24 years ago South Park crossed a line and was never the same again
It changed the show forever.
It was 24 years ago tonight that American comedy series South Park aired one of the most shocking and controversial TV episodes of all time.
The Trey Parker and Matt Stone series, which started in August 1997 and is still running to this day, has always been known for pushing buttons and causing a stir.
Its very first episode featured lead character Eric Cartman having to deny that he was abducted by aliens and probed in a very personal place on his body – and it only got more risqué from there.
But despite all the hilarious and x-rated antics in South Park over the years, arguably no episode of the show has ever topped Scott Tenorman Must Die for combining side-splitting laughter and ‘unfathomable sadness’.
Scott Tenorman Must Die was originally broadcast on July 11, 2001, arriving as the fourth episode of South Park’s fifth season – at a point when the show was already notorious.
In the episode, Eric falsely believes he’s the first among his friends to reach puberty after purchasing pubic hair from local high schooler Scott Tenorman – all for the price of $10 (£7.50).
Scott Tenorman Must Die is the highest-rated South Park episode ever (Picture: Comedy Central/YouTube)When Eric finds out about the practical joke, he vows revenge on Scott but has his initial schemes outsmarted by the older boy on several occasions.
Things come to a head when Eric discovers that Scott’s favourite band is Radiohead and invites them to South Park to visit, falsely claiming that Scott has cancer.
Radiohead’s arrival coincides with a chilli cook-off that Eric and Scott both enter – Scott, in a bid to humiliate Eric again, secretly fills his chilli recipe with pubic hair.
