friend of Parker and a basis for the Ned Gerblansky character, claimed that Big Gay Al was based in part on a real-life resident of Fairplay, Colorado. Smith, a minister at a Fairplay church, said of the resident, "We just call him Big Al, but he cross-dresses every year for Fairplay Day. He lives out of town, which is why Big Gay Al's cartoon pet sanctuary is set out in the hills". However, Stone said the name "Big Gay Al" and the idea of his "gay animal sanctuary" came from Pam Brady, a producer and writer with the show. When the episode was under production in 1997, it was relatively uncommon for a television series to openly address homosexuality in such overt terms, especially in a cartoon. As a result, Parker and Stone said Comedy Central executives expressed more concern about "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" than any other previous South Park episode. Parker said of the network, "I don't think they ever really discouraged it, but they were definitely freaked out". The network, however, did object to scenes in which one of the football sports commentators made offensive jokes and was silenced by the other commentator. The network particularly objected to a joke in which, after watching Kyle run, the commentator said, "I haven't seen a Jew run like that since Poland 1938", a reference to the country's invasion by Nazi Germany (which actually took place in 1939). The jokes were based on a number of real-life offensive remarks sports commentators made and got in trouble for. Stone said the scenes were meant to parody the commentators, not the subjects of the jokes. However, they were only allowed to stay in after what Stone called "a big fight" with Comedy Central. After the episode was scheduled to air, TV Guide refused to advertise it under its true title for fear of offending readers, and instead called the episode "Big Al's Boat Ride". The episode was written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and was directed by Parker. Parker and Stone considered "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" their favorite episode of the first season, and they credit it with helping elevate the credibility and relevance of South Park during the early days of the series. Although the first season of South Park received a lot of criticism from commentators who felt the show was disgusting and