South Park and Ville Valo: Difference between pages

Revision as of 22:09, 21 July 2005

Revision as of 09:26, 12 June 2007

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{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->

{{infobox television |

| Name = Ville Valo

| show_name = South Park

| Img = Ville_Valo.jpg

| image = [[Image:South Park into.jpg|240px]]

| Background = solo_singer

| caption =

| Birth_name = Ville Hermanni Valo

| format = [[Sitcom]]

| Born = {{birth_date_and_age|1976|11|22}}<br/><small>[[Vallila]], [[Finland]]</small>

| runtime = approx. 0:23 (per episode)

| Died =

| creator = [[Trey Parker]] & [[Matt Stone]]

| Origin = Finland

| starring = [[Trey Parker]]<br />[[Matt Stone]]<br />[[Isaac Hayes]]<br />[[Mary Kay Bergman]] (1997-1999)<br />[[Eliza Schneider]] (2000-2003)<br />[[Mona Marshall]]<br />[[John Hansen]]<br />[[Jennifer Howell]]<br /> and [[Adrien Beard]]

| Instrument = [[Vocals]],[[Bass guitar|Bass]],[[Drums]],[[Guitar]],[[Piano]].

| country = [[United States|USA]]

| Genre = fundaded [[Love Metal]] |

| network = [[Comedy Central]]

| Occupation | first_aired = [[August 13Singer]], [[1997Songwriter]]

| Years_active = [[1983 in music|1983]] - Present

| last_aired = Present

| Label =

| num_episodes = 141 (Season 9: 1/2 begins on October 19, 2005)

| Associated_acts = [[HIM (band)|HIM]]

| imdb_id = 0121955

[[Daniel Lioneye]]

|}}

| URL = [http://www.heartagram.com/ Official website]

{{otheruses}}

}}

'''''South Park''''' is a [[comedy]] [[animated series]] created by [[Matt Stone]] and [[Trey Parker]]. Distributed by and airing on [[Comedy Central]] (and its current owner, [[Viacom]]) since [[1997]], it follows the [[surrealism|surreal]] adventures of four young boys who live in the small town of [[South Park (Colorado basin)|South Park]], [[Colorado]]. ''South Park'' [[satire|satirizes]] many aspects of [[United States|American]] culture and [[current events]], and challenges deepset convictions and [[taboo]]s, usually using [[parody]] and [[black humor]].

'''Ville Hermanni Valo''' ({{Audio|Fi-Ville_Valo.ogg|pronunciation}}) (born [[November 22]], [[1976]]) is the [[vocalist]], [[songwriter]] and frontman of the [[Finland|Finnish]] [[Love Metal]] band [[HIM (band)|HIM]]. They have released five full length albums, and as of [[2006]], they are the first and only Finnish rock band to sell Gold in the [[United States]].

==Early life==

New episodes in the show's ninth season began airing [[March 9]], [[2005]]. Recent seasons have aired in two parts; for example, half of the episodes from the eighth season were put on hiatus for ''[[Team America: World Police]]'', another Stone and Parker production.

Valo was born to a [[Finland|Finnish]] father named Kari and a mother of [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]] descent named Anita in a small suburb of Helsinki called [[Vallila]]. As a child, Ville was influenced by his music-loving parents, who exposed him to the songs of popular Finnish performers such as [[Tapio Rautavaara]] and [[Rauli Badding Somerjoki]], while an older cousin introduced him to the heavier sounds of bands like [[KISS (band)|KISS]], [[Black Sabbath]] and [[Iron Maiden]]. Valo's first musical step was as a three year old [[bongo drum|bongo]] drummer. At age nine, Valo attended the Pop and Jazz Conservatory in [[Helsinki]], where he studied several different musical genres. His father eventually opened a [[sex shop]] where Valo often worked before launching his career in music. Valo's father's [[sex shop]] is still in business today and doing well, according to interviews with Valo. His interests gradually expanded to include [[reggae]], early [[blues]] and country-oriented material such as [[Johnny Cash]], [[Roy Orbison]] and [[Neil Young]]. From a young age, Valo's enthusiasm for music also took a more active form of expression, and he participated in a large number of different Helsinki-based bands: B.L.O.O.D. (1986-89), Eloveena Boys (1987-88), Kemoterapia (1989-97) and numerous other, more obscure projects.

