Study Finds Family TV Hour Sexier And Deadlier Than Ever
"Family hour"—the sacred block of TV programming between 8 and 9 p.m. that for generations has given parents a handy tool for avoiding direct and awkward communication with their children—has been found to contain higher incidents of sex, violence, and cursing than ever before, a study conducted by the Parents Television Council has found. From the Reuters report:
"In the past six years, the family hour has become even more hostile to children and families," the Parents Television Council said. [...]
The group tagged the Fox network as the "worst offender," saying it counted 20.78 instances of violent, sexual or profane content per hour. And it singled out Fox's American Dad as the most objectionable, with 52 instances per hour.
Parents Television Council said CW was the "cleanest" network overall, with 9.44 instances of objectionable content per hour. It said the only shows with no objectionable content were game shows and reality shows, such as NBC's Deal or No Deal.
Fox's 20.78 instances per hour (the .78 came from a Prison Break episode in which the camera tastefully tilted away moments before a dining hall gang rape) are utterly inexcusable. We can only hope they take a cue from classier networks such as The CW and NBC, who use the 8 p.m. slot for more responsible fare—family-friendly programs such as American's Next Top Model and Deal or No Deal, which manage to entertain audience members of all ages, while inspiring girls to aim higher by pursuing careers as human mannequins who pose for hours on end with hungry alligators and aluminum attaché cases.
