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{{Infobox Television episode
{{Infobox television episode
| Title = Quest for Ratings
| series = [[South Park]]
| Series = South Park
| image =
| Image = [[Image:811 image 04.jpg|200px]]
| caption =
| Caption = Butters gives a news report
| season = 8
| Season = 8
| episode = 11
| Episode = 122
| airdate = {{Start date|2004|11|17}}
| production = 811
| Airdate = [[November 17]], [[2004]]
| Production =
| director = [[Trey Parker]]
| Writer = [[Trey Parker]]
| writer = Trey Parker
| season_article = South Park season 8
| Director = [[Trey Parker]]
| episode_list = List of South Park episodes
| Guests =
| Episode list = [[List of South Park episodes|List of ''South Park'' episodes]]
| prev = [[Pre-School (South Park)|Pre-School]]
| next = [[Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset]]
| Season list = {{Infobox South Park season 8 episode list}}
| Prev =
| Next =
}}
}}
'''"Quest for Ratings"''' is episode 122 in the [[Comedy Central]] series ''[[South Park]]''. Its original air date was [[November 17]], [[2004]].
"'''Quest for Ratings'''" is the eleventh episode in the [[South Park season 8|eighth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[South Park]]''. The 122nd episode of the series overall, it originally aired on [[Comedy Central]] in the United States on November 17, 2004.


In the episode, the boys produce their own morning news show on the school's closed-circuit television station and are immediately caught up in an intense competition for ratings.
⚫
==Plot synopsis==


⚫
==Plot==
[[Eric Cartman|Eric "Rick" Cartman]], [[Jimmy Volmer|Jimmy]], [[Butters Stotch|Butters]], [[Kyle Broflovski|Kyle]], [[List of students at South Park Elementary#Token Black|Token]], and [[Stan Marsh|Stan]] are taping "Super School News," a [[news broadcasting|newscast]] airing on South Park Elementary's [[closed-circuit television]] system. Cartman and Jimmy play the leading roles as head [[news presenter|anchors]], Butters is the [[entertainment]]/[[celebrity]] [[reporter]], Stan is a field reporter, Token is the [[meteorology|meteorologist]], and Kyle does [[sport]]s. However after their news program premieres, their teacher (Mr. Meryl) tells them that they did horribly in the ratings, trailing far behind Craig's [[home video]] show, "Animals Close-Up With a [[Wide-angle lens|Wide-Angle Lens]]" (which uses the [[Benny Hill]] [[theme music|theme song]], [[Yakety Sax]]), which they consider pointless and banal. ([[Kenny McCormick|Kenny]] apparently also helped Craig, since Cartman hadn't allowed him to participate in their news show.)
[[Stan Marsh|Stan]], [[Eric Cartman|Cartman]], [[Kyle Broflovski|Kyle]], [[Butters Stotch|Butters]], [[Jimmy Valmer|Jimmy]] and [[Tolkien Black|Token]] are taping "Super School News", a [[news broadcasting|newscast]] airing on South Park Elementary's [[closed-circuit television]] system. Cartman and Jimmy play the leading roles as head [[news presenter|anchors]], Butters is the [[entertainment]] and [[celebrity]] [[reporter]], Stan is a field reporter, Token is the [[meteorologist]], and Kyle does [[sport]]s. However, after their news program airs, their teacher [[Mr. Meryl]] tells them that they did horribly in the ratings, trailing far behind [[Craig Tucker|Craig]]'s [[home video]] show, "Animals Close-Up With a [[Wide-angle lens|Wide-Angle Lens]]", which they consider pointless and banal. (The footage is accompanied by the tune "[[Yakety Sax]]".)


The news team then pledges to make a program that will be a ratings booster and gain the attention of all students. They rename the show "Sexy Action School News" and add flashy elements (in a parody of various [[infotainment]] shows), including random "Panda Madness Minutes" in which the newscasters spontaneously dance with [[giant Panda|pandas]]. However, nothing seems to work; although they beat Craig's original series, they fall behind his follow up "Animals Close-Up With a Wide-Angle Lens Wearing Hats." To get ideas, the boys decide to [[Dextromethorphan#Recreational use|get high on cough syrup]]. They [[hallucination|hallucinate]] and wake up the next day with [[hangover]]s (and ironically enough, watching "Animals Close-Up With a Wide-Angle Lens Wearing Hats"), but their notepads contain nothing useful. Remembering that they had seen Craig's program while high and thought it to be brilliant, they conclude that a majority of the school must be perpetually high on cough syrup, accounting for his ratings. They then decide to produce a special report that gets cough syrup banned from school.
The news team then pledges to make a program that will be a ratings booster and gain the attention of all students. They rename the show "Sexy Action School News" and add flashy elements (in a parody of various [[infotainment]] shows), including random "Panda Madness Minutes" in which the newscasters spontaneously dance with [[giant panda|pandas]]. However, nothing seems to work; although they beat Craig's original series, they fall far behind his new show, "Animals Close-Up With a Wide-Angle Lens Wearing Hats".


