Curses! The WB Mouths Off Again!

Felicity may be dead and buried, but one of the show's favorite swear words lives on at the WB. During the premiere episode of the network's new fall drama Everwood — which airs Sept. 16 at 9 pm/ET — a pivotal father-son confrontation turns ugly when Gregory Smith's teenage alter ego calls TV pop Treat Williams "a dick." For a show being billed as the perfect Monday night companion to 7th Heaven, the expletive is sure to have some viewers — read: parents — reaching for their Dial.

"Within the context of the episode, we determined that it was appropriate to use," WB spokesman Paul McGuire tells TV Guide Online, acknowledging that the obscenity prompted a discussion at the network. "With all language and content, you always try to be prudent and responsible, but also try to respect the integrity of the show and the writer/producer's vision. It's always a give-and-take."

There would be no such compromise in Williams's household if his real-life son ever dared utter a four-letter word at him. "[He] probably wouldn't be standing," insists the 50-year-old actor and father of two. "There are differences between myself and this guy, but that's what [series creator] Greg Berlanti wrote and that's what I'm playing.

"You have to remember that this guy spent 15 years basically not attending to his son's needs," he continues of his neurosurgeon character, who's struggling to reconnect with his children after the death of his wife. "Part of his learning curve is to listen to what his son has to say, and some of it's angry and some of it's going to be abusive."

And where does 19-year-old Smith stand on the dirty talk debate? Would he ever show his old man such disrespect? "I'll have to test that theory out and give you a call," laughs the up-and-comer. "My dad and I have a relationship that's more like peers than father and son. He respects me as an adult."