PTC = Parental Television Cult

You know, I’ve been watching primetime television since I was 10 years old. I remember watching The Wonder Years, Cheers, and the first season of The Simpsons. And do you know who was sitting right beside me? If you said, “His mother” you win one shiny nickel.
When Married…with Children started catching flack for their racey storylines, it was a soccer mom from the suberbs who sued. There wasn’t a real reason for it, other than she wasn’t paying attention to what her children were watching.

…and that’s what the PTC is all about.

A bunch of soccer moms and conservatives drill sargent fathers, grabbing a drink from their unlocked liquor cabinets and checking their guns that are placed in an easily located area of the house. They turned on the tube to realize (only after the fact) that their children are watching….GASP!….Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

And only after the fact they are outraged. So what do the soccer moms and drill sargent dads do? Well of course they won’t blame themselves. Dad’s out shagging his secretary, while Junior’s at home. Mom’s looking for her pills in the bathroom, and must get to the supermarket or she’ll be out of Evian. They can’t blame themselves for Junior’s “demise” in front of the only mom and dad he’s ever frickin’ known, can they?

So who do they blame? The entertainment industry.

Heaven forbid mom and dad actually say, “It’s my fault” or “No” to their children. That wouldn’t be P.C.

We live in a society that says, “It’s not MY fault” all the time. Never actually taking the rap for anything, and that’s so sad.

So let’s blame a TV show that deals with real life situations in a fantasy world. Let’s blame a show where parent/child relationships are more true than anything on TV or maybe in the PTC’s own reality. Because really, who’s living in a fantasy? The Scoobies in Sunnydale, or the PTC?

Are they a cult? Yeah. I’d be scared more infront of their yapping pseudo-intellectual ramblings, than any horned demon in Sunnydale. You can quote me. Just call the PTC the “Parental Television Cult”. Next we’ll see a pill to put kids to sleep during one of their “bad” shows. It seems only logical.

Oh, by the way…my mom and I have a great relationship and I’m 21 now. We watched a South Park episode the other day, and she’s TiVo’ing Angel on Sunday.

Yeah, TV can really screw up your child, can’t it? Rant Over. – Mac