So, did Matt Stone and Trey Parker actually make another episode featuring Muhammed with a big, anti-censorship speech at the end, or did they make one, long free speech satire? Pop over to the South Park Studios website and you'll get an equally ambiguous message about them not being able to stream their "uncensored" version of the episode "201". I wouldn't put it beyond those guys to play such a massive practical joke. They've certainly pulled off bigger pranks in the past. If Comedy Central did in fact censor large chunks of the episode, then we truly are living in an absurd era. Also, should South Park Studios get the opportunity to webcast the potentially mythical uncut version, it'll be another nail in the coffin of television as a viable medium. TV with its reliance on big-name sponsors and corporate committee thinking is on the wrong side of the free speech debate, which in a just society wouldn't be a debate at all. Yet here we are, watching a bunch of cartoon characters doing excessively silly things next to a man-sized censorship box while spouting bleeps covering up the most common name in the entire world.

The key scene in "201" is when the boys are standing in Dr. Mephisto's lab and Cartman says something along the lines of "I bet people care a lot more about who my father is than they do about (bleeped) Muhammed." For the overwhelming majority of viewers, I'm pretty sure that was true. So, to put things in perspective, there was more dramatic weight in a rehash of an absurd story from a cartoon that aired thirteen years ago than there was in the nonsensical application of a religious figure.

So, why all the censorship, if not as an elaborate joke? Because some guy on the Internet made non-specific threats against Trey Parker and Matt Stone, so Comedy Central castrated the episode. Now, there are people in our own country who support mass murder and they're smiling because, once again, terrorism worked.

As for the rest of the episode, I suppose it was all just a massive pile of kindling on top of the central fire of the controversy. Basically, Parker and Stone were saying, "Look, we're the guys who make juvenile jokes about Barbara Streisand's vagina and mass conspiracies perpetrated by red-haired children. Getting uppity about religious controversy is really beside the point."

It's only a matter of time before productions like South Park leave the confines of television altogether. Even if the censorship of "201" was Parker and Stone's intention from the beginning, it still proves the point. If they can already stream high-quality versions of their episodes at impressive speeds, which they do every week, what's the point of maintaining a relationship with a network that doesn't respect their art?

Best Moment: Poor Pip. First he gets shoved aside for new characters and now they've just killed him off completely. It was nice of them to recognize that, though.

Notes: So, Cartman's dad is Scott Tennerman's dad. Am I the only one who wished it was Mitch Conner instead?

Episode Rating: 4/5 (for both). The callbacks to previous episodes were fun and the Mecha-Streisand duet with Krishna-as-Neil-Diamond was awesome if only because describing it creates some really funny sentences. What makes "200" and "201" more than just fan service is the effectiveness of the commentary. Whether it's a joke or genuine network meddling, the point is clear.