'South Park' Creators Skewer Own Network - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

bossradio93 · 04-13-2006, 05:03 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060413/..._park_muhammad

'South Park' Creators Skewer Own Network

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

17 minutes ago

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.

When the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers worldwide in January and February, it sparked a wave of protests primarily in Islamic countries.

Parker and Stone were angered when told by Comedy Central several weeks ago that they could not run an image of Muhammad, according to a person close to the show who didn't want to be identified because of the issue's sensitivity.

The network's decision was made over concerns for public safety, the person said.

Comedy Central said in a statement issued Thursday: "In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision." Its executives would not comment further.

As is often the case with Parker and Stone, they built "South Park" around the incident. In Wednesday's episode, the character Kyle is shown trying to persuade a Fox network executive to air an uncensored "Family Guy" even though it had an image of Muhammad.

"Either it's all OK, or none of it is," Kyle said. "Do the right thing."

The executive decides to strike a blow for free speech and agrees to show it. But at the point where Muhammad is to be seen, the screen is filled with the message: "Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Muhammad on their network."

It is followed shortly by the images of Christ, Bush and the flag.

A frequent "South Park" critic, William Donohue of the anti-defamation group Catholic League, called on Parker and Stone to resign out of principle for being censored.

"The ultimate hypocrite is not Comedy Central — that's their decision not to show the image of Muhammad or not — it's Parker and Stone," he said. "Like little whores, they'll sit there and grab the bucks. They'll sit there and they'll whine and they'll take their shot at Jesus. That's their stock in trade."

Parker and Stone did not immediately respond to a request through a spokesman for comment.

It's the second run-in over religion in a few months for the satirists. Comedy Central pulled a March rerun of a "South Park" episode that mocked Scientologists. Isaac Hayes, a Scientologist who voiced the Chef character on the show, resigned in protest over the episode.

"South Park" again got the last word last month with an episode where Chef was seemingly killed and mourned as a jolly guy whose brains were scrambled by the "Super Adventure Club," which turns its members into pedophiles.

Only last week, "South Park" won broadcasting's prestigious Peabody. Awards director Horace Newcomb said at the time that by its offensiveness, the show "reminds us of the need for being tolerant."

Yahoo! News/AP-April 13, 2006

80sTrivia · 04-13-2006, 05:38 PM

Not a surprise, as these guys parody everything in South Park...

Lurker · 04-14-2006, 10:18 AM

Well the funny thing is that there has already been an episode of SP that featured Muhommed as a character. In Super Best Friends (season 5) one of the super friends was Muhammed.

So for Comedy Central (CC) to Wuss out now is just fear. Just like Matt and Tre were saying in the latest episodes, CC has let the fear control them.

And just like the episode says about "family guy", this is the end of SP as we know it. Now that a line has been made that says "you can't make fun of this", every action group will start to campain against SP even harder. First Scientology, Catholics and Muslims got thier way, next Rednecks, PETA and Phillip Morris will be off limits.

Why watch any more Comedy Central if they are becoming the disney channel?

Dr. Thong · 04-14-2006, 05:10 PM

I really want to see the scientology show now. Just on principle.

hatwink · 04-17-2006, 12:50 PM

I loved the fight scene between Kyle and Cartman in the last one, even though I expected it to be more.

