Cartmanland

"Cartmanland"
South Park episode
Cartmanland is open for business.
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 6
Written by	Trey Parker
Directed by	Trey Parker
Production no.	506
Original airdate	July 25, 2001
Season 5 episodes
South Park season 5 June 20, 2001 – December 12, 2001 Scott Tenorman Must Die It Hits the Fan Cripple Fight Super Best Friends Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow Cartmanland Proper Condom Use Towelie Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants How to Eat with Your Butt The Entity Here Comes the Neighborhood Kenny Dies Butters' Very Own Episode
← Season 4	Season 6 →
List of South Park episodes

"Cartmanland" is episode 506 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It was originally broadcast on July 25, 2001.

Plot

Eric Cartman's grandmother dies, but he inherits her life savings of one million dollars. Delighted, Eric decides to buy an amusement park, a dream of always wanting a park all to himself without having to wait in lines. Around the same time, Kyle comes down with a hemorrhoid, and his suffering combined with Eric's fortune causes him to stop believing in God. A TV ad about Eric's theme park comes on TV advertising that no one will be allowed in and humiliates Kyle and Stan. Angered by the ad, Kyle and Stan attempt to sneak into the theme park. Unfortunately, Kyle pops his hemorrhoid on top of the chain-link fence which infects the sore and almost kills him. He is sent back to the hospital. Frustrated from Eric's inheritance, he renounces his faith completely.

Eric decides to hire a security guard to keep trespassers out, especially Stan and Kyle. Eric believes the guard will accept a few free rides a day as payment, but the guard insists on a cash salary. Eric is unable to pay after having spent all his inheritence to buy the park, so the guard gives him advice on getting Eric to let a couple people in a day for a fee which should pay for the expenses. Eric also believes from the guard's advice that he shouldn't be interfered by a few customers in the large park, so he sets off the rest of the day to enjoy the rides. Much to his dismay, the customers form a line to one of the rides that he wants to ride. More expenses begin to pile up for maintenance, refreshments, utilities, and such to keep the park intact. To cover the costs, Eric ends up having to admit hundreds to thousands of people a day. The park ends up becoming incredibly successful, due in large part to Eric's original refusal to allow anyone to enter the park.

At the hospital, Kyle's parents bring in the Hebrew Bible and read the trials of Job to Kyle as an attempt to theologically reassure him that the recent incidents are a will of God. Despite their attempts, Kyle is further disheartened from it all and loses the will to live. A TV business program comments on Eric's success in the theme park, so he is considered a financial genius for his refusal to allow people in. It is believed to be a newly found marketing strategy, dubbed the "you-can't-come" technique. This causes Kyle to flatline and pass out.

Meanwhile, Eric is frustrated from his park being full as he tries to enjoy his rides throughout the day (Kenny also dies on the roller-coaster after being stabbed in the face by a broken pipe dangerously jutting out against the riders). The previous owner of the park visits to see the success and congratulate Eric for it. However, Eric promptly demands his million dollars back from the previous owner, and the park is sold back immediately. Even though he has all of his money back, agents from the IRS intervenes and takes all the money away as additional expenses on Eric's behalf. Most of the money goes to the IRS as tax fraud (as Eric failed to keep records of his income and payouts during his ownership of the theme park) and the rest goes to compensate Kenny's parents for a lawsuit on Kenny's death in the park. He still owes an additional $13,000 to the IRS, and as a result he will be forced to go to court over the outstanding debt. He tries to buy the park back to pay for these expenses, but the original owner refuses.

Back in the hospital, Kyle's complications from the hemorrhoid is found to be making things worse, and is thought that he isn't going to make it. Stan barges into the room and needs Kyle to be wheeled outside to the theme park. When they arrive outside the theme park, they find that Eric is miserable and frustrated and is throwing rocks at the park's walls. He is then sprayed with pepper spray by the security guard that used to work under him. Seeing Eric's downfall, Kyle's hemorrhoid shrinks and disappears away, making him completely recovered. He looks up happily, and his belief in a benevolent God is restored.

Production

In the DVD commentary to this episode^[1] Parker and Stone highlight it as another example (after "Scott Tenorman Must Die") of the show's change in style towards simpler ideas which consisted only of an A-Plot, with no subplot, and "not try[ing] to do too many things at once". Parker mentions that they almost didn't make the episode as they didn't believe that there was enough going on in the episode, that it was too "basic and easy". Parker also said they were concerned that the story of Cartman inheriting a million dollars and buying a theme park was clichéd. However, as it was the middle of the run and they had no other stories ready for production, they decided to run with the idea. Parker said he realised while they were making the episode that "as long as you have the basic easy cliché thing as the overall thing, then you can get into the scenes and have a lot of fun with scenes and get original in there." The episode eventually became a favorite of the creators - in the commentary to "Super Best Friends", Parker refers to it as a "great episode".

References

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