I do have to apologise for the long time it has been. I just started university and a new job, so things have been a little hectic.
To start, I’m going to have a bit of a rant, regarding Glee (which I do sometimes watch – if you don’t know what it is and need an overview Google it).
So, today I discovered that Channel Ten, the channel that airs Glee, has not only bumped Glee to its digital multichannel Eleven, but they also cut scenes from the episode ‘I Do’.
It bumped the show to Eleven due to poor ratings. This is probably because it airs alongside My Kitchen Rules, which is currently killing it in the ratings, but also because Channel Ten broadcasts the episodes up to a month after it airs in the US, not counting the break the show takes when the Australian ratings season ends. It is no wonder people download these episodes online. We’re impatient people, who like instant gratification, and for Gleeks, that means they want their Glee, and they want it now. The other question is why Channel Ten thought it was a good idea to air Glee when My Kitchen Rules (MKR, which airs Mon-Thurs on Channel Seven) is on. I distinctly remember Glee airing on Fridays this time last year – when MKR was not on air! So why not air Glee on Friday nights, after the Living Room? And why not move to maximum of a week between the US airing and the Australian broadcast. It isn’t that hard. And what makes it worse is that the ratings are going to slip further for Glee, because I doubt anyone is really aware the show is now on Eleven, let alone that it might be back on air at all.
I still have another bone to pick with Channel Ten, though.
Glee prides itself for its acceptance of all races, genders and sexualities and has characters that are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender on the show. Of course, this upsets the ultra-conservative, and slightly mental, religious corner of the US, but the creators knew that was always going to be an issue. Glee has international fame because of the aforementioned acceptance and is well-known for encouraging acceptance. If you do a bit of surfing on the net, you’ll also find that Glee’s cast has received messages from viewers thanking them for giving them the confidence to be proud of who they are. So, when Australian viewers, at least the ones aware the Glee is on Eleven now, tuned in to watch the Season 4 episode ‘I Do’, they were probably aware that there was going to be some great scenes between some key characters (Kurt, Blaine, Rachel, Finn, Quinn & Santana), only to discover that some scenes had been cut short or cut completely – the ones involving the homosexual relations between Kurt and Blaine, and Quinn’s experimental relations with Santana.
Now, before I continue, let me explain that I have no issues with homosexuality and support gay marriage.
This has angered Glee’s Australian viewers, especially those who scour the internet for spoilers and information so that they can have something to look forward to when the show finally airs. They knew that Kurt and Blaine were going to make out in the car and might have sex in the episode, and they knew that Quinn and Santana were possibly going to do something too. Viewers were angry and it showed on Twitter, with people criticising Channel Ten, and then the gay media got wind of it.
Channel Ten’s excuse? There were concerns about the show’s content given the time slot of 7:30.
WHY? Well, Glee airs in a PG time slot, meaning it must be rated PG or it has to be aired later in the evening. Apparently that is just too difficult for Ten. What makes it worse is that Channel Ten has done the same thing before, cutting scenes in a Season 3 episode ‘The First Time’, in which key characters took that next step in their relationship. Once again this involves Blaine and Kurt, who in case you haven’t figured out, are a gay couple. That time, Ten cut scenes between them when they were discussing the fact that maybe they might be reaching the point of taking the next step in their relationship. That is completely illogical, and if they really were desperately searching for something ‘inappropriate’ to cut, they should have gone for the part where Blaine drunkenly propositions Kurt outside a gay bar.
Is Channel Ten that bigoted and homophobic that they can’t show homosexuality on their multichannel? For goodness sakes, the ABC is currently showing a series with a gay lead on their multichannel ABC2 (it’s called Please Like Me), it shows a lot more than what Glee does, admittedly at a later time, but they aren’t prude. I doubt that I will be watching Channel Ten soon, unless it’s for Masterchef, or a recording of The Simpsons. I am so disenchanted by their actions and I cannot see what their issue is.
And let me just end by pointing out some major hypocrisy: Channel Ten didn’t cut the scene in which Dean Geyer was naked in Kurt and Rachel’s apartment, which is far more scandalous than that of after sex talk.
Source: http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2013/03/ten-edits-glee-for-pg-timeslot-again.html
Kara L 