This Really Happened - Installment 17 of The Home School "History of TV" Course

It goes without saying that September 11th is one of the most infamous days in US history but what about the 1oth? Sept. 10th 1974 may not be anywhere near as important but it certainly marks a red letter day in the annals of American TV history for it was on this day that NBC aired Born Innocent as its movie of the week.
Ostensibly a morality play about the dangers of parental abuse and indifference and societal neglect of troubled youth this film had a more than healthy dose of exploitation. Go Ask Alice, the sensational and supposedly true account of a young girl's descent into drugs and depravity, had been a big hit for ABC as a TV movie a year earlier. NBC decided to up the ante with Born Innocent and pulled out all the stops! The very young and occasionally naked Linda Blair, fresh from her success in The Exorcist, was perfect as the abused good girl gone bad. Most memorable and shocking was the brutal lesbian shower rape with the handle of a toilet plunger. Funny how I remembered it as a broom handle but why quibble over minor details (although I guess it makes a big difference if you're on the receiving end). As a peaceful 15 year old dealing with an onslaught of hormones all this was very interesting in a debased, sexual arousal sort of way. (HEY....I was 15 for heaven's sake!!!). As a parent of teens today I rale against this sort of exploitive fare but back in the day this kind of stuff was just the ticket.
Unfortunately and tragically a group of girls raped an 8 year old with a coke bottle not long after the air date and NBC was sued as a result by those who claimed they were influenced by the film. NBC won the case but a Family Viewing Hour was instituted not long after. Born Innocent was shown at 8 o'clock when many children were still awake but since then early prime time has been kept relatively clean.
The film, even in it's edited version, was withdrawn from circulation and remained unseen for 30 years. In 2004 a DVD version with rape scene intact was re-released by VCI Entertainment. Said spokesman Lance Boyle: "We believe the time is right to bring back this important movie. Kids everywhere should know what goes on in detention centers for the teenage girls.....in the showers and such, with the plungers....it's dangerous....will you excuse me for a minute?"
Maybe you'd heard of family viewing hour. Now you know why it's there.