3. Cartoon Wars
Its a Muhammad controversy again, and this time they also sparked a feud in the world of animated comedy in the process. Cartoon Wars sees Cartman attempt to stop a Family Guy episode from airing because it just isnt funny! Oh, and because Family Guy are going to show an image of Muhammad and terrorist groups are threatening to attack America if it airs. But mainly just because it isnt funny. Unlike Super Best Friends, this episode was released following the Jyllands-Posten controversy of September 2005 which saw the Danish newspaper receive terrorist threats for including a cartoon of Muhammad, and as a result Comedy Central decided to censor the image of Muhammad in the episode proving just how much times had changed. The episode itself is being critical of the whole thing; as Meta-episodes go this really does top it! Released at a time when Family Guy was at its peak, gaining an average viewership of 8 million (a number South Park could only dream of, averaging around 4 million in earlier seasons and only 2 million currently), you might say it was fairly brave of the creators to mock a show that was more successful than theirs. Yet according to Matt and Trey the creators of The Simpsons and King of the Hill both sent kind messages of agreement following this episode being aired, so it seems they arent alone in their opinion. If youre a family guy fan and you dont want the show being ruined for you, do NOT watch this episode. You will never look at the cutaway segments in the same way again. Or at Manatees either...