MTV Complaint - Go hard on kids and say NO to Skins!!!

Posted by throwback on 2011-01-12:

It's your job as a parent to regulate what your children watch. If you don't want them to watch it then don't let them. Teenagers are naturally hardwireed to think about sex, sex, sex. Why people try to deney that is beyond me. Once again, it is the parents job to bring up their chordal educated to make responsibility decisions about their sexuality. If parents are incapable of parenting their children, then they are doing far more damage to their kids than watching a stupid tv show.

Posted by Alain on 2011-01-12:

Use the parental controls on your TV.

Posted by Venice09 on 2011-01-12:

Since you have taught your kid the right things, I doubt that a television show will change his/her mind or behavior. You can't shield kids from outside forces, including television shows. There will always be pressure and bad influences that can't be avoided. Have faith that your child is listening to you and will do the right thing. That's really all you can do.

Posted by Sparticus on 2011-01-12:

I'm with the author on this one. Have any of you seen the commercials for this show? The commercials alone are unbelievable. My wife and I thought it was going to be a anti-drug use commercial. We almost spit our food out when we realized it was an actual show MTV was promoting.

They are glorifying kids doing drugs. Very irresponsible. This has nothing to do with parenting. It is the most irresponsible show I've have ever seen on tv towards kids. And to make things worse the commercials are geared towards teens. That is their target audience. It is disturbing.

Posted by Venice09 on 2011-01-12:

I just took a brief look at one of the commercials, and I actually think it might help prevent teens from behaving that way. I honestly believe that kids are either into this stuff or not and will ultimately do what they want. There is only so much parents can do to steer their kids in the right direction. I don't think a television show is going to turn good kids into bad ones. But I do understand why parents would be upset about this show.

Posted by Lord Rothschild on 2011-01-12:

Here's a link to the commercial for those interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0k8U_7Z6ns

Yeah this looks like garbage but so does most the stuff on TV these days. But hey I'll buy that for a dollar.

Posted by Critical_level2 on 2011-01-12:

I have pretty much locked MTV out on my cable box through parental controls to keep my children from watching teh garbage they now show.

I wanna know what ever happened to the MTV I grew up with where you could watch the latest videos, live performances, etc. all day long. It was Music Television, not the crap they show now.

Posted by Sparticus on 2011-01-12:

Very true Venice. Kids are going to be kids largely based on parenting. But media is an influential tool as well. I hope you are right and there is a net positive effect from the show. It just doesn't sit right with me.

Posted by Ben There on 2011-01-12:

I bet the OP is concerned with the ad that show everything going in reverse. It starts with a girl passed out in a yard and goes backwards through a party. http://www.tv.com/story/24897.html

The reality is that a lot of kids at a schools - especially collge - have access to sex and drugs and many of them at least dabble. Its been a decade, but when I was at university I could have found a party like this any night of the week.

If the thought of your kids being exposed to this scares you, maybe you should watch the show with them and talk about it.

Posted by spiderman2 on 2011-01-12:

I don't think anything on MTV has any redeeming value at all. They are free to show whatever they want, but I am free to not let my children watch the channel.

Posted by Ben There on 2011-01-12:

LOL Spiderman, don't be dissing Snooki.

Posted by clutzycook on 2011-01-12:

I miss the way MTV used to be.

Posted by PepperElf on 2011-01-12:

I'd recommend just blocking the channel if you don't want your kids watching it.

Or teaching the kids that TV and Reality are two different things and that even reality tv shows are fake

Posted by nocryingoverspilledmilk on 2011-01-12:

MTV has the right to free speech. If you don't feel this content is appropriate, block the channel. Keep in mind that you can't shelter your children from everything, if your child really wants to watch the movie, they will find a way. It's up to you as a parent to teach your child right from wrong and that TV shows/movies like this is just a story, nothing more. It is your responsibility after all.

Posted by MRM on 2011-01-12:

Have you seen the kids in public schools? They can be bad influence on your kids as well.

Posted by NorCalSteve on 2011-01-12:

Funny...I thought this was about Skins...as in skinheads....

Just say NO to them too!

Posted by ChuhBaca on 2011-01-12:

MTV is worthless. I'm not even sure how they get away with the 'M' anymore. We never watch it in my home. It's not out of protest or disgust, just that it's the most boring and mindless crap out there! If they actually played music videos the way they started out, then I'm sure we would have our TV on that channel much more often. You could turn on some music videos while getting stuff done.

