Le Petit Tourette
Encyclopedia
"Le Petit Tourette" is the eighth episode of the eleventh season
of the animated television series South Park
, and the 161st episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central
in the United States
on October 3, 2007. This episode marked the beginning of the second half of the eleventh season. In the episode, Cartman
pretends to have Tourette's syndrome
so that he can say whatever he wants without getting into trouble. It eventually leads to trouble and he ends up saying things that he would never say.
The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker
and was rated TV-MA LV in the United States
, due to Cartman's excessive profanity and the violence portrayed when many of the pedophiles
commit suicide. It was one of the first episodes of South Park to use any of the L, S or V sub-ratings.
. Cartman decides to pretend he has the disorder as well so he can get away with shouting obscenities himself, and successfully convinces his mother and a doctor, who diagnoses him with Tourette's and notifies the school.
When Kyle
finds out about Cartman's "disorder", he immediately deduces that he is faking, which Cartman quickly admits to him. Nevertheless, Cartman continues to enjoy his newfound freedom, repeatedly shouting curses to people, to Kyle's intense annoyance and Craig's amazement and jealousy. Kyle decides to complain to Principal Victoria; however, she is already meeting Mr. Donaldson—who has coprolalia
, like Thomas—from the "Tourette's Tolerance and Understanding Foundation". Donaldson is insulted, believing that Kyle is accusing all people with TS of faking it, and takes him to a local support group for children with the disorder, who explain their various tic
s and how they are not faking it. Kyle attempts to explain that Cartman can control what he says, and is only pretending that he cannot for fun. The children are confused by this and state that one should not find having Tourette's fun at all. Thomas, the boy from the beginning of the episode, tells Kyle how his father divorced his mother due to his Coprolalia and how he thinks his mother would be happier if he were dead. Kyle relents under the pressure, and apologizes to everyone, but struggles when he has to apologize to Cartman, who deliberately pretends not to hear and continues to take advantage of his "disorder" by screaming vulgar anti-Semitic remarks at Kyle's parents. Cartman happily asks Thomas "Isn't having Tourette's awesome?" As a result, Thomas is instantly convinced that Kyle was telling the truth.
Cartman decides to appear on Dateline NBC
with Chris Hansen
, who plans to document the "sad story" of Cartman living with the condition. Cartman invites Kyle over to his house to taunt him and tell him he plans to say horrible, despicable things on the air and make an anti-Semitic hate speech
. He suddenly suffers (without noticing it) from a truth serum
tic and blurts out that he wet his bed the night before. Kyle does not find this suspicious at all, and plans to stop Cartman. Cartman realizes that, having said everything completely unfiltered for so long, he has lost the ability to think before he speaks because of his newly developed tic, and now merely says whatever comes into his head, including embarrassing secrets, such as how he fantasizes about kissing a girl named Patty Nelson, a time when he touched penises with a cousin and how he cries at night because he does not have a father. He quickly tries to cancel the Dateline appointment, but Chris Hansen refuses to allow it and tells him that once, when a pedophile tried to get out of appearing on his "To Catch a Predator
" series, they tracked the pedophile down and he shot himself (see Louis Conradt
). Hansen continues by hinting that if Cartman refuses to appear, he will be killed, and it will look like a suicide (more specifically, he says that "it would be a real shame if [Cartman] (here Hansen uses finger-quotes
) "shot himself
"). Realizing he has no way to get out of going on the show, and that he still cannot control his self-inflicted Tourette syndrome, Cartman prays to God for help.
