Rhode Island Affiliate Pulls 'Tinder Box'

[CSI Files]

CBS's Rhode Island affiliate Thursday announced it will not be airing Monday's episode of CSI: Miami.

WPRI-TV said in a statement it decided not to show "Tinder Box" because of the episode's "striking similarities" to a fire at a West Warwick nightclub on February 20, the Associated Press reported.

In the West Warwick incident, a blaze at The Station nightclub, reportedly caused by a pyrotechnics display, killed 99 people and injured nearly 200 others. According to CBS publicity materials, the CSI: Miami instalment will also revolve around a nightclub fire sparked by pyrotechnics, but the blaze "may have been arson to cover up a murder".

"Out of respect for the victims, their families and the Rhode Island community, WPRI-TV will not air the episode," the affiliate said. WPRI-TV will fill CSI: Miami's 10:00 p.m. timeslot with portions of a concert held in Providence last month to raise money for those affected by the tragedy.

CBS senior vice president of communications <font color=yellow>Chris Ender</font> told the Associated Press "Tinder Box" was developed prior to the West Warwick night club blaze. "We respect the right of the station to determine what is appropriate to broadcast in its local area," he said. "Obviously, this event had some parallels to a very terrible tragedy."

The full Associated Press news item can be found here at Yahoo! News.<center></center>

 

[Guest]

yeah i heard about this since i live in the rhode island tv viewing area myself..i do however understand why they wouldnt show it here....

 

[Shawk]

I can sort of understand why they wouldn't show it, but shouldn't that be something for individuals to decide, not the network?

 

[Guest]

It's not an easy call. One the one hand, you can say that they did the right thing, just trying to be sensative. However, if they had shown it, they risk getting flooded with calls and mail saying "How could you?!"

A possible solution would have been to show it, but put a disclaimer at the beginning stating something like "This story is fictional and not based on true events. Etc. etc."

Either way, it's not the kind of call I'd want to make...

 

[Guest]

Posted by Bumblebee:
It's not an easy call. One the one hand, you can say that they did the right thing, just trying to be sensative. However, if they had shown it, they risk getting flooded with calls and mail saying "How could you?!"

A possible solution would have been to show it, but put a disclaimer at the beginning stating something like "This story is fictional and not based on true events. Etc. etc."

Either way, it's not the kind of call I'd want to make...

How many times have you just flipped on the TV and checked the channels to see what's on? Think of someone who either lost someone in the fire or survived it themselves just accidently turning that episode on. Those are the people they're worried about.

They'll probably eventually show it, once the pain isn't so raw.