New CBS Show Fails the Shit Test @shitmydadsays

When CBS decided to air a sitcom starring William Shatner based on the cult hit Twitter account @shitmydadsays, it decided to tweak the name to avoid causing offence. Unfortunately that’s proved a step too far for modern technology.

The network has now had to post a message on the show’s official forum urging viewers who wanted to record the show on their digital video recorders to make sure they manually selected it from their program guide.

That’s because it turns out that what CBS dubs “a unique title for a unique show” ($#*! MY DAD SAYS) has proven too much for the search functions of some DVRs that can’t read some or any of the characters in the first word. The dollar sign appears to be the main problem.

CBS did try to salvage some pride from the problem: chief research officer David Poltrack told the New York Times that the symbols were an advantage on some DVR systems because it meant the show appeared at the start of alphabetical listings. That may be true, but I find it hard to imagine many people pick which shows to record by working their way through from A to Z.