Simpsons returns to Venezuelan TV

TV The Simpsons has returned to TV in Venezuela after it was deemed unsuitable for children - and was replaced by Baywatch.

A spokeswoman for the station Televen said the popular US cartoon about the yellow dysfunctional family would now be shown in an early evening slot.

The series was branded "inappropriate" in its original morning slot.

Venezuela's TV authorities forced the network to take it off air by threatening to fine it.

The National Telecommunications Commission also said the channel would be taken off air if it failed to move the show from its 1100 slot.

It claimed the saga of Homer Simpson, wife Marge and their three children flouted regulations that prohibit "messages that go against the whole education of boys, girls and adolescents".

It said that some unspecified complaints had been received from viewers.

Venezuelan TV is known for filling its schedules with re-runs of old US series and Latin American soap operas.

It also includes a talk show hosted by the country's president, Hugo Chavez.

(Published by BBC News Times 18, 2008)