Don't forget to set your TiVo, Tom.
I just love a Xenu joke. But, seriously, this just in from reader Ali Nagib:
I just noticed on my TiVo that it claims that Comedy Central will air "Trapped in the Closet" on July 19, in their usual "new" episode timeslot, at 10 and 12 PM Eastern. Go, Freedom! (I think)Great news, Ali! I went to Comedy Central's web site and it confirms your TiVo. The episode is scheduled for the 19th (immediately following "Casa Bonita," another great one), with a repeat the next day. Will Viacom and Comedy Central have the intestinal fortitude to follow through this time? Or will they cave again at the last minute and whisk the Emmy-nominated episode back into the Comedy Closet, along with Tom Cruise, John Travolta and R. Kelly? We shall see, we shall see... Meanwhile, set your TiVos!
UPDATE (07/12/06):Check out this story at E!Online, "Airwaves Again Safe for 'South Park' Scientology Spoof":
"If they hadn't put this episode back on the air, we'd have had serious issues, and we wouldn't be doing anything else with them," cocreator Matt Stone tells Variety....Have the evildoers been vanquished? Here's hoping...While Comedy Central failed to publicly disclose its reasons for yanking the program (which is also credited for leading Scientologist Isaac Hayes to jump ship as the longtime voice of Chef), creators Stone and Trey Parker didn't shy away from broadcasting what they claimed was the network-sanctioned reason.
As the conspiracy theory goes, the Cruise's camp had a hand in deep-sixing the episode, with the litigious actor reportedly threatening threatened to pull out of promotional duties for "Mission: Impossible III." (Viacom is the parent company for both Comedy Central and Paramount, the studio that was releasing Cruise's film.)
Cruise's reps vehemently denied such allegations, but the "South Park" brain trust stuck by its guns.
"I only know what we were told, that people involved with 'M:I:III' wanted the episode off the air and that is why Comedy Central had to do it," Stone says in Variety. "I don't know why else it would have been pulled."
Now, Cruise's saturation-level publicity tour is over (and proved fairly ineffective, with the sequel grossing a disappointing $133 million domestically) and he is apparently in hiding with his new baby.
I absolutely love the fact that "Trapped in the Closet" is an entire category on its own on the Scanners blog.
Not as much as I love Xenu, the Plunderer of Worlds, of course...
In related news, with, as far as I know, absolutely no hubbub, Houston's WB replayed the "Super Best Friends" episode last night. That is the one where Muhammed appears as a superhero alongside Jesus, Buddha, and others. In addition, the Blainologists are reminiscent of Scientologists, trying to achieve tax-exempt status. I assumed that episode would never again see the light of day and distrusted my channel guide, but there it was. I'm not sure who made the decision to allow it to air, but whoever it was has my admiration.
According to the Comedy Central website, "Bloody Mary" is scheduled to re-air August 2.
JE: Woo-hoo! I wonder if Trey and Matt finally put their foot (feet?) down -- as they suggested in the story above, when they said they told Comedy Central to put "Trapped in the Closet" back on the air or they weren't interested in continuing to do business with them. Hey, the "marketplace" works both ways...