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An interesting phenomenon in the realm of promotions is when a non-violent show manages to produce a promotion containing violence, or at least action. Most television series contain little violence and many of those that do feature violent scenes do so in a contextually appropriate manner. These shows, influenced and approved by the networks' departments of practices and standards, generally make it on the air without any problems or concerns.
Someone in the promotions process reviews these shows, managing to find the one moment or instant that contains some action. In a drama, this may mean a gun that is drawn but never used. In a comedy, it usually means violence played for laughs such as someone getting punched or falling down. Inevitably, this one scene will make its way into the promo. Devoid of context, the scene raises issues of concern. Even the most innocent shows on network television occasionally result in promos that lack context and have a different feel than the shows themselves.
These promos are of less concern than those of theatrical films or action shows. But it is important to note that someone culls through the material of situation comedies and looks for the most violent scene. Some examples:
It would be difficult to find a less violent lineup of shows than NBC's Thursday night programs. Our monitoring consistently showed that Mad About You, Friends, Seinfeld and Madman of the People never raise concerns about the use of violence. Most of the shows are completely free of violence.
Yet, somehow NBC managed to put together four promos of these shows and three of the four featured aggressive acts or accidents. These acts did not raise serious concerns, but it is not a coincidence that the one scene from each that could be construed as aggressive or injurious ended up in the promo. Compared to other promos on television, these clips are of minor concern. What is of concern, is the emphasis placed on finding the one violent scene.
The four-show promo opens with Mad About You. In succession, the viewer sees Paul Reiser aggressively poked in the chest by a man in a wheelchair, hit hard on the upper torso by an older woman with her purse and punched by the man in the wheelchair so hard he reels back. The Friends segment is the only one of the four that contains no violent action. In the Seinfeld segment Kramer, playing Santa, falls off his chair when a little boy jumps as hard as he can on Santa's lap. The Madman of the People segment shows someone decorating a Christmas tree which then topples, dragging him to the floor.
It is important not to exaggerate the significance of the violence in these clips. But the fact that these promos contain any violence at all is significant, reflecting a priority of programmers.
Picket Fences is a show that rarely features violence. When it does contain violence, the violence is never graphic, is appropriate within the story and never raises concerns. The promos however, feature scenes of decontextualized action and weapons. The promo features an assault weapon being shot followed by pictures of some of the citizens of Rome, Wisconsin, one of whom, it is revealed, will soon die. In the last clip the viewer sees a multiple gunshot wound victim on a gurney in the emergency ward of a hospital.
Home Improvement is another of the least violent shows on television. Tim Allen plays Tim Taylor, the host of a cable television home repair show and the least likely person on Earth to be able to fix anything. Part of the comedy is watching Allen try to repair something in his shop and instead accidentally blow it up. Viewers usually see these scenes once or twice in a show.
The promo on 4/9/95 for the "Greatest Hits" episode, however, was full of only these images. The first clip shows Allen on a tractor run amok destroying a tool table. Then a steel girder falls on a car, Allen puts his hand in the bulb socket of a lamp and is electrocuted, he is hit in the face with the television camera from his show, a guest is hit in the face with a large piece of wood and another piece of wood falls on Allen's foot.
Once again, these scenes are of little concern compared to others discussed earlier. They are all part of Home Improvement's "Greatest Hits." It is important to note that when an editor puts together the highlights of the show for a greatest hits episode, all the clips feature someone getting hit in the face or some accident. Not portrayed in the promo were the other important dimensions of the show which include Allen's family relationships, one of the most equal marriages on television and Allen's three sons who constantly raise important issues of family life.
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