In this week’s print edition of TIME I look at the controversy over CBS re-airing Dexter, which I’ve blogged about here before. In the column, though, I go a little more into the actual content of the show–which is, among other things, a philosophical look at the nature of morality–as a way of saying that the decision of whether a show is “appropriate,” where, and for whom, is much more complicated than the Parents Television Council’s denunciations make it out to be. (I.e., it’s bad because you’re rooting for a serial killer.)
Most disturbingly–but most honestly–the PTC has said that regardless of what language and gore CBS cuts from the show (which debuts Sunday), it’s still inappropriate because of its premise. In other words, they want it off the air because of its ideas. God bless America.
The column went to press earlier this week. Now, of course, the PTC has the scourge of Jane Fonda to worry about. (I had to do quite some Googling, by the way, to find a version of the AP story that actually indicated which vulgar term Fonda used. Yay, Fox News!)