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South Park
Genre Animation
Sitcom
Created by Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Voices of Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Isaac Hayes (1997–2006)
Mary Kay Bergman (1997–1999)
Eliza Schneider (2000–2003)
Mona Marshall
April Stewart
John Hansen
Jennifer Howell
Adrien Beard
Opening theme "South Park Theme" by Primus
Country of origin Flag of United States United States
No. of seasons 11
No. of episodes 160 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Running time 22 min
Broadcast
Original channel Comedy Central
Original run August 13, 1997 – Present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary
Common rating
Australia M, MA15+
Canada 18+
Germany 16+
Japan R
New Zealand M, 16+, AO
Singapore Banned
United States TV-14 (Syndication),
TV-MA (Comedy Central)
South Park is an American animated television comedy series about four
third/fourth-grade school boys who live in the small, backward mountain town
of South Park, Colorado. The series was created and is written by Trey
Parker and Matt Stone, and has been distributed and aired by Comedy Central
since 1997. It is well-known for its handling of current events and its
pop-culture parody.
One more season is planned, with an option for renewal at the end of Season
12. In recent years, each season has been aired in two halves, in Spring and
in Autumn. The eleventh season began airing on March 7, 2007. The first half
of the eleventh season ended on April 18, 2007. It is scheduled to begin
again on Wednesday, October 3, 2007.
Origins
South Park began in 1990 when Trey Parker and Matt Stone, at the time
students at the University of Colorado, met in a film class and created an
animated short called Jesus vs. Frosty. The crudely made film featured
prototypes of the main characters of South Park, including a character
resembling Cartman, but referred to as "Kenny", and an unnamed character who
resembled Kyle bringing a murderous snowman to life with a magic hat.
In 1995, FOX executive Brian Graden saw the film, and commissioned Parker
and Stone to create a second short film to send to friends as a video
Christmas card. Titled Jesus vs. Santa, it resembled the style of the later
series more closely, and featured a martial arts duel and subsequent truce
between Jesus and Santa Claus over the true meaning of Christmas. This video
was later featured in the episode "A Very Crappy Christmas" in which Stan,
Kyle, Cartman, Kenny and Mr. Hankey "save" Christmas for the town. The video
was popular and was widely shared, both by duplication and over the
Internet. This led to talks to create a series, first with FOX, then with
Comedy Central, where the series debuted on August 13, 1997. During the
first four seasons of South Park, a clip of the short can be seen in the
opening sequence within a billboard and an old television.
History
South Park's early episodes tended to be shock value-oriented and featured
more Pythonesque humor than later episodes. Although satire had been used on
the show occasionally in its early and middle years, it became more evident
around the eighth season. Episodes have parodied Michael Jackson (in "The
Jeffersons"), Paris Hilton ("Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset"), The
Passion of the Christ (in "The Passion of the Jew"), and American
immigration policy ("Goobacks").
The pilot episode ("Cartman Gets an Anal Probe") required three months to
produce using construction paper and traditional cut-out animation
techniques. However the version that aired was different from the original
version. Current episodes duplicate the original, amateurish look using
modern computer animation tools — first PowerAnimator and then Maya, which
Parker and Stone described as "building a sandcastle with a bulldozer". This
allows for a shorter production schedule, enabling the creators to respond
quickly to current events. The December 17, 2003 episode "It's Christmas in
Canada" depicted the capture of Saddam Hussein a mere three days after the
actual event, even referring to the "spider hole" in which he was found. In
this instance -- as with the Elián González episode ("Quintuplets 2000") --
the creators changed the production of an episode at the last minute to
focus on the new world event.
