Cock Magic

Last updated
"Cock Magic"
South Park episode
Episode no.Season 18
Episode 8
Directed by Trey Parker
Written byTrey Parker
Featured music"Barbie Girl" by Aqua
Production code1808
Original air dateNovember 19, 2014 (2014-11-19)
Guest appearance
Peter Serafinowicz as Magic: The Gathering match commentator
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Grounded Vindaloop"		Next →
"#REHASH"
South Park season 18
List of episodes

"Cock Magic" is the eighth episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park . The 255th 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 November 19, 2014. The episode lampoons the popularity of the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering using double entendres of various sexual innuendo, women's sports, and cockfighting versus the stand for animal rights.

Contents

Plot

At school, members of the girls' volleyball team try to gather support for their upcoming game, but Cartman, Craig, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny all turn them down, as Kenny is scheduled to compete in a game of Magic: The Gathering . Kenny wins his game, and the others brag at school about Kenny's brutality in the game. Wendy is disappointed in Stan for not attending the volleyball game. A janitor overhears the boys' talking and gives them information on a more "hardcore" secret underground event. Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny all arrive at City Wok to find chickens playing Magic in a scene resembling a cockfight, known as "cock magic". Stan, Kyle, and Cartman enjoy the event, but Kenny feels bad for the roosters. Police, led by Detective Harris, [1] arrive at Kenny's parents' home, searching for the cock magic ring. Randy warns the kids about cock magic, as he was involved with it back in college, and he demonstrates his knowledge of a completely different type of "cock magic" by performing magic tricks with his penis. The boys go looking for a rooster they can train to play with the help of Kenny's knowledge. Stan raises questions about animal rights, but the boys eventually choose a younger chicken that has not yet expressed a preference for a fighting style of Magic, and they name their chicken McNuggets. Meanwhile, Randy practices his form of cock magic, since he believes that people are talking about it again.

McNuggets wins a Magic game at City Wok, and the boys are given information on another, more upscale, event. Randy unsuccessfully attempts to entertain a group of children at a birthday party with his cock magic, performing as "The Amazingly Randi". The girls' volleyball coach comes to class to encourage turnout, and Stan, Kyle, and Cartman all joke about it, but Wendy, who is the team captain, also makes a speech and leaves Stan stunned. The parents at the birthday party attempt to report Randy's cock magic show to the police, who are confused as they are looking for the cock magic fighting games, and they arrest the mother for calling in a fake 911 report. Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman bring McNuggets to the next event being held at a Panda Express, but Stan is attending a girls' volleyball game to gain favor with Wendy. The event features an undefeated rooster named Gadnuk, Breaker of Worlds, and the boys realize McNuggets is outmatched, but they are forced to play.

Kenny steps in for McNuggets to play Gadnuk, while Cartman is relaying to Stan all the information via cell phone at the game. Kenny appears to be on the verge of winning the game when the police bust the event. They reveal that they knew about the event due to fliers that had been passed out, which was actually done by Randy, who is performing as The Amazingly Randi for the halftime entertainment. As Randy performs to a stunned crowd, people use the distraction to discreetly leave, eventually leaving only Randy with the police. At school, Kenny wonders what they will do with McNuggets now that his underground fighting career is seemingly over. Stan comes up with the idea to combine the girls' volleyball game against McNuggets playing Magic, as the game finally has the crowd attention they have been wanting all along.

Production

At the end of the production of "Freemium Isn't Free", the sixth episode of this season, Trey Parker and Matt Stone had to quickly come up with what it was that Stan was doing now instead of playing freemium games. They settled on board games. Because it was fun to put some of their favorite board games in the background of that scene, Parker and Stone started discussing doing an episode where the characters play board games, with the twist being that it would be treated like an illegal activity. Also considered was a slightly modified version where instead of it being illegal, the characters played the game like a serious sport. For the game, they chose Magic: The Gathering because Parker had played it before and was a fan of it. Once it was spontaneously decided that roosters would be involved, the term "cock magic" was coined and it set up Randy doing his own cock magic. [2]

Peter Serafinowicz was brought in to do the voice of the announcer. Parker and Stone thought Serafinowicz had a "beautiful voice" so they had him do several different voices to see which would be the best fit. Originally, the voice was done in a low, calm golf announcer voice. Despite being "funny for a little bit", Parker and Stone felt that "the scenes just kind of died out" and the voice had to be funnier. At the "very last minute", it was decided that the voice would be performed in the style of a big and exciting fight announcer where the announcer gets "super excited" after a sudden knockout. Serafinowicz performed the role like an overexcited English football announcer and Parker and Stone were "dying [with] laughter". [2]

Reception

The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. The episode received an A− rating from The A.V. Club 's Dan Caffrey, who headlined his review with "The show does away with commentary and ends up with one of the season’s best episodes." [1] Max Nicholson from IGN gave the episode a 6.5 out of 10 and noted that it was "feeling muddled and unfocused". [3] Daniel Kurland from Den of Geek gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated: "It might not be the best episode of the season, but it’s a very solid piece of fluff installment in the meantime." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Broflovski</span> Fictional character in South Park

Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the series' four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman. He debuted on television when South Park first aired on August 13, 1997, after having first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Stone and long-time collaborator Trey Parker in 1992 and 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stan Marsh</span> Main character of the animated television series South Park

Stanley "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the adult animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the series' four central characters, along with Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick. He debuted on television when South Park first aired on August 13, 1997, after having first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Parker and long-time collaborator Matt Stone in 1992 and 1995.

