South Park is an
AmericanTelevision is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
animated television seriesA cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...
created by
Trey ParkerTrey 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 StoneMatthew 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....
for the
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
television networkCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language,
surrealSurreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
,
satiricalSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, and
dark humorA black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
that lampoons
a wide range of topicsSouth Park has attempted to cover and satirize a large number of topics over the course of its run. In more recent years, the use of computer animation has made it possible to edit episodes in days, quickly commenting on recent events...
. The ongoing narrative revolves around four boys—
Stan MarshStanley 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...
,
Kyle BroflovskiKyle 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...
,
Eric CartmanEric 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...
and
Kenny McCormickKenneth "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 their bizarre adventures in and around the titular
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
town. In the 2004 documentary
The 100 Greatest Cartoons,
South Park was placed at #3, just behind
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated 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 family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and
Tom and JerryTom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
.
South Park is currently contracted to continue until 2016, taking the show to 20 seasons.
Parker and Stone, who met in college, developed the show from
two animated shortsThe Spirit of Christmas is the name of two different animated short films made by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. They are notable for being precursors to the animated series South Park. To differentiate the two, they are often referred to as Jesus vs. Frosty and Jesus vs. Santa .- Jesus vs. Frosty...
they created in 1992 and 1995. The duo were united by their love of
Monty PythonMonty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
, whose dark humor, surrealism, and absurdity is a major influence on
South Park. The latter became one of the first Internet
viral videoA viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
s, which ultimately led to its production as a series.
South Park debuted in August 1997 with great success, consistently earning the highest ratings of any basic cable program. Subsequent ratings have varied, but the show remains Comedy Central's highest rated and longest running program.
Each episode bar the very first one, which was produced by
cutout animationCutout animation is a technique for producing animations using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or even photographs...
, is created with
computer softwareComputer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
that emulates the cutout technique. Episodes are typically written and produced during the week preceding their broadcast, with the vast majority of shows being
writtenScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
,
directedA television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, and
actedVoice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
by Parker and Stone. After the first couple of seasons, Parker became the only credited director, and the only writer for the majority of the past four seasons. , a total of
223 episodes have aired during the show's fifteen seasons. Fifteen seasons have been broadcast so far.
Following the early success of the series, the feature length
musical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
South Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The film was directed by Parker, who also stars along with the rest of the regular voice cast from the series, including Stone, Mary...
had a widespread theatrical release in June 1999.
South Park has also received numerous media awards, including four
Primetime Emmy AwardThe Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
s. The show has also garnered a
Peabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for Comedy Central.
Setting and characters
The show follows the exploits of four boys,
Stan MarshStanley 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...
,
Kyle BroflovskiKyle 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...
,
Eric CartmanEric 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...
and
Kenny McCormickKenneth "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...
, except in season 6 when Kenny was temporarily written off the show and replaced with
ButtersLeopold "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...
then Tweek. The boys live in the fictional small town of South Park, located within the real life
South Park basinSouth Park is a high intermontane grassland basin, approximately 10,000 ft in elevation, in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. It encompasses approximately 1,000 square miles around the headwaters of the South Platte River in Park County approximately 60 mi southwest of Denver...
in the
Rocky MountainsThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
of central
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. The town is also home to an assortment of frequent characters such as
students,
families,
elementary school staff, and other various residents, who tend to regard South Park as a bland and quiet place to live. Prominent settings on the show include the local elementary school, bus stop, various neighborhoods and the surrounding snowy landscape, actual Colorado landmarks, and the shops and businesses along the town's main street, all of which are based on the appearance of similar locations in the town of
Fairplay, ColoradoThe Town of Fairplay is a statutory town that is the county seat and the most populous town of Park County, Colorado, United States. Fairplay is located in South Park at an elevation of . The town is the fifth-highest incorporated place in the State of Colorado. The population was 610 at the...
.
Stan is portrayed as the
everymanIn literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
of the group, as the show's official website describes him as "a normal, average, American, mixed-up kid". Kyle is the lone Jew among the group, and his portrayal in this role is often dealt with satirically. Stan is modeled after Parker, while Kyle is modeled after Stone. Stan and Kyle are best friends, and their relationship, which is intended to reflect the real life friendship between Parker and Stone, is a common topic throughout the series. Cartman—loud, obnoxious, manipulative, racist and obese—is often portrayed as an
antagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
whose anti-Semitic attitude has resulted in an ever-progressing rivalry with Kyle. Kenny, who comes from a poor family, wears his parka hood so tightly that it covers most of his face and muffles his speech. During the show's first five seasons, Kenny would die in nearly every episode before returning in the next with little or no definitive explanation given. He was written out of the show's
sixth seasonSeason six of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 6, 2002. The sixth season concluded after 17 episodes on December 11, 2002. This season is notable for being the only one without Kenny as a main character, as he was...
in 2002, re-appearing in the
season finale"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...
. Since then, the practice of killing Kenny has been seldom used by the show's creators. In season 14, it is revealed that Kenny cannot die, for he will just be reborn again. During the show's first 58 episodes, the boys were in the
third gradeIn the United States, third grade is a year of primary education. It is the third school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 8 – 9 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs....
. In the
season fourSeason four of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 5, 2000. The fourth season concluded after 17 episodes on December 20, 2000.- Episodes :-External links:...
episode "4th Grade" (2000), they entered the
fourth gradeFourth grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The fourth grade is the fourth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 9 or 10 years old, depending on their birthday. It is a part of elementary school. In some parts of the United States, fourth grade...
, where they have remained ever since.
Plots are often set in motion by events, ranging from the fairly typical to the supernatural and extraordinary, which frequently happen upon the town. The boys often act as the voice of reason when these events cause panic or incongruous behavior among the adult populace, who are customarily depicted as irrational, gullible, and prone to vociferation. The boys are also frequently confused by the contradictory and hypocritical behavior of their parents and other adults, and often perceive them as having distorted views on morality and society.
Themes and style
Each episode opens with a
tongue-in-cheekTongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
disclaimer: "All characters and events in this show -– even those based on real people –- are entirely fictional. All celebrity voices are impersonated..... poorly. The following program contains coarse language and due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone."
South Park was the first weekly program to be assigned the TV-MA rating, and is generally intended for adult audiences. The boys and most other child characters use strong profanity, with only the most taboo words being bleeped by censors during a typical broadcast. The use of such language serves as a means for Parker and Stone to display how they claim young boys really talk when they are alone.
South Park commonly makes use of
carnivalesqueCarnivalesque is an traces the origins of the carnivalesque to the concept of carnival, itself related to the Feast of Fools, a medieval festival originally of the sub-deacons of the cathedral, held about the time of the Feast of the Circumcision , in which the humbler cathedral officials...
and
absurdistAbsurdist fiction is a genre of literature, most often employed in novels, plays or poems, that focuses on the experiences of characters in a situation where they cannot find any inherent purpose in life, most often represented by ultimately meaningless actions and events...
techniques, numerous running gags, violence, sexual content, offhand pop-cultural references, and satirical portrayal of celebrities.
The early episodes tended to be
shock valueShock value is the potential of an action , image, text, or other form of communication to provoke a reaction of disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions.-Shock value as humor:...
-oriented and featured more slapstick-style humor. While social
satireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
had been used on the show occasionally earlier on, it became more prevalent as the series progressed, with the show retaining some of its focus on the boys' fondness of scatological humor in an attempt to remind adult viewers "what it was like to be eight years old". Parker and Stone also began further developing other characters by giving them larger roles in certain storylines, and began writing plots as parables based on religion, politics, and numerous other topics. This provided the opportunity for the show to spoof both extreme sides of contentious issues, while lampooning both
liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and
conservativeConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
points of view. Parker and Stone describe themselves as "equal opportunity offenders", whose main agenda is to "be funny" and "make people laugh", while stating that no particular topic or group of people be spared the expense of being subject to mockery and satire.
