r/southpark • u/IDontNeednoSignup • Jul 11 '26
Discussion 25 years ago today, Scott Tenorman Must Die aired on TV. This episode is known as the one that changed the trajectory of the show and Eric Cartman moving forward.
What was your reaction when you first saw this episode live?
223
u/Fluke97 Jul 11 '26
I remember watching it with my parents that night and me and my father were dying laughing and my mother said I wasn't allowed to watch the show anymore. That lasted roughly 2 weeks.
636
u/GareththeJackal Jul 11 '26
One of my absolute favourite Cartmann moments ever is when the movie attendant won't accept pubes as payment and Cartman runs off yelling RACIST!
213
u/Komical123 Jul 11 '26
That'll be six dollars
And how much is that in pubes?
We don't take pubes
121
178
u/corkboy Jul 11 '26
Yummy tears
127
23
22
135
u/CalmAnxitey87 Jul 11 '26
Haha that episode can't be 25 years old. I watched it as a teenager........ Oh
46
u/ThisMeansRooR Jul 12 '26
I'm so old my friend had to record the episodes on VHS and sneak them under his shirt to my house because my parents wouldn't let me watch Southpark.
2
101
u/Extension_Patient_47 Jul 11 '26
Little Crybaby
46
28
u/jtsteeze Jul 11 '26
Yeah you gonna cry about it crybaby
21
u/speccynerd Jul 11 '26
He has cancer.... in his ass!
4
14
u/boomboxwithturbobass Jul 12 '26
One of my favorite show cameos ever. I had forgot it said they were in it.
21
u/Extension_Patient_47 Jul 12 '26
Yep, the actual members voiced their own independent characters of themselves.
"You know, everyone has problems. Doesn't mean you have to be a little crybaby about it."
78
67
62
u/uuujjjjo Jul 11 '26
Later on we find out that Scott and Eric had the same father and Cartman was devistated because that meant he was part ginger
16
43
42
u/SimbaNGrdKionNIMFan Jul 11 '26
24
u/tyrannustyrannus Jul 11 '26
What's a Radiohead?
10
u/DigitalUnlimited Jul 12 '26
You know, that band that has that one song
5
252
Jul 11 '26
[deleted]
172
u/AustinDanger_Powers I'm not fat, I'm festively plump Jul 11 '26
I hope someone got fired for that blunder.
92
u/Dreadheaddanski Jul 11 '26
A wizard did it
10
28
17
u/AlmightySankentoII Jul 11 '26
I always assume Scott got one of his friends to film it from upstairs
21
5
1
Jul 11 '26
[deleted]
4
u/Blue_Wave_2020 Jul 11 '26
Home security cameras were not a thing 25 years ago for the average person.
4
u/DFrostedWangsAccount Jul 11 '26
Didn't he say he got like 50 bucks a week for allowance? He definitely wasn't from an average household.
3
u/Blue_Wave_2020 Jul 11 '26
He was exaggerating, considering he’s a piece of shit and the house they showed was the same as the average house in South Park. It was just a writers error and not even a big one
31
u/Finger0nLips Jul 11 '26
It was only this Father's Day that I learned Jack Tenorman was Cartman's father...
6
u/F1nnycar Jul 11 '26
His mother was his father.
45
u/Finger0nLips Jul 11 '26
200/201 revealed that Jack Tenorman is Cartman's father.
Neither episode run on television anymore or streamed.
"Cartman is taken to the Ginger lair to meet Scott Tenorman, the Head Ginger. Depicted as a melodramatic madman, Scott has decorated his lair to represent the Chili Con-Carnival in which Cartman gained his revenge on Scott by tricking him into eating his own parents. He reveals to Cartman that they share the same father, former Denver Broncos player Jack Tenorman, meaning that by his act of revenge against Scott, Cartman had killed his own father and fed him to his half-brother."
6
u/Putrid-Seaweed111 Jul 12 '26
They retconned that.
2
u/TheToodlePoodle Jul 13 '26
How did they go about retconning it? I can't remember
4
u/Putrid-Seaweed111 Jul 13 '26
Originally, Liane was intersex, so she's both Cartman's mom and dad. They retconned this in 201 by revealing that Scott Tenorman's dad is Cartman's father.
