Sex/Nudity on TV

Now this is a thread I thought I'd never create and it most certainly isn't a complaint, but is it me or is there a lot of nudity and sex on TV (great, now the Family Guy theme tune is playing in my head)?

I'm currently making my way through Banshee, which is an excellent show, and I'm not sure how much there has been in the first 4 episodes alone (so the ratio of episodes to nudity makes it probably one of the greatest TV shows ever. ever). It seems to be the most popular shows - Game of Thrones, Vikings, and many more that I can't think of right now.

It's making it exceedingly difficult to watch in public. Recently I was watching the brilliant (but cancelled before it's time) and I was in a bus station, when suddenly a pair of breasts came on screen. I'm pretty sure the kid beside me thoroughly enjoyed it... thank God I wasn't watching Game of Thrones or something worse!

tommy2bad

Amm, the brilliant but canceled before its time what? I'm guessing Deadwood?
Yeah their is a lot more boobies than their used to be. Not just boobies, arse and minge (probably mercans).
And not just for the boys, a lot of this started in Sex in the City. I duno what to say 'down with this sort of thing' or 'it's all good' tbh it depends on the program I'll watch GOT with or without but no matter how nekid the cast get I draw the line at fair city! As long as they keep it out of tonight with VB i won't complain.

Ha. Weird. I could have sworn I said the name.. no, Party Down.

Bacchus

If a few naked bodies is your concern with Game of Thrones, you're priorities on what is appropriate are a bit off GoT is incredibly violent. I'd take issue with that before the nudity. Not that I take issue with any of it though. GoT is an adult show, not designed for daytime "public" viewing. I used to watch BSG on the bus home at weekends. Had a couple of moments with that show though to be fair I don't think they ever went full nude.

GoT (and Vikings and that Spartacus show from what I've heard) are heavier than most on the nudity but the shows are very adult themed. Same goes for shows like the Sopranos and Sex and the City. They are very adult themed shows. Kinda goes with the territory and worked in those shows without it seeming like it was shoehorned to boost ratings.

I can't really think of any other recent shows that are heavy with the nudity. There probably has been a slight increase but there's still plenty of shows that are "SFW"

BlaasForRafa

tommy2bad wrote: »

As long as they keep it out of tonight with VB i won't complain.

Except make an exception for Niamh Lyons - hubba hubba

Regarding the substance of the thread, I recall seeing an article recently about Starz/BBC co-production The White Queen where the BBC cut is rather restrained whereas the Starz version is full of tits and arses. The rise of cable channels has led to the rise of a lot of things it seems.

stesaurus

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

Except make an exception for Niamh Lyons - hubba hubba

Regarding the substance of the thread, I recall seeing an article recently about Starz/BBC co-production The White Queen where the BBC cut is rather restrained whereas the Starz version is full of tits and arses. The rise of cable channels has led to the rise of a lot of things it seems.

Why am I watching the BBC version???

peadar76

you can never have enough tits on tv

meoklmrk91

It doesn't really bother me, although I have on a few occasions when watching something during the day with the curtains open silently thanked fup that the telly does not face the window.

mike65

Stop watching TV on the bus. Listen to EDM on the bus and really embarrass yourself.

As for nudity and shexy stuff, if the plot and character motivation can justify stripping off and getting jiggy with it I see no problem.

Clemenza

How I long for the days of Eurotrash

mike65

Its on Pick TV (old ones with the funny voices ha ha!)

pickarooney

It's only when it replaces rather than complements the story that is an issue, really. True Blood for example is one tiresome sex scene after another.

Richard Dower

I long for the days of 9 1/2 weeks and late night softcore on Bravo........

ixoy

Vikings? Where's the nudity in that? It's on the History channel - it's all relatively tame.

The nudity on Starz shows is a lot more than most. Spartacus is well known but the lesser viewed 'Magic City' has a lot of frontal nudity and 'Da Vinci's Demons' had too. Doesn't bother me though - I'll just be aware if anyone is sitting beside me on public transport if I'm watching it there.