To get ideas, the boys decide to [[Non-medical use of dextromethorphan|get high on cough medicine]]. They begin to experience weird hallucinations and start wandering through South Park behaving strangely. They eventually retire to their ideas room, and watch Craig's show with stoned expressions, and find it awesome.
⚫
Soon after, the ratings drop and Craig's show is canceled, as the children are no longer high. To emphasize the importance of good ratings, the AV teacher then suspends Craig from school and recommends the removal of his [[testicle]]s. Satisfied with their results, the "Sexy Action School News" team discovers the curse of a successful show: each subsequent episode has to be just as good. Back in the writer's room, they come up with nothing and eventually decide to just bail.


When they come around, their notepads contain nothing useful. Then Stan realizes that the video they were watching all night while under the influence of cough medicine—and concluded was the "greatest show ever"—was Craig's show. They realize that Craig's show gets such good ratings because most of the school must be high on cough medicine. They then decide to produce a special report that gets cough medicine banned from school.
==Moral/point==
Aside from making a parody of infotainment and various news shows such as [[Inside Edition]] (and the public's refusal to watch straight news), this episode may very well be a parody of ''[[South Park]]'' itself. The boys all sitting around a table, trying to come up with "the best idea for an episode ever," as well as their lack of good ideas, may be [[Matt Stone]] and [[Trey Parker]] commenting on their show's own lack of rational plots. This is best displayed by Cartman's suggestion that they do an episode about [[List of fictional races in South Park#Crab People|Crab People]] (see "[[Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow]]" and "[[South Park Is Gay!]]").


⚫
Soon after, the ratings drop and Craig's show is cancelled, as the children are no longer high and therefore no longer enjoy the show. To emphasize the importance of good ratings, the AV teacher then suspends Craig from school and requests the [[Inguinal orchiectomy|removal of his testicles]]. Satisfied with their results, the "Sexy Action School News" team discovers the curse of a successful show: each subsequent episode has to be just as good. Back in the writer's room, they come up with nothing and eventually decide to just "bail".
⚫
With the recent release of season 8 on DVD, many of the mini commentaries revealed that much of the lack of ideas was due to the fact that ''[[Team America: World Police]]'', Trey Parker and Matt Stone's concurrent film, had just been through a long, grueling post-production and left the staff low on energy.


==Trivia==
==Production==
⚫
With the 2006 DVD release of the eighth season, many of the audio commentaries revealed that much of the lack of ideas was because ''[[Team America: World Police]]'', [[Trey Parker]] and [[Matt Stone]]'s concurrent film, had just been through a long, grueling post-production which left the staff low on energy:<ref name="commentary">{{Cite video | people=Parker, Trey| date=March 2006 |title=South Park: The Complete Eighth Season: "Quest for Ratings" |medium=Audio commentary|publisher=Paramount Home Entertainment}}</ref>
{{Trivia|date=June 2007}}


{{blockquote|So, this episode marks a very special time in ''South Park'' history, because, this was the first time that we were officially... out of ideas.|[[Trey Parker]] on the DVD commentary for this episode}}
* This episode is somewhat notable because of name changes. In this episode, [[List of students at South Park Elementary#Clyde Donovan|Clyde]] (whose last name had been Goodman on merchandise before) uses the last name Donovan, while Token's is given as Black (as opposed to the previously used Williams). Jimmy Valmer's last name (which replaced "Swanson") is also reaffirmed. In a future episode from Season 11; [[Lice Capades]] Clyde's name is "Harris", but was later corrected to "Donovan".
* According to the [[South Park DVDs#Season 8|Season 8]] [[Audio commentary|DVD commentary]], Trey Parker's cat "Jake" and Matt Stone's dog are two of the animals in the first ''Animals Close Up With a Wide-Angle Lens'' video.
* In the 'high' sequence music from a shop in the game Postal 2 can be heard.
* When the AV teacher first appears, he says that the boys' news program got a [[TV rating]] of 3, and goes on to say that only 3 people watched. This would mean that the maximum available audience would be 100 people, as in TV, a rating is a percentage of those who have a TV.


