Scott Tenorman Must Die
Encyclopedia
"Scott Tenorman Must Die" is the fourth episode of the fifth season
of the animated television series South Park
, and the 69th episode of the series overall. "Scott Tenorman Must Die" originally aired in the United States
on July 11, 2001 on Comedy Central
. English rock
band Radiohead
guest star in the episode. It is widely considered by fans to be one of the best episodes of the series .
excitedly brags to Stan
, Kenny
and Kyle
that he is the first to reach puberty
, since he has gotten his first pubic hair
s. Cartman apparently did not know that you grow them yourself, and only has them because he bought the pubes from ninth-grader Scott Tenorman for $10. After being informed that he has been tricked, lied to, and laughed at, an angry Cartman tries various methods to get his money back. However, with each attempt to get his money back, Scott is one step ahead. And after a little while, Scott manages to steal even more of Cartman's money. After Scott makes Cartman sing that he is a "little piggy", Scott burns the money. After that happens, Cartman plots revenge. He attempts to train a pony
to bite off Scott's penis
, but Jimbo Kern later tells him that the best way to humiliate Scott is to find his weaknesses.
After learning that Scott's favorite band is Radiohead
, Cartman has everyone see a poorly-dubbed movie of the members of Radiohead being interviewed, with Cartman dubbing in his voice as the band members' to say how much they hate Scott. However, Scott one-ups him by showing a video of Cartman being humiliated, an act so funny that Kenny dies laughing. Cartman is pushed to the edge, and writes a letter to Radiohead to get them to visit South Park, claiming that Scott has "cancer
in his ass
". Cartman tells Stan and Kyle of his plan to get Scott's penis bit off at a chili cookoff
, which Radiohead would arrive at and see him crying, making them think he is not cool. Afterward, Stan and Kyle warn Scott, which prompts Scott to not only make a chili consisting of the pubes of all the teens in South Park, but tell his parents of a starving pony on an abandoned farm, which prompts his parents to go and save it that night.
The next day at the chili cookoff, both Scott and Chef
bring chili for the competition, as does Cartman. After they sit down to eat, Scott eats some of Cartman's chili, while Cartman lavishly scarfs down Scott's. As Cartman is finishing Scott's chili, Scott prepares to tell him the secret ingredient, but Cartman then indicates that he already knew, and the chili he is eating is not Scott's, as he switched it with Chef's. Cartman tells Scott that he told Stan and Kyle about his plan because he knew they would rat him out. Cartman then announces that his actual plan was to get Mr. Denkins, the farmer who owns the pony, to shoot and kill Scott's parents, and while Denkins was busy with the police, steal the corpses, chop them up and place their body parts into the chili Scott was eating. Scott finds his mom's finger, and breaks down crying. Cartman's final stage of his plan occurs when Radiohead (who are unaware of what just happened to Scott) come along and make fun of Scott for crying. Finally, Cartman begins licking the tears from Scott's face and a horrified Stan and Kyle, now aware of what Cartman is truly capable of, agree to never again get on his nerves.
and Matt Stone
on the South Park: The Hits DVD collection, this episode represented significant shifts for the show in two ways: The first reason is that it changed the characterization of Cartman from an annoying, spoiled kid to "the most evil kid in the world", though he remained likable to the audience because he had Scott's parents killed indirectly, without having to "pull the trigger himself". Secondly, prior to this episode, most episodes contained multiple storylines. By contrast, the creators could not come up with a subplot
for this episode, but upon finishing, they realized that a single, strong plot worked well. Since then, most episodes have contained just one plotline, or two strongly related stories.
The events of this episode are given new meaning in the season fourteen
episode "201
", in which Scott returns as the leader of the Ginger Separatist Movement
, revealing to Cartman that, while researching his revenge upon Cartman, he learned that his own father Jack Tenorman (a fictional Denver Broncos
right tackle) had sired Cartman with Cartman's mother Liane. This means that, that in this episode, Cartman is responsible for his own father's death and feeds him to his half-brother.
Stone recalled recording with Radiohead
in Santa Barbara
, pointing out that Thom Yorke
in particular had some difficulty performing lines.
South Park (season 5)
Season five of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on June 20, 2001. The fifth season concluded after 14 episodes on December 12, 2001...
of the 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 69th episode of the series overall. "Scott Tenorman Must Die" originally aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on July 11, 2001 on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. English rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
guest star in the episode. It is widely considered by fans to be one of the best episodes of the series .
Plot
CartmanEric 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...
excitedly brags to 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...
, 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...
and 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...
that he is the first to reach puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
, since he has gotten his first pubic hair
Pubic hair
Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area, the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region....
s. Cartman apparently did not know that you grow them yourself, and only has them because he bought the pubes from ninth-grader Scott Tenorman for $10. After being informed that he has been tricked, lied to, and laughed at, an angry Cartman tries various methods to get his money back. However, with each attempt to get his money back, Scott is one step ahead. And after a little while, Scott manages to steal even more of Cartman's money. After Scott makes Cartman sing that he is a "little piggy", Scott burns the money. After that happens, Cartman plots revenge. He attempts to train a pony
Pony
A pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
to bite off Scott's penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
, but Jimbo Kern later tells him that the best way to humiliate Scott is to find his weaknesses.
