| "Breast Cancer Show Ever" | |||
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| South Park episode | |||
Wendy's parents reprimand her for "bullying" Cartman. |
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| Episode no. | Season 12 Episode 9 |
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| Directed by | Trey Parker | ||
| Written by | Trey Parker | ||
| Production code | 1209 | ||
| Original air date | October 15, 2008 | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of season 12 episodes List of South Park episodes |
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"Breast Cancer Show Ever" is the ninth episode of the 12th season of the animated series South Park, and the 176th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 15, 2008.[1][2] In the episode, Cartman's disrespectful behavior puts him on the wrong side of Wendy Testaburger when he mocks her presentation on breast cancer awareness.
The episode was written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker, and was rated TV-MA in the United States.
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The episode begins with Cartman mocking Wendy's presentation on breast cancer awareness, but Mr. Garrison does little to stop him. After class, Cartman continues to mock her efforts for breast cancer awareness, and Wendy announces she is going to fight Cartman after school which only makes him frightened and reluctant after hearing Butters mention that he will be a reject to his peers if he gets beat up. Cartman tries to call off the fight with quiet apologies (attempting to keep the rest of the school from hearing it and pretends that he is brave and "hardcore", in order to avoid being called a coward), bribery, and desperate claims. When Wendy tells him she will "shove your ass down your throat and make you eat your underwear!" he painfully chokes down his underwear in an attempt to appease her, but this only disgusts and angers her.
Cartman tries to convince Stan to talk Wendy out of it, but Stan does not believe he can do anything to stop her. Desperate to avoid the fight, Cartman defecates on Mr. Garrison's desk, earning him a detention and Butters, Craig and Jimmy tell him there are rumors that he got detention to avoid the fight, which Wendy has rescheduled for the following morning.
Later, Cartman has his mother convince Wendy's parents not to let her fight by pretending to be tormented and bullied by her at school, but continues to taunt her, as do the other students. When Cartman continues to taunt her in class, she nearly fights him but is called to Principal Victoria's office. Much to Wendy's surprise, Principal Victoria encourages Wendy by explaining that she is a breast cancer survivor and implies that Wendy should fight Cartman the same way Principal Victoria fought her cancer, telling her, with pointed allusions to Cartman, that cancer is "a fat little lump that needs to be destroyed," and "you refuse to let that fat little lump make you feel powerless."
Wendy finally meets Cartman on the playground for the fight, and although Cartman briefly gains the upper hand, Wendy beats him so badly that he loses many of his teeth and bleeds everywhere, and she emerges victorious. Cartman declares that his friends will not find him cool any more, but they tell him they always hated him and always will, stating that they cannot possibly think any lower of him. Cartman takes this to mean that they are pretending to hate him in order to make him feel better; reasoning that if are trying to make him feel better, they do not care if he got beat up by a girl. He walks away trying to act as though he is happy, leaving the others confused.
The plot of the episode is loosely based on the films Three O'Clock High, Snatch[2] and There Will Be Blood.[2]
While Cartman awaits the fight in class, Mr. Garrison says, "So you see, at this point Euripides knew he could not win the battle," referencing The Frogs, a comedic play by Aristophanes where the Greek tragedians Aeschylus and Euripides are measured against one another, the better to be revived so he can, "educate the thoughtless," and rid Athens of evil politicians that are ruining the city (1500-1502, The Frogs).[2]
The episode received mostly positive reviews. The A.V. Club graded the episode a B+, stating "All in all, not the most ambitious episode, but that actually worked in its favor: Outside of Wendy's crib from There Will Be Blood at the end, it could have been broadcast 10 years ago and worked, and I also have a feeling it will still be funny 10 years from now since it wasn't crammed with instantly dated references".[3]
IGN gave the episode an 8.2/10 rating, stating "While this is a fun sequence, and a nice bit of observation, the episode does seem somewhat anticlimactic. It's amusing that Cartman thinks he somehow achieved something when he finds out the kids always thought he sucked and their opinion of him 'couldn't possibly be any lower'. Massive self delusion is part of Cartman's 'charm'. But the episode is unusually focused for South Park and once the fight is over there's a sense (perhaps intentionally?) of 'that's it?' It's not one of the best episodes ever, but it's a solid old-school installment that offers up some truly great moments – many of them quintessential Cartman. Which is always fun to watch".[4]
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