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Bloody Mary (South Park)
Encyclopedia
"Bloody Mary" is the fourteenth episode of the ninth season
of the series South Park
. It originally aired on Comedy Central
in the United States
on December 7, 2005. In the episode, Randy drives drunk
and loses his driver's license. He then forced to go to Alcoholics Anonymous
meetings, where he learns that his alcoholism
is a potentially fatal disease. Meanwhile, the Virgin Mary
starts bleeding "out its ass" and Randy believes that he can be "cured" if the statue bleeds on him.
"Bloody Mary" was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker
and was rated TV-MA in the United States. This is only the second time in the history of the series that a season finale was aired in December but was not a Christmas
-themed episode.
, Cartman
, Kyle
and Ike attend karate
class while Stan's dad Randy goes for a couple of drinks. After class, an inebriated Randy drives the boys home, but he gets pulled over and arrested for drunk driving. Randy gets his license revoked and is ordered to perform community service and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous
, where he is taught that he is powerless to control his drinking and that alcoholism is a disease. It also calls for him to surrender himself to a "Higher Power
" in order to get better. Randy, whom Stan describes as a "hypochondriac", then ironically begins to drink more, since he has decided that he is in fact powerless to control it and cannot stop. Around this time, a statue of the Virgin Mary
begins to bleed "out its ass" and people begin to flock around it to find a cure for their diseases. Randy believes it can heal him of his disease.
Randy has Stan drive him to the church where the statue is, and—after cutting in line, arguing that his "disease" is worse than that of others—he is drenched in the holy blood. He jumps up and declares that he will not drink any more (ostensibly because the bleeding statue is his "Higher Power
"), and abstains from alcohol for five days.
The new Pope Benedict XVI
comes to investigate, and discovers that the blood is not actually coming from the statue's anus
, but its vagina
. Since "chicks bleed out their vaginas all the time
", this is no miracle (despite the fact that the statue is actually bleeding in the first place), and Randy, realizing this, suddenly realizes God
did not heal him. He at first declares himself powerless again, and all the other recovering alcoholics follow suit and rush to the bar. Stan then makes him realize that if God did not help him, he must have done it himself. Randy then declares that he will never drink again, but Stan objects to this too, saying that if Randy completely avoids drinking, drinking is still controlling his life, and that true discipline is figuring out how to live in moderation. Randy then puts Stan on his shoulders and walks home while the two discuss how much drinking would be proper.
, a Catholic observance related specifically to the Virgin Mary. The Catholic League
demanded an apology and that the episode "be permanently retired and not be made available on DVD
" and that Joseph A. Califano, Jr.
, a board member of Viacom
(the parent of Comedy Central
) and a practicing Catholic, issue a personal statement. Califano did later release a statement calling the episode an "appalling and disgusting portrayal of the Virgin Mary," and pledged to have it reviewed by Viacom's president and CEO, Tom Freston
. Bishop William Skylstad, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
, sent a letter to Freston saying the network showed "extreme insensitivity" when it aired the episode. When Comedy Central re-aired the episodes on December 28, 2005, "Bloody Mary" was absent from the broadcast. Comedy Central responded to e-mail inquiries about the fate of the episode with the assurance that "Bloody Mary" has not been retired and would not be pulled from the DVD release. Screen captures from the episode on Comedy Central's press site and the South Park section of comedycentral.com are absent.
In February 2006, leaders from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference, the Council of Christians and Muslims, and other religious groups together lobbied media conglomerate CanWest
to stop a planned airing of the episode in New Zealand
on the music channel C4. The network rejected the plea and said the episode would air as planned. Leading Catholic bishops then called for a boycott
of C4 and its sister network TV3
. CanWest again resisted and aired the episode sooner than planned to take advantage of the media attention. New Zealand's Prime Minister
Helen Clark
issued a statement saying the episode sounded "revolting," but that the network was free to air it. One advertiser withdrew his ads from CanWest's networks. Catholic group Family Life International set up a website for boycotting CanWest's other advertisers. Another company named C4 Productions, which has no links to the C4 music channel, applied for a court order on the eve of the airing to stop the episode citing damage to its business because it thought people would link it to the channel. The judge ruled against the order. C4 aired the episode on February 22, 2006 and drew 210,000 viewers, six times South Park's normal audience for the channel. After receiving 102 formal complaints from viewers, the network issued a statement a month later saying "…C4 acknowledges the strength of feeling in relation to the programme, and we sincerely apologize for any offence taken."
In June 2006 complaints received by New Zealand's Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) were rejected: The airing of the show was found to not be in breach of broadcasting standards. According to the BSA, "[b]ut showing disrespect does not amount to the sort of vicious or vitriolic attack normally associated with the denigration standard." They also said the episode was "of such a farcical, absurd and unrealistic nature that it did not breach standards of good taste and decency in the context in which it was offered". New Zealand Catholic bishops have decided to appeal the decision.
