‘NYPD Blue’ pushes TV’s boundaries too far

‘NYPD Blue’ pushes TV’s boundaries too far

By Craig Woodall

I am concerned with the direction in which network television is
headed. On Tuesday, Jan. 17, I forced myself to sit through an
episode of ABC’s critically acclaimed "NYPD Blue." I wanted to see
the show that has the reputation of stretching the limits of what
is acceptable on TV. What I saw were pointless displays of naked
bodies and the repetitive use of profanity. This show thrives on
its reputation for being shocking, for this equals good
ratings.

The problem is that this show exemplifies the deterioration of
TV. In the final scene of the Jan. 17 show, Jimmy Smits and a
co-star were undressing each other as the camera panned away and
the credits began to roll. No frontal nudity was shown, but the
scene alone exposed more flesh than any other network show I have
seen. The worst part was that their half-naked bodies were not
artistic or essential to the scene: it was a cheap
"look-at-what-we’re-bold-enough-to-show-on-a-network" shot.

I do not fault the producers of "NYPD Blue" solely for their
poor taste. The audience who watches it every week for the novelty
of seeing some flesh or hearing profanity on a network TV show is
as much to blame. If the show’s ratings were poor, then the
producers would change their approach. So far this has not been
necessary. ABC knew that our society would accept filth entering
our networks. They were right and have been handsomely rewarded for
their actions.

Are there not enough outlets in our society for this type of
production? Parents have a hard enough time regulating the movies,
magazines or cable shows to which their children are exposed. Now
they must regulate the network stations as well.

One argument I have heard is that the show is not really all
that bad, and that it airs at 10 p.m. Well, I agree that the show
is not pornographic and that most children are asleep at that time
of night, but the issue is the precedent the show is setting. I
don’t care if it airs late. Before, it did not air at all.

All the other networks have obviously taken notice, and I am
certain there will be many shows imitating "NYPD Blue." Who can
blame them? Their only concern is that their ratings compare well
with the other networks. If they can achieve the same success as
"NYPD Blue" with the same type of material, why not stretch their
limits, too?

Soon, prime time will be full of shows such as this. Nudity
during prime time, where will it end? Who will stand up and take
responsibility for this deterioration? The networks obviously
won’t. ABC has proven that it cares more for ratings than for the
society it is corrupting.

The responsibility will have to fall on the individual. It’s as
simple as this: if the ratings for the show were poor, there would
be a change. But since the ratings are good, we can expect nothing
but more of the same. This will continue until network TV is
entirely changed for the worse.

I am not calling for an all-out abandonment of "NYPD Blue." I
would be fighting a lost cause. What I will do is alert you all to
this: if this is only the beginning of the type of material that
will soon dominate the networks, how bad will it be when our
children are perceptive television viewers? By then it will be too
late.

Is this the path that we desire TV to follow? I for one vote
‘no,’ and I encourage all of you to do the same, to take a stand
against our deteriorating networks.

Woodall is a senior majoring in sociology.