More Crap
Encyclopedia
"More Crap" is the 9th episode of the eleventh season
of the animated television series South Park
. It was originally broadcast on Comedy Central
in the United State on October 10, 2007, and is rated TV-MA. In the episode, Stan's
father Randy Marsh
produces what is apparently "the biggest crap
" ever taken, but his claims for the world record
are challenged.
"More Crap" is a highly scatological episode of South Park, with the entire plot and many of the jokes revolving around fecal matter
in some way. The episode satirizes U2
singer Bono
for "seem[ing] like such a piece of crap" despite his talent, achievements and humanitarian work. Journalist Katie Couric's
name is also used in a feces-related running gag
. It is one of the very few episodes where Cartman, Kyle and Kenny did not appear.
The episode's plot satirizes the competitive nature of trying to become the record-holder in a peculiar category. It parodies elements of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
, which is about the competition for the biggest high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong
. Bono's personality in the episode is much like the depiction of Mitchell in the documentary, including how he is allowed to play by different rules than other world score competitors.
The episode aired shortly after South Park received an Emmy
that year
for the episode "Make Love Not Warcraft". A running gag in "More Crap" makes reference to the show's Emmy-winning status, during especially scatological scenes.
, believing he has passed the largest recorded BM. They direct him to Zürich
's European Faecal Standards and Measurements Institute, which concludes he has the world record, weighing in at 8.6 courics, a fictional measurement of 2.5 pounds named after Katie Couric
. As Randy is the first American to ever receive the award, the American government holds a ceremony to honor his achievement – however, it is interrupted by a video of Bono
, the previous record holder, claiming he has just taken a BM weighing 9.5 courics, and is therefore still the record holder. His claim is accepted, despite protests that his only proof is an unverified photo.
Randy mourns the loss of his record like the loss of a child, saying that he is now worthless since his BM was the only thing that came from him that was any good (which insults Stan). His friends convince him to train hard and reclaim the record, and he spends three weeks eating at P.F. Chang's
until an ultrasound
reveals his feces have reached about 14 courics in weight. Bono successfully demands Randy be required to pass his stool in Zürich, prompting Stan to visit Bono's mansion to request he to relinquish the first place record, saying Randy has never won anything (though in the episode "Spontaneous Combustion", Randy won the Nobel Prize). Bono, however, reacts poorly to Stan's request he be happy as "number two" (an allusion to defecation) and threatens him. Bono's butler takes Stan to Zürich and informs him of the truth – Bono set his record in 1960, the year he was born; Bono is not the record holder, he is the record.
In Zürich, the society leader explains he took the world's biggest BM in 1960 and was so proud, he raised it as a child. Over time, it grew up into Bono, explaining why Bono is ashamed of being called "number two" and can help so many people while still seeming "like such a piece of shit." Bono's father starts breast feeding him with his "bitty" (nipple), and says that, though Bono faked his newest record, Bono himself is over 80 courics in weight, and thus is still bigger than Randy's old record BM or any other BM in the world.
At that moment, Randy finally takes his BM, which is so large it lifts him several feet off the toilet seat and is estimated to weigh more than 100 courics. Randy is hailed as the new record holder, and the society awards him an Emmy. Several times during the episode, such as when Randy first tries to take a BM, a spinning Emmy award is seen on-screen along with the text "Emmy Award Winning Series". When the spinning Emmy appears during the last seconds of the episode, one of the society's members grabs it and sticks it in Randy's excrement.
had mixed feelings about the episode, calling it "amusing, but not terribly so", giving it a rating of 7.4.
P. F. Chang's China Bistro
spokesperson, Laura Cherry, responded positively to the episode, saying that "It's the third or fourth time. We've appeared in many of their episodes." She also stated that the creators themselves enjoy eating there.
South Park (season 11)
Season 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...
of the animated television series South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
. It was originally broadcast 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 State on October 10, 2007, and is rated TV-MA. In the episode, Stan's
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...
father Randy Marsh
Randy Marsh
Randall Gilbert Marsh is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1981 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000-2009. Marsh wore the uniform number 30...
produces what is apparently "the biggest crap
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
" ever taken, but his claims for the world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
are challenged.
"More Crap" is a highly scatological episode of South Park, with the entire plot and many of the jokes revolving around fecal matter
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
in some way. The episode satirizes U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
singer Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
for "seem[ing] like such a piece of crap" despite his talent, achievements and humanitarian work. Journalist Katie Couric's
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
name is also used in a feces-related running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
. It is one of the very few episodes where Cartman, Kyle and Kenny did not appear.
The episode's plot satirizes the competitive nature of trying to become the record-holder in a peculiar category. It parodies elements of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a 2007 American documentary film that follows Steve Wiebe as he tries to take the world high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong from reigning champion Billy Mitchell...
