A parent’s view on Skins and a la carte television stations

As the parent to a toddler who just figured out that they can turn on the television I say who’s up for a good discussion on whether Skins is really child porn?  No? Ok, let’s engage in a debate over how the UK version of the show is much racier and the U.S. version is nothing, so us tight underwear Americans should chill out.

Here is a recap of Skins for those who missed 60 minutes:  It’s a scripted drama on MTV shot in realistic form about the lives of a group of teenagers aged 15-18.  The show features their struggles, drugs, sex, lesbian tendencies, frank language and airs at 10:00 PM on Monday.

The UK version is supposedly much racier, more graphic and ‘real’, according to the hipsters that have seen it.  The U.S. version has been saddled with the “child porn” label which has scared off more than half a dozen of MTVs big advertisers.  In the second week its viewership dropped off more than 50%.  The third episode features the “teenage kid tries Viagra” plotline and has the shots of an aroused 17 year old boy running naked from behind.

MTV is what it is.  I haven’t watched it in years and am not even close to their demographic.  The scripted dramas or reality that they program is profitable for them, but a total waste of my time.

Supporters of the show or network will say, “What’s the big deal, if you don’t want to watch it, turn off the TV.”  I love that argument and I won’t watch it.   I’ll even go one step further.  It angers me off that any of my cable money is going to unwillingly support the vehicle that airs such tripe.

“Just block the channel from your television” is another genius argument from these cutting edge apologists.  The point here Sherlock is that I don’t want any of my money going to that companies’ bottom line.

If there were a la carte television stations then we could pay for what we really watch; and not just large blocks of channels that we have to accept.  Even before MTV chose to peddle this crap we would not have been subscribers.  We watch maybe 12 channels, but because of the bulk programming that cable providers sell, it’s either all or nothing.

Out of the $45 that we pay for cable monthly how much goes to disposable stations that we don’t watch?  If you multiply our house, times tens of thousands in this market, then extrapolate nationwide and you’re talking huge numbers.  Would Viacom and MTV have been so quick to green light something even borderline close to what they’ve programmed if their subscribers were closer to 40 million instead of 100 million?  No, they and the cable providers have got us by the short hairs.

As a parent MTV would not even be in the house.  I’m not some Quaker who’s trying to shield my children from the world; it can be a cruel, difficult place.  Having said that, the struggles of teens in the big city with half-wit parents will be a totally different situation than what our children will be raised in.    If I want to see how bad parents deal with drug taking, spoiled children I’ll rent a movie.