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If you crave a little sex and violence in your life, chances are network television is the last place you should turn to satisfy your urges. For years, advertisers and censors have all but stripped away the vulgarity and nudity from television, leaving us with endless cooking competition shows and so-called reality TV that is about as staged as professional wrestling. And if you don’t have a paid cable package like HBO and Cinemax, you’re stuck watching shows that are about as edgy as church.
However, occasionally an episode of a TV show comes along that pushes the boundaries of basic human decency and gives us the mature content we all want to see. Whether they feature excessive violence, religious and political satire, or a brief flash of nudity, the history of TV is filled with standout episodes that have gained the ire of people from around the globe. Sometimes the networks censor out the racy parts and leave us with a truncated mess, but other times they simply decide to ban the episode from ever hitting the air. Either way, these episodes give us a glimpse at what we wish the television landscape looked like.
Tonight marks the premiere of Seth MacFarlane’s new show, titled Dads, and the buzz is that the first episode is filled with racial and sexual humor that often gets network executives reaching for the kill switch. The show is already being singled-out by various activist groups for its content, and that just makes us want to watch it even more.
Will the series premiere of Dads really live up to the hype and be crowned the most offensive 30 minutes in TV history? We’re still waiting on that answer, but until then, check out some of its competition in our countdown of The 15 Most Controversial TV Show Episodes of All Time.
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15. “Blame it on Lisa” (The Simpsons)
Original air date: March 31, 2002
Major offense: Offending an entire country
Status: Still in rotation
Most of the episodes on this list managed to ruffle the feathers of either the FCC or its respective network, but The Simpsons episode, “Blame it on Lisa”, managed to have an entire country threaten legal action against Fox. In the episode, the family travels to Brazil to track down Lisa’s missing pen-pal, but along the way they cause chaos throughout the country in typical Simpson style. Unfortunately the people of Brazil didn’t take too kindly to the show’s portrayal of the country.
The complaints stated that there were numerous stereotypes and inaccuracies throughout the episode, including erroneous accents, culture, and a disgusting army of rats that definitely didn’t help the tourism market. The anger extended beyond normal citizens and reached Riotur, the tourist board of Rio de Janeiro, and even the president himself. In fact, Riotur threatened to sue Fox for hurting the image of the city. But as the song goes, you’ll never stop The Simpsons, and this episode has been airing consistently for the past decade.
14. “Electric Soldier Porygon” (Pokemon)
Original air date: December 16, 1997
Main offense: May cause seizures
Status: Removed from rotation
In 1997, things got out of hand when an episode of Pokemon, titled “Electric Soldier Porygon,” caused more than 600 people to go to the hospital when it aired in Japan. The problem happened during a part of the episode when red and blue lights suddenly started flashing at a high rate after an onscreen explosion.
Viewers complained of headaches, dizziness, and blurred vision immediately after, with a few people admitted to the hospital with seizures. The episode was pulled from the rotation in Japan and has never aired since in any country. In the end, anime studios throughout Japan changed their style to ensure that the quick flashing lights that made Eastern animation so popular were toned down to avoid further incidents.
13. “One Beer" (Tiny Toon Adventures)
Original air date: September 18, 1991
Major offense: Showing underage drinking
Status: Banned in the U.S. but available on DVD
There are certain things you expect to see when you turn on a child’s cartoon show, but watching the three main characters get tanked on one beer and stealing a cop car certainly isn’t one of them. That’s exactly what happens in this now-banned episode of Tiny Toon Adventures, titled “One Beer.” The episode culminates in dark fashion when all three characters drive off a cliff to their demise while under the influence. We’re not kidding; the car is left a smoldering wreck and the three of them fly into the air with angel wings. We're sure their elevated blood-alcohol content made them burn up quicker, if that's any consolation.
The ironic part is that this episode was supposed to be teaching kids about the dangers of drinking. In fact, Buster Bunny explicitly says so in the beginning of the episode. That didn’t stop Warner Brothers from pulling the chord on this episode after just airing it once. For the morbidly curious, “One Beer” was released on DVD, so if you want to plunk down some money, you can feast your eyes on the fiery deaths of three adorable cartoon animals.
