While catching up on my TV watching this weekend, I finally watched “Ass Burgers,” the mid-season premiere of South Park. After Matt Stone and Trey Parker ripped out my heart with Stevie Nicks' “Landslide,” I couldn't wait to see what was next for my favorite gang of foul-mouthed kids. Would Stan's parents stay divorced? Are Kyle and Cartman really best friends now? Is South Park really coming to an end, as many fans have speculated?
Imagine my surprise then when I walked away from “Ass Burgers” with a much bigger question: Did South Park take the episode's title joke from another comedian's YouTube video?
Three years ago, there was a great little YouTube show called Retarded Policeman. It followed the adventures of a policeman with Down Syndrome who manages to pull over tons of drivers without even having a police car. Sometimes he gives out tickets, but more often than not, he just wants someone to talk to.
In the episode “Assburgers Syndrome,” the Retarded Policeman stops a driver because he's feeling depressed. He's just been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. As he chats with the driver, the Retarded Policeman reaches down and pulls a burger out of his butt. Check out the video here:
In the similarly named South Park episode, Cartman tries to convince the school nurse that mandatory vaccinations gave him Asperger's Syndrome. Before going to the nurse, he spends all morning grilling up hamburgers and then stuffs them down the back of his pants. Check out the scene here:
Now, I'm not saying that Stone and Parker stole the joke. I want to make that clear. I am huge fans of their work. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut and Team America: World Police were hilarious, and I have seen their brilliant musical The Book of Mormon twice on Broadway. There is no reason for them to intentionally steal someone else's joke.
Still, the similarities between the jokes and the set-up are undeniable. Maybe Stone or Parker saw the video several years ago, and the joke stayed in the back of their minds. Maybe they just thought it was funny that Asperger's sounds like “ass burgers.” I seriously doubt that Stone and Parker will comment on whether they used a joke from a YouTube video, but maybe more people will get a chance to check out an online show that they might not have otherwise seen.
You can watch the entire series Retarded Policeman on YouTube here and check out more of Josh and Scott Perry's work here.
