The magic of ABC's girly shows
January 28, 2007
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
It wasn't that long ago that ABC was a rudderless mess. Then came "Desperate Housewives," "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Ugly Betty." And with the arrival of "Brothers & Sisters" and "Men in Trees," ABC has become the broadcast network for narrative-led serials appealing somewhat more to women than men.
Recently, ABC put the creators of these distinct serials in one room to let them explain how they feel about their shows -- including the ways censors at ABC are limiting them, and how long the creator-producers plan to run their hit series before they burn out or fade away.
'Grey's Anatomy" makes up its own words for body parts -- partly to be funny, but partly because network TV has become so bizarrely restrictive.
"I never would have come up with 'vajayjay' if Standards and Practices hadn't told me we couldn't say 'vagina' one more time in our show," says "Grey's" producer Shonda Rhimes.
Marc Cherry, producer of "Desperate Housewives," says ABC actually is a little more restrictive than other networks. He's got the story to prove it -- kind of -- from the time Cherry was creating the very first episode.
"In the scene where Eva Longoria is having afterglow with her 17-year-old gardener, the censor looked and said, 'Does she have to smoke?' And I went, 'So you're good with the statutory rape thing?' "
Others at ABC have similar stories. "You don't know what I had to go through to get the word 'douchey' in" the first episode of "Ugly Betty," says producer Silvio Horta.
Jenny Bicks used to have freewheeling freedom when she produced "Sex & the City" for HBO. Now she produces "Men in Trees" on ABC.
"I was recently told that I could trade; I had two 'asses' and a 'crap,' and I could trade an 'ass' for a 'crap.' But I couldn't have the two 'asses' and the 'crap,' " Bicks says.
Damon Lindelof, a creator of "Lost," says modern times are a throwback to the old days.
"It feels like, you know, you could say things on 'NYPD Blue' in 1991 that you can no longer say at 10 o'clock in 2007," Lindelof says.
There is one reason for the increase of prudishness on network TV: the most famous nipple slip in TV history, and the backlash and federal fines that followed.
"Thank you, Janet Jackson," Cherry says.
"We're on network TV" he adds, "and we also reach a much wider audience, so I understand the need to be responsible."
On the other hand, scrubbing the life out of series is a much bigger deal than viewers realize.
"I spend like $100,000 a week [in post-editing] taking nipples out of my show, because I've got a couple of actresses who refuse to wear bras," Cherry says. "And the standards and practices go, 'Can't see that.' So what's interesting is then I'll turn on 'Friends,' and it's a nipple fest. I don't understand the difference."
Adds "Lost" producer Carlton Cuse, "It's hindering us in our abilities to be as fully creative as we would like to be."
delfman@suntimes.com
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
It wasn't that long ago that ABC was a rudderless mess. Then came "Desperate Housewives," "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Ugly Betty." And with the arrival of "Brothers & Sisters" and "Men in Trees," ABC has become the broadcast network for narrative-led serials appealing somewhat more to women than men.
Recently, ABC put the creators of these distinct serials in one room to let them explain how they feel about their shows -- including the ways censors at ABC are limiting them, and how long the creator-producers plan to run their hit series before they burn out or fade away.
'Grey's Anatomy" makes up its own words for body parts -- partly to be funny, but partly because network TV has become so bizarrely restrictive.
"I never would have come up with 'vajayjay' if Standards and Practices hadn't told me we couldn't say 'vagina' one more time in our show," says "Grey's" producer Shonda Rhimes.
Marc Cherry, producer of "Desperate Housewives," says ABC actually is a little more restrictive than other networks. He's got the story to prove it -- kind of -- from the time Cherry was creating the very first episode.
"In the scene where Eva Longoria is having afterglow with her 17-year-old gardener, the censor looked and said, 'Does she have to smoke?' And I went, 'So you're good with the statutory rape thing?' "
Others at ABC have similar stories. "You don't know what I had to go through to get the word 'douchey' in" the first episode of "Ugly Betty," says producer Silvio Horta.
Jenny Bicks used to have freewheeling freedom when she produced "Sex & the City" for HBO. Now she produces "Men in Trees" on ABC.
"I was recently told that I could trade; I had two 'asses' and a 'crap,' and I could trade an 'ass' for a 'crap.' But I couldn't have the two 'asses' and the 'crap,' " Bicks says.
Damon Lindelof, a creator of "Lost," says modern times are a throwback to the old days.
"It feels like, you know, you could say things on 'NYPD Blue' in 1991 that you can no longer say at 10 o'clock in 2007," Lindelof says.
There is one reason for the increase of prudishness on network TV: the most famous nipple slip in TV history, and the backlash and federal fines that followed.
"Thank you, Janet Jackson," Cherry says.
"We're on network TV" he adds, "and we also reach a much wider audience, so I understand the need to be responsible."
On the other hand, scrubbing the life out of series is a much bigger deal than viewers realize.
"I spend like $100,000 a week [in post-editing] taking nipples out of my show, because I've got a couple of actresses who refuse to wear bras," Cherry says. "And the standards and practices go, 'Can't see that.' So what's interesting is then I'll turn on 'Friends,' and it's a nipple fest. I don't understand the difference."
Adds "Lost" producer Carlton Cuse, "It's hindering us in our abilities to be as fully creative as we would like to be."
delfman@suntimes.com
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