==Side Projects==

The show is noted for its characteristically blunt handling of current events while they are still current. For example, an episode involving the repatriation of [[Romania]]n [[quintuplet]]s aired during the [[Elián González]] issue, and depicted [[Janet Reno]], then [[United States Attorney General|U.S. Attorney General]], as a murderous [[Easter Bunny]]. An episode that aired after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] had the boys stow away on a military transport to [[Afghanistan]], where they encounter [[Osama bin Laden]], and more recently the [[2005]] [[Terri Schiavo]] case was parodied in an episode in which the town is at odds over the removal of a feeding tube from [[Kenny McCormick]].

Apart from working with HIM, and side-project [[Daniel Lioneye]], Valo has kept busy in the music world, collaborating with many artists over the years. He contributed guest vocals for The 69 Eyes, on [[Apocalyptica]]'s album ''[[Apocalyptica (album)|Apocalyptica]]'' for the song "Bittersweet" (with [[The Rasmus]]' singer [[Lauri Ylönen]]), on [[The Bloodhound Gang]]'s ''[[Hefty Fine]]'' for the song "Something Diabolical", and on [[Cradle of Filth]]'s ''[[Thornography]]'' for the song "The Byronic Man". In 2007 he duetted with Polish German actress [[Natalia Avelon]] for a cover of [[Nancy Sinatra]] and [[Lee Hazlewood]]'s song "Summer Wine", part of the ''[[Das Wilde Leben]]'' soundtrack. A video featuring both was recorded as well.

<br>

==Series history==

'''''Below is a list of Valo's side projects and collaborations.'''''

''South Park'' got its start in [[1991]] when Parker and Stone, then film students at the [[University of Colorado at Boulder|University of Colorado]], created an animated short called ''[[Jesus vs Frosty]]''. The crudely made film featured [[prototype|prototypical]] versions of the kids of South Park, including a character resembling Cartman but called "Kenny", bringing a murderous snowman to life with a magic hat. The baby [[Jesus]] then saves the day by decapitating the monster with a [[halo]].

* ''[[Skreppers]] & Ville Valo (1995)

* ''[[Apocalyptica]] & Ville Valo (1996)

* ''[[The 69 Eyes]] & Ville Valo (1997)

* ''[[Tehosekoitin]] & Ville Valo (1999)

* ''The 69 Eyes & Ville Valo (1999)

* ''[[Neljä Ruusua]] & HIM (1999)

* ''[[Agents]]& Ville Valo - Paratiisi, Jykevää On Rakkaus, Ikkunaprinsessa(1999)

* ''[[Tributti Tuomari Nurmio]]: Ville Valo & Others (2000)

* ''[[The 69 Eyes]] & Ville Valo (2000)

* ''[[Musta Paraati]], Ville Valo, Gas Lipstick & Others (2001)

* ''[[Daniel Lioneye And The Rollers]]/Daniel Lioneye And The Blues Explosion (2001)

* ''[[The 69 Eyes]] & Thulsa Doom (2001)

* ''[[Five Fifteen]] & Ville Valo - The Prostitue & Season Of The Witch (2001)

* ''[[The 69 Eyes]] & Ville Valo (2002)

* ''[[The Skreppers]], Ville Valo, [[Migé Amour]] & [[Lily Lazer]] (2002)

* ''[[The Mission]] & Ville Valo (2002)

* ''[[Lowemotor Corporation]] & Ville Valo - Love Me (2003/2004)

* ''[[The Skreppers]] & Ville Valo (2004)

* ''[[The 69 Eyes]] & Ville Valo - Beneath the Blue (2004)

* ''[[Apocalyptica]] feat. Ville Valo & Lauri Ylönen - Bittersweet (2004) (FIN: #1, D: #6)

* ''Two Witches & Ville Valo - Dracula Rising (2005)

