For the last month or two there has been a lot of handwringing and complaining about the fact that Bob and Larry wouldn't be allowed to talk about God on NBC. Well, we've just shipped out the last few episodes, and guess what? Bob and Larry are talking about God! "Huh?" you say, "Wazzup wit dat?" Well, I really don't know. But the last four or five episodes, most of which had at least as much "theistic" content as the earlier ones, if not more, came back from NBC standards and practices department with no requested edits. None. So they're going to air just the way they were originally written.
So what made the change? I have no idea. Rumor has it NBC received in the neighborhood of 600,000 emails about the VeggieTales edits (a rumor I can't confirm or deny). Did that have something to do with the theistic tolerance granted the latter episodes? I have no idea. Many have pointed out that 3-2-1 Penguins episodes were allowed from the very beginning to quote a verse from the Bible and show the two kid stars praying at the end of each show, and wondered why VeggieTales seemed to be held to different standards. The reason? I have no idea.
"Jeepers, Phil, don't you know anything?" No, not much. But I do know I'm thrilled the last few stories, including Madame Blueberry and King George and the Ducky, will be airing just as we wrote them – without a single edit. That's really cool, don't you think?
So if you stopped watching your veggies on NBC out of protest, turn it back on! Your protest may have brought a little more light to TV's "vast wasteland." Let NBC know you're thrilled with their recent choices by watching the show.
Oh… NBC also announced that Madonna would NOT be hanging from a cross during her upcoming prime time special.
Coincidence? Who knows. It's worth a little celebration, though, don't you think?
woooo, Yeh, this is very awesomely exciting, more prayers answered, ooh im really excitied about this, God rules. Defiantly worth a celebration.
I watched the webcast of life today, today, was really good and inspiring, trying to find sidney and norman in the UK but havent found it yet, shall try and order it from somwhere.
Cool, can’t wait to see / hear what happens next.
Hallelujah! The sincere prayers of believers accomplish much.
I’m in Brazil…so I don’t get NBC. But if I did, I would definitely tune in. Sounds like NBC realized the stepped in it pretty bad.
YES!!!
God certainly answers prayers; does He not? I didn’t email NBC, but now I think I should, because that’s totally awesome about the movies not having to b edited. Now we need to pray for souls, the souls of the children who watch the show.
I’m so glad. When I wrote to complain about the Madonna thing, I mentioned that I was confused as to why they were going to air that after several hundred thousand complaints and they refused to let Bob and Larry talk about God when there weren’t any complaints about that – they did it pre-emptively. I asked why they were so willing to insult such a huge portion of the population.
Maybe enough people pointed that out to them. (I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to do so.)
Soooo….. NBC now stands for “Not Bashing Christianity”? DEFINITELY worth celebrating over! And definitely worth writing NBC a “thank you” note!
YES, Sylvia, the prayers of believers have accomplished much! Let’s keep praying, people!
Excellent! Although they are still dolts for doing the edits in the first place.
yeah! ive been praying that nbc would show religeous content and i am thrilled to hear that nbc is now airing the religeous stuff!!!
That is great news…Bob and Larry need to be more than just another Saturday morning programming choice for kids and their parents. Take out the biblical angle and all you have is a clever, well crafted, entertaining diversion..with God back in – now you have timeless truth.
Praise God and thanks for the update Phil.
This really great news Phil, I’ll be sure to tune in on NBC.
Good News Phil! Keep up the good work brother.
Thank you Lord!
Dave Almgren
KidzOnEarth.com
scad.edu),Hehehehehehehhahahahahahhahaaa! We help a rally here at scad (www.scad.edu), with otu animation club, and got abotu 300 members to write, email, whatever letters to NBC, and a petition with..oh I cant remember the numbers and sent it on back.
This is awesome isnt it?
They gona put back the silly songs? Cause I dont remember those being in the morning at all. But its back to the kitchen scenes? And Qwerty?
The new theme song was catchy I will say that. Heh, but I only watched the morning thing once and about the last ten mintues another time. And I’m comfortable with my sleeping in on saturdays till 10 ish. I just forget, but I’ll make a little more of an effort, mkay?
Sweeeeeeetness.
