Parents Television Council: "Everwood" is worst TV show
Daniel Damouth
worst show ever, but as of this year, the PTC is officially insane,
having declared "Everwood" the worst show of 2003-2004:
"With its Norman Rockwell-style opening and small town sensibility,
Everwood gives every appearance of being a family drama, but it's
nothing of the kind. It centers on the family of Andrew Brown, a
successful New York brain surgeon who moves his teenage son Ephram
and eight-year-old daughter Delia to Everwood, Colorado after the
death of his wife.
What makes Everwood problematic is the careless and irresponsible
treatment of sexual issues – especially when the teenaged characters
are involved. In one story arc from this season, high schooler
Ephram fell in love with his little sister's college-aged baby-
sitter. The two eventually sleep together, and in the season's final
episode, she reveals to Dr. Brown that she is pregnant with Ephram's
child. Rather than have Ephram face up to his responsibility -- to
learn the serious consequences of his decision to become sexually
active -- Dr. Brown instead gives the woman money and sends her away
and makes her promise not to tell Ephram about the baby. In another
episode, Amy Abbott, the teenaged daughter of Dr. Brown's competitor
Harold Abbott goes to Dr. Brown for some birth control. Dr. Brown
gives it to her without ever informing Dr. Abbott of what he did.
Such content might be more excusable in a series that was intended
for and marketed to adult audiences, but Everwood's reckless messages
about sex without consequences are expressly targeted to
impressionable teens."
So, it's a drama about a family, but it's not a family drama! It's
"nothing of the kind".
I wonder if they will publish a correction when the consequences of
Madison's pregnancy and coverup come back to bite the Brown family.
It's also interesting that they advocate violation of doctor-patient
confidentiality. Amy knew she could have gone to Denver to get the
birth control prescription, but she went to Andy because she trusted
him, and he was worthy of her trust.
Also, as it turns out, Amy is still a virgin!
This is the worst show the PTC could find on TV?!?
The full list is at
http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/publications/reports/top10bestandworst'
I guess it's interesting that the #1 best and #1 worst shows are both
among the few I watch religiously.
-Dan Damouth
Daniel Damouth
news:Xns9576758ED44E...@66.75.162.198:
> I could at least sort of understand when the PTC chose "Buffy" as
> the worst show ever, but as of this year, the PTC is officially
> insane, having declared "Everwood" the worst show of 2003-2004:
Clarification: the PTC declared it to be the worst primetime show on the "seven major
broadcast networks". (Of course, the mystery seventh major broadcast network is...
Pax).
-Dan Damouth
David
wrote:
>I could at least sort of understand when the PTC chose "Buffy" as the
>worst show ever, but as of this year, the PTC is officially insane,
>having declared "Everwood" the worst show of 2003-2004:
The funniest thing is PTC originally came out in support of "Father of
the Pride," I guess before ever seeing an episode. So that should tell
you how much credibility they have.
CA was in NJ
>I could at least sort of understand when the PTC chose "Buffy" as the
>worst show ever, but as of this year, the PTC is officially insane,
>having declared "Everwood" the worst show of 2003-2004:
At least, unlike that nutcase Peggy Charin and ACT, they don't appear to be
advocating legislation. Or are they just not forthcoming about that?
Nonymous
Jorabi
"Daniel Damouth" wrote:
>
>> I could at least sort of understand when the PTC chose "Buffy" as
>> the worst show ever, but as of this year, the PTC is officially
>> insane, having declared "Everwood" the worst show of 2003-2004:
>
> Clarification: the PTC declared it to be the worst primetime show
> on the "seven major broadcast networks". (Of course, the mystery
> seventh major broadcast network is ... Pax).
I get seven networks without counting Pax: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, WB,
UPN, PBS.