In 2002, the episode "Free Hat" aired. In this episode -- inspired by Kyle's
comment on Ted Koppel's Nightline that changing E.T. would be like changing
Raiders of the Lost Ark -- George Lucas and Steven Spielberg decide to alter
the first Indiana Jones film. Soon after the episode aired, Lucas and
Spielberg announced that contrary to rumors they would not be altering
Raiders of the Lost Ark for DVD release. Parker and Stone jokingly suggested
that the episode prevented any alterations from happening. On September 10,
2005, Comedy Central committed to three more seasons of South Park, so the
show will run until at least 2008. Parker and Stone will continue to write,
direct, and edit every episode of the show, bringing the series total to 181
episodes by the end of its twelfth season. [1] Edited versions of South Park
episodes, with the TV-14 rating, began broadcasting in syndication on
September 19, 2005 on various local channels around the U.S., such as WCIU
in Chicago and CW
Characters
Matt Stone and Trey Parker voice most of the male South Park characters,
while April Stewart and Mona Marshall (formerly Mary Kay Bergman and Eliza
Schneider) voice most of the female characters. Other voices are currently
provided by Adrien Beard (Token Black), Vernon Chatman (Towelie), Jennifer
Howell (Bebe Stevens), and John Hansen (Mr. Slave).
Prior to season four, the main characters of the show were four third grade
students (often called "the boys" when as a group for easier reference):
Stanley "Stan" Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Theodore Cartman and Kenneth
"Kenny" McCormick. There are many recurring characters on the show,
including the boys' families, school staff, other students such as Leopold
"Butters" Stotch, Chef, Mr. Hankey, Towelie, Jesus, and Satan. There are
also many other minor characters and one-off characters.
Animation style
One of the most notable features of the South Park animation style is that
the characters tend to move their limbs as little as possible, except when
they need to do actions other than walking. Construction paper cut-outs were
used in the original pilot animation and in the first episode made for
Comedy Central. Subsequent episodes have been produced by computer animation
that provides the same look, although the appearance of the characters and
scenes has become less crude over time largely in order to enhance the
comedic effect. Special effects such as prepackaged explosions have replaced
cardboard-style fires, and light shading has been used to highlight "sappy"
or movie-like moments and Eric Cartman's propensity for striking dramatic
poses. Some episodes also contain sections of live action as well, such as
Tweek vs. Craig, Cat Orgy and Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina.
CorelDRAW is used to create the characters, which are animated using Maya,
or in early episodes, PowerAnimator. The style of animation used for South
Park was inspired by the paper cut-out cartoons made by Terry Gilliam for
Monty Python's Flying Circus, of which Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been
lifelong fans.[2] For perspective, the average episode of The Simpsons takes
six to eight months to create[3], while episodes of South Park are usually
completed in six days (although some, such as AWESOM-O or Woodland Critter
Christmas have taken only three or four).[4]
Episodes
Music
The show's opening theme song is an original musical score credited to the
band Primus, but in reality is performed by Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless
Flying Frog Brigade. The song has been remixed three times during the course
of the series (as of the second half of season ten), and certain lines have
been altered (see below). In season 10 the title music is the song "Whamola",
also by the Flying Frog Brigade, from the album Purple Onion. (Les Claypool
is the singer and bassist in both Primus and Frog Brigade.)
Kenny's lines in the song, like the rest of his speech in the show, are
muffled by his parka hood, which covers his entire face except for his eyes.
However, Kenny's lines have been revealed by South Park Studios. In seasons
1-2, he says "I love girls with big fat titties, I love girls with deep
vaginas." [5] From seasons 3-7 he says "I have got a 10-inch penis, use your
mouth if you want to clean it." [5] From season 7 to the first half of
season 10, Kenny says "Some day I'll be old enough to stick my dick in
Britney's butt." [6] The current lines are not known . In the original
unaired pilot episode of Cartman Gets An Anal Probe, in the rather different
version of the opening, Kenny's lines are the same as they were in the first
2 seasons.
The general unintelligibility of Kenny's lines has helped them avoid being
censored by television networks on a number of occasions, although the gist
can usually be understood. It is sometimes easy to comprehend the lines,
given the context in which they are delivered. The syndicated versions of
the show usually do censor Kenny's vulgar lines.
Popular songs such as "Kyle's Mom is a Stupid Bitch" originated on the show,
but the creators' musical abilities were not frequently used until the
release of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. The film's soundtrack
(co-written and produced by Grammy-winning composer-lyricist Marc Shaiman)
featured songs like "Blame Canada" (nominated for an Oscar; see below), "I'm
Super," "La Resistance Medley," "Hell Isn't Good," "Mountain Town," "Uncle
Fucka(won an MTV Movie Award for "Best Musical Performance)," "Up There,"
and "What Would Brian Boitano Do?." Several of the songs from the movie are
satires of tunes from Disney cartoons. For instance, "Mountain Town" is
highly similar to the song "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast. "Up There" is
a take-off of two different Disney songs, "Out There" from The Hunchback of
Notre Dame and "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. "La Resistance
Medley" spoofs both "One Day More" from the stage musical Les Miserables and
"Tonight" from West Side Story.