12. “I’ll See You in Court” (Married with Children)
Original air date: Banned from the air in 1989
Major offense: Crude sexual content
Status: Later aired on June 18, 2002 and released on DVD in 2003
Married with Children was always a headache for Fox and the censors, but during the show’s third season, the writers finally put out an episode so vulgar it never made air. In “I’ll See You in Court”, when the Bundys go to a cheap motel to have sex, they find a homemade porno starring their neighbors, Marcy and Steve. When they approach them about this, Marcy and Steve tell them they were videotaped without their permission at the motel, leading Al and Peg to wonder if their sexual escapades suffered the same fate.
”I’ll See You in Court” is one of the smuttiest half-hours of television to come from the ‘80s, and it further cemented Married with Children’s place as a series that blew past the boundaries of network television. Now, the episode is occasionally seen in syndication, complete with the climax involving Peg and Al having sex in an empty courtroom, while being secretly recorded yet again. Still, many of the raunchiest lines are still censored, so it's likely we'll never see the uncut version air on TV.
11. “Comedians” (Beavis and Butthead)
Original air date: September 6, 1993
Major offense: Arson
Status: Heavily edited and ultimately removed from syndication
South Park and Family Guy stir up the most controversy in the land of primetime animation nowadays, but nothing can compare to the shit storm Beavis and Butthead created nearly every week in the ‘90s. During the series’ run, MTV was forced to make major edits or just outright ban numerous episodes of the show along the way. In fact, most of these episodes can still only be found on the DVDs.
The most infamous example of the show’s run-ins with MTV and the FCC comes from the episode “Comedians.” The plot here was about Beavis and Butthead attempting to make it as stand-up comedians, but, of course, Beavis winds up accidentally burning down the comedy club when he tries to juggle flaming newspapers. Doesn’t sound so bad, right? Well, a month after the original airdate, an Ohio boy allegedly tried to mimic the episode, which ultimately caused his family’s trailer to burn to the ground, killing his sister.
Whether he was actually inspired to play with fire due to the show was never proven, but MTV heavily edited the episode after, and later banned it from ever being repeated in syndication. Additionally, another victim of MTV’s overreaction was Beavis’ famous “Fire! Fire!” catchphrase being banned afterwards.
10. “Conflict” (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood)
Original air dates: Novemer 7-10, 1983
Main offense: Teaching young children about the inevitability of nuclear war
Status: Hasn’t been shown since 1996
Was there any better treat as a kid than sitting down with some Dunkaroos and an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood? Those are some wholesome childhood memories right there. That is, unless the episode you sat down for taught you that not only is nuclear war a possibility, but that it can happen at any time.
In the weeklong episode titled “Conflict”, a potential war comes to the Neighborhood when King Friday becomes convinced that Corny the Beaver is secretly building a nuclear arsenal. This causes Friday to start building a stockpile of weapons of his own. As the kids begin building fallout shelters and wait for an all-out atomic war, Friday realizes that Corny was actually just building a bridge to unite their two cities, not an instrument of puppet destruction.
Remember, this was aired during the Cold War, so Armageddon seemingly lurked around every corner. Thankfully these episodes haven’t aired since 1996, and even today there is nowhere you can actually legally watch them. We’re all for teaching kids lessons, but we think the youth of America will be just fine without going to bed and having nightmares that a plush beaver is going to start a nuclear holocaust.
At the end of the episode, Mister Rogers left viewers with the following summary: "Rules are very, very important. Not just for games, but for all things. Even big things like countries. Countries have to have rules to protect people, too. And someday you'll be helping to make the rules for your country. I trust that you'll make the best kind you know how."
That is absolutely bone-chilling.
9. “Man’s Best Friend” (The Ren & Stimpy Show)
Original air date: Banned during initial run
Major offense: Excessive violence
Status: Finally aired on June 26, 2003
To this day, we have no clue how Ren & Stimpy was ever allowed on the air. It was crass, subversive, and, above all, a terrible influence on young kids. However, it was also incredibly brilliant and paved the way for the vulgar humor we see in cartoons today like South Park and Family Guy. Despite the series’ massive success, it wasn’t immune to the censors.
In 1992, the episode “Man’s Best Friend” was banned by Nickelodeon before it ever aired due to the extreme violence in the episode. It also led the network to fire the show’s creator, John Kricfalusi, which was the beginning of the end for the series.
We’re not quite sure why the network singled this episode out above all of the others, but it might have something to do with Ren bludgeoning the character George Liquor with a canoe oar. The episode wasn’t officially aired until Ren & Stimpy was reborn as the ill-fated Ren & Stimpy Adult Cartoon Party on Spike TV in 2003. It has since been released on subsequent DVD releases.
