More Crap

"More Crap"
South Park episode

Bono backs Stan up against a wall and tells him he is not gonna be number two in the world's biggest crap record.
Episode no. Season 11
Episode 9
Directed by Trey Parker
Written by Trey Parker
Production code 1109
Original air date October 10, 2007
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"More Crap" is the 9th episode of the eleventh season of the animated television series South Park. It was originally broadcast on Comedy Central in the United State on October 10, 2007,[1] and is rated TV-MA. In the episode, Stan's father Randy Marsh produces what is apparently "the biggest crap" ever taken, but his claims for the world record are challenged.

"More Crap" is a highly scatological episode of South Park, with the entire plot and many of the jokes revolving around fecal matter in some way. The episode satirizes U2 singer Bono for "seem[ing] like such a piece of crap" despite his talent, achievements and humanitarian work. Journalist Katie Couric's name is also used in a feces-related running gag. It is one of the very few episodes where Cartman, Kyle and Kenny did not appear.

The episode's plot satirizes the competitive nature of trying to become the record-holder in a peculiar category. It parodies elements of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, which is about the competition for the biggest high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong.[2][3] Bono's personality in the episode is much like the depiction of Mitchell in the documentary, including how he is allowed to play by different rules than other world score competitors.

The episode aired shortly after South Park received an Emmy that year for the episode "Make Love Not Warcraft".[3] A running gag in "More Crap" makes reference to the show's Emmy-winning status, during especially scatological scenes.

Contents

Plot

Randy Marsh is heavily constipated, having not "taken a crap in over three weeks" due to a diet mainly composed of P.F. Chang's. After taking a laxative, he takes an extremely painful bowel movement (BM) which produces an abnormally large piece of excrement. Upon pressure from his friends, Randy contacts Guinness World Records, believing he has passed the largest recorded BM. They direct him to Zürich's European Faecal Standards and Measurements Institute,[4] which concludes he has the world record, weighing in at 8.6 courics, a fictional measurement of 2.5 pounds named after Katie Couric. As Randy is the first American to ever receive the award, the American government holds a ceremony to honor his achievement – however, it is interrupted by a video of Bono, the previous record holder, claiming he has just taken a BM weighing 9.5 courics, and is therefore still the record holder. His claim is accepted, despite protests that his only proof is an unverified photo.

Randy mourns the loss of his record like the loss of a child, saying that he is now worthless since his BM was the only thing that came from him that was any good (which insults Stan). His friends convince him to train hard and reclaim the record, and he spends three weeks eating at P.F. Chang's until an ultrasound reveals his feces have reached about 14 courics in weight. Bono successfully demands Randy be required to pass his stool in Zürich, prompting Stan to visit Bono's mansion to request he to relinquish the first place record, saying Randy has never won anything (though in the episode "Spontaneous Combustion", Randy won the Nobel Prize). Bono, however, reacts poorly to Stan's request he be happy as "number two" (an allusion to defecation) and threatens him. Bono's butler takes Stan to Zürich and informs him of the truth – Bono set his record in 1960, the year he was born; Bono is not the record holder, he is the record.

In Zürich, the society leader explains he took the world's biggest BM in 1960 and was so proud, he raised it as a child. Over time, it grew up into Bono, explaining why Bono is ashamed of being called "number two" and can help so many people while still seeming "like such a piece of shit." Bono's father starts breast feeding him with his "bitty" (nipple), and says that, though Bono faked his newest record, Bono himself is over 80 courics in weight, and thus is still bigger than Randy's old record BM or any other BM in the world.

At that moment, Randy finally takes his BM, which is so large it lifts him several feet off the toilet seat and is estimated to weigh more than 100 courics. Randy is hailed as the new record holder, and the society awards him an Emmy. Several times during the episode, such as when Randy first tries to take a BM, a spinning Emmy award is seen on-screen along with the text "Emmy Award Winning Series". When the spinning Emmy appears during the last seconds of the episode, one of the society's members grabs it and sticks it in Randy's excrement.

Reception

TV Squad gave the episode a highly positive review, stating that "it's low taste but it's South Park low taste, which makes it funny," and that "they [Trey Parker and Matt Stone] are on a roll. Possibly a toilet paper roll."[5] IGN had mixed feelings about the episode, calling it "amusing, but not terribly so", giving it a rating of 7.4.[6]

P. F. Chang's China Bistro spokesperson, Laura Cherry, responded positively to the episode, saying that "It's the third or fourth time. We've appeared in many of their episodes." She also stated that the creators themselves enjoy eating there.[7]

Cultural references

References

  1. ^ "Episode Guide: More Crap". South Park Studios. http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/s11e09-more-crap. Retrieved April 14, 2011. 
  2. ^ "FAQ: Is the episode 'More Crap' based on the movie 'The King Of Kong?'". South Park Studios. October 11, 2007. http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/354760. Retrieved April 14, 2011. 
    "FAQ: Is 'More Crap' an homage to 'King of Kong'?". South Park Studios. March 21, 2011. http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/378204. Retrieved April 14, 2011. 
  3. ^ a b Trey Parker, Matt Stone (Audio commentary). South Park: The Complete Eleventh Season: "More Crap" (DVD). Comedy Central. 
  4. ^ European Faecal Standards and Measurements Institute
  5. ^ TV Squad episode review TV Squad. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  6. ^ IGN episode review IGN.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
  7. ^ "South Park episode teases P.F. Chang's" Azcentral article. Retrieved on November 12, 2007
  8. ^ "FAQ: Was the bitty thing based on Little Britain?". South Park Studios. October 11, 2007. http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/354761. Retrieved April 14, 2011. 

External links