Home and Away 'raunchy' scene breached standards

By James Murray with NZPA

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A "raunchy and sexually charged" scene on prime-time soap opera Home and Away, along with a graphic scene depicting oral sex in comedy-drama series Hung, breached broadcasting standards, the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) has ruled.

In decisions released today, the BSA said the Home and Away episode, which aired on TV3 at 5:30pm on March 24 with a General (G) classification, breached standards relating to responsible programming, children's interests, and good taste and decency.

During the episode, two adult characters, Martha and Liam, began kissing and Liam removed Martha's bathrobe, leaving her in a bra and pyjama pants. Liam then lay back on a table while Martha straddled him as they continued to kiss until another character walked in.

TV3's broadcaster TVWorks said that the programme had screened in a timeslot that was not considered to be predominately children's viewing time on the channel and that child viewers would not be alarmed or distressed by such scenes.

The BSA disagreed, saying the programme was "raunchy and sexually charged" and went well beyond the level of sexual activity that should be included in a G-rated programme.

"For the broadcaster to argue that 5:30pm is 'not considered to be predominately children's viewing time on TV3 and that the programme was 'aimed at an older 'G' audience' displays, in our view, disregard for the G classification and the guidelines in the Free-to-Air Television Code."

The complaint was the first about sexual content in Home and Away to be upheld.

TV3 legal counsel Clare Bradley gave 3news.co.nz the following response today:

"TV3 is considering whether it will appeal the decision concerning content in Home and Away but there is no plan to change the time at which it screens (5:30pm after The Simpsons and before the 6pm News) or our process for reviewing programming before screening. We try to provide viewers with information about programming that enables them to make informed viewing choices for their families. We respect and refer to Broadcasting Code Programme Classifications and previous BSA decisions when we schedule and appraise programming before it screens.

Home and Away is not "designed for child viewers" (like, for example, Sticky TV) but it has broad appeal to a general audience. We still believe it is appropriately rated G. The Home and Away audience is familiar with the fact that the programme regularly includes storylines about relationships between the characters. We do not consider the scene in the programme to have been unsuitable for children to view with or without a parent present or we would not have screened it.

In particular we don't agree that the material in this scene would "alarm or distress" children under the age of 14yrs who might view the programme. They would see two people in a friendly, affectionate embrace kissing and cuddling and then jumping apart in embarrassment when they were interrupted by another member of the cast. Importantly there is no violence or threatening behaviour in the scene which might have the potential to be alarming or distressing for children. There was categorically no explicit sexual activity nor was there any nudity.

We are both surprised and disappointed by the decision but will not comment further until after we have decided whether we will be lodging an appeal."

In its second decision, the BSA ruled an episode of Hung, described by a complainant as "soft porn", breached the good taste and decency standard.

The episode screened on TV One at 9:50pm on March 22, and showed a male prostitute, Ray, lifting up a woman's skirt and removing her underwear, and included a brief shot of the woman's genital area.

The woman then sat down on a couch and placed her legs over Ray's shoulders while he performed oral sex.

TVNZ said the scene had been relatively brief, not detailed, obviously acted and important in the context of the series.

However, the majority of the BSA found the content went well beyond the level of sexual material that viewers would expect to see on free-to-air television.

"In the majority's view, the scene complained about was prolonged, explicit and gratuitous, leaving nothing to the imagination and designed solely for the purpose of shocking and titillating the audience," the decision said.

"In these circumstances factors such as the programme's AO classification and the use of a written and verbal warning were not sufficient to prevent the broadcast breaching standards of good taste and decency."

The BSA did not issue penalties for either decision.

Lobby group Family First NZ national director Bob McCoskrie welcomed the decisions and said he hoped they would set a precedent.

"Finally, the authority has put the welfare and protection of families before the rights of broadcasters to offend children and families with sexual and offensive content."

3 News / NZPA