LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- ABC may edit a 15-second sex scene from "NYPD Blue" for its earlier broadcast in certain U.S. time zones in response to tighter indecency rulings.
If ABC follows through with its plans, it will mark the first time a network deletes objectionable scenes from a show for airing in a different time zone, USA Today reported Tuesday.
The questionable scene would air an hour earlier in the Mountain and Central time zones than the show's regular time slot of 10 p.m., falling in the time period that the Federal Communications Commission dictates must be free of indecent material.
"To suddenly find objectionable something that three days earlier would not have been is a hysterical knee-jerk response," said Steven Bochco, who is refusing to edit the episode himself. "I can't stop them, but I think it's really lame."
ABC's reaction follows last week's editing of a "CSI" episode when CBS removed a shot of a naked man and NBC's removal of a two-second shot of an elderly patient's breast on "ER."
The newtwork scrutiny follows the Super Bowl halftime show where Janet Jackson exposed her breast. The FCC, which is investigating, may levy hefty fines on stations that aired the incident.
