Very surely you remember with longing those times when your only concern was to get up on a Saturday, be in your pajamas, prepare a cereal and go watch the morning shows, whether they were cartoons or series. This time we bring you a compilation of chapters that were banned for having touched on sensitive or controversial issues. Although we were too young to understand the background of some of them, there were people who suffered with the broadcast of these episodes and that is why it was decided to censor them, re-record them or, outright, eliminate them.
From the Sonic cartoon to the series star trek, below we present those controversial chapters or that perhaps it was not the right time to broadcast them and for this reason they were banned from TV. Do you remember seeing any?
1. Sonic“Massive Traffic Problems”
In this chapter, Dr. Robotnik plans to use explosives to blow up the train, as if it were a terrorist attack. The theme may sound extreme by itself, but the main problem with this episode is that it aired on September 12, 2001, one day after the tragedy that shook the entire world when a terrorist network hijacked and crashed four planes, two of them in the Twin Towers, leaving more than 2900 deaths and thousands more injured.
The relationship that was made with the explosives and the theme in general caused the displeasure of the viewers, since the attack on the Twin Towers was too fresh, causing the episode of Sonic.
two. Tiny Toons“A beer”
We don’t think it’s a very good idea to see dedicated children’s characters mimicking inappropriate adult behavior. In this chapter of Tiny Toons we can see how Buster Bunny, Plucky Duck and Hampton drink beer, causing them to get totally drunk. In addition, we can observe a type of hallucinations that they have due to drunkenness. Immediately afterwards, they get on a patrol car and when driving in that state, they crash and their soul goes to heaven…
Evidently, the parents were not happy that these types of topics were dealt with in a program focused on children, since it sets a bad example and touches on issues that they are unable to assimilate due to their age. This resulted in the episode being banned in all countries, although you can now easily find it online and on the official DVD of the series.
3. South Park“Chapter 201”
In chapter 200 we can see Tom Cruise, who, being annoyed by the main characters of the series, decides to meet with 200 other celebrities who have appeared on the show to threaten to sue South Park. Although they apologize to Cruise, he decides to continue with the lawsuit and will not give up unless they show him the Muslim prophet Muhammad; the protagonists tell the actor that this is impossible, but he insists that if he does not show up, his town will be finished.
This story was supposed to continue in chapter 201, but the Revolution Muslim group published a threatening notice on its website against the creators of the series, so in the end they decided not to risk it and not broadcast such an episode, although it can still be seen. find on internet sites.
Four. star trek, “By Force”
This chapter was broadcast for the first time in February 1968. However, in Germany they could see it for the first time until 2011. Why? Well, because in the chapter, the plot shows us that Kirk, Spock and the others travel to a planet that is under a regime very similar to German Nazism. I mean, they even wear the swastika…
Although this episode was not censored in the United States, it was in Germany, since they did not like the fact that some kind of propaganda was made to the Nazi system.
5. Family Guy“Partial Terms of Endearment”
The issue they tried to address in this episode is abortion, enough for them to be banned, at least in the United States. ¡spoiler alert! The chapter is about Lois deciding to help an old friend from college, since the latter cannot get pregnant, so she offers herself as a surrogate mother. What plot twistit happens that both the friend and her husband die, so Lois begins to rethink the pregnancy, opening herself to the possibility of having an abortion, or waiting for her to be born and giving her up for adoption.
This episode was broadcast in 2010 on the British network BBC, but FOX refused to broadcast it in the United States, apparently because they were not prepared for this conversation.
6. Hawaii 5-0“Bored, She Hung Herself”
The name of this episode broadcast in 1970 can be translated to “Bored, she hanged herself”, which already gives us an idea of what the chapter is about.
In the plot we can see that some people who practice yoga, who perform a position in which they hang themselves, believing that they will obtain health benefits. However, the police must investigate the case of a woman who, while attempting this position, caused her death. Worst of all, after airing the episode, a viewer tried it at home and had disastrous results, which is why it was decided never to air it again. Unlike other chapters mentioned in the list, this one cannot be found on the internet, as it counts as a lost chapter.