Parker and Stone have, on occasion, performed these songs (and others) under
the band name DVDA.
In the show, Eric Cartman will often burst into song to convey a false
altruism or optimism that belies his baser motivations. In Red Sleigh Down,
he sings Poo-Choo Train, an unnervingly cheery Christmas carol, in an
obvious attempt to convince Mr. Hankey and Santa Claus that he is worthy of
Christmas presents. In "I'm A Little Bit Country" Cartman sings Paula Cole's
anti-war song "I Don't Want to Wait" while beating someone to death (Cartman
also sings the song as an homage to his Dawson's Creek Trapper Keeper in the
episode Trapper Keeper). In "The Death of Eric Cartman", Cartman sings "Make
It Right" with Butters in a weak attempt to reconcile his sins. In "Roger
Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods", Cartman sings the Donna Summer song
"She Works Hard For The Money" during an audition for Cheesy Poofs. In the
episode "Ginger Kids", he sings a song about tolerance once he realizes he's
not one of the "Gingers" and that he just convinced every Ginger in town to
exterminate non-Ginger people. Cartman also uses the song "Heat of the
Moment" in episode 513 ("Kenny Dies") to convince the U.S. Senate to approve
stem cell research. Cartman has a mental quirk that forces him to finish
singing Styx's Come Sail Away whenever someone sings a few bars of the song.
As soon as he learns this, Kyle, who has a strong and explicit hatred for
Cartman, takes advantage of this and forces Cartman to finish the song so
many times that Cartman becomes literally unintelligible. In episode 409
"Something You Can Do with Your Finger", the boys made their boy band, "Fingerbang".
Cartman was also the lead singer for "Faith + 1", a Christian band he formed
with Butters and Token in the episode "Christian Rock Hard", singing several
"Christian" songs by taking sexually suggestive love songs and substituting
romantic words such as "baby" and "darling" with "Jesus", and instead of the
traditional "Christian Rock" lyrics singing about spiritual love for Jesus,
Cartman sings about his desire to have actual, physical sex with Jesus.
In "Fat Butt and Pancake Head", Cartman's hand puppet "Jennifer Lopez" (who
pronounces her name as "Hennifer Lopez") recorded a hit single entitled
"Taco Flavored Kisses", inciting the wrath of the real Jennifer Lopez.
Additional musical contributions to the show come from the band Primus,
which performed the original opening and ending themes for the show, and
formerly from Isaac Hayes, who voiced Chef's singing of usually-sexual songs
to explain certain adult themes to the boys. The Chef song Chocolate Salty
Balls was released as a single in the UK in 1998 to support the Chef Aid
album and became a number one hit.
Many episodes also feature highly melodramatic musical scores to comically
exaggerate the emotional content of the scene. For example, melancholy music
plays in the background when Timmy sends away his beloved pet turkey,
Gobbles, in the episode "Helen Keller! The Musical".
Controversy
The show has faced numerous controversies. The show depicts what many people
find to be taboo subject matter, from its use of vulgarity ("It Hits The
Fan") to its satire of subjects such as religion and cults (such as "Trapped
in the Closet"), sexuality ("The Death Camp of Tolerance"), and natural
disaster hysteria ("Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow"). Stone and
Parker are self-described "equal opportunity offenders" and episodes often
lampoon all sides of a contentious issue, rather than taking a concrete
position.
The show's provocative material quickly drew protest from various spokesmen,
who deemed the program offensive. American conservative media watchdog group
Parents Television Council has frequently criticized South Park for its
content.
The show also frequently uses vulgarities. For example, in the episode "It
Hits the Fan", the word shit was said a total of 162 times uncensored. Also,
in the episode entitled "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", the word nigger
was used throughout the entire episode for a total of 42 times.