In February 2006, Archbishop
Denis Hart
in Melbourne
, Australia
wrote to television network SBS
asking them not to air the episode. The network's programming director originally rejected the request, but later decided to postpone the episode citing the controversy over the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons
. Instead, SBS ended up showing "Christian Rock Hard
". and decided to show the previous episode mentioned in late 2006, before screening starts of Season 10. The episode was, however shown on The Comedy Channel
, on August 30th 2006. one reason for this was that they could advertise that they had shown an Australian premiere South Park before SBS did.
On March 14, 2006, Rob Corddry
, reporting on Comedy Central's own The Daily Show
said:
The South Park clips shown while Corddry spoke included plenty of potentially offensive or risqué material (fornicating cats, a man vomiting and then falling in his own vomit, Butters
viewing two men having sex, etc.) but there was nothing from the "Bloody Mary" episode.
Like the "Trapped in the Closet" episode, "Bloody Mary" did return to the air, appearing on August 2, 2006 at 10 p.m.
South Park (season 9)
Season nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This season is home to two of the show's most controversial episodes : "Trapped in the Closet" Season nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This...
of the series South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
. It originally aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on December 7, 2005. In the episode, Randy drives drunk
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
and loses his driver's license. He then forced to go to Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
meetings, where he learns that his alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
is a potentially fatal disease. Meanwhile, the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
starts bleeding "out its ass" and Randy believes that he can be "cured" if the statue bleeds on him.
"Bloody Mary" was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
and was rated TV-MA in the United States. This is only the second time in the history of the series that a season finale was aired in December but was not a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
-themed episode.
Plot
StanStan Marsh
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
, Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
, Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
and Ike attend karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
class while Stan's dad Randy goes for a couple of drinks. After class, an inebriated Randy drives the boys home, but he gets pulled over and arrested for drunk driving. Randy gets his license revoked and is ordered to perform community service and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
, where he is taught that he is powerless to control his drinking and that alcoholism is a disease. It also calls for him to surrender himself to a "Higher Power
Higher Power
Higher Power is a term coined in the 1930s in Alcoholics Anonymous and is used in other twelve-step programs. It is also sometimes referred to as a power greater than ourselves and is frequently abbreviated to HP.-History:...
" in order to get better. Randy, whom Stan describes as a "hypochondriac", then ironically begins to drink more, since he has decided that he is in fact powerless to control it and cannot stop. Around this time, a statue of the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
begins to bleed "out its ass" and people begin to flock around it to find a cure for their diseases. Randy believes it can heal him of his disease.
Randy has Stan drive him to the church where the statue is, and—after cutting in line, arguing that his "disease" is worse than that of others—he is drenched in the holy blood. He jumps up and declares that he will not drink any more (ostensibly because the bleeding statue is his "Higher Power
Higher Power
Higher Power is a term coined in the 1930s in Alcoholics Anonymous and is used in other twelve-step programs. It is also sometimes referred to as a power greater than ourselves and is frequently abbreviated to HP.-History:...
"), and abstains from alcohol for five days.
The new Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
comes to investigate, and discovers that the blood is not actually coming from the statue's anus
Anus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
, but its vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
. Since "chicks bleed out their vaginas all the time
Menstrual cycle
The menstrual cycle is the scientific term for the physiological changes that can occur in fertile women for the purpose of sexual reproduction. This article focuses on the human menstrual cycle....
", this is no miracle (despite the fact that the statue is actually bleeding in the first place), and Randy, realizing this, suddenly realizes God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
did not heal him. He at first declares himself powerless again, and all the other recovering alcoholics follow suit and rush to the bar. Stan then makes him realize that if God did not help him, he must have done it himself. Randy then declares that he will never drink again, but Stan objects to this too, saying that if Randy completely avoids drinking, drinking is still controlling his life, and that true discipline is figuring out how to live in moderation. Randy then puts Stan on his shoulders and walks home while the two discuss how much drinking would be proper.
Controversy
The episode was aired on December 7, 2005, which is the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate ConceptionFeast of the Immaculate Conception
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is celebrated on 8 December, nine months before the Nativity of Mary, which is celebrated on 8 September. It is the patronal feast day of the United States and the Republic of the...
, a Catholic observance related specifically to the Virgin Mary. The Catholic League
Catholic League (U.S.)
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, often shortened to the Catholic League, is an American Catholic anti-defamation and civil rights organization...
demanded an apology and that the episode "be permanently retired and not be made available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
" and that Joseph A. Califano, Jr.
Joseph A. Califano, Jr.
Joseph Anthony Califano, Jr. is Founder and Chairman of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, an independent non-profit research center affiliated with Columbia University in New York City...
