The WB edits out lesbian kiss from new drama

The Bedford Diaries, the WB network's latest drama, is all about sexy undergrads—some straight, some experimenting, some possibly gay—taking it off and turning each other on. If it sounds too hot for network TV, it is. Two scenes of the premiere episode set to air Wednesday night have been cut, one being a lusty kiss between two young women.

The network made the edits—the other sliced scene showed a girl shoving her hand down her pants—but the reason for the censorship remains debatable; network brass say it came out of the Federal Communications Commission's recent close monitoring of “explicit” and “indecent” content. Since the cuts were preemptive, though, it's not clear whether the FCC would have defined the gay kiss as “explicit” or “indecent.” A plotline involving an affair between a professor and a student and scenes of graphic sexual discussions remain.

The network, which made the uncut premiere episode available on its Web site, wouldn't officially comment but released the following statement: “The WB takes its responsibility as a broadcast network very seriously, and we have always been mindful of the FCC's indecency rules. While we believe that the previous uncut version of The Bedford Diaries is in keeping with those rules, out of an abundance of caution, we decided to make some additional minor changes to the premiere episode of the series, which is set to debut Wednesday, March 29."

Last week the FCC proposed millions of dollars in fines, mostly against CBS affiliates for showing an episode of Without a Trace that featured a teen orgy. CBS stations also had to pony up $550,000 for flashing Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl.

Even with the FCC cracking down, gay television producer William Burgess remains skeptical about the WB's Bedford Diaries decision. “Is two girls kissing any more offensive than a man and a woman?" Burgess asked. "What [the WB] is saying is that they think the kissing could possibly be obscene, which is absurd." (The Advocate)

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