Document: /pub/resources/text/breakpoint: CRISTY.TXT ---------------------------------------------------- Note: Prison Fellowship has recently asked that email transmission of the BreakPoint commentaries be suspended until they decide how they wish to proceed with that matter. However, I have been given permission to email special noncommentary items like fact sheets and urgent announcements. Write me for the recent posts about transmitting BreakPoint over email. You have my permission to forward these posts ONLY if you are being sensitive to and respectful of the recipients' views and you KNOW that these posts will not be a threat to or abuse of their ideals, only if the copyright notice (if present) is retained, and only if there is no profit involved. If you've missed a post, you may get it from the USENET newsgroup bit.listserv.christia. This is an UNOFFICIAL transcript made from the radio broadcast. Mistakes in it are mine, not Mr Colson's nor Prison Fellowship's. Comments, corrections, questions are welcome; send to . * Thursday, April 7, 1994 BREAKPOINT with Chuck Colson CBS Launches "Christy" GIVE ME THAT PRIME TIME RELIGION Teaching school with pigs squealing in the school yard isn't a skill you pick up at teacher's college. But for Christy Huddleston, it was part of the job description when she began teaching at a mission school in the Smoky Mountains. Millions of people have read the story Christy in the classic novel by the late Christian author, Catherine Marshall. Now, you can tune in for the television version - Thursdays on CBS. The series was kicked off on Sunday with a film based on the novel, and tonight CBS begins a 6-part series. Both the film and the series star Kellie Martin as Christy, a young woman at the turn of the century who heeds the call of a missionary to leave her sheltered city life and teach school in the Appalachian mountains. A dozen bare-foot mountain children, the sons and daughters of moonshiners, become Christy's pupils. The plot is simple, but it was enough to attract millions of views for the premier last Sunday. "Christy" captured the fifth highest rating for the week, scooping up a hefty 29-percent share of the viewing audience. Even jaded critics waxed enthusiastic. The San Francisco Chronicle called the movie "bedrock family drama." USA Today described it as a "story that warms the heart without turning the brain to mush." Family values, it seems, has taken prime time by storm. The fact that such an overtly Christian series is hitting the airwaves confirms what film critic Michael Medved describes as an industry-wide shift towards family entertainment. As Medved puts it, Hollywood has finally gotten the message: Americans want television that reflects their own traditional values - values that have much more in common with Christy than with the likes of Beavis and Butthead or Bart Simpson. And traditional values are just what "Christy" specializes in. The young teacher engages the mountain people in serious discussions about sin and God's grace. She is shown praying for divine guidance. In one touching scene, after vandals have destroyed the school house, a ragged little boy reminds Christy that God tells us to love even "them who done this." This is what I call quality programming. If you and I appreciate quality entertainment, we need to make our voices heard. "Christy" producer Ken Wales says the series is a "test case" of the public's willingness to support prime time Christianity. When the 6-part series ends, CBS will decide whether "Christy" will be renewed in the fall - or cancelled. Christians ought to be lining up to make sure the series stays on the air. Many of us have participated in boycotts of the sponsors of offensive programming, but we ought to take this opportunity to exert a positive influence in Hollywood as well. Why not gather the whole family and settle down with some popcorn to watch "Christy" tonight. Then take a minute to call or write CBS and the series' sponsors. Tell them how much your family appreciates their support for this inspirational new series. Then kick back and watch Christy walk the green hillsides of the Appalachians, chase off the squealing pigs - and learns to put her faith into action. * Following is a list of the sponsors of the new CBS television series, "Christy," and the CBS address where viewers may write to express their appreciation for this program. CBS Mr Jeff Sagansky CBS Television City 7800 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 The addresses for the sponsors listed below came from Eagle Forum's "Let's Clean Up Television" Phyllis Schlafly Report, and not from Prison Fellowship. Eventually this Phyllis Schlafly Report will be available on the Net. The list of sponsors was provided by Prison Fellowship. AT&T AT&T Chairman Robert E Allen 1301 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019 212/841-4666 fax 212/605-6248 Chevrolet Dealers General Motors Corporation Chairman John G Smale 3044 West Grand Boulevard Detroit, MI 48202 313/556-5000 Dow Brands The Dow Chemical Company Chairman Frank Popoff 2030 Willard H Dow Center Midland, MI 48674 517/636-1000 fax 517/636-3228 Ford Ford Motor Company Chairman Harold Poling PO Box 1899 Dearborn, MI 48121 313/322-3000 H.B. Reese Company J.C. Penney J.C. Penney Chairman William R Howell PO Box 10001 Dallas, TX 75301 214/431-1000 Johnson Wax S.C. Johnson & Sons, Inc. Chairman Samuel C. Johnson 1525 Howe Street Racine, WI 53403 414/631-2000 fax 414/631-2133 Kmart Kmart Corporation Chairman Joseph E Antonini 3100 West Big Beaver Road Troy, MI 48084 313/643-1000 fax 313/643-5249 Kentucky Fried Chicken PepsiCo Chairman D Wayne Calloway Anderson Hill Road Purchase, NY 10577 914/253-2000 fax 914/253-2070 Kingsford Charcoal The Clorox Company Chairman G Craig Sullivan PO Box 24305 Oakland, CA 94623 510/271-7000 fax 510/832-1463 Kraft General Foods Philip Morris, Inc. Chairman Michael A Miles 120 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017 212/880-5000 fax 212/878-2167 Pontiac General Motors Corporation Chairman John G Smale 3044 West Grand Boulevard Detroit, MI 48202 313/556-5000 Procter and Gamble Procter & Gamble Chairman Edwin L Artzt PO Box 599 Cincinnati, OH 45201 513/983-1100 fax 513/562-4500 Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company Chairman William D Smithburg PO Box 9001 Chicago, IL 60604 312/222-7111 fax 312/222-8323 Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Sandoz Corporation Chairman Daniel C Wagniere 608 5th Avenue New York, NY 10020 201/503-7500 fax 212/246-0185 Shaw Industries Stouffer's Frozen Foods Nestle USA, Inc. Chairman Tim Crull 800 North Brand Avenue Glendale, CA 91203 818/549-6000 BreakPoint is copyright (c) 1994 by Prison Fellowship. To talk with Prison Fellowship about emailing BreakPoint write or call: Prison Fellowship (800) 497-0122 PO Box 17500 (703) 478-0100 Washington, DC 20041 (703) 834-3658 fax BreakPoint (800) 995-8777 The unofficial BreakPoint FTP site is ftp.cs.albany.edu:/pub/ault/bp ----------- David S McMeans amUous Mind Puzzles Dayton, OH BreakPoint with Chuck Colson