I’ve also seen “Schindler’s List” and the documentary “9/11” on network TV, uncensored.
C-SPAN 2’s “About Books” does not censor either; a few seconds before someone uses profanity on a recorded show, a message pops up that says “This program includes language which may be offensive to some viewers” or words to that effect.
“Goddamn” came in during the 1980s with LA Law.
I imagine we’re probably about 18 days away from the putative POTUS dropping an F-bomb or two in the State of the Union Address. That should tear down all standards of language once and for all.
If I remember right (maybe not about the exact showings you’re thinking of, but still), the networks said something to effect of, “Yeah, these shows have swearing, but we feel the subject matter is important enough to warrant including it. You can’t show a realistic Normandy invasion with soldiers saying, ‘Gosh darn it, I got shot. I’m gonna get them no-good, rotten Germans!’”
Right. “Breaking Bad” had “fuck” bleeped (well silenced, there was no bleep noise) when it first aired on AMC. The Netflix version is unedited. I am not sure if any of the recent marathon showings on AMC were still bleeped or not.
Does anybody else remember it being newsworthy when some prime-time sitcom was going to have an episode where somebody says the word “Shit” and that the plot was going to revolve around it, but apparently in the actual episode it’s some random guy who says “Shit happens” at the very end of the episode?
Jefferson Airplane let a “fuck” and a “motherfucker” fly on the Dick Cavett Show, which was on ABC, on, August 19, 1969.
F-Bomb (the full verse here is “In order to survive we steal, cheat, lie, forge, fuck, hide and deal”)
MF-Bomb.
One I distinctly remember was Dr. Greene saying “shit” on E.R. back in 2002.
I also remember when the “JFK” movie was shown on network TV, and a very foul-mouthed character had the word “frig” spliced in. :dubious: Um, hello, that word means exactly the same thing.
Any fans of “The Shield” (the FX cop series from around 2002 - 2008)? Seems like they pushed the envelope on there pretty well; not sure if that ever crossed over into “F Bomb” territory though.
Chicago Hope apparently
I was thinking it was NYPD Blue
Me too, via South Parks obvious NYPD Blue reference, “Cop Drama.”
But while Googling for NYPD Blue I found the literal line here:
http://www.southparkwillie.com/Season5/E502secrets.htm
The South Park episode’s usage is similarly mundane. “You’ve got some shit on the side of your mouth right there.”
About 2 minutes ago somebody (accidentally, I assume?) just dropped a f-bomb on SNL.
And here’s the clip.
I heard that too!
And now they’ve said “shithole” twice on Weekend Update. This is possibly the most “bad words” in a SNL episode not hosted by Richard Pryor.
Blocked by NBC/Universal on copyright grounds. I had to use a VPN to see it.
Context does matter. I remember about 20 years ago Shindler’s List was broadcast completely uncut, all pubes, dongs, boobs, head shots, and corpses clearly visible. But I don’t recall hearing any complaints about it, either. The reasoning was obvious.
It was so appropriate in the context I don’t see why anyone would complain.
And now it’s been removed by the uploader, so it’s gone.
Not so obvious for some. At the time, Republican Rep. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said the airing “should outrage parents and decent-minded individuals everywhere” and “I cringe when I realize that there were children all across this nation watching this program. They were exposed to the violence of multiple gunshot head wounds, vile language, full frontal nudity and irresponsible sexual activity.”
During his next day “apology,” he blamed the media for taking his comments out of context.