Phil from Chicago
>worst show ever, but as of this year, the PTC is officially insane,
>having declared "Everwood" the worst show of 2003-2004:
let's remember kids this is an extremeist right wing organization run by some
suit who doesn't even do his job right since he ignores cable television's
issues and thinks he can do a better job of policing the airwaves than the FCC
>"With its Norman Rockwell-style opening and small town sensibility,
>Everwood gives every appearance of being a family drama, but it's
>nothing of the kind.
has anybody over there actually seen the show as it's meant to be or is just
writing down a list of nitpicks ala Marge Simpson watching Itchy and Scratchy?
>It centers on the family of Andrew Brown, a
>successful New York brain surgeon who moves his teenage son Ephram
>and eight-year-old daughter Delia to Everwood, Colorado after the
>death of his wife.
okay they've got the gist of it.....
>What makes Everwood problematic is the careless and irresponsible
>treatment of sexual issues – especially when the teenaged characters
>are involved.
if they were careless they wouldn't bring up the issues at all
>In one story arc from this season, high schooler
>Ephram fell in love with his little sister's college-aged baby-
>sitter. The two eventually sleep together, and in the season's final
>episode, she reveals to Dr. Brown that she is pregnant with Ephram's
>child.
irresponsible...absolutely
>Rather than have Ephram face up to his responsibility -- to
>learn the serious consequences of his decision to become sexually
>active -- Dr. Brown instead gives the woman money and sends her away
>and makes her promise not to tell Ephram about the baby.
yes I agree this is a rather ridiculous storyline but in no way shape or form
does it make it the worst show on television this year. How about Fear Factor
which NBC calls family entertainment? What about the shows that make women
look stupid like The Bachelor or Top Model? Has anybody over at PTC even seen
The Simple Life? There are plenty of other bad sitcoms and dramas too but I
don't see how Everwood is the worst show on TV I just don't
Yu-Gi-Oh card of the week: Contract of Mask this card which is in the game
"The Sacred Cards" offers Mask of Shine and Darkness if a mask of darkness and
2 other monsters are sacrificed
Tony Calguire
>
>
> What makes Everwood problematic is the careless and irresponsible
> treatment of sexual issues – especially when the teenaged characters
> are involved. In one story arc from this season, high schooler
> Ephram fell in love with his little sister's college-aged baby-
> sitter. The two eventually sleep together, and in the season's final
> episode, she reveals to Dr. Brown that she is pregnant with Ephram's
> child. Rather than have Ephram face up to his responsibility -- to
> learn the serious consequences of his decision to become sexually
> active -- Dr. Brown instead gives the woman money and sends her away
> and makes her promise not to tell Ephram about the baby.
Careless and irresponsible? Hardly. I think the word they're looking
for is "frank". Issues of "care" and "responsibility" are quite a bit
more complex, and Everwood is rolling them out slowly as the series
progresses. Not fast enough for the PTC, I suppose, but grown-ups and
teenagers can handle complex storylines.
Does anyone really think that Madison's pregnancy and Dr. Brown's secret
aren't going to hit the fan in a major, major way as this season
unfolds? Of course it is. And it is going to shape Andy and Ephram's
relationship forever. That's how real life works.
Interestingly, PTC continues to choose Seventh Heaven as one of it's
favorite programs. This is a program with a toxic sense of moral
direction, in which the paranoid, busybody parents interfere constantly
in the adult lives of their children, and all adult women are portrayed
as chasing after men in an attempt to get married at all costs. They
even had an episode in which two children were chastised and punished
for writing a history paper which dared to look at the historical record
in a different way. The children certainly learned their lesson-- it is
better to write sentimental, feel-good stories about historical figures
than to stir up the pot by uncovering negative things about them.
Jeff nor Lisa
> So, it's a drama about a family, but it's not a family drama! It's
> "nothing of the kind".
While I don't think too much of such "councils", they do raise
some points.
The show is not a "family drama" using the generally accepted
definition of the phrase as applied to TV shows. Like it or not,
"family" has come to mean ok for kids to watch while "adult" means
porn.
> I wonder if they will publish a correction when the consequences of
> Madison's pregnancy and coverup come back to bite the Brown family.