, which is about the competition for the biggest high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong
is a fictional gorilla in the Donkey Kong and Mario series. He is roughly twice the size of a normal gorilla, weighing approximately 800 pounds. Donkey Kong first appeared in Nintendo's popular 1981 video game of the same name. Since then he has appeared in over 20 games in his own series, as well...
. Bono's personality in the episode is much like the depiction of Mitchell in the documentary, including how he is allowed to play by different rules than other world score competitors.
The episode aired shortly after South Park received an Emmy
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...
that year
59th Primetime Emmy Awards (Creative Arts)
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards, for the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium on September 8, 2007, and were hosted by comedian-actor Carlos Mencia...
for the episode "Make Love Not Warcraft". A running gag in "More Crap" makes reference to the show's Emmy-winning status, during especially scatological scenes.
Plot
Randy Marsh is heavily constipated, having not "taken a crap in over three weeks" due to a diet mainly composed of P.F. Chang's. After taking a laxative, he takes an extremely painful bowel movement (BM) which produces an abnormally large piece of excrement. Upon pressure from his friends, Randy contacts Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records
Guinness 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...
, believing he has passed the largest recorded BM. They direct him to Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
's European Faecal Standards and Measurements Institute, which concludes he has the world record, weighing in at 8.6 courics, a fictional measurement of 2.5 pounds named after Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
. As Randy is the first American to ever receive the award, the American government holds a ceremony to honor his achievement – however, it is interrupted by a video of Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, the previous record holder, claiming he has just taken a BM weighing 9.5 courics, and is therefore still the record holder. His claim is accepted, despite protests that his only proof is an unverified photo.
Randy mourns the loss of his record like the loss of a child, saying that he is now worthless since his BM was the only thing that came from him that was any good (which insults Stan). His friends convince him to train hard and reclaim the record, and he spends three weeks eating at P.F. Chang's
P. F. Chang's China Bistro
'P. F. Chang's China Bistro, Inc. is an American restaurant chain with headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.The chain was founded in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1993 by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang. The restaurants serve American Chinese cuisine from a menu originally conceived and planned by chef...
until an ultrasound
Medical ultrasonography
Diagnostic sonography is an ultrasound-based diagnostic imaging technique used for visualizing subcutaneous body structures including tendons, muscles, joints, vessels and internal organs for possible pathology or lesions...
reveals his feces have reached about 14 courics in weight. Bono successfully demands Randy be required to pass his stool in Zürich, prompting Stan to visit Bono's mansion to request he to relinquish the first place record, saying Randy has never won anything (though in the episode "Spontaneous Combustion", Randy won the Nobel Prize). Bono, however, reacts poorly to Stan's request he be happy as "number two" (an allusion to defecation) and threatens him. Bono's butler takes Stan to Zürich and informs him of the truth – Bono set his record in 1960, the year he was born; Bono is not the record holder, he is the record.
In Zürich, the society leader explains he took the world's biggest BM in 1960 and was so proud, he raised it as a child. Over time, it grew up into Bono, explaining why Bono is ashamed of being called "number two" and can help so many people while still seeming "like such a piece of shit." Bono's father starts breast feeding him with his "bitty" (nipple), and says that, though Bono faked his newest record, Bono himself is over 80 courics in weight, and thus is still bigger than Randy's old record BM or any other BM in the world.
At that moment, Randy finally takes his BM, which is so large it lifts him several feet off the toilet seat and is estimated to weigh more than 100 courics. Randy is hailed as the new record holder, and the society awards him an Emmy. Several times during the episode, such as when Randy first tries to take a BM, a spinning Emmy award is seen on-screen along with the text "Emmy Award Winning Series". When the spinning Emmy appears during the last seconds of the episode, one of the society's members grabs it and sticks it in Randy's excrement.
Reception
TV Squad gave the episode a highly positive review, stating that "it's low taste but it's South Park low taste, which makes it funny," and that "they [Trey Parker and Matt Stone] are on a roll. Possibly a toilet paper roll." IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
had mixed feelings about the episode, calling it "amusing, but not terribly so", giving it a rating of 7.4.
P. F. Chang's China Bistro
P. F. Chang's China Bistro
'P. F. Chang's China Bistro, Inc. is an American restaurant chain with headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.The chain was founded in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1993 by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang. The restaurants serve American Chinese cuisine from a menu originally conceived and planned by chef...
spokesperson, Laura Cherry, responded positively to the episode, saying that "It's the third or fourth time. We've appeared in many of their episodes." She also stated that the creators themselves enjoy eating there.
Cultural references
- The "bitty" reference was based on the British sketch comedy show Little BritainLittle BritainLittle Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
.
External links
- More Crap Full episode at South Park Studios
- More Crap Episode guide at South Park Studios
- Episode highlights at Comedy Central