The FX network has frequently drawn the ire of this column for constantly pushing the boundaries of cable indecency with repulsive shows like Nip/Tuck, Sons of Anarchy, and Testees.  Sadly, it seems as if other networks are following suit, with TNT’s Saving Grace (Mondays, 10:00 p.m. ET) as a prime example.  This police drama revolves around a troubled female detective, Grace Hanadarko, played by Holly Hunter. Grace attempts to tackle her personal demons with the help of an angel.  At times, the show’s redemptive message shines through.  At other times, the gratuitous sex and violence – like the kind depicted in the March 2^nd season premiere – earns it the title of Worst Cable TV Show of the Week.

Grace responds to a call about a murder victim found in the middle of the street.  She arrives at the scene and approaches the dead body of a naked young woman.  The victim’s genitals are covered by a tarp, but her breasts are exposed … or, rather, what’s left of them.  The camera shows a vintage tie wrapped around the victim’s neck which is bruised with strangle marks.  The tie covers her nipple.  Henry, the medical examiner, squats next to Grace.

GRACE:  “This some serious s***.  What do you say, Henry?”

HENRY:  “The breast was cut off after she died.  Silicone implant is punctured.”

The camera shows a gory, bloody gash where the victim’s left breast was severed.

GRACE:  “Almost like he wanted to expose it.”

HENRY:  “Lividity doesn’t match the body position.  She was dumped here.”

GRACE:  “She was displayed.”

Shortly thereafter a second victim is found, with the murderer having followed the same modus operandi.  When Grace realizes that there is a serial killer in their midst, she passes out cigars and celebrates with her fellow major crimes detectives.  Ultimately, the killer is identified as the boyfriend of a receptionist that works at a local plastic surgeon’s office.  Grace and her partner question the suspect in his girlfriend’s driveway and shoot him dead just before he pulls a handgun from out of his pocket.  Later, Grace and her partner return to the spot where the killer died and light their cigars.

The episode would have been just as riveting without the gratuitous display of a mutilated woman.  Yet, cable networks apparently feel that in order for their dramas to be “edgy” and “provocative” they must contain graphic content.  Nip/Tuck similarly aired a ghastly self-mutilation scene where a deranged woman cut off her own breast with an electric knife in the middle of a busy waiting room.   Sadly, “edgy” and “provocative” cable shows are becoming the norm, which actually translates into obscene and irresponsible.

Since all cable subscribers are forced to pay for networks that they don’t necessarily watch, it isn’t enough to merely change the channel.  The entire cable industry needs to be changed.

For aiding and abetting the moral bankruptcy of cable television, Saving Grace has been named Worst Cable TV Show of the Week.