Are the Days of 'Wholesome Programming' Behind Us?

by SodaHead Film Posted 2012/01/19 14:00:00

Related Topics: TV, Wholesome, Abc Family, Television, Family, ABC, New York, Quotes, Rating, South Park, President, Work, Sex, New York Times, Game

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757 votes
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	Yes	569 votes	75%
	No	188 votes	25%

Television has been getting exponentially more risque for decades now, taking cues from shows like "Sex and the City" and "South Park" that push the boundaries and don't look back. But it's gotten to the point that viewers looking for something more traditional -- wholesome, if you will -- are running out of options. That's why ABC Family has vowed to bring back wholesome TV.

There isn't much information on what form this "wholesome" material will take, but The New York Times quotes ABC Family president Michael Riley on it, so they've got something in the works. Currently, relatively clean shows like "The Lying Game" and "Pretty Little Liars" are giving the network's ratings a huge boost, so expanding on that success seems like a logical next step.

+26

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Mr Wayne 2012/01/19 14:08:03

Yes

+19
Humor is now defined by dick jokes.
Families are defined by the amount of members in and out of prison.
The money maker for households is now drugs or prostitution.
And anyone who disagrees with these is "old and should die already".
At least according to Hollywood, The media, This website, and anyone under 30.
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More polls by SodaHead Film

NoobGotPowned 2012/01/20 05:40:10 (edited)

Yes

+2

Even Carlton has big bootie bitches now!!!!

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KendraT... to NoobGot... 2012/01/20 12:21:59

+2
Thumbs up for Carlton dancing.

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rhstarr 2012/01/20 05:24:27

Yes

+1
I often asked myself the same question. Where has the wholesome programming gone. I hate the fact that most the shows today are gross. There are few shows that i let my kids watch. When new shows come out i have to watch them first. If i dont like what i see then its a no go in my house. Thank goodness there is the hallmark channel, and tv land. They have good shows on them. There is another channel can't remember the name.

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theJosmo 2012/01/20 05:07:17

Yes

I think there's a difference between wholesome and white-bread dull. Heck, I consider Judge Judy wholesome because at least she calls out white-trash behavior. People talk about how old TV programs promoted "unobtainable perfection" how about unobtainable ideas of hyper masculinity and feminine sex appeal?
Disney had Duck Tails, Gargoyles, etc. Now it has the talented table-dancer Miley Cyrus.

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Redskin 2012/01/20 04:13:38

Yes

+1
If your talking about programming of white people doing the boring things that's put out to "educate the masses on what they should be like" then yes.
This is considered Wholesome entertainment:

This is the type o tv that I find entertainin tho,
even if its sorta frowned upon by most parents and older audiences.

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ScoutLdr 2012/01/20 03:58:28

Yes

+1
Those days are long gone! Television is about sex and violence, today.

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RogerCoppock 2012/01/20 03:53:16

Yes

Yes, and that's good.

ABC's attempt to reverse the trend will fail.

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The Dude 2012/01/20 03:51:31

Yes

+1
I think the days of wholesome family life is behind us..

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☆ QueenAline 2012/01/20 03:35:49

Yes

+2
absolutely....that's part of the destruction of family values...and why this country is so messed up today....

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RKW to ☆ Queen... 2012/01/20 16:53:29

If your "Family Values" can be destroyed by a tee vee program, they were never very strong "values" to begin with...

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Lilymoon 2012/01/20 02:58:09

Yes

With all the shows on today that deal with crime and sex, I think if wholesome shows were shown people would be bored. Then you have all the reality shows that deal with every subject you can imagine. I don't know where wholesome shows would fit in.

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bohemianwild 2012/01/20 02:54:20

No

There will always be room for shows like the Honeymooners, I Love Lucy and the Andy Griffith Show!

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kelly 2012/01/20 02:46:46

No

id like to hope not and ill leave it at that

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Joseph Arrington 2012/01/20 02:43:13

Yes

+2
Thankfully! Unfortunately "wholesome" television created an unobtainable fantasy that people attempted to measure up to. Life doesn't fit neatly in little boxes. People are not angelically good or demoniacally evil. And they don't need to be presented with an impossible version of reality where everything is just wonderful, they need to see themselves, people they can identify with.

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ren 2012/01/20 01:48:00

No

+1
The Andy Griffin show? leave it to Beaver? M.A.S.H? That one show with the fonz in it? Those are still on though there nothing but reruns.

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NickThe... to ren 2012/01/20 02:09:36 (edited)

"That one show with the fonz" You mean Happy Days? Even that wasn't innocent...