* ''[[Bloodhound Gang]] feat. Ville Valo - Something Diabolical (2005)

* ''[[Isabelle´s Gift]] feat. Ville Valo - If I Die Tonight (2006)

* ''[[Cradle of Filth]] feat. Ville Valo - The Byronic Man (2006)

* ''Ville Valo & [[Tommi Viksten]] - Kun Minä Kotoani Läksin (2006)

* ''[[Kari Tapio]] & Ville Valo - Tällä Pohjantähden Alla (2006)

* ''Ville Valo & [[Natalia Avelon]] - Summer Wine (2007) (FIN: #1, D: #2, AU: #4, CH: #2)

* ''Ville Valo & Manna - Just for Tonight (2007) ==

==[[HIM (band)|HIM]]==

Executives at the [[Fox network]] saw the film, and in [[1995]] executive [[Brian Graden]] commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film to send to friends as a video [[Christmas card]]. Entitled ''[[The Spirit of Christmas]]'', it closely resembled the style of the later series, and featured a [[martial art]]s duel (and subsequent [[truce]]) between Jesus and [[Santa Claus]] over the true meaning of [[Christmas]]. This video was later featured in an episode of South Park in which Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny, Mr Hanky and his family "save" Christmas. The video was a hit and was quickly shared, both by underground duplication and over the then-burgeoning [[Internet]]. This led to talks to create a series, first with Fox, then with Comedy Central, where the series [[premiere]]d on [[August 13]], [[1997]].

{{main|HIM (band)}}

[[Image:Kenny dies-again.jpg|right|framed|One of the many deaths of Kenny]]

The show's provocative, frequently offensive, and unquestionably adult-oriented material quickly drew howls of protests from various conservative spokespersons, and ''South Park'' merchandise (especially [[T-shirt]]s) were banned from a number of [[public school]]s, [[day care center]]s, and other public places in a manner similar to the prohibition of [[Bart Simpson]] T-shirts in the early [[1990s]] after ''[[The Simpsons]]'' was accused of contributing to [[juvenile delinquency]]. Comedy Central defended ''South Park'' by noting that the show is given a "Mature Audiences" TV rating ([[TV-MA]]) and that it only airs the show during nighttime hours and never during the day when children may be more likely to see the show.

In February [[1998]], one episode of ''South Park'' posed the question of who Eric Cartman's father was. The episode ended with the announcement that it would be revealed in four weeks' time. Four weeks later, the airing of an episode about [[Terrance and Phillip]] (two Canadian comedians the main characters idolize) prompted outrage, and also prompted Comedy Central to push the true season premiere up earlier than expected. It was apparently a well-planted [[April Fools Day]] gag, meant to poke fun at season-ending [[cliffhanger]]s.

The following year, the full-length animated feature film ''[[South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut]]'' was released to generally enthusiastic reviews. The film managed to satirize both itself and the anticipated reaction that it engendered from moral conservatives. It also presented a twisted but seemingly sincere tribute to the [[musical film|film musical]] with a number of songs, including "Uncle Fucka" and "Blame Canada." The latter was nominated for an [[Academy award|Oscar]] and was performed by [[Robin Williams]] during the awards show. It has often been said that "Blame Canada" was chosen from other Oscar-worthy songs in the movie on the basis that it was the only one that could be performed on live TV with its lyrics relatively intact; however, this is somewhat unlikely, as "Blame Canada" contains a swear word, whereas "Up There," a sentimental and inoffensive song sung by Satan, does not. It's more likely that "Blame Canada" was chosen because people like to make fun of Canadians.

On [[November 11]], [[1999]] shortly after the [[United States|U.S.]] theatrical release of ''South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'', actress [[Mary Kay Bergman]], who had provided all of the female [[voice actor|voices]] on the ''South Park'' television series and in the full-length movie, committed [[suicide]] using a [[firearm|gun]] in her [[suburb]]an [[Los Angeles, California]] home. After her death it was revealed that she suffered from a severe form of [[clinical depression]]. Her husband, [[Dino Andrade]], founded the [[Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Fund]] at the Suicide Prevention Center of Greater Los Angeles in an effort to help and educate people with the same type of depression that his wife suffered from.