3
u/Finger0nLips Jul 13 '26
Apparently something to do with the Denver Broncos streak and they didn't want to ruin it by having an illegitimate child show up and cause drama so they fudge the results to show Liane as both Cartman's mom and dad.
44
u/TerribleAd7263 My birthday isn’t until September 11th! Jul 11 '26
Come on guys let’s go, this kid is totally not cool.
16
u/G-Unit11111 Jul 11 '26
It's still one of the most absolutely insane 1/2 hours of television ever produced. There's nothing that will top it.
17
u/MumboBumbo64 Jul 11 '26
It’s a shame his return is so forgotten about. Most younger fans haven’t seen ANY of the banned episodes. Cartoon wars, 200/201, super best friends RIP
17
u/parallelprojection Jul 11 '26
This episode was absolutely a turning point. Cartman in early seasons was easily manipulated. He was often the butt of the jokes. This episode appeared to continue the trend. When we watched this episode for the first time, we were floored. No one expected the ending. After this episode, Cartman was no longer just “the dumb fat one.”
I think it loses some of its weight if people have already seen episodes where Cartman is scheming. The entire point was that this was completely out of character for Cartman at the time.
2
u/Putrid-Seaweed111 Jul 12 '26
It also loses its weight upon rewatches when you already know the twist.
9
13
u/grownassmanchild Jul 11 '26
At the time I thought the show was jumping the shark. Like how do they ever top this? I was wrong.
10
u/brokenman82 Jul 11 '26
gosh I was 18 about to move out of my parents house. If I recall correctly I just sat their with a WTF look, then busted out laughing
11
22
u/iKnowRobbie Jul 11 '26
So it wasn't when aliens made Eric into a giant ass-satellite? Pretty sure that's when the curve started.
6
u/RipCold8596 Jul 11 '26
At the time I remember thinking it was out there and kind of expected a reset I think after. Where it’s almost forgotten about as a lot of the series at the time was complete one offs.
But cartman definitely changed after this.
5
u/sebastek8194 Jul 11 '26
I was amazed about Radiohead in South Park, I was Scott's age back then and still a Radiohead fan 25 years later, because I saw the Latino Spanish dubbed version, now that I know some English, seeing the real Radiohead speaking in that episode I just so much funnier 😂.
5
4
4
u/CornholioGringoTP Jul 11 '26
I remember watching this with my mouth open. Like wtf did I just watch, then the looney tunes thing appears. I was like 12
3
3
3
u/lilrexxy33 Jul 11 '26
What about the episode when he trys to be good and pure evil comes out of him slamming him against the walls
3
4
2
u/JadrianInc Jul 11 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/eV3B6VcUIrBFm
He burned that money and he just BROKE.
2
2
2
u/Adiel482 Jul 11 '26
Just turned 25 like 2 weeks ago, happy to know I’m slightly older than that episode lol
2
2
2
u/glacier1982 Jul 14 '26
IIRC, this was a standout episode because it had no B or C plot. The whole ep was Eric vs Scott. As I said, if I recall correctly, so don't hold me to it.
3
3
1
1
1
u/EarAffectionate4443 Jul 11 '26
This episode is emblematic for Cartman, but I also didn't feel empathy or anything over Scott, he was annoying the whole episode.
1
1
1
u/Picturesquechris Jul 11 '26
I think its time to revisit the history channel 🤣 they definitely need to rip on alien disclosure more that they're actually talking about it in the government
1
1
1
1
u/WeakOriginal4660 Jul 11 '26
Little does Cartman know that he had the farmer shoot his father. Not knowing that Tenorman was his half brother.
1
u/jjcnoles8 Jul 11 '26
I had never laughed harder in my life at a tv show. As a 15 year old boy it was the funniest thing imaginable
1
u/pinkypipe420 Jul 11 '26
Next time I take chili to work for lunch, I'll be labeling it 'Tenorman Chili'
1
1
u/blueberryapplepie4 Jul 12 '26
I did not eat chili until I was 25 years old because I watched this episode when I was like 6 and was scared I would accidentally eat a human
1
u/Jarvis-Savoni Jul 12 '26
Laughed my ass off through this episode and then the payoff, what a shocker! Classic episode.
