Questions of Decency:
The episode of the CBS show Without a Trace titled "Our Sons and Daughters," the one with a teen "orgy" scene, originally aired on November 6, 2003. A re-airing of the episode, on New Year's Eve 2004, led to the largest fine in FCC history being imposed yesterday on CBS and its stations that aired said orgy, $3.63 million.

The orgy itself, available for viewing at the Parents Television Council's website as part of a bizarre little video of "TV's Worst 2001-2004," is pretty benign stuff as far as orgies go. It's a bunch of quick-cut flashbacks of MTV-ready teenage guys and girls drinking, caressing, making the motions of sex, with vague thrusting and bending over. It's kind of squalid and sordid, but, sure, it's teens having sex. Actually, for maximum effect, let's let the FCC give the description:

"The December 31, 2004 episode at issue concerns an FBI investigation into the disappearance and possible rape of a high school student. During an interrogation, a witness recalls a party held at the home of a teenager. As she recounts the details of the party, the program cuts to a 'flashback' scene. The scene -- which forms the basis of the viewer complaints -- consists of a series of shots of a number of teenagers engaged in various sexual activities, including sex between couples and among members of a group. Although the scene contains no nudity, it does depict male and female teenagers in various stages of undress. The scene also includes at least three shots depicting intercourse, two between couples and one 'group sex' shot. In the culminating shot of the scene, the witness exclaims to the others in the party that the victim is a 'porn star.' The action briefly returns to the present, as the witness pauses in her story, then the flashback resumes, as the victim is shown wearing bra and panties, straddled on top of one male character, while two other male characters kiss her breast near the bra strap. The lower portion of the panties is shaded, but she is shown moving up and down while the male teenager thrusts his hips into her crotch."

In an unintentionally (one hopes) phallic analysis, the FCC says, "We find that the material meets the first prong of the indecency test. While no nudity is shown, it is clear, as detailed above, that the scene depicts numerous sexual activities." The problem, though, is not really the "indecency." No, the problem is that the "shocking and titillating" material was broadcast at 9 p.m. in the Central and Mountain time zones. "Therefore," says the FCC, "there is a reasonable risk that children may have been in the viewing audience and the broadcast is legally actionable." Of course, had not the Parents Television Council and other right wing groups not "alerted" their members to something that probably a good many of them hadn't even viewed, there would not have been the number of complaints and no one would give a damn.

As noted above, the episode was originally broadcast on November 6, 2003.

On the evening of November 7, 2003, over in Iraq, Corporal Charles Graner was beating new prisoners at Abu Ghraib and forcing them to strip off their clothes. In the course of the night, Graner, Lynndie England, Ivan Frederick II, Sabrina Harman, Jeremy Sivits, and Megan Ambuhl would slap, punch, and jump on the seven prisoners. They'd force them to make human pyramids, make them pretend to give each other oral sex, and more. There's photos of it. And video. The soldiers were giddy with power, smiling and giving the thumbs up sign. They believed what they were doing was fine, that no one would care, for, indeed, most of the time, one who believes he or she is committing a crime does not take photos or video of the crime.

One wonders how many of those who complained to the FCC about the televised pseudo-orgy on CBS gave more than a passing thought to what went on at Abu Ghraib, one wonders if they bothered to write letters or make phone calls about that indecency. Perhaps they did; more likely they did not. But, then again, the torture of the prisoners in Iraq that night took place after 10 p.m., after the family hour. And then it can't affect the children, can it?