TV & VIDEO - Oct. 20, 1988

So much for “Vive la difference”: France’s National Commission for Communication condemned the country’s independent Channel 5 on Tuesday for broadcasting soft-porn films during prime-time viewing hours and thereby “seriously damaging the morals of our children.” Needless to say, ratings for the two racy films--”Lady Chatterley’s Lover” starring Sylvia Kristel and an American movie called “Joy”--broke records for the fledgling channel, which operates outside of France’s state-controlled TV network. And a Channel 5 executive responded that only seven out of 7 million viewers objected by telephone to the screening of “Joy.”