Posted on 08/05/2004 10:09:20 AM PDT by dukeman
TOP 10 BEST AND WORST NETWORK TV SHOWS FOR FAMILY VIEWING
Each year, the Parents Television Council rates the best and the worst shows on primetime television on the seven major broadcast networks. The PTC Best and Worst list does not examine artistic quality. But it measures series' appropriateness for family audiences from a content perspective. The seven broadcast networks included in this listing are ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PAX, UPN and the WB. Primetime refers to 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. (ET/PT), when the largest television audience is available.
BEST
#1. Joan of Arcadia - CBS 8 p.m. ET/PT Friday – first season. Not only the best new series of the 2003-2004 season, Joan of Arcadia may be one of television's most pro-family shows. Joan Girardi has an unusual relationship with God, who appears to her in many different forms to give her guidance and instruction, thus enabling her to help those around her. Joan is not rewarded for her faith and obedience, but she is allowed to see how her actions touch the lives of those around her.
#2. Doc - PAX 8 p.m. Sunday – #2 last season. Doc is a fish-out-of-water story about a country doctor who moves to New York City and gets a job at a busy HMO. Dr. Clint Cassidy's homespun values and friendly disposition provide a striking contrast to the jaded and impersonal city environment, but he refuses to let the harsh world in which he lives harden him, or make him forget the values of kindness and compassion that were instilled in him as a child. Doc consistently reinforces family-friendly themes such as honesty, compassion, hope, and reconciliation.
#3. Sue Thomas F. B. Eye - PAX 9 p.m. Sunday – #3 last season. This series, from the creators of Doc, tells the inspiring true story of Sue Thomas, a deaf woman originally hired to work in fingerprint analysis at the FBI but soon tapped for work in surveillance because of her talent for reading lips. It is action-filled and suspenseful but never contains graphic or gratuitous violence, inappropriate sexual content, or foul language. Sue Thomas skillfully illustrates, without being mawkish or overly simplistic, the challenges faced by deaf persons working in the hearing world.
#4. Reba - WB 9 p.m. Friday – #7 last season. Country singer Reba McEntire stars as divorced mother Reba Hart. Her marriage ended when her husband Brock got his assistant, Barbara Jean, pregnant and her oldest daughter got pregnant while still in high school. Nevertheless, Reba contains pro-family themes. It is never suggested that Reba and Brock's divorce was easy on the family, and the consequences of the breakup of Reba's marriage and her daughter's unplanned pregnancy are still playing themselves out, but Reba manages to handle these issues responsibly, without resorting to cheap innuendo or foul language.
#5. 7th Heaven - WB 8 p.m. Monday – #4 last season. 7th Heaven has ranked on the Top 10 Best Shows for Families every year since it began in 1996. It also has also been one of the highest-rated shows on the WB network. The series contains no violence or foul language, and sexual content is dealt with very responsibly. That doesn't mean that 7th Heaven steers clear of tough issues. One episode from this season centered on a sister and brother who had been sexually abused by their father. The subject matter was handled sensitively without delving into graphic details of the abuse.
#6. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - ABC 8 p.m. Sunday – first season. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition shows the heights to which reality TV can aspire. This uplifting and inspiring program showcases charity and selflessness. Each week, carpenter Ty Pennington and a crew of designers, contractors, and workmen completely renovate the home of a deserving family.
#7. Everybody Loves Raymond - CBS 9 p.m. Monday –not ranked last season. Ray Barone tries desperately to keep everyone happy. But beneath all the quarrels and arguments, deep-seated love holds the family together. The family isn't always in perfect harmony, but their love for each other is obvious and the laughs abundant in this family sitcom.
#8. American Idol - Fox (air dates and times vary) – not ranked last season. In American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, hundreds of young men and women compete for the opportunity to become America's next singing sensation. A handful of young hopefuls make it to the final stages of the contest where judges Simon Cowell; ‘80s pop star and choreographer Paula Abdul; and music industry veteran Randy Jackson judge their performances and viewers at home decide who will advance and who will be eliminated. American Idol is an entertaining show that the entire family can enjoy because it focuses only on the surprisingly good performances turned in by talented young singers.
#9. American Dreams - NBC 8 p.m. Sunday – not ranked last season. American Dreams is a heartwarming, realistic portrayal of an American family living in 1960s Philadelphia. Against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the civil-rights movement, and American Bandstand, the Pryors find themselves directly affected by the turbulent times while struggling to cope with everyday life. As the characters experience love, loss, and an awakening to social injustice they learn, and in turn relay, some powerful lessons about life.
#10. Bernie Mac - Fox 8:30 p.m. Sunday – not ranked last season. Inspired by series star Bernie Mac's life, The Bernie Mac Show is a half-hour sitcom about a man with unique views on parenting. The Bernie Mac Show is different from many Fox shows in that it actually portrays strong family values. Although the series is occasionally marred by mild profanities and sexual innuendo, the overriding themes stress the importance of family.
