200 (South Park)

"200" is the fifth episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series '' South Park'', and the 200th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 14, 2010. In the episode, Tom Cruise and all other celebrities who have been mocked by residents of South Park in the past plan to file a class action lawsuit against the town, but Cruise promises to end the lawsuit if the town can get the Islamic prophet Muhammad to meet him.

The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. To celebrate their landmark episode, Parker and fellow series co-creator Matt Stone combined many of ''South Park''s past storylines and controversies. The Muhammad subplot, similar to the one previously featured in the season 10 episode " Cartoon Wars", refers to Comedy Central's past refusal to allow images of Muhammad to be shown on the network in response to the riots and threats generated from controversial cartoons in 2005 and 2007 of Muhammad in European newspapers.

"200" includes many celebrities that have been mocked in previous episodes, including Cruise, Rob Reiner, Steven Spielberg, Kanye West, Paris Hilton, George Lucas, Mel Gibson and Barbra Streisand. An additional subplot includes Cartman learning he may not know the true identity of his father. The season 2 episode "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut" claimed that Cartman's hermaphrodite mother is his father, but the events of "200" and 201 (South Park), the subsequent episode reveal that this is not the case.

"200" received mostly positive reviews. According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by 3.33 million viewers, making it the most watched cable television program of the night. Both "200" and the sequel episode "201" were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 2010.
Within a week of the episode's original broadcast date, the website for the radical Muslim organization Revolution Muslim posted an entry warning Parker and Stone that they risked being murdered for airing the episode, which several media outlets and observers interpreted as a threat. As a result, Comedy Central heavily censored portions of "201" by removing references to Muhammad and the episode's closing speech. The episode was rated TV-MA L in the United States.

Plot

While on a school field trip to a candy factory, Butters spots actor Tom Cruise working there, packing fudge into boxes. Stan, who previously told Cruise that his acting is not as good as others' in "Trapped in the Closet", accidentally insults him again by calling him a " fudge packer," as Cruise claims to be fly fishing. Cruise then recruits 200 other celebrities who have been ridiculed by the town of South Park to bring a class action lawsuit against the town. Stan returns to the factory with his father Randy to try to apologize and convince Cruise to drop the suit, but also finds it difficult not to call him a fudge packer as well since he was literally packing fudge while they spoke. An angry Cruise agrees to do so, but only if they can help Cruise meet Muhammad. This causes an uproar because depictions of Muhammad are forbidden, and the townsfolk fear that forcing Muhammad to appear in public will drive Muslim radicals to bomb the town. Stan and Kyle go to the Super Best Friends, a squad of superhero-like religious figures (Jesus Christ, Gautama Buddha, Moses, Krishna, Laozi, Joseph Smith and "Seaman") of which Muhammad is a member, to request he return with them to South Park. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Cruise and the other celebrities only want Muhammad for his "goo," as Rob Reiner, previously shown to be filled with "goo" in " Butt Out," has invented a machine to transfer Muhammad's "goo" to the celebrities, which they believe will make them immune to ridicule, just like Muhammad.

By this time, Cartman arrives with "Mitch Conner," a face painted on his hand as one-half of a ventriloquist act. Previously, Connor had successfully impersonated actress Jennifer Lopez in " Fat Butt and Pancake Head," and now Cartman and Connor return to the Lopez imitation in order to get involved in the lawsuit along with the other celebrities. Connor soon secretly convinces Cartman that they should steal Muhammad's goo for themselves to sell on the black market for more than the lawsuit could offer. Meanwhile, Kyle and Stan convince the Super Best Friends to let Muhammad come to town, but only if he stays in the back of a U-Haul truck and is not seen. When the townspeople realize they must bring Muhammad to Cruise's limo, they allegedly put him inside a bear mascot outfit. South Park is about to give Muhammad to the celebrities when the exchange is interrupted by a bomb planted by the Ginger Kids, a group of fair-skinned, red-haired children who are tired of being made fun of for their physical appearance. The Gingers want Muhammad for themselves, hoping to use his goo for their own means. They threaten to blow up the town if Muhammad is not turned over to them.

The people of South Park decide to turn Muhammad over to the Gingers, fearing the violence that will befall their town if they do not. The celebrities are angered by this change in events, but refuse to resort to violence for fear of ruining their careers. Instead, the celebrities decide to awaken the rebuilt Mecha-Streisand, a giant mechanical monster form of Barbra Streisand, who previously terrorized the town of South Park before being destroyed. The celebrities hope to use Mecha-Streisand to force South Park to accept their demands. Meanwhile, due to the chain of events, Cartman decides Connor's scheme has become too complicated and tries to quit, but Connor convinces him to stay involved by revealing that the townspeople of South Park have lied to him about his true father. Although they previously claimed his hermaphroditic mother was his father, Connor insists this is a lie. Cartman confronts his school teacher Mr. Garrison and Garrison's old hand puppet Mr. Hat, who admits to Cartman there was indeed a cover-up. The Gingers are given Muhammad, but they demand he come out of his bear outfit. Mecha-Streisand roars threateningly as the episode ends on a cliffhanger, setting the stage for 201.