Meanwhile, Kyle teams with Thomas, who is worried that Cartman's appearance on the show will make others think Tourette's is "fun" and copy him. The pair aims to foil Cartman's plan which, unknown to Kyle, Cartman has already given up on. Nevertheless, in order to provide a distraction, the two go on the Internet to entice numerous pedophiles
to come to the show. When the would-be child molesters come into the studio and see Hansen, they all assume it to be a bust on To Catch a Predator
and shoot themselves, sending panic through the studio and forcing everyone to flee. Hansen runs out of the studio and discovers Thomas, who has a tic and heavily swears at Hansen saying, "Suck it! Asshole licker dick fart!" This causes Hansen to run away after saying "Nobody talks to me like that! I-I'll tell on you!" Craig is then jealous and amazed that Thomas could tell off Hansen, and offers to hang out with him sometime. Kyle then sneaks in and confronts Cartman, expecting him to be furious and humiliated. Cartman, however, is overjoyed, and hugs Kyle and cries into his shoulder, explaining that he wanted a miracle and Kyle must really care about him, and happily runs off singing and dancing to seek a psychiatrist to help him control his language. The episode ends with Kyle and Thomas both exclaiming "Aw Shit!" simultaneously.
(TSA) issued a press release saying they had requested that Comedy Central
air their public service announcements during or after the show and that they "fully expect[ed] it to be offensive and insensitive to people with TS". The President of the TSA said, "we are actually surprised it took the creators so long to use TS as comedy fodder in this program, since no disability, illness or controversial topic is off limits to them." Following the episode, they issued a second press release, expressing concern that the episode perpetuated the misconception that most people with TS have coprolalia
, when in fact, 85–90% of people with TS do not. They conceded that "the episode was surprisingly well-researched. The highly exaggerated emphasis on coprolalia notwithstanding, for the attentive viewer, there was a surprising amount of accurate information conveyed," adding that several elements of the episode "served as a clever device" for providing accurate facts to the public.
gave the episode a rating of 7.5/10, asserting "this isn't the greatest episode, and not the greatest way to bring back the series - but it's got some great laughs and manages to push its single joke further than expected." 411mania took the middle ground, giving the show a 6.5/10 rating, calling it "hit and miss", and contesting that "while the first half of the show suffered because of a one-note joke, the second half showed why this series continues to remain one of the best on television." On the negative side, BuddyTV
called the episode a "misfire", criticizing it as "disjointed and a little off-putting."
's 1963 film The Little Soldier.
Cartman's rapturous song, used twice in the episode, is a paraphrase of (I've Got a) Golden Ticket by Leslie Bricusse
and Anthony Newley
, written for the soundtrack of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
.
South Park (season 11)
Season 11 of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 7, 2007. The 11th season concluded after 14 episodes on November 14, 2007. This is the first season to have uncensored episodes available for DVD release...
of the animated television series South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, and the 161st episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on October 3, 2007. This episode marked the beginning of the second half of the eleventh season. In the episode, Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
pretends to have Tourette's syndrome
Tourette syndrome
Tourette syndrome is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by multiple physical tics and at least one vocal tic; these tics characteristically wax and wane...
so that he can say whatever he wants without getting into trouble. It eventually leads to trouble and he ends up saying things that he would never say.
The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
and was rated TV-MA LV in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, due to Cartman's excessive profanity and the violence portrayed when many of the pedophiles
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
commit suicide. It was one of the first episodes of South Park to use any of the L, S or V sub-ratings.
Plot
While shopping in a toy store, Cartman sees a boy who continuously shouts obscenities, as his mother tries to explain that he has Tourette's syndromeTourette syndrome
Tourette syndrome is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by multiple physical tics and at least one vocal tic; these tics characteristically wax and wane...
. Cartman decides to pretend he has the disorder as well so he can get away with shouting obscenities himself, and successfully convinces his mother and a doctor, who diagnoses him with Tourette's and notifies the school.
When Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
finds out about Cartman's "disorder", he immediately deduces that he is faking, which Cartman quickly admits to him. Nevertheless, Cartman continues to enjoy his newfound freedom, repeatedly shouting curses to people, to Kyle's intense annoyance and Craig's amazement and jealousy. Kyle decides to complain to Principal Victoria; however, she is already meeting Mr. Donaldson—who has coprolalia
Coprolalia
Coprolalia is involuntary swearing or the involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks. Coprolalia comes from the Greek κόπρος meaning "feces" and λαλιά from lalein, "to talk"...
