"
Kenny Dies" is episode 78 of the
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries predominantly comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
series
South ParkSouth Park is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become infamous for its crude, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
. It was originally broadcast on December 5, 2001. Notably, the gag of Kenny dying in almost every episode was dropped after this episode, and he did not reappear until "
Free Hat"Free Hat" is episode 88 of the animated series South Park. It originally aired on July 10, 2002.- Plot :Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Tweek, go to see a "re-re-re-release" of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Before the movie, a trailer of the re-release of E.T...
" (trailer cameo only) and "
A Ladder to Heaven"A Ladder to Heaven" is episode 91 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It was originally broadcast on November 6, 2002.- Plot :The boys win an all-you-can-grab candy prize. However, they cannot claim it without the stub of the ticket they bought. After thinking hard, they realize that they...
" (these were appearances in apparition form; Kenny did not return to life until the end of "
Red Sleigh Down"Red Sleigh Down" is episode 96 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on December 11, 2002. The episode is notable for the return of Kenny from his death in Season Five...
"). This was the final appearance of the "4th Grade" title sequence which was first seen in "4th Grade".
"
Kenny Dies" is episode 78 of the
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries predominantly comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
series
South ParkSouth Park is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become infamous for its crude, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
. It was originally broadcast on December 5, 2001. Notably, the gag of Kenny dying in almost every episode was dropped after this episode, and he did not reappear until "
Free Hat"Free Hat" is episode 88 of the animated series South Park. It originally aired on July 10, 2002.- Plot :Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Tweek, go to see a "re-re-re-release" of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Before the movie, a trailer of the re-release of E.T...
" (trailer cameo only) and "
A Ladder to Heaven"A Ladder to Heaven" is episode 91 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It was originally broadcast on November 6, 2002.- Plot :The boys win an all-you-can-grab candy prize. However, they cannot claim it without the stub of the ticket they bought. After thinking hard, they realize that they...
" (these were appearances in apparition form; Kenny did not return to life until the end of "
Red Sleigh Down"Red Sleigh Down" is episode 96 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on December 11, 2002. The episode is notable for the return of Kenny from his death in Season Five...
"). This was the final appearance of the "4th Grade" title sequence which was first seen in "4th Grade". This is also the first episode where Kenny's death is truly taken seriously.
Plot
The episode begins in an
abortionAn abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...
clinic with a woman giving her permission for scientists to use her unborn child for
stem cell researchStem cells are cells found in most, if not all, multi-cellular organisms. They are characterized by the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and differentiating into a diverse range of specialized cell types. Research in the stem cell field grew out of findings by Canadian...
. The truck transporting the fetuses from the clinic to a research facility is destroyed in an accident. Its cargo is noticed and subsequently stolen by passerby
Eric CartmanEric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character on the American animated television series South Park. One of the four main characters along with fellow protagonists Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, Cartman is often portrayed as the series' main antagonist in opposition of his friends...
(riding his
Big WheelA Big Wheel is a type of tricycle, usually made of plastic, with an oversized front wheel, that rides very low to the ground. Introduced by Louis Marx and Company in 1969, the Big Wheel was a very popular toy in the 1970s in the United States, partly because of its low cost and partly because...
and singing
Sheena EastonSheena Easton is a Scottish singer who achieved worldwide fame in the 1980s. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television program The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract, and got her a deal with EMI Records...
's "Morning Train (9 To 5)") who intends to resell the fetuses for a tremendous profit. This goal leads him to call various institutions in the style of a fast-talking agent, with the famous recurring line "you're breaking my balls, here," finally landing a deal with a government organization. To his dismay, the government puts a ban on stem cell research immediately afterward. Meanwhile,
KennyKenny 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 the parka hood covering his mouth, is...
is diagnosed with what is presumably
muscular dystrophyMuscular dystrophy refers to a group of genetic, hereditary muscle diseases that weaken the muscles that move the human body. Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue...
