I know the language on over-the-air network TV is almost always very mild, but occasionally a "damn" slips by. So what was the first time you ever heard swear words or cuss words on TV?
I remember playing in the living room when my mom was watching one of her soap operas. A character on the show was talking to someone on the phone and he said, "Damn you!" I thought that was so funny! I'd guess this was in the early '80s. I also remember a sitcom where a character complained that something got lost in "the damn Christmas mail."
Those probably weren't the first times I heard "damn" on TV, but they were among the first times I noticed.
On a Season 8 episode of M*A*S*H (Guerilla My Dreams that first aired October 1, 1979 on CBS); Hawkeye, in disgust, says to Lt, Park (played by Mako) "You Son-of-Bitch!"
Such was the first time that phase aired on American television.
I'm sure I heard some minor ones when I was younger and didn't take notice. Golden Girls, the news, who knows!
One of the first memorable times I heard THE f word was probably Chase Utley's World Series speech in 2008, broadcasted live on all the local Philly channels.
When it came time for the Eagles speeches after their Superbowl win earlier this year, the networks were ready. Jason Kelce's speech was going fine until there was silence for about 15 seconds, pissing off everyone thinking there was an audio malfunction, until they found out what he was really saying.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 24, 2018, 01:36:30 PMOne of the first memorable times I heard THE f word was probably Chase Utley's World Series speech in 2008, broadcasted live on all the local Philly channels.
Dennis Rodman dropped an F-bomb on live television during one of the Bulls' championship rallies in the 1990s, I remember that.
The first time? It must have been when I was 5 or so, because I remember hearing it, repeating it, and getting my mouth washed out with soap.
Who the fuck knows and who the fuck cares? We had cable when I was little.
I remember a drunk Slash at an American Music Awards having to be cut off. 1990 or 1991 or something like that.
Some profanity was in All in the Family which started IIRC in 1971 but according to this the first swear word was in a 1965 sitcom
http://mentalfloss.com/article/18981/6-television-firsts-canned-laughter-dropping-d-word
Probably watching Star Trek: TNG reruns around 1995-96. "Damn" and "hell" weren't terribly uncommon to hear on that show.
An episode of Fat Albert involved the kids getting in trouble for shoplifting riding in a stolen car. The cops took them through a jail to scare them and one of the prisoners said "son of a bitch." I recall Bill Cosby telling viewers beforehand that the episode contained "strong language."
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 24, 2018, 03:49:57 PMAn episode of Fat Albert involved the kids getting in trouble for shoplifting riding in a stolen car. The cops took them through a jail to scare them and one of the prisoners said "son of a bitch." I recall Bill Cosby telling viewers beforehand that the episode contained "strong language."
If we're talking about the cartoon that aired on Saturday mornings on CBS during the 70s; I do not recall that episode. Must've been a later one (from the early 80s). I stopped watching Saturday morning cartoons on a regular basis after 1980-81.
I believe the fore-mentioned 1979
M*A*S*H episode still lays claim to the first time the
SOB phraise was fully stated on network TV.
A few "hells" and "damns" here and there, I'm sure.
I distinctly remember an SEC tournament basketball game featuring Florida, when Norm Sloan was coach of the Gators. The TV crew eavesdropped in the huddle during a time out, and they got an earful. The coach was going off about giving up too many layups, with a few G-D's and F's sprinkled in. The announcers apologized profusely.
I never watched "Law & Order" when it was in first run, but I see the reruns frequently. A lot of "SOBs" and "bastards" are uttered on that show.
I still don't understand why the S-word for excrement is still outlawed.
Quote from: PHLBOS on September 24, 2018, 04:00:16 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 24, 2018, 03:49:57 PMAn episode of Fat Albert involved the kids getting in trouble for shoplifting riding in a stolen car. The cops took them through a jail to scare them and one of the prisoners said "son of a bitch." I recall Bill Cosby telling viewers beforehand that the episode contained "strong language."
If we're talking about the cartoon that aired on Saturday mornings on CBS during the 70s; I do not recall that episode. Must've been a later one (from the early 80s). I stopped watching Saturday morning cartoons on a regular basis after 1980-81.
