External links
- "Gluten Free Ebola" Full episode at South Park Studios
- "Gluten Free Ebola" at IMDb
| "Gluten Free Ebola" | |
|---|---|
| South Park episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 18 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Trey Parker |
| Written by | Trey Parker |
| Featured music | "Get the Party Started" by P!nk |
| Production code | 1802 |
| Original air date | October 1, 2014 |
"Gluten Free Ebola" is the second episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park . The 249th overall episode, it was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 1, 2014. The episode lampoons the trend of the gluten-free diet lifestyle and the constant changes recommended to the Western pattern diet and the current food guide.
Following the events of "Go Fund Yourself", Stan, Cartman, Kyle, and Kenny return to school, only to find themselves ostracized and ridiculed for their recent actions. Meanwhile, at a meeting, Mr. Mackey gloats about his newfound gluten-free diet, greatly annoying other staff.
In order to gain back their popularity, Cartman decides to throw a party for a "cause", choosing Scott Malkinson's diabetes. They announce the party over the local radio station WSPIC, with Principal Victoria, who had earlier been converted into gluten-free by Mr. Mackey, asking whether it has gluten-free foods, for which the boys have no response.
Later at the community center, a scientist from the United States Department of Agriculture tries to explain that the rumors about gluten being bad are false by extracting gluten from a piece of dough made of wheat. Mr. Mackey pressures him to drink the gluten sample in order to back the scientist's claims; he complies, and abruptly starts to violently die, sending the entire town into anarchy. Cartman, who's in a panicked state, calls Kyle and tells him that the whole town has taken all the food with gluten and the party cannot happen. The USDA tries to find a way to end the crisis.
At the Marsh residence, two USDA agents enter and find a can of beer in the garbage, which Randy sees no problem with. Unknown to him, beer contains wheat, which ends up getting him quarantined at a Papa John's restaurant with Mr. Garrison and an unnamed civilian.
Cartman then has a dream of Aunt Jemima (a parody reference to Mother Abigail), who tells him the food pyramids are upside-down, but Cartman has no idea what she is talking about. As the gluten-free toppings at the Papa John's run out, the unnamed resident eats the pizza dough containing gluten, thinking it's all a setup, but he dies shortly afterwards.
At the radio station, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny announced that they have canceled the party to focus their efforts on addressing the public about the dangers of gluten. Cartman, claiming that he knows how to solve the crisis, calls the USDA and tells them that the food pyramid is upside down. Much to their surprise, the new dietary system works. The boys then throw a successful party with Stan reconciling with Wendy, leading her to ask him to dance with her as the credits appended "GF" (gluten-free) to a handful of the cast and crew.
The idea for the episode came from Trey Parker and Matt Stone noticing how people they work with, and society in general, were going on gluten-free diets. It became so common that they went on diets themselves and thought it would be fun to do an episode mocking themselves. [1]
The episode received a C from The A.V. Club 's Josh Mordell. Mordell found the gluten-free panic "reasonably funny", but felt the episode lacked a B-story. [2]
Similarly, IGN's contributor Max Nicholson gave the episode a 7 out of 10, praising the panic caused by gluten products, but was also disappointed with the storyline following the boys' party, noting that "the radio show segments were among the least funny South Park moments in recent memory". [3]
Spin magazine's Brennan Carley criticized the Lorde parody, asking: "has Lorde ever really done anything all that worthy of drawing the cartoon creators' ire?" [4] South Park responded by a subplot in the following week's episode "The Cissy", featuring a Spin reporter named "Brandon Carlile" investigating the concert and stating: "It would be a shame if someone was…having fun at her expense." [5]
"Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 39th episode of the series overall. The episode is the second part of The Meteor Shower Trilogy, and centers upon third grader Stan Marsh and his father Randy. It premiered on Comedy Central on July 21, 1999.
"Casa Bonita" is the eleventh episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 107th episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 12, 2003. In the episode, Cartman misleads Butters into going missing in order to gain an invitation to Kyle's birthday party. The titular restaurant in the episode is based on the real-life Casa Bonita, a Mexican-themed restaurant in Lakewood, Colorado.
"Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American animated television series South Park. The 24th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on September 2, 1998. The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker, along with David Goodman, and directed by Parker. It spoofs the Star Trek episode "Dagger of the Mind". In the episode, the boys visit a planetarium; they soon discover that the operator has sinister intentions involving brainwashing. Meanwhile, Cartman auditions to sing on the Cheesy Poofs advertisement. The episode marks the first speaking role of Leopold "Butters" Stotch, who would become a major character on the show.
"Rainforest Shmainforest" is the third season premiere of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It originally aired on April 7, 1999 and is the 32nd episode overall. This episode features Jennifer Aniston providing the voice for Miss Stevens. The episode criticizes the American Movement to Save the Rain Forest and mocks Costa Rica. The episode's title includes a shm-reduplication.
"Ike's Wee Wee" is the third episode of the second season of the American animated television series South Park. The 16th episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on May 20, 1998. In the episode, school counselor Mr. Mackey is fired, and turns to drugs. Meanwhile, the boys misconstrue what circumcision entails, and try to save Kyle's younger brother Ike from his upcoming bris.
"Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American animated television series South Park. The 22nd episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 19, 1998. The episode was written by series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Nancy M. Pimental, and directed by Parker.
"Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut" is the thirteenth and final episode of the first season of the American animated television series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on February 25, 1998. The episode is the highest viewed episode in the entire South Park series, with 6.4 million views. It is part one of a two-episode story arc, which concluded with "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut". The episode follows Eric Cartman, one of the show's child protagonists, becoming curious about the identity of his father. He discovers that his father is most likely a man his mother had sexual intercourse with during an annual party called "The Drunken Barn Dance". Meanwhile, his friends Stan, Kyle and Kenny participate on America's Stupidest Home Videos, after filming Cartman playing in his yard with plush toys.
"Mystery of the Urinal Deuce" is the ninth episode in the tenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 148th episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 11, 2006. The episode focuses on the 9/11 conspiracy theories, and was written by series co-creator Trey Parker. In the episode, Mr. Mackey is determined to find out who defecated in the urinal, while Cartman manages to link it to 9/11. This causes Stan and Kyle to find the truth behind this terrible event in history.
"Ass Burgers" is the eighth episode of South Park's fifteenth season and the 217th episode of the series overall. It first aired in the U.S. on October 5, 2011, on Comedy Central. The episode picks up where the previous episode, "You're Getting Old", left off. Stan's cynicism is mistakenly blamed on his recent vaccinations and diagnosed as Asperger syndrome, a criticism of anti-vaccination proponents. Cartman mishears the condition as "ass burgers" and opens a food stand in which the secret ingredient involves stuffing his underwear with hamburgers. The episode is rated TV-MA-L in the United States.
"Bass to Mouth" is the tenth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 219th episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 19, 2011. Much of the episode's plot alludes to WikiLeaks and its surrounding controversy.
"Ginger Cow" is the sixth episode in the seventeenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 243rd episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 6, 2013. In the episode, Cartman modifies a cow to make it look like a ginger as a joke. However, various religious groups see this as a prophecy being fulfilled and peace is brought to the Middle East.
"Go Fund Yourself" is the first episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 248th episode of the series overall, it was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on September 24, 2014. In the episode, Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny, and Butters decide to create a startup company funded through Kickstarter so that they never have to work again. While choosing a name, they realize that the Washington Redskins American football team has lost its trademark on "Redskins" because it is racially disparaging to Native Americans, so they decide to use that name for their company. The new company receives enough money for the boys to live luxuriously without doing any work, until the football team destroys Kickstarter's servers during a raid, preventing the boys from accessing their startup company page and receiving their money.
"The Cissy" is the third episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 250th overall episode, it was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 8, 2014. The episode explores the controversial subculture of transgender individuals and gender identity. Musician Sia is featured as the AutoTuned voice of Randy Marsh, who is revealed to be the musician Lorde.
"Freemium Isn't Free" is the sixth episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 253rd episode overall, it was written and directed by series co-creator and co-star Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on November 5, 2014. The episode lampoons the popularity of freemium mobile apps made by other adult animated series such as The Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff. The episode links addiction to freemium games to other addictions, including alcoholism and gambling addiction, and their possible genetic predisposition. The episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards.
"Grounded Vindaloop" is the seventh episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 254th episode overall, it was written and directed by series co-creator and co-star Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on November 12, 2014. The episode lampoons virtual reality headsets including the Oculus Rift using various science-fiction movie references, and customer service call centers.
"#REHASH" is the ninth episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 256th overall episode, it was written and directed by series co-creator and co-star Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on December 3, 2014. The episode is part one of the two-part season finale. The episode lampoons the popularity of Internet Let's Play celebrities and the phenomena of Internet trending topics that lack actual relevance. The episode also references and intertwines multiple elements from previous episodes in the eighteenth season of South Park. YouTuber PewDiePie plays himself in this episode.
"#HappyHolograms" is the tenth and final episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 257th episode overall, it was written and directed by series co-creator and co-star Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on December 10, 2014. It is the second part of the two-part season finale which began with the previous episode, "#REHASH". The episode makes multiple references to earlier episodes over the season, as well as to previous seasons, while mainly lampooning the trend of culture constantly making trending topics with no actual relevance. It also lampoons news events such as the death of Eric Garner, the shooting of Michael Brown, the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, the use of celebrity holograms, and generationism. YouTuber PewDiePie appears as himself, continuing his story line from the previous episode.
"Stunning and Brave" is the first episode in the nineteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 258th episode overall, it was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode aired on Comedy Central on September 16, 2015, and primarily parodies social justice warriors and political correctness within society, with a focus on the acceptance and praise of Caitlyn Jenner. The episode also lampoons Tom Brady and the Deflategate scandal.
"PC Principal Final Justice" is the tenth and final episode of the nineteenth season and the 267th overall episode of the animated television series South Park, written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central on December 9, 2015. It is the third and final part of a three-episode story arc that began with the episode "Sponsored Content" and continued in the episode "Truth and Advertising", which collectively serve as the season finale. The episode parodies the abundance of online advertising, as well as gun politics in the United States, as part of its season-long lampoon of political correctness.
