# If "R" rated language had ALWAYS been acceptable on TV... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615 "2018-09-20T04:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/41 "2018-09-20T15:37:24Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_ is on cable. There’s no FCC oversight of language, so they can get away things they can’t on broadcast TV. I know. And while there are a half-dozen “shits” every episode, I feel like they’re holding back. I know a lot of people from Philly and those people _love_ to fucking swear. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/42 "2018-09-20T16:07:04Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fucking fly. And Dr. Johnny Fever would have got fired for saying more than booger on the air. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/43 "2018-09-20T16:20:26Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Ricky Ricardo would have had to chastize Fred Mertz for salty language in front of the ladies, but Ethyl would rejoin, “Oh, screw that, Ricky!” Oh, you’re wrong. Ricky, putting up with Lucy, would searing up a storm but it would all be in Spanish. THAT would be an education. He lost his English all the time in the first place. Imagine if he cut loose in Cubano Spanish? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/44 "2018-09-20T16:25:30Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > Interesting thought. If “R rated” language were always acceptable, I think shows would have been more realistic in terms of the dialogue. > To wit: > > - Most of the cast in westerns (think Calamity Jane and Sweringen in “Deadwood”) I’m not sure how realistic modern swearing would be - I know swearing has gone through some changes over the centuries, and what they actually considered course language in the real 1800s might seem silly to us today. I know in older times ‘shit’ and ‘fuck’ were not all that bad, and ‘oh my God’, ‘goddamnit’, and ‘hell’ were at the top of the ladder, but I think that was further back than old west. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/45 "2018-09-20T16:34:06Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > I’ll bet Col. Potter would let fly from time to time. Horse hockey! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/46 "2018-09-20T16:53:43Z")
> [@Mr.Greenjeans](#): > > Horse hockey! Meadow muffins! ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/47 "2018-09-20T16:56:55Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I know. And while there are a half-dozen “shits” every episode, I feel like they’re holding back. I know a lot of people from Philly and those people _love_ to fucking swear. They’re fucking swearing a fucking fuckload of fucks in the current season. BTW, there’s a new fucking season, Jabronis. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/48 "2018-09-20T17:06:36Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I’m not sure how realistic modern swearing would be - I know swearing has gone through some changes over the centuries, and what they actually considered course language in the real 1800s might seem silly to us today. I know in older times ‘shit’ and ‘fuck’ were not all that bad, and ‘oh my God’, ‘goddamnit’, and ‘hell’ were at the top of the ladder, but I think that was further back than old west. In Deadwood they deliberately changed the swearing to modern cocksucking-style swears, rather than the blasphemy-oriented swears that were common at the time. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/49 "2018-09-20T17:57:37Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > Interesting thought. If “R rated” language were always acceptable, I think shows would have been more realistic in terms of the dialogue. > To wit: > > - Most of the cast in westerns (think Calamity Jane and Sweringen in “Deadwood”) > - Well, no. Most old western swearing was profanities- taking the Lord’s name in vain. Gol durn it, goddamn, go to hell, etc: > **[Old West cuss words](http://buddiesinthesaddle.blogspot.com/2013/08/old-west-cuss-words.html)** > > We don't really know much about strong language on the frontier. That there was plenty of cussing is attested to by all the refe... Certainly Fuck, Shit and Cocksucker are old, but apparently they just weren’t that common in the old west. Yosemite Sam isnt far off the mark. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/50 "2018-09-20T18:06:57Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > When Bones would say to Spock, “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?” I always thought it sounded like a substitute for, “Are you out of your fucking mind?” I just re-watched that episode, and thought it was hilarious. I’m sure it was deliberate (especially [the way McCoy said it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_5cmdQX5Sk)), and surprised they got away with it. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/51 "2018-09-20T18:22:28Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I just re-watched that episode, and thought it was hilarious. I’m sure it was deliberate (especially [the way McCoy said it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_5cmdQX5Sk)), and surprised they got away with it. McCoy also said the same thing to Spock in Star Trek II: TWOK near the end when he attempted to prevent Spock from entering the radiation-filled chamber. And Karl Urban’s Bones said it to Zachary Quinto’s Spock in the first Star Trek reboot movie. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/52 "2018-09-21T01:03:57Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > What’s a Belker? I’m familiar with the character. But I was thinking of one particular episode where Frank is talking to a crime victim family and says: “Our Belker will take care of you.” And the father says: “What’s a Belker?” Cue Belker who steps forward and says: “I’m a Belker, dogbreath.” ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/53 "2018-09-21T01:13:56Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I’m familiar with the character. But I was thinking of one particular episode where Frank is talking to a crime victim family and says: “Our Belker will take care of you.” And the father says: “What’s a Belker?” Cue Belker who steps forward and says: “I’m a Belker, dogbreath.” Oh, you’ve got a good memory to remember actual scenes. I’ve got the dvd set, but I haven’t watched much yet. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/54 "2018-09-21T01:40:03Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Funny that’s also exactly what I thought of when I saw that post. > > “Jaguar — For men who’d like hand jobs from beautiful women they hardly know.” > > 😃 Crazy People is one of my favorite movies! “Sony. Because Caucasians are too damn tall!” My first thought was Ralph Cramden (along with Fred Flinstone, naturally). But you also know Dan Fielding would drop F-bombs all the time, and his story telling would be so very crude. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/55 "2018-09-21T13:02:27Z")
Al Bundy The whole cast of Roseanne Carrie Hefferman and Arthur Spooner ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/56 "2018-09-22T14:14:45Z")
The whole Law & Order franchise would have a field day. Image Munch and Finn’s every day conversations. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/57 "2018-09-22T17:14:34Z")
I think Sergeant Carter would have let loose after one of Gomer’s idiocies on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. But I’m trying to imagine who would be swearing on The Andy Griffith Show. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/58 "2018-09-22T17:22:32Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Homer Simpson would probably have a lot of non-censored swearing, even around Bart and Lisa. Hell, there was even an episode about his potty mouth. The Simpsons is a current show. mmm ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/59 "2018-09-22T18:43:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think Sergeant Carter would have let loose after one of Gomer’s idiocies on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. But I’m trying to imagine who would be swearing on The Andy Griffith Show. Aunt Bea and Barney, of course. Oh yeah, Otis. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615/60 "2018-09-22T18:48:33Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Aunt Bea and Barney, of course. > > Oh yeah, Otis. Nah, the only one who would be swearing on that show would be Opie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-r-rated-language-had-always-been-acceptable-on-tv/821615.md?page=4)