Is the racy television show "Gossip Girl" getting too hot for its medium and target audience?  According to an AP article in today's Netscape News:

Airing the teen tryst, which is being teased in an ad as a ``3SOME,'' is ``reckless and irresponsible,'' said PTC president Tim Winter in a statement Wednesday. The threesome involves three main characters in the show but they are not identified in the promos.
   See this link for more.

The CW Network countered by saying the show isn't actually targeted at teenagers. According to the network, the target audience has a midrange of 27-year-olds.  In response, the PTC says such an assertion "doesn't pass the laugh test."

The PTC, founded by conservative activist Brent Bozell III,  has condemned episodes of shows such as "Family Guy," "American Dad," "NYPD Blues" and the Super Bowl Halftime Show. It has claimed a major role in increasing FTC fines on broadcasters over the past decade.

Do you think that groups such as the Parents Television Council represent the average American?  Or do they serve only a particular demographic?

Do such unofficial "watchdogs" serve a useful purpose in dealing with extremes in the popular culture?

How do you determine when a television show has gone "too far?"  When one does, do you complain -- or just switch channels?

Tell us what you think!

I've never seen the show, myself.  But I'll own that I've always found it inappropriate to try to get shows off the air just because they don't fit my taste--for myself or my children.  I'm a firm believer in changing the channel, and leaving the stuff I don't like for the people who do like it. 

It does seem to me that some groups --and the PTC is one such-- are far too quick to demand fines on things that just aren't predictable, such as Bono's and Pete Townsend's "dropping the f-bomb" in live appearances. 

First of all, the whole system of morality and sexuality in this country is broken. The more certain groups protest and scream about sexuality, the more taboo they make it, and the more people want it!!! This country has the most extreme divisions about sexuality of any developed western nation. We are also the most hypocritical when it comes to sex. No one is supposed to enjoy sex yet everyone does it. Why? And why pretend it doesn't exist or that we are not sexual beings?

I think it's time for the people of this country to stand up to the control freaks and the religious fanatics and the hypocrits! Look at all the politicians preaching one thing and getting caught with their you-know-whats in the cookie jar!!!

I'm convinced that if we face up to our sexuality and embrace it, we wouldn't be so pre-occupied with it and we'd have a lot better lives.
Make love not war and Pass the Vaseline! (as they used to say in the 70's)

First of all, the whole system of morality and sexuality in this country is broken. The more certain groups protest and scream about sexuality, the more taboo they make it, and the more people want it!!!

Y'know, I've seen that argument since I was a teenager in the 'sixties, and, with all due respect, I don't buy it.  Much, much less is taboo now, and I haven't noticed any diminishment in "wanting."  Rather the reverse, actually.

I think it's time for the people of this country to stand up to the control freaks and the religious fanatics and the hypocrits!

But haven't we done just that?  In my youth, the dreaded "f-bomb" rarely appeared even in books for adults, let alone commonly.  Comics were strictly regulated by the "Comics Code Authority,' whereas today they're mostly marketed toward young adults and older.  Movies and television were far more restrictive.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing, mind you.  But the idea that we're being bound in on all sides just isn't convincing to me.

The PTC just guaranteed the CW big ratings for next Monday nights airing of Gossip Girl.

True, but they may have guaranteed themselves some PR in the process.  And there have been instances where reports like this have had influence -- particularly when they target children's shows.  I still remember when Rev. Wildmon's "American Family Association" smeared "Mighty Mouse" with a completely bogus claim that Mighty Mouse was snorting cocaine. The show was driven off the air.  Wildmon, of course, is the guy who claimed Jews in Hollywood have a deliberate anti-Christian agenda.

With all the shooting, killing and fist fights, I'll bet that most parents today that use that blocking feature would never get the Cisco Kid on their home TV's because of ratings. Limited sex on TV is OK, but Cisco and Pancho would probably be a no no. Times are a changing!

That's for sure and at times I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing.