Playboy Club series (over)reaction

[23skidoo]

I gotta love the hypocrisy. In the US, where people are fawning over sexually explicit shows like Game of Thrones, Spartacus, Entourage, etc (never mind past shows like Sex in the City, Sopranos, L Word), a rather innocuous looking show about the Playboy Clubs of the 1960s is reverting people to, well, 1960s mentality.

HLN just ran a thing asking "Is the Playboy Club too sexy for TV"? Note the wording: "for TV". Not "for network TV". One thing all those shows I list above have in common is that they're all cable shows. But HLN is asking "for TV", period.

Yet all I've seen so far is a bunch of people dressed in the iconic Playboy Club bunny outfits in the context of an historical drama set in the same time period as Mad Men (and to those on the left accusing the show of exploiting, I'm pretty certain it's not going to gloss over everything, just as Mad Men is known for taking on the topic of the politics and stereotyping of women in the workplace back in the day). The HLN report says "too much skin". All I see is cleavage; Baywatch spent a decade running on the concept of sexy women in swimwear. Dukes of Hazzard popularized the "daisy duke" shorts for women. Hell, I've seen more skin in an episode of Glee, Nickelodeon's Victorious, and that pilot episode for Wonder Woman (never mind the Lynda Carter original).

And even if they have some love scenes in the show, NYPD Blue, your average soap opera, and a bunch of other shows have already gone that route before. Heck, once you've seen Joel Grey (yes, the Cabaret man) bouncing around with a woman in an episode of Law & Order: SVU there really are no more taboos on network TV.

So I really don't get this overreaction. The video clip below (which may not play outside North America) includes an interview with Hugh Hefner and the point is made that just the name "Playboy" is what's setting people off, especially the Parents Television Council. But then everything sets the PTC off. During the report show a headline on a website (might be PTC's or might not be) accusing the show of "legitimizing pornography". Talk about being out of touch. Porn's been legit for 30 years to start with, and Playboy stopped being porn the moment they started to do things like run journalism by Alex Haley, original James Bond short stories by Ian Fleming, and stuff like interviews with John Lennon and President Jimmy Carter.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2011/08/10/sbt.hefner.playboy.club.hln?hpt=hp_t2

It's ironic that this controversy is blowing up close to 10 years after the historic blow-up over the infamous November 2001 Victoria's Secret lingerie special on ABC. At least in that case when people accused the show of having too much skin they were at least being accurate. Plus it didn't have much of a plot so I understand!

Alex

 

[Winterwind]

Conservative attitudes towards sex have always both amused and baffled me.

It's natural. It's simply part of who and what were are as a species. I'm pretty liberal in my views on sex and sexuality. I've no desire to see TV filled with sex scenes (I thought the sex scenes in the recent Torchwood episode were completely unnecessary, straight or gay). If I want to watch sex scenes, I'll watch porn. And I certainly wouldn't want extreme public displays but I simply don't understand the prudish views some people have when it comes to what is on TV.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Conservative attitudes towards sex have always both amused and baffled me.

It's natural. It's simply part of who and what were are as a species. I'm pretty liberal in my views on sex and sexuality. I've no desire to see TV filled with sex scenes (I thought the sex scenes in the recent Torchwood episode were completely unnecessary, straight or gay). If I want to watch sex scenes, I'll watch porn. And I certainly wouldn't want extreme public displays but I simply don't understand the prudish views some people have when it comes to what is on TV.

You're totally leaving out the Christian aspect of it, which is where all the creepy Puritanism comes from. Nudity is a sin, sex for any purpose besides procreation is a sin, titillation is a sin, female orgasm is a sin, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Puritanism, hypocrisy and morality aside: this sounds like a fucking horrible tv show with great potential to be painfully embarrassing.

 

[Winterwind]

Conservative attitudes towards sex have always both amused and baffled me.

It's natural. It's simply part of who and what were are as a species. I'm pretty liberal in my views on sex and sexuality. I've no desire to see TV filled with sex scenes (I thought the sex scenes in the recent Torchwood episode were completely unnecessary, straight or gay). If I want to watch sex scenes, I'll watch porn. And I certainly wouldn't want extreme public displays but I simply don't understand the prudish views some people have when it comes to what is on TV.

You're totally leaving out the Christian aspect of it, which is where all the creepy Puritanism comes from. Nudity is a sin, sex for any purpose besides procreation is a sin, titillation is a sin, female orgasm is a sin, etc. etc. etc.

