TV Cartoon Discussions: Banned / Unaired Episodes

[Firaga 5,947]

So, normally, when I do these kinds of things, it's about anime, but NOT THIS TIME. Western animation's got the spotlight now.

 

Wow, it's late as I'm typing this. Let's see if I can make sense of myself...

 

Anyways, welcome to my first cartoon discussion thread, where our topic is about episodes of cartoons that have been banned by networks to air or have just been unaired for other reasons.

 

Now, you're probably asking yourself, "Does this have anything to do with 'Dexter's Rude Removal'?" Our survey says, YES! I have just watched the episode recently (about ten minutes ago actually) and I think it's (bleeping) amazing! I don't know what it is, maybe it's just the fact that I'm a 16 year old immature geek, but seeing cartoon characters cuss and do R-rated things is fricking awesome!

 

And it's that piece of animation why I have created this thread here. You see, as long as there have been cartoons, there have been episodes based on these cartoons that when the creators showed to the people who own the network that's gonna show the cartoon on air (I think that's how the process go), where the network says," Oh no, there's inappropriate content in this piece, we aint showing that," and they just scrap it or it goes into "bad cartoon storage", but however, if they are REALLY bad, the network says, "this monstrosity shall not see the light of day!" and then it gets banned and it's never, ever, ever, heard of again. And yes, I'm still spit-balling here and I am aware of my exaggeration of this process.

 

Now, why do these episodes get banned? Simple: Language (using words like "f**k, shit, cock, and the like), sexual content (seeing boobs or genitalia and the like), offensive material (parodies/jokes against religion or other sensitive topics/entities), and anything else that could "poison the minds of children".

 

I've seen this in many cases, as I have seen alot of cartoons. Here are some examples:

 

They're are a total of four unaired Ed Edd N Eddy episodes, unaired for reasons of their own, not for anything too bad, or so I've heard: one is called "Special Ed, which is said to be too "real" so maybe it picks on kids with mental disabilities or something. Another one is untitled, but is about Eddy finding his own religion, which is easy to guess how that could piss someone off. Then there's "Luck Be An Ed", where "Ed's horoscope tells him that it's his lucky day, and Eddy plans to take advantage of it". I guess horoscope stuff can be offensive? Idk, I don't use horoscopes... and anyways, the last one is called "A Room with an Ed", where "Sarah announces that Ed's bedroom is now her and Jimmy's playroom while Ed has been evicted to a cardboard box in the garage. Eddy is enraged at Ed's bratty sister getting her own way yet again. Edd counsels Ed to accept his fate graciously but Eddy forces Ed to finally stand up to Sarah." Idk why this would be unaired. Maybe it was too serious or maybe they didn't want too many episodes of Ed standing up to Sarah or something.

 

Then the scene in Spongebob's "Just One Bite" where Squidward gets caught in a trap at the Krusty Krab and explodes, this got taken off because of terrorist attack references. (Really? That's a bit much. -__-)

 

There is also a group of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies dubbed the "Censored Eleven" mostly due to being incredibly racist (you can find these on old VHS's and DVDs if you look hard enough).

 

Speaking of racism, guess what, Tom and Jerry's "His Mouse Friday" is full of it! If you wanna watch it now, it's gonna be edited with all the racist stuff muted out.

 

And I'm sure we remember "Der Fuehrer's Face", the Donald Duck short making fun of Nazi Germany, which actually was only on the edge at first, but of course, it's on DVD now. Still, imagine if the networks were a little more butthurt about it...

 

Then there's that one episode of Family Guy about abortion, that only got aired in the UK.

 

Oh yeah, and that OTHER deleted scene from Spongebob, in "Procrastination", where an entire scene is taken out just because Patrick BARELY grazes Sandy's boob. BARELY.

 

Of course, some episodes that sound like they should be banned or unaired have made their way to television due to having some excuses to why they should stay on the air. Remember all the cartoons that sent a message about cursing? Spongebob? Arthur? Powerpuff Girls? That one Tiny Toons episode with Foghorn Leghorn's kid?

 

And I'm not gonna lie... I watched the Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon, you know, the spin off of Ren and Stimpy with R-rated goodness like sex, nudity, and drugs? ... I like it. I like it alot.

 

Anyways, the reason behind this thread is to just talk about these cartoons and get each other's opinions on them, specifically.whether you think these kinds of cartoons should air on TV or at least be shown in some form at at some point in time.

 

What do I think?Well, first off, the stuff that gets booted off because of offensive stuff is stupid at times. Mostly for Spongebob. Really, that's one of the most non-threatening shows ever made UNLESS you, yourself, are a dirty and or sick person. I think the FCC should chillax a little when i comes to cutting out content like this.

 

As for episodes that are banned and unaired completely... well, I have qualms to let them air more officially. I mean, most of these episodes that are locked in storage are from loads of years ago; even you and I are old enough to see them and not have our minds poisoned. Heck, I think we could get a huge kick out of it. I mean, again, I'm immature, and watching cartoon characters doing innapropriate things is hilarious to me. ^^

 

That's basically all I have to say. I know this seems a little bit all over the place, but I'll make the point clearer just in case:

 

Are there any banned or unaired cartoons you think should be aired/ surfaced to their respective fanbase? Do you agree with them being banned/unaired/edited? Are there any cartoons you know that are banned/unaired that I didn't list? Any other banned/unaired cartoon comments you'd like to type down? Well, to the bottom of this post, you go!

Edited March 10, 2013 by Firaga96

[Sora'sMum 352]

That was a good read.

[Henne 150]

The first thing that comes to my mind is the Pokémon episode where the group is on the beach.

James uses fake breasts. Hilarious.

[TheOriginalBob 110]

Well I agree censorship has it's purpose, to protect innocent minds and so forth. But I hate it when they show cartoons at inappropriate times and censor the firetruck out them. In certain cases of syndicated Simpsons episodes, I hate to watch the show when certain scenes have been horribly edited or removed entirely. Sometimes to the point it effects the story. If it's not fit to be shown at that time air it later.

 

In the case of episodes being pulled entirely, sometimes it's necessary (as you can tell from that Dexter episode), it was clear what was said behind those bleeps and clearly inappropriate. The Tiny Toons episode "To Bleep or Not to Bleep" was done right. But even after time certain cancelled episodes do see the light of day, remember the Family Guy episode "When You Wish upon a Weinstein?" that episode got cancelled back in the day but seems pretty tame by todays Family Guy standards. Plus The Simpsons episode where Homer gets a gun was previously cancelled over here in the UK for a while.

 

In the end though most of these shows can be found on the internet if you look hard enough, so lets keep it that way.

 

Oh and if you wanted to see here is the infamous Dexter episode "Rude Removal" enjoy!

[Jilly Shears 2,144]

Whenever I think of banned episodes, I immediately think of the Porygon one from Pokemon (it's not Western animation, but who cares).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz1SQu_LEcA

[Indecypher 495]

The only example of an unaired cartoon that should be aired to it's fanbase that I can think of was already released on DVD, and I dunno about banned ones. But I agree that the episodes shouldn't be on TV or at least edited. And my reasoning for that is, I like anything that prevents conflict.

 

As for the animated show episodes I know that weren't played on television you didn't list, there are some on this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_entertainment_affected_by_the_September_11_attacks#Other_changes_prompted_by_the_events_of_9.2F11

 

But the first thing that came to mind was an episode of The Boondocks that didn't air in the US.

[Firaga 5,947]

 

I posted this last night in a status update. lol. Thanks anyway.

Edited March 10, 2013 by Firaga96