 "Photo: southparkstudios.com")
In the annals of television history, few shows are considered great. For every “Seinfeld” there are hundreds of shows that did not make it past their first season (some shows are so horrible they don’t even make it to episode five) but “South Park” is the exception.
In its fourteenth season, “South Park” reached the 200-episode milestone, and whether you watch this show and its foul-mouthed grade-schoolers or not, it cannot be denied that it has earned its place among television’s great shows.
If you missed the much-hyped 200th episode, you should probably stop reading immediately because I will be discussing plot details and jokes in depth. You have been warned: SPOILERS AHEAD.
The show begins with Stan and the gang on a field trip to a candy factory. As one would expect with such a milestone episode, references to the past abound. Kyle and Cartman immediately resort to Jew- and fat-jokes.
Thankfully during this exchange, Stan echoes the sentiments of many loyal viewers – crude jokes are or can be funny, but this show has moved beyond juvenile humor and fart jokes.
Don’t get me wrong, “South Park” has always had a deeper moral thread behind the potty-mouth humor, but at some point a long time ago, Cartman being called a fat a$$ stopped being funny and just became repetitive.
Thanks Stan for reminding us how far we have come.
The plot really gets rolling when Tom Cruise is spotted in the packing center of the candy factory preparing fudge for shipment. If you know “South Park,” then you know where this is heading. I will explain a little more for the rest of you.
Although he was clearly packing fudge, Tom took serious offense to being called a “fudge packer.” If you still don’t get the joke, congratulations – you’re more mature than me.
In true Hollywood fashion, Tom Cruise decides that only way to stop the ridicule is to sue the whole town of South Park.
Gathering all the celebrities that “South Park” has made fun of over the years, (from Bono to Sheen, Mel Gibson to Paris Hilton) he turns his lawsuit into a class-action suit against the entire town.
Knowing the town’s best lawyers don’t stand a chance against the lawyers of Hollywood elite, the people of South Park must resort to negotiations to get the celebrities to drop their suit.
It is revealed that the celebrities don’t really want money; after all, they are Hollywood elite and have all the money they want.
What they really want is to meet Mohammed, the prophet of Islam. This turns out to be quite the task since Mohammed cannot be portrayed in anyway without violence erupting. However, this is precisely why the celebrities want him.
They want to steal his “goo” with the hope that this will stop ridicule of them the way censors basically banned any depictions of Mohammed to avoid violence in the Muslim communities and countries.
The celebrities are not the only ones with plans for Mohammed. The members of the Ginger Brigade also have their own plans for the Mohammed.
They threaten to blow up South Park if Mohammed is turned over to the celebrities and the celebrities enlist their own big guns in the form of a rebuilt Mecha-Streisand.
The sub-plot of this episode involves Cartman’s renewed search for his father after he gets word that his mother is not, in fact, both his mother and his father. His quest for answers provokes a much-appreciated return of Mr. Hat.
My biggest complaint with this episode is the cliffhanger ending. I know it is an ode to past episodes and a jab at conventional cliffhangers, but do we really need to do the whole “Your father is…” storyline again. In the words of Stan, “You just rehashing the same old…”
Overall, while not a letdown, this milestone episode only gets an 8 out of 10 when compared to the best “South Park” has dished out over the past 13 seasons.
Be the first to comment on this article!