Posted by Kurizumaru on 2011-01-12:

IMO, the BBC has it right. Air all the family friendly stuff before a certain time and then air a bunch of stuff with Adult Content after that. Do away with the FCC. It will desensitize your kids, yes. But as stated above, you can't shelter them forever. Better in your house than out at some party where they go overboard because they were never talked to about this stuff.

Posted by PepperElf on 2011-01-12:

MRM good point....

I remember the boys in my grade school. They were too young to get porn but they didn't mind drawing their own. So if kids can't get the stuff they want they may try to get it other ways... itunes downloads, torrents, copies from friends.


And Kuri - YES. That's why I weep at the thought of Torchwood going to America. They will have to clean up some of the language. Cos on the BBC they were able to use foul language because it is understood that late evening shows are for adults. And they had the attitude that... if your kid stayed up late to watch them, it's the parent's problem, not the network's.

Posted by justcuz on 2011-01-12:

I didn't know anyone still watched MTV.

There are a lot of 'bad' influences out there, all we can do as parents is raise our kids with morals and a sense of self worth. Healthy self esteem promotes healthy choices.

Posted by NorCalSteve on 2011-01-12:

I remember when MTV first aired...

Back when you had to pay for a subscription..

Posted by justcuz on 2011-01-12:

Dang Steve...you must be old! LOL!

Posted by PepperElf on 2011-01-12:

"Back when you had to pay for a subscription."

I don't remember that. i just remember them being part of the cable package we had. tho i know we weren't the first people in the area to get cable either. tho... back then i also had no idea what Mom & Dad paid for stuff either.

tho i do remember we only had cable on one TV. The other TV was black & white and still had the UHF dial.

Posted by Wally86 on 2011-01-12:

Does MTV even play music anymore? 90 percent of the programing is mostly reality shows, so much for music Television.

Posted by NorCalSteve on 2011-01-12:

Headbangers Ball was the shizzle back in the day...before they started playing that god awful 'hair metal' sh*t....

Posted by PepperElf on 2011-01-12:

wally.... they stopped playing music back in the late 90s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV#Fewer_music_videos
Wiki agrees - they started playing less music vids throughout the day and started concentrating on specials. then in the last decade they really cut back... going from 8 hours of music a day down to just 3.


As for why there's no tv shows on MTV about kids doing well in school...
that's probably because ... that frankly sounds boring. Who (besides the OP) wants to watch a tv show about kids being nauseatingly perfect? Where's the drama in that?


For programming like that... I'd recommend getting Nickelodeon. They might still be running old shows like "The Brady Bunch" or "The Donna Reed Show". Maybe even some "Bewitched" if you'd like some controversy.

Posted by NorCalSteve on 2011-01-12:

It's all the 'Real World's' fault......

Posted by justcuz on 2011-01-12:

Hair metal, *sigh*...boy, did I ever have a crush on Vince Neil!

Posted by NorCalSteve on 2011-01-12:

I liked Motley up until the Theatre of Pain album...Too Fast for Love being my favorite.....


Lita Ford....mmmmmmmmm

Posted by Kurizumaru on 2011-01-12:

I'm with you on that Pepper. I've seen the reruns on BBCAmerica and they hurt enough. *sigh* Is it sad that BBC's system is one of the leading reasons I want to move to the UK?

Pepper, something else you said: It does sound boring about kids doing well in school. Also, Sex sells. Sorry, but that is a fact.

Posted by littleshorty on 2011-01-12:

MTV used to have a show called 'Undressed.' That was like soft core porn

Posted by trp2hevn on 2011-01-12:

Same here just cause!

Posted by PepperElf on 2011-01-12:

Kur - not surprised here. I like the BBCs shows better than the ones here.

Though my BF did introduce me to Big Bang Theory.

But yeah... in the BBC things are interesting. When I saw the original Torchwood episode I was a bit surprised that they got away with dropping an f-bomb. Then I realized... they England knows that the kids are (or should be) asleep. Not to mention that Handsome Jack's sexual preference is "anyone with a post code". :-)

Posted by Inat on 2011-01-12:

yeah, teens want sex, or at least like to think about it - no matter what you teach them. Like most shows on MTV, this show has nothing to do with reality - just like my favorite show "My Sweet 16" - my kid can watch that all he/she wants but i'll be damned if they're going to get a $150k car after a $100k party :) - same with Skins - they can watch it all they want but i'll guarantee, their parties and school are NOTHING like that portrayed.

