Nick show will shock parents

PASADENA, Calif. — The man who ran Disney for two decades and the woman running the supposesly kid-friendly Nick at Nite have both apparently taken leave of their senses.

They're putting a show called "Glenn Martin DDS" on the Nick schedule and trying to tell us it's a show for the entire family.

"It's about the strength of the family," said executive producer Michael Eisner, the former Disney chief. "It's obviously irreverent and hopefully not irrelevant. It's a family that needs each other."

It's also got a brief scene in which the title character is watching porn with a baby on the couch next to him. Really.

"Glenn Martin DDS" looks great — the stop-action animation is fantastic. The title character is a father who takes his family on a cross-country RV trip in an attempt to bring them closer together.

"I think at the heart of the story is a guy with a lot of heart, and it is a family that really does truly love each other," said Nickelodeon president Cyma Zarghami.

"And I think that what Nick at Nite has done over the sort of 20, 25 years that we have been around is really try to sort of bring relevant sitcoms that everybody loves. ... I think that is what is most appealing is this is a family who really wants to be together, who really loves each other, and some really funny characters who are living in a very contemporary time."

Yeah, well, the colorful animation is enough to attract the kids who watch Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite. And when they tune in, they'll get a bunch of sex jokes, some racism, mocking of religion, violence, and have the opportunity to hear words like "whore" tossed around.

Really. In an animated show on Nick at Nite.

"This is quite sophisticated. It is very funny." Eisner said. "It is maybe the most adult half hour that Nickelodeon has done."

I'll go along with his statement about this being Nickelodeon's "most adult" show, if we agree that by "adult" we mean "vulgar and tastless."

But sophisticated? Only if you think trying to derive humor from showing viewers a close-up of an animated dog's rear end meets the definition of sophistication.

"Adult" content aside, "Glenn Martin DDS" is not a good show. It's badly written, heavy handed and just plain unfunny. And the only thing worse than an unfunny comedy is an unfunny comedy with an annoying laugh track.

Which this show has.

But parents who have trusted Nick at Nite for decades are going to be surprised if they sit down and watch this show with their kids.

Let's just hope they do sit down and watch it with their kids and not just let the kids watch it alone.