her body. You could clearly see in the background Hathaway's chest, including one boob with the nipple. Then Tag got up and walked bare-assed out of the room.
That cutting-edge, truly adult drama is what made us fans until a couple years ago when it started to get too soap opera-ish.
Anybody else remember that? I guess the S2 DVD will answer it definitively.
My wife and I both swear there was a scene showing Hathaway and Tag in post-coitus, arguing over Doug. Tag sat up in bed with Hathaway lying next to him, and the shot was looking down her body. You could clearly see in the background Hathaway's chest, including one boob with the nipple. Then Tag got up and walked bare-assed out of the room.
That cutting-edge, truly adult drama is what made us fans until a couple years ago when it started to get too soap opera-ish.
Anybody else remember that? I guess the S2 DVD will answer it definitively.
02-05-04, 06:57 AM
#25
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Originally posted by Trigger
ER could show a naked vagina and I still wouldn't tune in.
ER could show a naked vagina and I still wouldn't tune in.