The Losing Edge
"The Losing Edge" | |
---|---|
South Park episode | |
Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 5 |
Directed by | Trey Parker |
Written by | Trey Parker |
Featured music | "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito |
Production code | 905 |
Original air date | April 6, 2005 |
Guest appearance | |
Diedrich Bader as Bat Dad | |
"The Losing Edge" is the fifth episode in the
In the episode, the boys try to lose their baseball games on purpose so they can enjoy the summer, instead of dealing with baseball. Meanwhile, Randy trains to fight the other fathers at the games.
Plot
None of the boys playing for the South Park Cows, the town's Little League Baseball team, enjoy the sport at all. They find it boring and play only because of their parents' enthusiasm for it. When they win their final game, they are overjoyed at first, believing that the season is over and they can now enjoy the summer. To their horror, they discover that since they have finished first in their division, they must participate in the post-season playoffs. At a "celebration" meal, the boys discuss plans to lose on purpose without getting in trouble with their parents.
During the playoffs, they learn that the other teams also want out, and have actually trained to lose games. The Cows end up winning again and again against opponents whose efforts at throwing games are more successful, and they reach the state championship. If they win, they will have to spend their entire summer playing baseball on the national circuit.
Meanwhile,
The game is played at
Production
The episode's idea originally came from series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone thinking that the children of South Park would look cute in baseball uniforms. Parker and Stone also were not fans of baseball themselves so it made sense to have the boys hate baseball. The choice to go ahead with a baseball-themed episode did create some problems animation-wise, however, as most of the children look nearly identical wearing the same uniforms. A lot of time was spent on ensuring that each character was distinguishable from each other. For example, Butters Stotch and Stan Marsh look identical with the same attire. To rectify this, Stan's hair is more prominent than Butters' and Butters has a speaking line early.[1] Additionally, Kenny appears with his hat slightly covering his face, making this one of Kenny's most visible episodes. The episode's plot was originally going to be used in Best Friends Forever but was put on hold when they came up with an episode based on the Terri Schiavo case instead.
According to the DVD commentary, "this was a really, really hard episode to do" because sports episodes in general aren't easy but also because the teams are trying to lose. Because they are trying to lose on purpose, new rules are needed which makes it different from any actual sport. The character of Bat Dad made it easier for Parker and Stone, however, as if it got too difficult, they could cut to Bat Dad.[1]
References
- ^ a b Parker, Trey; Stone, Matt (2005). South Park season 9 DVD commentary for the episode "The Losing Edge" (DVD). Comedy Central.
External links
- "The Losing Edge" Full episode at South Park Studios
- "The Losing Edge" at IMDb