....
I think it was from sometime in the early 1980s and that Bill Cosby apparently decided to jump on the "Very Special Episode" bandwagon (though he didn't use that expression) that had been popularized by Diff'rent Strokes (especially the infamous episode involving Gordon Jump as the pedo bike store owner).
I was 8 when I stayed up late to watch a "rerun" of George Carlin on HBO. I knew my parents didn't want me watching that at the time, because they excused my brother and I out of the living room one evening when he came on TV (I don't recall that ever happening again). His lanuage wasn't much more than what my parents said anyhow, and we were careful not to say those things out of the house. Or at least, not to adults*.
That's not really fair, considering a mix of the two was to be expected.
I think the one that kind of surprised me was watching Yosemite Sam say "I'll send him to Hell"; your beloved cartoon characters just don't swear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWtcaXeqcuY
Quote from: Rothman on September 24, 2018, 02:59:31 PM
I remember a drunk Slash at an American Music Awards having to be cut off. 1990 or 1991 or something like that.
Hah, the kids in my high school couldn't stop talking about that one the next day.
* except once in 5th grade...a jammed finger from a missed football catch elicited a loud
"SHIT!" which made the playground come to a halt.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 24, 2018, 04:01:06 PM
I still don't understand why the S-word for excrement is still outlawed.
I heard it used on '60 Minutes' once.
That reminds me of another "damn" from the early '80s. My grandfather was watching '60 Minutes', and I overheard one of their reporters reading a letter about "damn dumb football games." I thought that was hilarious!
The one that really shocked me was around 1983 when I was watching a Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies cartoon, and a man in the cartoon said, "Dammit!"
BTW, do Battlestar Galactica's "frack" and "felgercarb" count as profanities for this thread?
More recently, one or two episodes of Law & Order: SVU from the previous season had one or two of the main characters take the Lord's name (Jesus & Christ) in vain.
"Shit" has become more common on cable.
For those who aren't aware, there are actually minimal regulations regarding profanity on cable channels. The reason there is still often caution with cussing is concern for scaring off advertisers not wanting to associate with that kind of content.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 24, 2018, 05:02:50 PM
"Shit" has become more common on cable.
I think it's used on basic cable more than it is in real life, probably to overcompensate for the fact that "fuck" is still mostly forbidden (AMC seems to allow Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul one F-bomb per season).
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 24, 2018, 04:46:42 PM
BTW, do Battlestar Galactica's "frack" and "felgercarb" count as profanities for this thread?
or "smoo" in Dinosaurs?
Archie Bunker on All In The Family used "Damn" regurally. That particular sitcom was known to be the one who broke the barriers as even Ed Sullivan ( a few years earlier on the same network) was required to make the Rolling Stones change the song title of Lets Spend the Night Together to Lets Spend Some Time Together. They even tried to get Jim Morrison of the Doors to not say "Girl we could not get much higher" in Light My Fire, but Morrison said FU to CBS and sung the song the way he see fit. That got executives at CBS pissed and Morrison was not allowed on the network again.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 24, 2018, 01:36:30 PM
I'm sure I heard some minor ones when I was younger and didn't take notice. Golden Girls, the news, who knows!
One of the first memorable times I heard THE f word was probably Chase Utley's World Series speech in 2008, broadcasted live on all the local Philly channels.
When it came time for the Eagles speeches after their Superbowl win earlier this year, the networks were ready. Jason Kelce's speech was going fine until there was silence for about 15 seconds, pissing off everyone thinking there was an audio malfunction, until they found out what he was really saying.
They weren't ready for Big Papi's speech before the first game after the Marathon bombing. THIS IS
OUR F***ING CITY!! In later interviews, he would add the beep sound when the expletive part came up.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 24, 2018, 04:01:06 PM
A few "hells" and "damns" here and there, I'm sure.
Same here, and also "asses", which are the three most common profanities to be heard on broadcast TV.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 24, 2018, 05:02:50 PM
“Shit” has become more common on cable.
