BREAKING NEWS: Welcome to The Neighborhood CANCELLED!

[PlatypusBen]

BREAKING NEWS from the PlatypusBen News Center! Welcome to the Neighborhood CANCELLED! The new ABC reality show "Welcome to the Neighborhood" has been Cancelled WITHOUT airing ONE EPISODE!

The show page has been pulled from the ABC.com website, have a look at how ABC described the show that was set to Premiere on Sunday July 10th at 9:00PM. "Seven families arrive at the dream home - a 3300-square-foot house with four bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms located on a prime piece of real estate in a cul-de-sac near Austin, Texas. The competing families, each in their own unique way, enthusiastically meet and greet the three opinionated resident families who have a vested interest in who'll move into the house."

Now CTV (The Canadian Network that planned to air the program) has still not removed the show from their website, have a look at what we found!

Welcome To The Neighborhood
Welcome To The Neighborhood Premieres on CTV Sunday, July 10 at 9pm ET. The stakes are high, the families are real and the neighbourhood will never be the same, as neighbours decide which family will move into a dream home, on the series premiere, July 10 at 9pm ET.

When the neighbors living in a quiet, picturesque suburban community get to choose the family who'll move in next door to them, their belief systems gets rocked as they try to get past their own pre-conceived notions and prejudices, and the idea that a neighbor should look and think just like them. Their choice doesn't get any easier when they meet the seven very diverse families, including a family covered in tattoos, a homosexual couple with an adopted child and a family who practice Wiccan, a pagan religion. Will the resident neighbors be able to see past their own ideals and accept all of the families as people instead of stereotypes? Eventually some eyes and hearts open up, opinions change and a community is transformed, in the six original, unscripted one-hour episodes of "Welcome to the Neighborhood," premiering SUNDAY, JULY 10 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET), on the CTV Television Network.

At the same time that the neighbors are trying to adjust, the competing families also begin an emotional journey that puts their physical and psychological limits to the test, as they all vie for a beautiful dream home on the perfect suburban cul-de-sac. But to determine who will win the luxuriously furnished and opulently appointed house, they first have to win over the very people who will be most affected by that ultimate decision -- the next-door neighbors.

In the premiere, "Episode 101," the seven families arrive at the dream home - a 3300-square-foot house with four bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms located on a prime piece of real estate in the recent development of Circle C Ranch, near Austin, Texas. The competing families, each in its own unique way, enthusiastically meet and greet the three opinionated resident families who have a vested interest in who'll move into the house.

Each week, the competing families participate in a challenge made up by the judging neighbors that will show just how well they might fit into the close-knit community. In the first challenge, the families must build their own Circle C Ranch booth -- complete with a theme, prizes and a lot of creativity -- for a carnival that will be attended by the whole neighborhood. The winning family will be determined by whose booth earns the most money. That family will receive an all-important "free pass," thereby escaping -- for that episode -- being sent packing. By episode's end, one of the remaining families will be eliminated by the ever-watchful neighbors.

The seven house-hungry families who will be trying to impress their potential neighbors are:

* The Crenshaws -- A religious, African American family
* The Eckharts - A Caucasian, pagan family that worships several gods
* The Gonzalezes - A loud, boisterous Hispanic family
* The Lees -- An Asian family that runs a sushi restaurant
* The Morgans -- A Caucasian family that looks picture-perfect, except Mrs. Morgan has a little secret
* The Sheets - Defying all stereotypes, this Caucasian family is covered in tattoos and are staunch Republicans
* The Wrights - A Caucasian homosexual couple who have adopted an African American boy

The three families who have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to choose their new neighbors are:

-- The Stewarts -- The super-opinionated Mr. Stewart, who is considered the "governor" of the cul-de-sac, is very protective of his community and will be looking at the competing families through a microscope

-- The Bellamys - Mr. Bellamy is a staunch Republican and would challenge any potential neighbors with politically different views. But the three Bellamy kids would welcome new neighbors who are different

-- The Daniels - A devoted Christian family, they would like their new neighbors to have a similar focus and direction in their lives

"Welcome to the Neighborhood" is from MGM, New Screen Concepts and the Jay and Tony Show Productions, with Rob Lee, Chuck Bangert, Lou Gorfai, Jay Blumenfield and Tony Marsh serving as executive producers.

http://www.platypusben.com

[Rayna]

well shoot, that souned good too.........