The two insist that the show is still more about "kids being kids" and "what it's like to be in [elementary school] in America", stating that the introduction of a more satirical element to the series was the result of the two adding more of a "moral center" to the show so that it would rely less on simply being crude and shocking in an attempt to maintain an audience. While profane, and with a tendency to sometimes be cynical, Parker notes that there is still an "underlying sweetness" aspect to the child characters, and
TimeTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
described the boys as "sometimes cruel but with a core of innocence". Usually, the boys and/or other characters ponder over what has transpired during an episode and convey the important lesson taken from it with a short monologue. During earlier seasons, this speech would commonly begin with a variation of the phrase "You know what? I've learned something today...".
Origins and creation
Soon after meeting in film class at the
University of ColoradoThe University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
in 1992, Parker and Stone created an
animated shortA short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
entitled
The Spirit of ChristmasThe Spirit of Christmas is the name of two different animated short films made by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. They are notable for being precursors to the animated series South Park. To differentiate the two, they are often referred to as Jesus vs. Frosty and Jesus vs. Santa .- Jesus vs. Frosty...
. The film was created by animating construction paper cutouts with
stop motionStop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
, and features
prototypeA prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
s of the main characters of
South Park, including a character resembling Cartman but named "Kenny", an unnamed character resembling what is today Kenny, and two near-identical unnamed characters who resemble Stan and Kyle.
Brian Graden-Biography:Graden grew up in Illinois and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1981. He graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1985 with a degree in business, and later graduated with an MBA from Harvard University....
,
Fox networkFox 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...
executive and mutual friend, commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film as a video
Christmas cardA Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to the Christmas and holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during the weeks preceding Christmas Day by many people in Western...
. Created in 1995, the second
The Spirit of Christmas short resembled the style of the later series more closely. To differentiate between the two homonymous shorts, the first short is often referred to as
Jesus vs. Frosty, and the second short as
Jesus vs. Santa. Graden sent copies of the video to several of his friends, and from there it was copied and distributed, including on the
InternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, where it became one of the first
viral videoA viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
s.
As
Jesus vs. Santa became more popular, Parker and Stone began talks of developing the short into a television series. Fox refused to pick up the series, not wanting to air a show that included the character Mr. Hankey, a talking piece of feces. The two then entered negotiations with both
MTVMTV, 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....
and Comedy Central. Parker preferred the show be produced by Comedy Central, fearing that MTV would turn it into a kids show. When Comedy Central executive
Doug HerzogDouglas Alan "Doug" Herzog is an American television executive.He is currently serving as President of MTV Networks Entertainment Group...
watched the short, he commissioned for it to be developed into a series.
Parker and Stone assembled a small staff and spent three months creating the
pilotA "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
episode "
Cartman Gets an Anal Probe"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the first episode of the animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997...
".
South Park was in danger of being canceled before it even aired when the show tested poorly with test audiences, particularly with women. However, the shorts were still gaining more popularity over the Internet, and Comedy Central agreed to order a run of six episodes.
South Park debuted with "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" on August 13, 1997.
Production
Except for the pilot episode, which was produced using
cutout animationCutout animation is a technique for producing animations using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or even photographs...
, all episodes of
South Park are created with the use of computer software. As opposed to the pilot, which took three months to complete, and other animated sitcoms, which are traditionally
hand-drawnTraditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
by companies in South Korea in a process that takes roughly eight-to-nine months, individual episodes of
South Park take significantly less time to produce. Using computers as an animation method, the show's production staff were able to generate an episode in about three weeks during the first seasons. Now, with a staff of about 70 people, episodes are typically completed in one week, with some in as little as three to four days. Nearly the entire production of an episode is accomplished within one set of offices, which were originally at a complex in
Westwood, CaliforniaWestwood is a census-designated place in Lassen County, California, United States. Westwood is located west-southwest of Susanville, at an elevation of 5128 feet...
, and are now part of South Park Studios in
Culver City, CaliforniaCulver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. Parker and Stone have been the show's executive producers throughout its entire history, while Anne Garefino has served as
South Park's co-executive producer since the latter part of the first season.
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
Senior Production Executive
Debbie LieblingDebbie Liebling is an entertainment executive and film producer. She is currently President of Production of Universal Pictures...
also served as an executive producer during the show's first five seasons, coordinating the show's production efforts between South Park Studios and Comedy Central's headquarters in New York City.
Scripts are not written before a season begins. Production of an episode begins on a Thursday, with the show's writing consultants
brainstormingBrainstorming is a group creativity technique by which a group tries to find a solution for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members...
with Parker and Stone. Former staff writers include
Pam BradyPam Brady is an American writer and television producer, best known for her work with Trey Parker and Matt Stone.-Career:Pam Brady first met Parker, Stone and Jason McHugh while working under Brian Graden at 20th Century Fox. Brady suggested that the two make a weekly version of their student film...
, who has since written scripts for the films
Hot RodThe soundtrack was composed by ex-Yes guitarist, Trevor Rabin. Several songs by the Swedish rock band Europe are in the movie, including "Cherokee" and "Rock the Night." The full trailer contains three Swedish rock band songs, Europe's "Cherokee" and "The Final Countdown," and The Hives' "See...
and
Hamlet 2Hamlet 2 is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette. It was produced by Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, and Aaron Ryder. Hamlet 2 was filmed primarily at a high school in...
, and
Nancy PimentalNancy Marie Pimental is an American actress and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Pimental attended Somerset High School, graduating in 1983 and she graduated from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she was a member of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority with a degree in...
, who served as co-host of
Win Ben Stein's MoneyWin Ben Stein's Money is an American television game show that ran from July 28, 1997 to January 31, 2003 on the Comedy Central cable network with episodes airing until May 8, 2003. It featured three contestants who competed in a general knowledge quiz contest to win the grand prize of $5,000 from...
and wrote the film
The Sweetest ThingThe Sweetest Thing is a 2002 American film farce directed by Roger Kumble and written by Nancy Pimental, who based the characters on herself and friend Kate Walsh...
after her tenure with the show during its first three seasons. Television producer and writer
Norman LearNorman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
, an idol of both Parker and Stone, served as a guest writing consultant for the
season sevenSeason seven of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 19, 2003. The seventh season concluded after 15 episodes on December 17, 2003.- Episodes :-External links:...
(2003) episodes "
Cancelled"Cancelled" is the season 7 premiere episode and the overall 97th episode, although intended to be the 100th, of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on March 19, 2003.- Plot :...
" and "
I'm a Little Bit Country"I'm a Little Bit Country" is the 100th episode of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired April 9 2003, a week prior to the U.S. invading Iraq. The episode is similar to the 1972 film 1776.- Plot :...
". During the 12th and 13th seasons,
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
actor and writer
Bill HaderWilliam "Bill" Hader is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a creative consultant on the hit show South Park and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his supporting roles in comedy films such as Superbad, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder,...
has served as a
creative consultantCreative consultant is a credit that has - particularly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have “doctored” a movie screenplay. It is often given by producers in lieu of official credit. Those given this credit in the television field work closely with an Executive Producer, Head...
and co-producer.
After exchanging ideas, Parker will write a script, and from there the entire team of animators, editors, technicians, and sound engineers will each typically work 100–120 hours in the ensuing week. Since the show's
fourth seasonSeason four of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 5, 2000. The fourth season concluded after 17 episodes on December 20, 2000.- Episodes :-External links:...
(2000), Parker has assumed most of the show's directorial duties, while Stone relinquished his share of the directing to focus on handling the coordination and business aspects of the production. On Wednesday, a completed episode is sent to Comedy Central's headquarters via satellite uplink, sometimes in just a few hours before its air time of 10 PM
Eastern TimeThe Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
.
Parker and Stone state that subjecting themselves to a one-week deadline creates more spontaneity amongst themselves in the creative process, which they feel results in a funnier show. The schedule also allows
South Park to both stay more topical and respond more quickly to specific current events than other satiric animated shows. One of the earliest examples of this was in the
season fourSeason four of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 5, 2000. The fourth season concluded after 17 episodes on December 20, 2000.- Episodes :-External links:...