WORST
#1. Everwood - WB 9 p.m. Monday – not ranked last season. Everwood gives every appearance of being a family drama, but it's nothing of the kind. What makes Everwood problematic is the careless and irresponsible treatment of sexual issues, especially when the teenaged characters are involved. Such content might be more excusable in a series that was intended for and marketed to adult audiences, but Everwood's reckless messages about sex without consequences are expressly targeted to impressionable teens.
#2. That ‘70s Show - Fox 8 p.m. Wednesday – not ranked last season. Set in a small Wisconsin town during the 1970s, That ‘70s Show follows a group of teens as they learn to deal with parents, sex, and drugs. Teen sex and drug use on this series are depicted as risk- and consequence-free. This season's storylines included Kelso getting a girl pregnant after a one-night stand and Donna walking in on Eric while he is masturbating in her bathroom.
#3. Fear Factor - NBC 8 p.m. Monday – #5 last season. Fear Factor continues to push the envelope with its disgusting and physically dangerous stunts. NBC touts Fear Factor as family-friendly, but it does not depict healthy competition; instead it depicts a new low in Americans' endless pursuit of money. Language continues to worsen, as does sexual innuendo, largely because more and more episodes center on scantily clad female contestants.
#4. Two and a Half Men - CBS 9:30 p.m. Monday – first season. Promiscuous jingle-writer Charlie's life is turned upside down when his divorced brother Alan and young nephew Jake move into his home. Charlie's overpowering libido, unfortunately, trumps any impulse to be a responsible role model to his young nephew. There are constant references to the steady stream of one-night stands parading in and out of Charlie's bedroom.
#5. C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigation) - CBS 9 p.m. Thursday – #1 last season. C.S.I. takes distasteful story lines a step further by providing graphic depictions of decaying bodies, grisly crime scenes, dissections, flashbacks of brutal rapes and murders, and kinky and bizarre sexual fetishes. Such content would be bad enough at 10:00 p.m., but this series airs at 9:00 (8:00 in the Central and Mountain time zones), with reruns often airing during the Family Hour.
#6. The Surreal Life - WB 9 p.m. Thursday – not ranked last season. Six B-list celebrities share a house for a couple of weeks as cameras film their daily interactions. The executives at the WB made sure there would be plenty of salacious material by casting adult film star Ron Jeremy; former Baywatch babe Traci Bingham; and Real World party girl Trishelle Cannatella. Episodes featured blurred nudity and extreme language. Although The Surreal Life won't be returning to the WB next season, it isn't going away. VH1 picked-up the series.
#7. Girlfriends - UPN 9 p.m. Monday – #7 last season. No subject seems to be off-limits for Girlfriends. Script writers will mine any topic for a cheap laugh, no matter how tacky. One episode last season, for example, had Joan telling her boyfriend she had a yeast infection to get out of having sex with him. In another, Joan's friend Sharon recommends classes at “Mama Gina's School of Womanly Arts,” saying, “Oh Joan, those classes are wonderful. I highly recommend ‘Owning your Orgasm.' And it's a prerequisite for ‘Finding Your Vagina.'”
#8. Las Vegas - NBC 9 p.m. Monday – first season. What can you expect from a show about Sin City, but sex, sex, and more sex? Las Vegas, a new drama about the staff of an upscale casino, delivers just that along with plenty of foul language and a little violence thrown in for good measure. This series has used every cheap sexual gimmick imaginable in a desperate attempt to lure viewers. Strong sexual innuendo can be found in just about every episode.
#9. Will & Grace - NBC 9 p.m. Thursday – #8 last season. Will and Grace began as a sitcom about the friendship between a gay man and his best friend, a quirky straight woman. Over the last few seasons its focus has changed, opening the door for even higher levels of crude innuendo and graphic anatomical references, both hetero- and homosexual, all of which is especially inappropriate given that episodes of Will & Grace often air during the Family Hour. Infidelity remains a common storyline. This show continues to rely on indecency as a source of edginess.
#10. Cold Case - CBS 8p.m. Sunday – first season. Cold Case is a drama about a Philadelphia police detective who delves into old murder cases with a fresh eye. Stories are often told in flashback, recounting graphic murders and other violent crimes. Disturbing plots included a case in which a nun accidentally kills an orphan and buries him anonymously in a field; an adult man who has his son bring young teenaged girls to the house so the father can rape them; and teenaged boys at a military school who murder the coach who molested them.
The reason the show is named Stargate SG1 isn't due to a grammatical error. If you had watched it, then you'd know that there are different USAF teams that use the stargate. The teams are named serially (SG1, SG2, etc.) and the show focuses on the team named SG1 where the designation SG stands for "Stargate Team."
Some other teams are:
SG-3 - Marine combat unit, lead by Colonel Makepeace.
SG-5 - Marine combat unit.
SG-7 - Scientific Corps.
SG-8 - Medical team.
SG-9 - Diplomatic Corps., led by attorney Major Stan Kovachek.
SG-11 - Engineering Corps.
Not an unusual name at all for a military operation.
"American Dreams" gives a distorted view of 60's life, preoccupied with teen sex. Gives kids idea that their parents were engaging in premarital sex.
