Cow Days

"Cow Days"
[[File:File:SouthPark213.gif|250px]]
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 13
Production no.	213
Original airdate	September 30, 1998
Episode chronology Previous Next "Clubhouses" "Chef Aid"
List of all South Park episodes

"Cow Days" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of South Park.

Spoiler warning! Plot details follow.

Synopsis

Cow Day arrives and the boys set their hopes on winning Terrance and Phillip dolls while Cartman has an unfortunate accident with a bull.

Plot

On a gameshow, a couple called Tom and Mary win a prize to go to South Park's 45th Annual Cow Day.

At the carnival, the boys spot Terrance and Phillip dolls on a ball-throwing game. The game features a picture of Jennifer Love Hewitt; the hole is her mouth. Unfortunately the game is rigged so the balls are bigger than the hole. Kyle runs out of money after a failed attempt of the game. The boys go to get money from their parents.

On their way back through the carnival Cartman suggests they go on some of the rides, the rides are all ridiculous such as the disgusting "Chamber of Farts" and the "Line Ride". All of these turn out to be a waste of money.

Back at the ball game, Kyle tries again. On one go the ball gets stuck in the hole, and Kyle shouts shenanigans. This brings the attention of Officer Barbrady who inspects the game. The stall owner says Kyle has another ball left, and gives Kyle a smaller one that does go through the hole. Barbrady then leaves. Kyle then asks for the dolls but gets a toothpick. The stall owner says he needs seven toothpicks to trade for the dolls.

The cows of South Park have discovered the newly built giant cow clock, and have stolen it. Jimbo asks everyone if they took it, but then believes that Tom and Mary from out of town are the only people with a reason to take it. They are promptly arrested.

Out of money, the boys put Cartman in a bull riding contest, as they trial him he sustains minor injuries, and they suggest trying him on a real bull next instead of a simulation. The bull is very timid, until Kyle throws a rock at the bull's testicles causing it to go mad. It flings Cartman into snow sending him into a deep memory loss. Cartman wakes up and believes himself to be a Vietnamese prostitute called Ming Li.

At the hospital, Dr. Doctor explains Cartman will need to rest, but the boys have other plans and put him in the contest.

In his unusual frame of mind, Cartman offers sex to any male adults he sees. On the bull he manages to win after holding on tight for a new world record. Kenny was stabbed by the bull's horn however.

Jimbo, with the help of Ned, finds the cows who have formed a cult revolving around the cow clock they had stolen. The FBI arrive and tell the cows to freeze, but they ignore and one by one, jump off a cliff to their deaths.

Cartman, having won the contest, has a large amount of prize money that he and the boys use on the ball-throwing game. The stall owner says he's going to be really nice and just give them the dolls for all their money. Kyle suddenly discovers that the dolls are a rip-off and declare shenanigans again. The whole town declares shenanigans and a fight breaks out.

Mayor McDaniels asks Jimbo and Ned what happened with the clock, and they explain about the mass cow suicide. The Mayor suddenly remembers that they are still holding Tom and Mary.

At the prison, the Mayor asks Barbrady if he released them to which he replies he forgot. The two of them are now merely skeletons being eaten at by rats.

After the event, Stan and Kyle seem to have got hundreds of the dolls. Cartman shows up and explains he had a weird dream involving him becoming a prostitute and making love to Leonardo DiCaprio, to which the actor pulls up in his limousine and says thank you to Ming Li.

Trivia

• The scene where Cartman talks about his "dream" mirrors the opening scene of Cartman Gets an Anal Probe and the reused scene in Canceled.
• After Cartman falls off the bull and looks to be dead in the snow, Kenny says "Oh my God they killed Cartman!"
• When the man says Five dollars for three balls there are two.
• Near the end at the Chamber of Farts, the lady queefed instead of farting.
• When Cartman gets on the bull after his sebtece it sounded like he said "Soulja Boy".

References

• The Cow Days statue is fashioned after Gautama Buddha the spiritual leader and founder the Buddhist religion. The choice is probably intentional given that Buddhism is but one of many religions that worship cows as sacred animals.

• One of the carnival games on the Cow Days fairgrounds is one where you have to get balls into the mouth of actress Jennifer Love Hewitt. Around the time this episode aired, Jennifer Love Hewitt was at the height of her popularity for her roles in the television series Party of Five and the 1997 slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer.

• The Running of the Cows is a parody of the Running of the Bulls. The Running of the Bulls is an annual event that dates back to 14th century Spain. It is now practiced in Spain, France, Mexico and various other locations in the world. It's gained controversy in recent years with the advent of animal rights groups such as PETA calling for it's banning.

• The Chamber of Farts and the Line Ride are a commentary on amusement park rides, especially those at Disney theme parks. They are notorious for the exceedingly long lines for short rides. The attraction Splay Mountain where you can have your picture taken as you are on the ride.

• After finally getting a ball into Jennifer Love Hewitt's mouth, the carnival ride operator offers the boy the choice between the Barbie pocket mirror or the Bon Jovi toothpick. Barbie is of course the popular doll for girls that has been lining toy departments since 1959. Bon Jovi is in reference to either musician Jon Bon Jovi or his band Bon Jovi which was formed in 1983. They are best known for their 1986 album Slipper When Wet.

• The Cow Cult that forms is confronted by the FBI and then ultimately commits suicide when they forcibly take away the Cow Day clock. This is likely a parody of two topical high profile cults during the 1990s. The first would be the clash between Branch Davidian and the ATF and FBI in 1993. It was a 90 day stand-off when the religious cult refused to allow the ATF searched their Waco, Texas compound after they obtained a warrant based on weapons and child abuse allegations. The stand off ended violently with the FBI storming the compound in tanks and the Branch Davidian followers purposely lighting fires. 74 Davidian worshipers died in the conflict including their leader David Koresh. The incident is referred to as the Waco Siege. The other recent high profile cult incident involved the followers of Heaven's Gate a religious movement that believed that humanity was the product of UFO's and that the Earth was about to be "recycled". They reasoned that in order to survive this they needed to join with the comet Hale-Bopp during a period when it was brightest when viewed from Earth. To do this they all committed suicide on March 26, 1997.

• While Cartman still thought he was Ming Li, the Vietnamese prostitute, he apparently got a spanking from actor Leonardo Di Caprio. During the time this episode came out, Leonardo Di Caprio was riding the popularity generated from his role in the 1997 film Titanic.

Goofs

• The anouncer at the bull riding competion says "Next up Ming Li" when he should of said Cartmans real name as Kyle and Stan put his name down on the sheet.
• The man at the ball throwing fair ground ride hands Stan two Phillip dolls, then the next shot one of the dolls is Terrence.

Kenny's death

Pierced by the horns of the bull Cartman is riding.

Hidden Visitor(s)

Two visitors appear in this episode:

• Peeking out the FREAKS tent when Kyle tells Kenny to give up his food stamps.
• Driving the limo at the end of the episode.

"[[Clubhouses]]"

"Cow Days"

"[[Chef Aid]]"