There is a strange force of nature that creates a balance in the pop culture universe. Whenever something really fun comes into our view, this force (comprised of various entities) will do everything they can to block it from reaching our eyes.

Movies have the Motion Pictures Association's ratings board. Music has Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center, which slapped those annoying "Parental Warning" labels on any CD that showed a tablespoon of bad taste. Internet porn has, well, nothing's really been able to stop that, but give them time.

Television, of course, has the Parents Television Council, a crusading group of vigilant moms and dads who watch every last inch of TV and write miles-long letters to the FCC demanding action against the slightest bit of skin or the utterance of any kind of bad word. These days, however, that the PTC is in some dire straights and if someone doesn't so something soon, they could just disappear into the wind (please, don't everybody get up at once ... no seriously, don't).

The New York Times reported that the group is mired in all sorts of financial difficulties, thanks to a lack of internal organization and a drop in staff and membership. This means they haven't been going after shows as much as they used to and that has prevented them from lobbying for new revenue sources.

The situation gets even weirder. Patrick W. Salazar, a former development vice president turned critic of the PTC, left or was fired by the organization (depending on whom you ask) and threatened to go to the press with all the dirty details of America's cleanliness crusaders if they didn't give him some kind of financial severance. That led to a police investigation into extortion claims. L.A.'s city attorney refused to prosecute the case in the ground that it didn't meet the definition of a crime.

The biggest death blow came when an appeals court struck down a ruling that limited the use of "fleeting expletives" on television, a decision that PTC president Timothy Winter called a "slap in the face" to families.

Of course, there is always a chance that they will still be around in some capacity, no matter how big or small, but these setbacks have damaged the council's credibility, not just as a watchdog but as an efficient operation. There was a time when networks and advertisers actually feared the PTC's bullying tactics because they could organize effective advertiser boycotts, submit FCC petitions and gather public support for hefty fines for everything from saying the "no no" word or showing a bit of your "no no's."

Their complaints might have seemed picky, but they had the power to pick a hole right through a network's pocketbook.

Their most famous attack on television naughtiness came in 2004, courtesy of Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show. The PTC wasted no time in getting the outrage up to 11. In fact, 99 percent of the complaints that the FCC received came from their organization. CBS paid a $3.5 million settlement (though their appeal of a $550,000 penalty imposed by the FCC is still hung up in the appeals process).

The PTC also had a keen eye for field-stripping just about every episode of 'Family Guy' (how's that for irony?), complaining about everything from bad language and violence to free-swinging buttocks. The show scored 28 spots in the PTC's "Worst Show of the Week" column including Seth McFarlane and Alex Borstein's variety show and the show's 'Blue Harvest' special, complete with clips and censored transcripts of the offending shows. It's enough to make me actually want to watch 'Family Guy,' almost.

They even have problems with 'Glee.' That's right, 'Glee,' perhaps the most uplifting and positive show a young child can watch on television today. Their complaints weren't even with the show. They claimed a recent GQ appearance of some of the show's cast members in a provocative school themed photo spread was akin to "pedophilia." Just the sheer lack of logic in this scenario is staggering: how can they complain about something that wasn't even on television? That's like the FDA issuing a fine against Kellogg's for not making their cereal boxes edible.

And as they sink lower in the quicksand and continue grasping at straws, their latest "moral outrage" may not just be their last. It could also be their lowest. They actually began a boycott campaign of the CBS sitcom '#&*$ My Dad Says' because the title contained a censored curse word. Winter actually threatened to enact a huge boycott campaign if the network didn't change the title of the show. Yeah, a guy threatening the almighty Shatner. How's that working out for ya?