Worst TV Show of the Week Brought to you by the Parents Television Council WARNING: Graphic Content!!! Do NOT push play if you don't want to see the explicit video!!!

Private Practice on ABC

Private Practice, a spin-off from ABC’s hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, is living up to its predecessor in terms of objectionable and offensive content.  The October 24th episode, which aired at 9:00 p.m., featured a 13-year-old having a miscarriage and contracting gonorrhea.  This, coupled with repeated dialogue about masturbation, make Private Practice our clear choice for Worst of the Week.

The episode begins with Addison telling her friend Naomi about a sexual fantasy she has been having.  As she describes her fantasy, Naomi’s daughter and her friend enter the room.  Addison is panicked that the girls may have overheard her, which raises the obvious question -- if Addison’s dialogue was inappropriate for the 13-year-olds in the program, how much more inappropriate was it for the real-life young viewers who heard the fantasy described on television?

Later, Naomi’s daughter Maya comes to Addison and asks to be checked for gonorrhea.  Addison looks appalled but performs the test.  Maya tells Addison that she has had sex with several boys.  Addison decides it is best to withhold this information from Maya’s mother due to doctor-patient confidentiality.  At the end of the episode we learn that it is not Maya who has been having promiscuous sex, but her friend Ruby.  In an extremely disturbing sequence, Ruby is shown lying on the kitchen floor with blood flowing from her vagina due to her miscarriage.  Later, we learn that Ruby has also tested positive for gonorrhea.

A subplot involves Addison having sexual dreams and fantasies about a coworker.  Violet encourages Addison to start masturbating to get rid of the feelings: “You need to have sex with yourself,” she says. Violet suggests that Addison use her showerhead to pleasure herself.  The final scene of the episode shows Addison holding the showerhead preparing to masturbate.

Recent studies indicate that the depiction of sexually promiscuous teens on television can lead impressionable children to believe that teen sex is more common than it in reality is which can in turn influence them to become sexually active.  To depict children engaging in this behavior as entertainment is offensive and irresponsible.  For this reason Private Practice is our pick for Worst of the Week.