(2000) episode "
Quintuplets 2000"Quintuplets 2000" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the Comedy Central series South Park, and the 52nd episode of the series overall. It was originally broadcast on April 26, 2000...
", which references the
United States Border PatrolThe United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection , a component of the Department of Homeland Security . It is an agency in the Department of Homeland Security that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to...
's raid of a house during the Elian Gonzalez affair, an event which occurred only four days before the episode originally aired. The
season nineSeason nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This season is home to two of the show's most controversial episodes : "Trapped in the Closet" Season nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This...
(2005) episode "
Best Friends Forever"Best Friends Forever" is the fourth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series series South Park. It was written and directed by co-creator Trey Parker and first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 30, 2005....
" references the
Terri Schiavo caseThe Terri Schiavo case was a legal battle in the United States between the legal guardians and the parents of Teresa Marie "Terri" Schiavo that lasted from 1998 to 2005...
, and originally aired in the midst of the controversy and less than 12 hours before she died. A scene in the
season sevenSeason seven of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 19, 2003. The seventh season concluded after 15 episodes on December 17, 2003.- Episodes :-External links:...
(2003) finale "
It's Christmas in Canada"It's Christmas in Canada" is episode 111 of the American cartoon series South Park. The episode originally aired on December 17, 2003 and was nominated for an Emmy Award...
" references the discovery of dictator
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
in a "spider hole" and his subsequent
captureOperation Red Dawn was the U.S. military operation conducted on 13 December 2003 in the town of ad-Dawr, Iraq, near Tikrit, that captured Iraq President Saddam Hussein, ending rumours of his death. The operation was named after the 1984 film Red Dawn. The mission was assigned to the 1st Brigade...
, which happened a mere three days prior to the episode airing. The
season 12Season twelve of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 12, 2008. The twelfth season concluded after 14 episodes on November 19, 2008...
(2008) episode "
About Last Night..."About Last Night…" is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of the animated series South Park, and the 179th episode of the series overall. The episode was first broadcast on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 10:00 PM EST, less than a day after Barack Obama was declared the winner in the 2008...
" revolves around
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's victory in the
2008 presidential electionThe United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, and aired less than 24 hours after Obama was declared the winner, using segments of dialogue from Obama's real victory speech.
Animation
The show's style of animation is inspired by the paper cut-out cartoons made by
Terry GilliamTerrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
for
Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
, of which Parker and Stone have been lifelong fans.
Construction paperConstruction paper is a tough, coarse, colored paper. The texture is slightly rough, and the surface is unfinished. Due to the source material, small particles are visible on the paper’s surface. It is used for projects or crafts....
and traditional
stop motionStop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
cutout animationCutout animation is a technique for producing animations using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or even photographs...
techniques were used in the original animated shorts and in the pilot episode. Subsequent episodes have been produced by
computer animationComputer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
, providing a similar look to the originals while requiring a fraction of the time to produce. Before computer artists begin animating an episode, a series of
animaticsTraditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
drawn in Toon Boom are provided by the show's storyboard artists.
The characters and objects are composed of simple geometrical shapes and
primary colorPrimary colors are sets of colors that can be combined to make a useful range of colors. For human applications, three primary colors are usually used, since human color vision is trichromatic....
s. Most child characters are the same size and shape, and are distinguished by their clothing and headwear. Characters are mostly presented two-dimensionally and from only one angle. Their movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion, as they are purposely not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters. Occasionally, some non-fictional characters are depicted with photographic cutouts of their actual head and face in lieu of a face reminiscent of the show's traditional style. Canadians on the show are often portrayed in an even more minimalist fashion; they have simple beady eyes, and the top halves of their heads simply flap up and down when the characters speak.
When the show began using computers, the cardboard cutouts were scanned and re-drawn with
CorelDRAWCorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Corel Corporation of Ottawa, Canada. It is also the name of Corel's Graphics Suite...
, then imported into
PowerAnimatorPowerAnimator and Animator, also referred to simply as "Alias", the precursor to what is now Maya and StudioTools, was a highly-integrated industrial 3D modeling, animation, and visual effects suite. It has had a long track record, starting with Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991 and ending in Star...
, which was used with
SGISilicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
workstations to animate the characters. The workstations were linked to a 54-processor
render farmA render farm is a computer cluster built to render computer-generated imagery , typically for film and television visual effects, using off-line batch processing. This is different from a render wall, which is a networked, tiled display used for real-time rendering...
that could render 10 to 15 shots an hour. Beginning with
season fiveSeason 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...
, the animators began using Maya instead of PowerAnimator. The studio now runs a 120-processor render farm that can produce 30 or more shots an hour.
PowerAnimator and Maya are high-end programs mainly used for
3D computer graphics3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
, while co-producer and former animation director,
Eric StoughEric Stough is the animation director and producer of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television series South Park. He was also the animation director of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and has worked with Parker and Stone on Orgazmo, Team America: World Police and the Broadway hit The Book...
, notes that PowerAnimator was initially chosen because its features helped animators retain the show's "homemade" look. PowerAnimator was also used for making some of the show's special effects, which are now created using Motion, a newer graphics program created by Apple, Inc. for their
Mac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
operating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. The show's visual quality has improved in recent seasons, though several other techniques are used to intentionally preserve the cheap cutout animation look.
A few episodes feature sections of live-action footage, while others have incorporated other styles of animation. Portions of the
season eightSeason 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:...
(2004) premiere "
Good Times with Weapons"Good Times with Weapons" is episode 112 of South Park. The first episode of Season 8, it originally aired on March 17, 2004. The episode's animation routinely switches from the usual cutout-and-solid-color style to a highly stylized anime theme. Asian-style ambience plays in the background.This...
" are done in
animeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
style, while the
season 10Season 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 "
Make 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...
" is done partly in
machinimaMachinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
. The
season 12Season twelve of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 12, 2008. The twelfth season concluded after 14 episodes on November 19, 2008...
episode "
Major Boobage"Major Boobage" is the third episode of the twelfth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 170th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 26, 2008...
", a homage to the 1981 animated film
Heavy MetalHeavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian fantasy-animated film directed by Gerald Potterton and produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel, who also was the publisher of Heavy Metal magazine....
, implements scenes accomplished with rotoscoping. Since the beginning of
season 13The 13th season of South Park, an American animated television comedy series, originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central between March 11 and November 18, 2009. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with Anne...
(2009) the show has been broadcast in
high definitionHigh-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
and presented in
widescreenWidescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
, and
season 12Season twelve of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 12, 2008. The twelfth season concluded after 14 episodes on November 19, 2008...
was released in high definition on
Blu-ray DiscBlu-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...
format.
Voice cast
Parker and Stone voice most of the male
South Park characters.
Mary Kay BergmanMary Kay Bergman was an American voice actress and animation voice over teacher, who was the lead female voice actress on South Park from the show's 1997 debut until her death and was best known as the official voice of Snow White for the Walt Disney Company starting in 1989 with the Snow White...
voiced the majority of the female characters until her
suicideSuicide 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...
on November 11, 1999.
Mona MarshallMona M. Ianotti is an American voice actress. She is often cast in the role of young boys. Her roles have included parts in not only Japanese anime, but also in American cartoons as well. Mona Marshall has recently lent her voice to the talking bear Koby the Study Buddy...
and
Eliza SchneiderElizabeth Jane "Eliza" Schneider is an American actress, singer-songwriter, playwright, dialect coach and dialectologist, historian, and voice artist.-Early life:...
succeeded Bergman, with Schneider leaving the show after its
seventh seasonSeason seven of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 19, 2003. The seventh season concluded after 15 episodes on December 17, 2003.- Episodes :-External links:...
