Line #35 Recap/SouthParkS8E11QuestForRatings


1	'''Original air date:''' 11/17/2004
2
3	The boys begin to exaggerate stories when their student news show falls behind in the ratings.
4	----
5	!!This episode contains examples of:
6	* AgeInappropriateDress: The Raisins Girls already qualified as this, but they get new outfits in this episode which are even more inappropriate.
7	* AnswerCut: The boys end their final segment saying that South Park Elementary will ban cough medicine and be happy and healthy just like it's sister school Middle Park Elementary. It then shows every student coughing uncontrollably.
8	* BaitAndSwitch:
9	** When the boys tell the pharmacist they want to get high off of cough medicine to come up with ideas, he tells them that's not what they want to get creative. What he was talking about wasn't that DrugsAreBad, but that the brand of cough medicine they had doesn't contain the ingredient that causes highs and shows them all the ones that do.
10	** Then he does it ''again'' when he tells them he needs their parents' permission before allowing them to purchase the medicine. Then he laughs it off and brings them to the register.
11	* BlatantLies: ''Sexy Action School News'' just makes up stories, including that Clyde only has one testicle.
12	* CallBack: When thinking of ideas on how to beat Craig's show, Cartman mentions doing a report on [[Recap/SouthParkS7E8SouthParkIsGay crab people]].
13	-->'''Stan:''' [[SelfDeprecation Dude, I think we can do a little better than crab people.]]
14	* DisproportionateRetribution: Craig's show winds up getting such low ratings that the teacher suspends him from school and writes a recommendation to get his testicles removed.
15	* EurekaMoment: When the boys recover from their cough medicine MushroomSamba after watching Craig's show all night long, Stan is quick to realize that everyone else was watching it while ''they'' were high on cough medicine as well.
16	--> '''Stan:''' I think I understand now. I think I know why Craig's show gets such great ratings... ''[[WhamLine Half the school is high on cough medicine!]]''
17	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Craig's show, "Close-Up Shots of Animals with a Wide-Angle Lens", is exactly that, set to a dinky rendition of "Yakety Sax".
18	* GRatedDrug: Cough medicine, which [[WatchItStoned makes people enjoy Craig's news show]] when they would find it boring otherwise. One scene even has Bebe and Red taking some in the girl's room like it's crack.
19	* HypocriticalHumor: The boys use video footage of themselves buying cough medicine to support their claim of how easy it is for school kids to buy the unethical drug at their local pharmacy.
20	* IfItBleedsItLeads: The boys decide to run fake sensational news, like a methane leak threatening to destroy the school, as one of the tactics to improve ratings.
21	* InsultBackfire: Cartman shoots down Butters' idea of reading the funny comics saying only "gay little dweebs" read them. Butters just happily rolls with it saying he read them all the time.
22	* JerkassHasAPoint: While the boys go to unethical lengths for ratings, it's fairly understandable why they would be so concerned as their teacher takes their show's ratings incredibly seriously, even basing their grade off their ratings and ''having them suspended'' if their ratings are too low.
23	* KickTheDog:
24	** Cartman refused to let Kenny be part of the news show because "poor people don't watch the news".
25	** When Craig's ratings go down, Mr. Meryl [[DisproportionateRetribution suspends him]] [[CripplingCastration and recommends that his testicles be removed]]. Mind you, this is an elementary schooler in an AV class.
26	* LowestCommonDenominator: InUniverse. The boys revamp the news show to appeal to this in an effort to boost ratings. It does work, but they still get beat by Craig's new show. This convinces them that Jimmy was right, and they need to step up their game rather than rely on flashiness.
27	* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Kenny has been helping Craig with his show because Cartman refused to let him be a part of the news show.
28	* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: The pharmacist for selling the boys cough medicine knowing they want to get high off it.
29	* MushroomSamba: Caused by taking cough medicine.
30	* NeverMyFault: Cartman is mad at Kenny for joining Craig's show, refusing to take blame even when Kenny points out that he not only didn't let Kenny join the news show, but he also mocked him for it. This even instigates a lengthy flashback of Cartman gloating at Kenny.
31	-->'''Cartman:''' ''beat'' Oh whatever, Kenny!
32	* NoYou:
33	-->'''Mr. Meryl:''' I'm sorry, kids. You should be proud of what you've done. It's just that it's kind of gay.\
34	'''Cartman:''' ''You're'' gay!
35	* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Jimmy managed track down Vice President Dick Cheney while he was visiting Denver and got him to agree to a video interview for the news show. Unfortunately, the rest of the Boys are too focused on ratings to care.
36	* OnlySaneMan[=/=]TokenGoodTeammate: Jimmy is the only one who actually cares about the news rather than just getting the best ratings (a trait that is carried over into his later appearances, like "[[Recap/SouthParkS19E8SponsoredContent Sponsored Content]]").
37	* PanderingToTheBase: In-universe example with the boys' revamped news show. They mention adding panda bears and hot girls for the sake of appealing to kindergartners and 6th graders, even if they aren't relevant to their stories.
38	* PoliceAreUseless: Averted for once as the pharmacist is actually arrested by Officer Barbrady for selling kids cough medicine.
39	* ProfessionalVoiceDissonance: As part of an effort to improve their school news show ratings, Cartman tells Tolkien that he needs to change his voice when he reports the weather. Specifically, Cartman says he needs to sound white. In the next news broadcast, Tolkien changes his accent when reporting the weather but goes back to speaking normally when the broadcast is over.
40	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: WordOfGod says that the reason the boys have such a hard time coming up with ideas is because, having just finished post-production for ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice,'' the staff was too burnt-out to come up with anything.
41	-->"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."
42	* SeriousBusiness: The boys and Craig make shows that rival for viewer ratings, on the school's closed-circuit television no less. In this case it is being instigated by the AV teacher, Mr. Meryl, who is apparently marking the kids grades according to their numbers, up to and including failing them or requesting their testicles be removed if they don't produce viewers.
43	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: In the end, the boys bail on their newscast after realizing they have no ideas.
44	* TakeThat:
45	** The unethical behavior of the boys is one towards news reporters who use similar tactics to attract viewers and are more worried about ratings than informing their audience about the truth.
46	** In the first celebrity lookout report, Butters believed that he saw Creator/SigourneyWeaver, but it turned out to be a dead horse upon closer examination.
47	* WatchItStoned: The boys end up loving Craig's show while they're tripping on cough medicine, [[EurekaMoment which helps them figure out why it's been pulling such high ratings:]] the kids watching it were also high, because the pharmacist had been selling ''them'' prescription cough syrup, too.

Context Recap / SouthParkS8E11QuestForRatings