Production

Written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker, "200" was rated TV-MA L in the United States. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 14, 2010. It was the 200th episode of the series. Parker and fellow co-creator Matt Stone conceive, write and produce most ''South Park'' episodes within a week of their broadcast date in order to maintain a sense of energy and timeliness. The idea for "200", however, was conceived before the fourteenth season began in March 2010, and before any of the season fourteen episodes that preceded it were conceived. While trying to decide how to celebrate the 200th episode, Parker and Stone started reviewing the plots and controversies of previous episodes, many of which had a common thread of mocking a particular celebrity. This led to the idea of the having all the celebrities band together in a class action lawsuit against the town. Parker said their reactions mirrored the real-life reactions some of the celebrities had to their portrayals, adding, "If they could join forces, they probably would."

Stone said in writing the episode, they were determined not to produce a clip show, but to merge all of the old ideas into a new, original script. The process proved challenging for the duo because it involved incorporating many ideas, subplots and characters into a single episode. Parker and Stone included a joke about this process at the start of the episode, when Cartman and Kyle are fighting with each other, and Stan accuses them of just "rehashing a bunch of old stuff". In honor of the 200th episode, the website SouthPark200.com was launched, offering a forum to fans to post their congratulations to ''South Park'' and view those posted by others. Various people have contributed to the site, including the creators of the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (who used the opportunity to revisit another previous ''South Park'' theme, the episode "Simpsons Already Did It", saying "We already roduced 200 episodes Twice." ), members of the rock band Rush and Denver Nuggets basketball player Chauncey Billups. The site also includes congratulations from ''All in the Family'' creator Norman Lear, who guest-starred in the 100th episode " I'm a Little Bit Country", and figure skater Brian Boitano, who was featured in the song " What Would Brian Boitano Do?" in the 1999 film '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut''.

Theme

Muhammad subplot

"200" features jokes and references to past ''South Park'' episodes, storylines, characters and controversies. The episode revolves heavily around efforts to bring Muhammad into public view. This is based on two past controversies in 2005 (Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy) and 2007 (Lars Vilks Muhammad drawings controversy), when European newspapers published cartoons of Muhammad, which was responded to with reactions of violent riots, global protests and death threats toward the artists. As a result of those incidents, many publications and television studios have refused to broadcast images of Muhammad whatsoever, which was the inspiration behind the Tom Cruise character's efforts in the episode to harvest Muhammad's apparent immunity to satire and ridicule. Parker and Stone addressed the Muhammad issue in their two-part tenth season episode " Cartoon Wars", during which they attempt to show an image of the prophet, only to reveal that Comedy Central has forbidden any such image from being broadcast on their network. However, Muhammad had already been featured on-screen in the fifth season episode " Super Best Friends", in which he is among a band of religious figures modeled after the superheroes in the ''Super Friends'' cartoons from the 1970s and 1980s. (The Super Best Friends are featured once again in "200".) The episode "Super Best Friends" aired in 2001, before the Jyllands-Posten and Vilks controversies. Stan makes reference to that past use of Muhammad's image in "200" by saying of Muhammad, "I saw him once...a while ago..." This reference was purposely included to reflect the irony that an image that was previously not a problem had suddenly become an issue due to new circumstances. Stone said, "Something that was OK is now not OK, and that's just fucked up." The "Super Best Friends" episode continues to be run uncensored by Comedy Central in repeats, even though new images of Muhammad remained prohibited.

Additionally, Muhammad has long been featured as one of the many characters shown in an image of dozens of South Park residents during the show's opening credits. That image, however, has gone largely unnoticed, and thus has not drawn much controversy. When asked whether they feared retribution for mocking Muhammad, Parker said, "We'd be so hypocritical against our own thoughts, if we said, 'Okay, well let's not make fun of them because they might hurt us. Okay, we'll rip on the Catholics because they won't hurt us, but we won't rip on uslimsbecause they might hurt us.'" The Muhammad subplot in "200", like the "Cartoon Wars" episodes, advocates for free speech and speaks out against censorship, both of Muhammad's image and any subject considered taboo. "200" also demonstrates the double standard in the handling of offensive images of Muhammad and other religious figures, particularly in the scene in which Muhammad is censored altogether, but Buddhism founder Gautama Buddha is shown snorting cocaine in front of the South Park children. The extreme measures the South Park boys go to in order to conceal Muhammad, like hiding him in a window-less truck and dressing him as a mascot, demonstrate the absurdity of the fear in showing the prophet, as does the fear of retaliation that the South Park residents show after Randy draws a stick figure-like drawing of him, which is not censored.