After learning that Scott's favorite band is Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Cartman has everyone see a poorly-dubbed movie of the members of Radiohead being interviewed, with Cartman dubbing in his voice as the band members' to say how much they hate Scott. However, Scott one-ups him by showing a video of Cartman being humiliated, an act so funny that Kenny dies laughing. Cartman is pushed to the edge, and writes a letter to Radiohead to get them to visit South Park, claiming that Scott has "cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in his ass
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
". Cartman tells Stan and Kyle of his plan to get Scott's penis bit off at a chili cookoff
Chili con carne
Chili con carne is a spicy stew. The name of the dish derives from the Spanish chile con carne, "chili pepper with meat". Traditional versions are made, minimally, from chili peppers, garlic, onions, and cumin, along with chopped or ground beef. Beans and tomatoes are frequently included...
, which Radiohead would arrive at and see him crying, making them think he is not cool. Afterward, Stan and Kyle warn Scott, which prompts Scott to not only make a chili consisting of the pubes of all the teens in South Park, but tell his parents of a starving pony on an abandoned farm, which prompts his parents to go and save it that night.
The next day at the chili cookoff, both Scott and Chef
Chef (South Park)
Jerome "Chef" McElroy is a fictional character on the Comedy Central series South Park. He was voiced by Isaac Hayes. A cafeteria worker at the local elementary school in the town of South Park, Colorado, Chef was generally portrayed as more level-headed than the other adult residents of the town...
bring chili for the competition, as does Cartman. After they sit down to eat, Scott eats some of Cartman's chili, while Cartman lavishly scarfs down Scott's. As Cartman is finishing Scott's chili, Scott prepares to tell him the secret ingredient, but Cartman then indicates that he already knew, and the chili he is eating is not Scott's, as he switched it with Chef's. Cartman tells Scott that he told Stan and Kyle about his plan because he knew they would rat him out. Cartman then announces that his actual plan was to get Mr. Denkins, the farmer who owns the pony, to shoot and kill Scott's parents, and while Denkins was busy with the police, steal the corpses, chop them up and place their body parts into the chili Scott was eating. Scott finds his mom's finger, and breaks down crying. Cartman's final stage of his plan occurs when Radiohead (who are unaware of what just happened to Scott) come along and make fun of Scott for crying. Finally, Cartman begins licking the tears from Scott's face and a horrified Stan and Kyle, now aware of what Cartman is truly capable of, agree to never again get on his nerves.
Cultural references
- The ending parodies the Looney TunesLooney TunesLooney 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...
cartoons, with the iris common appearing and Cartman saying "That's all folks!".
Production
According to audio commentary by 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 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....
on the South Park: The Hits DVD collection, this episode represented significant shifts for the show in two ways: The first reason is that it changed the characterization of Cartman from an annoying, spoiled kid to "the most evil kid in the world", though he remained likable to the audience because he had Scott's parents killed indirectly, without having to "pull the trigger himself". Secondly, prior to this episode, most episodes contained multiple storylines. By contrast, the creators could not come up with a subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
for this episode, but upon finishing, they realized that a single, strong plot worked well. Since then, most episodes have contained just one plotline, or two strongly related stories.
The events of this episode are given new meaning in the season fourteen
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...
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...
", in which Scott returns as the leader of the Ginger Separatist Movement
Ginger Kids
"Ginger Kids" is the 136th episode of Comedy Central's series South Park. It originally aired on November 9, 2005. The episode caused a controversy after its ironic premise was misunderstood by people who acted violently against gingers...
, revealing to Cartman that, while researching his revenge upon Cartman, he learned that his own father Jack Tenorman (a fictional Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
right tackle) had sired Cartman with Cartman's mother Liane. This means that, that in this episode, Cartman is responsible for his own father's death and feeds him to his half-brother.
Stone recalled recording with Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, pointing out that Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke
Thomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
in particular had some difficulty performing lines.
Popularity and reception
- In a poll held by Comedy Central, this episode ranked the 8th most popular South Park episode of all time. In another poll, it was named Cartman's Greatest Moment.
- This episode is on the South Park: The Hits and The Cult of Cartman DVD.
- The episode was voted number one, on a five top episodes countdown, on "South Park Super Fan Night", on Comedy Central.
- The episode was number one on Comedy Central UK's top 100 South Park episodes, beating "Make Love, Not WarcraftMake Love, Not Warcraft"Make Love, Not Warcraft" is the eighth episode of the tenth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 147th episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 4, 2006. In the episode, Cartman, Kyle, Stan and Kenny enjoy playing the popular...
" to the top spot.
External links
- "Scott Tenorman Must Die" Episode guide at South Park Studios
- "Scott Tenorman Must Die" Full episode at South Park Studios