Word: bochco
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...Bochco's show, which he invented partly to test the boundaries of TV sex and language, finally goes on the air this Tuesday (10 p.m. EDT) after a hot summer of controversy. Conservative watchdog the Rev. Donald Wildmon has launched a campaign against the show. By late last week, 44 ABC stations had decided not to run at least the premiere; the majority won't air the series at all. Though most are in smaller markets, the defections could seriously hurt the show's ratings. Advertisers, meanwhile, have been wary. Although ad time on the first episode is sold...
...sign of how placid the rest of network television has become that Bochco's strong but relatively conventional cop show has incited such an outcry. The first episode contains a lovemaking scene with some fleeting, shadowy glimpses of breasts and buttocks -- more nudity than elsewhere on network TV, but discreet by cable and feature-film standards. Language is a touch rawer than usual ("pissy little bitch," "douche bag") but stays outside of verboten four-letter territory. As for violence, it is less graphic and less prevalent than in dozens of older TV shoot-'em-ups, from Gunsmoke to Miami Vice...
...quietly trying to downplay the show's racy content. The network sent its affiliates two episodes in addition to the pilot (neither segment has as much explicit material) and got Bochco to trim 15 seconds from the first show's lovemaking scene. ABC's Harbert says that scene is the "high benchmark" for what the series will allow; half the episodes, he promises, will have no nudity at all. "Given that our schedule is so dominated by family programming, such as Roseanne and Home Improvement, we felt there is room for a show that stretches the boundaries, so long...
...Bochco expresses mystification at the response, pointing out that the show is mild compared with what the audience can see on cable and home videos. Indeed, he scaled back his original ambition -- to do TV's first R-rated show -- after long discussions with ABC over what the network would allow. "We gave a lot, and they gave a lot," he says. Still, NYPD Blue marks a small advance. "We have a new generation today," says Bochco. "What people watch is significantly more adult because they can access so much more. This show gave us some additional colors to paint...
...Steven Bochco's controversial new cop show finally airs...