Posted by Duffless at h0000e87ab421.ne.client2.attbi.com on March 30, 2003 at 21:02:14:
In Reply to: Re: Doh! A Poll! posted by DRD #37 on March 30, 2003 at 20:48:26:
From SNPP.com I had heard a similar rumor about the Little Miss Springfield episode being banned becaues of Jon Benet Ramsey....
What I found:
I heard that The City of New York Vs. Homer Simpson was pulled from syndication after September 11. Is that true?
Yes, it was true, albeit briefly.
For those unfamiliar with this episode, there are scenes that prominently feature the World Trade Center buildings. In the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, there was thought that, despite the relative innocence of the scenes in question, that viewers might have been too sensitive to seeing images of the building intact (even in cartoon form), with the events of that day still fresh in everyone's mind.
Shortly after 9/11/01, FOX notified all of its syndicated carriers of the show about the episode and left it up to the discretion of the individual stations. A number of TV stations in America did in fact pull the episode and showed other reruns in its place temporarily. As time passed and sensitivity lessened, the episode began being aired again on a regular basis.
As a side note, Mike Reiss recommended in a speech that the episode New Kids on the Blecch from Season Twelve also be pulled from reruns because of a scene involving a hijacked Navy submarine that rams into a building. This may be sensitive to those affected by the U.S.S. Cole incident, in which the same terrorist groups are suspected. It is not known whether any stations decided to follow through on this, though.