Bass to Mouth
Encyclopedia
"Bass to Mouth" is the tenth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series South Park
, and the 219th episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central
in the United States
on October 19, 2011. Much of the episode's plot alludes to WikiLeaks
and its surrounding controversy. It has also been viewed as commentary on the TV series Gossip Girl
, topical celebrity email hacking, and school bullying.
The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker
and is rated TV-MA L in the United States.
website named Eavesdropper gains popularity among the students of South Park Elementary by posting embarrassing information gleaned through unlawful access to the confidential phone calls and emails of the school and its student body. While Cartman
is elated at the embarrassment of one such student, Pete Melman, who defecated in his pants while in class, and required his mother to bring him a clean pair of jeans
, the school administrators are displeased. Recalling that a year earlier, another student, Corey Duran, suffered a similar incident and committed suicide
as the result of Cartman spearheading a campaign of ridicule and torment against him, Mr. Mackey, Principal Victoria and Mr. Adler ask Cartman not to let the same thing happen to Pete. Though Cartman initially rebuffs their request, telling them that it is impossible to contain such an incident, they offer to make it worth Cartman's while, piquing his interest.
Cartman engineers a repeat of Pete's incident by giving another student, Jenny Simon, cupcake
s laced with laxatives, causing her to defecate in her pants in the middle of class. After Jenny breaks her pelvis
by attempting suicide, Cartman is pleased, feeling that he prevented Pete from doing so, but the administrators angrily explain to him that they did not want anyone to attempt suicide. After they tell him that he must fix this or forfeit that which they promised him, Cartman devises a plan to reward the student body for their recent state exam scores with a pizza party, at which they will feed the students pizza laced with laxatives and Arby's
horsey sauce
, thus causing the entire student body to suffer the same misfortune as Pete and Jenny, diffusing the torment they experienced. Although initially outraged at Cartman's idea, they realize they do not have a better one, and decide to implement it.
The student body, save Kyle
, continues to enjoy Eavesdropper until Stan
has a change of heart when the site publishes information from a private email of his that he sent to Kenny
. This revelation angers his girlfriend, Wendy. Rallying the student body against Eavesdropper, the students discover from the IP address
es of the site's postings that they are being made from the school's music room, where they discover a blonde-haired
rat at a computer terminal. The rat escapes, though they discover that his name is WikiLeaks
.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom of a young boy, Vernon Trumpski, Lemmiwinks, the old school gerbil from the episode "The Death Camp of Tolerance
", who is now Vernon's pet, is visited by the ghostly Frog King, who previously guided him to safety in that episode. The Frog King tells him that Lemmiwinks' brother, WikiLeaks, is spreading terrible rumors based on hacked emails. When Lemmiwinks exhibits reluctance to confront his own brother, the Frog Prince and his colleague, the Sparrow Prince, send another spirit guide, the Catatafish, to Stan and his friends, instructing them to go to Trumpski's house and take Lemmiwinks.
As Cartman and the administrators prepare the pizza, the administrators uphold their end of the agreement by presenting singer Selena Gomez
to Cartman, and then beating her up, much to Cartman's delight. Their actions are observed by Wikileaks, who announces to his site's visitors that he will soon reveal his biggest story yet. As the public reacts to this announcement, the school administrators, worried that they will be fired when their plan is exposed by Eavesdropper, devise to distract the public with an even bigger story, that of a student's suicide. Mackey decides that they will engineer Cartman's suicide by literally throwing him under a bus
.
The children procure Lemmiwinks from Vernon's home, and take him to the school by bus, but on the way there, the school administrators throw Cartman in front of it, and declare that Cartman committed suicide. The students and administrators continue with Lemmiwinks to the school, where he confronts and kills Wikileaks, allowing Mackey to delete the content of Eavesdropper. Cartman, who suffered only a broken arm and leg, gets revenge on the administrators by giving them laxative-laced cupcakes, causing Mackey to defecate severely in the hallway.
graded the episode a B, stating, "What seemed initially like the show’s take on school bullying turned into an epic struggle between two rats for supremacy. While the two main plots did intersect, they spent too long apart to truly feel like one and the same story. Both had strong elements, but didn’t fully mix."
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, and the 219th episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on October 19, 2011. Much of the episode's plot alludes to WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
and its surrounding controversy. It has also been viewed as commentary on the TV series Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
, topical celebrity email hacking, and school bullying.
The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
and is rated TV-MA L in the United States.
