Posted on 09/29/2006 7:11:35 AM PDT by gridlock
Los Angeles - Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber always had a moral message in their long-running "Veggie-Tales" video series. But now that the vegetable stars have hit network television, they can't speak as freely as they once did, and that's got the Parents Television Council steamed.
The conservative media-watchdog group issued a statement Sept. 20 blasting NBC, which airs "VeggieTales," for editing out some references to God from the children's animated show.
"What struck me and continues to strike me is the inanity of ripping the heart and soul out of a successful product and not thinking that there will be consequences to it," said L. Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council. "The series is successful because of its biblical worldview, not in spite of it. That's the signature to 'Veggie-Tales."'
"VeggieTales" is a collection of animated home videos for children that encourage moral behavior based on Christian and biblical principles. More than 50 million copies have been sold since 1993, according to Big Idea Inc., which produces the series.
Two weeks ago, NBC began airing 30-minute episodes of "VeggieTales" on Saturday mornings (9 a.m. on KUSA-Channel 9). The show was edited to comply with the network's broadcast standards, said NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks.
"Our goal is to reach as broad an audience as possible with these positive messages while being careful not to advocate any one religious point of view," she said.
"VeggieTales" creator Phil Vischer, who was responsible for readying episodes for network broadcast, said he didn't know until just weeks before the shows were to begin airing that nonhistorical references to God and the Bible would have to be removed.
Had he known how much he'd have to change the show - including Bob and Larry's tagline, "Remember kids, God made you special, and he loves you very much," that concludes each episode - Vischer said he wouldn't have signed on for the network deal. "I would have declined partly because I knew a lot of fans would feel like it was a sellout or it was done for money," he said, adding that "there weren't enough shows that could work well without those (religious) references." All programs set to air on NBC must meet the network's broadcast standards, said Alan Wurtzel, a broadcast standards executive.
"VeggieTales" was treated the same as any other program, he said.
"There's a fine line of universally accepted religious values," he said. "We don't get too specific with any particular religious doctrine or any particular religious denomination." Vischer said he understands the network's position.
"'VeggieTales' is religious, NBC is not," he said. "I want to focus people more on 'Isn't it cool that Bob and Larry are on television."'
Marks said the network is "committed to the positive messages and universal values" of the show and expects "Veggie-Tales" to continue airing.
But Bozell isn't satisfied.
"If NBC is so concerned about that four-letter-word God, then they shouldn't have taken 'VeggieTales,"' he said. "This just documents the disconnect between Hollywood and the real world
The MSM is treating Christianity as hard core pornography.
Had he known how much he'd have to change the show - including Bob and Larry's tagline, "Remember kids, God made you special, and he loves you very much," that concludes each episode - Vischer said he wouldn't have signed on for the network deal.
I find it hard to believe they didn't read the fine print. This is really disappointing, when my kids were little they LOVED the VeggieTales.
"Did someone in the company embezzle all the cash? How does a company with a cash cow like Veggie Tales go bankrupt?"
That was what I was wondering. 50 million in sales and they are bankrupt???
Touched by an Angel? Seventh Heaven?
When I was growing up, we had a Mennonite family friend who'd babysit us when my parents went away. She loved Highway to Heaven.
If VeggieTales were so amazingly, astoundingly popular, why did the company go broke?
There was no sex to leave in the story. They were just to clean for the evil NBC.
They over-extended when they decided to make the theatrical release "Jonah" and never got out of the debt-hole they dug.
SD
You know, when I was a kid I loved "Davey and Goliath" but I didn't get the religious outreach at all. I thought it was a bit strange that they went to church a lot and read the Bible, because there were very few Protestants in my town, but it never occurred to me to be like them.
I thought it was cool that the Methodists were putting on a cartoon. I had no idea what the Methodists were.
Um, Xena, don't take it so literally. "Four-letter word" has a broader meaning.
SD
haha, liberal take on Larry and Bob. Very clever!
I know . . . I just think there are so many intriguing things to be done with English that cliches should be avoided, and especially when they're logically inaccurate.
According to him the owners would not put a firewall on the network. They would much rather trust people to do the right thing.
The security administrator confessed that he put one in anyway and lied to the owners. He figured it was easier to apologize after the fact.
If true, the owners once again demonstrate that they are nimwits.
They're going to replace the end line with "Remember, kids. Allah made you special, and Mohammed wants you to kill Jews and kaffirs very very much." That'll get by NBC's censors.
That's no exaggeration. NPR would abosolutely lap up your version as a culturally sensitive show.
You're kidding, right? How would he NOT know this? I could've told him this would happen.
You got a point there, Dan. VeggieTales were never my favorite teaching tool. But they are a far sight better than most other stuff being produced for children these days, so I counted them with the Good Guys.
If the Christian content is removed, I am afraid they will become just another touchy-feely Care Bear kind of thing. If they were to come to that point, they would cross over into being actively harmful. Every bit of happy-clappy secular BS masquerading as spiritual education displaces an opportunity to teach children a truthful message.
I don't know how bad the new de-contented version of VeggieTales has become, so I will hold back from lining them up with the Bad Guys, for now.
Dave was right about the movie...they expanded the company hugely in order to make that film, and never made enough back quick enough to cover themselves.
I saw Vischer at a conference November before last. He got choked up talking about it. A creative guy, he found himself wanting to write for Big Idea, but he had to hire other people to do the writing because he was stuck in HR meetings all day.
A miserable way to go for all concerned, and in the process he lost control of his creations: the characters themselves.
SD
I saw that flipping channels last night. Burt-on was disappointing. I switched to a PBS documentary. Go figure.
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