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ABC Program Chief Stoddard charges that the onslaught of protest against Amerika before the show is even finished is an attempt at "precensorship of ideas." The movie, he insists, is not an anti-Soviet tract but a rumination on what it means to be American: "I think it can make people ask some questions about their behavior as citizens. It might even make them think about the responsibility part of freedom." Wrye, who describes himself as a Kennedy Democrat, says he "wasn't remotely interested in doing something anti-Soviet" and charges that opponents of the movie have a double standard. "It's okay in Top Gun for Tom Cruise to shoot down Russian planes. That's much more scary to me, because it is subliminal. Our picture is very different. It is very thoughtful."
The furor over Amerika highlights a persistent TV dilemma. Network programming is frequently derided as bland and mindless, but whenever a provocative show comes along that purveys a controversial point of view, it is assaulted by interest groups on one side or another, often scaring off advertisers and making the network less likely to try other risky ventures. The critics of Amerika, meanwhile, have their own irony to face. The attention they have focused on a program they despise has set the stage for what could be one of TV's highest-rated mini-series since Roots.