Crippled Summer
Encyclopedia
"Crippled Summer" is the seventh episode and mid-season finale of the fourteenth season
of the American animated television series South Park
, and the 202nd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central
in the United States on April 28, 2010. In the episode, the South Park children try to help Towelie overcome his drug addiction, while Nathan and his lackey Mimsy plot to destroy Jimmy during athletic competitions at a summer camp for handicapped children.
The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker
, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. The story of Towelie's addiction is presented as a parody of the reality series Intervention
. Parker and fellow co-creator Matt Stone
originally planned an Intervention parody around Towelie for the tenth season
episode "A Million Little Fibers
", but those plans were eventually scrapped. Several of the handicapped children in "Crippled Summer" are made to resemble characters from the Looney Tunes
cartoon series, including Elmer Fudd
, Beaky Buzzard, Daffy Duck
, and Porky Pig
, as well as non-Looney Tunes characters Droopy and Fat Albert
.
"Crippled Summer" received positive reviews, though some commentators expressed disappointment that the episode did not respond to the controversies surrounding the show's depictions of Muhammad
in the previous episodes, "200
" and "201
". According to Nielsen Media Research
, "Crippled Summer" was seen by 3.56 million viewers, making it the most watched cable show of the night, and outperforming even some prime time network shows that evening.
, crystal meth
, heroin and crack
. He previously had a girlfriend named Rebecca and conceived a child with her (a washcloth), but he was kicked out of their home due to his persistently getting high. His life continued in a downward spiral, leaving him in heavy debt and offering oral sex
to strangers for money in the alleys. The boys help him get a job at Lake Tardicaca, a summer camp
for handicapped children, as a towel to dry off the campers. However, Towelie persists in drug use and fellating strangers in the supply closet, and is fired by the camp. The boys confront Towelie and make emotional speeches to him as a plea to help him from killing himself (except Cartman
, who uses this opportunity to verbally attack Kyle
and his Jewish faith on television, which the psychiatrist allows to continue in respect of the "no interruptions" rule). Towelie refuses their pleas until Butters
reveals he has brought Towelie's child, "Washcloth", which finally prompts him to accept the offer to go to a rehabilitation clinic in Southern California. Later, Towelie reveals he has completed rehab and is now living with his girlfriend and son.
Meanwhile, at the summer camp, Nathan and his lackey Mimsy, obvious parodies of Bugs Bunny
gangsters Rocky and Mugsy, plot to destroy Jimmy during the athletic competitions so Nathan can be declared the camp's champion. This sub-plot is also narrated in the same style as "Intervention". Nathan uses Mimsy as a minion to carry out his plans to harm Jimmy, but is repeatedly foiled by Mimsy, who misinterprets his instructions (or takes them too literally) and forces plans to backfire on Nathan instead. Nathan tries to plant a black mamba in Jimmy's canoe during a race, but Mimsy instead leaves it in Nathan's canoe (when told to put it "in the canoe"). Subsequently, Nathan tries to lead Jimmy's team into dangerous Indian territory during a scavenger hunt, but instead Mimsy switches the maps and switches them again (Nathan demanded him to "Switch the maps! Switch the maps!"), and leads Nathan's team there. When Nathan tries to use a whistle with a shark mating call against Jimmy, Mimsy, who was supposed to blow the whistle underwater, instead swims in the water briefly then blows the whistle on land and a shark jumps out of the water and anally
rapes
Nathan. During the talent show, Nathan rigs Jimmy's ukelele to explode during a solo, but when Jimmy cannot perform the solo correctly, Mimsy starts to show Jimmy the correct notes. Nathan interrupts and confronts Mimsy about his failure to follow orders. With a lapse of judgment, Nathan plays the correct notes and causes the ukelele to explode, knocking him away before being further injured by his past plans attacking him again. The ukulele solo is spoofing an episode of Looney Tunes in which Daffy Duck rigs a piano to explode when Bugs Bunny plays the high C in the song Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms, but is foiled when Bugs repeatedly plays a C-sharp by "mistake". Nathan is subsequently escorted to an ambulance
, but is given the champion's crown by Jimmy. Nathan tells Jimmy he hates him anyway before he is sent away to the hospital. The episode ends with a message encouraging people who know towels in need of drug rehabilitation to visit "Restore Stephen Baldwin", a real-life website seeking assistance for actor Stephen Baldwin
.
, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. It originally aired on Comedy Central
in the United States on April 28, 2010 and served as the mid-series finale of the fourteenth season
before a months-long hiatus for the series. Parker and fellow series co-creator Matt Stone
originally planned for the tenth season
episode "A Million Little Fibers
" to be about Towelie's struggle to overcome addiction in the style of the television series Intervention
, with the children and residents of South Park coming together to help him, just as it was done in "Crippled Summer". However, after writing portions of the story for the tenth season episode, they found they did not know where to bring the story or how to resolve it. As a result, they completely revamped the episode and focused it on talk show host Oprah Winfrey
and the controversy surrounding the James Frey
book A Million Little Pieces
, rather than Towelie's addiction. "Crippled Summer" also marked the first appearance by Towelie since the "A Million Little Fibers", and the first appearance of Nathan, Jimmy's handicapped nemesis, since the eighth season
episode "Up the Down Steroid
".
, the A&E Network
documentary series about people struggling with various addictions. Throughout the episode, information about Towelie's drug addiction is presented on completely black screens with white letters. This device is used frequently in Intervention. The interviews with Towelie's friends and footage of their pleas to get help are also characteristic of the reality series. Many of the campers at Lake Tardicaca are parodies of characters from the cartoon series Looney Tunes
. Nathan and Mimsy, in particular, are strongly influenced by Rocky and Mugsy
, with Nathan taking on the role of the diminutive mastermind (like Rocky) who is constantly thwarted by his large but dim-witted accomplice (like Mugsy). Other characters from the summer camp in the episode resemble cartoon characters such as Elmer Fudd
, Pete Puma, Droopy, Porky Pig
, Foghorn Leghorn, and Beaky Buzzard.
The episode ends with a reference to "Restore Stephen Baldwin", a real-life website seeking to restore actor Stephen Baldwin
's career and solicit donations to repay his $2.3 million debt. The joke compares Towelie's addiction and rehabilitation to that of Baldwin, who had a history of drug abuse before becoming a born-again Christian. A version of "Are You Ready for the Summer?", a camp theme song sung by children in the comedy film Meatballs
, is featured. The episode makes reference to actress Kirstie Alley
when a counselor says Towelie is the most troubled towel he had seen since Alley's towel, who he said "has seen some nasty stuff".
, making it the most watched cable television show of the night. It received a 2.2 rating/4 share among overall viewers and a 2.0 rating/6 share among adult viewers between ages 18 and 49. This rating marked an improvement over the previous South Park episode, "201
", and outperformed those of several primetime network shows that evening, including Fox
's Lie to Me
, ABC
's The Middle
, NBC
's Minute to Win It
, CBS
's The New Adventures of Old Christine
and The CW Network's America's Next Top Model
, most of which were in repeats that evening. "Crippled Summer" received a 4.1 rating/13 share among male viewers between ages 18 and 34. The episode also ranked fourth for the week among cable viewers between ages 18 and 49 and, because it ranked only behind three NBA playoff
games, it was the highest-rated scripted cable show of the week. "Crippled Summer" was the highest-rated cable show among the 18-34 viewer demographic.
"Crippled Summer" received mixed reviews. Ramsey Isler of IGN
called "Crippled Summer" a brilliant episode, particularly praising the return of Towelie, who he said "has a slew of great moments in this story, making up for his long absence from the series". Isler said after the controversy raised from the depictions of Muhammad
in the previous two episodes, "200
" and "201", he appreciated that the show returned to a simpler plot and provided "a little comedy relief". The A.V. Club
writer Josh Modell also praised South Park for "not getting too caught up in the Muhammad thing", and praised the jokes about Intervention, which he said "is one of those shows that's really easy to parody". He also praised several individual jokes, like Cartman's theories about the Jews and Nathan getting raped by a shark, although he said the Mimsy jokes were "a little one-note". Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
said of the episode: "Not the kind of South Park episode that’s going to stir national-news debate, but funny and vulgar enough to satisfy fans."
