Hell on Earth 2006

Last updated
"Hell on Earth 2006"
South Park episode
Episode no.Season 10
Episode 11
Directed by Trey Parker
Written byTrey Parker
Featured music
Production code1011
Original air dateOctober 25, 2006 (2006-10-25)
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy"		Next →
"Go God Go"
South Park season 10
List of episodes

"Hell on Earth 2006" is the eleventh episode in the tenth season of the American animated television series South Park . The 150th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 25, 2006. The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker.

Contents

The episode revolves around Satan having a huge party on Earth on Halloween, obsessing over every detail of the party in the process and catching the ire of the Roman Catholic Church. Meanwhile, Butters summons Biggie Smalls.

This episode parodies Candyman , the television series My Super Sweet 16 and the comedy group The Three Stooges. The episode also received generally positive responses from critics; however, it sparked controversy shortly after its initial airing due to the Steve Irwin joke it contained.

Plot

Satan announces his plans to throw a huge Halloween costume party on Earth at the W hotel, supposedly the Cecil hotel. Among other things, Satan decides upon a cake the size and shape of a Ferrari Enzo, which three notorious serial killers—Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy—are entrusted with bringing to the party. Cardinal Roger Mahony and other Roman Catholic Church officials of Los Angeles, angered that Satan does not invite them to the party, plan to call the fire marshal the night of the party to complain, thus ruining it. When they are unable to do so after discovering that the fire marshal was also invited to the party, the clergy decide to crash it. However, Satan's security make sure they do not get in at all.

Meanwhile, Cartman, Stan, Kyle, Token, Tweek, and Butters experiment with a Bloody Mary-type ritual to summon Biggie Smalls in the same vein as the Candyman. Butters succeeds in summoning him, but Biggie is angered that he will now experience difficulties in getting to the party and demands that Butters help him get there. However, Biggie keeps being summoned back to South Park mid-journey, first by Kyle as part of a dare and then by Randy Marsh after the boys inform him of the summoning ritual, further angering him.

The three serial killers ineptly destroy the cake (ala the Three Stooges ) and ultimately kill each other while attempting to make a new one. Satan's assistant, Demonius, finds a cake the exact size and shape of an Acura TSX as a last-minute substitute. Satan is infuriated that he did not receive the right cake. When Demonius points out that his guests are having fun regardless, Satan flies into a rage. The guests get upset and start to leave, and Satan realizes that, in trying to have a party like the girls on My Super Sweet 16 , he became like one of them, until he's reassured that even he, Satan, is not that bad. He tells the crowd that he is sorry and invites everyone into the party, including the Catholic priests (along with their naked altar boys on leashes). Having arrived in Los Angeles, Butters uses a guest's make-up mirror to summon Biggie Smalls to the party, who asks Butters to come in with him as thanks, to which Butters, knowing his parents will likely ground him for being there without their knowledge or permission, goes along with it.

Production

Trey Parker and Matt Stone described the episode as being a "last minute" one; even though they had several ideas for episodes, they wanted to quickly come up with an idea for an episode that featured Halloween because the episode would be airing close to Halloween. The idea of having Satan throw a big party on Earth was what the episode was produced around, and it wasn't until later in the production that the idea to parody the television series My Super Sweet 16 was implemented. Parker and Stone chose to parody that series because they felt that it was the "most disgusting, foul show ever made", describing the people featured on it as "evil" and "horrible". Originally, the episode opened with the scene where the boys are in the bathroom, rather than the scene in Hell. Parker decided to have the scenes switched at the last minute, and felt that it was a bad idea in hindsight. [1]

The episode features the song "Oh Yeah" by Yello when the three killers pick up Satan's Ferrari cake, similar to the song's usage in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off . Also during the party, samples from the end theme of the game Half-Life". [2]

The scene where Bundy, Dahmer, and Gacy kill each other while attempting to bake a new Ferrari cake was noticeably less violent in the original airing; future airings saw the original uncut scene where Dahmer stabs Bundy in the throat and Gacy smashes Dahmer's skull with a rolling pin.