I hope they still take place in Bob’s house… 🙂 I have come to really like the new setting for the NBC shows… (my kids do also)
lifetoday.orgWEE HEE! Its so funny, ive ment to watch them on saturdays but i always sleep too late! 🙂 i try and catch them on I on fridays but i forget and then turn it on when babar is on…
well this week, i will be tuning in!!!!! great job!
Also, great interview on life today monday! if anyone missed it, you can download the entire show at
http://www.lifetoday.org/site/PageServer?pagename=tel_USCalendar_Oct06
just scroll to the bottom and you can stream or download!
love the book phil and cant wait for the other books too!
Amazing news! I am not one who does a lot of petition signing or sending, and I admit, I kind of was worried all the hoopla with the boycotting thing might have caused NBC to cancel VeggieTales all together. Boy, am I glad to be 100% wrong!
Congrats, Phil and Big Idea! Perseverance, prayer and patience seems to really pay off.
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sent an e-mail to NBC a few weeks ago. (I suppose a lot of other people did, too :D) I’m so glad Veggietales doesn’t have to hide what they’re really about. 🙂
Congrats!
I know of some factory folks that were excited with the news.
They sure could use your help…
thanks
one of da 13
God is good!!! May all glory be to Him for this. I knew all would work out in the end. He is just so amazing! 🙂
Great news! We never stopped watching, though. Saturday morning just became an opportunity for us to talk about Mars Hill with our kids.
Know your audience, kids, I said. If they demand you back off, you can still trust in God. His truth always finds a way to be heard by those who want to listen.
Of course, now the NBC executives are the ones listening to the audience. I’m glad they have ears to hear.
On a personal note, thanks for all that you do. Your work has brought so much joy and whimsy to Christian media!
That is so cool. It looks like we’re winning. This may open some doors for other shows.
One more thing. Are you going to make original episodes for season two or will it be just old stories? Either way, keep the Bob’s House format AND the Big Book of Oddities. I love that!
Great news, Phil. I work on a faith-based cartoon as an animator and it’s good to see something actually get thru without getting chopped to bits. Can’t wait to see what’s next from you.
-Drew
I think that is AWESOME! Praise God!!
Dear Phil
I am from Canada’s capital and have just found your blog.
Our family is totaly in love with the veggie tales series (my youngest brother’s first word was Bob) and whene I found out about what went down over there I was crest fallen. I am greatful that this accident has not stoped you, or Big Idea inc. from continuing your walks!
We love you Phil and may God bless you on your new walk with JELLYFISH!?!? HE HE HE
FROM everyone over in Canada
That’s great news. I hope that the people who have cut down Phil for what he’s trying to do and how he’s been doing his best to serve the Lord will apologize to him for the insults.
My wife and I, along with our three kids (10, 6 and 3) just finished watching today’s episodes. We already own all of the videos, but we love to watch the NBC show to see the extras at the beginning and at the end. I hadn’t read this entry from Phil before we watched, so I was excited to hear “The Story of Flibber-o-loo” in its original, un-edited form! I did have one question, though… In “Baby Sitter In DeNile”, after the princess warns the guards that if they are ever “like, harsh” with baby Moses, she’d have their heads, the line “I’m not exactly sure how that would work” was cut. WHY?!?!? It’s so short, and one of the funniest lines I’d ever heard from VeggieTales! 🙂
Keep up the wonderful work, Phil. It’s great to see quality entertainment on TV. God most certainly made you special, and my whole family loves you and your work very much!
David Palmer
Phillipsburg, NJ
WHEE!!!! NO NBC HACK-JOBS HERE! THANK YOU LORD! NOW WE CAN HAVE *exits Caps Lock* Veggie Tails UNCENSORED and UNCUT, on TV! All references and mentioning of our Jesus kept in! Ya know, I never thought I’d be talking about how they censor and cut Jesus out of a kids show. Knowing today’s TV standards, I should’ve thought that I would. Anyway, can somebody tell me, are these the original VIDEO episodes? Or are these all-new episodes airing specially on NBC? Plz (means please) answer. Thx! (means thanks, just in case nobody knew)
These are the original videos edited down for the time contraints of television, and with a different beginning and ending, taking place at Bob’s house, rather than the kitchen counter.