Yeah, I know. I was trying to avoid that intentionally. Certain things amuse me, some baffle me and some just make me face-palm. And I wasn't in the mood for face-palming this morning.

Puritanism, hypocrisy and morality aside: this sounds like a fucking horrible tv show with great potential to be painfully embarrassing.

There is that as well.

 

[the G-man]

Obviously there has been some authentic opposition to the show (justified or not), such as the Mormon TV station owner who said he wouldn't air the show. There's also opposition from the feminist contingent.

However, I have to wonder if a lot of the so-called opposition isn't the result of the producers and the network themselves trying to create a fake controversy for publicity. It seems to me that it would be right up a studio exec's alley to make a show seem "sexier" and more "dangerous" than it is, in order to get people to tune into the premiere.

 

[Captain Craig]

I'm not too excited about that many TV shows for Fall so I've not been following the TV news but it does seem overreaction based on what I can see from the OP link.

It's on NBC, how "racy" can it be? Surely not anymore over the top than something like Big Brother(I know CBS). Wasn't there a summer show last year about Swingers that didn't last either? Seems if it's on network TV it's "too sexy" but on basic cable, no problem. As if there is some real distinction anymore, especially with the trashy "Reality TV" show on network TV.

 

[Agent Richard07]

I have no problem with sex on TV, don't care if scenes are "necessary" or not and wouldn't mind seeing more.

 

[doubleohfive]

Have these people even seen the pilot? I have a copy of it but haven't had a chance to view it yet. Seems to me these people are freaking their shit out over commercials. And if that's the case, well, then they're just plain dumb.

Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't judge a movie or show till you've seen it.

 

[the G-man]

Have these people even seen the pilot? I have a copy of it but haven't had a chance to view it yet. Seems to me these people are freaking their shit out over commercials...

That is a part of why I think the network/producers are stirring up some of this. I think they took the one or two actual complaints, said "this is a way to get publicity" and then started making calls, couched in the form of denials, to get places like CNN to start doing "is it too hot for TV" puff pieces.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I agree with G-man, this sounds like a manufactured controversy for marketing purposes.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

I have no problems with a little skin and even some cleavage on television. That is "sexy". Sounds like that is what is what is part of this new Playboy-themed show.
The drunk teens and 20-somethings writhing around under the covers (and occasionally vomiting on each other) in trashy scenes like those in "Real World: New Orleans" are what are repulsive, sleazy and un-sexy. I blame all those early, crappy MTV and VH-1 proto-reality shows for all the garbage that is strewn about the airways these days.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

In the US, where people are fawning over sexually explicit shows like Game of Thrones, Spartacus, Entourage, etc (never mind past shows like Sex in the City, Sopranos, L Word), a rather innocuous looking show about the Playboy Clubs of the 1960s is reverting people to, well, 1960s mentality.

There's a BIG difference you're missing here. Those show you cited that "people fawn over" are on premium cable, and Playboy Club is on broadcast. The expectations are wildly different. You wouldn't walk into a strip club expecting the same experience as Disneyland, would you?

PTC blows up at any excuse. It's their way of getting publicity and therefore political clout. By giving them attention, you're doing exactly what they want. I've seen this story, it's been around for weeks, but avoided posting a thread precisely because I'm not doing PTC's bidding. (I am playing into their hands simply by bumping this thread but oh well.)

I think NBC might have a great idea in Playboy Club. Most shows nowadays, especially on broadcast, are chasing a female audience because males have bailed on TV, especially broadcast TV. So what they might be doing is creating a show where a bunch of female characters band together to overcome some kind of external threat. Women will love that and not mind envisioning themselves as the sexy bunnies. Men will watch anyway (to the extent they still watch broadcast TV that is).

However, the execution is everything, and I've read a lot of worrysome stuff about the show simply not being very good, and not from the perspective that it's too saucy.

Anyway, whether or not the show survives won't come down to a Utah affiliate. We'll probably get a pretty good sense of things after the premiere episode. It's a crowded fall season and the casualty rate is going to be high.

However, I have to wonder if a lot of the so-called opposition isn't the result of the producers and the network themselves trying to create a fake controversy for publicity.

