7 famous TV series that were banned in certain countries (8 photos)

The cultural significance of some TV series in most parts of the world does not in any way affect the desire of representatives of certain countries to simply ban TV shows, not broadcasting them on TV, and even, if possible, prohibiting distribution on the Internet.





It is unlikely that anyone can be surprised by the fact that elements of popular culture are banned in certain countries. Films and TV series influence the minds of people, and governments often try to minimize trends that they consider harmful by officially banning the screening of one or another popular project. Of course, periodically going too far in this impulse and justifying your decision in a very specific way.

Sex and the City (1998-2004)



Was banned in Singapore.

When the series was released in 1994, Singaporean channels were prohibited from broadcasting it solely because of the word “sex” in the title - a kind of preventive measure, otherwise it might actually be sex. Later, the series was still released, but in a truncated form, excluding particularly explicit scenes (of which there are almost none in it anyway).

Power Rangers (1993-1996)





It was banned in Malaysia.

The ban on the show was not related to the content of the series itself, but to one of the words in its title. The original title of the series is "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", and it contains the word "Morphin" ("transformation"), which confused Malaysian officials. After all, it can be confused with the word “morphine” - this was seen as drug propaganda. Other countries encountered similar situations and similar concerns, but everywhere they managed to replace the word in translation. But in Malaysia in the 1990s the show was simply taken off the air.

Doctor Who (1963-…)



Banned in China.

The Chinese government has managed to ban quite a few projects due to intolerance towards the demonstration of one very popular cinematic technique - time travel. Yes, in China all films and TV series where characters travel to the past or future are banned.

China generally has an interesting stop list: cleavage, jokes about Chinese culture and traditions, admiring depictions of the “Western way of life,” South Koreans, homosexuality and revenge. All of the above, of course, is bad, but it doesn’t go anywhere. Here are the time machines!!

Pokemon (1997-2003)



The series was banned for two years in Turkey.

The Turkish government banned the series after an incident in which two young children were injured by jumping from a balcony, claiming they were inspired by what they saw in the series. It's unclear exactly what episode or event they were trying to imitate, but given that Pokémon tends to ignore the laws of terrestrial physics, it's not hard to imagine that there was a scene in which the characters landed safely after jumping from a height.

South Park



Banned in Kuwait.

The animated series crossed the path of many, but technically it is not officially banned anywhere. Except in Kuwait, where he was banned back in 2000. The reason is a lot of jokes about Muslims and a humiliating portrayal of the country's revered Saddam Hussein. However, the ban did not stop the matter - Kuwait’s answer to “South Park” called “Block 13” was filmed in the country. You can see a frame from it above.

The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019)



In 2014, it was banned in China for a year. Without explanation. Despite the fact that the characters in the series are talented physicists, none of them have ever built a time machine. This is probably why the show was returned to air a year later.