Model Minority

A parent contacted us this morning asking if our show was appropriate for kids, 10 and under.  The following was my response.  I honestly don’t even know when I’m being serious or facetious anymore.

"Thank you for your interest in the show and I hope you find this email informative.

Bryce is correct that the show is modeled after 1950’s comic books so although there is practically no explicit humor or language, there are insinuations and entendres.  Nothing that would raise a flag with a TV censor but that may not be saying much given TV these days.

So let me break it down into the following categories:

Language: The word "bastard" is used twice. The word "frick’n" is used thrice. The word "fellatio"…not the act but just the word is used as a pun.   And one character silently mimes the word "shit".  The show is extremely light on adult language but the imagery conveyed by language is at times adult oriented.

Violence: Like an action comic book, there is carefully choreographed fights. Thus there is punching, kicking and many things you’d often find on Cartoon Network or Kids WB.  There are gunshots throughout the show since gangsters are featured.

Drug Use: One character in the show is an alcoholic and drinks throughout the show.  As a writer, I’d like to say that he’s representative of the evils of substance abuse, but in truth, the drunkeness is used mostly just for laughs.

Sex: There is no sex in the show.  There’s not even kissing.  There’s some hugging and hand holding but I promise that is all very tastefully done.  But since the show is set in Las Vegas, there are insinuations and innuendo.  The subject of lapdances and callgirls is the basis of some jokes.  One character gets awkwardly sexually excited but to comic effect.

Kid approved: But perhaps the best litmus test for the show is other kids.  My co-writer has two daughters (7 year old twins) and he’s brought them to the rehearsals.  I can assure you that they enjoyed themselves and never blinked an eye at some of the more adult humor.  Like most 7 year olds, they laughed at mostly funny voices or facial expressions.  And more importantly, there were no awkward explanations about some of the more adult humor.

The show length will be approximately 90 minutes including intermission.  We endeavor to always start on time but the margin of error may be 15 minutes or so just to be on the safe side regarding bed time.  Hope you can make it.  Thanks for your interest!"

This entry was posted on Monday, August 15th, 2005 at 1:27 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.