But, you know, when Parker and Stone want to do something interesting, they really do it.  And that is why I find myself consistently wanting to chronicle what makes South Park a truly unique television program.  Last week’s episode “Jewpacabra” is just the latest in the program’s intermittent efforts to use their medium to introduce otherwise silenced elements of society and culture into the public sphere.  Though packaged in exactly the sort of silliness and Jew jokiness that the title implies, the episode actually features one of the most interesting and, dare I say, authentic discussions of Judaism I can ever remember on TV.

If you’ll allow me to generalize – an ironic courtesy to grant, given what I’m about to say – most television discussions of Jewish life and thought have focused on facile, often Christianized understandings of what it means to be Jewish in America.  By far, the most common topic is that of intermarriage which, though important both religiously and culturally, is in fact a rejection of traditional Judaism.  Programs from Bridget Loves Bernie to thirtysomehing to The OC have devoted lots of time to discussing how Judaism can or can’t be blended into secular (but really, secular-Christian) American society.  These issues are well worth debating, considering and even theorizing. But they are not discussions of Judaism itself and certainly do not engage with the religion on its own terms.

Yet, somehow, South Park puts forth just this sort of debate, and in an episode in which Cartman makes up a monster called a “Jewpacabra” in an inscrutable scheme to win an Easter egg hunt, no less.  The plot is not of central importance and I’ll spare you the semi-sensical details. Suffice to say, Cartman ends up in Egypt on the night leading to the Jews’ exodus from slavery and escape from the Pharaoh.  In a truly interesting TV moment, Cartman asks Kyle how he can be sure that the Pharaoh won’t change his mind, let the Jews go and thus spare the Egyptians the final and most gruesome plague – the death of all first born males.  Kyle, more or less accurately, responds that G-d has “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart, thus ensuring that he won’t change his mind.  Cartman is taken aback, wondering how G-d could do such an unfair thing and exclaiming that it cannot be true because “G-d is not a dick.”

Now, the word “hardened” is not quite right here as the verse Kyle is referring to (Exodus 9:12) uses the Hebrew “Khazek,” which really means strengthened- a far from trivial difference.  However, Cartman’s question is an excellent one that is debated throughout Jewish texts from the Talmud to today.  How and why can G-d, who Jews believe prizes the free will of humanity, take an action that at the very least compromises Pharoah’s ability to do what he wants?  There are a lot of answers and South Park doesn’t really offer any of them; this is perhaps too much to ask.  I, for one, would argue that strengthening one’s will is something we often ask for help with and that does not, in general, mark a compromise of freedom.

But, in any case, Cartman does pose a serious question and one that I believe forces the conscientious observer to embrace one fundamental truth about Judaism: the Jewish G-d is not, in fact, a perfect model of liberal Western thinking.  Why G-d should be is a bit of a mystery to me, but most televisual portrayals of the religion tend to point in just that direction.  Little if any attention is paid to the admittedly irrational (Judaism rejects the idea that irrationality is inherently bad) strictures of the religion, in favor of the very real elements of Judaism that focus on universality, social justice etc.  But, in the long run, Judaism does not believe in a G-d we can all agree about.  This is one of the many (and perhaps the best) reason there are only 14 million of us on earth.  Cartman, throughout the episode, comes to see that the Jewish understanding of G-d is a complex one that does not match nearly so well with Christianity as defenders of our “Judeo-Christian Culture” would like to think.

Parker and Stone perhaps seem to have a problem with Judaism’s embrace of the possibility that G-d can seem to be acting like a “dick.”  And that’s fine by me.  They have every right to say what does and doesn’t make sense to them about my religion or anyone else’s.  What’s important is that they make some effort to understand what the religion in question actually says.   Now, I’m not about to recommend them for a scholarship in Talmudic Law Studies.  They have missed as much as they have found in their exegetic egg hunt.  However, they get a B+ for effort –  better than most other TV, and quite impressive for television producers so often noted for laziness and cynicism.

Which brings me to the program’s recent two-part, 200^th episode spectacular, creatively entitled “200” and “201.”  The episodes, which are kind of a mess in terms of narrative, will be best remembered for being South Park’s first engagement with the issue of Islamic Sharia law and its potential conflict with free speech principles.  In 2001, the episode “Super Best Friends” featured a portrayal of the prophet Mohammed alongside Jesus Christ, Buddha, Joseph Smith and a host of other religious figures and no one really seemed to care.  This was, however, well before the violent, painful controversy that erupted over Jyllands-Posten publishing a set of cartoons of Mohammed.  Although there were clear differences between the earlier South Park imagery and that of Jyllands-Posten, which portrayed Mohammed as a terrorist, the essence of the controversy applies equally.  There are those who believe that the prohibition against depicting Mohammed applies universally and the threat of violence hangs over all those in defiance. Even Jytte Klausen’s academic book The Cartoons that Shook the World was published without the titular cartoons, giving many the impression that this issue was being controlled either by excessive cultural sensitivities, fear of violence or a combination of the two.

