Best Friends Forever
Encyclopedia
"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 episode is based on the Terri Schiavo case
and won a 2005 Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program
. It aired mere hours before Schiavo died and received positive review from critics for its portrayal of the media frenzy that surrounded the Schiavo case.
is the first person in South Park to have a new PSP
video game system and simply cannot put it down. Kenny quickly works his way up to level 60 of the game Heaven vs. Hell, but soon after is run over by an ice-cream truck and dies.
After ascending to Heaven
, Kenny learns that God had created the PSP to search for what the angels call "our Keanu Reeves
" — the person who can command his legions against Satan's forces of Hell
in a manner like that of the video game. Kenny agrees to take the challenge, but he is revived just after hearing this. Because he had been dead for so long, he cannot talk or communicate and has suffered permanent brain damage
. He is kept alive through the use of a feeding tube
. The reading of Kenny's will, in which Cartman is given the PSP, and Stan
and Kyle
are given everything else, is interrupted by the announcement that Kenny is still alive. The lawyer mentions a passage about Kenny's wishes in the event of him being in a vegetative state, but the last page of the will is missing, making it impossible to tell what his wishes were.
As Satan's army begins to close in, the angels need Kenny dead so that they can win the battle of the Apocalypse
. Meanwhile, Cartman, claiming his status as Kenny's "best friend forever" to the Colorado Supreme Court with the first half of the BFF medallion, gets an order to take out the feeding tube, and he removes the tube after tracking down and finding Kenny's other BFF medallion half so he can get the PSP upon Kenny's death. Stan and Kyle, along with Kenny's parents and other protesters, wage a media
war to put the feeding tube back in and keep Kenny alive, while Cartman enlists supporters of the rights of "best friends forever" to leave Kenny's feeding tube removed. At the same time Satan enlists the help of an adviser, Kevin, to "do what we always do" and use the Republicans in order to get the feeding tube put back in. However, when telling the Republican Congressman what to say, he makes the mistake of hissing into his ear, making him repeat the noise, and his attempt to remedy the situation only makes it worse.
After a long, intensive media campaign, the two sides are arguing in Kenny's hospital suite when Kenny's lawyer announces that the last page of the will has been found, and that Kenny's wishes were that if he were ever in a vegetative state, "please, for the love of God...don't ever show me in that condition on national television." The two sides realize that they have both been disrespectful of Kenny's wishes. Kyle then realizes they should not have made this issue into such a media circus, and concludes that Kenny should be taken off life support, commenting that Cartman was "right, for the wrong reasons", while he and Stan were "wrong, for the right reasons". Everyone in the hospital room agrees with Kyle and quietly leave, allowing Kenny to die in peace. Kenny returns to Heaven just in time to command the angels to victory using a golden PSP. During the battle, attention is deliberately kept off of the battle, with the Archangel Micheal exclaiming the battle "Is even bigger than the final battle in the Lord of the Rings movie!" The battle ends with Satan being shocked by the defeat of his army and killing his adviser. Meanwhile, Kenny is presented with a golden statue of Keanu Reeves as a reward for defeating Satan's army.
, and originally aired in the midst of the controversy and less than 12 hours before she died. The Terri Schiavo case consisted of a seven-year legal effort by Michael Schiavo to have his wife, Terri Schiavo, who was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state
, disconnected from her life-sustaining feeding tube, an action which would result in her death by dehydration
. In 1998 he petitioned to remove her feeding tube under Florida Statutes Section 765.401(3). He was opposed by Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, who argued that Terri was conscious
. Michael later transferred his authority over the matter to the court, which determined that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures. In March 2005 President Bush
returned to Washington D.C. from a vacation to sign legislation designed to keep Schiavo alive, making the case a major national news story throughout that month. In all, the Schiavo case involved 14 appeals and numerous motions
, petitions, and hearings in the Florida courts; five suits in federal district court
; Florida legislation struck down by the Supreme Court of Florida; a subpoena
by a congressional committee to qualify Schiavo for witness protection; federal legislation (the Palm Sunday Compromise
); and four denials of certiorari
from the Supreme Court of the United States
. The case received increasing amounts of both political and media pressure; eventually, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled in Michael's favor on March 18, 2005.
and other winners. It also becomes the fourth prime time animated cartoon, and the first cable TV series, to win the award, behind The Simpsons, King of the Hill
and Futurama
.