8. “Pilot” (NYPD Blue)
Original air date: September 21, 1993
Major offenses: Soft-core nudity and crass language
Status: A quarter of ABC’s affiliates declined to show the episode
It may not get the credit it deserves anymore, but NYPD Blue was a groundbreaking show when it first debuted in 1993. By featuring foul language, a hefty amount of violence, and a surprising amount of nudity, the show brought an R-rated taste to conservative network television. And the best thing that could have ever happened to the show is the controversy its pilot episode caused. The salty dialogue and violence raised the eyebrows of the censors, but it was the sight of a few bare asses that got a quarter of ABC’s local stations to refuse to air the episode. Fortunately, this decision only served to drum up interest for the series around the country.
It’s impossible to fathom that there was ever an ass on network TV, but the ‘90s pushed boundaries way more than any show on major stations do now. ABC’s reaction didn’t stop NYPD Blue from featuring provocative content as the years went on, either. Even Dennis Franz got into the act by showing his nude cheeks for the cameras on multiple occasions. It’s amazing to think that violence and gunplay is the norm on network TV, but the sight of one ass is enough to bring down the wrath of the FCC.
7. “Return to Camelot Part 1” (Dallas)
Original air date: September 26, 1986
Major offense: Establishing that all of Season 9 was a dream
Status: Still on syndication, but reviled by fans everywhere
While many of the entries on this list have to do with racy content that raised controversy outside of the show itself, “Return to Camelot Part 1” is such a polarizing episode of Dallas that we would be remiss not to include it here. During the eighth season of the show, Bobby, played by Patrick Duffy, dies after being hit by a car. The ninth season deals with the aftermath of his death and a host of other plot twists that fans weren’t exactly thrilled with. Then in the season finale of the ninth season, Pam Ewing, Bobby’s widow, wakes up one morning to find Bobby alive in the shower.
The cliffhanger is resolved in the first episode of Season 10, “Return to Camelot”, when she realizes that he really is alive and that his death was all a dream, negating the finale of Season 8 and all of Season 9. This was a response by the show’s new writers, who weren’t happy with the direction Dallas had taken. Fans everywhere just sat, mouths agape, and realized that the past year they just invested in the show was all for nothing.
This type of plot twist is usually left for a bad comic book, but a few ballsy writers put it in one of the hottest shows on TV at the time. Imagine if that were to happen today with Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones? The writers would have to be put in Witness Protection. Although the idea of John Snow waking up one morning and stumbling upon Ned Stark taking a bubble bath is pretty brilliant to us.
6. “Partial Terms of Endearment” (Family Guy)
Original air date: June 20, 2010 (BBC)
Major offense: A vulgar take on abortion
Status: Banned in the U.S., but released on DVD
Controversy is nothing new to Seth MacFarlane and the writers of Family Guy, but in 2010, Fox put a ban on the episode “Partial Terms of Endearment” because of its crude take on abortion. The episode focuses on Lois terminating a pregnancy after Peter rallies with pro-life supporters in Quahog. Unlike other shows that attempt to delicately handle this issue with grace, Family Guy’s handling of abortion is crass and twisted. But for fans of the show, it’s nothing they haven’t seen before on the series.
While Fox banned the episode in the States, it has aired overseas on BBC and in Australia. Interestingly enough, Adult Swim, which carries Family Guy reruns from Fox, also refuses to air the episode on its late-night block. The episode was eventually released on DVD, and that is still the only way to legally watch it in the U.S. We’re sure Fox has no problem cashing those DVD royalty checks, though.
5. “The Puppy Episode” (Ellen)
Original air date: April 30, 1997
Major offense: Main character coming out as gay
Status: Still in syndication
If you need any further proof of how horrible humanity can be, look no further than the backlash over “The Puppy Episode” of Ellen. In the episode, Ellen’s character announces that she is gay, which aired not long after DeGeneres came out in real life. Instead of this being a proud moment for TV, numerous sponsors pulled their advertisements, the ABC studios underwent a bomb threat, both Ellen and guest-star Laura Dern’s careers were both irrevocably damaged, and the show was cancelled within a year.
Still, despite the nonsensical backlash, this episode stands as one of the bravest sitcom moments ever. It highlighted the ugliness of the media and the culture of the time, but it had many positive long term benefits. Now homosexuality on TV is commonplace, and no amount of public whining is going to change that, thanks to “The Puppy Episode”.