Celebrities

"200" includes many celebrities that have been mocked in previous episodes. One of the most prominently parodied is Tom Cruise, who was the center of the ninth season episode "Trapped in the Closet". Cruise spent much of that episode hiding in a closet, a reference to rumors about his sexuality. In "200", he is found working in a fudge factory as a "fudge packer", a reference to alleged homosexuality. The episode also reveals Cruise's house consists mostly of closets, a reference to both homosexuality and the original episode in which Cruise was mocked. Other celebrities mocked in "200" include:

* Actor Ben Affleck ("How to Eat with Your Butt", " Fat Butt and Pancake Head")
* Film director Michael Bay (" Imaginationland Episode I", Cartmanland)
* Pope Benedict XVI ("Bloody Mary", " Fantastic Easter Special")
* al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden ("Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants")
* Magician David Blaine (" Super Best Friends")
* U2 vocalist Bono (" More Crap")
* Singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett (" Tonsil Trouble")
* Politician Hillary Clinton ("The Snuke")
* Lawyer Johnnie Cochran ("Chef Aid")
* Singer/songwriter Phil Collins ("Timmy 2000")
* Politician Gary Condit ("Butters' Very Own Episode")
* Comedian Bill Cosby (" Trapper Keeper", " Here Comes the Neighborhood", "Clubhouses")
* Actor Russell Crowe ("The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer")
* Actor Michael Douglas ("Sexual Healing")
* Actor David Duchovny ("Sexual Healing")
* Subway spokesman Jared Fogle ("Jared Has Aides")
* Film character Indiana Jones (" The China Probrem")
* Actor Mel Gibson (" The Passion of the Jew, Imaginationland")
* Television host Kathie Lee Gifford ("Weight Gain 4000")
* Socialite Paris Hilton (" Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset")
* Wildlife expert Steve Irwin ("Hell on Earth 2006", " Prehistoric Ice Man")
* Politician Jesse Jackson ("With Apologies to Jesse Jackson")
* Singer Michael Jackson (" Dead Celebrities, The Jeffersons")
* Actress Angelina Jolie ("Lice Capades")
* Talk show host David Letterman ("Sexual Healing")
* Film director George Lucas (" Free Hat", " The China Probrem")
* Actress Liza Minnelli (" Freak Strike")
* Disney mascot Mickey Mouse (" The Ring")
* Actress and television host Rosie O'Donnell (" Trapper Keeper")
* Singer and activist Yoko Ono (" World Wide Recorder Concert")
* Actress Sarah Jessica Parker (" The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs")
* Actor and film director Robert Redford (" Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls")
* Film director Rob Reiner (" Butt Out")
* Actor Michael Richards ("With Apologies to Jesse Jackson")
* Actress Winona Ryder ('' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'')
* Actor and television host Bob Saget ("Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut")
* Actor Fred Savage (" Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls")
* Actor Charlie Sheen ("Sexual Healing")
* Actress Brooke Shields (''South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut'')
* Film director M. Night Shyamalan (" Imaginationland Episode I")
* Actor and retired football player O. J. Simpson ("Butters' Very Own Episode")
* Actor and rapper Will Smith (" Here Comes the Neighborhood")
* Film director Steven Spielberg ("Cripple Fight", "Free Hat", "The China Probrem")
* Singer Britney Spears (" Britney's New Look")
* Television host Martha Stewart ("Eat, Pray, Queef", "Red Hot Catholic Love")
* Actress Sally Struthers (" Starvin' Marvin", " Mecha-Streisand", " Starvin' Marvin in Space", "The Death of Eric Cartman")
* Actor Billy Bob Thornton ("Sexual Healing")
* Actor John Travolta ("The Entity", "Trapped in the Closet")
* Animal rights/Environmental activist Paul Watson ("Whale Whores")
* Rapper Kanye West (" Fishsticks")
* Talk show host Oprah Winfrey (" Here Comes the Neighborhood", " A Million Little Fibers")
* Golf pro Tiger Woods ("Sexual Healing")

Near the end of "200", the celebrities seek assistance from singer and actress Barbra Streisand, who resembles a giant two-legged mechanical monster. This is a reference to Streisand's appearance in the first-season episode " Mecha-Streisand", in which she transforms into a monster in the style of Mechagodzilla from the Godzilla franchise. The Mecha-Streisand featured in "200" is designed with more sophisticated computer imagery than the original, which was a simple cut-out style cartoon like the rest of ''South Park''. Although Parker and Stone have maintained that most of the celebrities they mock in ''South Park'' are chosen at random, with no personal animosity behind it, Barbra Streisand is one of the few they actively and vehemently dislike. Streisand, in turn, has been critical of ''South Park'' and her portrayal in it, and has accused the show of adding "to the cynicism and negativity in our culture, especially in children".

Cartman's father

The episode ends with a cliffhanger involving Cartman's father. The identity of Cartman's father made up a major plot point at the end of the first season, culminating in the second season episode "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut", in which it is revealed Cartman's mother, Liane Cartman, is a hermaphrodite and, in fact, is Cartman's father. "200" is the first episode to return to the matter and suggest this was not the actual truth. Throughout the episode, Cartman uses a hand-puppet con-artist named Mitch Conner, who had, presumably, just been made up by Cartman in trying to fool Kyle in the seventh-season episode " Fat Butt and Pancake Head", resuming his role in pretending to be Jennifer Lopez and utilizing many offensive Hispanic stereotypes in his portrayal of her. The hand puppet portrayal is very similar to the work of Spanish ventriloquist Señor Wences

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