"Best Friends Forever" generally received positive reviews for its portrayal of the Terri Schiavo case. In his book "The Deep End of South Park", Leslie Stratyne applauds the episode for its ability to "tackle such challenging issues as...right to die in 'Best Friends Forever'...its 'devil-may-care' attitude that has brought a fair amount of acclaim". On a different aspect of the controversy, Jonathan Gray commented that the "twist at the end with Kenny's final page of the will...illustrates just how crazy people become about everyday issues. The only thing Kenny didn't want came true as a result of those two sides". Writing for the Chicago Sun Times, Jeff Shannon described the episode thus: "Clearly aware that taking sides in the right-to-life debate would be a divisive, no-win strategy, Parker and Stone aimed their satirical arrows at the one aspect of the Schiavo case that's indisputably offensive: the horrendous media circus that turned a private matter into a shamefully public spectacle." Jefferey Weinstock, in Taking South Park Seriously, praised the episode for its parody of the government and how it "derides the use of government to enforce a narrowly-defined 'right-to-life' moral agenda presented as representative of God's will, a tactic predominantly associated with right-conservatives."
South Park (season 9)
Season 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...
of the American animated television series series South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
. It was written and directed by co-creator Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
and first aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on March 30, 2005.
The episode is based on the Terri Schiavo case
Terri Schiavo case
The 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 won a 2005 Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The 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...
. It aired mere hours before Schiavo died and received positive review from critics for its portrayal of the media frenzy that surrounded the Schiavo case.
Plot
KennyKenny McCormick
Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is one of the four central characters along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his...
is the first person in South Park to have a new PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
video game system and simply cannot put it down. Kenny quickly works his way up to level 60 of the game Heaven vs. Hell, but soon after is run over by an ice-cream truck and dies.
After ascending to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, Kenny learns that God had created the PSP to search for what the angels call "our Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
" — the person who can command his legions against Satan's forces of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
in a manner like that of the video game. Kenny agrees to take the challenge, but he is revived just after hearing this. Because he had been dead for so long, he cannot talk or communicate and has suffered permanent brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
. He is kept alive through the use of a feeding tube
Feeding tube
A feeding tube is a medical device used to provide nutrition to patients who cannot obtain nutrition by swallowing. The state of being fed by a feeding tube is called gavage, enteral feeding or tube feeding...
. The reading of Kenny's will, in which Cartman is given the PSP, and Stan
Stan Marsh
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
and Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
are given everything else, is interrupted by the announcement that Kenny is still alive. The lawyer mentions a passage about Kenny's wishes in the event of him being in a vegetative state, but the last page of the will is missing, making it impossible to tell what his wishes were.
As Satan's army begins to close in, the angels need Kenny dead so that they can win the battle of the Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
. Meanwhile, Cartman, claiming his status as Kenny's "best friend forever" to the Colorado Supreme Court with the first half of the BFF medallion, gets an order to take out the feeding tube, and he removes the tube after tracking down and finding Kenny's other BFF medallion half so he can get the PSP upon Kenny's death. Stan and Kyle, along with Kenny's parents and other protesters, wage a media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
war to put the feeding tube back in and keep Kenny alive, while Cartman enlists supporters of the rights of "best friends forever" to leave Kenny's feeding tube removed. At the same time Satan enlists the help of an adviser, Kevin, to "do what we always do" and use the Republicans in order to get the feeding tube put back in. However, when telling the Republican Congressman what to say, he makes the mistake of hissing into his ear, making him repeat the noise, and his attempt to remedy the situation only makes it worse.