(2003). She was replaced by
April StewartApril Stewart is an American voice actress. She is best known for providing the voices of several female characters on the animated cartoon TV series South Park alongside fellow voice actress Mona Marshall. Born and raised in Truckee, California, Stewart started acting at the age 12. Her father,...
, who, along with Marshall, continues to voice most of the female characters. Bergman was originally listed in the credits under the alias Shannen Cassidy to protect her reputation as the voice of several
DisneyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
and other kid-friendly characters. Stewart was originally credited under the name Gracie Lazar, while Schneider was sometimes credited under her
rock operaA rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
performance
pseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Blue Girl.
Other voice actors and members of
South Park's production staff have voiced minor characters for various episodes, while a few staff members voice recurring characters; supervising producer
Jennifer HowellJennifer Howell is a Canadian-American voice actor. She can currently be heard on the animated cartoon TV series South Park, where she is the voice of Bebe Stevens...
voices student Bebe Stevens, co-producer and storyboard artist
Adrien BeardAdrien Beard is an American storyboard artist and voice actor. He can currently be heard on the animated cartoon TV series South Park as the voice of Token Black. In addition to voice roles, Adrien Beard also works as the art director and lead storyboarder on the show.-External links:...
voices the school's only black student, Token Black, writing consultant
Vernon ChatmanVernon Chatman is a television producer, writer, voice actor, stand-up comedian, musician and a member of PFFR, an art collective based in Brooklyn, NYC....
voices an
anthropomorphicAnthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
towel named Towelie, and production supervisor
John HansenJohn "Nancy" Hansen is an American voice actor and producer. He is best known for voicing the character Mr. Slave, the former gay boyfriend of fourth grade teacher Herbert Garrison in the animated series South Park. He is also on the production team as post-production supervisor.-External links:...
voices Mr. Slave, the former gay lover of
Mr. GarrisonMr. Herbert Garrison is a recurring character in the American animated television series South Park. He is voiced by Trey Parker. For the first eight seasons of the series, the character was known as Mr. Garrison but underwent sex reassignment surgery in the season 9 episode "Mr. Garrison's Fancy...
. Throughout the show's run, the voices for toddler and kindergarten characters have been provided by various small children of the show's production staff.
When voicing child characters, the voice actors speak within their normal vocal range while adding a child-like inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with
Pro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
, and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound more like that of a fourth grader.
Isaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
voiced the character of
ChefJerome "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...
, a black,
soul-singingSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
cafeteria worker who was one of the few adults the boys consistently trusted. Hayes agreed to voice the character after being among Parker and Stone's ideal candidates which also included
Lou RawlsLouis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
and
Barry WhiteBarry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
. Hayes, who lived and hosted a radio show in New York during his tenure with
South Park, would record his dialogue on a digital audio tape while a respective episode's director would give directions over the phone, then the tape would be shipped to the show's production studio in California. After Hayes left the show in early 2006, the character of Chef was killed off in the
season 10Season 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...
(2006) premiere "
The Return of Chef"The Return of Chef" is the first episode of the tenth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 140th episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 22, 2006. It was advertised as the tenth season premiere. The episode was the first after the...
".
Guest stars
Celebrities who appear on the show are usually impersonated, though some celebrities lend their voice to their characters. Celebrities who have voiced themselves include
Michael BufferMichael Buffer is an American professional ring announcer for boxing and professional wrestling matches. He is known for his trademarked catchphrase, "Let's get ready to rumble!" He is known for pioneering a distinct announcing style in which he rolls certain letters and adds other inflections to...
,
Brent MusburgerBrent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...
,
Jay LenoJames Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
,
Robert SmithRobert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
, and the bands
RadioheadRadiohead 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...
and
KornKorn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
.
Comedy team Cheech & Chong voiced characters representing their likenesses for the
season fourSeason four of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 5, 2000. The fourth season concluded after 17 episodes on December 20, 2000.- Episodes :-External links:...
(2000) episode "
Cherokee Hair Tampons"Cherokee Hair Tampons" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 54th episode of the series overall. "Cherokee Hair Tampons" originally aired in the United States on June 28, 2000 on Comedy Central....
", which was the duo's first collaborative effort in 20 years.
Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
appears in live-action sequences as the narrator of the
season fourSeason four of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 5, 2000. The fourth season concluded after 17 episodes on December 20, 2000.- Episodes :-External links:...
episode "Pip".
Jennifer AnistonJennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
,
Richard BelzerRichard Jay Belzer is an American stand-up comedian, author, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as John Munch, which he has portrayed as a regular cast member on the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as in guest...
,
Natasha HenstridgeNatasha T. Henstridge is a Canadian fashion model turned actress. Her most notable on-screen roles include Species, The Whole Nine Yards, It Had To Be You, Ghosts of Mars, She Spies, the TV series Eli Stone, and the Canadian TV mini-series Would Be Kings, for which she won the Gemini Award for...
,
Norman LearNorman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
, and
Peter SerafinowiczPeter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School...
have guest starred as other speaking characters. During
South Park's earliest seasons, several high-profile celebrities inquired about guest-starring on the show. As a joke, Parker and Stone responded by offering low-profile, non-speaking roles, most of which were accepted;
George ClooneyGeorge Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
provided the barks for Stan's dog Sparky in the
season oneThe first season of the American animated television series South Park initially ran for 13 episodes on the US network Comedy Central, from August 13, 1997 to February 25, 1998. The creators of the series, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, wrote and directed most of the season's episodes, while Dan...
(1997) episode "
Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride"Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" is the fourth episode of the first season of the animated television series South Park. It originally aired on September 3, 1997 on Comedy Central in the United States. The episode was written by series co-founders Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and directed by Parker...
", Leno provided the meows for Cartman's cat in the season one finale "
Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut"Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut" is the first season finale of the animated television series South Park, and the 13th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on February 25, 1998. It is part one of a two-episode story arc, which concluded with...
", and
Henry WinklerHenry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
voiced the various growls and grunts of a kid-eating monster in the
season twoSeason two of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 1, 1998. The second season concluded after 18 episodes on January 20, 1999...
(1998) episode "
City on the Edge of Forever"City on the Edge of Forever" is the seventh episode of the second season of the animated television series South Park, and the 20th episode of the series overall...
".
Jerry SeinfeldJerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
offered to lend his voice for the
ThanksgivingThanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
episode "
Starvin' Marvin"Starvin' Marvin" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 19, 1997. In the episode, Cartman, Kenny, Kyle and Stan send money to an African charity hoping to get a sports watch,...
", but declined to appear when he was only offered a role as "Turkey #2".
Music
Parker says that the varying uses of music is of utmost importance to
South Park. Several characters often play or sing songs in order to change or influence a group's behavior, or to educate, motivate, or indoctrinate others. The show also frequently features scenes in which its characters have disapproving reactions to the performances of certain popular musicians.
Adam BerryAdam Berry is an Emmy winning television and film composer. His credits include South Park, The Penguins of Madagascar, The Sarah Silverman Program, Kim Possible, American Dragon: Jake Long, The Buzz on Maggie, Beethoven's Fifth, Hood Rat, Balto II: Wolf Quest, Balto III: Wings of Change, and Buzz...
, the show's original score composer, used sound synthesis to simulate a small orchestra, and frequently alluded to existing famous pieces of music. Berry also used signature acoustic guitar and mandolin cues as
leitmotifA leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
s for the show's establishing shots. After Berry left in 2001, Jamie Dunlap and Scott Nickoley of the Los Angeles-based Mad City Production Studios provided the show's original music for the next seven seasons. Since 2008, Dunlap has been credited as the show's sole score composer. Dunlap's contributions to the show are one of the few that are not achieved at the show's own production offices. Dunlap reads a script, creates a score using digital audio software, and then e-mails the audio file to South Park Studios, where it is edited to fit with the completed episode.