, like Thomas—from the "Tourette's Tolerance and Understanding Foundation". Donaldson is insulted, believing that Kyle is accusing all people with TS of faking it, and takes him to a local support group for children with the disorder, who explain their various tic
Tic
A tic is a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups. Tics can be invisible to the observer, such as abdominal tensing or toe crunching. Common motor and phonic tics are, respectively, eye blinking and throat clearing...
s and how they are not faking it. Kyle attempts to explain that Cartman can control what he says, and is only pretending that he cannot for fun. The children are confused by this and state that one should not find having Tourette's fun at all. Thomas, the boy from the beginning of the episode, tells Kyle how his father divorced his mother due to his Coprolalia and how he thinks his mother would be happier if he were dead. Kyle relents under the pressure, and apologizes to everyone, but struggles when he has to apologize to Cartman, who deliberately pretends not to hear and continues to take advantage of his "disorder" by screaming vulgar anti-Semitic remarks at Kyle's parents. Cartman happily asks Thomas "Isn't having Tourette's awesome?" As a result, Thomas is instantly convinced that Kyle was telling the truth.
Cartman decides to appear on Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...
with Chris Hansen
Chris Hansen
Christopher Edward "Chris" Hansen is an American television infotainment personality. He is known for his work on Dateline NBC, in particular the former segment known as To Catch a Predator, which revolved around catching potential Internet sex predators using a sting operation.-Career:Hansen...
, who plans to document the "sad story" of Cartman living with the condition. Cartman invites Kyle over to his house to taunt him and tell him he plans to say horrible, despicable things on the air and make an anti-Semitic hate speech
Hate speech
Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic....
. He suddenly suffers (without noticing it) from a truth serum
Truth Serum
Truth Serum is an independent comic book series created, written and drawn by author Jon Adams.-Overview:Originally published as a mini comic in 2001 and given away for free, it appeared as a three-issue mini series published by Slave Labor Graphics in 2002...
tic and blurts out that he wet his bed the night before. Kyle does not find this suspicious at all, and plans to stop Cartman. Cartman realizes that, having said everything completely unfiltered for so long, he has lost the ability to think before he speaks because of his newly developed tic, and now merely says whatever comes into his head, including embarrassing secrets, such as how he fantasizes about kissing a girl named Patty Nelson, a time when he touched penises with a cousin and how he cries at night because he does not have a father. He quickly tries to cancel the Dateline appointment, but Chris Hansen refuses to allow it and tells him that once, when a pedophile tried to get out of appearing on his "To Catch a Predator
To Catch a Predator
To Catch a Predator is an American reality television series that features hidden camera investigations by the television newsmagazine program Dateline NBC. It is devoted to impersonating underage youth and detaining adults who contact them over the Internet for sexual liaisons...
" series, they tracked the pedophile down and he shot himself (see Louis Conradt
Louis Conradt
Louis William "Bill" Conradt, Jr. was a district attorney in Texas. He became inextricably linked to Dateline NBC's To Catch a Predator, a TV series which conducted sting operations against suspected sexual predators...
). Hansen continues by hinting that if Cartman refuses to appear, he will be killed, and it will look like a suicide (more specifically, he says that "it would be a real shame if [Cartman] (here Hansen uses finger-quotes
Air quotes
Air quotes, also called finger quotes or Ersatz quotes are virtual quotation marks formed in the air with one's fingers when speaking. This is typically done with hands held shoulder-width apart and at the eye level of the speaker, with the index and middle fingers on each hand flexing at the...
) "shot himself
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
"). Realizing he has no way to get out of going on the show, and that he still cannot control his self-inflicted Tourette syndrome, Cartman prays to God for help.
