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UK censorship guide
This section is especially for British fans of The Simpsons. If you watch the
show on Channel 4 and Sky One (and previously on BBC2) you may have noticed
little bits of footage that weren't previously in an episode. Or you may
notice how some lines are cut very abruptly. No, the culprit isn't global
warming - it is in fact the fault of the censors at the respective channels.
All of the channels cut out various bad language, such as 'bastard', 'bitch'
and 'wanker'. Sometimes cuts are made because a scene is deemed to violent
(I'd hate to see what they'd do with Road Runner cartoons!), or for
continuity reasons - for example, the BBC cut some material referring to
advert breaks.
Sky One had made extensive cuts to many episodes, even removing words like
'ass' and 'crap'. Thankfully the majority of this was restored around 2000.
In this guide we list all archived cuts for reference, and for fun. Every
cut by the BBC is now classified as archived, since they do not air the show
anymore.
The guide is split by Season. Current cuts are listed first, followed by
archived cuts at the bottom of each page. The removed dialogue/action is
shown in red, and the place in the episode is shown. The icon on the right
shows on which channel(s) each cut was made.
Banned episodes
As well as ripping episodes to shreds, some episodes have been outright
banned. Most of these are now airing in regular rotation, some with cuts.
A Streetcar Named Marge (8F19)
This episode only aired once on BBC 2. It is not known why, but it's probably
due to the offensive "New Orleans" song. Channel 4 came under fire
in 2005 when it aired the episode shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated
New Orleans. They ran an apology two days later and have subsequently cut
the song from the episode.
The City of New York Vs. Homer Simpson (4F22)
This episode was due to air on BBC2 in late 2001, but because of the 9/11
attacks it was pulled, as it was in the U.S. and other countries, since it
features the Twin Towers prominently. BBC2 never aired it in the time they
had the rights, and it wasn't until 7th August 2005 that Sky One finally
plucked up the courage to show it... with extensive cuts (which we find
grossly disrespectful).
The Cartridge Family (5F01)
This was banned by Sky One for constant foolishness with guns. It was
released on a VHS compilation, Too Hot For TV, so that British viewers could
see it if they wanted to. The episode was first broadcast in the UK when it
made it onto the BBC, on 26th October 2001. When the rights returned to Sky
they finally aired it, on 26th September 2005.
Natural Born Kissers (5F18)
There was a rather large debate in 1999 whether to air this episode or not.
Sky held it over and allowed it to be the premiere of Season 10. This was
about the point they stopped cutting as much in newer episodes.
Wild Barts Can't Be Broken (AABF07)
In October 2002, when the Washington Sniper incident was taking place in
America, this episode was postponed on BBC 2 because of Moe's line,
"That sniper at the all-star was a blessing in disguise," and
Wiggum's "any child found outside after dark will be shot!".
Eventually after Thirty Minutes Over Toyko had aired, this episode aired,
but with the two Sniper lines cut, prompting the question: why didn't they
do that in the first place? The lines were later reinstated.
Day of the Jackanapes (CABF10)
During 2002-2004 this episode was dropped from Sky One's schedules. The
reasons are unknown, but the most likely explanation is because it features
Bart as a suicide bomber. It was in this same period that The City of New
York Vs. Homer Simpson was banned (see above) due to the 9/11 attacks.
Weekend at Burnsie's (DABF11)
The plot features heavy drug use, which gave it a TV-14 rating in the U.S.
Sky One refuse to air this before the watershed, though when it is on it is
uncut. Unfortunately, this means it airs very rarely because there are no
regular post-watershed slots for the show.
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