7. Pokemon“Porygon Computerized Soldier”
This chapter of the Japanese series Pokemon belongs to the first season and more than dealing with some controversial issue, it became a health risk. On the internet there are many stories that fall into the culture of creepypastas. However, this was a fact that the company had to face. What happens is that within the episode, in a Pikachu attack, very strong and intermittent blue and red lights are emitted, which are definitely not suitable for photosensitive people, causing around 600 seizures, as well as epileptic seizures.
The chapter was removed forever and they even stopped broadcasting the series for more than three months.
8. Sesame Street“Episode 847”
What? Like what Sesame Street? At last, something that surprises us or did you hardly expect it? Well yes, it turns out that they also had to censor a chapter, 847 to be exact, and the reason is not because they have addressed any controversy, much less, but because of the appearance of the Witch of the West, played by Margaret Hamilton, the actress that gave him life in The Wizard of Oz.
Everything normal, everything calm, she was a guest on the program, but, apparently, her appearance was very disturbing for the little ones in the home. The producers began to receive letters from parents complaining that their children had been traumatized by the episode, so they decided to withdraw it. Well, we must take into account that it is a chapter from 1976, not that right now, the creatures are not surprised by anything!
9. Hannibal“ouf”
It was to be expected that a series dealing with a cannibalistic murderer would have at least one episode censored, right? Actually it wasn’t the violence or that it had very graphic content, but it happened just like the episode of Sonic: It was associated with recent events (as of the date of issue) in real life. It turns out that there was a terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon in which three people were killed and hundreds more injured and the chapter oof It was going to air shortly after.
In the chapter it is seen how a mother trains her son to kill other children and although it is not the same theme as the Boston attack, it was related in some way, due to the closeness between dates, so it was never broadcast on TV.
10. Seinfield“The Puerto Rican Day”
The Serie Seinfield aired in 1998 and basically shows a Puerto Rican Day celebration in New York. However, those who are partying denote wild, violent behavior, etc. For this reason, the Puerto Rican community disagreed, arguing that the chapter fed negative stereotypes of Latino people. NBC publicly apologized and pulled the episode.
eleven. X Files“Home”
Very good? Very bad? Controversial? Whether in a positive or negative way, this chapter gave a lot to talk about and this one was for the topic to be discussed. Graphically it is very explicit and the subject to be treated includes incest, death, beatings, etc. After seeing the reaction it provoked in the audience, they decided not to reissue it.
12. The unknown dimension“The Encounter”
Chapter issued in 1964, when the world lacked much empathy and deconstruction, so it is not surprising that racist vocabulary and hate speech were used. These elements are what caused the CBS network to receive multiple complaints from the affected groups, so it was no longer broadcast.
13. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit“Unstoppable”
Who does not remember this series? One of the longest on open television. In this series we can identify several cases based on real events among the more than 500 chapters that it has in total. Of all these, there was an episode that was never broadcast, both because of the date it was scheduled to air and because of the subject it deals with.
The chapter is about a candidate for the presidency of the United States whose campaign is affected by an accusation of abuse of a minor. The interesting thing is that the character is very similar to Donald Trump and his broadcast date was scheduled in the fall of 2016, prior to the presidential elections in which he was the winner.
14. dance moms“Topless showgirls”
To begin with, all the Show It is already controversial because of the pressure that some girls are subjected to being so small, but this chapter in particular was more controversial because they dressed the girls in clothes that made them look naked and the choreography had suggestive movements, very inappropriate for the age of the girls, who, it should be noted, did not look very comfortable.
After the premiere, there were many complaints from viewers and the network decided not to broadcast it again, although it can be found on the internet.
fifteen. Central Hospital“Passengers list”
To finish we have another episode of the series that was not favored by the date. In short, this chapter on medical emergencies was going to be about a plane crash. However, shortly before it was released, in 2008, a tragic plane crash happened in Madrid, for which the Spanish series was forced to retain the broadcast of the chapter.