A Million Little Fibers

Last updated
"A Million Little Fibers"
South Park episode
Episode no.Season 10
Episode 5
Directed by Trey Parker
Written byTrey Parker
Production code1005
Original air dateApril 19, 2006 (2006-04-19)
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Cartoon Wars Part II"		Next →
"ManBearPig"
South Park season 10
List of episodes

"A Million Little Fibers" is the fifth episode in the tenth season of the American animated television series South Park . The 144th episode of the series overall, it was first broadcast on Comedy Central in the United States on April 19, 2006. It is one of two episodes where neither Stan, Kyle, Cartman, or Kenny make an appearance, the other being "Pip". The episode focuses on Towelie and parodies the controversy over the book A Million Little Pieces , an infamous novelistic memoir by James Frey that was lauded by Oprah Winfrey on her talk show until it was revealed to be largely fabricated. [1]

Contents

The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. It was intended as season ten's "bank episode", meaning it was partially produced in advance to allow for time off during the actual production run. However, the episode practically had to be scrapped, as it required more time than was allowed to be finished. The original plot of the episode parodied the television series Intervention . The episode received a mixed to negative critical reception.

Plot

Having lost a job because he was high, Towelie decides to write his memoirs, but a publisher turns him down as uninteresting and irrelevant to the public because Towelie is a towel. He then submits the manuscript again, under the guise of a human author called Steven McTowelie, and he is accepted. Having been invited to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show , Oprah Winfrey loves and promotes his book. Meanwhile, Oprah's vagina, Minge, is depressed that the overworked Oprah never pays attention to him any more. Gary, her anus, conspires with Minge to get Oprah fired. As Minge realizes that Towelie is not a person, they call Geraldo Rivera and give him the information. Subsequently, Towelie is interviewed on Larry King Live , during which Rivera reveals that the author of the book is a towel, and Towelie responds by calling Rivera a "beaner towel".

Mobs congregate to protest wildly; Oprah invites Towelie back on the show, saying that he can explain that he wanted to make the book more relevant and easily understandable. However, she erupts in anger and calls on the audience to lynch Towelie. As she brought the audience onto her side, Minge and Gary's plan is foiled. Just as Oprah and the crowd prepare to lynch Towelie, Minge unzips Oprah's pants and holds out a revolver. Taking hostages, he guns down a police officer and begins making demands. Towelie, using his inherent flatness, manages to free the hostages, as police open fire on Oprah, leading to the death of Gary. Distraught at his death, Minge blames Oprah for not spending time with them before turning the gun on himself and commits suicide. Oprah survives, but is still taken away to the hospital to be treated. Towelie is forgiven by everyone else and is hailed as a hero. Towelie apologizes for lying and learns that he should not get high to come up with ideas: he should come up with ideas first, and then get high as a reward.

Production

According to series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, this episode was originally this season's "bank episode", meaning that it is partially animated before the start of the actual production run, which allows the staff to have one or two days off during the run. It was intended to be a spoof of the television series Intervention , with the people of South Park trying to get Towelie into rehab. About halfway into production, they decided the state of the episode, which consisted of about ten minutes of actual episode, was not good enough and needed more work than they could achieve, so they started from scratch. The finished show was completed in far less time than usual, thanks mostly to them having already taken a two-day break. The intervention storyline was dropped and later used in the season fourteen episode, "Crippled Summer". The story involving Oprah had always been in the episode. [2]

Parker and Stone also discussed the "hat on top of a hat" scenario to describe the "weirdness" of the episode's two stories, saying that when one wears two hats, one on top of the other, they "just end up looking like an idiot" (weirdness on top of weirdness replacing the hats). In hindsight, Parker and Stone felt that the two storylines used in this episode should have been split up into two separate episodes. The title of the episode and some elements of the plot are both a reference to the James Frey book A Million Little Pieces . [2]

Reception

In his review, Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a score of three out of 10, mostly criticizing the way the two stories worked together, saying they would have worked better in separate episodes. [3]

