Original air date: 7/18/2001
The boys learn that their favorite comedy duo (Terrance and Philip) have broken up due to Creative Differences and seek to reunite them in time for the "Earth Day Brainwashing Festival".
Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow contains examples of:
- Adaptational Attractiveness: The in-universe cartoon of Terrance and Phillip depicts them both as athletic, clean-cut hunks as opposed to their usual flappy-headed selves.
- An Aesop:Terrance: You know, Phillip and I have learned an important lesson: that when you go through a lot with somebody, you can't let trite things come between you.
Phillip: That's right, Terrance. You should only let trite things come between your ass cheeks. [farts] - An Arm and a Leg: The Earth Day activists "encourage" the boys to succeed in getting Terrance and Phillip to perform by chopping off Kenny's arm. As things deteriorate, they chop off more and more of Kenny's limbs until he's completely dismembered.
- Artistic License – Biology; The decapitated producer was shown having a long bone in his neck rather than the typical vertebrae.
- Ax-Crazy: The Earth Day Brainwashing Committee, HOLY SHIT. As mentioned above, when T&P are running late, one of them chops off one of Kenny's arms, and that was just a warning to the boys!
- Call-Back: When the boys try to convince Phillip to perform.Cartman: If you don't come and do the show, I'll make you eat your parents.
Phillip: Yeah, whatever, kid.
Stan: He'll do it, dude.- The Made-for-TV Movie "Not Without My Anus" and the theatrical film Asses of Fire (as well as "the Canadian–American War of 1999") are mentioned in the Behind the Blow documentary.
- Career Resurrection: In-universe. Asses of Fire is dubbed a smashing success that revived Terrance and Phillip's careers... as well as helped cause a war that killed eight million and nearly got the duo executed.
- Cassandra Truth: The boys really did save their lives, well, Kenny (used a reset to bring them back to life) and Cartman (shut off the electric chairs) did.
- Classically-Trained Extra: Part of Phillip's problem is the repetition of doing the same old fart jokes when he'd rather change things up. The boys find him performing in a production of Hamlet.
- Cruel Mercy: One of the few occasions in the early seasons where Kenny doesn't die onscreen. Instead, he's left lying on the ground with his limbs cut off.Cartman: Look, Kenny. Everything turned out okay.
Kenny: Oh, well now that's sweet. - Earth Day Episode: This trope is subverted by portraying the Earth Day organization as crazy environmentalists who brainwash people, claim Republicans are responsible for ruining the Earth, and threaten bodily harm when promises aren't delivered to them. No Green Aesop is learned.
- Feud Episode: For Terrance and Phillip. Their act broke up because Terrance is extremely controlling and takes all the credit, while Phillip chafes under having to do the same thing again and again.
- Formerly Fit: Terrance puts on a lot of weight after parting ways with Phillip.
- Friendship Moment: Watching the Behind the Blow special causes Terrance and Phillip to remember the good times they had together and reconcile.
- It's All About Me: Cartman's reaction to Carl brutally chopping off Kenny's hand? "We've got to get them back together, you guys. They could do this to us." Stan and Kyle agree with the sentiment, much to Kenny's frustration.
- Kavorka Man: Despite sharing the same odd look that all Canadians in South Park have, and now being fat, Terrance has no problem attracting women. There's even a line for them to make out (or possibly even have sex) with him.
- Knight Templar: The Earth Day organizers will stop at nothing to spread their environmentalist message to the masses. Brainwashing is their preferred method, but they'll happily use violence as well.
- No Sympathy: No one particularly cares about Kenny getting his limbs cut off, even ignoring his first anguished scream outright.
- Only Six Faces: All the people in Terrance's performing arts school all look like Ike.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Several parts of Behind the Blow are based off Trey Parker and Matt Stone's experiences in writing South Park.
- Star-Derailing Role: In-universe. The backlash against Not Without My Anus purportedly damaged the duo's careers, sending them into a spiral of drug abuse and suicide attempts.
- Stylistic Suck: The Canadian Shakespeare Company's rendition of Hamlet is hilariously bad. All the actors speak with the same exuberant and fast-talking way that all Canadians in the show use in normal conversation, punctuate their lines with liberal "buddy" and "guy" tics, and drop dead with loud "BLAH!" sounds.
- Take That!:
- Towards environmentalists who spend more times blaming Republicans for global warming rather than doing anything to actually stop it.
- Towards the Ending Fatigue of Hamlet.
- Take That, Audience!: The backlash towards "Not Without My Anus" is portrayed as an attack on the studio where people got killed.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Subverted. While Kenny gets all of his limbs chopped off, he isn't shown to die in the episode, despite bleeding heavily. Since he has his limbs back in the next episode, it can be assumed he died from blood loss between episodes. Either way, it is one of the few episodes from the first five seasons that Kenny survives.
- Throw It In!: In-universe; young Terrance and Phillip's straightforward song-and-dance number on The Ed Sullivan Show leaves the audience confused; it's only when Phillip farts that the audience applauds, kickstarting their Toilet Humor schtick.
- To the Pain: Kenny's fate in this episode, but ironically he doesn't die. (Onscreen, at least. He most likely died of blood loss afterward, as he has all his limbs next time he appears.)
- Who's on First?: Terrance and Phillip's "Who Farted?" routine.
- Would Harm a Child:
- The Earth Day activist certainly seem to have no qualms about dismembering a nine-year-old boy.
- In a state of depression over the reaction to "Not Without My Anus", Phillip beat up a child.
- You Didn't Ask: Kyle uses a very vague variation of this to get Phillip to come to South Park.