And yet they still can't say that on the air, which is why the euphemism "crap" is always subbed in. And even then, it still gets a laugh from me whenever it is said.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 25, 2018, 12:49:27 AM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 24, 2018, 01:36:30 PM
I'm sure I heard some minor ones when I was younger and didn't take notice. Golden Girls, the news, who knows!
One of the first memorable times I heard THE f word was probably Chase Utley's World Series speech in 2008, broadcasted live on all the local Philly channels.
When it came time for the Eagles speeches after their Superbowl win earlier this year, the networks were ready. Jason Kelce's speech was going fine until there was silence for about 15 seconds, pissing off everyone thinking there was an audio malfunction, until they found out what he was really saying.
They weren't ready for Big Papi's speech before the first game after the Marathon bombing. THIS IS OUR F***ING CITY!! In later interviews, he would add the beep sound when the expletive part came up.
If you're a Blackhawks fan, you might remember at one Stanley Cup speech, Corey Crawford (their goalie) said: "FUCKING RIGHT, CHICAGO!!!" I'd imagine Mike Ditka having said something to that effect when the Bears won the Super Bowl.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 24, 2018, 05:02:50 PM
"Shit" has become more common on cable.
Watch an episode of Live PD on A&E -- They seem to be making up for lost time. The first time I watched that show is when I realized that the word shit is now acceptable on Cable TV.
I know there were news interviews from the early-1960's where people said the F-word on the air.
Quote from: abefroman329 on September 24, 2018, 05:14:45 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 24, 2018, 05:02:50 PM
"Shit" has become more common on cable.
I think it's used on basic cable more than it is in real life, probably to overcompensate for the fact that "fuck" is still mostly forbidden (AMC seems to allow Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul one F-bomb per season).
Watching TBS a couple of weeks ago, they let the one f-bomb in 'San Andreas' slide through, along with all the other lesser profanity. I was kind of surprised there, even for a 10 PM Saturday airing.
Quote from: SectorZ on September 25, 2018, 11:17:33 AM
Quote from: abefroman329 on September 24, 2018, 05:14:45 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 24, 2018, 05:02:50 PM
"Shit" has become more common on cable.
I think it's used on basic cable more than it is in real life, probably to overcompensate for the fact that "fuck" is still mostly forbidden (AMC seems to allow Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul one F-bomb per season).
Watching TBS a couple of weeks ago, they let the one f-bomb in 'San Andreas' slide through, along with all the other lesser profanity. I was kind of surprised there, even for a 10 PM Saturday airing.
Once I was watching Pineapple Express on TNT and they let an f-bomb slide, but I think that was a mistake on the part of the censor.
Quote from: Henry on September 25, 2018, 09:50:40 AM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 24, 2018, 05:02:50 PM
"Shit" has become more common on cable.
And yet they still can't say that on the air, which is why the euphemism "crap" is always subbed in. And even then, it still gets a laugh from me whenever it is said.
That's because broadcast television is subject to FCC restrictions and cable is not.
I remember reading a review of that 1960s miniseries on NBC, where they talked about protesters having to yell "Up against the wall, mothers!"
Quote from: D-Dey65 on September 25, 2018, 10:15:04 AM
I know there were news interviews from the early-1960's where people said the F-word on the air.
Once in the early '90s, I thought for sure a character on 'All My Children' said it. It sounded like she was fumbling her lines.
I remember when this ad drew a lot of giggles for the (supposed) swear in the first line of the song:
I've been watching HBO my entire life, so I have no idea.
At the rate things are progressing, even the F-bomb will be OK on network television soon enough. I think most censored words in the future will be racial expletives.
I remember a fine a few years ago for an f-bomb getting out on ESPN when the NASCAR broadcast team tapped into a crew chief's communications.
I think the first time for me was watching a rerun of that episode of Good Times when the family got home after burying James and Florida said "Damn, Damn, DAAMMNN".
Quote from: plain on September 25, 2018, 02:34:35 PM
Assuming your listed age profile is true/current; that episode was already a syndicated rerun when you first saw it. By the time that episode first aired circa 1976, saying the word
damn on network TV wasn't a big deal. Earlier episodes of
M*A*SH,
All in the Family &
Maude used it (as well as
hell) fairly regularly.