Reception

The episode received generally positive reviews. IGN 's Dan Iverson originally criticized the episode for the lack of storyline development, but later stated that "the storylines were humorous enough that we were able to put aside that there was no real social commentary (like the last three episodes), but instead madcap comedy that was funny based on silly humor alone". Iverson also praised the episode for illustrating Satan as a spoiled child and for the Three Stooges scenes involving the killers, and concluded that "although [the episode] isn't as good as a couple of South Park's other Halloween episodes, it is still a very funny episode". [2] Adam Finley of TV Squad stated that although he thought "Hell on Earth 2006" was a "great episode", it was "most guaranteed to offend somebody". [3] Judge Keefer of DVD Verdict described the episode as "a really great installment with a wincing (yet guilty pleasure) joke", and graded the episode with an A. [4] Chris Longo of Den of Geek listed "Hell on Earth 2006" as the series' best Halloween episode. [5]

Steve Irwin controversy

Steve Irwin as depicted in the episode Irwin.PNG
Steve Irwin as depicted in the episode

One of the guests appearing at Satan's party is Steve Irwin, who has a stingray protruding from his chest. Satan, upon being informed that said guest is offending some of the others, goes to confront him, but does not realize that it is Irwin at first, thinking instead that it is someone else in a costume, and tells him that it is in bad taste to wear such a costume so soon after Irwin's death. Finding out it actually is Irwin, Satan kicks him out of the party for not wearing a costume. The scene sparked controversy among the media for parodying Irwin's death so soon after its occurrence. The controversy was mainly because of the airing of the episode so close to Irwin's death, [6] since an earlier parody of Irwin in a 1999 South Park episode entitled "Prehistoric Ice Man", did not spark controversy. [7] [8] [9] A friend of Terri Irwin, Steve Irwin's widow, issued a statement about the episode:

Terri is devastated Steve is being mocked in such a cruel way. Her worry is that Bindi and Bob will see it and break down. Steve had as big a sense of humour as anyone, but this goes too far too soon.

—A friend of Terri Irwin [10] [11]

Besides Irwin's family, the episode also received criticism from press personalities; John Beyer, the director of Mediawatch-uk, said that it was in bad taste to create such a scene and the makers of South Park should review their decision to show it. [12] Irwin's fellow naturalist Mark Amey called the show "distasteful shit". [10]

In a response to the controversy around the episode, Tony Fox, a spokesperson for Comedy Central, defended the episode, saying, "The South Park guys do inappropriate things all the time...their goal is to make people laugh, not to offend people." [13] Additionally, another spokesperson for the network has said that "South Park has offended people in the past and probably will again. Regular watchers would not be shocked." [12] Although rumors were spread about the episode not being broadcast in Australia due to the controversy, The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced the episode would be broadcast on SBS, but would be delayed 12 months due to programming issues. [14]

Series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said that they were surprised to see the Steve Irwin depiction cause so much controversy, essentially since they felt South Park has featured far more offensive material and that, "in South Park lore, it's established that basically everyone ends up in hell." [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut</i> 1999 adult animated film directed by Trey Parker

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 American adult animated musical comedy film based on the animated sitcom South Park. The film was directed by series creator Trey Parker from a screenplay co-written with series co-creator Matt Stone and Pam Brady. It stars Parker, Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, and Isaac Hayes, all of whom reprise their roles from the series, with George Clooney, Eric Idle, and Mike Judge in supporting roles. The plot follows Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick as they sneak into an R-rated film starring the Canadian comedy duo Terrance and Phillip, after which they begin swearing. When the consequent moral panic culminates in the United States declaring war on Canada, Stan, Kyle and Cartman take it upon themselves to save Terrance and Phillip from execution, while Kenny tries to prevent a prophecy involving Satan and Saddam Hussein's intent to conquer the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butters Stotch</span> Fictional character from South Park

Leopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the adult animated television series South Park. He is loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough and his voice is provided by co-creator Matt Stone. He is a student at South Park Elementary School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Times with Weapons</span> 1st episode of the 8th season of South Park

"Good Times with Weapons" is the first episode of the eighth season of the American animated series South Park and the 112th episode of the series. It originally aired on March 17, 2004. In the episode, the boys are transformed into Japanese warriors after they buy martial arts weapons at a local market. Their sworn enemy, Professor Chaos, confronts them and a highly stylized battle ensues. The episode's animation routinely switches from the usual cutout-and-solid-color style to a highly stylized anime theme.

"Best Friends Forever" is the fourth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 129th episode overall, it was written and directed by co-creator Trey Parker and first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 30, 2005. In the episode, Kenny is deliberately killed by heaven's occupants after becoming master of the PSP in order for him to save them. However, the town brings him back to life, leaving him in a persistent vegetative state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simpsons Already Did It</span> 7th episode of the 6th season of South Park

"Simpsons Already Did It" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series South Park and the 86th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on June 26, 2002. In the episode, which continues on from the events of the previous episode "Professor Chaos", Butters thinks up a series of schemes to take over the world, but realizes that each one has already been performed on the show The Simpsons. Meanwhile, Ms. Choksondik dies and Cartman, Kyle and Stan think that they are responsible.

"Awesom-O" is the fifth episode in the eighth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 116th episode overall, the second in production order of Season 8 instead of the fifth, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 14, 2004. The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker.

