Putting the 'X' in Fox
By Philip Michaels
June 2, 2003

Thank god, it's the last of the upfronts.

With always reliable wit, TeeVee scribe Phil Michaels takes a look at the forthcoming season from the fourth network and finds them in unusual shape, having excised any show that would have made them look as "taking a chance" and instead relying on good ol' smut.

I mean, what else can you say about a network who's ready to broadcast Skin, a show that, to quote Mr. Michaels, is a "drama about warring families, with the patriarch of one family headed by, to quote Fox's promotional material, 'the most successful producer of adult entertainment in L.A.'?"

Well, perhaps the only thing left to say is what the epigraph Mr. Michaels put at the beginning of his article says:

You know, Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn't even notice.
— Marge Simpson, from the "Lisa's Wedding" episode of The Simpsons

Well, if they're going this way, let's just hope Fox offers some more bang for the buck than they did last time they offered "explicit" content, namely, Search for a Playboy Centerfold, where the nudity was "tastefully" concealed but lacked the punch of an Austin Powers gag.

By the way, the above link for Search for a Playboy Centerfold points to a Nerve article that's now in the Premium vault (don't you hate it when that happens?), but you can always look it up at the Internet Archive, which will allow you to ogle a few pix from that show, like the following:

Lauren Anderson
July 2002 Playmate

Shallan Meiers
September 2002 Playmate

{Edited on June 8, 2003. Changed "the only thing left to say what the epigraph" for "the only thing left to say is what the epigraph".}

heavy petting

Pets and people.

Slate keeps adding 'em: yet another new section for their site, this one dedicated to, let's say, "lifestyle." However, they opened with a very good writer, Jon Katz, "the author of A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs and Me, recently published in paperback, and The New Work of Dogs: Tending to Love, Life and Family." Good boy!

Although I kinda miss the Jon Katz I used to know: the booster for the common geek. But that was a long, long time ago, when we thought that technical know-how could make us kings of the world.