Awesom-O

Last updated
"Awesom-O"
South Park episode
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 5
Directed by Trey Parker
Written byTrey Parker
Production code802
Original air dateApril 14, 2004 (2004-04-14)
Episode chronology
← Previous
"You Got F'd in the A"		Next →
"The Jeffersons"
South Park season 8
List of episodes

"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.

Contents

In the episode, Cartman masquerades as a robot, named AWESOM-O, in an attempt to gain Butters' trust, hoping he can convince Butters to tell him secrets he can use to embarrass Butters. While Butters is thrilled to have found a new best friend, Hollywood is after the phony robot to develop their next big blockbuster and the U.S. Army believes AWESOM-O is a new secret weapon.

Plot

Cartman plays a prank on Butters by disguising himself in a crude cardboard suit as a robot named "A.W.E.S.O.M.-O 4000" and by putting himself in a crate "from Japan" on Butters's doorstep. Cartman "befriends" Butters while in the robot suit just to discover Butters' most embarrassing secrets, which will allow Cartman to blackmail him and/or embarrass him in school. Butters falls for the trick and reveals highly embarrassing personal secrets. However, just as Cartman is about to reveal his identity, Butters mentions that he himself knows one of Cartman's secrets: Butters has a videotape of Cartman doing a Britney Spears dance routine to a life-sized cutout of Justin Timberlake while dressed as her and making out with the cutout, which he plans to show to his classmates the next time Cartman plays a prank on him.

Cartman, terrified of Butters' revenge plan, searches desperately for the tape (while still in disguise), but to no avail. Cartman soon begins to starve because Butters believes that he does not need to eat since he is a robot. Butters also forces the robot to do all his chores for him, including some of the more unpleasant tasks. With the agreement of Ms. Cartman, who is willing to temporarily let her son off punishment for trying to exterminate the Jews two weeks prior, Butters' parents (knowing who AWESOM-O really is, but thinking it is an elaborate game that Butters is participating in) decide to let Cartman come along with Butters on a trip to Los Angeles to see his aunt. Cartman realizes that he will have to accompany Butters on the journey in order to keep up his disguise. Upon arriving, he is so hungry and worn out after wearing the suit for a whole airplane ride, so he makes up an excuse to use the bathroom and proceeds to eat toothpaste.

During their visit to Catamount Pictures, two movie producers find out about the "robot" and decide to hire him to create movie ideas. Cartman, as the robot, comes up with over two thousand terrible, nonsensical film concepts (800 of which would star Adam Sandler), which the movie producers all find brilliant. To make matters worse for Cartman, the fortune he makes from the movie ideas is donated to charity by Butters, who believes that AWESOM-O does not need the money. Meanwhile, the U.S. military hears about AWESOM-O and decides to capture it and make it into a weapon. Cartman flees the movie studio in panic after a film producer tries to engage in sexual activity with him, thinking that he may also be a "pleasure model". The military captures Cartman by shocking him and conveying him to a secret base.

Cartman tries to explain that he is really just a kid. Still, the military believes he is a robot with artificial intelligence enabling him to think like a human, going so far as to possess the memories of a nonexistent eight-year-old child. A scientist, moved by this, attempts to save Cartman, who is about to reveal that he is a human when Butters shows up to rescue him. He must maintain his disguise, allowing the military to kill the rebellious scientist. Butters pleads with the military to spare AWESOM-O, and the general is touched. Just as it appears he will get off undetected, Cartman accidentally farts, and his attempts to cover it up cause everyone, including Butters, to suspect and finally discover his true identity.

Butters carries out his promise and shows the video to the whole town, the movie producers, and the military at a special screening. The whole audience laughs, except for Cartman, who is humiliated.

Production

"Awesom-O" has one of the shortest production cycles in South Park's history, being produced in just three days while series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone attended a wedding in Hawaii. [1] In the days leading up to the initial airing, commercials that ran on Comedy Central teased a plot that would see a return of Lemmiwinks from Season 6's The Death Camp of Tolerance in the upcoming episode. However, as the air date neared, this promo was changed to reflect the plot of "Awesom-O" instead. The episode starts with a cold open stating that the return of Lemmiwinks will "not be seen tonight" because of "tragic events in Hawaii". Lemmiwinks would later make a return in the Season 15 episode Bass to Mouth instead.

The name of Cartman's robotic alter ego is derived from Honda's ASIMO humanoid robot. [2]

The song "Let Me Tell You About My Robot Friend" sung by Butters in the episode is a parody rendering of "Girlfriend" by Harry Nilsson.

Parker and Stone have since spoken positively of the episode, selecting it as one of their 15 favorites in the show's run. Parker reflected, "We were trying to think of a situation to put a kid in that felt really original. So Cartman is trying to f--- Butters and he gets stuck in this robot costume. There are so many great Cartman/Butters episodes. That's definitely one of them." Stone highlighted the scene where "Cartman is starving and he eats toothpaste" as one of the best in the show's run. [3]

Home media

"Awesom-O", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Park's eighth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on August 29, 2006. The set includes brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode. [4] The episode was also released on the 2-disc DVD collection A Little Box of Butters. [5]

Related Research Articles

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

Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character and one of the four main protagonists in the adult animated sitcom South Park, alongside Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His often muffled and incomprehensible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his mouth—is provided by co-creator Matt Stone. After early appearances in The Spirit of Christmas shorts in 1992 and 1995, Kenny appeared in South Park television episodes beginning August 13, 1997, as well as the 1999 feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, where his uncovered face and voice were first revealed.