==Home media==
⚫
==References to Pop culture==
"Quest for Ratings", along with the thirteen other episodes from ''South Park''{{'}}s eighth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on August 29, 2006. The set includes brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode.<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Park: The Complete Eighth Season DVD Review |publisher=[[IGN]] |date=August 26, 2006 |last=Schorn |first=Peter |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/08/29/south-park-the-complete-eighth-season |access-date=April 25, 2017}}</ref>
* The episode's title is a reference to the 1911 novel and 1981 film, ''[[Quest for Fire]]''.
* Token's role as the meteorologist is possibly an [[homage]] to [[Today (NBC program)|The Today Show]]'s [[Al Roker]].
* The ''Close Up Animals with a Wide Angle Lens'' is similar to the ''Puppies From Around the World'' show in [[The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer]] and [[Fun with Veal]]. It could also be in reference to [[America's Funniest Home Videos]], in which videos with pets are often chosen as winners even though they depict common animal behavior.
* In the scene where Stan is under the influence of cough medicine, the effects from the intro of [[Doctor Who]] can be seen.


⚫
== References ==
{{Episode navigation|parent=[[List of South Park episodes|''South Park'' episodes]]|prev=[[Pre-School (South Park)|Pre-School]]|next=[[Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset]] }}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
⚫
[[Category:South Park episodes: Season 8]]
* [https://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/8fwe5a/south-park-quest-for-ratings-season-8-ep-11 "Quest for Ratings"] Full episode at South Park Studios
* {{IMDb episode|0705954}}


{{South Park episodes|8}}
[[fr:Course à l'audience]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quest for Ratings}}
[[Category:American news parodies]]
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[[Category:South Park season 8 episodes]]
[[Category:Cats in entertainment]]
[[Category:Dogs in popular culture]]
[[Category:Giant pandas in popular culture]]
[[Category:Television episodes about mammals]]
[[Category:Television episodes about drugs]]
[[Category:Television episodes about journalism]]
[[Category:Television episodes about television]]

Latest revision as of 12:18, 12 December 2024

"Quest for Ratings"
South Park episode
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 11
Directed byTrey Parker
Written byTrey Parker
Production code811
Original air dateNovember 17, 2004 (2004-11-17)
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Pre-School" 		Next →
"Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset"
South Park season 8
List of episodes

"Quest for Ratings" is the eleventh episode in the eighth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 122nd episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 17, 2004.

In the episode, the boys produce their own morning news show on the school's closed-circuit television station and are immediately caught up in an intense competition for ratings.

Plot

[edit]

Stan, Cartman, Kyle, Butters, Jimmy and Token are taping "Super School News", a newscast airing on South Park Elementary's closed-circuit television system. Cartman and Jimmy play the leading roles as head anchors, Butters is the entertainment and celebrity reporter, Stan is a field reporter, Token is the meteorologist, and Kyle does sports. However, after their news program airs, their teacher Mr. Meryl tells them that they did horribly in the ratings, trailing far behind Craig's home video show, "Animals Close-Up With a Wide-Angle Lens", which they consider pointless and banal. (The footage is accompanied by the tune "Yakety Sax".)

The news team then pledges to make a program that will be a ratings booster and gain the attention of all students. They rename the show "Sexy Action School News" and add flashy elements (in a parody of various infotainment shows), including random "Panda Madness Minutes" in which the newscasters spontaneously dance with pandas. However, nothing seems to work; although they beat Craig's original series, they fall far behind his new show, "Animals Close-Up With a Wide-Angle Lens Wearing Hats".

To get ideas, the boys decide to get high on cough medicine. They begin to experience weird hallucinations and start wandering through South Park behaving strangely. They eventually retire to their ideas room, and watch Craig's show with stoned expressions, and find it awesome.

When they come around, their notepads contain nothing useful. Then Stan realizes that the video they were watching all night while under the influence of cough medicine—and concluded was the "greatest show ever"—was Craig's show. They realize that Craig's show gets such good ratings because most of the school must be high on cough medicine. They then decide to produce a special report that gets cough medicine banned from school.

Soon after, the ratings drop and Craig's show is cancelled, as the children are no longer high and therefore no longer enjoy the show. To emphasize the importance of good ratings, the AV teacher then suspends Craig from school and requests the removal of his testicles. Satisfied with their results, the "Sexy Action School News" team discovers the curse of a successful show: each subsequent episode has to be just as good. Back in the writer's room, they come up with nothing and eventually decide to just "bail".

Production

[edit]

With the 2006 DVD release of the eighth season, many of the audio commentaries revealed that much of the lack of ideas was because Team America: World Police, Trey Parker and Matt Stone's concurrent film, had just been through a long, grueling post-production which left the staff low on energy:[1]

So, this episode marks a very special time in South Park history, because, this was the first time that we were officially... out of ideas.

— Trey Parker on the DVD commentary for this episode

Home media

[edit]

"Quest for Ratings", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Park's eighth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on August 29, 2006. The set includes brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Parker, Trey (March 2006). South Park: The Complete Eighth Season: "Quest for Ratings" (Audio commentary). Paramount Home Entertainment.
  2. ^ Schorn, Peter (August 26, 2006). "South Park: The Complete Eighth Season DVD Review". IGN. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
[edit]
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