Body count rises in prime time

The body count in prime-time television these days rivals that of a war zone.

The popularity of CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” its spinoffs, imitators and other crime or supernatural shows has made network TV home to a high amount of blood ‘n’ guts. During the last week of September, there were 63 dead bodies visible during prime time on the six broadcast networks. That’s up from the 27 bodies counted during the same week in 2004.

“Gore is not a goal in and of itself,” said Peter Liguori, Fox entertainment president. “Accurate storytelling is. When you look at a show like ‘Bones,’ Bones is a real-life forensic psychologist. This is what she sees on a daily basis when she’s called in to solve a case.”

Liguori, who has children ages 11 and 14, said he knows “CSI” is not appropriate for most kids. But he said it’s up to parents to monitor and decide what their children should watch.