<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.

"Die Hippie, Die" is the second episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 127th episode overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 16, 2005. In the episode, Cartman works to rid South Park from an infestation of hippies. The episode parodies the 2003 film The Core.

"The Death of Eric Cartman" is the sixth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 131st episode overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 13, 2005.

"Erection Day" is the seventh episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 132nd episode overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 20, 2005. In the episode, South Park Elementary's talent show is coming up and everyone expects Jimmy to win. Jimmy is elated to perform his stand-up comedy routines, but begins to suffer from unwanted erections and tries to resolve the problem.

"Freak Strike" is the third episode of the sixth season of the Comedy Central series South Park and the 82nd episode of the series overall. Going by production order, it is the 1st episode of Season 6 instead of the 3rd episode. It originally aired on March 20, 2002. In the episode, the boys disguise Butters as an individual with testicles on his chin, allowing him to win them a prize on a television show. However, Butters only wins a round of putt-putt golf. The freaks who make a career of appearing on TV talk shows go on strike, and make Butters strike with them.

"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.

"Up the Down Steroid" is the second episode in the eighth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 113th episode of the series overall. Going by production order, it is the second episode of Season 8 instead of third. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 24, 2004. In the episode, Jimmy enters the special Olympics but starts using steroids to improve his performance. Cartman, believing he will have an advantage over the other children, disguises himself as handicapped so he can enter and win the cash prize. The title of the episode is a parody of the book Up the Down Staircase.

"The Death Camp of Tolerance" is the fourteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 93rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 20, 2002.

"Butters' Very Own Episode" is the fourteenth and final episode of the fifth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 79th episode of the series overall. "Butters' Very Own Episode" originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central on December 12, 2001. In the episode, Butters Stotch survives a murder attempt by his own mother after discovering his father's homosexual dalliances and must travel back to South Park in time for his parents' wedding anniversary at Bennigan's. Meanwhile, Butters' parents join John and Patsy Ramsey, Gary Condit, and O. J. Simpson in lying to the press about who murdered Butters.

"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.

"Jared Has Aides" is the first episode of the sixth season of the adult American animated television series South Park, and the 80th episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 6, 2002. In the episode, weight loss advocate and Subway spokesman Jared Fogle incurs the wrath of South Park after he announces that he lost weight because he has aides. This leads Cartman, Kyle and Stan to try to use Butters as their own advocate for City Wok. The episode also parodies the film Philadelphia.

"The Tooth Fairy's Tats 2000" is the fourth season premiere and the 2nd produced episode of Comedy Central's animated television series South Park, and its 49th overall episode. It originally aired on April 5, 2000. The episode marks the first appearance of Timmy Burch. The plot follows the boys as they decide to make money from the tooth fairy, using other children's teeth, and then become involved with organized crime and the underground tooth market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset</span> 12th episode of the 8th season of South Park

"Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" is the twelfth episode in the eighth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 123rd episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on December 1, 2004. The episode was written and directed by series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The episode parodies Paris Hilton and sex tapes made by celebrities.

"Le Petit Tourette" is the eighth episode of the eleventh season of the animated television series South Park, and the 161st episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 3, 2007. This episode marked the beginning of the second half of the eleventh season. In the episode, Eric Cartman pretends to have Tourette syndrome (TS) so that he can say whatever he wants without getting into trouble. It eventually leads to trouble and he ends up saying things that he would never say. The episode's title is a play on the title of Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 film Le Petit Soldat.

"The China Probrem" is the eighth episode in the twelfth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 175th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 8, 2008. It was the mid-season premiere for season 12, and was dedicated to Isaac Hayes, the voice actor of Chef, who died on August 10 of that year. The episode was rated TV-MA-LSV for strong language, sexual content, and violence in the United States.

"The Coon" is the second episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 183rd episode of the series, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 18, 2009. In the episode, Cartman poses as a comic book superhero vigilante named "The Coon", who grows increasingly jealous of the popularity and success of a rival superhero named "Mysterion".

"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.

"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.

References

  1. ↑ Parker, Trey (March 2006). South Park: The Complete Eighth Season: "Awesom-O" (DVD Disc (audio commentary)). Paramount Home Entertainment.
  2. ↑ "Southparkstudios FAQ". South Park Studios. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  3. ↑ "'South Park': Matt Stone and Trey Parker Name Their 15 Best Episodes (and 53 Worst)". Entertainment Weekly . October 11, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  4. ↑ Schorn, Peter (August 26, 2006). "South Park: The Complete Eighth Season DVD Review". IGN . Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ Burchby, Casey (September 28, 2010). "South Park: A Little Box of Butters DVD Review". DVDTalk. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 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.