Spontaneous Combustion/Trivia

Trivia

 * This episode leads on from Rainforest Schmainforest, Kenny died from not farting in front of his girlfriend Kelly from the previous episode.
 * Officer Barbrady recognizes the cross as the letter "t" (lowercase), marking his first known instance of reading since Chickenlover.
 * The fact that the lowercase "t" looks like the cross Jesus died on is also a part of the episode Here Comes the Neighborhood.
 * The General Store Manager is also the ticket guy from the South Park Theater. In this episode he also disagrees to sell fireworks to children because of their age, but in Summer Sucks they weren't allowed to buy them because of prohibition by state government.
 * Kenny's family seems bored at his funeral, including his brother sleeping, and his dad looking at a Gazongas magazine. His mother is the only one crying. This might mean they realize he dies often, and are used to the funerals.
 * Kelly was not at Kenny's funeral, even though she was his girlfriend. It could be because of how far she lived from him, or--according to the South Park Studios FAQ page--because she died of spontaneous combustion as well.
 * When Randy calls the Mayor to tell her about his discoveries she is reading the same pornographic magazine as Kenny's father at Kenny's funeral.

Goofs

 * (Possible goof) The mayor calls Randy "The only scientist in town", seemingly forgetting all about Dr. Alphonse Mephisto, who even appears later in the same episode. The mayor might have said this because she thinks Mephisto is crazy and doesn't exactly consider him a scientist, as seen in Starvin' Marvin.
 * When the second spontaneous combustion victim is brought to Randy, he ask's what 'she' had been doing, despite Randy not seeing if it was a man or a woman who combusted in the first place or anyone telling him.
 * When Cartman is dragged off from the church and says "Hi Mom," she is at the end of the seat, but when Stan leaves, she is not there anymore. A man, evidently, took her place.
 * Also after Father Maxi says "Blessed Be Jesus Christ", the people say "It's a great name, isn't it?", and as they say this, Cartman's mother isn't in her seat, nor is anyone.

Cultural References

 * This episode uses Spontaneous combustion as a plot point. To date, there is no single case of Spontaneous combustion in humans. Suspected cases are usually ruled to be in reality the Wick effect.
 * Priest Maxi's prayer is all about the Denver Broncos football team. He mentions Neil Smith who was the defensive end for Broncos from 1997-1999 until he became a free agent. He also mentions Steve Atwater leaving the team to join the New York Jets this happened in 1999 as well. The prayer is finished with the church saying the Bronco's cheer "Let's go Broncos".
 * Priest Maxi asks Kyle if he isn't "too Jewish to worship Jesus". In Judaism it is not believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God, nor that he was resurrected.
 * Priest Maxi has the boys reenact the Stations of the Cross which is the trial that Jesus went through during the Crucifixion.
 * Stan and Kyle decide that they're going to have to look into the Bible. Do I need to explain what that is to you?
 * In their reenactment of the Stations of the Cross however they jump back and four between the traditional station and the scriptual.
 * The boys state that the First Station was the when Pilate sentenced Jesus to death. This is the first station in the traditional version of the Stations. Pontius Pilate would be the judge during Jesus' trial and would sentence him to death.
 * Station Two is Jesus taking the cross. This is the second station in the traditional version of the stations, however it is seventh in the scripture.
 * The boys then mention that Jesus was then denied by Peter. This is the fourth station in scripture, and it happens before Jesus gets the cross. The traditional stations do not make reference to the denial of Peter. According to the Bible Saint Peter denied knowing Jesus three times during his trial which ultimately led to his crucifixion.
 * Station 11 according to the boys is Jesus being nailed to the cross. This is station 11 of the traditional stations, it is station 10 of the scripture. They state that he gets his crown of thorns. This isn't identified as part of the stations in the traditional, but it is listed as station 6 of the scriptures, before Jesus was crucified.
 * They mention that Jesus is placed on Mount Sinai where he died and was resurrected three days later. Jesus was never placed on Mount Sinai, according to biblical texts Moses went to Mount Sinai where he was given the Ten Commandments from God.
 * The picture Randy uses in his presentation about spontaneous combustion is of the "Cat Woman" Jocelyn Wildenstein a Swiss-American socialite.
 * Stan mentions that Jesus had "super-powers". According to Biblical legend Jesus had healing powers (making a blind man see), was able to turn water into wine, walk on water etc., all due to his holy lineage. These are all abilities he apparently manifested before he was crucified however.
 * Randy Marsh wins a Nobel Prize which is given out for achievements in Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace, and Physiology or Medicine. The first Nobel was awarded in 1901.
 * The Nobel Prize awards in this episode is done in a parody of the Academy Awards the annual award show for film. There are a number of elements that are parodied upon in this regard:
 * The host of the awards is actress Whoopie Goldberg. She has hosted the Academy Awards a number of times including 1999, the year this episode was produced. In this episode she states that "Republicans are stupid", this is a comment on Whoopie's outspoken political views, she has been a staunch critic of the Republican party.
 * The "Nobel Prize for Science" is read by actor Nick Nolte. It is interesting to note that in 1999 the Academy nominated Nick Nolte for Best Actor for his role in the film Affliction.
 * Of all the nominations for the Nobel Prize for Science only Harold R. Pinkerton's contributions to Unified field theory is a real scientific achievement. However of the people who in real life that won the Nobel Prize for Physics did so based on contributions to Unified field theory.
 * Apparently the constant farting in South Park is causing Global warming. It is commonly argued that methane from cow farts contribute to global warming.
 * On the radio there is a commercial where former presidential candidate and US Senator Bob Dole brags about how he can get an erection. In 1999, Bob Dole became a spokes person for Pfizer makers of Viagra and spoke in support of combating erectile dysfunction.
 * Randy's fall from grace amongst the people of South Park is not unlike the stoning that Jesus received while carrying the cross.
 * Stan confuses Jesus accepting his fate with Star Trek. He says quotes Jesus as saying "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." and gives a Vulcan greeting. This is in actually from the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. At the end of the film Mr. Spock sacrifices his life to save the crew of the Enterprise. From behind a glass wall Spock says to Captain Kirk "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." while placing his hand in the shape of the Vulcan greeting on the glass before dying.
 * When Kyle, Stan and Randy work together to come up for a solution to the spontaneous combustion/global warming problem, it is done in the form of a musical montage. The music and montage is a parody of musical numbers commonly seen on the Monkees TV show. The monster chasing them through various rooms is a common cliche found in the Hanna Barbara cartoon series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!.

Hidden Visitor(s)
On the face of the moon when it pans out and Cartman is covered by a shadow.