Parker and Stone consider the episode one of their worst, with Parker saying, "That did not turn out well. I had higher hopes for that. If we were going to have Oprah's butthole and vagina and the gun and everything, it should have been in a show with the boys, not the towel." Stone called the episode, "weird on top of weird with weird in the middle. I'd erase that one. I think you could take that show and split it into two different shows. But putting it together, it just feels like, 'What the fuck is this crap? Why am I watching this? I tuned in to watch South Park. I did not tune in to watch Oprah's vagina talk to her butthole and a towel.'" [4]

Home release

"A Million Little Fibers", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Park's tenth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on August 21, 2007. The set includes brief audio commentaries by series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone for each episode. [5] It was also later released as part of a 10-disc Blu-ray set consisting of Seasons 6-10.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Stone</span> American actor, animator and filmmaker (born 1971)

Matthew Richard Stone is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating South Park and The Book of Mormon (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Intrigued by a career in entertainment at a young age, he studied film and mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met Parker. During their attendance, the two worked on various short films and starred in the feature-length musical Cannibal! The Musical (1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trey Parker</span> American actor, animator, and filmmaker (born 1969)

Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating South Park and The Book of Mormon (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. Parker was interested in film and music as a child and at high school and attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met Stone. The two collaborated on various short films and co-starred in Parker’s feature-length musical Cannibal! The Musical (1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Mackey</span> South Park character

Mr. Mackey Jr. is a fictional character in the adult animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series co-creator Trey Parker and debuted in the season one episode "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo". The school counselor at South Park Elementary, he is best known for saying "m'kay" at the end of most of his sentences.

"Quest for Ratings" is the eleventh episode in the eighth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 122nd episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 17, 2004.

"Scott Tenorman Must Die" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 69th episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on July 11, 2001. In the episode, high schooler Scott Tenorman makes Eric Cartman believe that buying pubic hair from him will make Cartman reach puberty. Realizing that he had been tricked, an angry Cartman plots revenge on Scott.

"Tom's Rhinoplasty" is the eleventh 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 11, 1998. In the episode, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick become infatuated with the new substitute teacher Ms. Ellen, which highly aggravates Stan's girlfriend Wendy Testaburger. Meanwhile, Mr. Garrison gets a nose job that makes him resemble actor David Hasselhoff.

"Professor Chaos" is the sixth episode of the sixth season of the Comedy Central series South Park and the 85th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on April 10, 2002. In the episode, the boys hold a contest to try to find a replacement for Butters, who becomes a supervillain after being fired from the group as the replacement Kenny. The episode also parodies The Bachelor and the 2000 film X-Men.

Chef (<i>South Park</i>) Fictional character from South Park

Jerome McElroy, usually referred to as Chef or the Chef, is a character on the Comedy Central series South Park who was voiced by Isaac Hayes. A cafeteria worker at the local elementary school in the town of South Park, Colorado, Chef is generally portrayed as more intelligent than the other adult residents of the town, and understanding to the children. His advice is often sought by the show's core group of child protagonists—Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick—as he is the only adult they completely trust. Chef frequently gives completely honest advice without considering whether it is appropriate for children, usually in the non sequitur form of a lascivious soul song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Frey</span> American writer

James Christopher Frey is an American writer and businessman. His first two books, A Million Little Pieces (2003) and My Friend Leonard (2005), were bestsellers marketed as memoirs. Large parts of the stories were later found to be exaggerated or fabricated, sparking a media controversy. His 2008 novel Bright Shiny Morning was also a bestseller.

"Towelie" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the American adult animated sitcom South Park, and the 73rd episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 8, 2001. In the episode, the boys attempt to recover their stolen video game console from the middle of a feud between a paramilitary group and extraterrestrials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Return of Chef</span> 1st episode of the 10th season of South Park

"The Return of Chef" is the first episode in the tenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 140th episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 22, 2006. The episode was the first after the departure of actor Isaac Hayes, who voiced the character Chef. Hayes, a Scientologist, left after a falling-out with the creators over their treatment of Scientology in the previous season's episode "Trapped in the Closet". Scientology has been accused of using brainwashing techniques, and "The Return of Chef" portrays Chef as having been brainwashed.