, and his friends and family are told that he will probably die. The boys (especially Cartman) are shocked and saddened by the news, but do everything they can to support him and keep him company during his stay in the hospital - all but
StanStanley "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...
, who cannot bear to see Kenny dying and refuses to visit him. This marks one of the few episodes in which Kenny's friends mourn his death.
Cartman, in the meantime, has a researcher explain to him how stem cells actually work, and learns that they might be used to help Kenny. Cartman also mentions using stem cells to duplicate a
Shakey's PizzaShakey's Pizza is a pizza restaurant chain based in the United States. The chain currently has about 400 stores globally, and about 60 in the United States....
restaurant, although the researcher advises him that lumber would be better suited for that task. Cartman gives a speech to the
House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
on behalf of stem cell research. He ultimately succeeds in getting the ban lifted by singing "
Heat of the Moment"Heat of the Moment" is the first single released by progressive rock band Asia from their 1982 eponymous debut. The song was the most popular of the album, and a big hit in the USA, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #4 on the Billboard Top Singles chart. It was written by...
" by
AsiaAsia is a rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup and included former members of veteran progressive rock bands Yes, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Uriah Heep, U.K., Roxy Music, Wishbone Ash and The Buggles...
, and begins visiting abortion clinics around the area to collect more aborted fetuses.
Stan, with the supporting words of
ChefJerome "Chef" McElroy is a former recurring character on the Comedy Central series South Park. Voiced by Isaac Hayes, Chef, as his nickname implied, worked as an elementary school cafeteria worker in the fictional town of South Park, Colorado...
, finally gets up the courage to come visit Kenny in the hospital, only to find out that Kenny has died. On hearing that Kenny's last words were "Where's Stan?", he accuses himself of being Kenny's worst friend. During the funeral, Cartman bursts in and exclaims that a miracle has occurred. He drags Stan and Kyle away to show them how he has manipulated the stem cells from his aborted fetuses into building his very own
Shakey's PizzaShakey's Pizza is a pizza restaurant chain based in the United States. The chain currently has about 400 stores globally, and about 60 in the United States....
. Kyle promptly beats up Cartman, assuming that Cartman had pretended to take Kenny's death seriously in order to get the ban on stem cells lifted, therefore allowing him to make his own
Shakey's PizzaShakey's Pizza is a pizza restaurant chain based in the United States. The chain currently has about 400 stores globally, and about 60 in the United States....
. Stan is relieved after he realizes Cartman was Kenny's worst friend.
Reception
Serene Dominic of the
Detroit Metro TimesThe Metro Times is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed free of charge every Wednesday in newsstands in businesses and libraries around the city and suburbs...
called the scene from the episode where Cartman leads members of the
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
in a sing-along of "
Heat of the Moment"Heat of the Moment" is the first single released by progressive rock band Asia from their 1982 eponymous debut. The song was the most popular of the album, and a big hit in the USA, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #4 on the Billboard Top Singles chart. It was written by...
" as the rock group
AsiaAsia is a rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup and included former members of veteran progressive rock bands Yes, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Uriah Heep, U.K., Roxy Music, Wishbone Ash and The Buggles...
's "Greatest Cartoon Moment". In an article for
ESPN.comESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 360, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
Tim Kavanagh discussed stem cells and how they were used in the episode, writing: "This, as with many other important topics of our day, I learned from "South Park," specifically Episode 513, entitled 'Kenny Dies.'" In a review of the
South Park season 5
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
release, Choire Sicha of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
gave a "not-so-surprising surprise ending alert" that "Kenny finally really dies" at the end of the episode. Alessandra Stanely of
The New York Times cited the episode when noting that the political commentary on
South Park "is not any more subtle" than that of
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
or
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
.
External links
- Kenny Dies, episode at SouthParkStudios.com
- Kenny Dies, episode at Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries predominantly comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
website
- Kenny Dies, episode at IMDB