A History Channel Thanksgiving
"A History Channel Thanksgiving" | |
---|---|
South Park episode | |
Episode no. | Season 15 Episode 13 |
Directed by | Trey Parker |
Written by | Trey Parker |
Production code | 1513 |
Original air date | November 9, 2011 |
"A History Channel Thanksgiving" is the thirteenth episode of the
The episode was written and directed by series co-creator
Plot
After a lecture from 1/16th
Captain Standish of Plymouth, a planet in Canis Major whose inhabitants resemble colonial era American Pilgrims, falls to Earth. On Plymouth, the Pilgrim leader rallies his people, saying that their enemies, the Indians, have raided their stuffing mines, which leads to a stuffing shortage on Earth that causes Cartman to panic. Standish shows up at Kyle's house, kills Sawitski, and asks Kyle for help returning to his planet. After Natalie Portman drives them to a wooded area, Standish shows Kyle a map of five planets: Earth, Plymouth, Indi, Colthenheim and Green Lantern World, which are connected by wormholes that, on the map, resemble the hand-traced drawings of turkeys made by schoolchildren. Standish explains that his people and their enemies were indeed responsible for the first Thanksgiving, and warns Kyle that because the 300-year treaty between Plymouth and Indi has ended, the Indians will plunder the Plymouth stuffing mines. Agents from the History Channel appear, and when they tell Standish that they failed to open the wormhole to Plymouth by drawing the turkey symbol at Plymouth Rock, Standish informs them that they need Natalie Portman, who is the Keeper of the Portal. After being wined and dined by Kyle, Portman "opens her wormhole", sending Standish back to Plymouth, where he vanquishes the Indians.
Back on Earth, Standish's campaign against the Indians is related in another History TV special, which also adds the new theory that the first Thanksgiving was haunted, much to Kyle's outrage.
Production and cultural references
In the creator commentary for the episode, Trey Parker and Matt Stone said that this was the first idea they came up with for the season and intended to save it for the last episode. However as they struggled to come up with other ideas and planned to make the Thanksgiving special two-parts before abandoning the idea.[2]
Reception
The episode received mixed to positive reviews.
Ryan McGhee of The A.V. Club graded the episode a "B", stating: "Tonight's South Park spent absolutely no time dwelling on the events of last week, favoring instead an attack on The History Channel, apophenia, and Natalie Portman. When people think back on this season, this won't be an episode that will immediately spring to mind by any stretch. But as far as silly episodes written and drawn by people who have seen a lot of Thor recently, this wasn't bad."[3]
Ramsey Isler of
Johnny Firecloud of CraveOnline (now Mandatory) gave the episode a 5 out of 10, opining that it was not funny, likening the episode to "an acid trip laced with way too much strychnine". Firecloud sympathized with those who feel that the series is "an overloaded mess", and thought this episode a rationale for possible series cancellation.[5]
Erik Kain of
References
- ^ a b Kain, Erik (January 7, 2012). "South Park's 'A History Channel Thanksgiving' And The Problems With For-Profit Education". Forbes. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ Trey Parker & Matt Stone (March 2012). South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season: "A History Channel Thanksgiving" (DVD Disc). Paramount Home Entertainment.
- ^ McGee, Ryan (November 9, 2011). "South Park: "A History Channel Thanksgiving"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ Isler, Ramsey (November 10, 2011). "South Park: "A History Channel Thanksgiving" Review". IGN. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- CraveOnline. Archived from the originalon November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
External links
- "A History Channel Thanksgiving" Full episode at South Park Studios
- "A History Channel Thanksgiving" at IMDb