I'm convinced that Willow becoming a lesbian was just a thumb in the eye to the more conservative watchers of the show by creator Joss Whedon (a big lefty). When many of the internet boards became very critical of that, Joss made some VERY defensive and prickly remarks.
"Hush" is a masterpiece of TV drama. You should watch it ASAP!
The series went downhill a bit, IMHO, after the group graduated form HS (and Angel and Cordelia moved over to ANGEL.) But the college years weren't all bad (and no, Buffy didn't become the campus mattress. Unless my memory is faulty, she sleeps with exactly two other male students).
BTTT.
It may be lazy, but at least it's a more legitimate rhyme than the Steve Miller Band can produce:
Billy Mack is a detective down in Texas
You know he knows just exactly what the facts is
He ain’t gonna let those two escape justice
He makes his livin’ off of the people’s taxes
I think all those lines are alleged to rhyme.
Yes that's her. I'm terrible with names, whether they are people's, episodes or variables and procedures in the code I'm trying to figure out right now. Is "the witch" the one where Amy's mom gets turned into a trophy?
I'm convinced that Willow becoming a lesbian was just a thumb in the eye to the more conservative watchers of the show by creator Joss Whedon (a big lefty). When many of the internet boards became very critical of that, Joss made some VERY defensive and prickly remarks.
Yup that's what we figured. It's surreal watching something produced by someone that hates you. I also listen to marilym manson just to keep myself surreal. I repeatedly yelled at the tv because there were all these hetero couples standing there but they weren't constantly holding hands and grooming each other. Then there was their rediculous horniness. Sorry but lesbians are jaded and homely and their lesbianess has nothin to do with libido.
"Hush" is a masterpiece of TV drama. You should watch it ASAP!
GREAT!!! I can't wait but my wife and 7 at home kids and I have been watching then in series. It's very exciting to know there are even better things coming. It amazed us after watching season 6 that it was possibly the worst season.
The series went downhill a bit, IMHO, after the group graduated form HS (and Angel and Cordelia moved over to ANGEL.) But the college years weren't all bad (and no, Buffy didn't become the campus mattress. Unless my memory is faulty, she sleeps with exactly two other male students).
We tend to not like either Angel or Cordelia very much. We are really big on buffy, spike, giles, willow and zandor. I should use caps shouldn't I. It's great to see Giles' wisdom and how they fall apart in season six without him. Some femanists love the fact that there are so many strong females in the series. I beg to differ, the females are the picture of weakness and are lost without his leadership. In the end when Buffy tells him how everyone's lives are ruined he starts laughing. Just the mere sound of his laughter starts the healing process for Buffy. It's great!!!
She gets -trapped in- the trophy, yes. The ending of that one...with her eyes peering out from the eyes of the trophy...creeped me out whe I first watched it. :)
It amazed us after watching season 6 that it was possibly the worst season.
Opinions vary on this, but consensus (well, among the folks I know) says season 4 -the first college season- was the weakest.
We tend to not like either Angel or Cordelia
I consider Charisma Carpenter to be a goddess in the small-g sense (as my profile page will attest to. ;) She took what was to have been a one-dimensional bitchy stereotype and really put some humanity and feeling into Cordelia.
P.S., It's "Xander." :)
Having grown up in CT, I personally love this line from The Ref:
"Connecticut is the fifth ring of hell."
This one is also a classic:
"I thought moms were supposed to be nice, and sweet, and patient. I know loan-sharks that are more forgiving than you."
Underrated movie.
She's way beautiful from head to toe but I don't think her boobs are real. I hate implants. I'm very willing to be proven wrong here. I was pleasantly surprised to find that one girl from tomb raider had real hooters.
P.S., It's "Xander." :)
Not only can I not do names, I can't spell. :-)
BTW here is a Kerry emoticon. &:-------)
She did Playboy!!!!!!!! Hmmmm, what month and year?
This year, June or July. She looked sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good! I'm sure you can Google find a pic or two. ;)
She must not be getting any acting work.
You mean boob-a-rama and family-friendly are mutually exclusive? Who knew?
Actually, she made several appearances on Alicia Silverstone's recent show MISS MATCH, did a TV-movie ("See Jane Date") and did a WB pilot (wasn't picked up, though.) I think she wanted to do PB because she just had a baby in March of last year and wanted to show off that she had worked hard to regain her figure. To her credit, she said she wasn't focused on much work right now because her husband and baby are her priorities.
My family household consists of me, and boob-a-rama is definitely friendly. :)P
Her character was interesting. We started out hating her but I've noticed how she has gradually become less shallow. It was really funny in season 3 when buffy was reading minds. Cordellia's thoughts had zero depth. What ever she thought was what she said. I read that they made fun of her character in Angel too.
I liked the way she stood up to the other mean girls in dating Xandor. The whole Xandor Willow thing was very stupid. Willow was cute and no male, especially one who thinks about sex all the time, is going to completely miss out on that about Willow until that moment he saw her in the black dress. Then he was all over her. Very stupid. They should have hooked up early and the lesbo thing should never have happened.
I can't believe Smallville isn't on here.
It's the only TV show we regularly watch that the whole family gets excited about!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.