In the late ’90s, Russell Crowe invited Matt Stone and Trey Parker to listen to his new album, and the duo was less than thrilled with what they heard. According to the , Stone and Parker created “The New Terrance And Phillip Movie Trailer” episode of South Park specifically to jab at Crowe and his music—which they describe as a mixture of “Bon Jovi and Hepatitis B.” The episode begins with the boys gathered at Stan’s house, armed with snacks, waiting for the trailer, which might air at any time during The Russell Crowe Show, a travelogue from hell where Crowe sails the world in his suicidal boat, Tugger, singing bad adult contemporary ballads while beating innocent bystanders. Stone and Parker turned the tables on the audience, forcing them to watch Crowe’s happy-go-lucky, ridiculously violent and racist vanity show in real time. In a twist of clever gimmickry, the episode cut to commercial every time Crowe’s show went to commercial, adding to the boys’ frustration of waiting out the seemingly endless inanity and silliness of The Russell Crowe Show.
