Starvin' Marvin
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| "Starvin' Marvin" |
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Starvin' Marvin, the eighth episode of Comedy Central's animated series South Park, first aired on November 19, 1997.
Plot
In this Thanksgiving episode, the boys send in money to Sally Struthers' organization to help Ethiopians, hoping to get a watch as compensation. There is a mix-up, and instead a little Ethiopian boy (Starvin' Marvin) is sent to them. They take him to an all-you-can-eat buffet, where Marvin is shocked by how much food the townsfolk are consuming compared to the Ethiopians and how wasteful the townsfolk are. Eventually, the government comes to get Marvin (who is at Cartman's house) to send him home, but Marvin claims that Cartman is the Ethiopian boy, and he gets sent to Ethiopia instead. Meanwhile, Dr. Mephisto, who had been genetically engineering turkeys to feed to the poor, warns the mayor and the townspeople that they have gone crazy and are now attacking humans.
While in Ethiopia, a starving Cartman finds the Red Cross who have run out of food. Cartman is so miserable that he prays to God to send him home, and says he is sorry he made fun of poor people. He then collapses and wakes back up next to a shack full of his favorite food. Apparently, Sally Struthers had been using her charity as a front to get food for herself, and when Cartman realizes this, he tells the Ethiopians what she is doing. A riot quickly forms outside and Cartman and the Ethiopians take the food that's rightfully theirs.
The Turkeys attack, during the canned food drive. In a parody of Braveheart, the citizens of South Park and the turkeys start fighting. The people of South Park end up winning (mostly due to the fact there were hunters with guns). Starvin' Marvin is sent back to Ethiopia and Cartman comes back to South Park. With him, Starvin' Marvin brings the other Ethiopians the dead turkeys to feast on.
Kenny's Death
Attacked by mutant turkeys; loses an eye in the attack.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (July 2007) |
- An audio clip from this episode was used in the movie "Duplex".
- In the VH1 special on South Park, it is mentioned that comedian Jerry Seinfeld had asked to guest on the show. He had been slated for this episode to provide the sound for one of the random turkeys, much the same as the unusual way the show had used George Clooney in Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride. Unlike George, Jerry's agent did not get the joke and cancelled his appearance.
- Kyle is seen cutting ham although he is Jewish, but he could have been cutting it for somebody else.
- When the school's principal holds up her sports watch, the time listed is 4:20, a reference to cannabis
Cultural References
- The boys watch Sally Struthers in one of the commercials she has done work with the Christian Children's Fund to help developing nations in Africa. The boys also make reference to her significant weight. This is emphasized even more in "Starvin' Marvin in Space".
- Kyle tells Stan that Sally Struthers used to be on Full House. He may be referring to one of the daughters, DJ or Stephanie, since Sally was Gloria Bunker-Stivic on All in the Family.
- Dr. Mephisto has a microscope slide of "an extreme close-up of Vanessa Redgrave's private parts," as Chef describes it.
- The part of the episode in widescreen format is all a homage to Braveheart, with Chef and the turkey leader painted like William Wallace.
- Wendy and Cartman's argument about giving charity to poor people (which Cartman ends by declaring, "Well then, perhaps they (the poor) should die, and decrease the surplus population!") is drawn almost word-for-word from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, with Cartman (of course) speaking Scrooge's lines. This is directly referenced right after when Mr. Garrison says "Alright children, that's enough Dickens for today." Trey Parker and Matt Stone have also parodied Dickens through the character of Pip and the episode of the same name.
- After Stan states the moral of the show, about how the images on television are real people too, Kyle adds, "And that means MacGyver is real too."
External links
- Starvin' Marvin on the South Park Studios Episode Guide