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Coon vs. Coon and Friends

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"Coon vs. Coon and Friends"

"Coon vs. Coon and Friends" is the thirteenth episode of the fourteenth season of Comedy Central's series South Park. It originally aired on November 10, 2010.

The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. In its original American broadcast on November 10, 2010, "Coon vs. Coon and Friends" was watched by 3.249 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Media Research. It was the highest viewed scripted show. It received a 1.9 rating/5% share among adult viewers between ages 18 and 49.

In this episode, Cartman shows himself to be even more evil than the dark lord, Cthulhu, as he punishes his former partners in Coon & Friends. Kenny is wrestling with the weight of his own super power through his alter-ego, Mysterion.[1] This episode also spoofs pop star Justin Bieber.

The episode continues from previous South Park episodes "Coon 2: Hindsight" and "Mysterion Rises" and reveals the identities of all of Coon and Friends. These three episodes are also significant in that they for the first time give details as to why Kenny re-incarnates after dying and how this is perceived by him, his family, and friends.

Plot

The episode begins with Bradley Biggle, as Mint Berry Crunch, summarizing the previous episode in a comic book format. The boys raise concern over Mint Berry Crunch's super powers, as they do not accept "the power of mint and berry set with a satisfying tasty crunch" as a legitimate super power. While discussing powers, the boys ask Mysterion about his power. Mysterion boldly states that "I can't die." The other boys, who are only imagining their powers, casually take note. Mysterion sees that they are not taking him seriously, and with mounting frustration, he elaborates to them that "I really, really can't die." He tries to remind them that they witnessed him being stabbed to death the night before, but the other boys do not remember at all. In an attempt to prove his point, Mysterion shouts at them to remember, pulls out a handgun, and shoots himself in the head, leaving the boys in utter shock. However, much to the annoyance of Mysterion, they later completely forget about it when everyone including himself returns for another meeting on good deeds.

File:JustinBieber.png
Justin Bieber as shown on South Park. Despite being Canadian, he is shown like a regular character.

After providing his own distorted summary of the story so far, Cartman arrives and lures the heroes outside, where he orders Cthulhu to banish them to a dark oblivion. Mint Berry Crunch runs away and pretends to be heroic by watching Judge Judy, while the rest of the heroes are transported to R'lyeh. With that done, Cartman has Cthulhu head to the Burning Man festival to massacre hippies. At R'lyeh, seeing death as his only potential escape back to Earth and save his friends, Mysterion commits suicide by jumping into a pit of deadly spikes (complaining about the pain of this particular manner of death as he does so). Kenny awakens back in his bed and dons his Mysterion outfit, setting off to learn more about Cthulhu and his own powers in order to save his friends. He goes to Henrietta's house, where she and the other Goth kids are complaining about Cthulhu not changing everything as they were made to believe. Just then, Henrietta's mother comes in and tells her that her brother, who turns out to be Bradley, wants to play with them. Upon entering the room, Bradley sees Mysterion and runs back to his room to change into his Mint Berry Crunch outfit. Meanwhile, the Goth kids tell Mysterion that Cthulhu can only be killed by another immortal, meaning that Kenny is seemingly the only one who has the power to stop Cthulhu's rampage.

Followed by Mint Berry Crunch, Mysterion tracks down the Coon and Cthulhu as the latter have just finished massacring Justin Bieber and a number of his fans. After berating the Coon for re-making the world in his own image (something no superhero is meant to do), Mysterion challenges Cthulhu by offering him an easy win if he brings his friends back, only for Cthulhu to simply walk away after being influenced by the Coon's "cute kitten" act.(The scene is a taken from the Loney Toons cartoon "Feed the Kitty") A bright light descends from the air and a man appears inside, who reveals himself to be Bradley's biological father from a far away planet who sent his son to Earth to stop evil from taking over the Earth. Bradley, whose Mint Berry Crunch powers were actually real, manages to subdue Cthulhu, drag him back to the dimension from which he came, save the other heroes from oblivion, and shut the hole which BP drilled into the Gulf of Mexico. With Cartman jailed at the Coon & Friends' secret base, Mint Berry Crunch vanishes in a flash of light as the rest of the heroes express surprise that Bradley really did have superpowers. Mysterion, disappointed that he did not learn anything about his true past and identity, says he is going to bed and shoots himself in the head. The scene then shifts to show Kenny's mother giving birth to Kenny again. Kenny's parents lay Kenny in his bed, wrapping his orange parka around him, and say that they never should have gone to that cult meeting, implying that Kenny's powers are a result of the cult's practices.

