How did The Simpsons get away with airing The Itchy & Scratchy Show, a cartoon packed with over-the-top violence and gore? Simple — they showed it to Bart and Lisa first. “We could show horrendous things to the children at home, as long as we portrayed them being shown to the Simpsons’ children first,” writer John Swartzwelder explained. “Somehow this extra step baffled our critics and foiled the mobs with torches.” | Horror4Kids

Itchy and Scratchy Show: Burning Down the Mouse