Cartoon Wars Part I

Plot

The townspeople of South Park panic late one night upon learning that a cartoon will air an episode featuring Muhammad as a character. Fearing an Islamic terrorist attack, everyone hides in the Community Center, and Randy announces the cartoon is Family Guy. The next morning, relief spreads when no attack occurs and Fox censored the image of Muhammad at the last minute. Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman go to Kyle's house to watch the Family Guy episode.

The scene shows the Family Guy cast discussing Lois's embarrassment after Peter invites his ex-girlfriend to dinner, interspersed with cutaway gags such as Peter auditioning to be David Hasselhoff's car in Knight Rider and Peter selling pancakes to Captain Kirk. Brian reminds the family of a time Peter and Muhammad bought "Mr. T Tea" together. The boys are perplexed that the scene could be considered offensive, though Cartman declares it "not cool."

The other boys question Cartman, noting his own offensive humor resembles Family Guy's, but Cartman argues he is one boy while Family Guy reaches millions. He asks Kyle if he would tolerate similar jokes about Judaism, then storms off. Kyle's father Gerald enters and smashes the television with a baseball bat, and Sheila scolds the boys before suggesting Muslim sensitivity training. At school, Mrs. Garrison lectures that Muslims are upset due to prohibitions on pre-marital sex and masturbation, living in arid regions, and acting out of sexual frustration and jealousy toward the West.

Production

Series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone encountered difficulties with Comedy Central during production of "Cartoon Wars Part I" and its sequel. They originally intended these episodes to open season ten, but Comedy Central did not approve the depiction of Muhammad, forcing a postponement. The season instead began with "The Return of Chef" after former actor Isaac Hayes criticized South Park. As Parker and Stone continued work, the dispute remained unresolved, so the story was split into two parts to allow further negotiations.

In the audio commentary, Parker and Stone stated they dislike Family Guy but do not believe it should be taken off the air, criticizing its reliance on interchangeable, plot-irrelevant jokes. They noted that the subtitles beneath Ayman al-Zawahiri in the episode describe the jokes as interchangeable and irrelevant to the plot, and Cartman claims Family Guy has "one interchangeable joke after another." Parker and Stone later called the Family Guy writers "smart" but criticized their overuse of gag humor.

After the episode aired, staff from The Simpsons and King of the Hill contacted Parker and Stone to praise the lampooning of Family Guy; Parker said The Simpsons staff hate Family Guy more than they do, and King of the Hill staff called it "God's work." The depictions of Bart Simpson and King of the Hill's writing staff in "Cartoon Wars Part II" were influenced by these contacts. Parker and Stone expressed disappointment that viewers focused on trivial aspects rather than the Muhammad plot elements. The season fourteen episodes "200" and "201" also involve Muhammad and censorship, generating controversy.

Reception

Eric Goldman of IGN rated the episode 7.0 out of 10, praising the depiction of Family Guy and the cliffhanger ending. The A.V. Club's Noel Murray, in an analysis of episodes exemplifying television's unique spirit, praised the episode and its sequel as examples of Parker and Stone's ability to satirize media while producing quality episodes amid controversy. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane called the episode "funny and accurate."

Did You Know?

• The episode was released on a three-disc DVD set for season ten on August 21, 2007, with audio commentaries by Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
• It was also included in the 2008 DVD compilation The Cult of Cartman, which collects Cartman-centric episodes.