In fact, one very early episode of
Good Times (from 1974) had Florida yell,
"Nothing in this building is working, DAMN!".
The original
Star Trek series using
hell and/or
damn in a couple of episodes was more shocking.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 25, 2018, 02:23:18 PM
I remember a fine a few years ago for an f-bomb getting out on ESPN when the NASCAR broadcast team tapped into a crew chief's communications.
That also happens during NFL games when they tap into communicafions between the coaching staff and the QB at the wrong time. And there's not much anyone can do when the crowd's chants of "bullshit, bullshit" at sporting events are loud enough for the stadium mikes to pick up.
Quote from: abefroman329 on September 25, 2018, 03:39:28 PMAnd there's not much anyone can do when the crowd's chants of "bullshit, bullshit" at sporting events are loud enough for the stadium mikes to pick up.
I remember hearing that chant while watching either a Patriots or Eagles game back in the mid-1990s.
Quote from: PHLBOS on September 25, 2018, 04:09:47 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on September 25, 2018, 03:39:28 PMAnd there’s not much anyone can do when the crowd’s chants of “bullshit, bullshit” at sporting events are loud enough for the stadium mikes to pick up.
I remember hearing that chant while watching either a Patriots or Eagles game back in the mid-1990s.
...usually quickly followed by an announcer's understated tones of
"the crowd is upset with the call/play" while the color commentator tries to awkwardly describe the subsequent action again.
Quote from: PHLBOS on September 25, 2018, 04:09:47 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on September 25, 2018, 03:39:28 PMAnd there's not much anyone can do when the crowd's chants of "bullshit, bullshit" at sporting events are loud enough for the stadium mikes to pick up.
I remember hearing that chant while watching either a Patriots or Eagles game back in the mid-1990s.
Its also pretty common in college athletics.
I remember in high school the principal came on the PA one Monday to say "we ask that you not do the "˜BS Cheer.'" Naturally, we did it even louder at the next home game.
Quote from: thenetwork on September 25, 2018, 09:57:28 AM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 24, 2018, 05:02:50 PM
"Shit" has become more common on cable.
Watch an episode of Live PD on A&E -- They seem to be making up for lost time. The first time I watched that show is when I realized that the word shit is now acceptable on Cable TV.
The person assigned to push the bleep button misses their mark quite often. It is funny.
The word "shit" was said, purposefully, during the very last episode of ER. The bald doctor (he also played "Goose" in Top Gun) was dying of cancer. He fell trying to get out of bed, and yelled "SHIT!" while lying on the floor.
I don't remember exactly when I heard my first televised cussy-stuff, probably a movie on cable.
I guess "Rackin-frackin!!" by the dog on Dastardly & Muttley (or Penelope Pitstop? >ugh< Can't remember) doesn't count? ;-) ;-)
I was more surprised later on when I started hearing that the networks were phasing out "Standards & Practices" departments. I'd heard cussing from my parent's fights, and from kids at school, and from strangers, enough that I wasn't completely shocked about the TV version.
Quote from: cjk374 on September 26, 2018, 06:58:21 PM
Quote from: thenetwork on September 25, 2018, 09:57:28 AM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 24, 2018, 05:02:50 PM
"Shit" has become more common on cable.
Watch an episode of Live PD on A&E -- They seem to be making up for lost time. The first time I watched that show is when I realized that the word shit is now acceptable on Cable TV.
The person assigned to push the bleep button misses their mark quite often. It is funny.
The word "shit" was said, purposefully, during the very last episode of ER. The bald doctor (he also played "Goose" in Top Gun) was dying of cancer. He fell trying to get out of bed, and yelled "SHIT!" while lying on the floor.
ER used to really push the envelope during sweeps weeks.
It wasn't the first time, but I remember being seven-year-old me being shocked to hear Pat Sajak tell a Wheel of Fortune contestant to "just spin the damn wheel" once.
Quote from: formulanone on September 24, 2018, 04:25:11 PM
I think the one that kind of surprised me was watching Yosemite Sam say "I'll send him to Hell"; your beloved cartoon characters just don't swear.
