Variety reports

September 24, 2001 11:33 AM

Variety reports (subscription temporarily not required due to the attacks) on changes in upcoming television programming due to perceived (and probably real) audience sensitivity. While we've seen some of this before (like concern over the plane exploding in the premiere of "24"), I see at least one change I'd feared: "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson," (episode 4F22, originally aired four years ago today as the season premiere) where Homer's car is booted at One World Trade Plaza and Homer climbs both towers looking for a bathroom, has been pulled from syndication and, unless Twentieth Television changes its mind, will not be aired again.

Also, Showtime has indefinitely postponed its airing of the well-received indie film "The Believer," about a "self-hating Jew who becomes an anti-semitic skinhead." Overly-senstive reactions or justified changes for a mourning nation?
posted by mdeatherage (29 comments total)

We are letting the terrorists control our TV.
posted by brucec at 11:37 AM on September 24, 2001

I'm disappointed to hear about The Believer - I was definitely looking forward to that one. I've read a few really good things about it.
posted by Jako at 11:43 AM on September 24, 2001

sigh. that is one of the best simpsons episodes ever/
posted by panopticon at 11:46 AM on September 24, 2001

Well, it might be back. Cartoon Network removed Cowboy Bebop from it's Adult Swim line up for about 2 weeks, and they returned it to the line up last night.
posted by ericdano at 11:55 AM on September 24, 2001

i was concerned about the 1984-ing of history when i first heard this story. it would be a shame to write the towers out of history, as it seems is being attempted by removing some of these shows. the simpson's have a thick catalog of episodes. hopefully they won't permanetly shelf "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson." sure, they don't have to run it right away, but to remove it entirely is a waste i feel. on the other hand, that family guy clip floating around on filepile might not show up anytime soon.
posted by mich9139 at 11:57 AM on September 24, 2001

Ah, the loss of one of my favorite Simpsons homages to musical theater. (The "I'm Checking In" bit, depicting a Robert Downey-lookalike sentenced to the Betty Ford Clinic...) At least we'll always have "Planet of the Apes: The Musical" and "Springfield, Springfield" from "Boy Scoutz in the Hood".
posted by MattD at 11:58 AM on September 24, 2001

sigh. that is one of the best simpsons episodes ever

Indeed.

Homer: Now what do you have to wash that awful taste out of my mouth?
Vendor: Mountain Dew or crab juice.
Homer: Blecch! Ew! Sheesh! I'll take a crab juice...

One of my favorite lines ever.
posted by jpoulos at 12:02 PM on September 24, 2001

Technically, it was "Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!" Not to be pedantic, but that title always made me giggle Homeresquely.

That said, I'm betting the Simpsons episode will be back in time. The movies that were held back will get released at some point. People are too raw right now, but getting better with each day (at least by my observation).

It took fifty years, but even Pearl Harbor got made. Which was, of course, unfortunate, but only because the movie itself was so skull-clutchingly awful.
posted by Skot at 12:06 PM on September 24, 2001

does anyone know if that episode was included in any of the dvd anthology collections?

i, too, believe that it was one of the best episodes ever. crying shame.
posted by tsarfan at 12:08 PM on September 24, 2001

the ninnies! they must actually think americans hold television entertainment in as high esteem as the television entertainment industry does. (tell me they don't!)

much to the dismay, i'm sure, of the marketroids, i for one am pretty clear on the difference between televised entertainment fantasy and my life, nothing an imaginary cartoon character appears to do in a television broadcast can even remotely impact my reality.

what is wrong with these fools? (and i happen to love homer!)
posted by quonsar at 12:08 PM on September 24, 2001

Technically, it was "Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!" Not to be pedantic, but that title always made me giggle Homeresquely.

That said, I'm betting the Simpsons episode will be back in time. The movies that were held back will get released at some point. People are too raw right now, but getting better with each day (at least by my observation).

