Cartman: Tonight, on Cop Drama, on TV, they're gonna say... "Shit."
Original air date: 6/20/2001
The entire town of South Park are hyped for the night "shit" will be said uncensored on television on a series called Cop Drama. The uncensored usage leaves the world to a misfortunate chain of tragic events and it's up to the boys and Chef to save the day.
Examples:
- An Aesop: Swearing isn't wrong, but having some words be taboo makes them a lot more fun.
- Art Evolution: Though in general the series has gotten progressively more advanced looking as it has gone on, this episode marks one of the more noticeable changes due to it being the first one animated on Maya instead of PowerAnimator. The colors are generally softer than they were before (particularly noticeable with the color brown), there are fewer shadow effects, and most fire and explosions are made to look more realistic than they were before.
- Cluster F-Bomb: "Shit" is used 162 times uncensored throughout the episode (an average of about one every eight seconds). There's even a counter visible on screen. The HBC President even unleashes one on the Knights of Standards and Practices when he gets fed up with their warnings and interfering with his network.HBC President: Listen, Mr. Shiny Pants! I am the head of this network, and I will say "Shit" all I want! Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit! Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit! (Suddenly, the ground quakes and Geldan emerges from underneath, breathing fire all over the set) Oh, shit!
- Double Standard: It is explained that "shit" is OK to use in anything but a literal sense by the teachers at South Park Elementary.Filmore: What about, "I have to take a shit?"Mr. Garrison: No! No! Filmore!
- Nevertheless, "shit" is used a few times in a literal sense during the episode.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Curse words are called "curse words" because they are words that are literally cursed.
- Incurable Cough of Death: News of a plague starts to spread across the country. Then Kenny develops a cough of his own, indicating he caught it as well.
- I Read It for the Articles: Sheila Broflovski and Sharon Marsh are watching the same episode of Cop Drama as the entire town, but are genuinely engaged in the episode's story, as opposed to the rest of South Park who are just watching it to hear the word "shit" uncensored.
- Irony: Comedy Central let the word "shit" remain uncensored in this episode just like how it was in the in-universe series Cop Drama.
- It's Popular, Now It Sucks!: Discussed in-universe. Stan and Cartman acknowledge how saying "shit" just isn't fun anymore now that everyone does it. They try to think of other bad words to say.
- Mondegreen Gag: When the bar patrons are excited to hear "shit", Jimbo thinks another word is it at one point:Mitchell: I'm doing my job, Frank! We have to know where that evidence was shipped.
Jimbo: Oh! Was that it? Was that it?!
Randy: "Shipped". He said "shipped". - N-Word Privileges: Parodied. Mr. Garrison exploits how being gay means he can say "fag" without getting bleeped. He proceeds to insult people with the word at his own discretion. The other men are a bit annoyed they can't say the word, only for Jimbo to say it without getting bleeped.
- Running Gag: Cartman saying Kyle has "sand in his vagina".
- Shout-Out: "Oh you shitty shitty fag fag"
- Space Whale Aesop: Curse worlds really are cursed, and making them acceptable to say will result in the end of the world.
- Stylistic Suck: The parody of The Drew Carey Show that we see during the Night of a Million Shits event is really shoddy. It doesn't have any jokes, story, or even what could be called actual dialogue. It's just Drew and Mimi saying whatever they can cram an S-bomb into.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Double Subverted. After the plot is resolved, Stan points out that Kenny didn't die. And then, he does.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Kenny when he starts coughing.
- Vocal Dissonance: When Kyle defeats Geldan with the Rune Stone, the giant fire-breathing dragon expresses his defeat in a Cartman-esque voice.Geldan: (Cartman-esque voice) Aw, dude, lame. Lame! Bummer, dude.
Cartman: What a stupid voice. - Yank the Dog's Chain: Kenny manages to survive to the end of the episode, seemingly beating the curse that was afflicting various people that caused them to vomit up their intestines. Then Stan points this out, and Kenny promptly pukes his guts up just in time for the credits to roll.
