KBYU has pulled the plug on another PBS production, citing incompatibility between the program's nudity and language and the station's position as "Utah's family station."
After the War, the ongoing series currently being offered on "Masterpiece Theatre," will not complete the final three installments of its eight-part run on KBYU because station officials found they couldn't keep up with all of the editing they were having to do to make the series acceptable for Ch. 11."Up to this point we've been doing a pretty skillful job of editing offensive material without compromising the artistic integrity of the piece," said KBYU station manager Mel Rogers during a telephone interview Wednesday. "But the sexuality has been getting more explicit as the series goes on, and it's come to the point where we just can't be true to our values and to the artist at the same time. So we feel it's in everyone's best interest if we just not continue the series.
"We hate having to do this, especially having to stop in the middle of a series," Rogers said. "But our viewers trust us to provide television that is thoroughly compatible with local community values and standards. And we take that responsibility very seriously."
Rogers reminded viewers that the remaining episodes of "After the War" can be seen in their unedited entirety on KUED, Ch. 7, Sundays at 9 p.m.
According to Rogers, PBS programming officials usually give local affiliate stations some indication of sexual or violent content prior to the start of a new program or series. But for some reason, he said, no such warnings were given for "After the War." KBYU programmer BaBette Davidson said that "we had no indication until the series was already under way that it was full of potential problems."
"Initially, we spent a great deal of time and money editing carefully so we wouldn't have to take entire scenes out," Rogers said. "But that just became impossible in later episodes. And we're certainly not going to start carrying nudity on KBYU, so our options, really, were limited."
Which creates an ongoing difficulty for the BYU- (and therefore LDS Church-) owned station. PBS has been allowing nudity in its programs for some time - always, of course, in the name of "art."
"It's like, if a naked person has a British accent it's somehow not considered purient," Rogers said. "If what you're doing is perceived as art, you can get away with almost anything."
But not on KBYU. The station has a reputation for editing freely, and occasionally choosing not to carry programs at all. The decision to do so is made a little easier by knowing that the area's primary PBS affiliate, KUED, is carrying the most controversial programs - nudity and language intact. Because frustrated viewers can usually be referred to Ch. 7's listings, KBYU can probably be a lot pickier than similarly minded stations in markets where there is only one PBS affiliate.
And make no mistake about it: There are similarly minded stations.
"I've heard from several other stations that have the same reaction to `After the War' that we do," Rogers said. "PBS is hearing about this, and I suspect they'll be a little more careful about alerting us to these problems in the future."
But will they tone down the nudity in the future?
"It's a cyclical thing," Rogers said. "It'll probably go down a little for a while, but then it'll come right back up again. That's the way it is at PBS."
Just not at KBYU.
-ADD "WAR": Replacing the last two installments of "After the War" on KBYU will be "Television News Photography: The 36th NPPA Awards" (Feb. 25 at 11:25 p.m.) and "Masterpiece Theatre: Northanger Abby" (March 4 at 11 p.m.).
-IN AND OUT AT KUTV: Reporter Vaughn Roche has returned to Ch. 2 after working for KMGH (also known as KUTV-East) in Denver. . . . Ch. 2's Washington correspondent Rick Shenkman has taken a leave of absence to work on his third book. His most recent piece of non-fiction, "Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History," had a respectable run on the New York Times best-seller list. . . . And KALL Radio newscaster Mary Sawyers will become a TV reporter next week when she joins the KUTV reporting staff.
-SAY BYE-BYE, DEE DEE. Actress Stepfanie Kramer, who plays Dee Dee McCall on Hunter, has announced that she'll leave the show after this season, indicating that "after six years on `Hunter,' I feel the time has come for me to expand creatively into other levels of expression."
You just knew she was going to say something like that, didn't you?
No word yet as to whether she'll be allowed to walk off the show or if her character will make a more violent exit. But it will be revealed in Saturday's episode (9 p.m., Ch. 2) that she and Hunter have had more than just a working relationship, if you know what I mean. (Guess that kills KBYU's chances to land the syndicated "Hunter" reruns.)