Before the 5th annual Simpsons Halloween special began, Marge came out on an animated stage and warned that the following program could be too scary for younger viewers, suggesting it would be wise to put them to bed. Then she was handed a note saying the show would so scary, Congress wouldn't allow them to air it.

There's some truth behind that gag.

It would be a curiosity if this was the only incident where shows are labeled with a warning for content, or edited, or outright banned. But I've learned to my horror that many TV shows have had the hatchet treatment. Nationally broadcasted primetime shows have been altered to meet community standards, or even banned completely.

I was seven years old in 1964 and had no idea that ABC's, "The Outer Limits", suffered many local ABC affiliates breaking their contracts to avoid airing episodes of the show from 1963 to 1964, mostly across the southern bible belt - ideas that are especially bad influences on children.

In this 1964 episode called, "Counterweight", Earth wants to terraform, and then colonize the planet Antheon. Across the vastness of interstellar space, the inhabitants of Antheon realize that humans, and their scientific equipment, can't detect their existence - the lifeforms of Antheon live outside the range of our five senses and the detection equipment of our space probes.

Therefore, Antheon reached across interplanetary space to touch the minds of six human volunteers in an experiment that simulates what future flight to Antheon would be like. But instead of finding beings filled with kindness, acceptance, and a love of life - the spiritual force of Antheon found humans filled with anger, hate, mistrust and envy.

The humans had to be stopped in the only way possible - to reach into the human mind and become the horrible monsters that only live inside each of us. Without the ability to truly care for each other, the human race will never leave Earth!