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The Return of Chef

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"The Return of Chef"

"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 Comedy Central's 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 portrays Chef as having been brainwashed.[3][4]

"There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," he was quoted in a press statement. The statement, however, did not directly mention Scientology. A response from Stone said that Hayes' complaints stemmed from the show's criticism of Scientology and that he "has no problem – and he's cashed plenty of checks – with our show making fun of Christians, Muslims, Mormons or Jews." Stone adds, "[We] never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."[5][6]

Plot

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 beginning of the episode he returns. The boys quickly notice that he is acting strangely as he expresses a desire to have sex with them. Wanting to find out what has caused all this, they 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 hypnotize the boys, they realize that the club has brainwashed Chef.

They enlist the help of psychiatrist Dr. Neeland. He asks what was Chef's favorite pastime before having sex with children. Stan says "Having sex with women" and the psychiatrist recommends 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 buttocks and Chef snaps back to his old self again. The agents of the Super Adventure Club appear, tranquilise Chef, and kidnap him. When the boys follow them back to their headquarters and 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 "Children 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 saith the ruler of Bethos" . The boys are told that they have to leave, but they refuse to do so without Chef. The boys run off to the containment room and find Chef lying on a table and a club member attempting to brainwash him again. Kenny headbutts the club member in his groin knocking him to the ground

The boys then escape with Chef and Connelly shouts out "Don't you remember why you left South Park in the first place?!" and Chef suddenly stops in his tracks. Connelly tells Chef that his life will be grand and eternal if he stays with them. Stan tells Chef that, "We love you" but Chef just says "I'm sorry, children" and walks back towards the club.

However, the bridge that Chef is crossing collapses after being struck by lightning. He tries to climb back up onto the cliff, but is unable to hang onto the bridge. Chef falls and is impaled on a jagged tree stump. He is then attacked by a mountain lion. Connelly—desperate to keep Chef alive—instructs one of the members to shoot the mountain lion. He tries,but accidentally shoots Chef in the heart. He fires two more bullets, both of which hit Chef. A grizzly bear then appears and attacks Chef as well. The mountain lion tears the skin on Chef's face off. 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. Stan and Kyle shout: "Oh my God, they killed Chef! You bastards...YOU BASTARDS!!!" The boys, dismayed that their friend is dead, leave the scene.

Chef, after being resurrected as "Darth Chef".

A memorial service for Chef is held. 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 voice of Darth Chef was voiced by Darth Maul voice actor Peter Serafinowicz.[7]

Reception

Views and sales

The original television airing of the episode drew more than 3.5 million viewers, including 2.3 million aged between 17 and 49.[2][8] 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][9] The episode was also ranked fourth in video sales on iTunes.[9]

Reviews

The episode received fairly high review ratings. Eric Goldman of IGN reviewed the episode and gave it an overall rating of 8.0, noting as particularly amusing the creation of new dialogue for Chef by splicing previous recordings of his character.[10] Goldman also noted that the eulogy for Chef "probably says how Parker and Stone really feel about Hayes"[10] Adam Finley reviewed the episode for TV Squad, and described the episode as "one of the funniest, and most memorable, of the series".[11]

Trivia

References

  1. ^ Al Barger (2006-03-24). "TV Review: South Park "The Return of Adam Livshits"". blogcritics.org. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  2. ^ a b c d "'South Park' Premiere Draws Big Audience". cbsnews.com. 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Isaac Hayes quits 'South Park' citing religious intolerance". CBC. March 23, 2006.
  6. ^ "South Park gets revenge on Chef". BBC News. March 23, 2006.
  7. ^ imdb (2007-10-29). "IMDB - Peter Serafinowicz". smh.com.au. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ 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)
  10. ^ a b Eric Goldman (2006-03-23). "South South Park: "The Return of Chef" Review". tv.ign.com. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  11. ^ Adam Finley (23 March 2006). "South Park: The Return of Chef!". tvsquad.com. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
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