Pax TV appears to have found a hit in new series Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye,
which debuted Oct. 13 and built on its Doc lead-in.
But the network first had to lose the show's original title, Lip
Service.
That name was the choice of creator Dave Alan Johnson and Pax brass.
As upfronts neared, however, the show's star, Deanne Bray, and the real Sue
Thomas pointed out that it had a pejorative connotation in the deaf community --
the show is about a deaf FBI agent whose lip-reading talent gets her assigned to
an elite unit.
Then there was the literal meaning of the phrase, "lip service," which
suggests not being genuine, Johnson said.
Sealing the deal was the possible sexual connotation.
About the same time as the above reservations were being expressed, an
Internet search on the name yielded a pornographic Web site.
Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye it became.
