Cow Days
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"Cow Days" is the 13th episode of season 2 of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It originally aired on September 30, 1998.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
This episode begins on a game show, with a couple winning a trip to South Park for the "Cow Days" festival. Though this was far from what they hoped for in a prize, they decide to try to enjoy it and go to the rinky-dinky little carnival in South Park.
Meanwhile, the boys (Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman) are at the carnival, but find it far less than satisfactory. They finally find something enjoyable, however, in a game that allows them the chance to win a pair of Terrance and Phillip dolls, but the game is rigged and cannot be won (the balls are too big to fit through the target). At first, Kyle tries to call shenanigans on them, but then they decide to enter Cartman in the bull-riding contest to try to win enough money to play until they get the dolls.
Meanwhile, all the cows in the town discover the festival's symbol, a giant cow-shaped clock which moos every hour; they carry it off and begin to worship it as a god. The visitors from the contest are accused of stealing the cows and the clock upon the time of their disappearance and are thrown in jail.
During practice for the bull-riding contest, Cartman is thrown and hits his head. Kenny says the phrase "Oh my God, we killed Cartman!" and Kyle corrects him by saying he is still breathing. Cartman then gets a peculiar sense of amnesia, believing himself to be a Vietnamese prostitute named Ming Li as he goes up to random guys offering "Sucky, Sucky? Only 10 dolla!". He enters the contest anyway, and, is able to stay on the bucking bull for a long time and wins. After an overnight stay with Leonardo Dicaprio, Cartman finally gets his memory back.
The leaders of the town find the cows and confront them, and tell them to go back to their proper places in society; however, the cows, in a cult-like fashion, commit mass suicide. The people of the town are powerless to stop them, and mourn the cows' sad action.
Back at the carnival, the Toss-A-Ball vendor agrees to just let the boys buy the dolls rather than play for them, but when the boys discover they're not authentic but cheap knock-offs, Kyle calls Shenanigans. This leads to a riot which destroys the whole carnival.
As for those two out-of-towners that were thrown in jail? The townspeople forget about them, and they starve to death in prison. A plan to cover up the deaths is arranged, and thus ends the Cow Days Festival.
[edit] Kenny's Death
Impaled through the head on the right horn of a bull "Ming Li" was riding, after it threw him off and crashed through a wooden fence.
[edit] Trivia
- Cartman's delusion that he is a Vietnamese prostitute, and subsequent dialogue, is a reference to the movie Full Metal Jacket. Trey Parker has claimed that Stanley Kubrick is one of his favorite directors and several homages to other Kubrick films have been in other episodes.
- This episode also spoofs the controversial issue of mass suicides in religious cults when the cows jump over the cliff.
- The "Cow Days" announcer was voiced by Dian Bachar, who has acted in Orgazmo and Baseketball, and Cannibal! The Musical, alongside Parker and Stone.
- A Visitor can be seen driving Leonardo Di Caprio's limousine.
- Ironically, Kenny says: "Oh my god! You killed Cartman!!" when Cartman is knocked off the bull.
- "Cow Days" could be a possible reference to "Cattleman's Day" held in Gunnison, Colorado every year.
[edit] Goofs
- When Stan is handed the Terrance and Phillip dolls, they are both blue, but a second later one turns red.
- At the end, when Stan and Kyle are playing with their Terrance and Phillip dolls, Kyle calls Stan's Terrance 'Phillip' and vice versa.
- When the man convinces the boys to ride the "line ride" he says it costs 7 tickets, but when they get to the end of the line he only charges them 5 tickets.
| Preceded by "Clubhouses" |
South Park episodes | Followed by "Chef Aid" |