In addition to singing in an effort to explain something to the children, Chef would also sing about things relevant to what had transpired in the plot. These songs were original compositions written by Parker, and performed by Hayes in the same sexually suggestive
R&BRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
style he had utilized during his own music career. The band
DVDADVDA is a comedy band featuring South Park crew members Trey Parker , Matt Stone , Bruce Howell , and D. A. Young . The name refers to a sexual position meaning "double vaginal, double anal"...
, which consists of Parker and Stone, along with show staff members Bruce Howell and D.A. Young, would perform the music for these compositions, and, until the character's death on the show, were listed as "Chef's Band" in the closing credits.
Rick JamesJames Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
,
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
,
Meat LoafMichael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
,
Joe StrummerJohn Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
,
Ozzy OsbourneJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
,
PrimusPrimus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
,
RancidRancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
, and
WeenWeen is an American alternative rock group. They formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when central members Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in an eighth grade typing class. Ween has a large cult underground fanbase despite being generally unknown in American pop music...
all guest starred and briefly performed in the
season twoSeason two of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 1, 1998. The second season concluded after 18 episodes on January 20, 1999...
(1998) episode "
Chef Aid"Chef Aid" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the animated television series South Park, 27th episode of the series overall. "Chef Aid" originally aired in the United States on October 7, 1998 on Comedy Central...
". Korn debuted their single "
Falling Away from Me"Falling Away from Me" is a song by American nu metal band Korn. It was released as the first single from their fourth album Issues, where it appeared in an episode of Comedy Central's animated series, South Park, entitled "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery"...
" as guest stars on the
season threeSeason Three of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 7, 1999. The third season concluded after 17 episodes on January 12, 2000.- Episodes :-External links:...
(1999) episode "
Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery"Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery" is the twelfth episode of the third season of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It originally aired on October 27, 1999...
".
Title sequence
The show's original theme song was a musical score performed by the band
PrimusPrimus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
, while the lyrics are alternately sung by the band's lead singer,
Les ClaypoolLeslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
, and the show's four central characters. Kenny's muffled lines are altered after every few seasons. The original composition was originally slower but was sped up for the show, while an instrumental version of the original composition is often played during the show's closing credits. The opening theme song has been remixed three times during the course of the series, including a remix performed by
Paul RobbPaul Jason Robb is a synthesizer player, producer, songwriter and one of the founding members of the synthpop-freestyle band Information Society.- Biography :...
. In 2006, the theme music was remixed with the song "Whamola" by
Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog BrigadeColonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade is one of many musical projects involving Primus bassist Les Claypool. The original band was formed in summer 2000 and consisted of: Les Claypool , Todd Huth , Jay Lane , Jeff Chimenti , Skerik , and Eenor...
, from the album
Purple Onion-Credits:Musicians*Les Claypool - bass , vocals, percussion , guitar , whamola , drums *Jay Lane - drums *Mike Dillon - vibraphone , metal drum , percussion , tabla baya , pandiero , electric bow & arrow , metal sounds , cuica , marimba , metal , tabla *Skerik - saxophone , "fancy" sax...
.
Distribution
Internationally,
South Park is broadcast in India, New Zealand, and several countries throughout Europe and Latin America on channels that are divisions of Comedy Central and
MTV NetworksMTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
, both subsidiaries of Viacom. In distribution deals with Comedy Central, other independent networks also broadcast the series in other international markets. In Australia, the show is broadcast on
The Comedy ChannelThe Comedy Channel is an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:...
,
GO!GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
and SBS One. The series is broadcast uncensored in Canada on
TélétoonTélétoon is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel that specializes in animation programming. Télétoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc; a 50/50 partnership between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment...
,
TQSV is a Canadian privately-owned French-language television network. The network has owned-and-operated and affiliated stations existing throughout Quebec, although it can also be seen over-the-air in some bordering markets in the provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick...
and
The Comedy NetworkThe Comedy Network a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media specializing in comedy programming.The channel operates two time shifted feeds, East and West ....
.
South Park also airs on
TG4TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
in Ireland, HOT Comedy Central and HOT V.O.D in
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
,
SIC RadicalSIC Radical is a cable television channel in Portugal owned by Sociedade Independente de Comunicação.SIC Radical is an entertainment channel targeted at teens and young adults. Programs are mostly imported, mainly from the United States and the United Kingdom...
in Portugal, 2×2 in Russia, STV in Scotland,
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and
VIVAViva is a music video and entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel was officially launched on 26 October 2009 by Alexandra Burke, with an exclusive live performance of her single "Bad Boys". The channel replaced TMF. The channel is owned by MTV Networks Europe and was...
in UK (now showing on Comedy Central UK) and
B92B92 is a radio and television broadcaster with national coverage headquartered in Belgrade, Serbia. The network's key demographic is chiefly urban and young audience. Its programs, including the news cover topics with fairly liberal political painted attitudes...
in
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
Broadcast syndication rights to
South Park were acquired by
Debmar-MercuryDebmar-Mercury is a television syndication company that is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment, which acquired the company in July 2006...
and
Tribune EntertainmentTribune Entertainment was a television production and syndication company owned and operated by Tribune Broadcasting in the mid-1980s. Many programs offered from Tribune Entertainment have been broadcast on the company's television stations....
in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Episodes further edited for content began running in syndication on September 19, 2005, and are aired in the United States with the TV-14 rating.
20th Television20th Television is an American television production and syndication company that was formed in 1992 by 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, a division of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation....
replaced Tribune as co-distributor in early 2008. The series is currently aired in syndication in 90 percent of the television markets across the U.S. and Canada, where it generates an estimated US$25 million a year in advertising revenue.
The first fourteen seasons of
South Park are available in their entirety on DVD. Several other themed DVD compilations have been released by
Rhino EntertainmentRhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
and Comedy Central, while the three-episode
Imaginationland story arcA story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
was reissued
straight-to-DVDDirect-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
as a full-length feature in 2008.
In March 2008, Comedy Central made all
South Park episodes available for
legal streamingStreaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
on the South Park Studios website. Within a week, the site served more than a million streams of full episodes, and the number grew to 55 million by October 2008. Legal issues prevent the U.S. content from being accessible outside the U.S., so local servers have been set up in other countries. In September 2009, a South Park Studios website with streaming episodes was launched in the UK. In Canada, episodes were available for streaming from The Comedy Network's website, though due to digital rights restrictions, they are no longer available.
Ratings
When
South Park debuted, it was a huge ratings success for
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
and is seen as being largely responsible for the success of the channel, with Herzog crediting it for putting the network "on the map".
The show's first episode, "
Cartman Gets an Anal Probe"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the first episode of the animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997...
", earned a
NielsenNielsen 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...
rating of 1.3 (980,000 viewers), at the time considered high for a
cable programCable television in the United States is a common form of television delivery, generally by subscription. Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948, with subscription services in 1949. Data by SNL Kagan shows that as of 2006 about 58.4% of all American homes subscribe to...
. The show instantly generated buzz among television viewers, and mass viewing parties began assembling on college campuses. By the time the eighth episode "
Starvin' Marvin"Starvin' Marvin" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 19, 1997. In the episode, Cartman, Kenny, Kyle and Stan send money to an African charity hoping to get a sports watch,...
" aired three months after the show debuted, ratings and viewership had tripled, and
South Park was already the most successful show in Comedy Central's history. When the tenth episode "Damien" aired the following February, viewership increased another 33 percent. The episode earned a 6.4 rating, which at the time was over 10 times the average rating earned by a cable show aired in
prime timePrime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
. The ratings peaked with the second episode of
season twoSeason two of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 1, 1998. The second season concluded after 18 episodes on January 20, 1999...
, "
Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut"Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut" is the second episode of the second season of the animated series South Park, and the 15th episode of the series overall. It premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on April 22, 1998...
", which aired on April 22, 1998. The episode earned an 8.2 rating (6.2 million viewers) and, at the time, set a record as the highest-rated non-sports show in basic cable history. During the spring of 1998, eight of the ten highest-rated shows on basic cable were
South Park episodes.
