[quote name=\'FOXSportsFan\' date=\'Nov 22 2005, 06:14 PM\']Where is Kmetko these days? Is he behind the scenes still with E!?
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He's actually behind the scenes with Greg Louganis.
On to the 2:02... once upon a time there was the NAB Code. The National Association of Broadcasters is primarily a lobbying force in Washington. To help maintain the appropriate dignity with this new fangled invention that had invaded America's living rooms, the NAB established their voluntary "Code of Good Conduct". The NAB Code logo used to be displayed quite regularly by participating stations.
Among the quaint provisions of the code were guidelines such as never showing the inside of a toilet bowl; commercials for toilet bowl cleaning products would show the toilet only in profile or in animation. That's why the "Tidy Bowl Man" was such a clever campaign that lasted for years; he could demonstrate how he turned the water blue with a cleaning solution, while always pictured in his boat in the
tank portion of the toilet.
Women were never shown wearing brassieres. A woman would merely refer to a bra while it was worn by a manequin. Later, a bra would be superimposed on a fully dressed woman while she moved to demonstrate the comfort and flexibility of the "living bra".
Now to the 2:02 aspect. The Code also mandated that breaks not exceed two minutes of commercial matter, at least not without returning to the show in some form or another. In the later years, before the code was ignored, that often simply meant a return to the show or a slide of its logo long enough to say something like, "_____ will return in a moment". Then up to another 2 minutes of commerial matter would follow.
Now, of course, you could raise a family (or at least start one) during the marathon commercial breaks especially evident on some cable channels.
"Best in view, Channel 2". "This is WNBC, your community-minded station". And other great quaintness...
Randy
tvrandywest.com