After a long, intensive media campaign, the two sides are arguing in Kenny's hospital suite when Kenny's lawyer announces that the last page of the will has been found, and that Kenny's wishes were that if he were ever in a vegetative state, "please, for the love of God...don't ever show me in that condition on national television." The two sides realize that they have both been disrespectful of Kenny's wishes. Kyle then realizes they should not have made this issue into such a media circus, and concludes that Kenny should be taken off life support, commenting that Cartman was "right, for the wrong reasons", while he and Stan were "wrong, for the right reasons". Everyone in the hospital room agrees with Kyle and quietly leave, allowing Kenny to die in peace. Kenny returns to Heaven just in time to command the angels to victory using a golden PSP. During the battle, attention is deliberately kept off of the battle, with the Archangel Micheal exclaiming the battle "Is even bigger than the final battle in the Lord of the Rings movie!" The battle ends with Satan being shocked by the defeat of his army and killing his adviser. Meanwhile, Kenny is presented with a golden statue of Keanu Reeves as a reward for defeating Satan's army.
Theme
The episode "Best Friends Forever" revolves around the Terri Schiavo caseTerri Schiavo case
The 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. The Terri Schiavo case consisted of a seven-year legal effort by Michael Schiavo to have his wife, Terri Schiavo, who was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state
Persistent vegetative state
A persistent vegetative state is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. It is a diagnosis of some uncertainty in that it deals with a syndrome. After four weeks in a vegetative state , the patient is...
, disconnected from her life-sustaining feeding tube, an action which would result in her death by dehydration
Dehydration
In physiology and medicine, dehydration is defined as the excessive loss of body fluid. It is literally the removal of water from an object; however, in physiological terms, it entails a deficiency of fluid within an organism...
. In 1998 he petitioned to remove her feeding tube under Florida Statutes Section 765.401(3). He was opposed by Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, who argued that Terri was conscious
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
. Michael later transferred his authority over the matter to the court, which determined that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures. In March 2005 President Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
returned to Washington D.C. from a vacation to sign legislation designed to keep Schiavo alive, making the case a major national news story throughout that month. In all, the Schiavo case involved 14 appeals and numerous motions
Motion (legal)
In law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. A motion may be thought of as a request to the judge to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrative, criminal or civil proceedings, although that right is...
, petitions, and hearings in the Florida courts; five suits in federal district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
; Florida legislation struck down by the Supreme Court of Florida; a subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
by a congressional committee to qualify Schiavo for witness protection; federal legislation (the Palm Sunday Compromise
Palm Sunday Compromise
The Palm Sunday Compromise, formally known as the Act for the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo, is an Act of Congress passed on March 21, 2005, to allow the case of Terri Schiavo to be moved into a federal court...
); and four denials of certiorari
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
from the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. The case received increasing amounts of both political and media pressure; eventually, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled in Michael's favor on March 18, 2005.
Reception
This episode won a 2005 Emmy Award in the category of "Outstanding Animated Program (for programming less than one hour)". This is the first time the show has beaten other nominees, such as The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The 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 other winners. It also becomes the fourth prime time animated cartoon, and the first cable TV series, to win the award, behind The Simpsons, King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
and Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
.
"Best Friends Forever" generally received positive reviews for its portrayal of the Terri Schiavo case. In his book "The Deep End of South Park", Leslie Stratyne applauds the episode for its ability to "tackle such challenging issues as...right to die in 'Best Friends Forever'...its 'devil-may-care' attitude that has brought a fair amount of acclaim". On a different aspect of the controversy, Jonathan Gray commented that the "twist at the end with Kenny's final page of the will...illustrates just how crazy people become about everyday issues. The only thing Kenny didn't want came true as a result of those two sides". Writing for the Chicago Sun Times, Jeff Shannon described the episode thus: "Clearly aware that taking sides in the right-to-life debate would be a divisive, no-win strategy, Parker and Stone aimed their satirical arrows at the one aspect of the Schiavo case that's indisputably offensive: the horrendous media circus that turned a private matter into a shamefully public spectacle." Jefferey Weinstock, in Taking South Park Seriously, praised the episode for its parody of the government and how it "derides the use of government to enforce a narrowly-defined 'right-to-life' moral agenda presented as representative of God's will, a tactic predominantly associated with right-conservatives."
External links
- Best Friends Forever Full episode at South Park Studios
- Best Friends Forever Episode guide at South Park Studios