The Return of Chef: Difference between revisions
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| Airdate = March 22, 2006 |
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| Writer = [[Trey Parker]]<br>[[Matt Stone]] |
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"'''The Return of Chef'''" is episode 140 of [[Comedy Central]]'s animated series ''[[South Park]]'' and aired on March 22, 2006.<ref name=blogcritics>{{cite web|url=http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/03/24/010757.php|title=TV Review: South Park "The Return of Adam Livshits"|work=blogcritics.org|author=Al Barger|date=2006-03-24|accessdate=2006-11-28}}</ref> It was advertised as the tenth season premiere<ref name="cbsnews">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/24/ap/entertainment/mainD8GHKLBG0.shtml|title='South Park' Premiere Draws Big Audience|work=cbsnews.com|date=2006-03-24|accessdate=2006-11-28}}</ref> and was #1 on the 10 South Parks That Changed The World list. |
"'''The Return of Chef'''" is episode 140 of [[Comedy Central]]'s animated series ''[[South Park]]'' and aired on [[March 22]], [[2006]].<ref name=blogcritics>{{cite web|url=http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/03/24/010757.php|title=TV Review: South Park "The Return of Adam Livshits"|work=blogcritics.org|author=Al Barger|date=2006-03-24|accessdate=2006-11-28}}</ref> It was advertised as the tenth season premiere<ref name="cbsnews">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/24/ap/entertainment/mainD8GHKLBG0.shtml|title='South Park' Premiere Draws Big Audience|work=cbsnews.com|date=2006-03-24|accessdate=2006-11-28}}</ref> and was #1 on the 10 South Parks That Changed The World list. |
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The episode was the first after the departure of [[Isaac Hayes]], who voiced [[Chef (South Park)|Chef]]. Hayes, a [[Scientologist]], left after a falling out with the creators over their treatment of Scientology in the episode "[[Trapped in the Closet (South Park)|Trapped in the Closet]]."<ref name="cbsnews" /> Scientology has been accused of using [[brainwashing]] techniques, and the episode accordingly portrays Chef as having been brainwashed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/24/arts/television/24chef.html|title=Chef Returns To South Park|author=Allesandra Stanley|date=2006-03-24|quote=The parallel to Scientology could not have been more obvious. But it was the parallel between [[Viacom]] and Scientology that made this episode necessary in the first place.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/03/23/south-park-the-return-of-chef/|title=South Park: The Return Of Chef!|author=Adam Finley|date=2006-03-23|quote=Sure, the episode made him out to be a brainwashed freak who winds up having his face torn off by wild animals and turned into a Darth Vader-esque figure by the "fruity little club" he belongs to, but it was made clear that it was the club (read: Scientology) that did this to Chef.}}</ref> |
The episode was the first after the departure of [[Isaac Hayes]], who voiced [[Chef (South Park)|Chef]]. Hayes, a [[Scientologist]], left after a falling out with the creators over their treatment of Scientology in the episode "[[Trapped in the Closet (South Park)|Trapped in the Closet]]."<ref name="cbsnews" /> Scientology has been accused of using [[brainwashing]] techniques, and the episode accordingly portrays Chef as having been brainwashed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/24/arts/television/24chef.html|title=Chef Returns To South Park|author=Allesandra Stanley|date=2006-03-24|quote=The parallel to Scientology could not have been more obvious. But it was the parallel between [[Viacom]] and Scientology that made this episode necessary in the first place.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/03/23/south-park-the-return-of-chef/|title=South Park: The Return Of Chef!|author=Adam Finley|date=2006-03-23|quote=Sure, the episode made him out to be a brainwashed freak who winds up having his face torn off by wild animals and turned into a Darth Vader-esque figure by the "fruity little club" he belongs to, but it was made clear that it was the club (read: Scientology) that did this to Chef.}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 00:59, 21 March 2009
| "The Return of Chef" |
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"The Return of Chef" is episode 140 of Comedy Central's animated series South Park and aired on March 22, 2006.[1] It was advertised as the tenth season premiere[2] and was #1 on the 10 South Parks That Changed The World list.
The episode was the first after the departure of Isaac Hayes, who voiced Chef. Hayes, a Scientologist, left after a falling out with the creators over their treatment of Scientology in the episode "Trapped in the Closet."[2] Scientology has been accused of using brainwashing techniques, and the episode accordingly portrays Chef as having been brainwashed.[3][4]
Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (March 2009) |
The episode begins with a fictitious "Previously on South Park", which explains that Chef left South Park to join the "Super Adventure Club", hoping to add excitement and meaning to his life. For three months, he is gone. However, at the very beginning of the episode, when the four boys are playing cards at Stan's house, he returns. They quickly notice that he is acting strangely as he expresses a desire to have sex with them. The boys, wanting to find out what has caused all this, go to the Super Adventure Club headquarters and discover that the group is made up of explorers who travel worldwide, molesting children. When the explorers' leader, William Connelly, tries to hypnotise the boys, they realise that the club has brainwashed Chef.
They enlist the help of psychiatrist Dr. Neeland. He says Chef's condition is serious and then asks what was Chef's favourite pass-time before having sex with children. Stan says "Having sex with women" and the psychiatrist reccomends that they take Chef to a strip club. After an initially cold reaction to the strippers, he is taken by an overweight dancer. She shoves Chef's face into her breasts and then her buttocks and then Chef snaps back to his old self again. The agents of the Super Adventure Club, however, appear instantly and shoot Chef with a dart. They bring him back to their headquarters.
