Red Sleigh Down

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South Park episode
"Red Sleigh Down/Christmas in Iraq"
Santa strikes back at his captors.
Episode no.	96
Airdate	December 11, 2002
South Park - Season 6 March 6, 2002 – December 11, 2002
Freak Strike Jared Has Aides Asspen The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer Fun with Veal Professor Chaos Simpsons Already Did It Red Hot Catholic Love Free Hat Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society Child Abduction Is Not Funny A Ladder to Heaven The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers The Death Camp of Tolerance The Biggest Douche in the Universe My Future Self n' Me Red Sleigh Down
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"Red Sleigh Down" (a.k.a. "Christmas in Iraq") is episode 96 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on December 11, 2002.

[edit] Plot

Cartman's naughty or nice accountant (Kyle's cousin Kyle) performs a tally, and it's obvious that Cartman has been too naughty to earn his coveted Christmas gift, a Haibo robot dog. He'll have to perform the nicest act ever to reverse the prior year of evil, and sets out to spread Christmas cheer to the people of Iraq. Meanwhile, at a tree lighting ceremony, Jimmy begins to sing his favorite Christmas song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" which (unknown to the gathered crowd) will take him all day to complete.

With the use of Mr. Hankey's Poo-Choo train, Cartman and the other boys are able to travel to the North Pole to convince Santa Claus to make a special trip. With the assistance of the Underpants Gnomes, Santa prepares his sleigh and travels to Iraq, only to be promptly shot down by a Rocket Propelled Grenade. The reindeer are dead, Santa is injured, and he is soon caught and tortured by his Iraqi captors. The boys realize that Cartman's little ploy may have ended Christmas for everyone, including Santa, and set out to make things right.

Taking the backup sled and reindeer from the stable, they seek out the one person who can help: Jesus, who is currently officiating midnight mass in His own name. When He hears of the tragedy that befallen His old friend Santa, Jesus promptly arms Himself with an array of automatic weapons and sets out with the boys to Iraq, brutally gunning down everyone who impedes Him. Jesus and the boys break into the interrogation room where Santa (who is now being forced to drink oil) is being held and kill the Iraqi soldiers within (all except for the interrogator, who is later executed by Santa).

The boys carefully carry the injured Santa back to the sleigh, but a stray shot kills Jesus moments before they can escape. Outraged, Santa acquires his fallen friend's weapons and then proceeds to blast his way out, setting off bombs which transform Iraq into a Christmas-decorated country, complete with wreaths, Christmas trees, lights and tinsel.

We then see Jimmy finish his song that he started at the beginning of the episode, to the towns delight and then he switches the lights on the christmas tree on, unfortunately they dont work and the town is disappointed but Santa makes it all alright again.

Moments before Christmas Day ends, a rapidly recuperating Santa returns the boys home to South Park and expresses his hope that people will always remember Jesus on this day. He also gives all three boys Haibo dogs, much to Cartman's disgust, as he wanted to be the only owner and have his friends envy him. Kenny then shows up out of nowhere and the boys ask where he's been all this time.

[edit] Trivia

• Kenny finally returns to the series after he was killed off in Kenny Dies.
• The Buttfaced couple (The Thompsons) make a reappearance in the crowd at the beginning of the episode.
• Also in the crowd: Dr. Mephisto, Big Gay Al and Chef's parents.
• Santa's Fortress of Solitude is a parody to the Fortress of Solitude in the Superman series.
• Trey Parker and Matt Stone state in episode commentary that Kenny explains his absence at the end by saying, "Oh, I was just right over there." Kenny's muffled words are fairly audible as "Eh, I've just been hanging out." These are also the words shown in the closed captioning.
• South Park Studios FAQ has revealed that Jesus' death is somehow connected to Kenny's revival. [1]
• Mr. Hankey has not appeared since this episode.
• The Poo-Choo Train has a number 2 on its tender, a reference to the slang term for poo.
• Stan, Kyle and Cartman's conversation in Santa's workshop following Santa being shot down is lifted from the first Spirit of Christmas short.
• Jesus did not return as a formal character after his death in this episode until Fantastic Easter Special, in Season 11. He did, however, reappear as the central character of the film The Passion of the Christ in the episode The Passion of the Jew, and he still appeared in the opening group shot (with the South Park sign), even after the redesign following The Return of Chef. He also appeared in the crowd shot of I'm a Little Bit Country and has been included as an action figure in the third series of South Park figures by Mezco.
• The backup reindeer are: Steven, Fluffy, Horrice, Chantel, Skippy, Rainbow, Patches and Montel.
• The title and plot of this episode is a parody of the film, Black Hawk Down.
• When Jesus is killed, Stan and Kyle revive their old catch phrase. Stan says "Dude, the Iraqis killed Jesus." Kyle responds with "You bastards."
• Stan also uses another of his catchphrases, "Dude, this is pretty f**ked up right here," when Jesus is shot.
• Kenny has two lines.
  • "Hey guys, what's up?"
  • "Oh you know, just hanging around."

[edit] References to Pop culture

• "Red Sleigh Down" was heavily influenced by the 1999 movie Three Kings and the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down.
• Santa Claus's palace closely resembles, and is named, the Fortress of Solitude from Superman: The Movie.
• The torture scene involving electrodes, Santa, "Santa's Balls", "I'm gonna fucking kill you!" and "We're in for a long night because I don't know shit!", which is a spoof of the torture scene involving Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. It also spoofs the torture scene in Three Kings, with the torturer saying "My main man" and pouring oil down his mouth.
• The two Iraqi children with large eyes are spoofs on the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials. At the end of the episode, the faces of Stan, Kyle, and Cartman also briefly turn into "Rankin/ Bass" faces.
• Final time Timmy sings in the opening.

[edit] Goofs

• In the South Park Universe, Saddam Hussein is dead and making weapons of mass destruction in Heaven, yet Iraq still appears to be under his reign, as there are pictures of him hanging in the streets of Baghdad. Likewise would happen in the episode Cartoon Wars with Osama bin Laden.
• When Santa shoots his torturer, he's armed with a suppressed semi-automatic pistol. In the next scene, it has changed to a revolver.
• The map on the sleigh is an out-dated map of Canada, missing the territory of Nunavut.
• During the midnight mass, Jesus is speaking poor Italian, specifically in his line, "Jesus, mio bambino no puoi sentirsi." The correct way to say it in Italian is, "Jesus, mio bambino no può sentirsi."
• After escaping and then returning to the city, Stan shouts "RPG, 4 o' clock!". However, the RPG is in the exact opposite direction.
• Kyle goes on the adventure to rescue Santa Claus and even gets presents from him, although he is a Jew, and Jews do not believe in Santa Claus. This may have been intentional, however, given the effort made by the boys to save Santa.

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