The "bite" is dependent on the actress's luck with her new show
and the progress of the existing show. It's very possible we're
nothing more of this ever again. Or, it may turn out to be a major
disaster. Since the actress has left the show, I suspect it will
be dropped.
Many teenage/young adult pregancies/romances are handled exactly
in this way, where the girl is given money to go away. In this
particular case, Madison and Ephram had broken up and Madison was
not interested in resuming the relationship. As such, she'd have
less motivation to see Ephram. Further, at this time Ephram as a
kid is not in any position to assist Madison financially or
emotionally (though he might disagree). Lastly, Madison may risk
prosecution for underaged sex as she feared while dating Emphram.
All in all in this case, Dr. Brown's offer wasn't a bad deal
for Madison. Plenty of girls pregnant by a teenaged boy who is
not their boyfriend end up with nothing at all.
> It's also interesting that they advocate violation of doctor-patient
> confidentiality.
The law provides for many exceptions of doctor-patient confidentially,
indeed, mandates a doctor report something to the govt and/or parents
of a minor. In my own state, there was a controversy over a doctor
who reported his patient's drinking problem to the state which took
away the patient's driver's license, even though DWI wasn't an issue.
Anyway, the laws are complex on how old a kid may be to get medical
treatment without parental consent. I'm not sure if a 16 y/o can
get birth control bills without telling her parents. If so, is
there a legal minimum age? This is a very controversial issue.
> Also, as it turns out, Amy is still a virgin!
I would've presumed Amy and Ephram would've hooked up while
she was staying with him--essentially unsupervised--while in NYC.
> This is the worst show the PTC could find on TV?!?
I wonder what they'll have to say about Veronica Mars.
IAPW
Daniel Damouth <dam...@san.rr.com> wrote:
>hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com (Jeff nor Lisa) wrote in
>news:de64863b.04100...@posting.google.com:
>
>> Daniel Damouth <dam...@san.rr.com> wrote
>>
>> I would've presumed Amy and Ephram would've hooked up while
>> she was staying with him--essentially unsupervised--while in NYC.
>
>conversation that revealed she's still a virgin, but I confess I
>can't cite it.
Look at all those kids who rent hotel rooms on prom nights. Just because
they have a room together doesn't mean they "hook up", right? Right???
--
"Yet, like a Hilary Duff toiling in the shadows of a Lindsay Lohan, the
pursuit of science on Mars proceeds apace."
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2004/07/18/nation_world/news02.txt
David
wrote:
>In article <Xns9578A8B00C26...@66.75.162.196>,
>Daniel Damouth <dam...@san.rr.com> wrote:
>>hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com (Jeff nor Lisa) wrote in
>>news:de64863b.04100...@posting.google.com:
>>
>>> Daniel Damouth <dam...@san.rr.com> wrote
>>>> Also, as it turns out, Amy is still a virgin!
>>>
>>> I would've presumed Amy and Ephram would've hooked up while
>>> she was staying with him--essentially unsupervised--while in NYC.
>>
>>Hmm, I don't think they've done it yet, and I thought they had had a
>>conversation that revealed she's still a virgin, but I confess I
>>can't cite it.
>
>Look at all those kids who rent hotel rooms on prom nights. Just because
>they have a room together doesn't mean they "hook up", right? Right???
Maybe their TVs at home don't get HBO
Tim McDaniel
Daniel Damouth <dam...@san.rr.com> wrote:
>[PTC:] "What makes Everwood problematic is the careless and
>irresponsible treatment of sexual issues ..."
Spoilers for the Oct 4 episode of Everwood ...
One major point made by Dr. Brown was how important a two-parent home
is, not just for the children, but for the adults.
At the end, there's The Talk (number 1 of N), where Dr. Brown
carefully explains that the "foot massager" is a topic that Lil' Girl
just isn't ready for.
--
Tim McDaniel; Reply-To: tm...@panix.com