Nick at Nite’s “Glenn Martin, D.D.S” Upsets Parents
According to Common Sense Media, Nickelodeon’s Glenn Martin, D.D.S. is “iffy at best” for kids under 16 due to sexual content and some gruesome violence.
Nickelodeon agrees, saying they never intended for the show to be watched by children in the first place. “There’s certainly no ploy for publicity,” Nickelodeon spokesman David Bittler told the St. Petersburg Times. “This is a funny show for the Nick at Nite audience … which is 18 to 49.”
So why are parents writing angry letters and filling up Internet forums with their complaints? Because Glenn Martin, D.D.S. comes on at 8 p.m., immediately following Spongebob Squarepants.
There are lots of cartoons that aren’t appropriate for young children. Family Guy, for one. And just about anything on Adult Swim. But those shows don’t air until later in the evening, and they aren’t mixed with programming that targets young children.
Nickelodeon says that parents should expect to see them “blur the lines” between Nick, Jr. and Nick at Night. But this seems to be less of a blur and more of an abrupt leap from friendly cartoon sponge to friendly cartoon sex.
Remember how Noggin used to “turn off” at 6 p.m.? That goodnight song was a nice reminder to parents that the upcoming shows weren’t appropriate for the preschool set. It was a clear signal that it was time to change the channel or put the little ones to bed.
Maybe Nickelodean should bring that goodnight song back, or some other warning that the upcoming lineup is for older teens and adults. Or maybe parents just need to pay more attention to what their kids are watching at night. What do you think?
Photo: commonsensemedia.org
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Tags: childrens programming, commonsense media, glenn martin dds, nick at night, nick jr., nickelodeon, spongebob squarepants, television, tv
9 Comments
Allie commented on Nov 13 09 at 1:23 pmWhy can’t people just not like something and move on? If you don’t like a show, change the channel and be done with it. Can someone wake me up when common sense comes back into fashion?
Stephanie R commented on Nov 13 09 at 2:19 pmI don’t like that they show somewhat inappropriate commercials for this show during their “regular kid-friendly” programming.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Nov 13 09 at 2:39 pmParents need to be paying attention to what their kids are watching ALWAYS. Parking them in front of a “safe” channel and catching the vapors when you finally notice they saw something you prefer they not? Tough tatas. Pay attention next time.
jenny tries too hard commented on Nov 13 09 at 2:58 pmThis a pretty vile show. I haven’t met one person (even my brother who loves Family Guy et al) who even thinks it’s worth watching for adults, let alone kids. Not only is it violent/sexual but it’s just not smart or funny enough to get away with it. I hope Nickelodeon gets the message soon and at least boots this crap to one of their other channels.
Andrea commented on Nov 13 09 at 3:04 pmI have no doubt that whatever innuendo turns up in that show does no more harm than the commercials and crass humor on Spongebob. And I agree with the comments before. Don’t be a lazy ass and then get all shocked and horrified when a different show comes on. It’s pretty predictable.
Black Sheep commented on Nov 13 09 at 8:09 pmUm, isn’t Nickelodeon supposed to be a KIDS channel?
kristen h commented on Nov 15 09 at 11:29 amI think blaming “inattentive parents” is a convenient way to excuse our society’s propensity for pushing more and more mature material onto younger and younger children. Why would Nick, a “kid’s” channel even put something like Glenn Martin on? They actually have a whole other channel aimed towards older kids (The N), so why don’t they just put it there? As for the commercials for the show, I literally would change the channel when they came on, which was pretty much every break during Spongebob (at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, no less). And the comparison between the content of the show versus Spongebob- not even close. Seeing a cartoon sponge getting zapped by a jellyfish- not offensive, Seeing a dentist put his fist down a kid’s throat till it comes out his ass, yeah, not for kids.
ldkndl commented on Nov 17 09 at 9:04 amBeing a lazy parent has nothing to do with it. As a working mother of more than one child, I am busy in the evenings. When my 6 year old is wathing TV before bed, i am busy cleaning up dishes from dinner in the kitchen and bathing my baby. I’m not always right there when the switch from kid friendly to adult content happens. When I walked into the TV room to find that this show was on at 8:00 I was shocked. I immediately turned the channel. I expect Nick to air shows that are appropriate for children at that time of night, afterall it is a kid’s network. I guess we will just stop watching nick in the evenings.
mamarose commented on Jan 31 10 at 10:56 pmdoes anyone realize that there are like few more “nick” and Disney channels and cartoon network channels. and quite a few has 24hr cartoon for the little ones. even in Canada has the 24hr cartoon channel. just change the dang channel and stop all your whining.
I am going to go back to watching all the adult swim and terminator and aliens. with my 3yr old, because i know that it has no effect on how they grow up.