The success of
South Park prompted more cable companies to carry Comedy Central and led it to its becoming one of the fastest-growing cable channels. The number of households that had Comedy Central jumped from 9.1 million in 1997 to 50 million in June 1998. When the show debuted, the most Comedy Central had earned for a 30-second commercial was US$7,500. Within a year, advertisers were paying an average of US$40,000 for 30 seconds of advertising time during airings of
South Park in its second season, while some paid as much as US$80,000.
By the third season (
1999The year 1999 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1999.For the American TV schedule, see: 1999-00 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
), the series' ratings began to decrease. The third season premiere episode drew 3.4 million viewers, a dramatic drop from the 5.5 million of the previous season's premiere. Stone and Parker attributed this drop in the show's ratings to the media hype that surrounded the show in the previous year, adding that the third season ratings reflected the show's "true" fan base. The show's ratings dropped further in its fourth season (
2000The year 2000 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2000.For the American TV schedule, see: 2000-01 United States network television schedule.-Event:-Debuts:-1940s:...
), with episodes averaging just above 1.5 million viewers. The ratings eventually increased, and seasons five through nine consistently averaged about 3 million viewers per episode. Though its viewership is lower than it was at the height of its popularity in its earliest seasons,
South Park remains the highest-rated series on Comedy Central. The
season 14The 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...
(2010) premiere gained 3.7 million viewers, the show's highest-rated season premiere since 1998.
Recognitions and awards
In 2007,
TimeTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine included the show on its list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time", proclaiming it as "America's best source of rapid-fire satire for [the past] decade". The same year,
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
declared it to be the funniest show on television since its debut 10 years prior. In 2008,
South Park was named the 12th-greatest TV show of the past 25 years by
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, while
AOLAOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
declared it as having the "most astute" characters of any show in history when naming it the 16th-best television comedy series of all time. The character of Cartman ranked 10th on
TV GuideTV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
's 2002 list of the "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters", 198th on
VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons", 19th on Bravo's "100 Greatest TV Characters" television special in 2004, and second on
MSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's 2005 list of TV's scariest characters behind Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. In
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's 2004 Countdown The 100 Greatest Cartoons it was voted third behind
Tom and JerryTom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
(2) and
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated 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 family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
(1). In 2006, Comedy Central received a
Peabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for
South Park's "stringent social commentary" and "undeniably fearless lampooning of all that is self-important and hypocritical in American life".
South Park won the
CableACE AwardThe CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
for Best Animated Series in 1997, the last year the awards were given out. In 1998,
South Park was nominated for the
Annie AwardThe Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Primetime or Late Night Television Program. It was also nominated for the 1998
GLAAD AwardThe GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for Outstanding TV – Individual Episode for "
Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride"Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" is the fourth episode of the first season of the animated television series South Park. It originally aired on September 3, 1997 on Comedy Central in the United States. The episode was written by series co-founders Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and directed by Parker...
".
South Park has been nominated for the
Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated ProgramThe Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
nine times (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.) The show has won the award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour) three times, for the 2005 episode "
Best Friends Forever"Best Friends Forever" is the fourth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series series South Park. It was written and directed by co-creator Trey Parker and first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 30, 2005....
", the 2006 episode "
Make 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...
", and the 2009 episode "
Margaritaville"Margaritaville" is the third episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 184th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 25, 2009. The episode is a satire and commentary on the global...
". The
Imaginationland"Imaginationland Episode I", or "Kyle sucks Cartman's Balls" is the tenth episode of the 11th season of Comedy Central's animated television series South Park. "Imaginationland' premiered on October 17, 2007. It is the first episode in a three-part story arc that won the 2008 Emmy for "Outstanding...
trilogy of episodes won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour Or More) in 2008.
Criticism and controversy
The show's frequent depiction of
tabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
subject matter, general toilet humor, accessibility to younger viewers, disregard for conservative sensibilities, negative depiction of liberal causes, and portrayal of religion for comic effect have been the main sources for generating controversy and debate over the course of its run. As the series first became popular, several schools barred its students from wearing
South Park-related T-shirts, while several parent councils in the United Kingdom expressed concern when eight and nine-year-old children voted the
South Park character Cartman as their favorite personality in a 1999 poll. Parker and Stone assert that the show is not meant to be viewed by young children, and the show is certified with TV ratings that indicate its intention for mature audiences.
Parents Television CouncilThe Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
founder L. Brent Bozell III and
Action for Children's TelevisionAction for Children's Television was founded by Peggy Charren and Judy Chalfen in Newton, Massachusetts in 1968 as a grassroots organization dedicated to improving the quality of television programming offered to children...
founder
Peggy CharrenPeggy Charren founded Action for Children's Television , a national child advocacy organization, in 1968, in an effort to encourage program diversity and eliminate commercial abuses in children's television programming....
have both condemned the show, with the latter claiming it is "dangerous to the democracy". Several other activist groups have protested the show's parodies of
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and portrayal of
Jesus ChristJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. Stone claims that parents who disapprove of
South Park for its portrayal of how kids behave are upset because they "have an idyllic vision of what kids are like", adding "[kids] don't have any kind of social tact or etiquette, they're just complete little raging bastards".
The show further lampooned the controversy surrounding its use of profanity, as well as the media attention surrounding the network show
Chicago HopeChicago Hope is an American medical drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994, to May 5, 2000. It takes place in a fictional private charity hospital.-Premise:The show stars Mandy Patinkin as Dr...
's singular use of the word "
shitShit is usually considered vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun it refers to fecal matter and as a verb it means to defecate or defecate in; in the plural it means diarrhea...
", with the
season fiveSeason 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...
premiere "
It Hits the Fan"It Hits the Fan" is the first episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 66th episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on June 20, 2001. In the episode, the word "shit" is said uncensored on television on...
", in which the word "shit" is said 162 times without being bleeped for censorship purposes, while also appearing uncensored in written form. In the days following the show's original airing, 5,000 disapproving e-mails were sent to Comedy Central. Despite its 43 uncensored uses of the racial slur "
niggerNigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
", the
season 11Season 11 of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 7, 2007. The 11th season concluded after 14 episodes on November 14, 2007. This is the first season to have uncensored episodes available for DVD release...
episode "
With Apologies to Jesse Jackson"With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" is the first episode of the American animated television series South Park, and the 153rd episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 7, 2007...
" generated relatively little controversy, as most in the black community and the
NAACPThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
praised the episode for its context and its comedic way of conveying other races' perceptions of how black people must feel when hearing the word.
Specific controversies regarding the show have included an
April Fools' DayApril Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
prank played on its viewers in 1998, its depiction of the
Virgin MaryMary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
in the
season nineSeason nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This season is home to two of the show's most controversial episodes : "Trapped in the Closet" Season nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This...
(2005) finale "
Bloody Mary"Bloody Mary" is the fourteenth episode of the ninth season of the series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on December 7, 2005. In the episode, Randy drives drunk and loses his driver's license. He then forced to go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, where he...
" which angered several
CatholicsCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, its depiction of
Steve IrwinStephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
with a
stingrayThe stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes, and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae , Plesiobatidae , Urolophidae , Urotrygonidae , Dasyatidae , Potamotrygonidae The...
barb stuck in his chest in the episode "
Hell on Earth 2006"Hell on Earth 2006" is the 150th episode of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It originally aired on October 25, 2006 and marked the series' fourth Halloween episode....
", which originally aired less than two months after Irwin was killed in the same fashion, and Comedy Central's censorship of the depiction of
MuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
in the
season 10Season 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 "
Cartoon Wars Part II"Cartoon Wars Part II" is the fourth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 142nd episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 12, 2006...
" in the wake of the
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyThe Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
.
The
season nineSeason nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This season is home to two of the show's most controversial episodes : "Trapped in the Closet" Season nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This...