It took fifty years, but even Pearl Harbor got made. Which was, of course, unfortunate, but only because the movie itself was so skull-clutchingly awful.
posted by Skot at 12:08 PM on September 24, 2001

Sweet creeping Jesus. Sorry about that. I have no idea how I managed that one.
posted by Skot at 12:10 PM on September 24, 2001

I think that Simpsons episode should be shown as a special 'remembering the World Trade Center' episode. Have Matt or someone record a little 'dedication' and it could be a special event. I don't think we should all of a sudden act like the towers didn't exist. They were maybe not the most visually daring buildings, but they were 'awesome' in the purest sense of the word - and the observation deck was a little roomier than the ESB. I guess I've always been a sucker for tall buildings.
posted by QrysDonnell at 12:33 PM on September 24, 2001

damn you jpoulos.. you beat me to posting that quote... grrr, it's genius. i love when he looks at the tower, then looks at the mailbox thing, looks at the tower, and then back, for a couple times, until a postman pops out from the side and says, "don't even think about it."

and how come i didn't know what was up with cowboy bebop! i was up until 1am the past sunday and thursday, shouting at cartoon network, because it didn't come on! grr, yet again.
posted by lotsofno at 12:44 PM on September 24, 2001

Well, the BBC pulled this evening's scheduled Simpsons episode, which was supposed to be the one where George Bush Snr moves in over the road from the Simpsons. What's the justification for that supposed to be? It's one thing that everyone's trying not to slag off George W. at the moment, but does his dad have to be out of bounds as well?
posted by onyermarx at 12:50 PM on September 24, 2001

D'oh! That episode had the best Khlav Kalash Guy (Christopher) appearance ever, as jpoulos referred to above.
posted by gazingus at 1:02 PM on September 24, 2001

Next they'll yank all the episodes with Apu because the character demeans the memory of the Indian clerk shot dead in misguided post-9.11 backlash.

Wait, I feel a career as a sensitivity training consultant coming on.
posted by sacre_bleu at 1:16 PM on September 24, 2001

Are people going pull every image of the WTC from every media, unless it's of it being destroyed? People are questioning content in everything; I don't know whether it's a good thing or bad thing.
posted by Dilly!! at 1:31 PM on September 24, 2001

If anyone out there is into trading RealMedia via FTP servers, I have a .rm copy of that "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" if you want it uploaded. I think it's around 35 Megs. Email me with FTP info.
posted by Karl at 1:48 PM on September 24, 2001

Will someone smart and web geeky host that so the ones of us too stupid to FTP can get it too?
posted by norm at 3:38 PM on September 24, 2001

Just snagged it off of Morpheus and had a look. I, for one, think that banning it (at least until everything cools down) was a wise decision. Sure, the episode's hilarious, but lines such as "Nothing good has ever come out of New York" and "New York is such a hellhole!" are awful sketchy right now.
posted by Laugh_track at 4:00 PM on September 24, 2001

Dilly makes a good point, one I've seen made elsewhere as They won't show the World Trade Center sitting peacefullly in a movie, but they'll show the damn thing blowing up over and over again on TV every night. There's something really, really sick about that.

I do think there's some sensitivity needed for a little while. But erasing it from history -- and anything associated with it -- is pretty Orwellian. In the end this is less about self-labeled "sensitivity" as it is about everybody-else-labeled "marketing".

I never got to see the Spiderman trailer, and now I'm pissed.
posted by dhartung at 4:19 PM on September 24, 2001

Man that is one big ass front page post.
posted by DBAPaul at 4:22 PM on September 24, 2001

Man that is one big ass front page post.

BWAHAHAHAHA!

Oh, you were serious? Take it to MetaTalk! (That's where I'm a Viking!)
posted by norm at 4:37 PM on September 24, 2001

Hooray! The Simpsons episode is on Filepile.
posted by Mapes at 6:19 PM on September 24, 2001

It's been FilePiled!

DivX encoded ... get it while you can. Parts
one and two.
posted by tpoh.org at 7:02 PM on September 24, 2001

woohoo. filepile always comes through (when they're not busy putting up porn or remixes involving dexter [j/k].)!
posted by lotsofno at 8:49 PM on September 24, 2001

What's better than getting the entire episode off of filepile?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
posted by mathowie at 11:14 PM on September 24, 2001

I loved that Simpsons episode. After the initial shock of seeing the towers collapsing, I actually discussed that episode with my friends and how much I wished they would show it instead of repeating the same images on the news over and over and over.

I'm sure it will be back, but the question is... when?
posted by elf_baby at 11:42 AM on September 25, 2001