eZine 06.22.2010

Allow me to begin this article with a disclaimer. If you find the following article offensive… good! You should be offended, because the content of the two brand new TV shows that I’m about to disclose to you are offensive. And they aren’t obscure shows. They are on MTV, which, according to Nielsen Media Research, is the most recognized network among young adults age 12 to 34.

So pardon the candid approach to this article. I’m going to do you the favor of letting you know exactly what many of our kids and their friends are watching.

A nerd with a big penis becomes the talk of the school. A stuffed bear with a big penis becomes the rival of a puppet ape.

Yep, these really are the plotlines for two of MTV?s new shows.

Introducing RJ Berger
The Hard Times of RJ Berger now airs on MTV on Monday nights at 10:00pm EST, following its pilot episode which debuted immediately after the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, June 6, 2010. The title of the show is actually a play on words because of the lead character?s?ummm, how do I say this?…”anatomical gift.”

RJ Berger (played by Paul Iacono) is a nerdy, picked on, 15 year old sophomore at Pinkerton High School. He has a mad crush on Jenny, the hottest girl in the entire school, but can?t even get the time of day from her. In short, he?s a loser?whose only friends are also losers.

But all that changes one fateful day during a high school basketball game.

RJ is the team?s towel boy who?s forced onto the court at the end of the big game after several players are ejected for fighting. With zero athletic ability, the coach tells RJ to just avoid stupidity. But as fate would have it, the ball comes to him in the closing seconds of the game. A skinny and frail RJ “granny shoots” the ball – completely missing the basket – and loses his oversized gym shorts in the process.

But don?t worry ladies and gentlemen; he still has on his jock strap to secure his modesty.

Oh wait, this is MTV. There is no modesty!

Seconds later, his jock strap also falls to the gym floor. The camera pans the crowd showing the varied responses to RJ?s insanely large “package” (which isn?t shown pixilated on screen, thank God). Young men point in astonishment, some of the girls lick their lips, and others gasp and/or shriek in disbelief. Several camera phones flash from the bleachers.

And now, the stage has been set for what MTV calls its latest, scripted comedy, The Hard Times of RJ Berger.

MTV Ups the Ante?and Downs Morality
Most of us know that MTV has built its empire on “take-my-virginity-please” teen sex programming, but with the advent of Hard Times (as it?s now known), the media giant has taken a decidedly over-the-top stance on sexuality, promiscuity, and immorality.

Hey, if shows which are titled “Real World” and “The Hills” are about lots of teen sex, what do you think a show with a direct reference to a penis in the title is going to be about???

When a show is totally built around the enlarged genitalia of one character – instead of centering on conflict or drama or action – the series that?s “literally without a premise” can legitimately be called plotless and pointless.

David R. Smith, a 15-year youth ministry veteran, is now a freelance writer for TheSource4YM.com and a pastor of a church in Tampa. David speaks and trains around the U.S., sharing the gospel, and equipping others to do the same.