The Ungroundable

"The Ungroundable"

"The Ungroundable" is the fourteenth and final episode of the twelfth season of the animated series South Park. It originally aired on November 19, 2008. The episode is rated TV-MA-L in the United States.

Plot summary

The kids are playing Call of Duty: World at War in computer class when Butters comes running into the classroom claiming that he has seen vampires around the school. None of the other kids believe him and Cartman suggests that he go "document the vampires" (simply to get rid of him). Butters sneaks into the school gym and hides to document the members of the South Park Vampires' Club on his tape recorder. One of the vampires talks about vampire related customs and they "feed" by drinking Clamato juice. However, Butters' tape recorder malfunctions, exposing him in front of the vampires. Butters attempts to repel them with a crucifix before running away.

After a minor confrontation with his parents, Butters thinks aloud, concluding that nobody listens to him. Having come to believe that if he becomes a vampire he won't get grounded anymore, he asks the vampire kids to let him join them. They take him to Hot Topic and change his appearance to match theirs. Butters returns home to his parents, who are angry at him because of his lateness and his dyed hair. Butters responds that he is now "ungroundable" and hisses at his parents, thus completely shocking them. Believing he is really a vampire, Butters sneaks into Cartman's room in the middle of the night in a failed attempt to "feed," only resulting in him giving Cartman a hickey. At home, Butters' parents are outraged about receiving a call from Mrs. Cartman and ask him if he "got gay with one of his schoolmates [that] night," to which Butters responds that he needs to eat and exits through his window.

The Goth kids confront the vamp kids, who tell them that they're just as dark and sinister as the goths. The goth kids, disgusted, point out that the vamps don't even smoke. The goth kids kidnap the head vampire and successfully threaten him into admitting he is not really a vampire. Afterwards, they decide to mail him to Scottsdale. They soon realize that sending the "head vampire" to Scottsdale did not solve the problem, and Butters informs them that Hot Topic is the source of the vampire craze. After learning this, they burn down the store. At home, Butters "reverts" back to normal and becomes "groundable" once more, much to his parents' relief. In the end, the goth kids assemble everyone at school to explain the difference between goth and vamp characteristics. They receive a standing ovation, only to flip everyone off.

Reception

IGN gave the episode a satisfactory review, saying "While there are lots of funny bits in this episode, it's far from a home run. It's clever, and well put together and makes a few good points – but it's just not as laugh out loud funny as you'd expect South Park to be".(...)"Nonetheless, what often makes South Park work are the little moments, the vocal tics of the characters and so forth. I imagine "per se" will catch on, if only for a little bit, as the pseudo-intellectual affectation of vamp-douche-ese. While "The Ungroundable" isn't a home run in terms of laughs, given the current Twilight craze, the show continues to serve as a satirical chronicle of our times, which makes even a middling episode an argument for South Park's continual longevity." They gave the episode a 7.4 rating out of 10.

Cultural references

• This episode spoofs the Twilight Saga craze and its connection to popular contemporary culture store Hot Topic.
• Clammato juice is a parody of Clamato.

External links

• Episode guide at Southparkstudios.com