(2005) episode "Trapped in the Closet" denounces
ScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
as nothing more than "a big fat global scam", while freely divulging church information that Scientology normally only reveals to members who make significant monetary contributions to the church. The episode also ambiguously parodies the rumors involving the sexual orientation of Scientologist
Tom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
, who allegedly demanded any further reruns of the episode be canceled. Isaac Hayes, a Scientologist, later quit
South Park because of his objection to the episode.
The season fourteen episodes
200"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" 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...
were mired in controversy for satirizing issues surrounding the depiction of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.
The website for the organization
Revolution MuslimRevolution Muslim is a radical Islamist organization and hate group based in New York City that advocates the establishment of a traditionalist Islamic state, the removal of the current rulers in heavily Muslim populated nations, the destruction of Israel, and an end to what they consider "Western...
, a New York-based radical Muslim organization, posted an entry that included a warning to creators Parker and Stone that they risk violent retribution for their
depictions of MuhammadThe 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....
. It said that they "will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show." Filmmaker
Theo Van GoghTheodoor "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch film director, film producer, columnist, author and actor.Van Gogh worked with the Somali-born writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali to produce the film Submission, which criticized the treatment of women in Islam and aroused controversy among Muslims...
was murdered by an Islamic extremist in 2004 for making a short documentary on violence against women in some Islamic societies. The posting provided the addresses to Comedy Central in New York and the production company in Los Angeles. The author of the post,
Zachary Adam ChesserZachary Adam Chesser is an American man who pled guilty to aiding a terrorist organization. In April 2010, under the online username Abu Talhah al-Amrikee, he posted a "warning" to the creators of South Park suggesting that they would be killed for depicting Muhammad in their 200th episode...
(who prefers to be called Abu Talhah al Amrikee), said it was meant to serve as a warning to Parker and Stone, not a threat, and that providing the addresses was meant to give people the opportunity to protest. Despite al Amrikee's claims that the website entry was a warning, several media outlets and observers interpreted it as a threat. Support for the episode has come in the form of
Everybody Draw Mohammed DayEverybody Draw Mohammed Day was an event held on 20 May 2010 in support of free speech and freedom of artistic expression of those threatened by violence for drawing representations of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad...
!, a movement started on Facebook that encourages people to draw Muhammad on May 20.
Cultural
Commentary made in episodes have been interpreted as statements Parker and Stone are attempting to make to the viewing public, and these opinions have been subject to much critical analysis in the media and literary world within the framework of popular philosophical, theological, social, and political concepts. Since
South Park debuted, college students have written term papers and doctoral theses analyzing the show, while
Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
offers a course called "
South Park and Political Correctness".
Soon after one of Kenny's trademark deaths on the show, other characters would typically shout "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!". The exclamation quickly became a popular catchphrase, while the running gag of Kenny's recurring deaths are one of the more recognized hallmarks among viewers of modern television. Cartman's exclamations of "Respect my authori-tah!" and "Screw you guys ...I'm going home!" became catchphrases as well, and during the show's earlier seasons, were highly popular in the lexicon of viewers. Cartman's eccentric intonation of "Hey!" was included in the 2002 edition of
The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases.
In the
season twoSeason two of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 1, 1998. The second season concluded after 18 episodes on January 20, 1999...
episode "
Chef Aid"Chef Aid" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the animated television series South Park, 27th episode of the series overall. "Chef Aid" originally aired in the United States on October 7, 1998 on Comedy Central...
", attorney
Johnnie CochranJohnnie L. Cochran, Jr. was an American lawyer best known for his leadership role in the defense and criminal acquittal of O. J...
uses what's called in the show the
Chewbacca defenseThe Chewbacca defense is a legal strategy used in episode 27 of South Park, "Chef Aid", which premiered on October 7, 1998, as the fourteenth episode of the second season. The aim of the argument is deliberately to confuse the jury by making use of the fallacy known as ignoratio elenchi, or a red...
, which is a legal strategy that involves addressing plot holes related to
ChewbaccaChewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
in the film
Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
rather than discussing the trial at hand during a closing argument in a deliberate attempt to confuse jurors into thinking there is
reasonable doubtProof beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard of evidence required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems . Generally the prosecution bears the burden of proof and is required to prove their version of events to this standard...
. The term "Chewbacca defense" has been documented as being used by criminologists, forensic scientists, and political commentators in their various discussions of similar methods used in legal cases and public forums.
Another season two episode, "Gnomes", revolves around a group of "underpants
gnomeA gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...
s" who, as their name suggests, run a corporation stealing people's underpants. When asked about their business model, various gnomes reply that theirs is a three-step process: Phase 1 is "collect underpants". Phase 3 is "profit". However, the gnomes are unable to explain what is to occur between the first and final steps, and "Phase 2" is accompanied by a large question mark on their corporate flow chart. Using "????" and "PROFIT!" as the last two steps in a process (usually jokingly) has become a widely popular
Internet memeThe term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
because of this. Especially in the context of politics and economics, "underpants gnomes" has been used by some commentators to characterize a conspicuous gap of logic or planning.
When Sophie Rutschmann of the
University of StrasbourgThe University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
discovered a mutated gene that causes an adult
fruit flyDrosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
to die within two days after it is infected with certain bacteria, she named the gene "Kenny" in honor of the character.
Political
While many conservatives have condemned the show for its vulgarity, a growing population of people who hold center-right political beliefs, including teenagers and young adults, have embraced the show for its tendency to mock
liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
viewpoints and lampoon liberal celebrities and icons. Political commentator
Andrew SullivanAndrew Michael Sullivan is an English author, editor, political commentator and blogger. He describes himself as a political conservative. He has focused on American political life....
dubbed the group
South Park Republicans"South Park Republican" was a term that first circulated in blogs and articles on the Internet between the years circa 2001 and 2002, used to describe what some modern commentators describe as a "new wave" or generation of young adults and teenagers who hold center-right political beliefs that are,...
, or
South Park conservatives. Sullivan classified the group as "extremely skeptical of political correctness but also are socially liberal on many issues", though he says the phrase applied to them is meant to be more of a casual indication of beliefs than a strong partisan label.
Brian C. AndersonBrian C. Anderson is the editor of City Journal, a quarterly magazine, published by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.-Background:Anderson received his BA and MA from Boston College...
describes the group as "generally characterized by holding strong
libertarianLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
beliefs and rejecting more conservative social policy", and notes that although the show makes "wicked fun of conservatives", it is "at the forefront of a conservative revolt against liberal media".
Parker and Stone downplay the show's alignment with any particular political affiliation, and deny having a political agenda when creating an episode.
The two claim the show's higher ratio of instances lampooning liberal orthodoxies stems simply from their preference to make fun of liberals more than conservatives. While Stone has been quoted saying "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals", Stone and Parker have explained that their drive to lampoon a given target comes first from the target's insistence on telling other people how to behave. The duo explains that they perceive liberals as having both delusions of entitlement to remain free from satire, and a propensity to enforce political correctness while patronizing the citizens of Middle America. Parker and Stone are uncomfortable with the idea of themselves or
South Park being applied with any kind of partisan classification. Parker said he rejects the "
South Park Republican" and "
South Park conservative" labels as a serious notion, feeling that either tag implies that one only adheres to strictly conservative or liberal viewpoints. Canadian columnist Jaime J. Weinman observes that the most die-hard conservatives who identified themselves as "
South Park Republicans" began turning away from the label when the show ridiculed Republicans in the
season nineSeason nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This season is home to two of the show's most controversial episodes : "Trapped in the Closet" Season nine of the American animated television series South Park began airing on March 9, 2005. This...
(2005) episode "
Best Friends Forever"Best Friends Forever" is the fourth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series series South Park. It was written and directed by co-creator Trey Parker and first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 30, 2005....
".
