Parents Television Council Says American Idol Finale Crossed the Line

Parents’ Television Council is angry about the American Idol Season 8 Finale results show, aired on May 20, saying American Idol crossed the line of decency and cautioned FOX that the popular “family-friendly”, “family-hour”, prime-time show may alienate viewers. Parents Television Council (PTC) is a self-proclaimed, non-partisan Watch Dog group, founded by Brett Bozell in 1995 as an “education organization advocating responsible entertainment, to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media”.
PTC President, Tim Winter, says the “finale of American Idol demonstrated all the aspects that make television great — a months-long competition coming down to two finalists with a Cinderella story ending. Unfortunately, it also demonstrated what’s wrong with television when Fox decided that gratuitous shock value in front of a huge family audience is a good thing, rather than a bad thing. If Fox isn’t careful, they will alienate the family audience foundation upon which the success of Idol has been built.”
PTC voted American Idol on Fox the worst TV show of the week, followed by Family Guy in the number 2 spot. Vote For The Worst, probably the bane of American Idol’s existence, flippantly reported: “PTC is angry that Kara DioGaurdi took her dress off, Bikini Girl made an appearance, and the Black Eyed Peas performed a song with swear words in it.” VFTW concludes that PTC’s concerns about Katrina Darrell’s return as the Bikini Girl showing off her “new enhancements”, and the Black Eyed Peas performance of “Boom Boom Pow” with sexual lyrics and profanity means “they’re just homely old shrews who need to get a life”.
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