In the episode "[[It Hits the Fan]]," ''South Park'' broke the swearing record by saying the word "shit" a total of 162 times. In a 22 minute episode, this means that they averaged one "shit" every 8 seconds. There was even a counter throughout the episode showing the number of times it was said. An example of how it was used was Mr. Garrison's song that went, "Hey, there, shitty shitty fag fag, shitty shitty fag fag, how do you do?" and repeated this for four verses.

==Characters==

The characters and backgrounds of ''South Park'' are [[limited animation|made to appear deliberately crude]], as if they are simply made of cut-out pieces of paper. Paper cutouts were indeed used in the original pilot Parker/Stone animation and in the very first Comedy Central episode, but every subsequent episode aired on TV has been produced by [[computer animation]] that provides the same crude look. To put the efficiency of this process in perspective, consider that the average episode of The Simpsons takes 8 months to create while episodes of South Park have been completed in as little as 3 days. [[list of South Park episodes|Some episodes]] have sections of regular [[film]] edited in (e.g., "Tweek vs. Craig" and "Cat Orgy").

===Major characters===

[[image:South park.jpg|thumbnail|right|The main characters as they appeared during eight of the nine seasons (from left to right): Kenny, Cartman, Kyle and Stan]]

The main characters of the show are four elementary school students:

*[[Kenny McCormick]]: poor [[lower class]], obsessed with sex and [[bathroom humor]], victim of many deaths

*[[Eric Cartman]]: aggressive, racist, spoiled, overweight and rude, antagonistic, often the catalyst for the plot, frequently insults Kyle for being Jewish and Kenny for being poor

*[[Kyle Broflovski]]: skeptical, critical of authority, [[Jewish]]

*[[Stan Marsh]]: kind and nervous, with a strong sense of right and wrong

In recent seasons, two other characters have gained prominence:

*[[Butters Stotch|Leopold "Butters" Stotch]] (replaced Kenny as a main character during the first part of the 6th season, though Kenny was brought back for the 7th season; has been prominent ever since): naive yet sometimes insightful, but nervous and easily manipulated, thanks to his overbearing parents. He is now one of the most important characters, having featured prominently in several episodes, particularly as a foil to Cartman's schemes. His birthday is [[September 11]].

*[[Tweek]] (replaced Kenny during the second part of the 6th season, though Kenny was brought back for the 7th season): like Butters he is very nervous; he is constantly given [[caffeine]] by his coffee-shop-owning parents, he is visited nightly by the "[[Underpants Gnomes|underpants gnomes]]" and his eyes "tweek." Since Kenny returned, he has returned to playing a minor role.

The show's earliest well-known [[gimmick]] was that in every episode, Kenny would die in some horrible, unexpected way. After this Stan would say, "Oh my god, they killed Kenny!" and Kyle would add, "You [[bastard]]s!" Kenny would be back in the next episode, the incident forgotten. For some time (after the 5th season episode "[[Kenny Dies]]"), Kenny had actually died "permanently." In the 6th season episode "[[A Ladder to Heaven]]," Kenny's soul became entrapped inside of Cartman's body, but an exorcism performed by Chef's mama in "[[The Biggest Douche in the Universe]]" undid this. He came back to life for an unexplained reason in "[[Red Sleigh Down]]" and is now the same regular kid he was before, except his deaths are much rarer now. Kenny was killed by [[Saddam Hussein]] in "[[It's Christmas in Canada]]," the final episode of season seven. He was also killed once during the eighth season, unmasked, by "Mr. Jefferson," an alias of [[Michael Jackson]], in the episode "[[The Jeffersons (South Park)|The Jeffersons]]", and in the ninth season, he was killed by the Chinese mafia in the episode "[[Wing (South Park)|Wing]]," as well as the following episode, "[[Best Friends Forever]]" (in fact, he dies twice in the latter).