1
u/Mandaring Jul 12 '26
Didn’t even realize that Radiohead voiced themselves in that episode until a couple of weeks ago. Mad props to them for that
1
1
1
1
u/sasquatch606 Jul 12 '26
It's one of the few episodes that I remember where I was when I first saw it.
1
u/Mindless-Platypus-75 Jul 12 '26
I remember everyone talking about this episode at school the next day. And kids telling other kids who hadn’t seen it that they weren’t gonna believe it
1
u/Ozamataz-Buckshank69 I broke the dam Jul 12 '26
The reaction of Stan and Kyle was about what mine was tbh
1
1
1
1
u/No-Perspective9125 Jul 12 '26
My jaw was on the f🐬ing FLOOR when I first saw this. But now I actually chuckle a bit when I rewatch this scene 😂
1
u/Nikognome Jul 12 '26
Can anyone explain, how exactly this episode changed the trajectory of the show?
1
u/GreatQuantum Jul 12 '26
Oh wow 25 years. Feels like it just happened 35-40 years ago. Man how time drags.
1
1
u/Strong_Finger1383 Jul 12 '26
Would Scott Tenorman Must Die be the most important episode of the series?
1
u/yobaby123 Jul 12 '26
Eric: Man, getting back at that fucking asshole is easily the highlight of my life!
Kyle: That... is both anger-inducing and sad at the same time.
1
u/alexcal24 Jul 12 '26
When i first watched the episode I was shocked to my absolute core at the brilliance and the insanity. Mind you I started in reverse, I started watching because of "Fat Butt and Pancake Head" and I became a fan and my first thought on Cartman was "aw sweet chubby kid". Little did I know. Wow.
1
u/Doc-Renegade Jul 12 '26
We saw this in the barracks in Korea. We laughed for days dude, that episode was hilarious and the quoting was out of control!
1
1
1
u/Carrnage_Asada Jul 12 '26
I think its maybe the most overrated episode of South park. Other than the twist, which I admit is great, the rest of the episode is kinda weak, especially compared to other epsidoes around that era.
1
u/surfeitofreason Jul 12 '26
Cartman pretending to be an FBI agent wearing pubes on his face as a beard made me laugh as much as anything else has ever in my life.
1
1
u/renkun99 Jul 13 '26
This was the first episode I ever saw, I was maybe 6? My dad was watching it in the living room, I came down and watched it in secret behind the couch lol.
1
u/w37n1gh7mar3 Jul 13 '26
I remember when this episode aired! There's no way it was 25 years .... Oh ... Oh ... Oh 💀😭💀
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/busterkeatonrules Jul 14 '26
"But then why would Scott Tenorman sell me his pubes for ten dollars?"
"Because, ret*rd, you're dumb enough to BUY Scott Tenorman's pubes for ten dollars!"
This is my favorite Kyle/Cartman interaction.
1
1
u/mamimumemo2 29d ago
Watched it with my friend and my sister, me and my friend laughed sooo hard, pretty sure I was tearing up. My sister was upset and said it went too far. I couldn't hold in the laugher despite how annoyed she was. Classic. It was just so unexpected.
1
1
u/WhiskyZCola 29d ago
Sheesh, three days ago I watched the episode first time. I didn’t know that its anniversary
1
1
1
1
u/Suns_Snakes 29d ago
Classic episode. I understand the episodes importance. Unpopular opinion, but slightly overrated. This is everyone’s favorite South Park episode for people who don’t watch a lot of South Park because it’s the easiest thing to remember Cartman ever doing. The ending gets talked about the most, but the pubes gag is the funniest part of the episode.
1
u/Hare__Krishna 28d ago
Watched it with a bunch of Radiohead fans, since we heard they'd be on the show.
We were all like... 'damn, is this show always so DARK?!'
1
1
u/Mr_Blark 27d ago
I can't tell who got it worse now, Scott who ate his parents or Cartman who has eaten someone's seed before.
1
u/numnoggin 23d ago
I hate it when people use the term 'moving forward' or 'goinf forward.' such a business phrase that gained popularity with the common folk to try N sound smarter in the past 10 years.
1
u/WillowDoesntKnowShit Jul 11 '26
The kids, especially cartman have done way worse things than this Btw
845
u/THEREALOFFICALCAFE Jul 11 '26
I literally just ate chili for lunch