# Words and situations they once could say on TV but can't (or won't) anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086 "2011-03-17T23:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/41 "2011-03-18T16:39:51Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > There’s more prejudice against cigarette smoking A friend of mine mentioned that a movie she considered taking her kids to was rated PG-13 for scenes of cigarette smoking. I laughed at her, but she insists she is correct. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/42 "2011-03-18T16:55:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > A friend of mine mentioned that a movie she considered taking her kids to was rated PG-13 for scenes of cigarette smoking. I laughed at her, but she insists she is correct. You don’t know the half of it. The busybodies are campaigning to have smoking be the basis for an automatic **R** rating. [http://www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/solution/r\_rating.html](http://www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/solution/r_rating.html) ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/43 "2011-03-18T19:34:48Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > And _North by Northwest_ has as scene in the beginning where the bad guys force Cary Grant at gunpoint to get absolutely shitfaced, then pour him into a car and set him off down a winding mountain road. After running several other cars off the road and nearly killing himself, he’s arrested… and let go the next morning after paying off a $30 ticket, with no other repercussions. Nitpick: It was a two dollar ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/44 "2011-03-18T20:20:35Z")
A lot of the nudity (PBS, The Simpsons, NYPD Blue) stopped cold after the Janet Jackson superbowl kerfluffle. That was soon followed by NYPD getting slapped with a $1.4 million dollar [fine](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/25/AR2008012503137.html) for displaying “full dorsal nudity, and the side of one breast.” That fine was [tossed out on appeal](http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3ic85f72191fcd753c048cf90d48dc6e39?imw=Y#) (warning: mildly NSFW) earlier this year, but it had a chilling effect on all the broadcast networks. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/45 "2011-03-18T21:49:25Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > “full dorsal nudity” band name! ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/46 "2011-03-18T21:52:56Z")
It looks like my second link is broken; here is the [story](http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3ic85f72191fcd753c048cf90d48dc6e39#) in AdWeek. Small picture of Charlotte Ross’s butt, but the US Courts say it’s not indecent! ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/47 "2011-03-18T22:16:14Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Small picture of Charlotte Ross’s butt, but the US Courts say it’s not indecent! I’d agree - looked pretty decent to me. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/48 "2011-03-18T22:26:48Z")
Not long ago on ESPN Classic Canada, they showed the CBC broadcast of the final game of the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals. During a break in play, one of the announcers mentioned something about an upcoming benefit hockey game where “the proceeds will go to retarded children”. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/49 "2011-03-18T23:52:31Z")
When was the last time anyone ever showed “Amos and Andy”? I guess in the old days you would see more Confederate flags at NASCAR race broadcasts than today although I also think they try to discourage people waving them at tracks, under the name of “it blocks other people’s view” ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/50 "2011-03-19T00:12:22Z")
The Janet Jackson thing also caused all the radio stations to restart censoring the odd dirty word in songs such as _Big Old Jet Airliner, Who Are You,_ and _Money_. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/51 "2011-03-19T00:17:34Z")
> [@Fugazi](#): > > Walter on Fringe does all kinds of drugs including hitting a bong on the show. I don’t think they’ve actually shown him smoking, but I can’t remember for sure. I do know we’ve seen smoke and heard him hitting it. They just showed him smoking from a bong with Jorge Garcia last week. They inhaled and blew out smoke, too. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/52 "2011-03-19T01:00:29Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I wonder if something like Rollo suggesting he and Lamont smoke the pot in _Sanford and Son_’s “wild parsley” episode or Barney Miller’s hash brownie episode (which was hysterical) could make it on the air today. I’m surprised you’ve forgotten (or perhaps never saw?) the marijuana brownie episode of _Glee_ from last season – it was the one where they were having a bake sale to raise money to get a wheelchair accessible bus. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/53 "2011-03-19T13:25:54Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > When was the last time anyone ever showed “Amos and Andy”? Part of an album was played three years ago [on PBS](http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigations/501_amos_andy.html). ---
**Author:** ![FredGarven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@FredGarven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FredGarven)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/54 "2011-03-19T14:03:42Z")
My wife and I watched American Idol last night and were appalled by the censoring of the word shih tzu when one of the contestants was simply referring to her dog. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/55 "2011-03-19T16:30:36Z")
E! just bleeped the “Christ” when Chris Noth said “Well, get in fer chrissakes.” That’s the first time I’ve seen that. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/56 "2011-03-19T16:53:40Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > E! just bleeped the “Christ” when Chris Noth said “Well, get in fer chrissakes.” That’s the first time I’ve seen that. Years ago, I used to keep a log of network censorship, and the “God” was routinely blanked out from “God damn,” leaving only the “damn.” Strange how censors’ minds (if they have any) work. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/57 "2011-03-19T17:43:59Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > …no one has brought up Maude’s abortion yet? Were abortions (by major characters no less) ever really that common on network TV though? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/58 "2011-03-19T18:15:56Z")
There was an episode of _Sex and the City_ in which several of the characters admitted to having had abortions, but they were all “historical,” in that none of them were contemporaneous with the events of the episode. Also that was a pay cable show and it was a generation ago in TV time. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/59 "2011-03-19T18:56:14Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > On the CBS sitcom _Mike & Molly_ (which, if you haven’t seen it, is actually not bad as sitcoms go), Molly’s sister is a stoner. In the pilot episode, she talked openly about smoking pot, and at one point, IIRC, she went upstairs and a cloud of smoke came drifting from behind the wall. Last week (I think it was last week - it was when Mike and Molly got in a fight), Molly went home and smoked a joint with her sister. What surprised me about it was that there was no Very Special Lesson where she learned The Evils of Marijuana. I mean, she’s dating a _cop_, for goodness sakes! And IIRC, even told him she got high. But it wasn’t the demon weed at all, and nothing bad happened to her as a result. I immediately contrasted it my head with the Roseanne episode \*\*Sampiro \*\*mentioned. Yes, Dan and Roseanne and Jackie got high, from some very old stash. And they had some hilarious scenes in the bathroom. But the final Lesson came when one of the kids came home and Roseanne started getting paranoid about what would happen if one of the kids needed a blood transfusion and she couldn’t give them her blood “because it’s all full of pot!” Ultimately they decided that Pot Was Bad and they were Too Old For This. Kind of a nice shift, actually. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086/60 "2011-03-20T00:29:45Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I’m surprised you’ve forgotten (or perhaps never saw?) the marijuana brownie episode of _Glee_ from last season – it was the one where they were having a bake sale to raise money to get a wheelchair accessible bus. Glee gets away with a LOT for a show airing at 8pm. Nerd masturbating naked in the library gets caught, then later he loses control (because of Britney Spears music) and has to masturbate at the rally in the gym too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-situations-they-once-could-say-on-tv-but-cant-or-wont-anymore/575086.md?page=4)