30 most shocking South Park moments ever
By Jeremy Dick
23. South Park trolls its fans with Terrance and Phillip
Longtime fans of the series will remember this one. The very first season of South Park concludes with an infamous cliffhanger ending. Fans were just about to learn the identity of Cartman’s father when the episode ends. Everyone then needs to wait until Season 2 to find out just who it is.
On April 1, 1998, season 2 of South Park finally premieres. Only problem is, it doesn’t reveal who Cartman’s dad is. In fact, it has nothing to do with South Park, really. The episode, called “Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus”, airs in the real episode’s place. It focuses only on Terrance and Phillip, the fictional Canadian comedians obsessed with flatulence.
The motivation behind this is innocent enough. Being April Fool’s Day, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are simply playing a joke on the viewers. But not all of them saw the humor in it. In one week, more than 2000 viewers email complaints to Comedy Central. The backlash forces the network to move up the airing date of the conclusion to the cliffhanger.
As for the episode itself, it garnered some negative reviews. However, Parker and Stone call it one of their favorites of the series.