Film
In 1999, less than two years after the series first aired, a
feature-length filmSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The film was directed by Parker, who also stars along with the rest of the regular voice cast from the series, including Stone, Mary...
was released. The film, a musical comedy, was directed by Parker, who co-wrote the script with Stone and
Pam BradyPam Brady is an American writer and television producer, best known for her work with Trey Parker and Matt Stone.-Career:Pam Brady first met Parker, Stone and Jason McHugh while working under Brian Graden at 20th Century Fox. Brady suggested that the two make a weekly version of their student film...
. The film was generally well-received by critics, and earned a combined US$83.1 million at the domestic and foreign box office. The film satirizes the controversy surrounding the show itself and gained a spot in the 2001 edition of
Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
for "Most Swearing in an Animated Film". The song "
Blame Canada"Blame Canada" is a song from the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut . In the song, the fictional parents of South Park, led by Sheila Broflovski, decided to blame Canada for the trouble their children have been getting into since watching the Canadian-made fictional movie Terrance and...
" from
the film's soundtrackSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut – Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name. The album was released on June 22, 1999, by Atlantic Records. The album inlay states that only the first 12 tracks on the album actually appear in the film...
earned song co-writers Parker and
Marc ShaimanMarc Shaiman is an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and performer for films, television, and theatre. He is perhaps best known for writing the music and co-writing the lyrics for the Broadway musical version of the cult John Waters film Hairspray, for which Shaiman won Tony and Grammy...
an Academy Award nomination for
Best Music, Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
.
Shorts
As a tribute to the
Dead ParrotThe "Dead Parrot Sketch", alternatively and originally known as the "Pet Shop Sketch" or "Parrot Sketch", is a popular sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus, and one of the most famous in the history of British television comedy...
sketch, a short that features Cartman attempting to return a dead Kenny to a shop run by Kyle aired during a 1999 BBC television special commemorating the 30th anniversary of
Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
.
South Park parodied
ScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
in a short that aired as part of the
2000 MTV Movie AwardsThe 2000 MTV Movie Awards were hosted by Sarah Jessica Parker. In conjunction with the success of a certain HBO Original Series at the time, the awards show presented a parody of Sex and the City and The Matrix during the program's opening...
. The short was entitled "The Gauntlet" and also poked fun at
John TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
, a Scientologist. The four main characters were featured in the
documentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
The AristocratsThe Aristocrats is a 2005 documentary film about the famous dirty joke of the same name. It was conceived and produced by comedians Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, edited by Emery Emery, and released to theaters by TH!NKFilm...
, listening to Cartman tell his version of the film's titular joke. Short clips of Cartman introducing the starting lineup for the
University of ColoradoThe University of Colorado Boulder sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's team are called the Buffaloes or Golden Buffaloes . "Lady Buffs" referred to the women's teams beginning in the 1970s, but was officially dropped in 1993...
football team were featured during
ABCThe 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 coverage of the 2007 match up between the University of Colorado and the
University of NebraskaThe University of Nebraska system is the public university system in the state of Nebraska, USA. Founded in 1869 with one campus in Lincoln, the system now has four universities and an agricultural college....
. In 2008, Parker, as Cartman, gave answers to a
Proust QuestionnaireThe Proust Questionnaire is a questionnaire about one's personality. Its name and modern popularity as a form of interview is owed to the responses given by the French writer Marcel Proust....
conducted by Julie Rovner of NPR. The Snakes & Arrows Tour for Rush in 2007 used an intro from Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny preceding
Tom Sawyer"Tom Sawyer" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush, named after Mark Twain's literary character. The song was released on Mercury Records and PolyGram in 1981 on the Moving Pictures album and numerous compilations thereafter, such as 1990's Chronicles. It has also appeared on several live albums and...
.
Music
Chef Aid: The South Park Album-Episode reference:- Singles :* "Chocolate Salty Balls "CD1# "Chocolate Salty Balls " - Performed By Chef# "Oh Holy Night" - Performed By Eric Cartman...
, a compilation of original songs from the show, characters performing cover songs, and tracks performed by guest artists was released in 1998, while
Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics, a compilation of songs performed by the characters in the
episode of the same name"Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" is episode 46 of Comedy Central's animated television series South Park. An album of comedic holiday songs, some featured in the episode, and others exclusive to the album, or featured in other episodes, was released the week prior to the episode's original air...
as well as other Christmas-themed songs was released in 1999, as was the
soundtrackSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut – Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name. The album was released on June 22, 1999, by Atlantic Records. The album inlay states that only the first 12 tracks on the album actually appear in the film...
to the feature film. The song "
Chocolate Salty Balls"Chocolate Salty Balls " is a 1998 song from the animated comedy TV series South Park, performed by the character Chef and featured on the soundtrack album Chef Aid: The South Park Album....
" (performed by Hayes as Chef) was released as a single in the UK in 1998 to support the
Chef Aid: The South Park Album and became a number one hit.
Video games
Following the early success of the series, three video games based on the series were released by
Acclaim EntertainmentAcclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
. A
first-person shooterFirst-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
simply titled
South ParkSouth Park is a first-person shooter video game based on the first few seasons of the popular TV series of the same name. The game is powered by the Turok 2 game engine and was released in 1998 by Acclaim for the PC, Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. A Brazilian version was published by Gradiente for...
was released in 1998 for the
PCA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
,
Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, and
PlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. This was followed in 1999 by
South Park: Chef's Luv ShackSouth Park: Chef's Luv Shack is a 2D game-show style video game based on the television show South Park. It was released in 1999 for the Dreamcast, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and PC. It gained its popularity by having mini games and the ability to play against friends in a challenge for the most...
, a party video game featuring quizzes and mini-games, on the Dreamcast, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and PC. In 2000,
South Park RallySouth Park Rally is a kart-style racing video game, based on the American animated comedy series South Park. Developed by Tantalus and published by Acclaim in 2000 – near the end of the third season of the show – for PlayStation, Windows , Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast systems, the game includes many...
, a racing game, was released on the Dreamcast, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and PC. Parker and Stone had little to do with the development of these games, apart from providing voice acting, and have publicly criticized Acclaim and the quality of the
South Park games they produced. Several years after these early games, the decision was made to form a small group called South Park Digital Studios, which would, among other things, work on creating new
South Park games, that would involve the studio and the show's creators more heavily. The first such game,
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!, was developed by
DoublesixDoublesix is a subsidiary of Kuju Entertainment based in Guildford that develops video games for the digital download market. The studio was formed from the team that made Geometry Wars: Galaxies. They also made the zombie themed shooter, Burn Zombie Burn!...
, and was released in 2009 for the
Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
service on the
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console. Another Xbox Live Arcade game, titled
South Park: Tenorman's RevengeSouth Park: Tenorman's Revenge is an upcoming platform video game based on the American animated television series South Park. The game will be released exclusively on the Xbox Live Arcade service for the Xbox 360 video game console, similarly to the 2009 game South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!...
, is set to be released in the spring of 2012.
Merchandising
Merchandising related to the show is an industry which generates several million dollars a year.
In 1998, the top-selling specialty T-shirt in the United States was based on
South Park, and US$30 million in T-shirt sales was reached during the show's first season.
A
South Park pinballSouth Park is a 1998 pinball game released by Sega. It is based on the Adult animated TV series of the same name.This game was Sega's last pinball game; production would be continued by Stern Pinball, the successor to Sega Pinball.-Differences:...
machine was released in 1999 by Sega Pinball.
The companies Fun 4 All,
Mezco ToyzMezco Toyz is a toy company that makes action figures and other collectibles based on original and licensed properties. Its most popular product is the cult hit toy line Living Dead Dolls. Other popular licensed properties include Family Guy, South Park and Hellboy...
, and Mirage have produced various South Park
action figureAn action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s, collectibles, and plush dolls.
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
entered into an agreement with
Frito-LayFrito-Lay North America is the division of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets and sells corn chips, potato chips and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips,...
to sell 1.5 million bags of Cheesy Poofs, Cartman's favorite snack from the show, at
Wal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
until the premiere of the second half of the fifteenth season on October 5, 2011.
External links