Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery
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"Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery" is the 10th-aired and the 12th-produced episode of the third season of the animated television series ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
''. It originally aired on October 27, 1999. The episode is themed around
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
and includes a parody of the animated series ''
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
'' (with the band
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
filling the role of Mystery, Inc.).


Plot

Local radio station KOZY 102.1 is sponsoring a "
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
Haunt" featuring an appearance by real-life
nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...
band
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
. Priest Maxi is unhappy about both and conducts a one-man protest campaign, calling Halloween an abomination of God and Korn
Satanists Satanism refers to a group of Religion, religious, Ideology, ideological, or Philosophy, philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic reli ...
that play violent music.
Stan Marsh Stanley "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the adult animation, adult animated television series ''South Park''. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the series' four central characters, along ...
,
Kyle Broflovski Kyle Broflovski () is a fictional character in the adult animation, adult animated sitcom ''South Park''. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the series' four central characters, along with his frie ...
, and Kenny McCormick are excited about Halloween, but
Eric Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to as just Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom ''South Park'', created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, ...
is already thinking about Christmas because he expects to be showered with presents. They visit various mediocre attractions and get frightened by a gang of fifth-graders who play a prank on them involving pirate ghosts. Stan decides to retaliate by digging up Kyle's recently buried grandmother, Cleo Broflovski, and scaring the fifth-graders with it. Kyle, while uneasy about the scheme, reluctantly agrees to go along. Meanwhile, Korn, driving in a van which resembles the Mystery Machine, crash it after spotting pirate ghosts on the road. After digging up Cleo's corpse, the boys leave it barely concealed at the harbor, where it is promptly eaten by a stray dog. During the night, they meet Korn (and a ''Scooby-Doo''-like character, Nibblet) after their encounter with the pirate ghosts. The following morning, the graveyard's watchmen inform Mrs. Broflovski about the missing corpse, and describe to her in graphic detail what the culprit, who they assume to be a
necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...
c, might be doing to the corpse. Cartman intercepts a life-sized blow-up
Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received numerous accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award ...
sex doll A sex doll (also, joy toy, love doll, fuck doll or blowup doll) is an anthropomorphic sex toy in the size and shape of a sexual partner. The sex doll may consist of an entire body, or just a head, pelvis, or other body part (vagina, anus, mo ...
ordered by his mother, which he mistakenly assumes to be a Christmas present for him, and takes it around town to show off. The boys return to the docks in their costumes hoping to win the contest for best costume, with Kenny wearing an elaborate costume of the ED-209 robot from ''
RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...
''. To Kenny's disappointment, everyone (including Korn) is able to clearly recognize him. At the town square, the grave watchers are explaining the concept of necrophilia very explicitly until the Pirate Ghosts show up and terrorize the town. A few citizens are blown up and one ghost decapitates two others. Priest Maxi shows up and blames Korn for causing all this trouble. The town gets angry and set up a lynch mob to get rid of the "devil worshipers". Korn and the boys go investigate the "Mystery of the Pirate Ghosts and the missing body". After a few mishaps typical of ''
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
'' episodes, it is revealed that Priest Maxi was behind the Pirate Ghosts, which he simply conjured up with rather impossible light tricks and sounds (the explanation to some of the citizen's deaths earlier caused by the Pirate Ghosts is left unsolved and unknown). The mystery of Cleo Broflovski's missing corpse is solved when the dog regurgitates the body. The Halloween Haunt goes as planned, with Korn debuting "
Falling Away from Me "Falling Away from Me" is a song by American nu metal band Korn. It was released as the first single from their fourth album '' Issues'', debuting in an episode of Comedy Central's animated series ''South Park'', entitled " Korn's Groovy Pirate G ...
" which shocks the crowd, as their cheery personality in the episode is a strong contrast to the song. The boys get their revenge against the fifth-graders while Korn is playing, scaring them with the corpse and Cartman's Antonio Banderas doll gets popped by Nibblet. Kenny's spectacular ED-209 costume does not win him first prize, which goes instead to
Wendy Testaburger Wendy Testaburger () is a fictional character in the adult animated television series ''South Park''. She is the primary female character in the show, and has an on-again, off-again relationship with her partner Stan Marsh. Being more intelligent ...
wearing the same
Chewbacca Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee—a tall, hairy, highly intelligent species originating from the planet Kashyyyk. He is tall, and typically wears only a bandolier an ...
costume as in the previous first-season Halloween special " Pinkeye". During the closing credits, Kenny ends up getting killed by miniature Snowspeeders (à la ''
The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'') while inside his costume and rats arrive to eat his body.


Cultural references

The band Korn is portrayed as ''Scooby-Doo''-style mystery solvers, while many aspects of the plot parody the show. The band takes the role usually portrayed by the
Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...
on ''Scooby-Doo''. The argument over whether they were "pirate ghosts" or "ghost pirates" was an argument the creators had during the writing of the show. Kenny's costume is of the "
ED-209 The Enforcement Droid Series 209, or ED-209 (pronounced ''Ed Two Oh Nine''), is a fictional heavily armed robot that appears in the ''RoboCop'' franchise. It serves as a foil for RoboCop, as well as a source of comic relief due to its lack of int ...
" from the film
RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...
. The use of the band's "Korn Powers" is likely a combination parody of the activation of the
Wonder Twins The Wonder Twins (Zan and Jayna) are a fictional extraterrestrial twin brother and sister superhero duo who first appeared in Hanna-Barbera's American animated television series '' The All-New Super Friends Hour''. The pair can activate their ...
Exorian powers, and the transformation sequence into the character Knightron from ''
Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills ''Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills'' (TTAFBH), is an American children's television series produced by DIC Entertainment. It aired on USA Cartoon Express, a kids' block on the USA Network, from 1994 to 1995. Reruns of the show ...
''.


Critical reception

DVD Verdict wrote "Korn's appearance in the Halloween show is expertly handled, as is the whole
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
animation send-up", and gave the episode a rating of 90. Writing 15 years after the episode aired, Ryan Book of ''The Music Times'', called it the "single greatest South Park episode of all time."


References


External links


"Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery"
Full episode at South Park Studios * {{Korn 1999 American television episodes Halloween television episodes Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery Television episodes about necrophilia Fiction about piracy Parodies of Scooby-Doo Parodies of television shows South Park season 3 episodes Parody television episodes