TV sucks!

3x1minus1 linked to this list of the best and worst shows for family viewing, as rated by a group of pro-censorship busybodies. Some of my favorite parts include:

1. Four of the "good" shows are reality ones, while none of the "bad" shows are. Apparently, scripted television is bad for children.

2. "Even worse is the fact that Hollywood is peddling its filth to families with cartoons like The Family Guy and American Dad." Because if it's a cartoon, it HAS to be for kids, regardless of the time slot and censor ratings, right? What a narrow-minded thought. Besides, what does "peddling their filth" even MEAN in this case? Do they think that a kid who watches Family Guy is going to become a porn addict or something?

3. "Such subject matter would be bad enough on an adult-drama, but The O.C. was created for and is marketed directly to impressionable young viewers. One episode last season featured a party in which teenagers were shown smoking pot, snorting cocaine, and engaging in drunken threesomes." And if kids see those things, they're going to want to DO them, right? [1]

4. "Also last season, Marissa experimented with a same-sex relationship (which just happened to coincide with the February sweeps)." So, was this relationship unhealthy or damaging in any way? I wouldn't know, since I don't watch the show and have no intention to ever do so. But the Council seems to think that having a same-sex relationship is bad in and of itself.

5. "7th Heaven is one of the most wholesome and inoffensive programs on television." These people must be on more drugs than the characters on The O.C. if they think that. 7th Heaven is a show I'll watch BECAUSE of how horrendously offensive it is.

6. And, as 3x1minus1 pointed out, there are only nine good shows. It's called "Top Ten," but they couldn't find a tenth! What a damning condemnation of prime-time television THAT is!

Anyway, I'm going to see if I can get my driver's license picture taken today. Hopefully the crowds at the center won't be too bad. Then maybe I can get a picture that actually looks like me (although I wouldn't count on that).

[1] That isn't to say that this never happens or shouldn't be a concern, but there are usually other factors at work. People like the Parents' Television Council members seem to think it's impossible for kids (and maybe even adults) NOT to want to do what they on TV. They also totally ignore context.