New TV Series ‘Public Morals’ Causing A Furor

Coming attractions from a fall sitcom: The vice cops masquerade as tough-talking prostitutes and a transvestite. They ridicule a colleague who might be a lesbian. They bicker over arresting a paraplegic who exposes himself.

The show is “Public Morals,” and already the CBS affiliate in Twin Falls, Idaho, has vowed not to air the show unless the network cleans up the rough language.

Television’s supposed lack of morality has become a favorite topic of discussion, especially among politicians who have decried everything from talk shows to the family hour. My hope this year: Please don’t let the politicians run against television.

But it’s too early to consider “Public Morals,” the latest Steven Bochco production, a public nuisance. It’s unclear what the series will look like when it reaches the air, but a first glance suggests it’s not worth the furor.

Such controversies rarely are. Those that swirled around “Murphy Brown” and “NYPD Blue” helped stir viewer interest, yet hurt the shows and their critics.

Dan Quayle’s complaints about single mother Murphy Brown made the then-vice president the butt of jokes in 1992 - he hadn’t seen the show before lambasting it - and hardly helped the Republicans in a presidential election year. The brouhaha also affected the CBS sitcom, which took a sanctimonious turn: It has never been as funny as it was in its first four seasons.

The “NYPD Blue” hubbub didn’t reflect well on the show’s fiercest critic, the Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association, who lobbed criticisms three years ago without having seen the police drama.

Early on, the uproar over raw language and partial nudity hindered the ABC show, causing some stations to pre-empt it and eroding its earning potential among advertisers. The irony is that today “NYPD Blue” is one of the strongest morality plays on television, dealing thoughtfully with death, racism, alcoholism and other crises.

After the pointless “NYPD Blue” controversy, you have to hope we won’t see a repeat over “Public Morals.”

A CBS spokeswoman said Bochco was unavailable for comment and it has not been decided whether the program will be edited before its premiere. It will air at 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, out of the family hour.

Yet the networks could work harder to lift their series’ quality and classiness. Most networks, except for CBS, seem hesitant just to make the “family hour” - 8 to 9 p.m. - more hospitable to families.

As someone who has seen many fall pilots, I believe the continuing slide to crassness next fall will concern viewers, especially parents, more than any one series. The “family hour” will remain a treacherous time for many parents.