[PlatypusBen]

WE KNOW KNOW WHY! Zap2it posted this

"Facing protests from both sides of the political spectrum, ABC has decided to pull its unscripted series "Welcome to the Neighborhood."
The show, which was scheduled to premiere Sunday, July 10, was to follow seven families competing to win title to a 3,300-square-foot home in a development near Austin, Texas. Their judges would be three families already living there -- families with particular ideas about what they want in a neighbor.

In order to make the choice tougher, the seven competing families included a gay couple with an adopted son, a Hispanic couple with four kids, a heavily tattooed couple and a family that practices Wicca.


And that's where the trouble came in. Groups ranging from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to the conservative Family Research Council lodged complaints about the series, saying that while they understood the goal of the show was to challenge people's beliefs and foster acceptance of differences, early episodes could have sent the opposite message to viewers. Fair housing groups also expressed concern about the show.
All that led ABC to reconsider the show, which it had touted at May's upfront presentation to advertisers and in press materials as recently as Monday (June 27).

"Our intention with 'Welcome to the Neighborhood' was to show the transformative process that takes place when people are forced to confront preconceived notions of what makes a good neighbor, and we believe the series delivers exactly that," the network says in a statement released late Wednesday. "However, the fact that true change happens only over time made the episodic nature of this series challenging, and given the sensitivity of the subject matter in early episodes, we have decided not to air the series at this time."

The Family Research Council was concerned that one of the families, described by ABC as "devoted Christians," would be portrayed as close-minded and judgmental. GLAAD, for its part, says the show was treading on dangerous ground by letting "intolerance and bigotry go unchallenged for weeks at a time."

"The producers' stated intentions for the show are admirable, but in the end a show must be judged on what the viewers actually see," GLAAD spokesman Darren Romine says. "An effort to promote tolerance that requires the rejection of five families in order to transform the attitudes of the homeowners seems unnecessarily cruel and insensitive.""

[forum-admin]

ABC Pulls 'Neighborhood' Reality Series
Jun 29, 8:40 PM EST




The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- "Welcome to the Neighborhood," an ABC reality series that pushes hot buttons of racism and anti-homosexuality, was pulled by the network before its debut. The program had drawn criticism from groups claiming it risked fostering prejudice.

In a statement Wednesday, ABC acknowledged the delicate nature of the series in which families asked to pick a new neighbor are made to expose and overcome their biases.

"Welcome to the Neighborhood" demonstrates what happens when people are forced to "confront preconceived notions of what makes a good neighbor," the network said.

"However, the fact that true change only happens over time made the episodic nature of this series challenging, and given the sensitivity of the subject matter in early episodes we have decided not to air the series at this time."

The six-episode show, which was to debut July 10, follows three families in Austin, Texas, who are given the chance to choose a new neighbor for a house on their street.

Each family initially wants someone similar to them — white and conservative.

Instead, they must choose from families that are black, Hispanic and Asian; two gay white men who've adopted a black child; a couple covered in tattoos and piercings; a couple who met at the woman's initiation as a witch; and a poor white family.

In the early episodes, one man makes a crack about the number of children piling out of the Hispanic family's car and displays of affection between the gay men provoke disgust.

The series' producers had said it was intended to promote a healthy and open debate about prejudice and people's fear of differences.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, after viewing the series, expressed strong concerns.

While it ultimately carries a valuable message about diversity and acceptance, those watching the first episodes could be left thinking discrimination is "not that big a deal," GLAAD spokesman Damon Romine said Wednesday.

"Regardless of how things turn out at the end of the last show, it's dangerous to let intolerance and bigotry go unchallenged for weeks at a time," he said, adding that GLAAD hopes a revised version might air.

Before ABC announced its decision, the Family Research Council said it was worried evangelicals would be made to appear judgmental and foolish.




Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved.