OTTAWA – A 2007 episode of the dramatic action program 24 – in which terrorists use a drill to torture Carlo Rota’s character – did not violate the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Violence Code, because the violence was relevant to the plot and character development, ruled the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) in a decision released today.
However, the CBSC did conclude the episode should have been rated 14+, rather than just PG.
The episode in question aired on Global on Feb. 12, 2007 at 8 p.m. During the episode, a terrorist group kidnaps Counter Terrorism Unit agent Morris O’Brian, played by Rota, who has the computer programming expertise necessary to activate the group’s nuclear bombs. When the agent refuses to help, the group’s leader tortures him with a drill until he capitulates.
A viewer complained the drill scene was too violent for conventional television and should not have been aired at 8 p.m. In its defence, Global explained it broadcast the episode with the necessary viewer advisories at the beginning of the episode and after each commercial break.
By deciding the scenes of violence were relevant to plot and character development, the CBSC’s National Conventional Television Panel concluded the broadcast did not violate the codified standard prohibiting gratuitous violence.
The Panel did, however, find a violation of Article 4 of the Code relating to classification because Global rated the episode PG when it should have been rated 14+ due to the intense scenes of violence, the CBSC said.
