Jul 08, 2006 13:38
While searching on Wikipedia, bored as hell at work, indulging my inner Spider-man fanboydom, info on the Spider-man animated series, from 1994. The most ridiculous censorship is in bold:
By 1994 heavy censorship was being enforced by Fox because certain shows like Power Rangers were being banned for excessive violence in some countries. So in a bid to make Spider-Man: The Animated Series as politically correct as possible the producers of the show were instructed to abide by their extensive list of requirements. Among the notable restrictions were:
Not mentioning "Death", "Die", "Kill" or other words with a strong negative meaning - "destroy" and "destruction" were the most frequently employed synonyms. Additionally, death itself was directly avoided as a topic, leading the writers to employ such techniques as having characters falling through inter-dimensional portals as a substitute for falling to their deaths [Dragonball Z, anyone?] (as happened to Mary-Jane and the Green Goblin). Death was sometimes clearly implied, however, such as when Daredevil appears on the series, and it is indicated that his father was killed by Kingpin. It is also clearly stated that the Punisher's family was "caught in a crossfire between rival gangs", and the same applied to the wife of the Destroyer and Peter Parker's Uncle Ben. At one point, when the Goblin returns after seemingly perishing, Spider-Man goes "I thought you were--!" to which the Goblin cuts him off with "No, but you'll soon be!"
Realistic guns were not allowed, and no firearms could shoot bullets, instead firing colorful bright lasers complimented by 'futuristic' sound effects. This often led to even-comparatively preposterous scenes in which ordinary policemen wielded bizarre, futuristic pistols.
Spider-Man was not allowed to hit anyone with his fist.
No crashing glass.
No children in peril.
No vampires were allowed on the show. This created complications with the use of the characters Morbius the living vampire and Blade the vampire hunter. Consequently, Morbius only drained victims through suckers on his hands, rather than by biting them in the traditional vampire style, and rather than blood, his sustenance was referred to only as "plasma."
On a lighter note, Semper claims they also included such specific personal notes from censors as "when Spider-Man lands on the rooftop, be sure that he doesn't harm any pigeons".