{alltv} TV controversies fizzle out

TV controversy doesn't tend to carry over. So it's always fascinating to reflect upon what was seen as so freakin' worrisome mere months before.

The end of the traditional fall-to-spring television season is upon us. There are season-finales scheduled practically every night in mid-May.

Last September, as the TV season launched, the two shows creating the most controversial buzz were, believe it or not, Outsourced and $#*! My Dad Says.

What a difference a half-year makes.

Outsourced, which airs on NBC and Global (the season finale is this Thursday), took heat because some thought it was outright racist. Set at a call centre in India, the show focuses on a young manager at an American novelties company that has outsourced its order processing.

With the benefit of hindsight, it wasn't worth the fuss. Outsourced hasn't really been funny enough to make anyone mad.

The main character Todd (played by Ben Rappaport) is bland. While Rajiv (played by Canadian Rizwan Manji) is by far the funniest character, the rest of Todd's Indian staff are broad stereotypes. But they're almost too cartoon-ish to be offensive stereotypes, you know?

Meanwhile, $#*! My Dad Says, which already has wrapped up its first season on CBS and CTV, stars the beloved and affable William Shatner as a cranky old man named Ed. Based on a famous Twitter feed (the real mark of quality), Ed's supposedly outrageous rants wind up fuelling the writing career of his adult son Henry (Jonathan Sadowski).

The bizarre thing about $#*! My Dad Says is that it was controversial exclusively because of its title. And this in a world where you can get hardcore porn at the touch of a computer key (or so we're told).

The self-defeating aspect was that Ed's rants weren't particularly scandalous, since they had to be sanitized for primetime American network TV.

Historically speaking, series can be labelled controversial for many reasons, fairly or unfairly.

For example, the recent news about Osama bin Laden brought back the memory of how controversial Little Mosque on the Prairie was when it debuted on CBC in 2007.

Little Mosque -- which still is on the air, heading into its sixth (and presumably last) season -- turned out to be controversial only in concept and timing. The product was just a pleasant little goofy sitcom.

Multiple Emmy Award-winner 30 Rock arguably was the most controversial new show of 2006, primarily due to the existence of another new show called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Because Studio 60 was a drama about the inner workings of a Saturday Night Live-style comedy show, rumour had it that SNL mastermind Lorne Michaels was peeved. To keep Michaels happy, NBC supposedly fast-tracked 30 Rock, which Michaels co-executive produces.

Today, 30 Rock remains, while Studio 60 is long gone.

As this is being written, neither Outsourced nor $#*! My Dad Says officially has been cancelled. Neither show is particularly good nor particularly bad. Both are on the bubble.

The lesson: While controversy gets you early attention, it can make you seem mundane if you aren't as cutting-edge as your press clippings.