So, some new stuff at the beginning and end, but the main part is the original videos.
Great Stuff! Here in Denver, we celebrated on Christian Radio that the Veggies are being aired “as is”. I encourage anyone who “complained” to NBC that you be even MORE grateful about the change! Let NBC know that you are truly grateful.
Chriatians need to be known for more than complaining.
My Husband and son went into Chuck-e-Cheese and to their surprise they were playing the theme song from Larry Boy. And guess what? No one was offended. Why would they be? People just need to stop being paranoid and stop seeing offense where there isn’t any.
My son, being a Veggie tale ambassador, can’t wait till his box arrives before a new release. He’s so excited to get the movies before any one else and takes his job as “Ambassador” seriously. He passes out his stickers and business cards to everyone he can along with the activity book. We are so excited about the “Pirates” movie. We will see it opening day. There are so few movies that you can take a 6 year old to and still enjoy it yourself.
Keep them coming and God bless!
Great news!! How about if Bob (at Bob’s house) now tries going back to saying, “God made you special, and He loves you very much,” as originally intended? Instead of, “Thanks for coming to my house.” Maybe they will leave it. After all, that’s the tail-line that Michelle Malkin almost cried about (literally) when she told about all of this on Vent.
November 9, 2006
Dear Editor
Quite often good things happen, but seldom do they receive public recognition. This letter gives credit as credit is due.
Recently, the NBC television network used its internal employee decision-making apparatus to strip references to the Bible – and to God – from a beloved children’s show, Veggie Tales. As President of the American Bible Society, you can imagine how I became troubled and set about discerning how to respond.
Last month, I sent letters to GE’s (owner of NBC) Board of Directors protesting the decision and requesting a dialogue on why these decisions were made. I also directed our network of supporters to write NBC management protesting this decision. NBC has now begun to restore the deleted footage to Veggie Tales.
While I seldom believe in boycotts or condemning the network’s right to air certain programs, I could not accept censorship of the Bible either. Specifically, I could not accept censorship of a children’s program making available the Bible, while soap operas and a multitude of other shows created for evening entertainment portray characters whose behavior exemplifies little moral consideration and ignores such ethical parameters as laid out in the Ten Commandments!
I firmly believe the Bible to be foundational to the makeup of America. The character of our nation’s shared future depends on if and how we engage the Bible’s life-changing message.
NBC, the American Bible Society applauds your decision to let stand the mentioning of God and verses of the Bible in Veggie Tales. Soon, I hope that NBC will put words with their actions to begin repairing the harm incurred by every American who respects and appreciates the religious freedoms our Constitution affords, which includes the freedom to broadcast and hear the Bible.
Sincerely,
Paul G. Irwin
President
American Bible Society
AMEN to #19, 26 and 30 especially!
It was very exciting to get choked up and cheer each time God’s name or word was mentioned last week! His Word never returns void.
By the way, Gideon is one of the best shows in a long time. Don’t miss it! Be sure to listen to all of the extras as well as the show because they demonstrate how serious these guys are about their faith, their calling and their mission, in case anyone would still doubt.
Oh, Madame Blueberry is my favorite and I’m 38 years old! It was our first Vegetales video given to our family before we were saved. I didn’t reallize it was teaching truths about the bible – or I may have never allowed my kids to watch it. You see, I thought I knew what the bible was all about and I thought that Jim Bakker (in his televangelist days) exemplified Christianity. Of course, I had never actually read the Bible, but that didn’t stop me from categorizing all those who did as overbearing, obnoxious, holier than thou… well you get the picture. At any rate, I am living proof that God can reach the hardest of hearts and Madame Blueberry was part of our journey into the kingdom.
God bless you and your family, Phil, and keep using your gifts for His glory!
Jill
Soli Deo Gloria!
This is good news!
That is awesome that they are showing it with no edits.
When I heard they were going to edit it, I had a big winge to my Abba Father and told him that if the world is allowed to pollute our “safe” television time with homosexuality, swearing, God’s name in vain, nudity, then they can at least not make us edit out God.
Praise the Lord. Hallelujah
P.s Phil I saw you on that talk with the Robinson’s, you were great.
