13th episode of the 11th season of South Park
"
Guitar Queer-O
" is the thirteenth episode of the
eleventh season
and the 166th overall episode of American animated television series
South Park
, which first aired on
Comedy Central
on November 7, 2007. The episode was rated
TV-MA L
in the United States. The episode parodies the
Guitar Hero
video games, and aired ten days after the release of
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
.
[1]
In the episode, Stan and Kyle are hooked on Guitar Hero, but Stan's superior skills on the video game damages his friendship with Kyle.
Plot
[
edit
]
Stan
and
Kyle
are obsessed with the video game
Guitar Hero
, and attempt to break the game's scoring record in front of their friends. As soon as they break the 100,000 points record on "
Carry on Wayward Son
", they are contacted by Charles Kincade, a talent agent, who wants to offer them recording contracts. They become
Guitar Hero
rock star celebrities overnight, enjoying the hedonistic "sex and drugs" lifestyle. The record company organizes a future event where Stan and Kyle will attempt to break a 1 million point record in front of a live audience. Stan is taken aside by his manager and told that Kyle is holding him back, and encourages Stan to dump Kyle in favor of another kid, Thad Jarvis, who can play many
Guitar Hero
songs "acoustically", having memorized what buttons to press instead of relying on the on-screen cues.
Kyle discovers Stan practicing with Thad and angrily breaks up their "band". Kyle goes on to perform at a local bowling alley by its owner for free food and drink, improving as he plays. Stan becomes stressed out over the upcoming event, and tries to seek refuge using a different video game
Heroin Hero
where the only objective is literally
chasing a dragon
as the in-game player injects himself with heroin. The game somehow shortens his temper and concentration into getting into a fight with Thad, who subsequently leaves Stan. Stan, still intoxicated with
Heroin Hero
, is forced to play the event solo, but ends up getting a miserable score and throwing up on stage; after the audience leaves and the game audience "boos" Stan, Kincade angrily admonishes him by saying "You blew it! You had it all and you blew it!" and subsequently leaves him.
Stan comes back to the video game store and decides to pick another game to play, but when offered by the game store owner
Rehab Hero
(which remedies the heroin-like addiction to a former player of
Heroin Hero
), Stan instead selects a simple driving game. While driving around in-game, Stan hears "Carry on Wayward Son" on the radio and remembers the good time he had with Kyle. Stan goes to apologize to Kyle and after a brief spat, the two become friends again, dumping the recording contract. They go back home and go on to break the 1 million point record in front of their friends. To their shock, the game rewards them by telling them, "Congratulations! You Are
Fags
!". The two become upset that they have worked so hard only to be insulted, and angrily walk out;
Cartman
and
Butters
start to play the game, with Butters eagerly requesting that he gets to be the one to betray Cartman "after the sex and drugs party".
Cultural references
[
edit
]
The celebrities that the boys meet at the party are real-life Colorado celebrities:
KDVR
news anchor Ron Zapollo (though he is recognized as being from "
channel 4
", where he had not worked since the late 1980s),
[2]
American Furniture Warehouse
President Jake Jabs,
[3]
and diamond mogul
Tom Shane
.
[4]
Jay Cutler
, the then-
quarterback
for the
Denver Broncos
, was insulted by Stan in the episode ("You kind of suck, but my dad says you might be good some day"). Cutler himself responded lightheartedly, saying "I thought it was funny. They can make fun of me if they want to."
[5]
Stan's new
Guitar Hero
partner, Thad, saying "I quit! I quit, I quit, I quit!" is a reference to the film
That Thing You Do!
.
[6]
Stan's manager Charles Kincaid is a reference to Reuben Kincaid of
The Partridge Family
and even looks like him, while the record company executive is a reference to The Colonel James from the film
Boogie Nights
.
[
citation needed
]
Stan asks his new partner to play
Jordan
and
John the Fisherman
, written by guitarist
Buckethead
and theme song artist
Primus
, respectively.
Reception
[
edit
]
The episode drew in 4 million total viewers (P2+) and was the most watched telecast of the year on
Comedy Central
, as well as the most watched program in all of television for Wednesday night among men 18?34 and the most watched program on cable among persons 18?49.
[7]
The episode was the highest rating since "
Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut
",
[8]
beating the previous record-holder "
Imaginationland Episode III
", the episode that aired one week before "Guitar Queer-O".
[9]
Despite good ratings, the episode received some mediocre reviews.
IGN
called it a "lackluster episode" saying that it was "based on a concept that could have proved fun ? but ultimately doesn't seem to be enough for an entire episode."
[10]
411Mania also criticized the episode, saying that "the first twenty-one and a half minutes weren't funny at all" claiming that the last line of the episode was the best part.
[11]
TV Squad
, on the other hand, gave the episode a somewhat positive review.
[12]
A portion of the episode was used on
NPR
's
Day to Day
to discuss the idea that the popularity and interest in video games like
Guitar Hero III
or
Rock Band
could supplant traditional instruments for kids.
[13]
The
New York Times
identified
Guitar Hero
'
s reference in the episode as the most effective TV product placement for that week.
[14]
[15]
Home media
[
edit
]
"Guitar Queer-O", along with the thirteen other episodes from
South Park
'
s eleventh season, were released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on August 12, 2008. The set includes brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode.
[16]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Comedy Central press "Guitar Queer-o" release"
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-11-09
. Retrieved
2007-11-07
.
- ^
Jeremy Hubbard (April 3, 2013).
"From sports to 'South Park': Zappolo's move to news caught eye of Hollywood"
.
KDVR
.
- ^
Heath Combs (November 8, 2007).
"Jake Jabs shows up on South Park"
. Furniture Today.
- ^
Claire McNear (July 15, 2016).
"Now You Have a Friend in the Diamond Business"
. The Ringer.
- ^
Teresa M. Walker (November 14, 2007).
"Cutler has 'little' chip on his shoulder from draft"
.
ESPN
.
- ^
"Guitar Queer-O Connections"
.
IMDb
. January 14, 2017.
- ^
Comedy Central "The List" press release
- ^
South Park: Season 2 DVD Boxset "Goin' Down to South Park" Documentary
- ^
Comedy Central Imaginationland ratings press release
- ^
IGN "Guitar Queer-o" review
- ^
"411Mania "Guitar Queer-o" review"
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-11-10
. Retrieved
2007-11-14
.
- ^
McDuffee, Keith (November 7, 2007).
"South Park: Guitar Queer-o"
.
HuffPost TV
.
Archived
from the original on September 13, 2012
. Retrieved
March 13,
2022
.
- ^
Alex Cohen and Carrie Brownstein,
Virtual or Reality Rock Band?
,
Day to Day
, November 28, 2007.
- ^
Freierman, Shelly.
"Popular Demand"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
2022-03-13
.
- ^
"Product Placements Of The Week"
.
MediaPost
. Retrieved
2021-04-24
.
- ^
"South Park: The Complete Eleventh Season DVD Review"
. IGN. August 18, 2008
. Retrieved
February 5,
2017
.
External links
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]
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