Carlos Delgado of iF Magazine pointed out that although the episode mocked drug addicts and handicapped children, it did not face the kind of censorship "200" and "201" did, which he suggested proved that censorship was born of fear rather than ethics. Delgado also said the comparison of handicapped children to Looney Tunes characters "should remind us all that such cruel portrayals of disabled people have been going on for years". Others criticized the episode. MTV
writer Adam Rosenberg thought the episode "just wasn't very funny", and said it missed an opportunity to continue the creative edginess demonstrated in "200" and "201". Rosenberg found the jokes about handicapped children "pointlessly mean", and said the fact that they are allowed where depictions of Muhammad are censored "makes a point about the absurdity of what is and isn't TV-acceptable". The television website TV Fanatic praised the Towelie storyline and the use of his son "Washcloth", but said the jokes about the handicapped children were unfunny and irritating. The site called it "by far the weakest of the season" and a disappointment following "200" and "201".
set and two-disc Blu-Ray
set in the United States on April 26, 2011.
South Park (season 14)
The fourteenth season of South Park, an American animated television comedy series, originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central between March 17 and November 17, 2010. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with...
of the American animated television series South Park
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 202nd overall episode of the series. It originally 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 on April 28, 2010. In the episode, the South Park children try to help Towelie overcome his drug addiction, while Nathan and his lackey Mimsy plot to destroy Jimmy during athletic competitions at a summer camp for handicapped children.
The episode was written and directed 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 was rated TV-MA L in the United States. The story of Towelie's addiction is presented as a parody of the reality series Intervention
Intervention (TV series)
Intervention is an American television program about the realities facing addicts of many kinds.Each program follows one or two participants, each of whom has an addiction or other mentally and/or physically damaging problem and believes that they are being filmed for a documentary on their problem...
. Parker and fellow co-creator Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
originally planned an Intervention parody around Towelie for the tenth season
South Park (season 10)
Season 10 of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 22, 2006. The tenth season concluded after 14 episodes on November 15, 2006...
episode "A Million Little Fibers
A Million Little Fibers
"A Million Little Fibers" is the fifth episode of the tenth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 144th episode overall. It was first broadcast on Comedy Central in the United States on April 19, 2006...
", but those plans were eventually scrapped. Several of the handicapped children in "Crippled Summer" are made to resemble characters from the Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
cartoon series, including Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
, Beaky Buzzard, Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
, and Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
, as well as non-Looney Tunes characters Droopy and Fat Albert
Fat Albert
Fat Albert may refer to:* Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, a cartoon show* Fat Albert , a 1973 comedy album by Bill Cosby* Fat Albert , a 2004 live-action film...
.
"Crippled Summer" received positive reviews, though some commentators expressed disappointment that the episode did not respond to the controversies surrounding the show's depictions of Muhammad
Depictions of Muhammad
The permissibility of depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, has long been a concern in the history of Islam. Oral and written descriptions are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions....
in the previous episodes, "200
200 (South Park)
"200" is the fifth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 200th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 14, 2010...
" and "201
201 (South Park)
"201" is the sixth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 201st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 21, 2010. The episode continued multiple storylines from the previous episode, "200", in which a group of angry...
". According to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, "Crippled Summer" was seen by 3.56 million viewers, making it the most watched cable show of the night, and outperforming even some prime time network shows that evening.