Meanwhile, Kyle teams with Thomas, who is worried that Cartman's appearance on the show will make others think Tourette's is "fun" and copy him. The pair aims to foil Cartman's plan which, unknown to Kyle, Cartman has already given up on. Nevertheless, in order to provide a distraction, the two go on the Internet to entice numerous pedophiles
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
to come to the show. When the would-be child molesters come into the studio and see Hansen, they all assume it to be a bust on To Catch a Predator
To Catch a Predator
To Catch a Predator is an American reality television series that features hidden camera investigations by the television newsmagazine program Dateline NBC. It is devoted to impersonating underage youth and detaining adults who contact them over the Internet for sexual liaisons...
and shoot themselves, sending panic through the studio and forcing everyone to flee. Hansen runs out of the studio and discovers Thomas, who has a tic and heavily swears at Hansen saying, "Suck it! Asshole licker dick fart!" This causes Hansen to run away after saying "Nobody talks to me like that! I-I'll tell on you!" Craig is then jealous and amazed that Thomas could tell off Hansen, and offers to hang out with him sometime. Kyle then sneaks in and confronts Cartman, expecting him to be furious and humiliated. Cartman, however, is overjoyed, and hugs Kyle and cries into his shoulder, explaining that he wanted a miracle and Kyle must really care about him, and happily runs off singing and dancing to seek a psychiatrist to help him control his language. The episode ends with Kyle and Thomas both exclaiming "Aw Shit!" simultaneously.
Tourette Syndrome Association
Prior to the airing, the Tourette Syndrome AssociationTourette Syndrome Association
The Tourette Syndrome Association , based in Bayside, New York, United States, is a non-profit voluntary organization and the only national health-related organization serving people with Tourette syndrome. It was founded in 1972 by five couples, parents of children with Tourette syndrome...
(TSA) issued a press release saying they had requested that Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
air their public service announcements during or after the show and that they "fully expect[ed] it to be offensive and insensitive to people with TS". The President of the TSA said, "we are actually surprised it took the creators so long to use TS as comedy fodder in this program, since no disability, illness or controversial topic is off limits to them." Following the episode, they issued a second press release, expressing concern that the episode perpetuated the misconception that most people with TS have coprolalia
Coprolalia
Coprolalia is involuntary swearing or the involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks. Coprolalia comes from the Greek κόπρος meaning "feces" and λαλιά from lalein, "to talk"...
, when in fact, 85–90% of people with TS do not. They conceded that "the episode was surprisingly well-researched. The highly exaggerated emphasis on coprolalia notwithstanding, for the attentive viewer, there was a surprising amount of accurate information conveyed," adding that several elements of the episode "served as a clever device" for providing accurate facts to the public.
Reviews
The television weblog TV Squad was extremely positive, calling the episode "the stuff of brilliance". IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode a rating of 7.5/10, asserting "this isn't the greatest episode, and not the greatest way to bring back the series - but it's got some great laughs and manages to push its single joke further than expected." 411mania took the middle ground, giving the show a 6.5/10 rating, calling it "hit and miss", and contesting that "while the first half of the show suffered because of a one-note joke, the second half showed why this series continues to remain one of the best on television." On the negative side, BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
called the episode a "misfire", criticizing it as "disjointed and a little off-putting."
Cultural references
The episode title is a play on the title of Jean-Luc GodardJean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
's 1963 film The Little Soldier.
Cartman's rapturous song, used twice in the episode, is a paraphrase of (I've Got a) Golden Ticket by Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
and Anthony Newley
Anthony Newley
Anthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
, written for the soundtrack of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
.
Rating
For the first time in the show's history, an episode was rated TV-MA LV instead of the usual subrating-less TV-MA.External links
- Le Petit Tourette Full episode at South Park Studios
- Le Petit Tourette Episode guide at South Park Studios
- Trivia at South Park Stuff