Nuts and Veggies | Tragic Comedy

If you haven't heard, VeggieTales is coming to NBC. Without reference to God. And the creator feels duped. (link)

On the one hand, he signed the contract and should have read the fine print, in a manner of speaking. He should have asked whether his show would be subject to broadcast standards. On the other hand, I can see why it didn't occur to him: The series is so overtly Christian (and PTC president Bozell is right that it's the key to the series's success) that the man must have assumed NBC wouldn't court him if they didn't want God on the air. That's like a thoroughly obscene rapper being pursued by a record label and then discovering in the studio they want his rhymes rated PG.

Forgive my bemusement at PTC's outrage, since everything seems to cause them instant outrage, but this is bullshit coming from them:

"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 world view, not in spite of it. That's the signature to `VeggieTales."'

After all of the vitriolic attacks Bozell has made against R-rated programs on television and the adult content they contain that makes them successful – would anybody watch The Sopranos without violence or profanity? – it's hypocrisy for him to decry the removal of VeggieTales's most successful element. If he wants to condemn NBC for taking out God because it's God, then he should do so, not forge an argument that runs countrary to 90% of the arguments he usually makes.

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