Local TV station convenes panel to censor network program

WBIR, our local NBC affiliate here in the Knoxville/East Tennessee area, is deciding whether to cave in to pressure from the American Family Association, local clergy, and dozens of angry callers and e-mailers and pull the plug on NBC's new comedy/drama "The Book of Daniel".According to CNN, at least two other local NBC affiliates have already decided not to air the apparently controversial program. KARK in Little Rock, and WTWO in Terre Haute, Indiana will pre-empt the back-to-back episodes scheduled to premier Friday night at 9:00 PM Eastern.So, what's the big deal? Here's NBC's description of the show: Emmy nominee Aidan Quinn (“An Early Frost,” “Plainsong,” “Legends of the Fall”) stars as Reverend Daniel Webster, an unconventional Episcopalian minister who not only believes in Jesus - he actually sees him and discusses life with him. Webster is challenged on many levels as he struggles to be a good husband, father and minister, while trying to control a nagging addiction to prescription painkillers, and an often rocky relationship with the church hierarchy, led by Bishop Beatrice Congreve (Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn, “Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore,” “Requiem of a Dream”), Roger Paxton, a senior warden of the parish and stalwart churchgoer (Dylan Baker, “Kinsey,” “Happiness”). The reverend also has loving, but challenging relationships with his three children: Peter (Christian Campbell, “Trick”), his 23-year-old gay son, who struggles with the loss of his twin brother; Grace (Alison Pill, “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen”), his 16-year-old daughter who doesn't try to push her father's buttons but succeeds at it nonetheless; and Adam (Ivan Shaw, “All My Children”), his 16-year-old adopted Chinese son, a handsome and cocky high school jock with a wicked sense of humor. Keeping Webster grounded is his strong and loving wife Judith (Susanna Thompson, “Now and Again”), who is fighting her own fondness for mid-day martinis, as well as Jesus (Garret Dillahunt, “Deadwood”), whose frequent chats with Daniel serve to remind him of his strengths and weaknesses. I saw some promos for the series and thought it looked pretty good. Unfortunately, WBIR convened a panel of "religious leaders and concerned viewers" to preview the show and recommend that I not be allowed to see it: WBIR management met with local religious leaders and concerned viewers about NBC's "The Book of Daniel" Wednesday. Station Manager Jeff Lee says he's unsure if the local NBC affiliate will run the NBC show, which debuts Friday. The show is about an Episcopal priest and his dysfunctional family. The plot involves the priest's ongoing conversations with Jesus. Jeff Lee says promotions for the show have prompted dozens of e-mails and phone calls, with many viewers asking the station not to run the show. As a result, Lee invited many callers to join religious leaders to see an advance screening of the show Wednesday, hoping to address those concerns. After viewing an episode of the show, invited viewers and Knoxville clergy voiced criticisms of what they sawI was just checking, and my TV has both a channel changer button and an off button. Apparently, dozens of other WBIR viewers and local religious leaders have TVs that aren't similarly equipped. Personally, I find "The Biggest Loser" pretty offensive. Is there some way we can convene a panel to get it preempted?OK, then.UPDATE: A WBIR employee/blogger has an amusing take on it.UPDATE: WBIR issues a statement: A statement from WBIR-TV General Manager, Jeff Lee Thank you for your expression of concern and interest in the program, "The Book of Daniel." We have heard from many of you. We at WBIR find ourselves in a no-win situation. Regardless of our decision, some of our viewers will be upset. We don't like upsetting even one viewer. "The Book of Daniel" is a TV program – that's all. We think you should make up your own mind as to whether or not to watch any TV program. We know that you have many choices of what you can watch, and that decision should be yours alone. You know best what's right for your household. We are not debating whether "The Book of Daniel" is a good or bad program; that is for you to decide. WBIR will air "The Book of Daniel." We will air warnings that the program is not for everyone. The decision to watch it or not to watch it is entirely yours. Thank you for listening, and we hope you understand WBIR's decision.Good for them. But it seems like they could have taken the position all along that it's just a TV ahow and that the decision to watch it or not is entirely up to the viewer. They would have avoided making the controversy even stupider than it was.