There was another Looney Toons where Bugs Bunny, after stupidly running out the door of an airplane, is shown temporarily taking on a donkeylike form and the words "Jack-Ass" are written on his side. This was on a VHS I had, don't recall ever seeing it directly on TV - but noteworthy along the same lines.
Quote from: Rothman on September 24, 2018, 02:59:31 PM
I remember a drunk Slash at an American Music Awards having to be cut off. 1990 or 1991 or something like that.
It was in 1989, I do believe. They cut away early. Slash or the man with him (Duff?), gave the camera the finger as it panned up and away.
I remember
NYPD Blue using a word or two during it's ABC run. They always had a warning right at the beginning though.
Quote from: Rothman on September 24, 2018, 02:59:31 PM
I remember a drunk Slash at an American Music Awards having to be cut off.
He was going to explain how he's make-believe based on the Dutch legend of Vünter Slauche. They didn't want to scare the kids.
Quote from: abefroman329 on September 25, 2018, 03:39:28 PMAnd there's not much anyone can do when the crowd's chants of "bullshit, bullshit" at sporting events are loud enough for the stadium mikes to pick up.
Apologise "We're sorry for anything our stadium mikes picked up just then" and move on.
Here there's no blanket regulations against swearing. The s-word can be said after 8pm, the f-word after 9pm and the c-word after 10pm - within limits on usage and frequency (that get laxer with the hour). So mine will be the s-word, probably in a film around Christmas time, at a young age (say 6). It wasn't taboo to say it at that time of day so no one blinked an eye about it, and I wasn't old enough to know what it meant, so I don't remember it at all.
Quote from: Scott5114 on September 26, 2018, 10:24:00 PM
It wasn't the first time, but I remember being seven-year-old me being shocked to hear Pat Sajak tell a Wheel of Fortune contestant to "just spin the damn wheel" once.
Speaking of game shows, I remember an episode of The Price is Right from when I was 16, and a contestant who was playing the Shell Game tried to look under one of the shells before Bob Barker caught her in the act. Then, before he was finished revealing the location of the ball, Bob told her that "this would be exciting, but everybody knows the damn thing's not there!"
Quote from: bandit957 on September 24, 2018, 12:56:34 PM
I know the language on over-the-air network TV is almost always very mild, but occasionally a "damn" slips by. So what was the first time you ever heard swear words or cuss words on TV?
I remember playing in the living room when my mom was watching one of her soap operas. A character on the show was talking to someone on the phone and he said, "Damn you!" I thought that was so funny! I'd guess this was in the early '80s. I also remember a sitcom where a character complained that something got lost in "the damn Christmas mail."
Those probably weren't the first times I heard "damn" on TV, but they were among the first times I noticed.
"Dragnet" from the late 1960s used its allocations of 'two "Hell"s and a "Damn"' in just about every episode.
"South Park" began to use "Shit" unedited on a basic cable show in the early 2010s. In one episode they even had an on-screen counter for the number of times that they used it.
In the early 1980s, KTXL in Sacramento and KTLA in LA (WAY before either was a Fox affiliate) would run original theatrical video releases ("Movies") in a mode that one of my co-workers described as "Show everything and bleep the 'fuck's".
I heard Spencer Tracy say "Well, I'll be a Son of a Bitch" in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" which aired on a "Movie Night" in the late 1960s. No edit and no disclaimer.
IIRC, the first f-bomb (& shit) utterance I heard on TV was when the 1978 movie The Deer Hunter (rated R) first aired on television circa 1980 or 1981 (I couldn't find the exact air date) on a UHF (WSBK TV-38) station serving the Greater Boston area.
During the promotional advertising of the televised viewing, it was mentioned that the film would be shown in its original unedited format to show the full effects of the movie. It was also mentioned that such would mean all the violent/graphic scenes and obscene language would be shown/heard.
The "South Park" episode notes above was called "It Hits the Fan." The characters are excited because the word "shit" is to be used, uncensored, on TV. Then everyone starts using it (162 times in the episode, IIRC) and it leads to over-the-top consequences in the show's usual style.