===Recurring characters===

{{mainarticle|Recurring South Park characters}}

There are many other frequently [[Recurring South Park characters|recurring characters]], besides the boys and their families.

*the boys' teachers [[Herbert Garrison|Mr. Herbert Garrison]] (currently Mrs. Garrison after receiving a sex change in episode 901, ''[[Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina]]''), and Ms. Choksondik (pronounced "chokes-on-dick") who dies in season 6.

*[[Mr. Slave]], Mr. Garrison's gay live-in lover until his sex change in episode 901 (replacement for Garrison's beloved puppet companion, [[Mr. Hat]]).

*[[Chef (South Park)|Jerome "Chef" McElroy]] (voiced by [[Isaac Hayes]]), the school cafeteria chef whom the boys seek out for advice.

*[[Satan]], portrayed as the insecure and overly sensitive gay lover of [[Saddam Hussein]].

*[[Jesus]] and [[Santa Claus]], who are frequently depicted as gun-toting heroes.

*[[Mr. Mackey]], the school counselor who often appends "Mmkay?" to the end of his sentences.

*[[Officer Barbrady]], the incompetent town police officer.

*[[Wendy Testaburger]], a schoolmate and Stan's sometimes girlfriend.

*[[Timmy (South Park)|Timmy]], a schoolmate confined by handicap to a wheelchair. He has a limited vocabulary, usually only consisting of his own name, Jimmy's name, and his usual babble that sounds like "Rimirilar!", though, on occasion, has managed a few other words.

*[[Jimmy (South Park)|Jimmy]], a handicapped schoolmate with crutches and a speech impediment. Often performs stand-up comedy. He is afraid of getting an [[erection]] and took [[steroid]]s to win the [[Special Olympics]].

*[[Towelie]], is a "super towel" created to dry a person, but while being studied he smoked [[marijuana]] and wandered off. Towlie is frequently getting high in the episodes he's been in and is also referred to the worst character ever at the end of his episode. "Towelie"

Original Air Date: 8-8-2001

*[[Token Black]], a schoolmate of black descent who often accompanies the boys on their adventures. Token is also a frequent target of Cartman's [[racism]].

*The [[goth]] kids, originally featured in episode 714 (''Raisins'').

*[[Scott Tenorman]], a much older schoolmate, originally introduced when he cons Cartman out of his allowance money in the episode ''[[Scott Tenorman Must Die]]''. Cartman later takes revenge on Scott by feeding him Scott's own parents at Cartman's ''chili con carnival''. Scott has appeared in minor roles in at least two subsequent episodes.

===Minor characters and 'celebrities'===

[[Image:Southpark_disclaimer.gif|right|framed|The satirical disclaimer that begins every episode]]

Part of the show's surrealist nature derives from the minor characters who appear in the series. Notable appearances include [[God]], who appears as a small creature resembling a hippo-rodent hybrid; Jesus, a recurring character, who owns a home and hosts a public-access television show in South Park (''Jesus and Pals''); Satan and his lover Saddam Hussein; [[Moses]], who appears exactly as the Master Control Program (MCP) does in the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] film ''[[Tron (movie)|Tron]]'' and demands macaroni pictures; the alien [[Marklar]] race; the jakovasaur; [[Death (personification)|Death]]; and [[Mr. Hankey]] "the [[Christmas]] [[feces|poo]]", who adds to the holiday festivities in much the same spirit as the 1960s [[Rankin-Bass]] cartoons. And also [[Towelie]] the towel who always gets, or wants to get high (off cannabis).

[[celebrity|Celebrities]] often appear (usually "impersonated.....poorly"). Examples include:

*[[Barbra Streisand]], who was transformed after a mystical artifact Kyle found while digging and became [[Mecha-Streisand]], a [[Mechagodzilla]]-like creature.

*[[Robert Smith]] of the '80s band [[The Cure]], who transformed into a moth-like creature (a parody of [[Mothra]]) to battle Mecha-Streisand; Smith provided his own voice.

*[[Kathie Lee Gifford]], whom [[Herbert Garrison|Mr. Garrison]] tried to [[assassination|assassinate]].

