Church fails to block 'Popetown' airing
COLOGNE, Germany -- The German Catholic Church has failed to block MTV from airing the controversial BBC cartoon series Popetown. In an 11th-hour move Wednesday, the bishops from Pope Benedict XVI's home state of Bavaria filed an injunction against MTV Germany to prevent the channel from broadcasting a single episode of the animated show, which features the good-hearted Father Nicholas and his trials with his boss: a squat, obnoxious, gun-toting Pope. In its motion, the archdiocese of Munich and Freising also called on German authorities to force MTV to pull print ads for the series, which featuring an empty cross and a laughing Jesus sitting in front of a TV with the slogan: "Instead of just hanging around, have a laugh."...
- 5/3/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MTV Germany blasted over its 'Popetown'
MUNICH -- The British satirical cartoon series Popetown, canceled in the U.K. before its first episode following a wave of protest letters in 2004, is now causing an uproar in Germany. MTV Germany had planned, beginning Wednesday, to broadcast a dubbed version of the series, which according to the Popetown Web site features "money-grabbing cardinals and a pogo stick-riding infantile pope." But Roman Catholic organizations and leading politicians in the predominantly Catholic state of Bavaria were galvanized into action by an MTV newspaper ad for the series last week. The ad showed Jesus Christ coming down off his cross to watch television and was captioned, "Have a laugh instead of hanging around."...
- 4/28/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Revolver lets Brits pay visit to 'Popetown'
LONDON -- U.K. independent distribution company Revolver Entertainment said Tuesday that it plans to release the controversial British animated comedy series Popetown on DVD after striking a deal with series producer Channel X. The show created a mini-hullabaloo in the U.K. press after BBC schedulers yanked it from its planned airing on digital channel BBC 3 because of its "controversial" content. The decision not to air came on the heels of complaints from various groups who feared that the premise of the comedy series, which is set in a fictional Vatican, might offend practicing Catholics.
- 7/5/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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