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PTC enraged over 'The Walking Dead'

Parent group says drama needs a mature audiences' rating

By Mekeisha Madden Toby Dec 13, 2012 1:21PM

 

'The Walking Dead' '/' AMC

If you think "The Walking Dead" became a hit when 15.2 million people tuned in to watch the mid-season finale recently, you're wrong.

 

A more accurate cultural barometer is the disapproval of the Parents Television Council. The often mocked group, which goes after only popular fare, slammed the zombie drama Thursday for its "blatant misrating" as a TV-14 offering. Instead, the group argues, "The Walking Dead" should be rated TV-MA because of its violent content and language.

 

Bing: More on 'The Walking Dead' | Parents Television Council

 

"Throughout its run, the AMC program 'The Walking Dead' has featured some of the most graphic and brutally intense violence and gore imaginable," said PTC President Tim Winter, in a written statement. "In the current season alone, the show has depicted hundreds of scenes of grisly murder both of living and 'undead,' but human, characters."

 

Plus: Goriest 'Walking Dead' moments | 'Homeland' Season 2: most shocking moments

 

And you know in that one episode, where Rick (Andrew Lincoln) kills a prisoner with a machete, or that other one, where Glenn (Steven Yeun) stabs that guy with a zombie bone? Yeah, the PTC didn't like those scenes.

 

"The intensely violent content has included depictions of the cleaving of human skulls with a machete," Winter continued. "Extreme gun violence including graphic depictions of blood and brains splattering after gunshot wounds and the use of a sharpened human bone as a weapon to stab another character."

 

Winter added that the word s--- is used excessively and "this is content appropriate to an adult-only audience, but AMC has rated every single episode of 'The Walking Dead' as suitable for a 14-year-old child."

 

So what is it that the PTC wants? The group, which has 1.3 million members, wants AMC and former Senator Gordon Smith, who chairs the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board, to make this a TV-MA show. AMC and Smith have yet to comment.

 

But here's the thing: Such a rating might make the show seem even cooler and more 14-year-old viewers will probably tune in.

 

Season 3 of "The Walking Dead" continues Sunday, Feb. 10, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC.

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129Comments
Tam_pa
Dec 18, 2012 1:41PM
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How about we let the parents decide what their kids should watch....I know, I know....How ever shall the world function if we let parents do actual parenting. The end of the world truly must be nearing.

GAThrawn
Dec 17, 2012 3:10PM
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Hate to tell them, but the s word IS suitable for teenagers. I happen to know that many families use FAR worse language at home.
Great_Chandel
Dec 14, 2012 7:59PM
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Oh these people need to get a life (no pun intended). If they had anything else better to do than to nose around looking for shows to pick on, they would not bother others with their total nonsense. If they do not like the show, or the rating, then DO-NOT-TUNE-IN! "The Walking Dead" is a fantastic show with superb writing and acting! Period!
Real_persuasive
Dec 14, 2012 5:39PM
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The title is pretty self explanatory. Be a parent and pay attention to what your children are watching! Don't just sit them in front of the TV with the remote and ignore them. Oh wait but then this is coming from the "Blamers". 
xylophhone
Dec 14, 2012 4:33PM
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these are same types of people will never go after soap operas.  she soaps have affairs by the boat loads, theft, coersion, verbal assaults, etc. and they worry about ZOMBIES BEING KILLED?  how many want to be these same people watch the soaps?  TWD is on at 10pm.  isnt there a disclaimer about violence before the program starts?  its TV, MAKE BELIEVE, FAKE, etc.  they even show how they "kill" the zombies.   much ado about nothing. 

 

odd, the news has REAL VIOLENCE and no one worries about it.

myopiniononly212
Dec 14, 2012 3:16PM
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This show and all the other violent shows really seem cool now don't they? After today's incident where so many young died by violence and yet look at our culture who thinks that this is ok among all the other things out there that contain violence.
melmom06
Dec 14, 2012 3:07PM
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TV ratings do matter when you can adjust the settings on your television for only certain rated programs to be able to be viewed.  I certainly believe parents should monitor their children's television viewing, but they can't be everywhere all the time.  It would be nice to know that while flipping through the channels on my tv, my children aren't catching glimpses of these sorts of things on the screen because it slips through my ratings setting. 
Darth Curse
Dec 14, 2012 2:17PM
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If you know what The Walking Dead is then you know that it has a ton of violence not appropriate for children. They obviously know how violent it is otherwise they would not be bothering to get a rating for children. Knowing that, shouldn't they just stop their kids from watching it? The rating will do nothing for families trying to decide if they want their 8 year old watching The Walking Dead. They already know that their 8 year old is not gonna watch, so why all the fuss? Just shut up about the damn ratings, they are meaningless when it comes to television.
WICKEDABOVEALLTHINGS
Dec 14, 2012 12:11PM
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What these WD knuckle-dragging viewers are unaware of is the fact that the Fed's are using this show to "weed out" the garbage-humans in America. Once they've been identified  by their WD viewership they can then be sterilized !!