When the boys follow them back to their headquarters and angrily demand Chef's release, Connelly explains the history of their organization with the caption "This is what the Super Adventure Club actually believes". He explains that "Chldren have particles called marlocks in their bodies, and when an adult has sex with the child, the marlocks implode, feeding the adult receptive cavity with energy that causes immortality, so said the ruler of Bethos" (The ruler of Bethos is a big blue creature wearing a golden crown covered in rubies). The boys are told that they have to leave, but they refuse to do so without Chef. After two security guards come and escort them away, Kyle whacks them both with a baseball bat. The boys run off to the containment room and find Chef lying on a table with his hands chained to it and a club member attempting to brainwash him again. Kenny headbutts the club member in his groin knocking him to the ground. Kyle frees Chef by chopping his chains with the club member's axe.
The boys then escape with Chef across the Super Adventure Club's bridge and Connelly shouts out to Chef "Don't you remember why you left South Park in the first place?!" and Chef suddenly stops in his tracks. Stan look back and sees that Chef has stopped and says "Chef, come on". Connelly says "You sought adventure, and why do people seek adventure? Because their lives have become dull and empty!" Kyle yells back at him that "He wanted adventure, not a bunch of ridiculous bull-crap! Right, Chef?" Chef still stays motionless and thinks about what he should do. Connelly tells Chef that his life will be grand and eternal if he stays with them. Stan talls Chef that, "We love you" but Chef just says "I'm sorry, children" and walks back towards the club. Kyle panics and tells Chef that his head has been filled with lies and Chef closes his eyes, grabs the top of his head and shouts "Get the hell out of here, children!".
However, the bridge that Chef is crossing collapses after being struck by lightning. It catches on fire and Chef does as well. He tries to climb back up onto the cliff, but, after being hit in the face by a large rock, he is unable to hang onto the bridge. Chef falls down and bounces off several rocks before being impaled on a jagged tree stump. He is then attacked by a mountain lion. Connelly—despertate to keep Chef alive—instructs one of the members to shoot the mountain lion. He tries to shoot it but the bullet he shoots instead hits Chef in the heart. He fires two more bullets, both of which accidentally hit Chef in his chest. A grizzly bear then appears and attacks Chef as well. The mountain lion tears the skin on Chef's face off as well as his left eye. It then bites off his right hand and the bear bites off Chef's right foot. Chef's legs and waist both tear apart and his insides fall out of him and all of his blood pours out. Stan and Kyle shout: "Oh my God, they killed Chef! You bastards...YOU BASTARDS!!!" Cartman suggests that Chef may not be dead because "They say the last thing you do before you die is crap your—", but at that instant, Chef farts and his body empties his bowels, to which Cartman responds with, "Oh, never mind." The boys, dismayed that their friend is dead, leave the scene, the last of which is Cartman.
A memorial service for Chef is held, with everybody in South Park as well as Terrance and Philip present. Kyle explains that he did not agree with Chef's recent decision, but is not angry with him for leaving South Park and only wishes to remember him as the singing, jolly man he once was. Kyle explains that "We shouldn't be mad at Chef, we should be mad at that fruity little club for scrambling his brains." The scene then cuts to the SAC members resurrecting Chef as Darth Chef.
Production
The Creators of South Park draw parallels between the "Super Adventure Club" and Scientology, showing how both are similarly ridiculous in their roots and tenets. The interior of the club building in the show was patterned after the Adventurers Club attraction at Walt Disney World, with familiar icons like the statue of "Zeus" and the large mask of "Babylonia" clearly represented. Trey Parker spent his honeymoon at Walt Disney World [5] and is known to have visited the attraction by locals. The voice of Darth Chef was voiced by Darth Maul voice actor Peter Serafinowicz.[6]
Reception
The original television airing of the episode drew more than 3.5 million viewers, including 2.3 million aged between 17 and 49.[2][7] This popularity made the episode Comedy Central's highest-rated season premiere since "Jared Has Aides" in 2002 according to a Comedy Central spokesman and Nielsen Media Research.[2][8] The episode was also ranked fourth in video sales on iTunes.[8] The episode received fairly high review ratings. IGN, a multimedia news and reviews website, reviewed the episode and gave it an overall rating of 8.0.[9]
References
- ^ Al Barger (2006-03-24). "TV Review: South Park "The Return of Adam Livshits"". blogcritics.org. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
- ^ a b c d "'South Park' Premiere Draws Big Audience". cbsnews.com. 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
- ^ Allesandra Stanley (2006-03-24). "Chef Returns To South Park".
The parallel to Scientology could not have been more obvious. But it was the parallel between Viacom and Scientology that made this episode necessary in the first place.
- ^ Adam Finley (2006-03-23). "South Park: The Return Of Chef!".
Sure, the episode made him out to be a brainwashed freak who winds up having his face torn off by wild animals and turned into a Darth Vader-esque figure by the "fruity little club" he belongs to, but it was made clear that it was the club (read: Scientology) that did this to Chef.
- ^ "South Park Libertarians". Reason Magazine. December 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
I was on my honeymoon in Disney World
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ imdb (2007-10-29). "IMDB - Peter Serafinowicz". smh.com.au. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
- ^ Reuters (2006-03-24). "Chef's grisly exit is a South Park hit". smh.com.au. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ a b Hibberd, James (April 3, 2006). ""South Park" Episode Lives; Scientology Story Line Thrives Online as Comedy Central Looks the Other Way". TelevisionWeek. pp. TV Currents.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Eric Goldman (2006-03-23). "South South Park: "The Return of Chef" Review". tv.ign.com. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
External links
- The Return of Chef, at South Park Studios
- The Return of Chef at AllMovie
- The Return of Chef, at IGN
- "The Return of Chef" at IMDb
- The Return of Chef, at TV.com