Plot
The drug addiction of Towelie, a living and talking towel, is growing so overwhelming that the South Park children make attempts to help him. Towelie's history is shown, using head interviews and on-screen captions (in a parody of "Intervention"), starting with years of drug addiction to marijuanaCannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
, crystal meth
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
, heroin and crack
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
. He previously had a girlfriend named Rebecca and conceived a child with her (a washcloth), but he was kicked out of their home due to his persistently getting high. His life continued in a downward spiral, leaving him in heavy debt and offering oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
to strangers for money in the alleys. The boys help him get a job at Lake Tardicaca, a summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
for handicapped children, as a towel to dry off the campers. However, Towelie persists in drug use and fellating strangers in the supply closet, and is fired by the camp. The boys confront Towelie and make emotional speeches to him as a plea to help him from killing himself (except 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...
, who uses this opportunity to verbally attack 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...
and his Jewish faith on television, which the psychiatrist allows to continue in respect of the "no interruptions" rule). Towelie refuses their pleas until Butters
Butters Stotch
Leopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough. He is a fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town...
reveals he has brought Towelie's child, "Washcloth", which finally prompts him to accept the offer to go to a rehabilitation clinic in Southern California. Later, Towelie reveals he has completed rehab and is now living with his girlfriend and son.
Meanwhile, at the summer camp, Nathan and his lackey Mimsy, obvious parodies of Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
gangsters Rocky and Mugsy, plot to destroy Jimmy during the athletic competitions so Nathan can be declared the camp's champion. This sub-plot is also narrated in the same style as "Intervention". Nathan uses Mimsy as a minion to carry out his plans to harm Jimmy, but is repeatedly foiled by Mimsy, who misinterprets his instructions (or takes them too literally) and forces plans to backfire on Nathan instead. Nathan tries to plant a black mamba in Jimmy's canoe during a race, but Mimsy instead leaves it in Nathan's canoe (when told to put it "in the canoe"). Subsequently, Nathan tries to lead Jimmy's team into dangerous Indian territory during a scavenger hunt, but instead Mimsy switches the maps and switches them again (Nathan demanded him to "Switch the maps! Switch the maps!"), and leads Nathan's team there. When Nathan tries to use a whistle with a shark mating call against Jimmy, Mimsy, who was supposed to blow the whistle underwater, instead swims in the water briefly then blows the whistle on land and a shark jumps out of the water and anally
Anal sex
Anal sex is the sex act in which the penis is inserted into the anus of a sexual partner. The term can also include other sexual acts involving the anus, including pegging, anilingus , fingering, and object insertion.Common misconception describes anal sex as practiced almost exclusively by gay men...
rapes
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
Nathan. During the talent show, Nathan rigs Jimmy's ukelele to explode during a solo, but when Jimmy cannot perform the solo correctly, Mimsy starts to show Jimmy the correct notes. Nathan interrupts and confronts Mimsy about his failure to follow orders. With a lapse of judgment, Nathan plays the correct notes and causes the ukelele to explode, knocking him away before being further injured by his past plans attacking him again. The ukulele solo is spoofing an episode of Looney Tunes in which Daffy Duck rigs a piano to explode when Bugs Bunny plays the high C in the song Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms, but is foiled when Bugs repeatedly plays a C-sharp by "mistake". Nathan is subsequently escorted to an ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
, but is given the champion's crown by Jimmy. Nathan tells Jimmy he hates him anyway before he is sent away to the hospital. The episode ends with a message encouraging people who know towels in need of drug rehabilitation to visit "Restore Stephen Baldwin", a real-life website seeking assistance for actor Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer and author. One of the Baldwin brothers, he is known for his roles as William F. Cody in the western show The Young Riders and as Stuart in the movie Threesome...
.
Production
"Crippled Summer" was written and directed by series co-creator Trey ParkerTrey 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 was rated TV-MA L in the United States. It originally 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 on April 28, 2010 and served as the mid-series finale of the fourteenth season
South Park (season 14)
The fourteenth season of South Park, an American animated television comedy series, originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central between March 17 and November 17, 2010. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with...
before a months-long hiatus for the series. Parker and fellow series co-creator Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
originally planned for the tenth season
South Park (season 10)
Season 10 of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 22, 2006. The tenth season concluded after 14 episodes on November 15, 2006...
episode "A Million Little Fibers
A Million Little Fibers
"A Million Little Fibers" is the fifth episode of the tenth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 144th episode overall. It was first broadcast on Comedy Central in the United States on April 19, 2006...