Cultural references

Like "Coon 2: Hindsight" and "Mysterion Rises" the third part heavily references the works of H. P. Lovecraft, especially the Cthulhu Mythos.[2]

This episode also references the Merrie Melodies cartoon short Feed the Kitty, with Cartman acting as Pussyfoot and Cthulhu as Marc Antony in his "cute kitten" routine.[3]

In his quest to "make the world a better place", the Coon (Eric Cartman's alter ego), persuades Cthulhu to destroy the Whole Food Market supermarket chain,[2] which specializes in organic and healthy food.[3] They attack the Burning Man festival,[3] which is, according to Cartman, "the biggest hippie festival in the world", in a scene reminiscent of one from the comedy science fiction film Mars Attacks!. Cartman mentions they have also destroyed "most of the synagogues".[4][5] A news reporter at the site of the slaughter mistakes The Coon for "Bruce Vilanch in a rat costume",[2] an assumption first made in "The Coon". Another target, and in Cartman's eyes, the "most challenging and most evil opponent", is teen-star Justin Bieber.[2] The LeBron James Nike commercial is also spoofed again.[6][7][8] Cartman tries to lure the boys out of his basement with promises of a double rainbow, coinciding with the popularity of the "Double Rainbow" viral video.[9] The name of the song that Cartman sings while walking to his house is "Faith" by George Michael.[10]

Reception

In its original American broadcast on November 10, 2010, "Coon vs. Coon and Friends" was watched by 2.786 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the most watched cable television show of the night, surpassing shows such as Psych, Terriers, Meet the Browns and The Ultimate Fighter in ratings. The episode received a 1.8 rating/3 share, meaning it was seen by 1.8 percent of the population, and 3 percent of people watching television at the time of its broadcast. Among male viewers between ages 18 and 34, the episode received a 3.4 rating/11 share. Among adult viewers between ages 18 and 49, the episode received a 1.6 rating/5 share, falling two tenths in the ratings since the last episode.[11]

IGN gave this episode an 8.0 and said "The Coon and Friends trilogy comes to an end in grand fashion, with epic battles, strange alliances, and secret origins revealed. It's a tale told in the finest comic book traditions, and it's one of the most creative episodes South Park has produced recently."[2]

Home release

"Coon vs. Coon and Friends", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Park's fourteenth season, were released on a three-disc DVD set and two-disc Blu-Ray set in the United States on April 26, 2011.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Access Denied". South Park Studios. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ramsey Isler (2010-11-11). "South Park: "Coon vs. Coon and Friends" Review - TV Review at IGN". Uk.tv.ign.com. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  3. ^ a b c O'Neal, Sean (2010-11-10). ""Coon vs. Coon and Friends" | South Park | TV Club | TV". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  4. ^ http://i.imgur.com/YW5Na.png
  5. ^ "Coon vs. Coon & Friends/Script - South Park Archives - Cartman, Comedy Central, Trey Parker, Matt Stone". Southpark.wikia.com. 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  6. ^ Dwyer, Kelly (Nov. 4, 2010). "Video: 'South Park' takes on LeBron James' ad". Yahoo!. Retrieved Nov. 17, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  7. ^ Rothbard, Barry (Nov. 4, 2010). "WATCH: South Park Spoofs LeBron James' Nike Commercial". Sports Grid. Retrieved Nov. 17, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  8. ^ Coman, Nick (Nov. 6, 2010). "Clevelanders, Michelle Beadle, South Park Take Stabs at LeBron James 'Rise' Ad". New England Sports Network. Retrieved Nov. 17, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  9. ^ Brown, Damon (July 14, 2010). "How the 'double rainbow' video blew up". CNN. Retrieved Nov. 21, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ Eric Cartman has the faith on YouTube
  11. ^ Gorman, Bill (November 11, 2010). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Psych' Premiere; 'Terriers' Falls; 'South Park', 'Ultimate Fighter', 'Ghost Hunters' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  12. ^ "South Park - 'The Complete 14th Season' Formally Announced; Seems it Really IS Complete!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2011-07-02. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
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