Short post from me this week but I had to flag this amusing story on the BBC website. Apparently The Simpsons has been dropped from morning TV in Venezuela after being deemed unsuitable for children - and, here’s the best bit, it has been replaced by Baywatch.
I think it’s fair to say that neither programme will find its way on to CBeebies any time soon but what was The Simpsons’ crime? Apparently portraying “messages that go against the whole education of boys, girls and adolescents”. On that basis, I can only imagine what they must make of South Park.
I don’t remember much about the plot of Baywatch from my young teenage days (was there even one?) but surely a show staring a host of Playboy models, illicit adult home movie stars and people who’ve gone on to become drug addicts or alcoholics doesn’t give children the greatest role models.
Venezuelan TV is an odd beast - one of the most popular programmes is a talk show hosted by the country’s president, Hugo Chavez. In a bumper episode last year he gave a speech which reportedly lasted eight hours. And we thought the Queen’s speech was a bit dull!
Perhaps Matt Groening should get the PR bandwagon going in Venezuela to salvage his reputation. He could invite Mr Chavez to join the long list of Simpsons celebrity cameos. Although he’ll have his work cut out if “The Hoff” is as big in Venezuela as he is in Germany.
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