South Park is back next month, and Butters is quite literally the butt of the joke
A new teaser for the next season of South Park reminds viewers there's no place quite like the titular town
TV News South Park
After twenty-five seasons, South Park knows how to draw generational viewership in: you have to somehow be both timely and timeless. Last season, the series tackled topics ranging from the globally pressing (Russia’s war on Ukraine) to the enduringly existential (city people are really annoying—but are country people too?)
But some of South Park’s most ageless comedy keeps it completely simple, and a new trailer for the series’ upcoming 26th season falls explicitly in that camp. Sometimes, the best way to elicit a laugh is still a joke about an ass, and Trey Parker and Matt Stone are but humble students of the comedic craft.
In the short and sweet new teaser, some hand-stitched text reminds viewers “There’s no place like here,” as Butters Stotch, trapped in what must be the invasive doctor’s appointment from hell, whimpers while preparing for a machine to, well, breach his butthole.
“No, no, no, no,” Butters mumbles softly before eventually succumbing to…whatever kind of procedure this is. Can this possibly be legal? Insured? There really is nowhere like Colorado.
With a new season, South Park continues to cement its extensive legacy. The long-running animated comedy has aired on Comedy Central on Wednesday nights since 1997 (a time slot consistency that these days, most shows can only dream of.) Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s deal with MTV Entertainment Studios includes a green light for the series through at least 2027, which will bring the show to a massive 30-season run.
The new season of South Park premieres Wednesday, February 8 at 8 P.M. E.T. on Comedy Central.
16 Comments
The clip of Butters getting an anal probe in the teaser trailer is from the 2005 episode “The Death of Eric Cartman.” See a clip here:
https://southpark.cc.com/video-clips/te1831/south-park-butters-mental-problemsBut I guess we can’t expect the writers at AV Club to actually watch the shows they’re writing about.
Yeah, that’s a pretty classic episode and…well, if not “classic” scene, at least notorious and puerile and funny.
You are also wrong. This clip of butters is from awesome-o. So even though its fun to rag on the av club, in this case your bonafides aren’t as strong as you’d thought. me on the other hand…
He’s right and the link he posted backs him up.
Dude, he literally posted a link from the South Park website and labels it with the episode. Season 9, episode 6. Which is indeed “The Death of Eric Cartman”. It’s the one where Cartman thinks he’s a ghost because the other three boys have chosen to entirely ignore him, and Butters, because he’s isn’t in on the ignoring thing, thinks Cartman is a ghost too. The probe is happening because his parents think he’s gone insane with the whole “seeing ghosts” thing, and this is one of the “tests” that the psychiatrist they’ve hired performs on him to see what’s wrong with him.
Awesome-O is Season 8, episode 5. Nothing horrible actually happens to Butters in Awesome-O. At all. It’s one of the few episodes that is entirely comeuppance to Cartman.
Maybe that person was trying to make a joke by being so self righteously incorrect about their correction–but I dunno. Long live Butters!
No it fucking isn’t.
Go watch the episode of Awesome-O.
If you’re gonna be condescending to others when it comes to fact-checking, make sure you aren’t egregiously wrong either. It is from The Death of Eric Cartman.
And he’s not saying “no no no,” he’s singing the “Loo loo loo, I’ve got some apples” song that he’s known for.
2005 was 18 years ago. A lot of AV Club staff probably weren’t allowed by their parents to watch it back then.Hell, I barely remember that bit from “The Death of Eric Cartman,” but I do remember watching the episode.
Nor can they pay attention to the teaser itself, which clearly states the premiere airs at 10 PM.
To keep piling on, they should also know that it’s too soon for them to have any clips to show from the next episode. Though if I remember right they do sometimes work on the premier for more than six days.
Butters is saying, “Lu, lu, lu” which preludes his song “I’ve got some apples”. Wasn’t that 20 years ago now?
What, what?
In the butt
I think that I have a solution. Can the AV Club hire the parents of the current writing staff?