Posts: 1631 Location: Rockville, IA Joined: 24.06.05
The 201st episode of the Comedy Central series South Park, which aired April 21, featured a great reference to The Killing Joke. When Cartman is led into a showdown with an old enemy, he finds himself placed on a tormenting roller coaster ride similar to what Commissioner Gordon experienced at the hands of the Joker. The scene doesn’t last too long, but it sure what a fun surprise to me. The carnival theme got my attention, but I didn’t actually think it was a Batman reference until I saw the vibrant pink and yellow lighting and, finally, Cartman being placed on a roller coaster.
If you didn’t record the episode, you may have a hard time finding it. Comedy Central heavily censored “201” and only aired it once, with no plans of airing it again. This is due to its strong religious controversy over the depiction of the Muslim prophet Mohammad. The whole situation is idiotic considering they featured a superhero version of Mohammad in the 2001 episode “Super Best Friends” (a Super Friends parody) to no backlash. But since controversies in 2005 and 2007 that resulted in Muslim extremist rioting and death threats, Comedy Central caved in.
You can read all about “201” on its Wikipedia article HERE, plus see Mohammad as he appeared in “Super Best Friends.” I would also link to BYTB's Killing Joke page, but I can't find it...
UPDATE: Added screen grabs and comic panels for comparison. I just took photos since, well, I didn't want to try scanning a squarebound book.
Posts: 1631 Location: Rockville, IA Joined: 24.06.05
UPDATE: For those interested, I took some photos from both the "201" episode and The Killing Joke. Pretty cool to compare the two and notice the mirrored shots.
RE: South Park References The Killing Joke in "201" (Added Screen Grabs) -
Posted on 02-05-2010 15:24
Posts: 1631 Location: Rockville, IA Joined: 24.06.05
Razhwurz wrote:
I kinda wish I'd seen this episode, but I think I was watching hockey that night and I didn't realize SP was on lol.
I think you can watch it on YouTube. I noticed someone has it broken into three parts. Try this link.
Razhwurz wrote:
Also, is it just me or is this the EXACT same situation from the Cartoon Wars episode, but for real?
Yeah, it's basically the same concept as "Cartoon Wars" but in a way that reflects on the history of the South Park series. Although, it's one of two plots within the episode; the other involves Cartman, which is where the Killing Joke reference comes in. To be honest, I'm skeptical as to whether or not Comedy Central censored it against the will of South Park Studios. To me, it seems as though it were meant to be so heavily censored and that the whole thing could be a publicity stunt. If the network really did censor it against the studios' wishes, they're a bunch of cowards.
RE: South Park References The Killing Joke in "201" (Added Screen Grabs) -
Posted on 06-05-2010 14:01
Razhwurz wrote:
I kinda wish I'd seen this episode, but I think I was watching hockey that night and I didn't realize SP was on lol.
I think you can watch it on YouTube. I noticed someone has it broken into three parts. Try this link.
Razhwurz wrote:
Also, is it just me or is this the EXACT same situation from the Cartoon Wars episode, but for real?
Yeah, it's basically the same concept as "Cartoon Wars" but in a way that reflects on the history of the South Park series. Although, it's one of two plots within the episode; the other involves Cartman, which is where the Killing Joke reference comes in. To be honest, I'm skeptical as to whether or not Comedy Central censored it against the will of South Park Studios. To me, it seems as though it were meant to be so heavily censored and that the whole thing could be a publicity stunt. If the network really did censor it against the studios' wishes, they're a bunch of cowards.
yeah, that's what I've been thinking. But the fact that Comedy Central released an announcement means either it truly was censored, or the channel's in on the publicity stunt
Never start with the head; the victim gets all fuzzy!
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