HappyHolograms

"#HappyHolograms" is the tenth and final episode of the eighteenth season of the animated television series South Park. The episode premiered on Comedy Central on December 10, 2014. It is the second part of the two-part season finale which began with the previous episode, "#REHASH". The episode makes multiple references of earlier episodes over the season as well as previous seasons while mainly lampooning the trend of culture constantly making trending topics with no actual relevance. It also lampoons news events of the death of Eric Garner, the shooting of Michael Brown, the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, and the use of celebrity holograms. YouTube celebrity PewDiePie appeared as himself, continuing his story line from the previous episode.

Plot

Concluding from previous episode, Kyle Broflovski laments how his younger brother Ike's generation's preoccupation with trending topics and Let's Play (LP) commentary videos has led to the death of the living room, and cast a pall on the holiday season, as playing video games with one's brother has become a thing of the past, and he is seen as an out-of-touch "grandpa" by younger kids. Kyle sends out a Twitter message encouraging people to support his trending topic, #savethelivingroom, to help families come together. In response, Bill Cosby, appears at Kyle's home to invite him to participate in a holiday television special designed to be watched by families together. Kyle agrees, but after Cosby leaves, he is revealed to be a hologram.

Randy and Sharon Marsh go to the police to report the truth about the hologram of Randy created by his ex-manager to replace him after his abandonment of the stage persona Lorde, but the police are skeptical. Meanwhile, a patrolman brings in the rogue Michael Jackson hologram, but despite the fact that the patrolman says he shot the hologram and used a chokehold on him, the hologram's light skin and features present a problem for the police, as they can only use such harsh tactics on black people.

The television special, The Washington Redskins' Go Fuck Yourself Holiday Special, will feature various celebrities, holograms of deceased celebrities and LP commentary by Cartman. The special and its title are revealed to be the brainchild of Randy's ex-producer and Cartman, whom the producer employs for his youthful perspective, as a way to connect with the younger generation. The producer's staff, however, feel he has given too much power to Cartman, whose growing popularity results in his commentary window appearing not only on computers and other devices, but in thin air, in living rooms, corridors, etc. throughout the episode. Upon seeing a TV commercial for the special, Kyle is angered that his idea has been turned into a social media project, while his best friend, Stan Marsh, is upset because he thinks his father, Randy is performing again as Lorde.

Randy and the Jackson hologram learn about the television special, and its intent, and agree to work together to stop it. When the Tupac Shakur hologram sent by Syntech Hologram Company to capture the Jackson hologram appears at the police station, the Marshes and the Jackson hologram flee to the Marsh home. Randy then learns that Stan and Kyle have been taken hostage by his ex-producer, and is confronted by the Shakur hologram, who appears in his home.

When Kyle asks the producer why he is doing this, the producer explains that when he became a grandfather five years ago, he intended to show his grandson everything about the entertainment industry. Then one day, when he asked his grandson who his favorite celebrity was, his grandson said it was online video game commentator PewDiePie. Bewildered that his grandson worshiped an insignificant Internet personality from Sweden, and was unimpressed with any of the artists to whom he tried to introduce him, the producer says that with the television special, he will assimilate the younger generation's culture into his own, and foster an appreciation for real entertainment. Stan is astonished that the producer is "such a grandpa."

The Shakur hologram and the Jackson hologram decide to team up against the producer. When Cartman's window appears before the producer, he tries to have him shut down, but Cartman is trending so much, and has grown so powerful that he has reached "trend-scendence", "like Johnny Depp, but cool". As Cartman continues to appear on screens all around the world, he states that he is now "trends-gender" and therefore must be given his own bathroom, which was his motivation for being involved in this plan. The Shakur and Jackson holograms appear at the restaurant where the producer is hiding with the hostages. As Jackson fatally shoots the producer, Kyle, realizing that everyone on the planet can see everyone else on their computers, speaks out to his brother, Ike, apologizing for being a "grandpa". He accepts that Ike will develop his own generational interests, and admits that he was merely sore that Ike was a fan of Cartman in particular. He says that he just wants to be a family again. Ike and his friends resolve to get the public to "believe" again, and create a new trend with the hashtag #webelieveinyou, which Kyle, breaking the fourth wall, urges the home audience to spread. In response, PewDiePie's window appears, and his commentary is so powerful that Cartman's window is eliminated.

In an epilogue, Kyle says he managed to get their family to use the living room again for one hour each night, though Stan is still confused over the events that have just concluded. Kyle suggests that perhaps they are not going to understand it, and that they have just witnessed the beginning of a new art form. He further says that at least YouTube celebrities are authentic, and have not been marketed to the public by corporations. PewDiePie's window then appears, and he thanks South Park for being on his show.

Production

The episode contains numerous references to previous episodes in the series mostly in connection to Randy Marsh's double life as Lorde. Customer service employee "Steve" returns from "Grounded Vindaloop" and the Washington Redskins from "Go Fund Yourself", while Cartman's desire for his own bathroom is from "The Cissy".^[1]

The episode makes numerous references to the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown as well as the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby.^[2]

Reception

The episode received a B rating from The A. V. Club's Dan Caffrey, though he stated that "It was rushed, it was messy, and it may have been just a bit too much story for South Park, even for a two-parter."^[3]

Max Nicholson of IGN gave it a 6.8 out of 10, who stated "the climax of the entire episode (and arguably the season)...didn't tie everything together in the way that it could (and should) have."^[1]

Chris Longo from Den of Geek gave the episode 4 out of 5 stars, stating the episode "was incoherent, hilarious madness—its own artform." Longo's article also noted that, in real life, the topic #IHateCartmanBrah became the top trending topic worldwide on Twitter.^[2]

References

External links

• Press release from South Park Studios
• #HappyHolograms – Full Episode – Season 18 Ep 10 | South Park Studios