 

irish21
Dec 13, 2012 7:05PM
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How about parents monitoring what their kids are watching?  Is it really everyone else's job to tell you what is and isn't appropriate for YOUR child?  Every kid is different.  I don't let my 3 year old watch Scooby Doo because he wakes up in the middle of the night talking about monsters and ghosts...  Do I think that Scooby Doo is harmful to all 3 year olds?  Nope.  Mine just has an active imagination and it gives him bad dreams.  Funny to say, but true.   Jeez.  Take responsibility and tell your kids no if you don't want them watching something!  What ever happened to active parenting?  Too many people out there expecting others to make their decisions for them.  Or- too many parents out there not making the decisions they should and others (govt and other organizations) trying to do it for those that won't/don't.
Dennis Gibb
Dec 13, 2012 7:03PM
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PTC can kiss my ****. This show needs to be rated "ma"? what about Honey boo boo? that should be rated as "exploitation of children"

These idiots are as bad as PETA.

Letthink
Dec 13, 2012 6:59PM
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A real parent would dictate what their children watch instead of relying on some stupid rating scale. PTC = Pretend To Care
Someone (Me Again22)
Dec 13, 2012 6:50PM
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Damn PTC again. Too stupid to police their own households and instead push their beliefs on everyone else. What a useless group of people. Just keep your tv's on PBS and shut the hell up already

Elsie the cow
Dec 13, 2012 6:48PM
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how about watching your kids & restricting them, instead of a depending on a tv rating to do so. oh i forgot, everone today wants everyone else to raise their kids.
lakeland56386
Dec 13, 2012 6:41PM
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Generally speaking, people are abdicating their responsibilities and looking to government mostly or some NGA to help solve their problems.  What politician was that said, just shortly after the election, "hopefully now we can get to work solving people's problems". Sorry, that isn't your job description.   Instead of taking responsibility for the life or lives people brought unto this world, they look else where and scream "feed my kids, cloth them, teach them, house them, keep them safe, watch them, protect them from bad influences". 

 

Slapping a sticker on this show, which I think is awesome, not the sticker but the show, will only make it more taboo.  I would love to see some leader or politician stand up and say, "You had sex with someone and fertilized an egg, now you're a parent.  Stop looking to someone else to help you raise your little brat".  If you're a parent and you want some more regulation for shows like this, then I suggest you cut your nuts off or have your tubes tied, whichever applies, just to make sure you don't bring anymore mouth breathing, whining, dead beats into this world.

Suzuki Lover1
Dec 13, 2012 6:35PM
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"...suitable for a 14-year-old child"

 

    These parents are the weird ones... the ones who let their 10 year old boys sit in the baby part of the grocery buggy. 

WICKEDABOVEALLTHINGS
Dec 13, 2012 6:34PM
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"The Walkng Dead", a stupid piece of garbage which fits right in with the audience that watches it......

The same kind of MORONS who really believe this will happen to them in their lifetime.

 

donnas111555
Dec 13, 2012 6:31PM
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 My 8 year old daughter watches this show and likes it.. She also knows that it is acting and dressing up in costumes and make up and pretending. She also can tell you the difference between what is is real and not, what is good and bad. (And how to kill a zombie....ha ha ha!) A parent needs to explain things to the kids so they learn. and if a child is scared or doesn't understand... The PARENT or ADULT should not let them watch. The kids can always go out of the room or the ADULT could change the channel. HUMMM
shaolin_drifter
Dec 13, 2012 6:28PM
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Someone tell these morons the rating doesnt do anything. What ****ing difference does it make what rating is on it? And on top of that how pathetic are the idiots in this country. Has any one of these morons stopped to think about what they grew up with and how little any of the crap they watched on tv affected them? Or that if they sensor everything how unprepared and ingorant and socially akward their kids will grow up to be? Its just like the crap about bullying. YOU CANT STOP BULLYING you know why? Its a part of our GENETICS and it is an establishment of social order. NO not all people are created equall. Some are smarter, some are stronger some are mentally tougher, but sensoring everything and trying to squelch our genetic programming can only ensure that 5 billion kids all grow up to have no clue about anything and they will all be too weak, stupid and lacking of social order to do anything at all if for some reason an apocalypse did happen. And morons IT WILL HAPPEN EVENTUALLY. Maybe not this year, but someday it will just like it has thousands of times in the 4 billion years earth has been here.
Allison Dorrington
Dec 13, 2012 6:26PM
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"Oh" Neeewww, my kids have been tazed forever, thats not christianized, my child must be prootected from the evil zombies, I can't let them watch that or they might find out something I don't want them to."

Well, guess what parents, i've got news for you, history, science, and English are no more violent, religious people are also not immuned from committing acts of violence or swearing. I know catholic people who cuss and hit counters violently with their fists. 

Christ was crucified by having nails and screws hammered into his feet, and hands which produced pain and blood. how is that not violent?

Its good if you talk to your children about tv and what is okay and what is not. Its not good to keep your children from becoming immune to the chastity of the world, because you know what when they are finally let out into it, they will be more scared of it, and confused about the things that they should already know how to handle. 

yea, Christianize your household all you want, but teach your children about the real world, by actually letting them out into it. 

You can't stop everything just because you think that if its bad for your child it has to be bad for all, and ruin it for everyone else.  And, I bet you that most of these parents are probably single moms, who have nothing better to do.
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