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TV Content Ratings

M

Mario500

Guest
I noticed a content rating at the beginning of Me-TV's (Memorable Entertainment Television) presentation of an episode of "Get Smart" today. Even though the graphic stayed for only a few seconds, I found it distracting and unnecessary since there are better ways for TV viewers to access information about content ratings.

I wish Me-TV would display content ratings only before the start of the rated programs just like Turner Classic Movies. I hope Me-TV does not display content ratings during programs after every commercial break in the future like many other broadcasters.
 
Mario, how long have you and I been talking about these kinds of things? For years, even going back to the GSN boards. It's really not that distracting. C'mon!
 
I addressed the once again because Me-TV used to present their programs without content ratings superimposed over the programs.
 
As much as we'd like them to disappear, it's a requirement of the ratings system for the icon to appear there, in that form and that size, no matter what. As much as we'd all like to think we now have 832 different ways on our cable boxes/TVs to access the ratings, it does need to be displayed on-screen in that form for those who don't have that access (or a terrible display of the ratings in the television's firmware). Me-TV probably got a nudge from the TV Guidelines group to include those ratings now that it bumped over the 80% national distribution line.

For about the first five years I did find it distracting, but now it's just another piece of noise like all the bottom-thirds. Thankfully it's also the most sane on-screen display these days.
 
I like to have the rating shown after the commercials because I might have missed it at the start. it gives me an idea of what to expect.

What I don't like is inconsistency in the use of the ratings. Some perfectly clean family programming gets a TV-PG. I saw a family movie with a TV-PG-V. It was cartoon violence! There are movies that definitely aren't family fare getting a plain-vanilla TV-PG or even a TV-PG-V. When a certain font is used, a V means you'd better take that violence seriously. There is no font setting on the V-chip. And that same font with a TV-14? Yikes! You shouldn't expect to see THAT on broadcast TV! And that same font with a TV-14-V? You don't even want to know. Those of you who go to movies that haven't been cleaned up for TV, or who watch cable, don't even care what I'm saying. Well, I want to see movies cleaned up for TV.
 
I don't understand how the networks--especially the
cable ones--decide what the content rating is going
to be. I remember watching an episode of "Gomer Pyle,
USMC" on TVLand several years ago that got a TV-PG
(it's the one where the shell is stuck inside the mortar
and when it finally does fire, hits a building). What was
so threatening about that? And from time to time I see
episodes of Chuck Woolery's "Lingo" on GSN with TV-PGs.
Excuse me, but are they confusing his version of the show
with Bill Engvall's? I don't even think, when TCM shows
"The Wild One" with Marlon Brando, that it deserves a TV-14
(do they think kids are going to take motorcycles and terrorize
a town--hardly anybody takes that movie seriously to begin with,
and I doubt if many kids watch TCM). Yet they give a TV-G to
"Key Largo" with Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson, which
contains a fair amount of gunplay.

Somebody enlighten me on how these decisions are made.
 
There is no one unified standard. It's all arbitrary and prejudiced with whomever makes the call. Simple as that.

BTW: "Mrs. Doubtfire", a PG13-rated movie, somehow got a "G" TV rating when it first aired on FOX. No reason for that. Should have been rated "14". I've always felt Theatrical movies should carry over their MPAA rating regardless of TV cut, and that should be the only one advertised.
 
Joe_Capitano said:
There is no one unified standard. It's all arbitrary and prejudiced with whomever makes the call. Simple as that.

BTW: "Mrs. Doubtfire", a PG13-rated movie, somehow got a "G" TV rating when it first aired on FOX. No reason for that. Should have been rated "14". I've always felt Theatrical movies should carry over their MPAA rating regardless of TV cut, and that should be the only one advertised.
Click to expand...

I agree...the only networks that use theatrical ratings when they present movies are the premium networks. Speaking of which, I've always thought the broadcast and basic cable networks should use slides, like the premium networks do, to display ratings and other pertinent information before they air their programs. It's sure a lot better than having some big annoying black box right in the corner of the TV screen every time a show starts.
 
ShawnHill1 said:
Joe_Capitano said:
There is no one unified standard. It's all arbitrary and prejudiced with whomever makes the call. Simple as that.

BTW: "Mrs. Doubtfire", a PG13-rated movie, somehow got a "G" TV rating when it first aired on FOX. No reason for that. Should have been rated "14". I've always felt Theatrical movies should carry over their MPAA rating regardless of TV cut, and that should be the only one advertised.
Click to expand...

I agree...the only networks that use theatrical ratings when they present movies are the premium networks. Speaking of which, I've always thought the broadcast and basic cable networks should use slides, like the premium networks do, to display ratings and other pertinent information before they air their programs. It's sure a lot better than having some big annoying black box right in the corner of the TV screen every time a show starts.
Click to expand...

Fox and FX began to do this a couple seasons back for their more mature programming; it works much better than Joe Cipriano's VO over the 'viewer discretion is advised' white-type-on-black-screen card and is more descriptive. Problem is, it kills 5-10 seconds of time that can be used to promo something. So the other networks won't take it up.
 
When Deal or No Deal was on NBC it was usually rated TV PG. But when repeats were shown on CNBC they were rated TV 14. That never made much sense to me.

TV Land has a lot of episodes of Roseanne rated TV G, and it might be right for some episodes, but not for the episodes with sexual content. On the other hand most episodes of MASH are rated TV PG although some episodes could probably be rated TV G.

On movie ratings I know that TCM shows movies uncut, but I agree they should use the theatrical ratings. There are some movies that were rated PG or PG 13 for language like Back to the Future that had a TV MA rating when they were shown.

On the other hand on the schedules on the cable systems a movie may show a theatrical rating of R but was edited to where it would be TV PG or 14. In a case like that I think the schedule should show the TV rating. Then there's the NR (No rating) listing that shows up on some schedules that could be anything from kid's shows to porn.

Sometimes I think the ratings are set by the distributor of the program, and other times I think it's set by the channel it's on. But in a lot of cases I think whoever makes the decision will give a TV show a single rating for the entire series, not on individual episodes.
 
The mention of "M*A*S*H" made me think of some other
'70s shows that were aimed at adults in first-run, eventually
making their way to TVLand. "All In The Family" is generally
a TV-PG; Bob Newhart and "The Odd Couple," when they're
shown, are TV-Gs.

What really gets strange is the TV-14 on "Bonanza," just as
the Starz Westerns channel usually gives "Wagon Train" a TV-14.

Or how about this? CBS and NBC automatically give TV-14-L to
their soaps; ABC plays "General Hospital" on a day-to-day basis,
giving it either a TV-PG or TV-14 depending on what's happening
on the day's episode (they used the same methodology with "All
My Children" and "One Life To Live").
 
With the mentions of 70s shows on TV Land, All in the Family was always TV-PG on TV Land, although most of Season 9 probably could have been TV-G except for the two part episode where they go to California to visit Mike and Gloria. Archie Bunker's Place on the other hand was TV-G on a local channel back in the 90s. What's strange is that Good Times is TV-PG on TV Land but TV-G on TV One, but The Jeffersons is TV-PG-L on TV One, but TV-G on TV Land except for small amount of episodes rated TV-PG-L for use of the n-word.
I've never seen Bonanza be TV-14. I only saw it rated TV-PG on TV Land but Gunsmoke which had more violence was TV-G.

On to newer stuff, The Game was sometimes TV-PG and sometimes TV-14 when it aired on CW, depending on the amount of sexual content. But BET gave every episode, including reruns and new shows, a TV-14-DLS rating. It seems strange because I've seen some episodes that have stronger sexual content where the TV-14 rating is needed but I've seen other episodes that have little to no sexual content and could have been TV-PG.
 
I have to make a correction; "Bonanza" normally gets a TV-PG
on TVLand, but a TV-14 on the Starz Westerns channel. Likewise,
"Gunsmoke" is more inclined to get a TV-G on TVLand (perhaps the
preponderance of shows from the later years is the reason) but a
TV-PG on Starz (which tends to show the black-and-white hours
from the early '60s as well as the 1955-61 episodes, renamed "Marshal
Dillon").
 
Two Disney movies aired on TV stations where I live.

And just below the box with the rating was an explantion. "Suitable for all ages" for the TV-G movie, and "Not recommended for children under 14" under the TV-14 one. Yes, Disney made a TV-14 movie.
 
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