*[[Bill Clinton]], who slept with [[Recurring_South_Park_characters#Mrs._Cartman|Cartman's mom]].

*[[O. J. Simpson]], part of a support group for relatives of murder victims.

*the band [[KoЯn]], who played themselves and solved a ''[[Scooby Doo]]''-type mystery.

*the band [[Toto (band)|Toto]] (an 80s band).

*[[Brian Boitano]], who is a [[superhero]].

*[[Russell Crowe]], star of the TV show "Russell Crowe: Fightin' Around the World," in which he travels the world in a cartoon tugboat and picks fights with random strangers based on perceived insults.

*[[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]], who is ridiculed.

*[[David Blaine]], founder of the fictional "Blainetology" religion.

*[[Sally Struthers]], portrayed as a [[Hutt]] (as in "Jabba the Hutt" from [[Star Wars]]) saving "[[Starvin' Marvin]]" and his people in [[Africa]].

*[[Radiohead]], playing themselves, with the band telling lead singer [[Thom Yorke]] to stop reading fan mail and mocking Scott Tenorman for crying.

*[[Fleetwood Mac]]'s [[Stevie Nicks]] as a [[goat]] in the Afghanistan episode.

*[[Michael Jackson]] as a new neighbor named "Mr. Jefferson" who moves to South Park with his young son, Blanket. Mr. Jefferson comes to South Park to hide out because he is being accused of child molestation; such accusations were made against Jackson in late [[2003]].

*[[Paris Hilton]] as spokeswoman for the "Stupid Spoiled Whore" clothing store chain.

*[[Christina Aguilera]], who is portrayed as a hideous creature.

*[[Patrick Duffy]], who appears upside-down as one of the legs of a mountain creature called Scuzzlebutt.

*[[George Clooney]], who appears in "Bigger, Longer, and Uncut", portraying an emergency room doctor similar to his character [[Doug Ross]] in the TV series [[ER (TV series)|ER]]. Clooney also appeared as a voice actor for Sparky, Stan's homosexual dog, in the episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", his only line being "woof".

See [[list of celebrities on South Park]] for more persons who have appeared on the show in one way or another.

===Religious affiliation of characters in South Park===

According to the episode "Red Hot Catholic Love", virtually all the major and recurring characters in South Park are [[Roman Catholic]], except:

* Eric Cartman, [[atheist]]

* The Broflovskis (Kyle's family), who are [[Jewish]]

* The Harrisons, who are [[Mormon]]

* Chef switched to [[Islam]] in [[Chef Goes Nanners]] but apparently switched back

* [[God]], who is shown as a [[rodent]] like creature, is a [[Buddhist]]

==Music==

[[Image:South_Park_Soundtrack.jpg|thumb|Cover from ''South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut - Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture'']]

Although ''South Park'' is well known for its humor and controversial plots, viewers are also treated to an original musical score. The show's opening [[theme song]] is:

: [[Les Claypool]]: ''Goin' down to South Park, gonna have myself a time.''

: Kyle and Stan: ''Friendly faces everywhere, humble folks without temptation.''

: Les: ''Goin' down to South Park, gonna leave my woes behind.''

: Cartman: ''Ample parking day or night, people spouting, "Howdy neighbor!"''

: Les: ''Heading up to South Park, gonna see if I can't unwind.''

: Kenny (except season 6):

: ''- I like girls with big fat titties. I like girls with big vaginas. '' (Seasons 1-2)

: ''- I have got a ten inch penis, use your mouth to help me clean it'' (Seasons 3-5)

: '''[[Recurring_South_Park_characters#Timmy|Timmy]]:''' ''-Timmy! Timmy! Timmy! Timmy! Timmy! Timmy! Timmy! Timmy! Live a lie Timmy!'' (Season 6)

: ''- Someday I'll be old enough to stick my dick in Britney's butt'' (Seasons 7-)

: Les: ''Come on down to South Park, 'n meet some friends of mine.''