HBO does at times, depending on the show. 'True Blood' makes me laugh since they find constant threadbare reasons for their male leads to lose their tops. It fits in with the show because the show itself is kind of trashy anyway.

Showtime seems to have less of it - not sure of the reasoning but it's not as prevalent in their shows.

Frank Black

I would have first noticed this phenomenon during the Sopranos.

Now it seems to be a shorthand way for the programme makers to say "Hey, this is a grown-up series, and we're not afraid to say '****' and show some boobs"

I'm ok with it, as long as it's integral to the plot, and the girls are hot.

Fred Swanson

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ixoy

ixoy wrote: »

Vikings? Where's the nudity in that? It's on the History channel - it's all relatively tame.

Well, there was one or two sex scenes as far as I can remember.

_Kaiser_

Wouldn't bother me at all as long as it fits with the plot/characters

As for someone else being offended.. assuming you have headphone on at the time, I'd remind them that it's rude to look/read/watch over someone's shoulder! :P

TerrorFirmer

I'm pretty sure Vikings didn't have any direct nudity, and the violence was equally tame in comparison to the other shows mentioned in relation to the thread title! Great show though.

Spartacus was probably the most gratuitous TV show I've ever seen in terms of profanity, violence and nudity, but I enjoyed it immensely for those very reasons, it was pure eye candy throughout and highly enjoyable. The latter half of Season 3 really brought out some hidden depths though to its credit, found the finale absolutely incredible.

Game of Thrones and Banshee are up there for sure, though I've found True Blood has slowed down in that regard this season (and indeed in general - it's now a very faint shadow of its initial season).

jill_valentine

As long as it fits with the tone of the show, I'm all for it. More of it, in fact. Television tends to treat sex as something weird and distinct from normal human interaction, so it either happens off screen or just gratuitously, and divorced from any plot or characterisation purposes.

I think that's just mad. Sex is almost always a communication between two people, even if it's not intended to be, even if it's just for that night or hour or couple of minutes, but it's rarely used as such in North American tv or movies in particular. You can use a sex scene to tell the viewer more about two characters than fifty pages of dialogue, or even have them tell each other something that they wouldn't even say out loud, good or bad.

It seems mental to me that you've got a medium as powerful as that in your toolkit as a writer, and you don't use it.

My only irk is that the trend for "OMG WE'RE SO GRITTY!" nudity does seem to showcase breasts in particular. Now, I'm all for boobs, don't get me wrong, and I know few shows can get away with full frontal, but it seems like if the 90s had the nerve to stare down Denis Franz's arse, then it falls to us now to demonstrate no less fortitude, in the spirit of equality.

Richard Dower

jill_valentine wrote: »

As long as it fits with the tone of the show, I'm all for it. More of it, in fact. Television tends to treat sex as something weird and distinct from normal human interaction, so it either happens off screen or just gratuitously, and divorced from any plot or characterisation purposes.

I think that's just mad. Sex is almost always a communication between two people, even if it's not intended to be, even if it's just for that night or hour or couple of minutes, but it's rarely used as such in North American tv or movies in particular. You can use a sex scene to tell the viewer more about two characters than fifty pages of dialogue, or even have them tell each other something that they wouldn't even say out loud, good or bad.

It seems mental to me that you've got a medium as powerful as that in your toolkit as a writer, and you don't use it.

My only irk is that the trend for "OMG WE'RE SO GRITTY!" nudity does seem to showcase breasts in particular. Now, I'm all for boobs, don't get me wrong, and I know few shows can get away with full frontal, but it seems like if the 90s had the nerve to stare down Denis Franz's arse, then it falls to us now to demonstrate no less fortitude, in the spirit of equality.

spartacus had alot of c*ck on show and wasnt afraid to do the old 200 person roman orgy...incl. toys and animals :eek:

ixoy

There's also something a bit odd that sex/nudity is taboo in mainstream US network TV but eviscerated bodies, gunshots to the head, flayed skins, mutilated forms and more are acceptable. That's just screwed up.

Fred Swanson

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Richard Dower

The Beeb and RTE used to show more boobage back in the day, we've become more conservative....but i guess the interwebs makes up the difference.