ManBearPig

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“ManBearPig”
South Park episode

Al Gore showing a drawing of ManBearPig with Mr. Mackey.
Episode no. Season 10
Episode 145
Written by Trey Parker
Original airdate April 26, 2006
Season 10 episodes
South Park - Season 10
March 22, 2006 – November 15, 2006
  1. The Return of Chef
  2. Smug Alert!
  3. Cartoon Wars Part I
  4. Cartoon Wars Part II
  5. A Million Little Fibers
  6. ManBearPig
  7. Tsst
  8. Make Love, Not Warcraft
  9. Mystery of the Urinal Deuce
  10. Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy
  11. Hell on Earth 2006
  12. Go God Go
  13. Go God Go XII
  14. Stanley's Cup
← Season 9 Season 11 →
List of South Park episodes

"ManBearPig" is episode 145 of Comedy Central's South Park and originally aired on April 26, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Al Gore visits South Park Elementary School and talks about the terrible ManBearPig, who roams the Earth and attacks humans. According to Al Gore, ManBearPig is "half man, half bear, half pig." After the boys' basketball game is interrupted by another visit from Al Gore, who is disguised (poorly) as the ManBearPig and claims to be "Trying to spread ManBearPig awareness". Suddenly, Stan's father, Randy picks up the boys to drive them home. Randy says the former U.S. Vice President is just desperate for attention, because he has no friends. Al Gore then phones Stan in the morning when it is still dark and begins pestering him. Gore then breaks down on the phone, and Stan reluctantly agrees to go to a meeting, where Al Gore tells Stan and his friends that ManBearPig is hiding in the Cave of the Winds. At first the children are reluctant to go with him, but when he explains that he will excuse the children from school, they agree to go. During the course of this episode, Al Gore repeatedly states, "Manbearpig must be stopped!" as well as the phrase, "Excelthior!" (after "Excelsior!") and, "I'm Serial!" (meaning "serious;" see Cultural References below.).

In the cave, Gore first starts asking the tour guide illogical questions and begins moaning, trying to call ManBearPig. Al Gore forces the kids to follow him off the path, saying, "This looks like ManBearPig central," and begins shooting wildly with a SPAS 12 while exclaiming, "I've got you now, you son of a bitch!", causing a cave-in that leaves the kids trapped in the caverns while Gore and all the other tourists evacuate the cave safely. Gore claims ManBearPig caused the cave-in and that the monster is still at large. While the boys search for a way out, Cartman discovers a small cavern filled with gold coins, pearls, and other treasures. He hides the loot from the other boys and starts swallowing the treasure piece-by-piece to smuggle it out of the cave.

Meanwhile, a rescue team has been assembled to find the boys, despite Al Gore's pleas that the caves should be filled with molten lead in order to kill ManBearPig. Gore diverts the flow of a nearby stream in order to cause a flood that fills the cavern in an attempt to kill the still-unseen monster.

The boys meanwhile believe that Cartman, bloated with gold and jewels, is severely ill, and try to find a way out, carrying him. The cave soon floods (thanks to Gore), and Kyle risks his life to get Cartman to safety. The boys manage to escape just as a memorial service is being held for them and Al Gore is secretly celebrating the fact he "killed" ManBearPig, believing he's a hero. Stan accuses Al Gore of using ManBearPig to get attention, but Gore denies this, saying that any man who single-handedly killed ManBearPig is not a loser. Cartman tries to walk away but he does not get far before he begins defecating pieces of treasure. It is revealed to Cartman that the treasure was a prop used for tourist photo ops and is worth "about $14." While Cartman continues to expel treasure, Kyle angrily rebuffs at him for forcing the other to pull him to safety for eating the treasure. Al Gore exclaims his intention is to make a film starring himself so that people would take him "super-cereal". He then dons a superhero cape, yelling, "Excelsior!" as he tries to fly away. The episode ends with Cartman defecating a fake golden vase out from his ass.

[edit] Cultural references

  • While using illustrative drawings and slurring speech, Al Gore uses the word "serial" (or "cereal") in place of "serious" in the episode, saying "I'm serial!" rather than "I'm serious!". This is in reference[citation needed] to his gaffe on The Oprah Winfrey Show when he was asked about his favorite cereal, and his answer was "Oprah." He apparently mistook the word "cereal" for "serial," as in a work published or produced in installments, as are novels, films, or television series; and decided to reference Oprah and her television and studio audience.[1]
  • The use of a pig-like animal (ManBearPig) by Al-Gore in an attempt to raise concern for the environment may in fact be a thinly-veiled reference to the Energy Hog campaign, a non-profit energy saving effort which was criticised as a "toothless" energy savings program
  • The melody played when Al Gore for the first time shows the Manbearpig sketch is a part of Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No.9, "From the New World" (Adagio - Allegro molto). It is taken via the Heroes of Might and Magic video game series, from which Parker and Stone use the sound.
  • Al Gore's abbreviation of ManBearPig, MBP, is an actual term used in the field of global warming research, used when describing the melting and recession of glaciers, Mass Balance Potential. [2]
  • On April 1, 2008 biotechnology news site Think Gene carried an April Fools Day story about the creation of a human-bear-pig chimera, complete with a picture and scientific description of the genes involved. The story concluded with "Al Gore could not be reached for comment".[3]
  • The molten lead Al Gore suggests the rescue team pour into the cave to kill the manbearpig alludes to Alien 3, where the alien is killed after it is doused in molten lead.

[edit] Continuity

The "actual" ManBearPig appears in the Season 11 episode "Imaginationland Episode II'. In the episode, ManBearPig is portrayed as one of the many monsters from the dark realm of Imaginationland, and is much larger-looking, muscular and menacing than Al Gore's illustration. ManBearPig escapes through Project Imagination Doorway and tears apart two scientists as they debate over his Man/Bear/Pig proportions. He then strangles Kyle to the point of unconsciousness and possible death before an injured scientist reverses the portal, sucking ManBearPig back to Imaginationland. Stan gets sucked into the portal as well, and Cartman, shocked and angered at the thought of Kyle dying without sucking Cartman's balls, manages to revive him via CPR.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20000912/ai_n13876555
  2. ^ CO2 Science
  3. ^ Hill, Josh. "Scientists successfully create human-bear-pig chimera", Think Gene, 2008-04-01. 


Preceded by
“A Million Little Fibers”		 South Park episodes Followed by
“Tsst”