Sci-Fi News and Reviews

"South Park" Scientology Battle Just A Stunt To Make Us Watch?

I can think of no better way to draw viewers (old fans and newbies) to watch the season premiere of a long running series than to create a massive among of buzz just days beforehand.

Is your head spinning yet with all of the "South Park" stories? At last count, we've got: Isaac Hayes quitting the show, rumor that the Cruise camp was responsible for getting the re-rerun of the "Trapped in the Closet" episode yanked last week, an online petition to protest Comedy Central's pulling of the episode, Matt and Trey issuing a nutty statement saying that Scientology may have won "this round" but not the "war," Hayes' camp now saying he never quit, and an episode entitled "The Return of Chef" slated as the Season 10 premiere tonight.

The network is denying that Hayes' quitting was a publicity stunt but it certainly makes us suspicious, doesn't it?

Over the years, Matt and Trey have seemed to try to "one up" themselves with the episodes - to go a little farther each time. "Trapped in the Closet" did a pretty good job with that. Then, of course, there was the "Bloody Mary" episode that ended Season 9 - the one that included the Virgin Mary menstruating. The buzz surrounding that episode boosted ratings dramatically - all around the globe. When it aired in February in New Zealand (despite protests) about 210,000 viewers tuned in - up from it's normal viewership of 30,000.

Did Matt, Trey and Comedy Central hatch a new plan? One that would get everybody to tune in to tonight's episode? Some rumors say that Chef's lines will be spliced from old episodes using Hayes' voice. Others say that it'll be a new voice entirely. According to TV.com, the storyline will go like this: "The citizens of South Park have been a bit down lately, but Chef's sudden return snaps them out of it. While Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are excited that Chef's returned, something seems different about him. When Chef finds himself in trouble thanks to his new ways, the boys will stop at nothing to save him."

All the speculation just adds more fuel to the fire. Even if tonight's episode is only mediocre, we'll still watch. Any way you slice it - publicity stunt or no - this works out beautifully for the show. Brilliant. Just brilliant. --Shannon Nolley

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Posted by Shannon on March 22, 2006 10:50 AM
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