If congress decides that the FCC should regulate cable television the way it does broadcasters, we may end up pointing to our friends at FX as the reason why.
I can just see congressional hearings where they play clips from the new FX comedy "Starved." Followed by uproar and outrage on the part of our representatives. Followed by passage of cable-regulation bills. Followed by cable-network executives decrying this intrusion into your freedoms. And their wallets.
Not that FX is the only basic-cable channel that gets away with stuff the broadcast networks wouldn't even dare try. And, given how much "adult" content you see on broadcast networks these days, that's saying something.
And it's not like "Starved" is the only show on FX that is too "adult" for broadcast networks. "The Shield," "Nip/Tuck," "Rescue Me" and "Over There" are all shows I've given great reviews to that included strong warnings about their content.
These are shows that would be right at home on HBO or Showtime. About the only thing they're lacking that you can find on pay-cable is the F-word.
As much success as FX has had with dramas, it has struggled to find comedies. The latest attempts, "Starved" (tonight at 11 p.m. on FX) and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (tonight at 11:30 p.m.), are certainly in the FX style — full of "adult" language and content.
But "Starved" in particular pushes so far beyond the bounds of taste it's in a category of its own.
The show has come in for no small amount of criticism because of its subject matter — its about four friends with eating disorders, including compulsive overeating, anorexia and bulimia. Creator/writer/director/star Eric Schaeffer has taken the "Seinfeld" format — three largely unlikable guys and a girl in New York — and given them mental disorders.
Ha, ha.
But even if we put all that aside, there are other problems. "Starved" is just incredibly crude and distasteful.
I can't go into a lot of detail in the newspaper, but tonight's episode revolves around colonics and a dominatrix. And about the only good news is they're separate storylines.
I made the mistake of trying to catch up on some TV watching by putting the DVD of "Starved" in my portable player while on a plane recently and quickly had to shut it off before the poor woman next to me thought I was watching porn. Really.
I know that cable and broadcast are not the same. I know that consumers are making a choice when they buy cable. But in most American homes these days, there's little if any distinction between basic-cable and broadcast channels.
And, while many cable subscribers in Utah aren't getting these shows until after 11 p.m., satellite subscribers are getting them as early as 9 p.m.
FX isn't violating any rules with "Starved" (other than common standards of good taste), but I still can't help but wonder if shows like this aren't going to result in those rules changing.
"IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA" is more in line with FX's dramas, to a point — it's definitely not a family show, but it does have some merit.
It's not up there with those dramas in terms of quality, but it has moments of brilliance.
It's another show that owes a lot to "Seinfeld," only these three guys and one girl are younger and live in Philadelphia. Charlie (Charlie Day), Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson), Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Dennis (Glenn Howerton) own a struggling bar and do any number of dumb things.
Almost self-consciously non-politically correct, last week some of them (inadvertently) insulted African-Americans and (sort of inadvertently) played up to gay stereotypes. This week, Mac and Dennis use an anti-abortion rally to try to pick up girls. And Charlie is told that he's the father of a pre-teen boy who's sort of the spawn of Satan. Still, (inadvertently) letting the boy get drunk is not a real good idea.
It's oddly involving and quite funny in spots. But (Warning!) this is by no means a show for the entire family.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com