Tonsil Trouble
| "Tonsil Trouble" |
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"Tonsil Trouble" is episode 1201 (#168) of Comedy Central's animated comedy series South Park. It is the first episode of the show's twelfth season and was broadcast on Wednesday, March 12, 2008. [1]
Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (December 2008) |
This episode references the case of Ryan White.[citation needed] While having his tonsils removed, Cartman is accidentally infected with HIV from donor blood. Shocked, he attempts to gain the support and pity of those around him but is unsuccessful because the AIDS fad has run its course and become antiquated, and the current trend is to be sensitive about cancer. Additionally, due to Cartman's cruelty to his classmates in the past, many find it hard to pity him: Kyle even goes so far as to laugh hysterically and almost involuntarily at the irony that Cartman has HIV, as Cartman has wished AIDS on Kyle on several occasions.
When an AIDS benefit featuring Elton John is held in Cartman's honor, only $17 is raised, only about eight people attend and even Elton John skips it in favor of a cancer benefit; instead, Cartman gets Jimmy Buffett, who sings "AIDSburger in Paradise".
Furious at the lack of concern and Kyle's laughter, Cartman plots revenge by drawing some of his own blood and putting it in Kyle's mouth as he sleeps. When Kyle is diagnosed with HIV, he knows who is at fault and confronts Cartman in the playground, attempting to beat him to death until Mr. Mackey stops him. Instead of punishment, the school authorities simply demand that Cartman apologize to Kyle for giving him HIV and that Kyle apologize for tattling about it.
Angered by this injustice, Kyle decides to take matters into his own hands and hurries off to Cartman's house with a threat to break everything that Cartman owns. True to his word, Kyle shatters many of Cartman's toys, rips apart his prized Braveheart poster and tears off the head of his beloved Clyde Frog. As he is about to break the most important and expensive thing in the room, Cartman's Xbox 360, Cartman pleads with him, telling him that he has done research which leads him to believe that a cure for AIDS lies in Magic Johnson's longevity since becoming infected with HIV.(Note that Cartman said that Magic got infected with aids like 50 years ago, and Magic's only 49 years old.)[2]
Kyle and Cartman fly to Johnson's house after gaining free airline tickets by pretending to have "all-over" cancer, because AIDS is too "retro" a disease. Johnson is sympathetic, offering assistance, but is unsure what he has in his house that helps. Upon investigation, they find that Johnson sleeps regularly with huge piles of cash (since he does not trust banks), which eventually prove to have the ability to neutralize HIV. Laboratory scientists experiment with a concentrated dose of "about $180,000 shot directly into the bloodstream" on the boys, which forces the HIV to disintegrate.
Word is spread about the cure for AIDS (most notably in Congo), and an event is held at which Jimmy Buffett sings "CUREburger in Paradise". Kyle tells Cartman that he is going to break his Xbox anyway. Cartman runs after him.
References
- ^ Episode guide. South Park Studios. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
- ^ "Johnson, Unbowed by H.I.V., Will Return to Pro Basketball". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
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