To boost its sagging ratings in middle America, NBC is going with new "family values" shows, like "Three Wishes", in which country singer Amy Grant does favors for the deserving poor. You can understand why they might be concerned: actual viewers from the region interviewed for this Times story couldn't name a single show from last season on the NBC. Thus the conclusion that those shows don't appeal to their values.

NBC shows they used to like included "Seinfeld" and "Friends". Shows on other networks they liked last season included "CSI", whose characters occasionally take a break from investigating freak crimes in Vegas to get involved with the freakishness there themselves, and of course, "Desperate Housewives."

So, it's clear that NBC's problem is that they aren't broadcasting shows with the right values. It can't just be that last season, they were broadcasting crap.