04-13-2006, 05:03 PM	#1
bossradio93 Senior Member Game Show Fanatic! Join Date: Nov 01, 2004 Location: Bellflower, California Posts: 2,378	'South Park' Creators Skewer Own Network http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060413/..._park_muhammad 'South Park' Creators Skewer Own Network By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer 17 minutes ago 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. When the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers worldwide in January and February, it sparked a wave of protests primarily in Islamic countries. Parker and Stone were angered when told by Comedy Central several weeks ago that they could not run an image of Muhammad, according to a person close to the show who didn't want to be identified because of the issue's sensitivity. The network's decision was made over concerns for public safety, the person said. Comedy Central said in a statement issued Thursday: "In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision." Its executives would not comment further. As is often the case with Parker and Stone, they built "South Park" around the incident. In Wednesday's episode, the character Kyle is shown trying to persuade a Fox network executive to air an uncensored "Family Guy" even though it had an image of Muhammad. "Either it's all OK, or none of it is," Kyle said. "Do the right thing." The executive decides to strike a blow for free speech and agrees to show it. But at the point where Muhammad is to be seen, the screen is filled with the message: "Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Muhammad on their network." It is followed shortly by the images of Christ, Bush and the flag. A frequent "South Park" critic, William Donohue of the anti-defamation group Catholic League, called on Parker and Stone to resign out of principle for being censored. "The ultimate hypocrite is not Comedy Central — that's their decision not to show the image of Muhammad or not — it's Parker and Stone," he said. "Like little whores, they'll sit there and grab the bucks. They'll sit there and they'll whine and they'll take their shot at Jesus. That's their stock in trade." Parker and Stone did not immediately respond to a request through a spokesman for comment. It's the second run-in over religion in a few months for the satirists. Comedy Central pulled a March rerun of a "South Park" episode that mocked Scientologists. Isaac Hayes, a Scientologist who voiced the Chef character on the show, resigned in protest over the episode. "South Park" again got the last word last month with an episode where Chef was seemingly killed and mourned as a jolly guy whose brains were scrambled by the "Super Adventure Club," which turns its members into pedophiles. Only last week, "South Park" won broadcasting's prestigious Peabody. Awards director Horace Newcomb said at the time that by its offensiveness, the show "reminds us of the need for being tolerant." Yahoo! News/AP-April 13, 2006 __________________ HBO Documentary: Left of the Dial: Grade: B+ "Morals aren't supposed to stop because it's politically inconvenient to continue them." Keith Olbermann - *Countdown with Keith Olbermann* April 22, 2009 (MSNBC) UPCOMING DVD RELEASES June 16, 2009: The Three Stooges Collection: Volume 6 Star Trek coming to KDOC-TV Monday May 4 @ 9:00pm Farewell KNX/CBS Columbia Square (April 30, 1938-August 12, 2005). Thanks for 67 great years of information and entertainment. My DVD Collection

04-13-2006, 05:38 PM	#2
80sTrivia Senior Member Pop Culture Soothsayer Join Date: May 23, 2002 Location: Alas, Babylon Posts: 9,836	Not a surprise, as these guys parody everything in South Park... __________________ Too Much Information!!! The Wacky! The Weird! The Wild! All in One Place Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book! The Totally Awesome 80s TV Trivia Book! Evangeline, Alive & Well: A Story of Hope in Haiti

04-14-2006, 10:18 AM	#3
Lurker Frequent Poster Member Join Date: Sep 11, 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 127	Well the funny thing is that there has already been an episode of SP that featured Muhommed as a character. In Super Best Friends (season 5) one of the super friends was Muhammed. So for Comedy Central (CC) to Wuss out now is just fear. Just like Matt and Tre were saying in the latest episodes, CC has let the fear control them. And just like the episode says about "family guy", this is the end of SP as we know it. Now that a line has been made that says "you can't make fun of this", every action group will start to campain against SP even harder. First Scientology, Catholics and Muslims got thier way, next Rednecks, PETA and Phillip Morris will be off limits. Why watch any more Comedy Central if they are becoming the disney channel? __________________ --------------- Lurker View My DVD Collection Visit My Myspace Page

04-14-2006, 05:10 PM	#4
Dr. Thong Senior Member a/k/a "ACK!" Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 4,105	I really want to see the scientology show now. Just on principle. __________________ "Sunday has been cancelled due to lack of interest. That is all."

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04-17-2006, 12:50 PM	#5
hatwink Forum Regular Member Join Date: Oct 19, 2004 Posts: 583	I loved the fight scene between Kyle and Cartman in the last one, even though I expected it to be more.