When a show has been on for a really long time, it's probably doing more service to its long-standing fans than to newcomers. Even shows like South Park that have no obligation to continuity whatsoever get more mileage out of giving existing fans the nod of an inside joke than they do by coddling the uninitiated. So, when Trey Parker and Matt Stone saw that they were coming up on their 200th episode, they ultimately decided to reward those who have stuck with the series from the very beginning. This week's episode is primarily a series of references to various points across the show's history, but it goes a little farther than that.

It all starts at a local candy factory where the 4th graders of South Park Elementary are on a field trip. We get an indication of what awaits us when Stan complains that Kyle and Cartman are just rehashing old material in their arguments. Before long, they stumble across none other than actor Tom Cruise, who is inexplicably working in the candy factory as, well, a literal fudge packer. When the kids start pestering him, Cruise decides to sue the entire town of South Park for ridicule, calling upon an army of celebrities to enter into his class action lawsuit. Before long, the episode is populated with familiar faces from throughout South Park's fourteen year history of lampooning the rich and famous.

Ah, but it doesn't end there. In typical tangential fashion, the real story involves a convoluted plot spearheaded by Cruise and previous satire target Rob Reiner to steal the magical anti-ridicule powers from the prophet Muhammed. Back in 2001 during its fifth season, South Park aired its epic "Super Best Friends" episode that served as one of the show's many volleys against organized religion. During that episode, Muhammed was only referenced, not depicted. The show would perform a similar joke five years later in the two-part "Cartoon Wars" episode, putting a finer point on the way various media self-censor for fear of Muslim extremism whenever Muhammed is the subject. In the second part of "Cartoon Wars", Comedy Central actually did censor the animated depiction of Muhammed, which was kind of a win/win as the network got to avoid any "insensitivity" flack while South Park got to retain its street cred.

Well, in an episode that consists almost entirely of rehashed jokes, Parker and Stone really milked this Muhammed business. The prophet spent the entire episode in the back of a U-Haul truck and in a silly mascot uniform while the town gets terrorized by powerful celebrities and ginger extremists first galvanized by Cartman several years ago. And because apparently that's not enough, they've re-opened the "who is Cartman's father?" plot by suggesting that the hermaphrodite conclusion of the original Season 2 cliffhanger was a lie. Really, I should be more pissed off about this than I am. For all its old jokes, tarted-up visuals and fan service, "200" was actually pretty entertaining. What can I say? I like South Park when it's being silly and over-the-top.

Best Moment: Buddha doing cocaine in the Super Best Friends HQ.

Notes: Thanks, TV. You've once again done your best to make me feel old.

Episode Rating: I'm saving this one for the conclusion, if indeed we get one. I would actually be happier to see this mess of cliffhangers never resolved and completely ignored, but I don't know if Parker and Stone would actually do that.