An article on the CBS airing of "Brotherhood"

Post by **Hilary the Touched** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 4:37 pm

http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJ ... FlZUVFeXk3

From NorthJersey.com:

Sunday, July 16, 2006

By VIRGINIA ROHAN
STAFF WRITER

Rohan's riffs

On Tuesday, when CBS announced it would be airing an "encore presentation" of the pilot of sister network Showtime's new drama series "Brotherhood," I was mystified. How could CBS air such an edgy, violent, profanity-laced pay-cable project on broadcast television, especially in this era of hefty indecency fines?

The planned TV14-LV parental guideline rating (which you no doubt saw if you watched "Brotherhood" on CBS Saturday night) would not have done the trick. "Brotherhood," as I noted in last Sunday's column, really pushes the envelope, with graphic brutality and even full frontal male nudity.

Had the "Brotherhood" producers, I wondered, shot "cover" versions of some scenes, the way "The Sopranos" had? (A longtime Bada Bing dancer told me that those club scenes, for example, were shot two ways, with the background dancers working topless and sporting bathing-suit tops. This is making it easier for A&E to edit the series for syndication.)

According to CBS spokesman Chris Ender, the sanitizing of the "Brotherhood" pilot was achieved with good, old-fashioned editing.

"The Showtime presentation last Sunday was 55 minutes," Ender said Thursday. "The broadcast version is 48 minutes. There was some language, nudity and violence that had to be edited to make it suitable for broadcast television."

Matthew C. Blank, chairman and CEO of Showtime Networks, said in a statement that he hoped CBS' re-airing of the "Brotherhood" pilot would "showcase it to the most viewers and potential Showtime subscribers possible."

Is there any chance, though, that CBS might continue to air episodes of "Brotherhood" after they've premiered on Showtime, the way ABC did a few years back with "Monk"?

Said Ender, "You never say never, but there's nothing planned beyond this week."

Post by **Gillian** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 7:48 pm

There was some language / that had to be edited

No kidding ... "You and you're band of happy muggers!"
I mean, wtf? The whole thing was a hatchet job. It was so poorly done it was almost painful to watch. Better they had shot some covers than just slapping in the voice-overs.

Sorry, but it really pissed me off.

Wildevine · Post by **Wildevine** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 5:06 pm

Yeah, I saw it on CBS but am getting someone to tape it for me from Showtime. I was kind of pissed too, (I think I got into hot water over on the zone for my opinion) because instead of showing the "show" for the sake of the show, it was just a big advertisement for Showtime. If the producers had wanted to make a sanitized "family" show, they would have made something for the networks in the first place. I hate stupid dubbing. I don't know a kid that can't lip read over that anyway. I never let my kids watch shows like that anyway, I like to have something for myself!! Oh, well, at least I got a little eye candy in.
And I don't know about you guys, but I thought the accent was pretty good. Stronger and then weaker New England, but I never heard him slip into Brit. (maybe in the edited out stuff)
Janet.

Post by **Gillian** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 5:31 pm

I agree Janet. I think what burns me is that seemed a very last minute job, and not entirely thought out. In my opinion they should have just bleeped out the profanity rather than using poorly chosen dubs. That way you at least satisfy the censors while the audience has no doubt as to the type of content. And really, some of it was just plain anal. It's ten o'clock at night and they're telling me they still can't use the word "hell". I mean really, it's not like civiliization as we know it will come to an end.

Maybe it's a good thing this is a one off for CBS.