Action comes five years after episode aired

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $1.4 million fine against more than 50 ABC stations for an episode of "NYPD Blue" that aired nearly five years ago.

The commission's action came late Friday and proposes fining 52 ABC affiliates in the Central and Mountain time zones $27,500 each, the maximum fine amount at the time the episode aired (Congress has since greatly increased that cap, to $325,000). The stations aired "NYPD Blue" in the 9 p.m. hour rather than at 10 p.m., where regulations on indecency are somewhat looser.

"Our action today should serve as a reminder to all broadcasters that Congress and American families continue to be concerned about protecting children from harmful material and that the FCC will enforce the laws of the land vigilantly," Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate says in a statement accompanying the order.

The FCC's objections stem from a scene in the Feb. 25, 2003, episode of the show that featured Sipowicz's son, Theo, walking in on Charlotte Ross' character, Connie, as she was about to enter the shower. The scene featured shots of Ross' buttocks, including, as the FCC finding characterizes it, "panning down her naked back for a lingering shot of her buttocks."

The images of Ross' backside, the FCC contends, constitute "explicit and graphic depictions of sexual organs" and are "titillating and shocking."

The order notes that ABC argued that the scene is intended to illustrate how awkward things can be when a single parent brings a new partner into his life. "Even accepting ABC's assertions as to the purpose of the scene," the order states, "they do not alter our conclusion that the scene's depiction of adult female nudity is titillating and shocking."

ABC, unsurprisingly, disagrees. "NYPD Blue" which in its 10th season when the episode aired, "and the realistic nature of its storylines was well known to the viewing public."

"ABC feels strongly that the FCC's finding is inconsistent with prior precedent from the Commission, the indecency statute and the First Amendment, and we intend to oppose the proposed fine," the network says in a statement.