The Passion of the Jew/Trivia

Trivia

 * This episode proved so popular that it was released on DVD long before the Season 8 box set. It came out on August 31, 2004, on a DVD including the episodes "Christian Rock Hard" and "Red Hot Catholic Love". This was to coincide with the release of The Passion of the Christ on DVD.
 * This episode was re-aired August 9, 2006, following Gibson's recent arrest.
 * In spite of the episode's popularity, Trey Parker and Matt Stone noted on its DVD commentary that this was not one of their favorite episodes, saying that it would have been much better had they more time to work on it.
 * The "Looney Toon" Mel Gibson character re-appeared for a cameo in the first part of the Season 11 "Imaginationland" episodes, in which he's shown to be just as crazy as he's always been.
 * In the episodes leading up to this one, Cartman mentions that Kyle still hasn't seen The Passion, and it was even used as a plot point in "Good Times with Weapons"
 * Even Though The Passion of the Christ is a major Plot point Jesus Christ himself Never appers at any moment

Censorship

 * The scene where Mel Gibson spreads feces on the wall and the ending where Gibson defecates on Cartman (after Kyle says that he's relieved that Mel Gibson was crazy and not taken that seriously) are cut in the syndicated version of this episode.
 * The explicit use of the swastika or "Hakenkreuz" as a Nazi symbol has been censored out in parts of Europe, because the symbol is illegal in some European countries (particularly Germany and Austria, where showing Nazi symbolism is illegal unless it's put into historical context). It also has been censored the second time it aired on Comedy Central, in American, British and Australian syndication, and in the version available on iTunes, showing instead a red flag with a white circle in the middle without the swastika.

Goofs

 * The ticket dealer at the front of the theater is also seen in the episode Jewbilee as the leader of squirts, meaning that he is Jewish, or at least a practicer of Judaism. Every Jewish person seemed to react negatively to The Passion of Christ, so it would be assumed that the ticket dealer would as well, but he is seen supporting it. Most likely, the writers forgot about him being Jewish, the animators simply reused the character model or he has an identical twin.
 * Cartman tells Kyle that The Passion of the Christ is "the top-grossing film of all time". This is incorrect, as the film Titanic, a film by director James Cameron, was the highest-grossing film during that time the episode aired. Avatar, another film by Cameron (later seen on the episode "Dances with Smurfs"), is now currently the highest-grossing film of all time. Ironically, The Passion is the highest grossing non-English language film of all time.

References to Pop Culture

 * Mel Gibson's behavior through much the episode is a parody of Daffy Duck, specifically in a scene where Gibson parodies the cartoon Yankee Doodle Daffy, in which Porky Pig is trying to escape through multiple doors only to be blocked by Daffy in a different costume each time. Stan even refers to his behavior as "freaking daffy," at which point Gibson says, "You know, this means war!" a favorite saying of Daffy Duck.
 * When Stan and Kenny leave to get their money back from Mel Gibson, Stan says that they had done the same thing after seeing BASEketball, which starred South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
 * Gibson is heard saying "Gimme back my money", which is a reference to an often-used quote from the 1996 movie Ransom where Mel Gibson's character is heard screaming "Gimme back my son!" into a phone.
 * As Kyle's nightmare progresses the montage "speeds up", with the different Jesus and his crucifixion related scenes having less and less duration. He wakes up screaming after a split second "appearance" of Alan Alda.
 * Mel Gibson shouts the Klingon battle cry "Qapla'!" several times as he chases Stan and Kenny. The same cry was also used by George Clooney and other actors of the Film Actors Guild in Team America, which was also written, produced and directed by Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
 * The truck that Mel Gibson is driving in when chasing after Stan and Kenny is modeled after the vehicle he drove in The Road Warrior. The truck is even right-hand drive; Mad Max is set in Australia which drives on the left so cars are right-hand drive.
 * When Mel Gibson is chasing Stan and Kenny through his house, he stops in front of a mirror and says, "Two days ago I saw a rig that could haul that tanker. If you want to get out of here, talk to me," a line from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. When the boys later find his wallet, he is heard to yell "Freedom!" offscreen while looking for them&mdash;a reference to Braveheart.
 * The Mel Gibson Fanclub Hot-line phone number, when dialed, sounds like the Asia song "Heat of the Moment". This marks the second time "Heat of the Moment" has appeared in a South Park episode.
 * At the start of the episode, while the boys were playing in Eric's mom's new car, Eric said, "set phasers to stun." This is a popular Star Trek catchphrase, thus the boys could be playing Star Trek (incidentally, "Engineer" Kenny would, were he in an episode, be wearing red - the redshirts normally ended up dead).
 * There are actually THREE paintings that are flashed repeatedly during Kyle's nightmare. If you watch real, extra-close, you should see all three paintings. All three are by 15th century painter H. Bosch, one named Christ Carrying the Cross. The first painting that flashes is called Christ Before Pilate, also by Bosch.