It Hits the Fan
Encyclopedia
"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 the crime show Cop Drama. After this, everyone starts saying "shit" over and over, which eventually brings over a mysterious plague that unleashes the ancient Knights of Standards and Practices, and only Chef
and the boys can save the world.
The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker
and is rated TV-MA L in the United States. Throughout the episode, "shit" or "shitty" are exclaimed uncensored 162 separate times; in syndicated or re-aired versions of this episode, a counter in the bottom left corner of the screen counts the number of times the word has been uttered. In other words, the written occurrences are not counted, but "shit" is written 38 times, which puts the "shits" up to an even 200. "Shit" is uttered roughly once every eight seconds, if one includes the show's theme song in calculations.
has tickets to go to The Lion King
on Stage, but Cartman
tells him that the HBC
crime show Cop Drama is going to use the word "shit
" uncensored
. The broadcast of the show leads to widespread acceptance of the word, even in schools, causing people to use it constantly, in casual and often out of context during conversations. Furthermore, Ms. Choksondik is forced to clarify the acceptable context of the word — as a noun or adjective meaning bad, or as an exclamation of disappointment, the word is acceptable, but as a noun or adjective referring to feces
, it is apparently unacceptable—thoroughly confusing the children (this is a reference to the real-life FCC
standards of indecency). A strange illness that causes people to spew up their intestine
s and die suddenly rises in South Park, so action is taken.
The boys ask Chef
to take them into the HBC Head Office to sort it out. Research proves that the word is actually a literal "curse(d) word," and its constant utterance has caused a resurgence of the Black Death
. A special live event, "Must Shit TV
", in which episodes of existing shows are taped live with almost every word of dialogue replaced with the word "shit," goes ahead anyway until the Knights of Standards and Practices enter the studio and begin killing the actors. In a fit of rage for the Knights trying to stop his TV special, the head of HBC repeats the word "shit" rapidly, causing a demonic dragon to awake. After the dragon murders several on the set, Kyle destroys it with an ancient magical rune stone belonging to a knight in the mystical Order of Standards and Practices. The moral of the story is not that saying "shit" in itself is wrong but saying it in excess leads to boredom with the word. Cartman tells everyone to watch their language, which Kyle and Stan
agree on. The episode ends with Kenny
spewing up his intestines and dying; Stan almost says "Oh shit!" once more but replaces it with "poop".
felt the profanity was justified by context and decided to allow the uncensored episode to be broadcast, which surprised even the show's developers. Despite broadcasting a record setting amount of profanity, little controversy was stirred by the transmission. Co-creator Matt Stone
explained the passive reception by citing changing cultural standards, "No one cares anymore... The standards are almost gone. No one gives a shit or a bullshit." According to DVD commentary, they were only going to say it a few times, which Comedy Central would not allow. However, when Parker and Stone came up with the idea that they would "say it like 200 times, they [Comedy Central] were fine with it."
This episode was selected as #8 on Comedy Central's 2006 marathon of "10 South Parks That Changed the World".
featured this episode in a study on violence
, sexual content and profanity
on cable television
in November 2004.
South Park (season 5)
Season five of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on June 20, 2001. The fifth season concluded after 14 episodes on December 12, 2001...
of the American animated television series South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, and the 66th episode of the series overall. It 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 June 20, 2001. In the episode, the word "shit
Shit
Shit 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...
" is said uncensored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
on television on the crime show Cop Drama. After this, everyone starts saying "shit" over and over, which eventually brings over a mysterious plague that unleashes the ancient Knights of Standards and Practices, and only Chef
Chef (South Park)
Jerome "Chef" McElroy is a fictional character on the Comedy Central series South Park. He was voiced by Isaac Hayes. A cafeteria worker at the local elementary school in the town of South Park, Colorado, Chef was generally portrayed as more level-headed than the other adult residents of the town...
and the boys can save the world.
The episode was written by series 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 is rated TV-MA L in the United States. Throughout the episode, "shit" or "shitty" are exclaimed uncensored 162 separate times; in syndicated or re-aired versions of this episode, a counter in the bottom left corner of the screen counts the number of times the word has been uttered. In other words, the written occurrences are not counted, but "shit" is written 38 times, which puts the "shits" up to an even 200. "Shit" is uttered roughly once every eight seconds, if one includes the show's theme song in calculations.
Plot
KyleKyle 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...
has tickets to go to The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
on Stage, but Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
tells him that the HBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
crime show Cop Drama is going to use the word "shit
Shit
Shit 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...
" uncensored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. The broadcast of the show leads to widespread acceptance of the word, even in schools, causing people to use it constantly, in casual and often out of context during conversations. Furthermore, Ms. Choksondik is forced to clarify the acceptable context of the word — as a noun or adjective meaning bad, or as an exclamation of disappointment, the word is acceptable, but as a noun or adjective referring to feces
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
, it is apparently unacceptable—thoroughly confusing the children (this is a reference to the real-life FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
standards of indecency). A strange illness that causes people to spew up their intestine
Intestine
In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...
s and die suddenly rises in South Park, so action is taken.
The boys ask Chef
Chef (South Park)
Jerome "Chef" McElroy is a fictional character on the Comedy Central series South Park. He was voiced by Isaac Hayes. A cafeteria worker at the local elementary school in the town of South Park, Colorado, Chef was generally portrayed as more level-headed than the other adult residents of the town...
to take them into the HBC Head Office to sort it out. Research proves that the word is actually a literal "curse(d) word," and its constant utterance has caused a resurgence of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. A special live event, "Must Shit TV
Must See TV
"Must See TV" is an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its prime time blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured such popular sitcoms as The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, A Different...
", in which episodes of existing shows are taped live with almost every word of dialogue replaced with the word "shit," goes ahead anyway until the Knights of Standards and Practices enter the studio and begin killing the actors. In a fit of rage for the Knights trying to stop his TV special, the head of HBC repeats the word "shit" rapidly, causing a demonic dragon to awake. After the dragon murders several on the set, Kyle destroys it with an ancient magical rune stone belonging to a knight in the mystical Order of Standards and Practices. The moral of the story is not that saying "shit" in itself is wrong but saying it in excess leads to boredom with the word. Cartman tells everyone to watch their language, which Kyle 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...
agree on. The episode ends with Kenny
Kenny McCormick
Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is one of the four central characters along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his...
spewing up his intestines and dying; Stan almost says "Oh shit!" once more but replaces it with "poop".
Production
Executives at Comedy CentralComedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
felt the profanity was justified by context and decided to allow the uncensored episode to be broadcast, which surprised even the show's developers. Despite broadcasting a record setting amount of profanity, little controversy was stirred by the transmission. Co-creator Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
explained the passive reception by citing changing cultural standards, "No one cares anymore... The standards are almost gone. No one gives a shit or a bullshit." According to DVD commentary, they were only going to say it a few times, which Comedy Central would not allow. However, when Parker and Stone came up with the idea that they would "say it like 200 times, they [Comedy Central] were fine with it."
This episode was selected as #8 on Comedy Central's 2006 marathon of "10 South Parks That Changed the World".
Parents TV study
The Parents Television CouncilParents Television Council
The 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...
featured this episode in a study on violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, sexual content and profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
on cable television
Cable television
Cable 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...
in November 2004.
External links
- "It Hits the Fan" Episode guide at South Park Studios
- "It Hits the Fan" Full episode at South Park Studios