PTC Applauds NBC's Airing of VeggieTales, Religious Content Intact

PTC Applauds NBC's Airing of VeggieTales, Religious Content Intact
By Jenni Parker
December 6, 2006

(AgapePress) - A pro-family media watchdog group is commending NBC for its apparent decision to put God and the Bible back into the network's Saturday morning television broadcasts of the popular animated series VeggieTales.

Some critics in the Christian community had denounced NBC for its initial insistence on editing out references to God and the Bible in the scripture-based cartoons before airing them. (See earlier article) However, VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer recently reported on his website that the last few episodes of the animated show have not been edited by the network.

Vischer says most of the last four or five VeggieTales episodes have had "at least as much 'theistic' content as the earlier ones, if not more." Nevertheless, the shows "came back from NBC standards and practices department with no requested edits," he says. "So they're going to air just the way they were originally written."

Musing over what brought about the network's seeming change of heart, the animator observes, "Rumor has it NBC received in the neighborhood of 600,000 e-mails about the Veggie Tales edits (a rumor I can't confirm or deny)." In any event, he says, "It's worth a little celebration ... don't you think?"

And, as for any viewers who may have stopped watching their "veggies" in protest over the edits, Vischer points out, their actions may well have helped to bring "a little more light to TV's 'vast wasteland.'" He urges fans of the cartoon to let NBC know they are thrilled with the network's recent choices by tuning in to watch the show.

In response to the animator's report, Parents Television Council (PTC) president L. Brent Bozell said his organization applauds NBC for apparently reversing its decision to cut the biblical and theistic content from the cartoon. He also commented that it is important for the entertainment industry to realize that "Americans are more willing to watch programming that reflects their values, with VeggieTales being one of those examples."

Bozell feels NBC should be commended for leaving recent installments of VeggieTales unedited and airing the programs as they were originally written. Now, the parents media advocacy group spokesman adds, he and the PTC hope the national network will "continue this upward trend towards including more programming that the entire family can enthusiastically watch and support."

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