I usually go for the most paranoid option but in this case, I dunno. Accusations of racy content are still harmful to broadcast. If the show were on basic cable, I'd be more suspicious, and on premium cable, nobody would bother with accusations because even PTC must know the premium cable audience doesn't give a shit what they say.

Have these people even seen the pilot? I have a copy of it but haven't had a chance to view it yet.

If you do watch us, give us your honest opinion (minus spoilers). Is the chatter I've read about it being crappy really true?

 

[Jetfire]

Temis here is an interesting EW article from March about viewing habits...

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/03/15/ratings-by-age/

The five most popular shows among adults ages 50 and over: Dancing With the Stars (ABC, 13.8 million), followed by NCIS (CBS, 13.6 million), Dancing With the Stars results show (ABC, 12.2 million), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS, 11.6 million), and The Mentalist (CBS, 10.3 million).

Men 18-34: Family Guy (Fox, 2 million), American Idol Wednesday (Fox, 1.8 million), The Simpsons (Fox, 1.7 million), The Office (NBC, 1.6 million), and American Idol Thursday (Fox, 1.5 million).

Men 18-49: American Idol Wednesday (4.7 million), American Idol Thursday (4.1 million), Family Guy (3.2 million), The Simpsons (Fox, 2.9 million), and Two and a Half Men (CBS, 2.8 million).

Persons 12-34: American Idol Wednesday (6.7 million), American Idol Thursday (5.7 million), Family Guy (4.3 million), Glee (Fox, 3.9 million), and The Simpsons (3.6 million).
Kids 2-11: SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon, 3.1 million), iCarly (Nick, 2.7 million), Monster High (Nick, 2.4 million), American Idol Wednesday (2.2 million), and Victorious (Nick, 2 million).

Total viewers: American Idol Wednesday (25.8 million), American Idol Thursday (24.2 million), Dancing With the Stars (21.3 million), NCIS (20.3 million), and Dancing with the Stars results (18.7 million).

I am guessing that young women's demo falls under persons 12-34.

Speaking of ages, younger-skewing networks like the CW don’t corner the market on the Clearasil set. That honor goes to MTV. Here are the average viewer ages for some of the most popular networks on your satellite dish or cable box. (Numbers are based on programming that airs Mondays-Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Sundays from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.):
MTV: 23.2
FX: 38.1
TBS: 37.5
CW: 41
ESPN: 45.7
Fox: 46.1
TNT: 47.6
NBC: 49.4
USA: 49.6
ABC: 51
CBS: 54.9
TVLand: 54.9

Interesting.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yeah, don't you love the way the broadcast nets are aging out of their own demographic? Supposedly they don't care about audiences over 49, and now that's their average age!

They gotta do something radical to recapture young viewers, and male viewers. NBC shouldn't be faulted for trying Playboy Club. It's exactly what they should be trying. PTC doesn't have NBC/Universal shareholders to answer to, so they can just stfu.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I would guess young people still watch network tv, just not on their tv and without commercials...

 

[Temis the Vorta]

In which case, they don't count. TV is all about who watches ads. If nobody was watching the shows, that wouldn't matter at all.

 

[Skywalker]

In which case, they don't count. TV is all about who watches ads. If nobody was watching the shows, that wouldn't matter at all.

So, basically, the world is changing and rapidly making the ad-based format of TV obsolete, but networks are slow to recognize this and adapt to it. Business as usual, then.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

In the US, where people are fawning over sexually explicit shows like Game of Thrones, Spartacus, Entourage, etc (never mind past shows like Sex in the City, Sopranos, L Word), a rather innocuous looking show about the Playboy Clubs of the 1960s is reverting people to, well, 1960s mentality.

There's a BIG difference you're missing here. Those show you cited that "people fawn over" are on premium cable, and Playboy Club is on broadcast. The expectations are wildly different. You wouldn't walk into a strip club expecting the same experience as Disneyland, would you?

Mix 'em together and you get that scene where Lea Thompson nearly fucked Howard in Howard the Duck.

Some of this Playboy Club controversy is reminding me of when FOX preemptively cancelled Manchester Prep because parents groups objected to the following scene:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAFzndSWhBg[/yt]

 

[Nerd unRage]

I think this is all just overblown. All this controversry will help the show initially but unless the show proves it's quality (it's on network and NBC for goodness so probably not, but I digress), then the controversry should go away. I think the name of the show is what's irking all these groups and is a great way for these groups to get their names out in the media. I can't remember the last time the PTC was in the news.