This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The news that BYUtv's new drama series "Extinct," set to debut in 2017, was co-created and will be written and executive produced by Orson Scott Card caught me by surprise. I gasped aloud.
The timing is beyond belief. Brigham Young University, which is fighting for membership in the Big 12 Conference, is also fighting charges that it discriminates against the LGBTQ community.
The student governments at Iowa State and Kansas State have come out against admitting BYU, based on their perception of anti-gay content in the school's honor code. The Salt Lake Tribune has reported that the honor code leaves LGBTQ victims of sexual assault particularly vulnerable.
That BYUtv — owned by BYU and, thus, the LDS Church — would announce its relationship with the virulently anti-gay sci-fi author is remarkably tone deaf. Ordering "Extinct" — a drama about a group of people revived by aliens four centuries after the human race became extinct — and playing up the tie to Card undercuts the message BYU is trying to send.
In response to a request from The Tribune, BYUtv issued the accompanying statement. Executives at the channel insist they work with "writers, actors and producers from all walks of life, political persuasions, beliefs and backgrounds." They state, "We do not endorse or condone past positions, comments or statements" made by Card.
But we're known by the company we keep. Keeping company with Card reflects badly on BYUtv and BYU and undermines "Extinct."
Card is not just a guy who opposed gay marriage. He's been making incendiary attacks on the gay community for decades.
In 2008, he wrote in the Deseret News: "Regardless of law, marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down."
And he wrote in Sunstone magazine that laws against sodomy "should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society."
Card has never repudiated those writings, instead claiming that he's being persecuted for his views. He even claimed after gay marriage was legalized that he had "no interest in criminalizing homosexual acts and would never call for such a thing, any more than I wanted such laws enforced back when they were still on the books."
Except that he wrote that those laws should be "used when necessary."
Card is a member of the LDS Church, but that's not the point. His views on gays go far beyond church statements. His calls to "destroy" the government are at odds with the church's position of "obeying, honoring and sustaining the law."
I don't lead campaigns. I don't call for boycotts. But I decided long ago not to financially support Card. I won't buy his books. I wouldn't pay to see the 2013 movie "Ender's Game," adapted from his book.
That's a personal decision — just as I haven't paid to see a Mel Gibson movie since his anti-Semitic and anti-gay rants.
But it's my job to review TV. I'll review "Extinct" and give you my honest opinion. I don't have to like the people who make a show to like the show.
Whether I like it or not, I'm certainly going to let you know that the show comes to us from a man with a long history of over-the top anti-gay statements and behavior — and let you make your own decision.
Scott D. Pierce covers TV for The Salt Lake Tribune. Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce. —
BYUtv's statement on Orson Scott Card
"BYUtv works with writers, actors and producers from all walks of life, political persuasions, beliefs and backgrounds. We ensure all of our programming is appropriate for families and individuals of all ages.
"The selection of Orson Scott Card was based on the script he submitted. His work has been a New York Times best-seller and made into a major motion picture starring well-known actors. Like previous publishers, producers and actors, we saw value in his writing.
"We do not endorse or condone past positions, comments or statements he or any of the writers, actors or producers we hire to produce programming have made. We do ensure our programming is entertaining, uplifting and respectful of all."