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rhstarr to NickThe... 2012/01/20 05:31:11

+1
It's more innocent than a lot of today shows. Plus there was always a life lesson in it. You don't see that in any show now a days.

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VioletY... to ren 2012/01/20 02:41:58

+1
My dad and I prefer Leave it to Beavis.

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Wayzuns 2012/01/20 01:44:48

Yes

We as viewers never said "enough" when they started to sneak cursing onto primetime tv. Now it's sex, race, and any number of other things that don't add to television at all other that to scum it up. We used the excuse that if it's okay for cable it's okay for free tv. We shall reap what we have allowed them to sow, and have nobody to blame but ourselves.

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Randa<3 2012/01/20 01:41:21

Yes

haha:(

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flowercivic 2012/01/20 00:36:53

No

Granted a number of stations have programming not suitable for small kids or people that get offended easily. They are out there though!

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BUD LITE 2012/01/20 00:25:19

Yes

+2
I wish some of the old shows were back.

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rhstarr to BUD LITE 2012/01/20 05:32:39

+2
Me too, it would be a lot easier to find shows to watch with my kids.

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Keen Tojones 2012/01/20 00:06:37

Yes

+1
Yes, it was quite a media spoof, that charade. sniff sniff, I almost miss it.

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D D 2012/01/19 23:23:32

Yes

When we had a babysitter they told her now MASH. I also wasn't allowed to watch Fantasy Island.

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Zammo 2012/01/19 23:12:07

No

+1
No, just the days of no choice. Along with everything else, my cable gets TBN, Nick, Toon, Disney, Insp, Food, MyTV, This, MeTV, Hub, Boom, TVLand, Hallmark, GMC(That's gospel music channel, not General Motors!), BYU TV, I don't know how many different sports channels, and others.

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some idiot who thinks he kn... 2012/01/19 23:07:05

Yes

+4
No one these days are Ernest and sweet anymore. You can't really tell a girl she's pretty now because that's considered creepy. The whole coming-of-age era is pretty much over. Kids feel alienated and Adults are a little too uptight with political correctness. I want all the great things of living to happen, but no, we're too selfish to each other.

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prosperhappily 2012/01/19 23:06:19

No

+3
I should have said yes.

The adult risque stuff is the stuff that gets the press and the ratings.

But, there needs to be a balance. We do live in a world with kids and some adults who want to keep it clean. There should be options for them.

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rhstarr to prosper... 2012/01/20 05:36:16

Yea, that would be nice. Maybe if the put the risque show on after nine or some time that most kids sleep.

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prosper... to rhstarr 2012/01/20 20:57:06

+1
Or put the clean stuff & the risque stuff on separate channels. But, I doubt it's ever going to be that neat.

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rhstarr to prosper... 2012/01/20 21:20:42

+1
There is and idea too. Me I lock my some of my channels at 430 and dont unlock till morning. So yea putting them on separate channels is a good idea.

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Lorelei Lee 2012/01/19 22:57:34

Yes

+1
But they may go back to it because they are running out of ideas. That show about the two men who start dressing as women to get jobs,was cancelled after two episodes. A lot of new shows that came out last September were cancelled shortly after it aired or was closed to it.

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ryan.noh1 to Lorelei... 2012/01/20 00:00:10

+2
That was just the dumbest idea ever, all morals aside.

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Biguy to Lorelei... 2012/01/20 20:49:24 (edited)

+1
Sounded like a retread of Bosom Buddies to me but I didn't watch it so I wouldn't know for sure.

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findthelight2000 2012/01/19 22:54:00 (edited)

Yes

+3
However, it is not the fault of the industry. The fault lie directly on our own selves - it just wasn't "cool" to watch goody-goody wholesome TV anymore, and we stopped watching it. I would love to see it return, myself.

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Suzy_Q 2012/01/19 22:39:07

Yes

+1
I...... I....... I can't believe they managed to put "Sex and the City" and "South Park" in the same sentence... To make a point!

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Aerosol Diamonds 2012/01/19 22:21:03

Yes

+1
For two reasons:
One - our culture is not blinded by materialistic and cultural innocence.
Two - the quality of our programming is at its lowest point, thanks to said materialism.

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Jdogg 2012/01/19 22:13:34

Yes

I don't watch much tv anymore.

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Tombo 2012/01/19 22:03:45

Yes

+5
Sadly So!

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NickTheAceBassist 2012/01/19 22:01:32

Yes

+2
If you call ABC Family wholesome programming you are either a teenage girl or there is just something wrong with you...

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