, a board member of Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
(the parent of Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
) and a practicing Catholic, issue a personal statement. Califano did later release a statement calling the episode an "appalling and disgusting portrayal of the Virgin Mary," and pledged to have it reviewed by Viacom's president and CEO, Tom Freston
Tom Freston
Thomas E. Freston is an American entertainment industry executive. He currently is a principal in Firefly3 LLC, a consulting and investment company. Currently he consults Oprah Winfrey, among others....
. Bishop William Skylstad, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
, sent a letter to Freston saying the network showed "extreme insensitivity" when it aired the episode. When Comedy Central re-aired the episodes on December 28, 2005, "Bloody Mary" was absent from the broadcast. Comedy Central responded to e-mail inquiries about the fate of the episode with the assurance that "Bloody Mary" has not been retired and would not be pulled from the DVD release. Screen captures from the episode on Comedy Central's press site and the South Park section of comedycentral.com are absent.
In February 2006, leaders from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference, the Council of Christians and Muslims, and other religious groups together lobbied media conglomerate CanWest
CanWest Global Communications
Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate brand Canwest, was a major Canadian media company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place...
to stop a planned airing of the episode in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
on the music channel C4. The network rejected the plea and said the episode would air as planned. Leading Catholic bishops then called for a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of C4 and its sister network TV3
TV3 (New Zealand)
TV3 is a New Zealand commercial television network, owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. Launched on 26 November 1989, the first private television network in New Zealand...
. CanWest again resisted and aired the episode sooner than planned to take advantage of the media attention. New Zealand's Prime Minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
issued a statement saying the episode sounded "revolting," but that the network was free to air it. One advertiser withdrew his ads from CanWest's networks. Catholic group Family Life International set up a website for boycotting CanWest's other advertisers. Another company named C4 Productions, which has no links to the C4 music channel, applied for a court order on the eve of the airing to stop the episode citing damage to its business because it thought people would link it to the channel. The judge ruled against the order. C4 aired the episode on February 22, 2006 and drew 210,000 viewers, six times South Park's normal audience for the channel. After receiving 102 formal complaints from viewers, the network issued a statement a month later saying "…C4 acknowledges the strength of feeling in relation to the programme, and we sincerely apologize for any offence taken."
In June 2006 complaints received by New Zealand's Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) were rejected: The airing of the show was found to not be in breach of broadcasting standards. According to the BSA, "[b]ut showing disrespect does not amount to the sort of vicious or vitriolic attack normally associated with the denigration standard." They also said the episode was "of such a farcical, absurd and unrealistic nature that it did not breach standards of good taste and decency in the context in which it was offered". New Zealand Catholic bishops have decided to appeal the decision.
In February 2006, Archbishop
Archdiocese of Melbourne
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is a Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Erected initially in 1847 as the Diocese of Melbourne, a suffragan diocese of Archdiocese of Sydney, the diocese was elevated in 1874 as an archdiocese of the...
Denis Hart
Denis Hart
Denis James Hart, DD is a Roman Catholic bishop, elected as the 8th Archbishop of Archdiocese of Melbourne, since 2001.-Early years and background:...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
wrote to television network SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
asking them not to air the episode. The network's programming director originally rejected the request, but later decided to postpone the episode citing the controversy over the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
. Instead, SBS ended up showing "Christian Rock Hard
Christian Rock Hard
"Christian Rock Hard" is the ninth episode of the seventh season of the American animated series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 23, 2003. In the episode, the kids start a rock band, but concerned with the fact that people will potentially download...
". and decided to show the previous episode mentioned in late 2006, before screening starts of Season 10. The episode was, however shown on The Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel is an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:...
, on August 30th 2006. one reason for this was that they could advertise that they had shown an Australian premiere South Park before SBS did.
On March 14, 2006, Rob Corddry
Rob Corddry
Robert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
, reporting on Comedy Central's own The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
said:
- …Christianity has evolved and matured. No longer do they stone people to death for blasphemy. Now they write a lot of letters to advertisers. Even a secular, atheistic, morally bankrupt entity like Comedy Central can be affected. Just ask Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of South Park, whose recent episode entitled "Bloody Mary" was pulled after a single airing. Now obviously [we at] Comedy Central can't show you that offensive material…
The South Park clips shown while Corddry spoke included plenty of potentially offensive or risqué material (fornicating cats, a man vomiting and then falling in his own vomit, Butters
Butters Stotch
Leopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough. He is a fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town...
viewing two men having sex, etc.) but there was nothing from the "Bloody Mary" episode.
Like the "Trapped in the Closet" episode, "Bloody Mary" did return to the air, appearing on August 2, 2006 at 10 p.m.
External links
- Bloody Mary Full episode at South Park Studios
- Bloody Mary Episode guide at South Park Studios
- First discovery of episode being pulled