" to be about Towelie's struggle to overcome addiction in the style of the television series Intervention
Intervention (TV series)
Intervention is an American television program about the realities facing addicts of many kinds.Each program follows one or two participants, each of whom has an addiction or other mentally and/or physically damaging problem and believes that they are being filmed for a documentary on their problem...
, with the children and residents of South Park coming together to help him, just as it was done in "Crippled Summer". However, after writing portions of the story for the tenth season episode, they found they did not know where to bring the story or how to resolve it. As a result, they completely revamped the episode and focused it on talk show host Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
and the controversy surrounding the James Frey
James Frey
James Christopher Frey is an American writer. His books A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard , as well as Bright Shiny Morning , were bestsellers...
book A Million Little Pieces
A Million Little Pieces
A Million Little Pieces is a semi-fictional memoir by James Frey. It tells the story of a 23-year-old alcoholic and drug abuser and how he copes with rehabilitation in a Twelve steps-oriented treatment center...
, rather than Towelie's addiction. "Crippled Summer" also marked the first appearance by Towelie since the "A Million Little Fibers", and the first appearance of Nathan, Jimmy's handicapped nemesis, since the eighth season
South Park (season 8)
Season eight of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 17, 2004. The eighth season concluded after 14 episodes on December 15, 2004.- Episodes :-External links:...
episode "Up the Down Steroid
Up the Down Steroid
"Up the Down Steroid" is the 113th episode of the Comedy Central series South Park. The title is a parody of the book Up the Down Staircase. It originally aired on March 24, 2004.- Plot :...
".
Cultural references
"Crippled Summer" served as a parody of InterventionIntervention (TV series)
Intervention is an American television program about the realities facing addicts of many kinds.Each program follows one or two participants, each of whom has an addiction or other mentally and/or physically damaging problem and believes that they are being filmed for a documentary on their problem...
, the A&E Network
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
documentary series about people struggling with various addictions. Throughout the episode, information about Towelie's drug addiction is presented on completely black screens with white letters. This device is used frequently in Intervention. The interviews with Towelie's friends and footage of their pleas to get help are also characteristic of the reality series. Many of the campers at Lake Tardicaca are parodies of characters from the cartoon series Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
. Nathan and Mimsy, in particular, are strongly influenced by Rocky and Mugsy
Rocky and Mugsy
Rocky and Mugsy are animated cartoon characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. They were created by Friz Freleng.-Character Biography:...
, with Nathan taking on the role of the diminutive mastermind (like Rocky) who is constantly thwarted by his large but dim-witted accomplice (like Mugsy). Other characters from the summer camp in the episode resemble cartoon characters such as Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
, Pete Puma, Droopy, Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
, Foghorn Leghorn, and Beaky Buzzard.
The episode ends with a reference to "Restore Stephen Baldwin", a real-life website seeking to restore actor Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer and author. One of the Baldwin brothers, he is known for his roles as William F. Cody in the western show The Young Riders and as Stuart in the movie Threesome...
's career and solicit donations to repay his $2.3 million debt. The joke compares Towelie's addiction and rehabilitation to that of Baldwin, who had a history of drug abuse before becoming a born-again Christian. A version of "Are You Ready for the Summer?", a camp theme song sung by children in the comedy film Meatballs
Meatballs (film)
Meatballs is a 1979 Canadian comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman. It is noted for the first film appearance of Bill Murray in a starring role and for launching Reitman into a distinguished career of financially successful comedies including Stripes and Ghostbusters , both starring Murray...
, is featured. The episode makes reference to actress Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Louise Alley is an American actress known for her role in the TV show Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987–1993, winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991...
when a counselor says Towelie is the most troubled towel he had seen since Alley's towel, who he said "has seen some nasty stuff".
