Bloody Mary/Trivia

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This page contains trivia for "Bloody Mary". Remember, trivia must be factual, provable, and it is always best to cite your source for not-so-obvious trivia. If you would like to dispute a trivia point, please discuss it in the talk page.

Trivia

• The episode's title is derived form the alcoholic drink of the same name.
  • It is also based off the urban legend.
• The leader at the front stand of Randy's Alcoholics Anonymous group is the same guy who was in charge of the weight loss camp in "Fat Camp".
• At the beginning of the episode Cartman wears a Hachimaki. This is a bandanna that was commonly worn by Japanese kamikaze pilots during the late stages of World War II.
• Alcoholism was actually declared a disease by the AMA (American Medical Association) in 1956. In 1991, it was further dual-classified by the Internal Classification of Diseases under the psychiatric and medical sections. (This does not, however, mean Randy is a legitimate alcoholic.)

References to Popular Culture

• The bleeding Mary statue is a parody of the weeping statue phenomenon that has been claimed to occur on multiple statues and many years dating back to at least 1951. Widely debunked, most of these 'weeping' statues are of the Virgin Mary.
• The fourth wall break of the Pope raising his eyebrows at the audience is likely inspired by the Looney Tunes cartoons.

Controversy

• The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights condemned this episode for its treatment of the Virgin Mary. They demanded an apology to Roman Catholics and that the episode "be permanently retired and not be made available on DVD." In particular they also demanded that Joseph A. Califano, Jr., a member of Viacom's board of directors and a practicing Catholic, issue his own statement of condemnation. Califano did later release a statement calling the episode an "appalling and disgusting portrayal of the Virgin Mary," and pledged to have it reviewed. When Comedy Central subsequently reaired all the episodes from Season 9 in late 2005, "Bloody Mary" was noticeably absent from the broadcast. Australian network SBS didn't air the episode at all, and the episode wasn't aired in several countries, including Russia. 

Continuity

• Stan references "Trapped in the Closet" when he says he was leader of a cult once.
• Randy can be seen drinking S'more Schnapps while watching television, a reference to "The Red Badge of Gayness".

Goofs

• After the Karate lessons, one of the background characters disappears.
• Randy Marsh's eyebrows disappear while he's in line to see the Bloody Mary statue.
• When Randy tells Stan to drive the car, he states that he is eight when ever since "Fourth Grade", he has been nine.
• Before Randy comes into the classroom after the bell rings, Kenny McCormick is not in class. When the camera pans to the class again, he appears.
• Although court ordered to attend AA meetings, it is not made clear that Randy is diagnosed an alcoholic. Furthermore, in most addict-type circles, a person is not referred to as an alcoholic unless the person him- or herself freely confesses to being an alcoholic. This is not immediately expected, nor is it forced in any way.
• Despite needing to skip certain aspects to keep the episode within time frame, AA meeting point of order is not followed.
• Although some meetings may or may not be more religious than others, belief in a specific god, or "higher power" if you prefer, is not required, though it is encouraged. As the wording may suggest, it is whatever the alcoholic (or addict) feels is actually in control of the person's life, rather than their own: it may not even be a deity at all, but rather a boss, a group of people (i.e. fellow recovering alcoholics or addicts), etc.
• There is no cure for real alcoholism. Akin to addiction--which it is--it's a real disease, as defined by the AMA, that requires maintenance.

Hidden Visitor(s)

Randy sitting in his car, with a "visitor" appearing in the back window.

• When Randy Marsh is going to visit the Bloody Mary statue, a visitor is seen through the rear window of his car. The visitor appears to have been removed in the HD version of the episode.