Freak Strike
Freak Strike
Season | s06 |
Episode | e01 |
Written By | Trey Parker |
Production Code | 0601 |
Original Air Date | 2002-03-20 |
Episode Chronology
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Story
Description
After seeing an episode of The Maury Povich Show that exploited disfigured freaks for prizes, the boys scheme to get on the show and win a prize. They choose Butters to be the "freak" and create the disease "Chinballitis" for him (a disease in which you have balls on your chin). With the help of the Star Trek Geeks down the street, they manage to glue fake balls to his chin and get him on the show. When Maury awards Butters a free trip to the world's largest miniature golf course, Cartman gets pissed. He decides to get a piece of the action by appearing (with his mom) on an episode about "out-of-control kids." During the taping, the Freak Union, made up of people who make a living by exploiting their disabilities on TV, pickets outside the studio for better pay. They recruit Butters (whom they only know by his fake name, Napoleon Bonaparte) to join them. He does -- but only because he's terrified that the freaks will realize he's faking and kill him. The picketing interrupts the Maury Povich broadcast, which causes the audience watching Cartman to get up and leave. Povich, defeated, agrees to negotiate with the freaks. Furious that he won't get a prize for being an out-of-control kid, Cartman finds Butters and rips off his fake testicles in front of his newfound "friends." Still thinking the testicles were real, the freaks attack Cartman and chase him down the street.
What I Learned Today
"A lot of decent hard-working freaks in America are losing their talk show jobs to freaks of a different nature. Sure, everyone in this great country of ours is a freak. But true physically deformed freaks must be recognized. For it's these real freaks that make you all feel better about yourselves for not being one. So next time you're watching television, make sure it's a show with "freak" freaks, and not just with people that are freaks because they're stupid trailer trash from the South. That's what we mean when we say, 'Look for the True Freak label.'"
Memorable Quotes
- "God, I wish Kenny was still alive. He'd put balls on his chin. He was such an awesome friend." (Cartman)
- "When we look at you, we don't even see the testicles on your chin. We see the testicles in your heart." (Man with Terrible Skin Condition)
- "What-ever! I do what I want!" (Cartman)
- "Can you tell the audience how miserable your life is?" (Maury)
- "But fellas, if I go on Maury Povich with balls on my chin, my parents are gonna be really mad!" (Butters)
- "Oh Jesus, see me through this." (Butters)
- "When I'm walking, they'll say 'Hey, there goes Chinballs!'" (Butters)
- "I do crack and potpourri and gweezies." (Cartman)
- "Now, now, now - I'm not telling you people that your union doesn't matter, I'm just telling you that you're not really people." (Cop)
Characters
Character Debuts
We meet a whole bunch of freaks: Man With Foot on Head, Girl With Rapid Aging Disease, Disfigured Country Singer, and Man With No Face.
Body Count
Lobster boy, a "fake" freak who turned out to be a real lobster. When the other "performers" on the talk show circuit found out, they killed him by dumping him in a vat of boiling water.
Locations
Original Songs
Butters and his union of freaks all get together to perform "Look for the True Freak Label."
Behind The Scenes
Where Did The Idea Come From
Matt and Trey invented the concept during a period when The Maury Povich Show ran an endless assortment of "inspirational" stories about hideously disfigured people. Of course it was really just an excuse to stare at them.
Pop Culture References
Shout Outs
A plea by the hideously deformed talk show guests for viewers to "look for the True Freak label" is a parody of the 1970s "look for the union label" TV commercials. Matt and Trey have seen the ad repeatedly because it's "immortalized" on their bootleg tape of the Star Wars Christmas Special. As payment for putting fake balls on Butters chin, Kyle gives the Star Trek Geeks the original AVID cut of Star Wars: Episode 1. "AVID" is video editing software often used to cut feature films. Kyle goes on to say, "Why the hell would they want that anyway? Episode One sucked balls." Also, one of the "out of control" things Cartman says he did was to "digitally put Jabba the Hutt back into the original Star Wars movie." This is not the first time Hutt has been mentioned in an episode.
In addition to The Maury Povich Show, the freaks mention a number of other daytime talk shows as part of their "circuit": Jenny Jones, Oprah, and Sally Jesse.
Pwn'd
Maury Povich, who's portrayed as a parasite living off the pain and suffering of others. Also, Liza Minnelli. She's portrayed as a member of the freak union, right alongside Woman with Crablike Body, Incredibly Obese Black Person, and Man with Brains Outside of Head.
Bonus Factoids
Pointless Observations
The geeks who fit Butters with chin-balls are the same guys who turned Timmy's wheelchair into a time machine in "Fourth Grade." Also, the ass-faced couple from "How to Eat with Your Butt" and Nurse Gollum from "Conjoined Fetus Lady" make brief cameos.
This is the first real episode where Butters takes over as the replacement friend for Kenny, who was killed off for good in "Kenny Dies." The boys even call Butters "Kenny" and make him wear Kenny's orange jacket.
Season 6
- e1 Freak Strike
- e2 Jared Has Aides
- e3 Asspen
- e4 The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer
- e5 Fun with Veal
- e6 Professor Chaos (episode)
- e7 The Simpsons Already Did It
- e8 Red Hot Catholic Love
- e9 Free Hat
- e10 Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society
- e11 Child Abduction is Not Funny
- e12 A Ladder to Heaven
- e13 The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers
- e14 The Death Camp of Tolerance
- e15 The Biggest Douche in the Universe
- e16 My Future Self 'n' Me
- e17 Red Sleigh Down