'South Park' Plans Its Next Scientology Hit
The Battle for Our Souls currently being waged between the forces of good and evil (South Park and Scientology, in no particular order) rages on: The show can impressively churn out a brand new, ripped-from-the-headlines adventure for Stan, Cartman and the gang in about a week, which gives them ample time to address Isaac Hayes' recent controversial departure from the series in Wednesday's season premiere.
Details of the new episode were vague...But a network synopsis said the fictional town of South Park, Colorado, is "jolted out of a case of the doldrums when Chef suddenly reappears," leading to new antics by the group of foul-mouthed fourth graders who are the show's stars.
"While Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are thrilled to have their old friend back, they notice that something about Chef seems different. When Chef's strange behavior starts getting him in trouble, the boys pull out all the stops to save him."
A network spokesman told Reuters that someone "besides Hayes" will be providing his character's voice for the episode, which looks to be a handsome, Scientology-bashing bookend companion to their classic of the genre, "Trapped in the Closet." Sadly, while the fictional, animated South Park kids might be able to save Chef in time, their real life counterparts will probably have trouble scaling the 14-foot electrified fences and evading the sniper fire to save Hayes for real.