Hey, … that is AWEsome!
I live in Australia, as I’m an Aussie (Hmmm.. funny that).. and have been following this story since ….well, whenever it started.
God is good.
It just goes it show that we can’t see the big picture and God knnows exactly what we want and need.
It says somewhere in the Bestselling book that if you ask for good things from God he will give them to you because they’re good things to ask for!!!
So thankyou to Jesus for dying a horrible death….sowe’re all here.
And thankyou to God the father for watching over this whole situation and changing NBC’s minds…or whatever happened!!!!
And last and,well.. least…thanks to you phil for carrying out your vision with blood, sweat and tears since 1991!
P.S. Sidney and Norman is in Word Bookstore in Australia for those interested!! Let us read!!!
See ya,
jonathan
Phil,
My two cents (sorry it’s only Canadian money). NBC may not have seen the light but they’ve seen the might. Hopefully the emails and protests have put, if only figuratively, the “fear of God” into some cynical corporate “suits” … who are, after all, just people like the rest of us, and need to hear this message like the rest of us.
How an American business entity could fail to see the opportunity of catering to 50+% of American citizens, plus multiplied millions overseas, is mystifying to me. Obviously the Gospel is offensive to many in high places … no great mystery there.
The Body of Christ can trump anything if it pulls together … for once it did, it seems, notwithstanding some truly abusive comments made toward you.
Thrilled and excited for you. God knows the desires of your heart, and you’ve stood for the Kingdom all along.
This is awesome. Now I will watch it! ….Oh yea my kids too!
that’s great (my family dosn’t get the chanel but we are still extatic) God is the greatest(literally!!!)
Your doing a great job ! Keep seeking Jesus, my friend. God is faithful always.
Saw “Pickle” this weekend! Pretty good. Although, it was very strange to suddenly see Larry dressed up as Larryboy on a kitchen counter in the middle of it. I understood, but a viewer who had never seen the original might not.
Congratulations! Yeah, baby!
Praise the Lord!
Our heavenly Father is truly the maker of miracles..
This is just proof that God does take action.
Phil, when you say: The reason? I have no idea. “Jeepers, Phil, don’t you know anything?” No, not much
You “sound” just like Larry the Cucumber.
Praise God!! What great news that the people of God can continue to have impact.
For his Glory,
Joe
NBC switched Veggietales from the beginning of the QUBO block to right after Penguins at 11:30 last Saturday. Could it be that they wanted to boost ratings at that time? It would make sense that the Big Idea shows would be back to back anyway. It will be interesting to know what happened to the ratings at 10AM.
Does Big Idea plan to continue this series or is the network going to just do endless reruns?
I’m 38, don’t have kids, but I LOVE VeggieTales. It makes me laugh harder than just about anything on TV – and it’s completely clean and wholesome and uplifting – bravo on such a great combination!
(I love the pop-culture references – to Rocky, having the little Forrest Gump ref. at the start of the Silk Hat song…those are so great)
I’m so happy NBC has heard the voice of reason and allowed the God and Biblical references…I would bet that the people who would be “offended” by them probably wouldn’t watch VeggieTales anyway. (Now if we can just get the Silly Songs restored? I love the SIlly Songs.)
I tend to feel that – if people are allowed to use God’s name in vain on television (and you hear it ALL THE TIME), why shouldn’t a show be able to teach about God? Which is ultimately more offensive? To me, it’s by far the first of those two situations….
Any thought about putting Veggie Tales on EWTN?
Phil, may God continue to bless you and your family, and your ministry of serving Him in the way of media. We need more men like you-with passion for serving up a huge plateful of what we need more of-Godly values. I adore VeggieTales and pray that there will be more for many years to come. Take care of yourself, your family, and the ministry God calls you to. Read the book-up til 2:30 AM reading it with a lump in my throat. Remember to hug your loving and faithful wife who nursed you through the tough times with God’s loving touch in her arms. Stay faithful to His plan, and He will show you and us all the riches of His glory. Amen!
This is just GREAT….My boy’s age 3 and 1 are just in love with veggie tale’s, I am so happy too see they are the way they SHOULD BE………….Right on everyone!!!!
~Ruth