"Asspen" is the second episode of the sixth season and the 81st overall episode of the American animated television series ''
South Park''. Going by production order, it is the 3rd episode of Season 6 instead of the 2nd episode. It first aired on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy program ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
on March 13, 2002. In the episode, the boys go on vacation at
Aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, where Stan is repeatedly tormented by an older skier named Tad. Meanwhile, the boys' parents become stuck at a meeting as two salesmen attempt to coax them into purchasing
timeshare
A timeshare (sometimes called vacation ownership) is a property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each owne ...
property.
The episode was written and directed by series co-creator
Trey Parker
Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. P ...
. The episode serves as a parody of
underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, th ...
sports films from the 1980s, while the subplot was conceived while Parker and co-creator
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating '' South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was inte ...
were repeatedly annoyed by timeshare salesmen while in
Whistler,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
. "Asspen" has received very positive reviews, with critics listing it as among the best episodes of the series. Along with the rest of the sixth season, it was released on home video on October 11, 2005.
Plot
On vacation in
Aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, the four boys (
Stan,
Kyle,
Cartman, and
Butters) are taking ski lessons from an upbeat instructor named Thumper, when an older and more experienced skier named Tad begins harassing Stan for no reason, including calling him "Stan Darsh." Tad demands that Stan race him for "stealing" his girlfriend Heather, whom Stan has never even met before. Stan agrees, fully aware that, since he is a complete amateur, Tad will most certainly beat him. He reluctantly races Tad and loses, as he expected. Afterwards, he is approached by a geeky teenage girl who invites him to a dance at the Aspen Youth Center. There, the boys discover that Tad's father plans to bulldoze the Aspen Youth Center. Tad then appears on stage to sing an off-key song where he repeats "Stan Darsh" over and over until Stan snaps and asks what he wants. Tad demands another race, this time on a much larger hill: the K-13 (a reference to ''
Better Off Dead''). It is agreed that if Stan wins, Tad's father will not bulldoze the youth center. It is at this point an epic montage of training occurs with the geeky girl and Thumper. The song goes so far as to mock the concept of a montage–even the lyrics say: "We're gonna need a montage". As the race begins, Tad races quickly down the hill, stopping to place traps in order to slow Stan down. Still inexperienced, Stan moves so slowly that the traps do not even affect him, while the geeky girl Stan met earlier distracts Tad by lifting up her shirt and supposedly exposing her breasts. Tad freezes, while Stan passes him and wins the race. After the race, however, it is revealed that Tad's reaction of shock was actually due to the fact that, instead of breasts, the girl has two mutants growing out of her chest (a reference to the film ''
Total Recall'', complete with one of the mutants saying "Quaid, start the reactor!").
In the subplot, the boys' parents are coaxed into attending a 30-minute presentation by two timeshare salesmen. The parents repeatedly refuse and attempt to leave the conference room; however, they are told that the meeting is actually supposed to take place during lunch. They ask to leave during the lunch but are told to turn over their place cards, which reveal a prize of an exclusive
ski lift
A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/ Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald.
Types
* Aeria ...
. They board the ski lift, thinking it will provide them quick access to the slopes, but find it takes them straight back to the conference room. The parents attempt to leave the meeting, only to be held at gunpoint by the police and learning that the timeshare organization is in control of the police and other powerful authorities, including the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
. Under duress, the parents reluctantly purchase a timeshare property. They return to the boys, who tell them the ski resort sucks and who are despondent that they all have to return to Aspen in the future due to the parents' purchase of the timeshare property.
Production

"Asspen" was written by series co-creator Trey Parker, who also directed the episode. The episode parodies several movies of the 1980s and early 1990s, including ''
Hot Dog... The Movie'', ''
Ski School
A ski school is an establishment that teaches skiing, typically in a ski resort. The modern version of the ski school was invented by the Austrian ski pioneer Hannes Schneider in the early 1920s when he formalized instruction methods and establis ...
'', ''
Ski Patrol
Ski patrols are organizations that provide medical, rescue, and hazard prevention services to the injured in ski area boundaries, or sometimes beyond into backcountry settings. Many have technical-medical certifications, such as Outdoor Emergen ...
'', ''
Aspen Extreme
''Aspen Extreme'' is a 1993 American drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Patrick Hasburgh. The plot is about two ski buddies, T.J. Burke (Paul Gross) and Dexter Rutecki (Peter Berg), who move from Brighton, Michigan to ...
'', ''
Total Recall'', ''
Pet Sematary
''Pet Sematary'' is a 1983 horror novel by American writer Stephen King. The novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1984, and adapted into two films: one in 1989 and another in 2019. In November 2013, PS Publishing ...
'' and ''
Better off Dead''. Parker called the episode "really easy to write," as all he had to do was write a version of the
underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, th ...
sports films the episode was parodying.
The episode contains a subplot involving the boys' parents attempting to avoid purchasing a
timeshare
A timeshare (sometimes called vacation ownership) is a property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each owne ...
from two men. While at a story retreat in
Whistler,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
, Parker and Stone were repeatedly "harassed" by timeshare salesmen the entire time. This served as the inspiration for the story.
[
As Stan trains to become a better skier, a song called "Montage", similar to the ]Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the " Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had ...
and Paul Engemann ''Scarface'' montage
Montage may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films
* Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing
* ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film
Music
* Montage (music), or sound collage
* ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 201 ...
song "Push It to the Limit," is performed by Trey Parker
Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. P ...
and Matt Stone
Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating '' South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was inte ...
's band DVDA. The song was later reworked and used by Parker and Stone in '' Team America: World Police'' (2004). The episode features covers of the songs "The Safety Dance
"The Safety Dance" is a song by Canadian new wave/synth-pop band Men Without Hats, released in Canada in 1982 as the second single from ''Rhythm of Youth''. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been kicked out of a cl ...
" by Canadian new wave synthpop band Men Without Hats
Men Without Hats are a Canadian new wave and synth-pop band, originally from Montreal, Quebec. Their music is characterized by the baritone voice of their lead singer Ivan Doroschuk, as well as their elaborate use of synthesizers and electroni ...
(heard playing in the Aspen Youth Center) and "Take On Me
"Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was p ...
" by Norwegian synthpop band A-ha
A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...
(performed by Mr. Slave
This page is a list of staff at South Park Elementary from the characters in the American animated television series '' South Park''.
Mr. Adler
Mr. Richard Adler (voiced by Matt Stone) is the puffy cheeked, shop-class teacher at South Park Elemen ...
during the end credits; as well as an instrumental interlude during the episode). The rights to use the latter song were cleared the morning the episode was set to air.[
]
Reception and release
Since its original airing "Asspen" has received acclaim from critics. Brandon Stroud, writing for ''Uproxx
''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audienc ...
'', praised the episode, saying that "I could probably write a book that tries to explain why this is the quintessential South Park episode." Kevin Fitzpatrick, writing for UGO Network, stated that the 1980s sports movies were "perfectly skewered" and that "it'd take a full montage to explain all the things we love about this episode."
"Asspen," along with the sixteen other episodes from ''South Park: the Complete Sixth Season'', were released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on October 11, 2005. The sets include brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode. IGN gave the season a rating of 9/10.
References
External links
"Asspen"
Full episode at South Park Studios
*
{{South Park episodes, 6
Aspen, Colorado
Skiing
South Park (season 6) episodes
Television episodes about vacationing
Timeshare