What’s the Big Idea???
Well, it looks like yet another “Christian Business Owner” has sold his soul to network television. Wow, Steve… those are rough words… what are you talking about?
It seems that Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales has had a recent “success” with his show. It’s now being aired on NBC on Saturday mornings! Good, right? No… he’s just a sellout that traded all references to God for a paycheck. Yeah, They stripped out the Bible verse at the end, and any direct references to Christianity. They even edited out Bob and Larry’s tagline: “And remember, God made you special and He loves you very much.” WHAT THE HECK???
Apparently Phil didn’t realize he would have to cut so much when he signed the contract… but he did know the Bible verses were gonna be kaput. So much for Veggie Tales. Next thing you know, we’ll have an episode with a special segment for “Meditational Yoga with Bob and Larry.”
I’m almost ashamed to be associated with Veggie Tales right now. I can only hope that after this season is over, Phil will either get the contract changed, or refuse to sign on for another season. And hopefully Big Idea doesn’t make a habit of this kind of compromise, ’cause that is what could kill Veggie Tales for good. Feel free to quote me on that.
For more info on the whole mess, check out the articles from The Washington Times and CNN
-Steve
October 21st, 2006 at 7:59 am
*Too steamed to say anthing*
October 21st, 2006 at 8:19 am
*Fuming like mad at NBC*
http://www.philvischer.com/index.php/?p=57
October 21st, 2006 at 9:32 am
yeah, that really is too bad.. sad. You should write them and protest.
October 22nd, 2006 at 2:54 pm
I think the comments were a little harsh. We can’t really know Big Idea’s motives for allowing this too happen so we can’t automatically judge them and say they are getting money hungry and selfish. Looking positively, somebody could see the show on tv, like it, go buy it, and then hear the Gospel. Remember, God works all things for good for those who love Him. Let’s just pray that Big Idea still has God’s plan in mind.
October 22nd, 2006 at 8:08 pm
Corrective comment:
Big Idea has the right plan in mind. It is now owned by Classic Media, and is no longer under Phil’s control in any way, shape, or form. I would try and explain the story here, but I’ll just point you to Phil’s blog so I won’t miss something.
http://www.philvischer.com/index.php/?p=57
October 22nd, 2006 at 9:38 pm
Yeah, Big Idea Productions went bankrupt and Classic Media (A secular company) bought it up and made Big Idea Inc. This is just another thing that a secular company would do to make money… after all, they wouldn’t want to offend anyone.
Read that post linked to above, on Phil’s personal blog. It offers some more info.
November 10th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
You should hear Phil tell the story of how the NBC thing went down. I also remember reading on a recent blog post, that NBC has returned a couple episodes without ANY changes.
What’s really amazing though, is to hear how responsice Hollywood studios are to his film ideas, AS IS. In fact, he says that someone at Universal said, “Phil, are you sure this script it Christian enough?” That’s pretty amazing.
CHeck out the interview at:
http://www.lifewaystores.com/podcast
It’s good stuff.