On the other end of the spectrum, I recall seeing a late '70s episode of Card Sharks rerun on Game Show Network some years ago: The contestant was having a good run at the money cards, and seemingly frozen in disbelief at her ballooning jackpot, she kept saying "Oh my god!" But the "god" part was cut out...no bleep, no sound effect. Just a second of awkward dead silence–and I think she said the phrase about a half-dozen times.
That struck me as a bit puritanical by '70s standards.
Quote from: briantroutman on September 27, 2018, 12:30:32 PM
On the other end of the spectrum, I recall seeing a late '70s episode of Card Sharks rerun on Game Show Network some years ago: The contestant was having a good run at the money cards, and seemingly frozen in disbelief at her ballooning jackpot, she kept saying "Oh my god!" But the "god" part was cut out...no bleep, no sound effect. Just a second of awkward dead silence–and I think she said the phrase about a half-dozen times.
That struck me as a bit puritanical by '70s standards.
Such might have been due to:
1. What time of day or night did this show originally air?
2. What network it originally aired on?
3. Game shows were likely subject to different standards than the edgier sitcoms of the era.
While the phrase
Oh My God was indeed uttered on many 70s sitcoms, especially edgier ones like
M*A*S*H plus ones from Norman Lear; there were still quite a few that did not.
The Brady Bunch &
The Partridge Family come to mind as two examples.
Quote from: briantroutman on September 27, 2018, 12:30:32 PM
On the other end of the spectrum, I recall seeing a late '70s episode of Card Sharks rerun on Game Show Network some years ago: The contestant was having a good run at the money cards, and seemingly frozen in disbelief at her ballooning jackpot, she kept saying "Oh my god!" But the "god" part was cut out...no bleep, no sound effect. Just a second of awkward dead silence–and I think she said the phrase about a half-dozen times.
That struck me as a bit puritanical by '70s standards.
Something similar happened in the early 2000s. For some reason, Christians were offended that the Lord's name taken in vain was censored.
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 27, 2018, 11:48:36 AM
The "South Park" episode notes above was called "It Hits the Fan." The characters are excited because the word "shit" is to be used, uncensored, on TV. Then everyone starts using it (162 times in the episode, IIRC)
162, plus 38 times written down for a round 200. And some cigarettes too.
Comedy Central would normally beep out some of the swearing when broadcast, but didn't as the execs felt it perfectly acceptable with the context.
This aired without censorship - just like every other South Park episode - on UK broadcast TV. I remember watching South Park, even in the early years when I wasn't
that old, so it might have been 9 or 9.30pm.
Porky Pig:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKikitjfWmw
This was rather racy for its time.
Wasn't G.D. first used on CBS' "All In The Family"?
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on September 27, 2018, 07:15:35 AM
Quote from: Rothman on September 24, 2018, 02:59:31 PM
I remember a drunk Slash at an American Music Awards having to be cut off. 1990 or 1991 or something like that.
It was in 1989, I do believe. They cut away early. Slash or the man with him (Duff?), gave the camera the finger as it panned up and away.
I remember watching that. I think it was something like "We want to f***ing thank......." and then immediately music and commercial.
Quote from: briantroutman on September 27, 2018, 12:30:32 PM
On the other end of the spectrum, I recall seeing a late '70s episode of Card Sharks rerun on Game Show Network some years ago: The contestant was having a good run at the money cards, and seemingly frozen in disbelief at her ballooning jackpot, she kept saying "Oh my god!" But the "god" part was cut out...no bleep, no sound effect. Just a second of awkward dead silence–and I think she said the phrase about a half-dozen times.
That struck me as a bit puritanical by '70s standards.
That was a standard of just the NBC Network at the time. Don't know when that practice ended.
There is an independent TV station in Akron that is owned by televangelist Ernest Angely (for now...he'S currently in a .lot of hot water with labor and financial issues). His station muted the G-word and other "mildly offensive" words that were on shows OTHER than his religious shows as recent as 10 years ago -- he still may be over-censoring despite being a CW affiliate up until they lost the network a few weeks ago.