4. “Home” (The X-Files)
Original air date: October 11, 1996
Major offense: Incest
Status: Temporarily banned
With a show about shady government conspiracies and aliens, it’s a given that The X-Files would feature some pretty outrageous moments of gore and disgust, but in the episode titled “Home", the series gave us one of the most gruesome hours of network television ever. The plot involves Mulder and Scully hunting down the killers of a deformed infant, but what they stumble upon is much more disturbing than they could have imagined.
In a small isolated town, they discover the Peacock family, a cabal of deformed farmers who have an incestuous relationship with their mother, who is a quadruple amputee, in order to continue their diseased lineage. Packed with stomach-churning imagery of sex and violence, “Home” is like the car wreck you can’t help but be fascinated by.
The episode caused such an initial uproar that Fox banned it from ever being repeated, but after fans complained, it was eventually reinstated and has since become one of the series’ highpoints. Like the original Last House on the Left or Texas Chainsaw Massacre, “Home” is just as disturbing as it is fascinating, and it’s still a marvel that it ever got broadcast in the first place.
3. “The Puerto Rican Day” (Seinfeld)
Original air date: May 7, 1998
Major offense: Burning the Puerto Rican flag
Status: Temporarily banned in syndication
Seinfeld was always a show that happily pushed the boundaries of what was allowed on network television, but towards the end of its run, the series incurred the wrath of an entire culture with the episode “The Puerto Rican Day.” The episode focuses on Jerry, Kramer, Elaine, and George getting stuck in traffic during New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade and, of course, the gang runs afoul of everyone at the event.
The episode wasn’t nearly as controversial as some of Seinfeld’s better episodes, like “The Contest,” but one scene in particular ignited an uproar, so to speak. At one point during the story, Kramer inadvertently lights the Puerto Rican flag on fire, which leads him to try and put it out by stomping on it in front of a crowd of festive parade-goers. This didn’t sit well with numerous Puerto Rican activists, and after the episode’s initial airing, it was pulled from the rotation until the ninth season came out on DVD in 2007.
2. “Maude’s Dilemma: Parts 1 & 2” (Maude)
Original air date: November 14, 1972 (Part 1); November 21, 1972 (Part 2)
Major offense: Abortion
Status: Still in syndication
If you think abortion is a touchy subject in pop culture now, imagine a TV show dedicating a two-part episode to it before the Roe v. Wade decision even came down. That’s exactly what the series Maude did in 1972 when it tackled abortion head-on in an episode where Maude discovers that at the age of 47, she’s pregnant. Throwing typical sitcom gags and quips out the window, this episode deals with the problem in a real world way, explaining the pros and cons of the decision, and letting us as viewers see how something like this can affect a person’s life.
In the end, Maude gets the abortion, but the subject is never treated as an easy decision for laughs. This is a serious matter, and the show did its best to highlight a woman’s right for a national audience. Despite its good intentions, the episode sparked a firestorm of controversy, especially within religious circles. Seeing the importance of such an episode, CBS regularly showed "Maude’s Dilemma" in reruns during summer hiatuses.
1. “200 and “201” (South Park)
Original air date: April 21, 2010
Major offense: Depicting the prophet Muhammad
Status: Censored upon its original airing, and subsequently banned afterwards
For South Park’s landmark 200th episode, the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, decided to go all out and attempt to offend every social and religious group possible. The plot of this two-part episode revolves around all of the celebrities that the show has offended over the years planning a lawsuit against the town of South Park. In the end, Tom Cruise, who is leading the legal action, promises to drop the lawsuit if the town turns over the Muslim prophet Muhammad to him.
The episode immediately set off controversy around the globe, with certain radical Muslim organizations threatening both Trey and Parker with physical harm if Muhammad was shown in the episode. In order to avoid any violence, Comedy Central stepped in and censored the episode by literally placing a black bar over Muhammad and cutting out his lines for the entirety of the plot. Comedy Central then felt an immediate outcry from viewers who felt the network caved to extremism and fear. After the episode’s initial airing, Comedy Central pulled it from the air, and it currently cannot be viewed on the website or in repeats.
In all, both “200” and “201” proved to be an absolute mess for the network, which found itself in a lose-lose situation from the start. Ironically, the two-part episode was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program in 2010.