"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.

"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

Chef Jerome McElroy, often referred to as just "Chef", is a fictional 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. He frequently gives completely honest advice without considering whether it is appropriate for children, usually in the non sequitur form of a lascivious soul song.

<i>My Super Sweet 16</i> MTV reality series

My Super Sweet 16 is an American reality television series documenting the lives of teenagers, usually in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, generally with wealthy parents who throw lavish, excessive and expensive coming-of-age celebrations. Parties include the quinceañera, the sweet 16, and other birthdays including a My Super Sweet 21 and My Super Swag 18. The show aired on MTV from January 18, 2005, to September 11, 2017. The opening theme is "Sweet Sixteen" sung by Hilary Duff.

Trapped in the Closet (<i>South Park</i>) 12th episode of the 9th season of South Park

"Trapped in the Closet" is the twelfth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 137th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 16, 2005. In the episode, Stan joins Scientology in an attempt to find something "fun and free". After the discovery of his surprisingly high "thetan levels", he is recognized as the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the church. The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker, who was credited as John Smith.

"Bloody Mary" is the fourteenth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 139th overall episode of the series, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on December 7, 2005. In the episode, Randy loses his driver's license for driving under the influence and is ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, where he becomes convinced that alcoholism is a potentially fatal disease. Meanwhile, a statue of the Virgin Mary starts bleeding "out its ass" and Randy believes that he can be "cured" if it bleeds on him.

"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.

<i>South Park</i> season 10 Season of television series

The tenth season of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 22, 2006. The tenth season concluded after 14 episodes on November 15, 2006. This is the last season featuring Isaac Hayes as Hayes quit the show following the backlash behind season nine's "Trapped in the Closet" episode. This season also had a minor controversy when the Halloween episode "Hell on Earth 2006" depicted The Crocodile Hunter's Steve Irwin with a stingray lodged in his chest getting thrown out of Satan's Halloween party for not being in costume. All the episodes in this season were written and directed by Trey Parker.

<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.

South Park is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Its frequent depiction of taboo subject matter, unusual humor and portrayal of religion for comic effect has generated controversy, ire from critics, and debate throughout the world over the course of its 26 seasons. Stone and Parker, who also write the show, use it frequently to lampoon a wide range of topics and both sides of contentious issues.

"Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the animated television series South Park and the 46th episode of the series overall. An album of the same name consisting of versions of songs from the show as well as a number of additional songs was released the week prior to the episode's original air date, December 1, 1999.

"1%" is the twelfth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 221st episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 2, 2011. In the episode, Cartman feels persecuted after he is blamed for causing his school to attain a low score on a national fitness test. As he confides in his sapient stuffed animals, they end up becoming targeted for mutilation.

"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.

"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.

References

  1. 1 2 Parker, Trey; Stone, Matt (2006). South Park season ten DVD commentary for the episode "Hell on Earth 2006" (DVD). Comedy Central. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Iverson, Dan (2006-10-05). "South Park: "Hell on Earth 2006" review". IGN . Retrieved 2006-11-13.
  3. ↑ Finley, Adam (2006-10-25). "South Park: Hell on Earth 2006". TV Squad. Archived from the original on 2008-12-27. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  4. ↑ Keefer, Judge (2007-07-21). "South Park: The Complete Tenth Season". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  5. ↑ Longo, Chris (2016-10-26). "7 Best South Park Halloween Episodes". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  6. ↑ Staff (2006-10-28). "South Park defends Irwin sketch". BBC News . Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  7. ↑ Clark, Laine (2006-10-27). "Steve Irwin mocked in South Park cartoon". News.com.au . Archived from the original on 2007-07-28. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  8. ↑ Staff (2006-10-26). "Crikey! South Park mocks Irwin". Metro. Archived from the original on 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  9. ↑ Collins, Glen (2006-09-04). "Stingray Attack Kills Australia's 'Crocodile Hunter'". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  10. 1 2 Taylor, Chris (2006-10-29). "Steve Irwin's Wife "Devastated" By South Park Lampooning". Entertainment Wise. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  11. ↑ Rawson-Jones, Ben (2006-10-30). "Steve Irwin widow's South Park fear". Digital Spy . Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  12. 1 2 Staff (2006-10-27). "South Park mocks Steve Irwin". CNN . Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  13. ↑ Melia, Daniel (2006-10-30). "Comedy Central Defend South Park's Steve Irwin Episode". Entertainment Wise. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  14. ↑ Kent, Paul; Gee, Steve (2006-10-28). "To hell with Irwin, says South Park". The Herald Sun . Retrieved 2009-01-09.
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.