Tee Vee Strikes Again

I know we bought this dog, but can we get it to meow?

NBC didn't want a religious children's show. They wanted a 'values-based' children's show. At that time in history, the new Big Idea was referring to its products as "values-based" rather than "Christian" in order to reach a wider audience and avoid scaring away potential marketing partners uncomfortable with religious companies or products. So it appears NBC had signed up for the "values-based" VeggieTales product line, assuming any religious references could be easily excised. Apparently NBC, like Scholastic, hadn't taken the time to watch enough VeggieTales episodes to realize many of the stories hinged entirely on statements about God or the Bible. So the whole deal was done, it appears, on false premises.

What a remarkable collection of fools they must have at NBC. This same network, by the way wasn't too afraid of a Saturday Night Live parody of VeggieTales in a "TV Funhouse" cartoon called, "The Religetables", in which the stories center around scandals and violence in the world of religion. Episode 532; original air date: November 16, 2002.