It should be noted that Kenny's lines in the song, as well as all but one of his lines throughout the show (episode 807, "The Jeffersons") and one in the movie, are muffled. Kenny always wears a parka over his head and most of his face. The fact that the lines are unintelligible helped them slip past network censors.

Popular songs such as "Kyle's Mom is a Bitch" originated on the show, but the creators' musical abilities were not frequently used until the release of ''South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut''. The film's soundtrack featured songs like "Mountain Town", "[[Uncle Fucka]]", "[[What Would Brian Boitano Do?]]" (a song to which [[Brian Boitano]] has been known to [[figure skate]]), "I'm Super", and "[[Blame Canada]]" (nominated for an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]], see below).

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have, on occasion, performed these and other songs (some unrelated to the show, such as "Dead Dead Dead"), under the band name [[DVDA (band)|DVDA]].

The character of Eric Cartman will often burst into song to convey a false [[altruism]] or [[optimism]] that belies his baser motivations. In ''[[Red Sleigh Down]]'', he sings "Poo-Choo Train", an unnervingly cheery [[Christmas carol]], in an obvious attempt to convince [[Mr. Hankey]] and [[Santa Claus]] that he is worthy of Christmas presents. In ''[[The Death of Eric Cartman]]'' he sings "Make it Right" with Butters in a weak attempt to reconcile his sins.

Additional musical contributions to the show come from themselves and from [[Isaac Hayes]], who voices the character [[Recurring South Park characters|Chef]], and from the band [[Primus (band)|Primus]], which performed the original opening and ending themes for the show. But another high point of the series is its dramatic score, for it dramatizes common and deep parts with a very heartwarming, [[melancholy|melancholic]] or mysterious soundtrack.

==''South Park'' and politics==

The political leaning of ''South Park'' has been open to some debate. The show has drawn widespread criticism from both [[conservative]]s and [[liberal]]s for its themes and its [[profanity|offensive language]]. However, unlike many other satirical shows, ''South Park'''s political humor is often seen as mocking [[liberal]] celebrities and pet causes. This has in turn prompted the use of the phrase [[South Park Republican]] to describe the attitudes of some of the show's viewers. [[Trey Parker]] stated in an interview that he was a "registered [[United States Libertarian Party|Libertarian]]". In other interviews [[Trey Parker]] and [[Matt Stone]] described themselves as being (small 'l') [[libertarianism|libertarian]]-[[United States Republican Party|Republicans]]. In the [[Spring]] of [[2005]] [[Brian C. Anderson]], editor at the [[Manhattan Institute]]'s ''City Journal'' released a book titled "South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias." At any rate, the show has consistently made fun of all sides of the political spectrum. In fact, a recent ad ran on Comedy Central listing many categories of people ''South Park'' has made fun of (including rednecks, blacks, gays, politicians, transsexuals, Jews and the disabled) and stated afterward "We apologize if ''South Park'' has left you out."

==Trivia==

{{Trivia|date=June 2007}}

*The film ''[[Bowling for Columbine]]'' includes a brief interview with [[Matt Stone]] that suggests ''South Park'' was largely inspired by Stone's childhood experiences in [[Littleton, Colorado]]. Stone presents a vision of Littleton as painfully normal, and highly intolerant of non-conformist behavior. Stone's appearance was followed by an uncredited cartoon in a style strongly reminiscent of ''South Park'' that was not the work of either Stone or Parker. It became a point of contention between them and the filmmaker, [[Michael Moore]], as they believed Moore meant to imply they had contributed to his film. They have said the appearance of Moore as a suicide bomber in their [[2004 in film|2004 film]] ''[[Team America: World Police]]'' is their sardonic response to this incident.

[[Image:Kerranghim.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Ville Valo on the cover on Kerrang! magazine.]]

*''[[Les Misérables]]'' has had several cameo roles throughout the series, including Cosette's appearance, Cartman's prison number, 24601 (Jean Valjean's number), and an entire song in ''South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut'' that is based on a song from the musical named "One Day More." Also, in episode 414 "Helen Keller! The Musical," the "musical theater expert" sounds similar to [[Colm Wilkinson]], who played the original Jean Valjean on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. In fact, Cartman says the expert (introduced as "Geoffrey Mainard") played the lead in a production of ''Les Misérables''. Characters on ''[[The Simpsons]]'', perhaps not coincidentally, often have the number 24601 as well.

