Request #1,901,542 to Mediacorp. RE: Brothers and Sisters

Dear Mediacorp,

I was so pleased to learn that the series Brothers and Sisters would be aired on Singapore television. Having heard great things about it from American viewers and critics, I was very much looking forward to a high quality drama with top notch acting.

After watching around half of the first season, I can wholeheartedly say that the show has more than fulfilled my expectations. I am grateful to the Mediacorp executives who made the decision to purchase the screening rights. Thank you!

I am sure that as a customer-focused organisation, you are always seeking feedback from viewers on ways to further improve the quality of your programming and service. With regards to Brothers and Sisters, I have several comments and a suggestion:

Could you have a discreet word with your friendly censor at the Media Development Authority? As an industry insider, could you perhaps impress upon them that the basic concept behind an ensemble piece such as Brothers and Sisters is that the multiple plots and characters interact to create the whole viewing experience?

For many weeks now, the character of Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) would mysteriously disappear from episodes, pop up in scenes without context or have his plotlines drop off completely with no resolution. This was particularly jarring in the Camelot episode, where Kevin becomes inexplicably inebriated during the charity dinner, seemingly without any motivation or reason at all. A quick search on the Internet informed us that he was having a tiff with his boyfriend during the dinner.

Obviously, this is the sticking point with the censors - the portrayal of a gay relationship. Being gay is perfectly fine and so is talking about it. We have known from the first episode that Kevin is gay. Casual mention is made of it by various characters in various episodes, and none of these have been censored. They acknowledge it and even make jokes about gay stereotypes. The show has had plotlines revolving around Kevin's sexual orientation, such as his discomfort with his sister working for a senator that had voted against the same-sex marriage bill.

As long as it's not about Kevin's love life, we get to see it all. The mere whiff of a boyfriend on the horizon and the scissors are hard at work. This show is primarily a soap drama. Romantic relationships are the lifeblood of the genre. Cutting all scenes relating to Kevin's love life means that we are missing HUGE chunks of the episodes. A few episodes have run under 40 minutes after removing the advertisement breaks. Apart from anything else, it is unfair to the talents of Matthew Rhys, who has done exemplary work on the show from what we have seen of him, despite being a Welshman acting with an American accent.

I understand that censorship is not within Mediacorp's control. However, perhaps Mediacorp could dialogue with MDA on how scenes can be censored to keep Kevin's story lines intact. Certainly, I do not expect that same-sex displays of affection should be shown on national TV. However, surely discussions between two people in a gay relationship should not be non grata?

In the most recently aired episode, we were shown scenes of two men essentially flirting with each other in the early stages of a romantic connection. One of the characters did not make his homosexuality overt, but everyone watching must have known what they were seeing. If this passed the censors, I believe similar latitude can be granted to showing people in gay relationships dealing with relationship issues and talking to each other as couples do.

Already, Mediacorp tags a Mature Audience advisory to the top of each episode and has taken the step of airing this series at the late hour of 11 pm. People who watch this show at this time slot are NOT going to be in vapours at the thought of two men getting together and being together. Here's another suggestion: why not commission a survey and canvas the attitudes of your typical Brothers and Sisters viewer towards the depiction of on-screen gay relationships? I am willing to bet that most, like me, would find it a complete non-issue.

I am not crusading for gay rights in Singapore, as that is not at all the issue at hand. This is a much simpler matter. An enjoyable TV show is being rendered less enjoyable. I simply think that with a little more judicious wielding of the black tape, we could all be enjoying Brothers and Sisters a lot more.

With thanks for your kind attention,
A Loyal Viewer.

PS. By the way, when you speak with your friendly neighbourhood censor, could you commend them on exemplary in-scene cutting work? The kitchen scene in last week's episode was masterfully executed. All Kevin's comments about his date were completely cut and from an editing perspective, it was seamlessly done. Of course, discerning viewers did wonder why there was no pay-off from the earlier scenes of Kevin flirting with Jason Lewis's character. The adroit censorship work almost left us thinking that the writers had left this loose end untied.