“200” tries to take this issue head-on.  The citizens of South Park, blackmailed into bringing Mohammed to town, attempt a debate over whether or not this can be done without causing offense or getting the town blown up. The discussion goes nowhere, developing neither the plot nor the satire.  The townspeople, much like Parker, Stone and most of us, don’t know how to debate this issue because, as currently framed, there’s very little to debate.  If one accepts the principle that the rules of one religion, either due to respect or fear, ought to be followed by those outside the faith, then it seems like picturing Mohammed is totally off limits.  If not, it’s an act of cowardice to redact Mohammed’s image.  In any case there’s a double standard.  The argument in “200” and “201” is something along the lines of “if the Buddhists can handle Buddha snorting coke in front of a group of forth graders, then a cartoon of Mohammed fighting crime shouldn’t be cause for death and destruction.”

It kind of makes sense, but at the same time it doesn’t seem to address the real issue.  This is largely because South Park’s strength is in parodying the how of publics debate, not the what.  The program’s satire is one of exaggeration, where a small absurdity is isolated and magnified.  So long as they stay within the world of discourse, playing the role of media critics, they’re very, very good.  This debate pulls them out of their comfort zones, forcing them to contend with embassies that really got burned down and people for whom sacredness is in no way metaphorical.  Comedy Central was forced to censor “201” fairly heavily due to these real concerns, giving Parker and Stone something to complain about but also reinforcing the extent to which this particular debate is not yet ready for their form of satire.  The answer, in practical terms, is “need more information,” even if our our philosophical instincts say otherwise.

The episode, has, however, served the important role of reinvigorating public discussions of the issue, providing some hope that we will, one day, understand the underlying principles well enough for blunt-edge satire to be a productive tool.  For example, CNN here puts forth a refreshingly not-hysterical discussion of the issue.   Of course there have also been calls to violence and free-speech responses that, while politically coherent, seem a bit juvenile.  But, undeniably, the public discussion has been enhanced by South Park.  The episodes themselves may not quite hit the target, but one way or another debate has improved, if not quite in the more forceful manner Parker and Stone intended.

Many weeks after the rest of us realized The Jay Leno Show was a dismal failure and doing some serious damage to NBC, Jeff Zucker finally admits that the network has made some mistakes. No kidding.

In other NBC-Comcast news, this week’s “All Things Considered” featured an interview with University of Michigan’s Amanda Lotz, who gave her take on the deal and Zucker.

Along with climate change initiatives, several public, digital media projects debut at the COP15, including CO2 Cubes by the UN and The Copenhagen Wheel by MIT SENSEable City Lab.

Variety reports on the numerous TV series taking extended hiatuses between now and March, but the report seems to be missing one key reason for the delay. As TV By The Numbers notes, the article fails to address “what ratings juggernaut between February 12-28 broadcasters [might] be wanting to avoid.” *ahem*Olympics*ahem*

Mountain Dew’s Green Label Sound, which is innovating a business model that tries to cash in on vinyl sales, emerging artists, and the music video format online, wrapped up another video this weekend. Solid Gold’s video for “A Matter of Time” was shot on a rooftop in Madison, and one of our editor’s was there! More on the Green Label Sound model, and being a “video vixen” in a subsequent post. . .

Over at the New York Times, Nick Bilton details his experience of escaping from the clutches of cables in his TV setup and the gadgets and configurations that (didn’t) help him do it.

College Humor posted a lengthy montage of front pages of the Springfield Shopper from The Simpsons that’s worth a gander even if you’re not an avid watcher.

BlackBerry signed a new deal with China Mobile to release smartphones and mobile internet service in China. This includes access to social networking sites as well as email. We’ll have to see how customized users’ connections really are.

An episode of Bones went a little crazy with the cross-promotion of Avatar on the program. Okay, so the episode is technically not from this week (airing December 3), but it’s worth mentioning.

And, finally, in the spirit of the season, please enjoy two holiday-themed YouTube videos. First, it is now the beginning of Hanukkah, so here’s a fan video paying homage to South Park’s version of “The Dreidel Song,” complete with fan animation. And here are the Muppets performing Carol of the Bells.