In 2005, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights protested the
season finale episode, "Bloody Mary", for its depiction of a statue of the
Virgin Mary bleeding from her rectum. The group claimed a victory when
Comedy Central voluntarily canceled a scheduled airing of the episode which
coincided with the Christian holiday season. In early 2006, Comedy Central
denied that they were honoring the group's request to pull the episode from
future repeats and DVD releases.[7] Comedy Central has since run the episode
more than once.
South Park has parodied Scientology in a couple of episodes. Most of them,
however, never mention Scientology by name, although they are obviously
meant to poke fun at it. The episode that caused the most controversy was
"Trapped in the Closet", which caused what the media dubbed 'Closetgate'.
The episode poked fun at the religion and its celebrity followers, including
Tom Cruise. After Comedy Central pulled the episode from a scheduled repeat
at the last minute, it was alleged that Cruise threatened Paramount with
withdrawal from promotion of his latest film if the episode was re-broadcast
(both Paramount and Comedy Central are owned by Viacom). This situation led
to Isaac Hayes, who played Chef, to quit unexpectedly days before the spoof
on Scientology was to re-air.
One of the most noteworthy political episodes was the two-parter "Cartoon
Wars". This episode was a critique of the West's response to widespread
rioting throughout much of the Muslim world over Danish political cartoons
depicting the prophet Mohammed. South Park suggested that the cartoons were
not reprinted in Western media outlets which routinely cover stories
offensive to other groups due not out of respect for any group, but rather
due to fear of violent retaliation. Ironically, Comedy Central censored the
Cartoon Wars scene that was to include Mohammed. When their protest was
overruled, the creators inserted a black screen that said "Comedy Central
has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network", despite
having previously allowed Mohammad's appearance as a superhero in the
episode "Super Best Friends". Parker and Stone revealed their disgust with
the network's cowardice by closing with a scene depicting Jesus defecating
on President George Bush and the American flag.
Recurring themes
South Park implements several recurring themes that it frequently uses,
including political issues, racism, gay rights, environment, censorship, and
religion, all of which are widely viewed as controversial.
Awards
* South Park has been nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated
Program six times (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006). So far the show
has only won once, for the 2005 episode "Best Friends Forever".
* On April 5, 2006, it was announced that the show had won a Peabody Award.
* South Park was nominated for important awards such as the 1998 Annie Award
for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Primetime or Late Night
Television Program. It was also nominated for the 1998 GLAAD Award for
Outstanding TV - Individual Episode for "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride". It
also received an Image Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a
Comedy Series (Isaac Hayes) in 1999.
* South Park was nominated for a 2006 Teen Choice Award for "Best Animated
Show", but lost to Family Guy.
* South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut was nominated for an Oscar for "Best
Music, Original Song" for the song "Blame Canada". They lost to Phil Collins
and made fun of him in two consecutive episodes in season 4 ("Cartman's
Silly Hate Crime 2000" & "Timmy 2000"). They were "fully expecting to lose,
just not to him." It was performed by Robin Williams during the televised
award show, which was the first to carry a TV-14 parental advisory, in part
because of the performance of that song, which contains some adult language.
Another track from the movie, "Uncle Fucka", won an MTV Movie Award for Best
Musical Performance; Trey Parker and Matt Stone accepted the award, and
thanked the audience for "not nominating Phil Collins".
* South Park is the last actively-running television series that has won a
CableACE Award. It won the award for Best Animated Series in 1997, the last
year the awards were given out.
References
1. ^ http://www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=4447
2. ^ South Park Studios FAQ, April 2001. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
3. ^ The Simpsons Archive: Mike Scully Interview, January 1999. Retrieved on
2007-06-10.
4. ^ South Park Studios FAQ, March 2004. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
5. ^ a b South Park Studios FAQ, September 2001. Retrieved on 2006-12-04.
6. ^ South Park Studios FAQ, December 2003. Retrieved on 2006-12-04.
7. ^ [http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,18055,00.html "South Park"
Parked by Complaints? - Eonline
Bibliography
* Johnson-woods, Toni (2007). Blame Canada. New York: Continuum
International Publishing Group.
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