It Hits the Fan/Trivia

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"It Hits the Fan/Trivia"

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This page contains trivia for "It Hits the Fan". Remember, trivia must be factual, provable, and it is always best to cite your source for not-so-obvious trivia. If you would like to dispute a trivia point, please discuss it in the talk page.

Trivia

• This is the very first episode to be animated with Maya rather than Power Animator, and Maya has remained as the show's animation studio since. This is also the first episode to be filmed with a digital camera, which has remained as the show's filming device.
• When this episode aired, The Lion King musical was playing in Los Angeles only. The production toured the rest of the United States in 2002 and 2003.
• The word shit has evolved from the word scite, scat, and shiza in England sometime in the 14th century.
• When Chef and the boys enter the casino, Big Gay Al can be seen as a blackjack dealer.
• Throwing up your organs is not a symptom of the Black Death.
• Occurrences of the word "shit" that not spoken, but rather written, are not counted on the counter. There are 38 visual occurrences of the word, thereby putting the count up to an even 200 "shits".
• The first airing of this episode jokingly censored the sounds of things like gunshots and people falling out of windows. For subsequent airings, the sound effects were re-inserted.
• This episode has two scenes that break the fourth wall. The first with Mr. Garrison explaining to the kindergartners why he can say "fag". He says, "On television they usually don't allow 'fag.' But because I'm gay, it's alright." The second scene is at the bar when Mr. Garrison explains to the guys that you can't say "fag" unless you're gay. When Randy and the others say it, they're aware of being censored (except for Jimbo, who is implied to be a closet gay). The concept seems to be dropped in "The F Word" as everyone can say "fag" without being bleeped due to the definition having changed.
• Despite the fact that Jimbo, Mr. Garrison, and Big Gay Al can get away with the word "fag", prior to this episode, other characters have managed to say the word without the word getting beeped such as Cartman, Kyle, Grandpa Marsh, and possibly Kenny (though Kenny is often used to get words past the censors, so this may be justified).
• The word "shit" is said 162 times in this episode and is listed as one of the "ten South Parks that changed the world" at number 8.
• During the TV Special Must Shit TV the woman actor first seen is fat, or "big-boned" as Cartman would say, and ironically sounds exactly like Cartman as well.
• This episode's counter is often referred to as the "Shit-o-Meter".
• The dragon's characteristic sound effects are actually the sounds made by the Spider Mastermind enemy from the Doom game series. 
• When the dragon dies, it yells out "Dude, lame" in Cartman's voice, and Cartman reacts by saying "What a stupid voice".
• The word "shit" was not approved by Comedy Central until the Season Fifteen episode Royal Pudding.
• This isn't the first time where "shit" is uncensored in an episode. The first time where it was actually uncensored was in the initial airing of season two's "Ike's Wee Wee" by error.
• Comedy Central first refused to air this episode, as Stone and Parker came up with the idea to use the word "shit" so much in this episode that it becomes meaningless. Surprisingly, executives agreed that the use of the word had become justified and allowed the episode to run.
• This episode marks the first time Timmy swears, and due to his limited vocabulary, the only time.
• Mr. Derp can be seen working at the Excalibur Hotel in the background, directly left of the CRAPS sign.

References to Popular Culture

• The Lion King is a Disney Broadway Musical last referenced on South Park with the song The Circle of Poo.
• Magnolia: Kyle quotes, "It's still the same world out there, look!" As frogs are raining outside.
• Excalibur is a real casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• The first American network show to use the word "shit" was the CBS hospital drama Chicago Hope. Very little negative publicity resulted of the use of the word because it was in an appropriate context.
• The song Mr. Garrison sings is a reference to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a popular musical film of the 1960s.
• When the old man is reading from the book about ancient curses, the writing resembles the elvish runes and characters J.R.R. Tolkien created as back-story for Silmarillion/The Hobbit/LOTR.
• "Must Shit TV" is a parody of NBC slogan "Must See TV" from the 1990s.
• HBC Network is a parody of USA TV Channel NBC.
• On some television stations, this is the first edited South Park episode rated TV MA. It is normally rated TV 14 DL, but "shit" was uncensored and made the rating to a TV MA L
• When this episode premiered, there was no counter on the screen. On all subsequent airings, as well as the home video release, the counter was added.
• Executives at Comedy Central felt the profanity was justified by context and decided to allow the uncensored episode to air, which surprised even the show's developers. Despite broadcasting a record setting amount of profanity, little controversy was stirred by the airing. Co-creator Matt Stone explained the passive passage by citing changing cultural standards, "No one cares anymore...The standards are almost gone. No one gives a shit or a bullshit."
• Mee krob, here used a curse word, is actually a real Thai dish.
• Merlin the Sorcerer, the Knights and the name Excalibur are referencing legendary story King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Goofs

• After Cartman says "That thing has really got sand in its vagina", talking about the dragon, Kyle runs up to the dragon but for a split second he jitters to the bottom-left corner. This goof is fixed on the HD airings on Comedy Central.
• When Chef and the children arrive in the Excalibur Casino I, a sign is seen that spells it "Excaliber" yet when you see the outside of the building and the Englishman's blouse, it's spelled "Excalibur".
• Sharon Marsh has a different mouth when she is watching Cop Drama with Sheila Broflovski.
• On the plane ride, you can see Francis in the right aisle of the plane. When the camera pans to the knight, of The Knights of Standards and Practices, only Francis' head and feet are present.
• If you look closely look when everybody in town rushes home, a car can be seen driving away but it's back can still be seen just as it drives offscreen.
• When the "shit" counter is at 111 and changes to 112, one of Randy's friends with light brown hair is seen in two spots at once, behind Jimbo with his normal appearance and sitting next to Mr. Garrison with the sickness caused by swearing. When the "shit" counter is 117, his duplicate behind Jimbo disappears.

Kenny's Death

• Kenny McCormick dies from the Bubonic Plague, which causes him to vomit out his intestines.

Hidden Visitor(s)

• Can be found on the wall to Merlin's right shoulder.