Network Show Breaks Swear-Word Taboo

Note: Denise's column appears every week in our Entertainment section. Have a question? Comment? Send it in.

This Thursday, CBS will one-up the growing number of programs with risque, bleep-filled dialogue -- it's going to take the bleep out and air a swear word.

The "Tiffany Network" has given the OK for a "Chicago Hope" character to say "S--- happens" uncensored during this week's episode. Well, that's one way for the broadcasters to reel in younger viewers ...

s-word Within the past few years, there's been a growing proliferation of bleeps and provocative language on such shows as "South Park" and the FOX show "Action." But there are still "seven dirty words you can't say" on TV, as comedian George Carlin (pictured) so aptly put it years ago.

Show producers, knowing network execs would veto the expletive, fought to keep the word in.

"It comes down to a phrase that embodies the feeling of the whole hour," executive producer Michael Pressman told the Los Angeles Times. "There's no other way to express it."

While I have been known to spew my share of naughty words and phrases in my day -- OK, today -- I'm not sure if the world is ready to break down this language barrier.

s-word It's bad enough that you can't turn on "NYPD Blue" without seeing Dennis Franz' rump. Now imagine Grandma tuning into "Diagnosis Murder" on the wrong night and hearing Andy Rooney tell Lesley Stahl what he really thinks of her on the new, edgy "60 Minutes -- The Next Hour."

Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a big fan of many of these cutting-edge shows. "South Park," "Sex In The City" and "Action" (which Fox had just put on hiatus until December) all rank among my weekly top picks. As an adult, I enjoy watching humor that is both clever and tests boundaries. But on CBS?

The news of the s-word being aired on a commercial television show, especially a David E. Kelley show, isn't that shocking. It's the fact the "Touched By An Angel" network is welcoming home foul language.

s-word Let's face it, no matter how hard execs try to reach out to a wide range of advertising patrons ... er, viewers ... CBS is supposed to be the nice network for families and older people. ABC is the official channel of soccer moms and pre-teens. NBC is the twentysomething Yuppie network. And FOX, UPN and The WB split the college-age and high school Generation Y segment.

That's the way it is. One or two shows might cross over into another demographic, but for the most part, each network stuck to its own corner.

Until now.

Pressman said he doubts the use of the s-word Thursday night will have much impact, adding that show producers don't plan to make a habit out of using four-letter words.

But now that the line had been crossed, how long will it be before Wile E. Coyote tells the Roadrunner to "f--- off?"


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