Plot
A new gossipGossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
website named Eavesdropper gains popularity among the students of South Park Elementary by posting embarrassing information gleaned through unlawful access to the confidential phone calls and emails of the school and its student body. While Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
is elated at the embarrassment of one such student, Pete Melman, who defecated in his pants while in class, and required his mother to bring him a clean pair of jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
, the school administrators are displeased. Recalling that a year earlier, another student, Corey Duran, suffered a similar incident and committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
as the result of Cartman spearheading a campaign of ridicule and torment against him, Mr. Mackey, Principal Victoria and Mr. Adler ask Cartman not to let the same thing happen to Pete. Though Cartman initially rebuffs their request, telling them that it is impossible to contain such an incident, they offer to make it worth Cartman's while, piquing his interest.
Cartman engineers a repeat of Pete's incident by giving another student, Jenny Simon, cupcake
Cupcake
A cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup...
s laced with laxatives, causing her to defecate in her pants in the middle of class. After Jenny breaks her pelvis
Pelvis
In human anatomy, the pelvis is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the lower limbs .The pelvis includes several structures:...
by attempting suicide, Cartman is pleased, feeling that he prevented Pete from doing so, but the administrators angrily explain to him that they did not want anyone to attempt suicide. After they tell him that he must fix this or forfeit that which they promised him, Cartman devises a plan to reward the student body for their recent state exam scores with a pizza party, at which they will feed the students pizza laced with laxatives and Arby's
Arby's
Arby's is a fast food restaurant chain in the United States and Canada. Roark Capital Group owns 81.5% of the company, with Wendy's Company owning the other 18.5%. It is primarily known for selling roast beef sandwiches and curly fries. The Arby's menu also includes chicken sandwiches, appetizers,...
horsey sauce
Horseradish
Horseradish is a perennial plant of the Brassicaceae family, which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, and cabbages. The plant is probably native to south eastern Europe and the Arab World , but is popular around the world today...
, thus causing the entire student body to suffer the same misfortune as Pete and Jenny, diffusing the torment they experienced. Although initially outraged at Cartman's idea, they realize they do not have a better one, and decide to implement it.
The student body, save Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
, continues to enjoy Eavesdropper until Stan
Stan Marsh
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
has a change of heart when the site publishes information from a private email of his that he sent to Kenny
Kenny McCormick
Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is one of the four central characters along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his...
. This revelation angers his girlfriend, Wendy. Rallying the student body against Eavesdropper, the students discover from the IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
es of the site's postings that they are being made from the school's music room, where they discover a blonde-haired
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
rat at a computer terminal. The rat escapes, though they discover that his name is WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom of a young boy, Vernon Trumpski, Lemmiwinks, the old school gerbil from the episode "The Death Camp of Tolerance
The Death Camp of Tolerance
"The Death Camp of Tolerance" is episode 93 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It was originally broadcast on November 20, 2002.-External links:* Full episode at South Park Studios* Episode guide at South Park Studios...
", who is now Vernon's pet, is visited by the ghostly Frog King, who previously guided him to safety in that episode. The Frog King tells him that Lemmiwinks' brother, WikiLeaks, is spreading terrible rumors based on hacked emails. When Lemmiwinks exhibits reluctance to confront his own brother, the Frog Prince and his colleague, the Sparrow Prince, send another spirit guide, the Catatafish, to Stan and his friends, instructing them to go to Trumpski's house and take Lemmiwinks.
As Cartman and the administrators prepare the pizza, the administrators uphold their end of the agreement by presenting singer Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place...
to Cartman, and then beating her up, much to Cartman's delight. Their actions are observed by Wikileaks, who announces to his site's visitors that he will soon reveal his biggest story yet. As the public reacts to this announcement, the school administrators, worried that they will be fired when their plan is exposed by Eavesdropper, devise to distract the public with an even bigger story, that of a student's suicide. Mackey decides that they will engineer Cartman's suicide by literally throwing him under a bus
Throw under the bus
To throw under the bus is an idiomatic phrase meaning to sacrifice another person , who is usually not deserving of such treatment, out of malice or for personal gain....
.
The children procure Lemmiwinks from Vernon's home, and take him to the school by bus, but on the way there, the school administrators throw Cartman in front of it, and declare that Cartman committed suicide. The students and administrators continue with Lemmiwinks to the school, where he confronts and kills Wikileaks, allowing Mackey to delete the content of Eavesdropper. Cartman, who suffered only a broken arm and leg, gets revenge on the administrators by giving them laxative-laced cupcakes, causing Mackey to defecate severely in the hallway.
Reception
Ryan McGhee of The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
graded the episode a B, stating, "What seemed initially like the show’s take on school bullying turned into an epic struggle between two rats for supremacy. While the two main plots did intersect, they spent too long apart to truly feel like one and the same story. Both had strong elements, but didn’t fully mix."