The Facts of the Case
CFMT-TV aired an episode of The Simpsons on December 6, 1994 at 7:30 p.m. which offended a viewer who had watched the program with her four children aged 9 to 14.
In her letter of December 8 to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), she explained that she had phoned the station on the 7th and was put through to an answering machine, where she left a message. When the station returned her call the following day, she was told that she "had to complain to Fox Broadcasting and was given their address." She was bothered that she had had "to write to Fox in California, United States".
Insofar as the show itself was concerned, she had a great deal to say, some of which is cited here.
The entire theme of the show that night was inappropriate for family viewing, especially children.
The contents consisted of Bart swearing, bringing alcohol to school, sex, sexism towards a female and rock music. It went from bad to worse.
I have been teaching my children the dangers of alcohol. Bart brings in several bottles of alcohol for show and tell.... The teacher acts shocked; then Bart responds by saying, "Don't worry. I brought enough booze for the whole class."....
[T]he owner of a bar interviews a woman for a waitress job. He asked her measurements then volunteers to measure them himself. ... He hires her and sleeps with her (implying sex) before the half hour show is over.
She added that words like "Hell" and "Damn" were used, which were bad examples for children. She also argued that the use of the musical group Aerosmith on the episode was unnecessary.
The letter was forwarded by the CRTC to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) on December 22 and by the CBSC in turn to the station. The General Manager of the station responded on January 3, 1995. He pointed out that the show was being aired that season on three Canadian stations in the Toronto area and that it "has been on Canadian television for 5 years and runs throughout the U.S. on numerous channels at a variety of viewing times." He then went on to describe the show as "an extremely successful alternative style program" which was not designed as children's programming. The manager argued that the entertainment value derived from its satirical nature is what had compelled audiences to consistently view this series and make it as popular as it is.
The viewer was not satisfied with this response and requested on January 6 that the CBSC refer the matter to the appropriate Regional Council for adjudication. In her second letter, the viewer made some additional points. First, she felt that the show "overstepped the boundaries on sex role portrayal and ethics of the CBSC." Second, she re-stated her concern about having had to write a letter to the Fox Network in the United States in the following terms:
On Dec. 7, 1994, when I phoned CFMT to complain, they told me I had to write to Fox in California. I did write to them but have not received a response yet. I was not given CFMT's address to write to them directly and wrote to the CBSC after numerous phone calls trying to find out who to write to.
The complainant also pointed out that she had written to the CBC, which aired the series in the Toronto area at 5 p.m., namely, at an hour when children might be expected to be watching television after their return from school.
You Be the Judge - How will the CBSC Resolve this Matter?
