`South Park' Creators Skewer Own Network

AP via Yahoooooooo! ^ | 04-13-06 | DAVID BAUDER

[oldleft]

NEW YORK - Banned by Comedy Central from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the creators of "South Park" skewered their own network for hypocrisy in the cartoon's most recent episode.

The comedy — in an episode aired during Holy Week for Christians — instead featured an image of Jesus Christ defecating on President Bush and the American flag.

In an elaborately constructed two-part episode of their Peabody Award-winning cartoon, "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker intended to comment on the controversy created by a Danish newspaper's publishing of caricatures of Muhammad. Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't think you've pinged this one yet :~D

[ecurbh]

South Park has become a pagan religion.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. ;~D

[Publius]

I'm 57 and retired, and I've been watching "South Park" religiously ever since the night in September 1997 that it debuted. I never miss a new episode.

[HairOfTheDog]

Most people in their late 40's and above don't care for them.

I had to come back and see what comment inspired all these old farts to come on the thread and declare their loyalty ;~D

[EveningStar]

Good article! Thanks! :)

[ecurbh]

So are we gonna show Becky some South Park when she visits? ;~D

[HairOfTheDog]

I dunno... I want her to have a good time here :~D

[Thoro]

It could be interesting to see what they could do in a fresh series.

Make a series from "Team America" maybe?

Matt and Trey have repeatedly said, especially around the time of Team America's release, that they would never ever work with puppets ever again citing that they were a nightmare to operate.

Then again, they could go the cartoon route with that idea, but I don't think it'd be the same.

[photodawg]

If they showed Jesus defecating on anything they made fun of him.

///////////////////////////////////////////////


Yes they did, which is their right in this free society of ours. In so doing they called attention to the fear and hypocrisy of much of our mainstream media. Christians who attempt to sensor free speech because it insults their vision of the Creator, are putting themselves on the wrong side of this issue. In a perfect world all people will respect each others beliefs and will seek a higher moral ground, but until we stop being sinners, we must put up with this type of insensitivity and disrespect.....least we all become terrorists to inflict our vision on others.

[EveningStar]

SOUTH PARK PING!

For those who don't know how you got on this ping list: the initial ping list was created by copying member names from past South Park threads.

Please ping me with any South Park related articles. Thank you!

If you want on or off this ping list, please FReepmail me.

This is expected to be a low to medium volume ping list.

South Park TV schedule at Comedy Central

South Park syndication schedule - these are older episodes that have been released to broadcast TV and are therefore heavily edited.

South Park sites at South Park Studios and Comedy Central

Search for previous South Park articles at Free Republic by title or keyword.

Create a South Park character of yourself at Planearium.de or SouthParkStudios.com.

South Park products available at Amazon and Comedy Central.

Download South Park episodes in bit torrent format at South Park Complete.

Read scripts of South Park episodes at TWIZ TV.

The South Park Scriptorium, a good all around site for South Park information.

The Wikipedia article on South Park.

[Dashing Dasher]

It seems that a lot of people are having courage issues these days.

[dynachrome]

"FR libertarian conservatives out of closet"

Stay outta my closet!
signed,
Tom Cruise

[Alexander Rubin]

It was not a skewer. Comedy Central censored it.

[JCEccles]

They didn't "skewer" their own network. Their depiction of Muhammad was censored. That was the war, and they lost it.

They'll be back to openly insulting safe targets next episode.

[EveningStar]

It seems that a lot of people are having courage issues these days.

I'm glad a couple of young men from Colorado aren't. :)

[HairOfTheDog]

Did you see it? If so... Just admit you didn't get the joke then...

They knew the image would be censored before they wrote it. The punch line makes no sense if it wasn't censored.

[Alexander Rubin]

I'm watching it tonight. ;) Thanks for the headsup. I had been under the impression it was only a half-joke.

[BreitbartSentMe]

I found this quoted on another board:

I'm not sure if it's been reported yet, but for what it's worth, I just got off the phone with a Comedy Central spokesman. I asked him about last night's episode of South Park in which, at a moment right before the prophet Mohammed was supposed to make a cameo, the words, "Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network" appeared on the screen.

I asked him whether this truly was Comedy Central's decision or whether this was just another gag (with South Park, you never know). He said: "They reflected it accurately. That was a Comedy Central decision."

I'm not sure where this quote actually came from, so take it with an acceptable level of salt...

[Wormwood]

They didn't "skewer" their own network. Their depiction of Muhammad was censored. That was the war, and they lost it..

With all due respect:

Here is the point: •

here is you: •

[Wormwood]

The punch line makes no sense if it wasn't censored.

Precisely. Showing Mohammed would have been wither interesting nor humorous. Worse, it wouldn't be satire.

The people *clamoring* for South Park to insert a context-free, gratuitous image of Mohammed are presumably *not* the South Park target audience.