Joan Tops PTC Family-Friendly List

CBS' Joan of Arcadia, about ateen-ager who talks with God, is TV's best family show, and The WB Television Network's Everwood, about, among other things, teens who transmit sexual diseases and talk openly about abortion, is its worst, at least according to the Parents Television Council, which has released its annual list of TV's most- and least-family-friendly shows.

Other family-friendly shows include two shows with American in the name, Everybody Loves Raymond, and even a reality show.

The "best" shows are the ones that have "minimal sex, violence and profanity," says PTC President Brent Bozell. The list also takes into account scheduling appropriateness, including time slot and target audience.

PTC's top 10 are: Joan;Doc (Pax); Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye; Reba (WB); 7th Heaven (WB); Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC); Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS), American Idol (Fox); American Dreams (NBC), and Bernie Mac (Fox).

The bottom 10: Everwood; That 70's Show (Fox); Fear Factor (NBC); Two and a Half Men (CBS); C.S.I. (CBS); The Surreal Life (WB); Girlfriends (UPN); Las Vegas (NBC); Will & Grace (NBC); Cold Case (CBS).

PTC's expanded list of shows, both good and bad, are at www.parentstv.org.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.