There is something about the macabre that is unusually fascinating to people of this generation. As surely as we, the youth of today, become desensitized to the sex and violence, so too do we become less and less susceptible to the blood and gore found so easily on primetime TV. Just as shows such as Gossip Girl, 90210, the O.C., and One Tree Hill ride on their portrayal of sexual escapades, so do shows such as Bones, Fringe, C.S.I., House, and Heroes ride on their take on explicit content.

Take for example, Heroes who in its first season commanded a consistent audience of millions. Of course, the show gained popularity with its portrayal of the special powers we all wished we had, but Heroes had a charm about it that made it enjoyable. The characters were fresh, the plot felt driven, and the twists and turns, unpredictable. I mean, Clare only tried to kill herself one or two times before the infamous scene where Clare, “dead” on an autopsy table, wakes up with her chest split open, ribs and innards exposed, and pushes her skin together as her muscles and tendons reattach before the viewer’s eyes. Then again, who can forget the infamous Sylar scenes that end with cut open heads, missing brains, and blood stains on the ground. Yes it is disgusting, but at the same time, these scenes are what make Heroes well…Heroes. If every time a character dies the camera pans away to some obscure corner and we hear but never see, what fun would the show be? Sure at times the plot is enough, but the blood and gore made the show more lifelike; as powerful as these heroes may be, these explicit scenes made them human again.

Heroes being one of the only shows on NBC that is not devoted to humor represents NBC’s take on this growing trend. FOX however, is of course the media tycoon of blood and gore. Fox prefaces just about every show with a warning of DSLV (drugs, sex. language and violence) and a stern reminder that viewer discretion is advised. I don’t know about you, but bring on the letters, the more the better. For some reason, the best episodes are always the episodes with more graphic content; perhaps it has to do with writers not being afraid of limitations and the subsequent creative freedom allowed their vision to be brought to life. Take the pilot episode of Fringe which allegedly set back the network a whopping $10 million. Was it worth it? I certainly think so. Every scene seemed a keg in a machine with the combination of special effects, never overpowering. Sure watching an entire airplane full of people have their faces melted off is disgusting, but isn’t it exciting to see such an emphasis on visual entertainment? Perhaps only the superficial in me was excited, but Fringe has continued to excite and delight this dark side of me. Fringe, being unafraid to have exploding heads, spontaneous combustion, and parasites, oh the parasites everywhere, manages to get me to the edge of my seat. I know for a fact, I am not the only one who finds these scenes enjoyable. The hugely popular House for example has scenes with eyeballs popping out, maggots crawling over burned flesh, and fecal matter dripping out from a patient’s mouth; once again these scenes leap into the realm of explicit content but the alluring factor remains. These scenes are certainly not instrumental to the overarching plot of the show but they add that spice that keeps the episodes interesting.  Similarly, Bones, which never fails in its ingenious portrayal of human remains, manages to make the show less about the blood and gore, and much more about the characters. These explicit scenes continue to add to shows giving them each a uniqueness but at the same time, a certain predictability that has maintained viewers like myself.

Of course, in many cases these explicit scenes may seem unnecessary and in some ways I agree. If the show itself does not possess that spark of ingenuity, then the explicit scenes can do little to augment. I tried my hardest to continue to enjoy Heroes, telling myself, each episode would get better, but I am not afraid to admit that Heroes sucks balls now. While the explicit scenes still abound in Heroes (please, Sylar’s little point and slash routine is so 2006) the show has lost its charm, its originality, and now seems nothing but contrived, over dramaticized, and boring. Indeed, this shows that the scenes do not the show maketh, but instead, only in place to augment the already in place creativity that is necessary for the show to be enjoyable. I will argue that these explicit scenes are overall positive, somehow paradoxically making the grotesque into something that is beautiful. These scenes add freshness and excitement, but only if the shows themselves reciprocate. A good example of this is Bones, now entering its 5th season. While Bones has not become as hugely popular as other media giants such as House, it continues to delight viewers with its quirks, charms, and its dead bodies. Fringe too, with its scenes of mass murder, has every potential to become a media giant and staple. I hope that like me, you will be able to find the beauty behind the gore.