SYNDICATED ‘SEX AND THE CITY’ EPISODES CHOPPED DOWN TO SEVEN MINUTES
Foul-mouthed ‘Samantha’ character eliminated from TBS reruns, replaced by ‘adorable’ puppy
HOLLYWOOD – The Emmy-winning HBO series “Sex and the City” has begun its run on TBS, but the episodes have been severely edited because of its raunchy scenes. Kim Cattrall’s “Samantha” character has been completely edited out of the cleaned-up episodes and replaced by a cute, innocent Golden Retriever. TBS has been promoting the show with the slogan, “No Sex. No Profanity. Lots of Commercials.” For TBS, “Sex and the City” appears to be a tough sell. The promotions that the network has been airing don’t exactly make the show out to be a must-see. The move by TBS follows the decision by the Federal Communications Commission to raise fines for airing indecent material on broadcast television. Indecency on the airwaves has attracted worldwide attention since pop singer Janet Jackson exposed her breast during the National Football League’s Super Bowl championship game aired on Viacom Inc.’s CBS broadcast network in February.
“I don’t have HBO, and this is the first time I’ve seen the show,” says 48 year old Rebecca Schmitt of Columbus, Ohio. “I don’t know why people made such a big fuss over it. It’s very tame.”
“I was expecting a lot more,” says David Grimes of Bryce, Utah who had never seen the show until it finally aired on TBS. “I watched all week, and I didn’t see one breast. Very disappointing.”
Feeling pressured by the FCC, executives at TBS decided to purge “Sex and the City” of its raunchy scenes, leaving most of the show on the cutting room floor. Actress Kim Cattrall was reportedly shocked to find out that her Samantha character was completely cut out. According to Us Weekly, Cattrall discovered the news only after watching an episode on TBS. Her character’s vocabulary - indeed her entire personality - was built on brutally frank words and deeds that don’t translate to the comparatively prim standards of broadcast television. TBS is now facing a storm of criticism from diehard “Sex and the City” fans for caving into the pressure from the FCC.
“The decision to replace Cattrall with an awesome, adorable puppy is not entirely based on the pressure from the FCC,” says Steve Koonin, executive vice president and chief operating officer of TBS. “We also thought that Cattrall isn’t that great of an actress. If you don’t remember, she was in ‘Police Academy’ and ‘Porky’s.’ Once we eliminated all the foul language from Samantha, she was barely in the show. We figured we might as well replace her with a puppy to fill in the empty space on the screen once Cattrall was digitally erased.”
Koonin adds that the network’s research shows that the addition of the puppy (also named Samantha on the program) has attracted a new demographic.
“Suddenly, toddlers are tuning into ‘Sex and the City,’” says Koonin. “They watch the TV and smile when they see the adorable Samantha puppy. Mentally-ill patients also enjoy seeing the puppy.”
TBS is using the series as the centerpiece for its branding campaign. The two general-interest Turner networks are trying to distinguish themselves stylistically - TBS as the home for sexless programs, and TNT as a destination for drama.
For HBO, selling “Sex and the City” to TBS is obviously a financial windfall. The network is now in negotiations with TBS to sell it future syndicated episodes of “Oz” and “Deadwood.”
ROFLMAO! My Samantha is a star!!!