Reception
In its original American broadcast on April 29, 2010, "Crippled Summer" was watched by 3.56 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, making it the most watched cable television show of the night. It received a 2.2 rating/4 share among overall viewers and a 2.0 rating/6 share among adult viewers between ages 18 and 49. This rating marked an improvement over the previous South Park episode, "201
201 (South Park)
"201" is the sixth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 201st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 21, 2010. The episode continued multiple storylines from the previous episode, "200", in which a group of angry...
", and outperformed those of several primetime network shows that evening, including Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's Lie to Me
Lie to Me
Lie to Me is a 2009-2011 American television series.Lie to Me may also refer to:* Lie to Me , a South Korean drama series* "Lie to Me" , an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The Middle
The Middle (TV series)
The Middle is an American situation comedy television series that premiered on ABC on September 30, 2009. The show features Frances "Frankie" Heck , a working-class, Midwestern woman married to Mike Heck who resides in the small fictional town of Orson, Indiana. They are the parents of three...
, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Minute to Win It
Minute to Win It
Minute to Win It is an American prime time game show on NBC hosted by Guy Fieri. Contestants take part in a series of 60-second challenges that use objects that are commonly available around the house....
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine is an American comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus which ran for five seasons on CBS from March 13, 2006, to May 12, 2010...
and The CW Network's America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
, most of which were in repeats that evening. "Crippled Summer" received a 4.1 rating/13 share among male viewers between ages 18 and 34. The episode also ranked fourth for the week among cable viewers between ages 18 and 49 and, because it ranked only behind three NBA playoff
2010 NBA Playoffs
The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
games, it was the highest-rated scripted cable show of the week. "Crippled Summer" was the highest-rated cable show among the 18-34 viewer demographic.
"Crippled Summer" received mixed reviews. Ramsey Isler of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
called "Crippled Summer" a brilliant episode, particularly praising the return of Towelie, who he said "has a slew of great moments in this story, making up for his long absence from the series". Isler said after the controversy raised from the depictions of Muhammad
Depictions of Muhammad
The permissibility of depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, has long been a concern in the history of Islam. Oral and written descriptions are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions....
in the previous two episodes, "200
200 (South Park)
"200" is the fifth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 200th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 14, 2010...
" and "201", he appreciated that the show returned to a simpler plot and provided "a little comedy relief". The A.V. Club
The 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...
writer Josh Modell also praised South Park for "not getting too caught up in the Muhammad thing", and praised the jokes about Intervention, which he said "is one of those shows that's really easy to parody". He also praised several individual jokes, like Cartman's theories about the Jews and Nathan getting raped by a shark, although he said the Mimsy jokes were "a little one-note". Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said of the episode: "Not the kind of South Park episode that’s going to stir national-news debate, but funny and vulgar enough to satisfy fans."
Carlos Delgado of iF Magazine pointed out that although the episode mocked drug addicts and handicapped children, it did not face the kind of censorship "200" and "201" did, which he suggested proved that censorship was born of fear rather than ethics. Delgado also said the comparison of handicapped children to Looney Tunes characters "should remind us all that such cruel portrayals of disabled people have been going on for years". Others criticized the episode. MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
writer Adam Rosenberg thought the episode "just wasn't very funny", and said it missed an opportunity to continue the creative edginess demonstrated in "200" and "201". Rosenberg found the jokes about handicapped children "pointlessly mean", and said the fact that they are allowed where depictions of Muhammad are censored "makes a point about the absurdity of what is and isn't TV-acceptable". The television website TV Fanatic praised the Towelie storyline and the use of his son "Washcloth", but said the jokes about the handicapped children were unfunny and irritating. The site called it "by far the weakest of the season" and a disappointment following "200" and "201".
Home release
"Crippled Summer", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Parks fourteenth season, were released on a three-disc DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set and two-disc Blu-Ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
set in the United States on April 26, 2011.
External links
- "Crippled Summer" Full episode at South Park Studios
- "Crippled Summer" Episode guide at South Park Studios