Posted by karleebarlee on 2011-01-12:

Actually the True Life series on MTV is pretty good and it's not raunchy or anything. I like to watch 16 & Pregnant just because it's entertaining to watch trainwrecks on television. 16 & Pregnant was originally created to show teenagers how hard it is to raise a baby as a teenager. Not every single one of MTV's shows glorifies sex and drugs.

Posted by Inat on 2011-01-12:

actually, that portrayal isnt too far off - i had A LOT of fun in HS - just less promiscuity and drugs

Posted by Kurizumaru on 2011-01-12:

Pepper: I like that in the fandom we refer to Jack as Omni-sexual. lol

TBBT is awesome too. I'm slightly horrified to see and American versio of Being Human :-/ Hopefully they do better by it than they did to Life on Mars...

Posted by Venice09 on 2011-01-12:

I remember when MTV debuted. It came with cable at no extra charge. At the time, it was the most fascinating thing I had ever seen on television. They didn't have a lot of videos at in the beginning, but I was hooked from the first one. I'd stay up all night waiting to see what was next.

Posted by Andrea13 on 2011-01-12:

Interesting, Venice09. Where I lived we did not have cable, so I missed out on that.

Posted by Justice-4-All on 2011-01-12:

NorCal> LOL! Headbangers Ball and Yo MTV Raps! That was stuff you actually stayed home for and tuned in with all your friends.

You are spot on with your assessment of The Real World ruining MTV. Reality tv in general has flooded the market and ruined regular tv.

Posted by Justice-4-All on 2011-01-12:

First video ever aired on MTV...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiJ9AnNz47Y&feature=related

Posted by Venice09 on 2011-01-12:

Hothead, we got cable when we moved into our first house in 1979. I'm pretty sure we had HBO, too. There wasn't much programming, and nothing ran 24 hours, but it certainly was an interesting concept. It's really no surprise that it evolved into what we have today.

Posted by PepperElf on 2011-01-13:

o boy i remember that song.
not sure if i saw it first air tho... i just have a hazy memory of a video.


of course, thinking about the BBC that's also why they might pull references to Doctor who - like the hand in the jar and the one time they played the TARDIS sound... but they'll never actually have the Doctor guest star on it... DW is traditionally a "family" show, so they won't encourage the kids to stay up late or watch something naughty.

besides it's kinda sweet that the only spin off he's been on is the Adventures of Sarah Jane. :)

Posted by Kurizumaru on 2011-01-13:

Pepper: Yeah. I like DW and yes it is a "family show" but I could never get into the Adventures of Sarah Jane. I did like the sweet Mega crossover episode at the end of Season 4 though.

Now that RTD has kept Torchwood and kinda cut ties with DW, I don't think we'll get many more references to DW anymore. I would have liked to see the Doctor show up during Children of Earth though. That would have only made sense to me. *sigh* Oh well.

Posted by PepperElf on 2011-01-13:

that's because ASJ is for kids really.hey ... there we go. The OP wanted a tv show about kids doing well in school.

The OP should check out The Adventures of Sarah Jane!!!!

It's a TV show about kids who do well in school (one's a genius), they have good manners, and they protect the earth against evil aliens.

So drop MTV and pick up BBC America :-D


and yeah, the DW/ASJ episodes are cute. Though I am a bit sad they wrote Luke off but... well he is getting a bit old for the show, cos he's 17 in real life now. Almost old enough to be one of the Doctor's Companions actually....tho i don't think that would work.

Posted by Kurizumaru on 2011-01-13:

Luke would be an AMAZING companion! I'd love to see Jenny come back though. >_>

Posted by punxnotdead80 on 2011-01-14:

"Damn why can't MTV have a show that shows kids doing great in school and not being followers???"

Because that is PBS's job. :p

Posted by Mike in FL on 2011-01-17:

Turn off the TV and cancel your subscription to cable if you don't want YOUR children watching shows you find inappropriate. You'll save some money each month on top of that.

Posted by PepperElf on 2011-01-18:

Luke would be an AMAZING companion!


i dunno about that one though. usually the Doctor picks companions who actually *need* him, to open up their eyes to what's out there. Luke doesn't need that. Plus - the writers like to have someone in the TARDIS for the Doctor to explain stuff too, so there's a reason to explain it to the audience.

But I do think Luke would be a great recurring character.

Posted by Kurizumaru on 2011-01-18:

yeah, he could be the next Mickey or something. I think it would be great.