Following is the material on which my COMPLAINT is
based:
In the March 24 episode of
That '70s Show, Donna walks-in on Eric
while he's masturbating in her bathroom. The entire episode was filled with
vulgar references to masturbation.
Eric tries to explain what
happened to his friends, Hyde and
Fez
.
"Well, we all know as a young man in the prime of his life, I have some needs…
Anyway, today, at the house of the woman I was theoretically going to marry, I
had some needs that I felt it necessary to take care of right then and there."
Hyde: "In her house? Why
didn't you just do it in the bus station like the other degenerates?"
Eric: "You know, I don't
know…There I was, there the bathroom was…it was like two trains passing in the
night."
Fez
:
"That's beautiful."
Eric: "You know, it kind of
was… and then Donna walked-in…you know what? This is Donna's fault with all
her 'No more sex 'till we're married' crap. You guys have no idea how hard
it's been to have no sex at all!"
Donna, talking to Jackie
about what happened says, "Okay, the thing is, I knew that Eric did that… but
knowing and seeing are two very different things! It's kind of…it's kind of
like I know there are rats under the house…"
Jackie: "But you don't want
to see the rats diddling themselves in the bathroom."
Eric's father, Red, greets
him by saying, "Well, if it isn't Cassanova. The man who seduced himself."
Later, when the family is
about to sit down to lunch, Red says to Eric, "Well, he tore himself away from
himself long enough to join us."
Kitty, Eric's mother asks,
"Honey, you washed your hands, right?"
Kitty: "When you were a
baby, you had your hands down your pants all the time. But that's okay
because it's natural. Red, tell him it's natural… But why wouldn't you lock
the door?"
Red: "How could he lock the
door when he's in there pawing himself like an animal?"
Kitty: "You know some
people get addicted and can't even hold down a job!"
Red: "If you can't get
someone to do it for you, you do without. In
Korea
…I went for two and a half
years!"
Eric: "Dad, you were there
for three."
Red: "What are you, an
animal?"
Later, Eric asks his father
if he can talk to him about what happened.
Eric: "Hey dad, I can't
believe I'm saying this, but can I talk to you in private for a moment?"
Red: "No, I don't think
so. I know the kind of things you do in private."
Eric: "Dad."
Red: "Oh alright, just keep
your hands where I can see them. This really isn't getting old."
Donna tries to talk to Eric
about what she saw, and in the course of their conversation, she realizes Eric
became aroused while looking at pictures of Jackie's mom in a bikini.
Donna: "What got you going
in my house? We were just sitting around looking at pictures…Oh! Jackie's
mom! Jackie's mom got you going?!"
Eric goes to Donna's house
to talk about what happened.
Donna: "Okay, but be
careful. Jackie's mom was here earlier. I don't want you to catch a whiff of
her perfume and have to sexually assault yourself in the hallway."
Eric: "This is all your
fault. Yeah, Do you have any idea what your celibacy thing is doing to me?
My needs have risen to near Fezian levels! He is a sick bastard, Donna, and
now, thanks to you, so am I. Yeah, that's right, Donna. You created a
monster. I can't leave myself alone."
Donna: "You know what?
You're right. I'm sorry…This has been very hard, and the celibacy thing was
my idea, so I need to accept some responsibility for the odd and disgusting
things you do… Next time, be like a normal person! Go to your room, lock the
door, light some candles, put on some Al Green and make an evening of it."
Eric: "Why Donna, that was
really detailed… it's almost like…Oh my god! You do it too!"
Donna: "What? No. No!"
Eric: "I noticed the
candles getting lower although I've never seen them lit."
Donna leaves the room.
Eric: "Wow. So this is
where it all happens."
Eric goes back to his house
and tells Hyde and
Fez
what girls do when they're
alone.
Fez
:
"So they make an evening of it?"
Eric: "Yeah, candles,
music… God, girls do everything better."
Hyde: "You don't suppose
Jackie… no, she wouldn't even go to a self-serve gas station."
Fez
:
"What would happen if I walked into one of their evenings? Are they like us
where even though we're alone, we welcome a visitor?"
Eric: "Well, yeah, I mean…
it's not like they'd rather do it themselves when they could have a man do it,
right?"
Video tape of the "That
'70s Show" broadcast
is
available from the Parents Television Council.
COMPLAINANT believes that such material is:
(a.) Clearly offensive according to the standards of my
community; and
(b.) Especially offensive because it was broadcast at
an hour when millions of children were watching.
COMPLAINANT urges the Commission to exercise its
responsibility to enforce the existing law against indecency on broadcast
TV between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. (Title 18, U.S. Code, Section
1464) by levying severe sanctions against the CBS stations which, by
broadcasting this program, violated community standards of decency.
Finally, I hereby request that you PLEASE KEEP ME
INFORMED OF THE PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF YOUR INVESTIGATION INTO THIS
COMPLAINT, AND OF YOUR REVIEW OF THE ENFORCEMENT BUREAU'S EARLIER RULING.
