Was D&D cancelled due to parents/religious folks/Pat Robertson complaining the show was Satanic?
According to Mark Evanier, developer of the series at CBS when it was first aired and cancelled, the show was canned due to slipping ratings, and a feeling that the third season wasn’t as good as the previous seasons (which most fans tend to agree with). It was NOT, he emphasized, due to pressure from religious groups or parental complaints- in fact, the majority of the complaints about the show centered around the commercial aspect of it. After all, TSR was promoting their action figure line at the time- and several TSR action figure characters (Warduke, Kelek, & Strongheart) made guest appearances in the show. And other parents were concerned about the violence, though by today’s standards this seems a fairly ludicrous concern to me…the series emphasized nonviolent conflict resolution and creative problem solving, and the kids never used their weapons to actually hurt anyone, even their enemies. You’ll still hear from other sites that it was cancelled due to religious controversy.
