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Because Comedy Central decided to prohibit depictions of Muhammad on South Park, we don’t know whether similar critical praise would be had. But, it’s something worth thinking about.

*If this was the case, then it was widely unreported by the mainstream media.

Nothing is sacred on South Park. So, where’s the line?

With Apologies to Jesse Jackson only scrapes the surface of what Parker and Stone have covered through 14 years of South Park. Here’s a short list of other “offenses” – all of which aired censor-free on Comedy Central:

• 200/201: Buddha does lines of coke in the presence of anyone who cares to watch.
  
  
• Trapped in the Closet: Scientology is dubbed a “big fat global scam,” and secret church information, which is usually revealed to members who make sizable contributions to the Church of Scientology, is leaked. The episode also parodies rumors of Tom Cruise’s sexual orientation.
  
  
• Krazy Kripples: Christopher Reeves cracks open fetuses and sucks out their juices.
  
  
• Le Petit Tourette: Cartman fakes having Tourette’s syndrome so he can say whatever he wants.
  
  
• Bloody Mary: A statue of the Virgin Mary bleeds from its vagina.
  
  
• Tonsil Trouble: Cartman is accidentally infected with HIV and intentionally infects Kyle with it.
  
  
• The China Probrem: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg rape Indiana Jones/Harrison Ford.
  
  
• Cripple Fight: Timmy, who is mentally handicapped and uses a motorized wheelchair, and Jimmy, who requires crutches to walk, get in a fight that lasts about five minutes.
  
  
• Hell on Earth 2006: The late Steve Irwin shows up to a party with a stingray barb protruding from his chest.
  
  
• Scott Tenorman Must Die: Cartman feeds the titular character chili made from his parent’s remains.
  
  
• It Hits the Fan: The word “shit” is said 162 times.

South Park put Comedy Central on the map

Perhaps Comedy Central is forgetting one very important detail: South Park brought Comedy Central into the mainstream.





Prior to the show’s premiere in 1997, Comedy Central was probably best known for developing Politically Incorrect, a talk show hosted by Bill Maher that later shifted to ABC. Other than that, the network mostly aired comedy movies, sitcom reruns, stand-up clip shows and cult hit Mystery Science Theater 3000.

South Park, the first major cable show with a TV-MA rating, scored record ratings for the cable channel. By the seventh episode of the series’ debut season, South Park hit viewership levels that were 633% higher than the network’s primetime average. Commercial prices jumped, too. South Park commanded ad fees that were four times greater than the network’s highest-priced commercial six months before
the show’s debut.

One could make a strong argument championing the fact that profits from South Park begot Chappelle’s Show, Reno 911!, any program, really, that premiered after South Park. Without question, the series pumped serious money into the network’s development pool, enabling Comedy Central to become a major player on cable.

If any series should be guaranteed a free pass by Comedy Central – a luxury, of course, that all of its programming should be assured, especially if it’s satire – it’s South Park.

Fortunately for Parker and Stone, waves of support have filtered in from everything from programs on Comedy Central (The Daily Show) to shows on other networks (The Simpsons). On April 22nd, Daily Show host Jon Stewart satirized Comedy Central’s decision to ban Muhammad during a 10-minute analysis, complete with a compilation of Daily Show clips that mocked various religions without censorship. Similarly, in the opening sequence to the April 25th episode of The Simpsons, Bart wrote “South Park – We’d Stand Beside You If We Weren’t So Scared” on the school chalkboard.

The first half of South Park’s 14th season concluded Wednesday night in Crippled Summer, an episode that revolved around two handicapped characters, Jimmy and Timmy, who embark on a trip to summer camp. The season’s second half will likely return in October. The question is: Will Parker and Stone address their grievances with Comedy Central in that batch of episodes (a la 30 Rock’s constant jabs at NBC) or soldier on without incident?

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