The Snuke
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"The Snuke" is episode 1104 of Comedy Central's animated comedy series South Park. It was originally broadcast on March 28, 2007.
It parodies the layout of the TV series 24.
Synopsis
The episode begins when a new student is enrolled in Ms. Garrison's class. He is named Bahir Hassam Abdul Hakeem, a Muslim child whose mere presence upsets Cartman to the point that he actually leaves class. Immediately after Mrs. Garrison tells Bahir to sit down, Cartman even resorts to asking him whether Bahir has been searched for bombs. Cartman then calls Kyle (who just happened to be at home, sick), on his cell phone, and Cartman asks him to do a web search for Bahir's background by using MySpace. Kyle finds out that Bahir just recently moved from Chicago, and Cartman figures that he may target Hillary Clinton, who is in town for a political rally. Cartman takes this as a terrorist threat, then proceeds to call the CIA, claiming that he will only speak directly to the President.
A short while later, the school is evacuated via a drill and announcement, and Bahir goes with Butters to hang out. As that is happening, the CIA calls Hillary Clinton's convoy to warn them of a possible threat. They decide to continue the rally, and as she is doing so, her security sends out a bomb-sniffing pig, which finds that there is a nuclear device in Hillary Clinton's vagina. This was referred to as a Snuke (a suitcase nuke designed to fit in a woman's "snizz") in Clinton's "snatch". To find the location of the detonator, Cartman "tortures" Bahir's parents by farting in their faces, to talk on the whereabouts of their son. Cartman gets no response from Bahir's father, so he then injects himself with a syringe full of apple juice which he claims give him "super bad farts." But once hearing that Bahir is at Butters' house, Cartman runs off.
While Cartman is attempting to accost Bahir, the Russians abduct both Cartman and Bahir, the former for blurting out the attempt on Mrs. Clinton. While they threaten their prisoners, their conversation reveals that the Russians who placed the snuke are mercenaries who were being paid by Queen Elizabeth II, the purpose being to serve as a distraction while an 18th-century style fleet of British wooden sailing vessels, complete with British redcoats armed with 18th-century weapons (although they carry cell phones to communicate with the Queen), made a surprise attack to "put an end to the American Revolution" (seemingly unwilling to admit that it had already ended). After Kyle, Stan, the FBI, CIA, ATF, and numerous other agencies raid the mercenaries, the Russians warn the federal agents that the detonator is set to go off when the clock reaches 1:00. However, the power goes out and the clock is reset, blinking 12:00 repeatedly once the power comes back on. The various American enforcement agencies continue the attack and foil the British attack plan — very easily, as modern jet aircraft attack the fleet of wooden sailing ships, which can only fight back with gunpowder muskets and cannons. The British fleet is annihilated. Upon hearing the news of the attack's failure from the fleet's leader, the Queen commits suicide by shooting herself in the mouth, bursting her head open. Back in South Park, Kyle tells everybody that the moral of the experience was that one should not be suspicious of just one race of people, "because actually, most of the world hates [America]." Cartman, however, points out that if he had not suspected Bahir due to his religion he would have never called Kyle, and the actual terrorism plot would not have been solved; thus, he points out, "racism and bigotry saved America." When Bahir's father then announces that he and his family are leaving the country, Cartman also claims credit for "getting rid of the Muslims."
Trivia
- The episode draws heavily on contemporary internet culture, the interconnectedness of the web and its information networks as well as how common, widespread and readily available information has become. Every character in the episode, including Cartman, Kyle as well as members of various government institutions such as the CIA and Homeland Security (and conveniently terrorist organization) make use of everyday information web sites to advance their investigations, which include Google Search, Google Maps, MySpace, Craigslist, MapQuest, YouTube, Realtor.com, WebCrawler, eBay, PayPal, AOL, AIM, Ask, JDate, Blogs, Drudge Report, and eHarmony. Kyle uses the most up-to-date web sources, like Google, YouTube, and MySpace; government officials, by contrast, use outmoded sources, like AOL message boards, the Drudge Report, and Ask Jeeves.
- CNN reported that the "Hildog" character's Southern accent was based on a speech Hillary Clinton gave in Selma, Alabama during a 2007 campaign stop.[1]
- The staff of 24 liked the episode so much that a week and a half later they sent the prop of one of the suitcase nukes from the show to the South Park staff as a thank you gift for featuring them on the show. [2] [3]
- Cartman claims that his mistrust of Bahir saved everyone in South Park; technically, if Cartman had not been suspicious of Bahir, the terrorists would never have planned to attack South Park at all, as they were originally planning to destroy Boston. His point of saving America from Britain is valid, however.
- The line "most of the world hates [America]" was also mentioned in the episode Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants, the first episode to air after 9/11.
References to 24
The entire episode is a spoof of the series 24. It follows the traditional outline of an episode of 24, including a time-based narrative, a beeping digital clock, and extensive use of the Split screen, among other editing techniques. Many shots are presented in a manner giving the illusion of dynamic camera work, very common in 24. A number of sound effects are also taken directly from the show, including those for the beeping digital clock and the phone ring used by all phones in the episode.
The characters also closely parody elements from 24. Cartman and Kyle play the roles of Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brian, respectively, taking on aspects of their behavior, and mannerisms. Other similarities are common - For example, characters in the CIA wear CTU-badges, and resemble Bill Buchanan, Tony Almeida, and Chase Edmunds. The head terrorist and double agent also mimic Vladimir Bierko and Walt Cummings, respectively.
In addition, the plotline is a generalized reference to 24's fifth and sixth seasons. For instance, Queen Elizabeth's suicide closely mirrors then-President Charles Logan's plot to commit suicide near the end of Day 5. More general plot similarities are present, such as Cartman's use of torture on Bahir's parents, Kyle's supercession by numerous higher powers of authority, the presence of double-agents, and a hidden main conflict.