South Park debuted in 1997 and was an immediate hit for Comedy Central. That implies it was an overnight success, but it took five years for Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s student project in film school to evolve into the premise that would become a successful show. Parker and Matt Stone created a rough project in 1992 while still film students. Characters who could become famous years later appeared in this animated short, but the two would put away the idea for three more years. In 1995, while the two were working in Los Angeles, a friend asked the two to create a new short film as a Christmas card. This project eventually got passed around the Internet and received enough buzz that Fox and Comedy Central became interested in it. The creator’s animation, voice work, and humor was crude even by South Park standards. With a lot of tweaking and some good advice from a Fox executive, their ideas finally won enough approval from television executives to reach the air. What began as little more than shock humor and sight gags has become a reflection of American pop culture. In every episode of South Park, at least one celebrity either has made an appearance or been mentioned. The topical nature of the show might make it incomprehensible to future generations, but it makes the show fresh and insightful at the time of its first broadcast. What might seem like a mindless romp at first has become a surprising, award-winning comedy classic. In fact, the history of the show has a lot of surprises. Some of the creators’ original intentions might have sabotaged the program, while people’s assumptions about Parker and Stone’s creative process are wrong. Below is a list of 28 things you might not know about South Park. 1. South Park was one of the first viral videos on the Internet. Trey Parker and Matt Stone produced two different short films named “The Spirit of Christmas” based on the characters: one in 1992 (“Jesus vs. Frosty”) and one in 1995 (“Jesus vs. Santa”). The second one of these became an online viral video in 1995. This was a time before YouTube and other such sites, so the video was spread by fans through email. The success of “The Spirit of Christmas”, which featured crude versions of well-known characters, is what led to the show getting a shot on Comedy Central. 2. The show was Comedy Central’s first real hit, and it is given credit for launching the network on the path to mainstream success. When South Park began to air in 1997, it quickly became a favorite with a younger demographic. College students would have watching parties. 3. South Park‘s original name was “The Mr. Hankey Show”. The creators intended on making the main character Mr. Hankey, the Christmas poo. Fox showed an interest in developing the show, but since Mr. Hankey was a talking piece of feces, they backed off the project. While still in discussions, Foxlab […]
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