Volcano (<i>South Park</i>) 2nd episode of the 1st season of South Park

"Volcano" is the second episode of the first season of the American animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 20, 1997. In the episode, Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny go on a hunting trip with Stan's uncle Jimbo and his war buddy Ned. While on the trip, Stan is frustrated by his unwillingness to shoot a living creature, and Cartman tries to scare the hunting party with tales of a creature named Scuzzlebutt. Meanwhile, the group is unaware that a nearby volcano is about to erupt.

"Jakovasaurs" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 35th episode of the series overall. It parodies the Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks from The Phantom Menace, which had been released four weeks before the episode aired, and it expresses how "betrayed" Parker and Stone felt as Star Wars fans, by how "stupid" the character was. The episode originally aired on Comedy Central on June 16, 1999.

"The Red Badge of Gayness" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the animated television series South Park and the 45th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on November 24, 1999. In the episode, the boys participate in the South Park Civil War reenactment. To win a bet, Cartman convinces the reenactors to try and alter history and leads them throughout the United States. The episode's name is a reference to the war novel The Red Badge of Courage, and parodies Ken Burns' documentary miniseries The Civil War and the 1993 film Gettysburg.

"Something You Can Do with Your Finger" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 56th episode of the series overall. It is the 9th produced episode of Season 4. "Something You Can Do with Your Finger" originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central on July 12, 2000.

"The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers" is the thirteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 92nd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 13, 2002. In the episode, the boys dress up and play as characters from The Lord of the Rings film series, with several events and characters substituted into the narrative. They extend their game into a "quest" to return a copy of the film to a local video store. Meanwhile, the adults have accidentally switched the tape with a pornographic film.

"Spontaneous Combustion" is the second episode of the third season of the American animated television series South Park, and is the 33rd episode overall. It originally aired in the United States on April 14, 1999.

"Free Willzyx" is the thirteenth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 138th overall episode, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 30, 2005. In the episode, which parodies the film Free Willy, Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Kenny go to an amusement park, where aquarium employees prank them into thinking the orca Jambu is telling them he needs to be sent back to the Moon where he truly belongs or else he will die; the prank backfires as the boys embark on a misguided mission to set him free.

"A Very Crappy Christmas" is the 17th and final episode of the fourth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 65th episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on December 20, 2000. In the episode, Kyle awaits Mr. Hankey on Christmas, but he does not show up. To try to spread some Christmas cheer, Kyle and the boys decide to create their own animated special.

"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.

"Make Love, Not Warcraft" is the eighth episode in the tenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 147th episode overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 4, 2006. In the episode, named in a play on words after the 1960s counterculture slogan "Make love, not war", Cartman, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny enjoy playing the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. When a high-level player goes around killing other players in the game, they start playing the game every day to try to stop him. The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. In 2015, he and co-creator Matt Stone listed it as their third-favorite episode of the series.

The Spirit of Christmas is the title given to two adult stop motion animated short films created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The two films were released at different periods—the first in 1992, and the second in 1995—and form the basis for the animated series South Park, the latter short featuring more established depictions of the series' setting and characters. To differentiate between them, the respective films have been retroactively referred to as Jesus vs. Frosty and Jesus vs. Santa. A clip of both films appears on two respective billboards during the opening sequence for South Park's first four seasons.

"You're Getting Old" is the seventh episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 216th episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on June 8, 2011. In the episode, Stan begins to develop a profound sense of cynicism after celebrating his tenth birthday, where he is literally seeing everything as "crap". Meanwhile, Randy latches onto a new music genre, "tween wave", in an attempt to fit in, which causes problems in his marriage with Sharon.

"Black Friday" is the seventh episode in the seventeenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 244th episode of the series overall, it premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on November 13, 2013. The episode is the first of a three-episode story arc, which continues with "A Song of Ass and Fire", and concludes with "Titties and Dragons". The plot, which employs themes and motifs from the TV series Game of Thrones, concerns the characters' anticipation of a Black Friday sale, with Randy Marsh taking a temporary job as a mall security guard to gain an advantage over the holiday shopping crowds, and the children of South Park split into two factions over whether to collectively purchase bargain-priced Xbox One or PlayStation 4 video game consoles to facilitate their online group gaming.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Park: Post Covid</span> Episode of South Park

"South Park: Post Covid" is a 2021 American adult animated comedy television special episode written and directed by Trey Parker. It is the first in a series of South Park television specials for the streaming service Paramount+ and premiered on November 25, 2021. It is also considered to be the 310th episode overall of the television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid</span> Episode of South Park

"South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid" is a 2021 American adult animated comedy television special episode written and directed by Trey Parker. It is the second in a series of South Park television specials for the streaming service Paramount+ and premiered on December 16, 2021. It is a sequel to and continues the storyline of the previous special, "South Park: Post Covid". It is also the 311th episode of the series.

References

  1. 1 2 Caffrey, Dan (November 19, 2014). "Review: South Park: "Cock Magic"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Parker, Trey; Stone, Matt (September 24 – December 10, 2014). "Cock Magic". South Park: Season 18 . South Park . Comedy Central.
  3. ↑ Nicholson, Max (November 19, 2014). "South Park: "Cock Magic" Review". IGN . Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  4. ↑ Kurland, Daniel (November 20, 2014). "South Park: Cock Magic Review". Den of Geek . Retrieved March 20, 2022.
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.