S, L, V, D: Drawing the Line

Now that the TV industry has agreed to add labels for sex, coarse language, violence and even suggestive dialogue (S, L, V and D) to TV programming this fall, the TV executives who will actually apply the labels say they face a daunting task.

Despite what some members of Congress said in advocating the new symbols, TV executives warn, rating the content of shows is not like listing the ingredients on a can of soup.

“These judgments are subjective, and there are no bright lines defining and separating the categories,” Peggy Binzel, senior vice president of the Fox TV network, said in an interview.

“If you thought there were controversies and inconsistencies over which shows received a TV-PG rating and which got a TV-14,” said one network executive, referring to the current age-based ratings, “wait till you see the inconsistencies and controversies that will arise when the networks have to start adding symbols for sex, language, violence and dialogue on top of the current ratings.”

Under pressure from Congress and children’s groups, all of the broadcast and cable TV networks except NBC recently agreed to add symbols for S, L, V and/or D to the age-based movie-style TV ratings that have been applied to TV shows since January.

The new guidelines--which the networks have promised to apply by Oct. 1--define a PG-rated show as one whose theme calls for parental guidance “and/or which contains one or more of the following: moderate violence (V), some sexual situations (S), infrequent coarse language (L) or some suggestive dialogue (D).”

A TV-14-rated show is defined as one where caution is “strongly urged” for children under 14, with the show containing “one or more of the following: intense violence (V), intense sexual situations (S), strong coarse language (L) or intensely suggestive dialogue (D).”

The difficulty is that there’s no master list of words or situations that would automatically trigger the addition of one or more of the new symbols. Each network’s standards-and-practices department will apply the new symbols, as each applies the age-based ratings, to shows on its network.

“I don’t think one ‘damn’ in a PG-rated sitcom would trigger the addition of an ‘L’ label,” said one network executive who, like others interviewed, was reluctant to project specific ratings for shows. “ ‘Bastard,’ ‘ass’ and words like that probably would be TV-14-L. But you have to look at each episode,” the executive said.

What kind of rating would ABC’s “Drew Carey Show” receive for a recent episode that included the words “butt crack” in describing a game of Twister? Probably a TV-PG-L, executives said.

The difference between S and D is “the difference between talking about it and doing it,” as one network executive puts it, only half-jokingly. In general, executives said, innuendo-laced shows like CBS’ “The Nanny” or “Cybill” would receive a TV-PG-D rating, although “Cybill” and NBC’s “Friends” have received some TV-14s this season for episodes, including one in which Cybill visited a strip joint. Daytime soap operas--which have been receiving TV-14s--probably will get TV-14-S ratings, executives say.

But there will probably be public disputes on this subject, and on other categories. Some children’s groups at one point suggested calling hugging and kissing “mild sexual interactions,” and one network executive said, “I’m not inclined to slap an S on an affectionate hug.”

The main problem with the new guidelines, executives say, is that there’s no way to differentiate between content that teaches consequences and content that’s merely exploitative.

“In this system, there’s no such thing as a ‘good’ V,” said John Wells, executive producer of NBC’s “ER.”

“If we have an episode of ‘Touched by an Angel’ that deals with the rescue of a prostitute whose life is depicted, we’re probably going to have to put an S on the episode, even though it’s uplifting,” said Carol Altieri, vice president of standards and practices at CBS. “That, to me, illustrates the biggest flaw in this system.”

In determining the ratings for violence, executives said, the level of the content will help determine whether a show is TV-PG-V or TV-14-V. Altieri said, for example, that an episode of the network’s “Walker, Texas Ranger” with a few karate kicks by star Chuck Norris would probably get a TV-PG-V, and an episode “about an escaped convict who holds 18 people hostage” would probably get a TV-14-V.

Fox’s “Millennium” probably would get a TV-14-V for this season’s episodes, Binzel said.

What about blood and gore in the operating room, on CBS’ “Chicago Hope” or NBC’s “ER”? The network will give a V to depicted violence, executives said. But they don’t consider a heart transplant violence.

Several adult-oriented series on broadcast TV will probably get symbols for several content categories each week. ABC’s “NYPD Blue” (currently rated TV-14) will probably get multiple labels for sex, language, violence and/or dialogue in some episodes, ABC President Bob Iger told The Times.

CBS entertainment chief Les Moonves recently told TV critics that the pilot for the network’s “Brooklyn South,” a new police drama from Steven Bochco, probably will receive a TV-MA (for mature audiences), with multiple symbols because of a violent shootout, language and sexual content.

As a major concession to children’s groups, the networks agreed to add a new label--FV, for fantasy violence--to indicate children’s shows that contain the kind of cartoonish “combat” violence the critics consider potentially harmful to kids. These labels would be added to the current TV-Y7 category of children’s programming, indicating children’s shows suitable for children over 7.

Executives at the Nickelodeon children’s channel said they did not expect to add FV to any of their shows.

Fox’s Binzel said that she expects the network’s “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” to be labeled TV-Y7-FV, along with such animated superhero shows as “Batman,” “Spider-Man” and “X-Men.”

NBC, which objects to the new guidelines as the product of government “coercion,” plans to continue using the age-based guidelines without the additional symbols. The network has already added advisories for violence to two TV movies and intends to add a warning that the “violence in this episode is unusual for this series” to next Wednesday’s episode of “Homicide.” But NBC has not said whether it plans to create other advisories for sex, language and dialogue in the future.

Given that NBC and CBS have yet to resolve the inconsistency between rating Jay Leno TV-14 and David Letterman TV-PG, it seems certain that average viewers--not to mention advocacy groups--will have different interpretations of the augmented ratings this fall. (Several representatives of parents’ and children’s groups will be added to the TV industry’s monitoring board to review complaints about ratings.) But since the industry’s ratings are voluntary, a network cannot be forced to change a show’s rating.