Smug Alert!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| South Park episode | |
| "Smug Alert!" | |
 Kyle's dad, Gerald, showing off his new hybrid car. |
|
| Episode no. | 141 |
|---|---|
| Airdate | March 29, 2006 |
| South Park - Season 10 March 22, 2006 – November 15, 2006 |
|
|
|
|
| ← Season 9 | Season 11 → |
|
|
|
| List of all South Park episodes | |
Smug Alert! is episode 141 of South Park. It first aired on March 29, 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Kyle's father Gerald buys a new hybrid car, and drives around showing it off to everyone; he then begins an unwelcome campaign to convert the other townspeople to environmentally-friendly vehicles. He has started to annoy his friend Randy, who complains that Gerald now preachily talks with his eyes closed, and that he almost likes the smell of his own farts. Deciding that they cannot live among such backward attitudes, Gerald decides that the family must move to San Francisco.
Stan is horrified that Kyle is leaving; Gerald tells him that the family will not return to South Park until everyone feels the same way as him about the environment. After they leave, Stan writes a 'little gay' song about the importance of hybrid cars, which gets on the radio and, incredibly, causes everyone to drive hybrids (and act as smugly as Gerald about it). Stan is praised for opening everyone's eyes, then meets Ranger McFriendly, protector of the environment, who surprisingly criticizes what Stan has done; for, although smog rates are down, people who drive hybrids create a toxic gas in the air called "smug". South Park now has the second-highest levels in the country, after San Francisco.
In San Francisco, Kyle's father is glad to meet like-minded "progressive" people, who, mid-conversation, loudly fart, bend over and sniff with pleasure, then resume discussing their philosophies. Kyle finds it difficult to fit in with the other kids, who spend their time taking drugs to deal with their parents' "smugginess". Kyle refuses the offer of acid, but after seeing that his dad is even more arrogant than before (sniffing his own fart), Kyle asks for "maybe just half a hit," while Ike asks for three.
Meanwhile, Cartman, who was joyous over Kyle leaving, tries to fill the void by ripping on Butters, whom he now calls a "stupid Jew," but finds him too nice and unwilling to defend himself like Kyle. He quickly becomes bored without his nemesis around, as Stan had predicted.
The cloud of smug over South Park develops, and begins to combine with that of San Francisco. In a series of scenes parodying the film The Perfect Storm, McFriendly then reveals that the cloud of smug from George Clooney's 78th Academy Awards acceptance speech — which claimed that Hollywood was "ahead of the curve" on social issues — will soon drift into the center of the "super cell" and create "the perfect storm of self-satisfaction", which would completely destroy San Francisco and South Park.
Stan is forced into help the town eliminate hybrid cars, but Cartman — desperate to get Kyle back so he can resume hating him — secretly goes to San Francisco with Butters, planning to infiltrate the city and rescue his foe. Afraid of San Francisco's liberal and hippie movements (which he hates), Cartman wears an "anti-smug suit" (connected to a hose with an air supply managed by Butters). Just as the storm hits, Cartman finds the Broflovskis in their house, completely stoned on drugs/smug. The scene fades out. Later, the storm has destroyed thousands of homes in South Park, while San Francisco has "disappeared up its own asshole", leading everyone to think Kyle's family is dead; but the Broflovskis reappear, explaining they mysteriously awoke on a bus, and thanking a "guardian angel", not knowing that Cartman saved them.
With all their cars destroyed, the townspeople vow never again to buy hybrids. But Kyle points out that hybrids really are a good thing; the people who drive them should just not be smug about it, or act as if they're above everybody else. But the people admit they are not ready to drive them without being smug - "it's simply too much to ask" - so they return to driving SUV and other high fuel consumption vehicles. Cartman talks to Kyle, and they get into a fight; as Kyle storms away, Cartman expresses relief to have the status quo returned.
[edit] "Hey, People, You've Gotta Drive Hybrids Already"
The lyrics of Stan's song are:
Come on People now, People Now;
People now, Come on People now.
Got to drive hybrids people now, people now, people now, people now
Hybrids are for people now, people now,
Good for people driving people now, get a hybrid be good people now
We have all got to be people now, people driving hybrid people now;
people now people now hybrid now,
hybrid people driving people now
Come on people lets be people now, hybrid people driving people now
Come on everybody be people now. Come on everybody be people now.
[edit] Trivia
- In the television airings of the episode, the beginning contains a 1920's jazz song.
- Isaac Hayes is no longer a credited cast member. In the opening sequence, the likeness of Chef is now replaced with Darth Chef.
- The hybrid cars seen most in the episode are called the Toyonda Pious and Hindsight, parodying the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight.
- Though George Clooney and the South Park creators are close friends (voice-over work for the show as well as Clooney's promotion of the short "The Spirit of Christmas" playing a key role in helping the series get off the ground) his liberal views have caused Stone and Parker to mock him in recent years.
- All quotes from the Clooney acceptance speech are the real words he used, although it is Trey Parker saying them rather than actual audio footage of the speech.
- Gerald's license plate says "1TMYMPG" – pronounced "Want my miles per gallon?".
- KXUV (the station Stan's song was played on) is a clear reference to KCUV. It's frequency in the show (98.7) is probably a reference to KYSR Los Angeles where the show is produced.
- The poster of Einstein with his tongue sticking out (always seen on Kyle's wall of his South Park home) is on the wall of his San Francisco home.
[edit] Pop Culture References
- The song Cartman sings at Kyle's going-away party is a slightly altered version of the chorus to Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye by one-hit-wonder Steam.
- Ranger McFriendly is a reference to Officer Friendly from Princess, a Flash cartoon Parker and Stone created.
- One of the shops in San Francisco is called Jen and Berry's Frozen Yogurt and Ice Cream, which is a parody on Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt. It is shown at the corner of Haight Street and Ashbury Street, where there is an actual Ben & Jerry's.
- The George Clooney smug cloud entering Arizona parodies the cloud entering Arizona and Area 51 in Independence Day.
- The song that Stan writes (entitled "People Now") parodies The Youngbloods' "Get Together".
- In Kyle's San Francisco room there is a poster of "MC Dreidel", a hybrid-parody of Matisyahu and MC Paul Barman.
- "A Smuggy Day (In San Francisco Town)" is a parody of "A Foggy Day (in London Town)".
- This episode was heavily based on a series of commercials for the Volkswagen Passat which aired in mid-2006, where drivers of flashy cars drove around with megaphones announcing the reasons for their vehicle choice. The closing shot shows the rear of a Passat with "Lowest Ego Emissions".
- While Stan is writing his song, a poster spoofing Mad Max from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior can be seen on his wall.
- The scene where the radio DJ is speaking and you only see the jaw area of his face may be a reference to the female radio DJ from the film The Warriors.
- The "perfect storm of self-satisfaction" is a play on words parodying Clooney's film The Perfect Storm.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "The Return of Chef" |
South Park episodes | Followed by "Cartoon Wars Part I" |
