NEW YORK, Nov 21, 2001/ FW/ --- Twinkling lights, flickering candles, gently falling snow and angels. The perfect setting for a picturesque family Christmas, right? But inject more than a dozen young women in white leather corsets and lace thongs and it's no nativity scene.

Victoria's Secret’s one-hour "Christmas Dreams and Fantasies" fashion show on ABC last Thursday night drew about 12.4 million viewers, but also garnered its fair share of complaints. It was a television first; last year, the lingerie purveyor aired its show only on the Internet.

The day after last week's broadcast, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fielded hundreds of calls from people offended by the lurid program. FCC chairman Michael Powell has reportedly received almost 200 e-mails since the show went on. Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy also received hundreds of e-mails criticizing the show in the days leading up to its airing. The $5 million show was taped in Bryant Park in New York last Tuesday night.

Another FCC commissioner, Michael Copps, told reporters that among the myriad e-mails he received criticizing the lurid broadcast was a complaint from his own daughter. He explained that the 27-year-old is "a new mother, and when her child gets [to a] TV age, he should see wholesome programming."

Copps pointed out that it was not only the show, but also its provocative promotions, that touched a nerve with many viewers. None is particularly subtle, and most picture scantily clad models rolling around in silky sheets. One depicts a woman, breasts pushed to the sky, drinking from a bottle of milk and letting a few white, creamy droplets fall on her bronzed chest.

Parents with V-chip-equipped televisions can block out certain programming, but not necessarily commercials. The FCC is considering whether such ads should also respond to the V-chip, or should only air during shows with the same rating.

The Victoria's Secret broadcast was rated TV-14, inappropriate for children under 14. Many still thought the program was too early in the evening though. The FCC limits indecent speech to between 10pm and 6am and labels material "indecent" if it "in context, depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium."

ABC said in a statement: "This special was approved by our Broadcast Standards and Practices department and aired with a TV-14 parental label. As with any other program, viewers have a choice to tune in, or not."

And the network is certainly pleased that so many viewers chose the former option. ABC spokesman Jeff Lindsey said the show represented a 76 percent ratings increase for the 18-to-49 year old demographic this season. ABC's rating among men age 18 to 49 was its highest in that hour in more than eight months. The broadcast beat out Fox's sex-driven "Temptation Island II," but still lagged behind shows like NBC's "Will and Grace" and "Just Shoot Me" and CBS's "CSI" crime series.