"Cartoon Wars Part I" is the third episode in the tenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 142nd episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 5, 2006. It is the first part of a two-episode story-arc, which concludes with "Cartoon Wars Part II". In the episode, it is announced that a Family Guy episode will air with the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a character, leaving the whole of the United States fearing for their lives. Cartman apparently believes that the episode is offensive to Muslims and decides to go to Hollywood to try to get the episode pulled.

"ManBearPig" is the sixth episode in the tenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 145th episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 26, 2006. In the episode, Al Gore visits South Park to warn everyone about a creature called ManBearPig, an allegory for global warming. Gore then gets Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny trapped inside the Cave of the Winds.

<i>South Park</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the animated television series South Park aired on Comedy Central from August 13, 1997 to February 25, 1998. The creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote most of the season's episodes; Dan Sterling, Philip Stark and David Goodman were credited with writing five episodes. The narrative revolves around four children—Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick—and their unusual experiences in the titular mountain town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald and Sheila Broflovski</span> Fictional characters

Gerald "Jerry" Broflovski and Sheila Broflovski are fictional characters in the animated television series South Park. The two are an upper middle-class married Ashkenazi Jewish couple who raise their ten-year-old son Kyle and three-year-old Canadian-born adopted son Ike in the fictional town of South Park, Colorado.

"Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus" is the second season premiere of the American animated television series South Park. The 14th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 1, 1998. The episode follows the two title characters, a duo of Canadians who attempt to save their country from the dictator Saddam Hussein while performing repetitive toilet humour. Unbeknownst to them, the plan was partially set up by their rival, Scott, a critic who is often displeased by their random jokes of flatulence. The script was written by series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with writer Trisha Nixon.

"Eek, a Penis!" is the fifth episode in the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom South Park. The 172nd episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 9, 2008. In the episode, Mrs. Garrison seeks to become a man again through the help of a new medical procedure. The subplot focuses on Cartman's attempt to teach struggling inner-city school children how to succeed by cheating. This plot is a parody of the 1988 film Stand and Deliver, with Eric Cartman playing a role similar to that of Jaime Escalante. The episode was rated TV-MA L for strong language in the United States.

"200" is the fifth episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 200th overall episode of the series, hence the name. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 14, 2010. In the episode, Tom Cruise and all other celebrities who have been mocked by residents of South Park in the past plan to file a class action lawsuit against the town, but Cruise promises to end the lawsuit if the town can get the Islamic prophet Muhammad to meet him.

"Crippled Summer" is the seventh episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 202nd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 28, 2010. In the episode, the South Park children try to help Towelie overcome his drug addiction, while Nathan and his lackey Mimsy plot to destroy Jimmy during athletic competitions at a summer camp for disabled children.

"Informative Murder Porn" is the second episode in the seventeenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 239th episode of the series overall, it premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 2, 2013. The episode revolves around the children of South Park trying to stop their parents from watching "murder porn", television programs containing softcore pornography that reenact true crime stories.

References

  1. ↑ "James Frey and the A Million Little Pieces Controversy" . Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "South Park season ten DVD commentary for the episode "A Million Little Fibers"" (DVD). Comedy Central. 2006. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014.{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ Goldman, Eric (April 20, 2006). "South Park: A Million Little Fibers Review". IGN. Archived from the original on December 27, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  4. ↑ Stone, Matt; Parker, Trey (October 11, 2011). "'South Park': Matt Stone and Trey Parker Name Their 15 Best Episodes (and 53 Worst)". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  5. ↑ Iverson, Dan (November 22, 2006). "South Park: The Complete Tenth Season DVD Review". IGN . Retrieved April 30, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.