*[[Bam Margera]]'s character in the 2003 movie ''[[Haggard: The Movie|Haggard]]'' is named after Ville Valo.<ref name="imdb">http://www.imdb.com/name/nm</ref>

*A short tribute sketch was shown for the 30th anniversary of [[Monty Python]] which parodied the "[[Dead Parrot]] sketch." The parody takes part in a friends store, where Eric Cartman walks in and complains that this friend (Kenny) that he bought is dead. Eventually an ending showing crude cut outs of [[Terry Gilliam]], [[Venus de Milo]], and the Monty Python foot appear.

*He makes a very small appearance in ''[[Jackass: Number Two]]''.<ref name="imdb" />

*Parker animated a ''South Park'' version of a joke called [[The Aristocrats]] for the documentary of that name.

*He was voted as #13 on a television program in which people voted for who they thought were the greatest Finns of all time<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suuret_suomalaiset]</ref>

*The Parker-Stone production company is named Braniff Productions, named after a defunct airline. The logo (which featured a computer-generated shot of the Braniff airline with the subtitle ''"...believe it"'') originally appeared in Episode One as a joke, but decided since Parker and Stone had already established Braniff as their company anyway, the logo would close every episode.

*He can also be seen in clips of episodes from [[Viva La Bam]] while they were in Finland.

* Many celebrities say this is their favorite [[cartoon]].

*He has a number of tattoos, including a pair of Edgar Allan Poe's eyes on his shoulder blades.<ref>[http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoo/celeb-valo.htm VILLE VALO TATTOO PICS PHOTOS]</ref>

*He learned to walk with the help of the family dog Sami, and when the dog died, not only was he extremely upset, he also apparently developed his allergies to animals and asthma at the same time.<ref>http://www.tv.com/ville-valo/person//trivia.html</ref>

==Evolution of the series==

*He smokes about 60 cigarettes a day (around 21,900 a year) to give his voice a gruff, husky edge.<ref>http://www.tobacco.org/news/.html</ref>

''South Park'''s early episodes tended to be shock value-oriented, but the more recent episodes are often oriented more toward poking fun at current events. This was very evident in the first half of season 8: events in its episodes include [[Michael Jackson]] visiting South Park, the boys seeing ''[[The Passion of the Christ]]'', [[blue-collar worker]]s in South Park losing their jobs to [[immigrant]]s from the future, and an episode featuring a "[[Paris Hilton]]" toy video camera. Season 9 premiered with the episode "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina," which incorporated uncensored footage of [[sex reassignment surgery]].

*Valo is an avid reader and has indicated that he draws a large influence for his music from the books that he has read. Among his favorite authors he includes Finnish writer, [[Timo K. Mukka]], and American writers [[Edgar Allan Poe]] and [[Charles Bukowski]].

*Ville appears in the music video "Wasting the Dawn" by The 69 Eyes as Jim Morrison of The Doors.

The pilot episode was produced using construction paper and traditional [[stop-motion animation]] techniques, but current episodes duplicate the original, amateurish look using modern [[computer animation]] tools (first [[PowerAnimator]], then [[Maya_(software)|Maya]], which South Park creators have described as "building a sandcastle with a bulldozer"). This allows for a short production schedule which enables the creators to respond quickly to current events. For instance, the [[December 17]], [[2003]] episode depicted the [[Operation Red Dawn|capture of Saddam Hussein]] a mere three days after his capture by U.S. forces, even referring to the "spider hole" where he was found. In the case of this and the [[Elián González]] episode, they stopped and changed production of an episode to focus on these events.

In the [[audio commentary (DVD)|audio commentary]] on the season 4 [[DVD]] set, Parker and Stone remarked that beginning with episode 408, "Chef Goes Nanners," they began to consistently make episodes centering on a single issue, rather than having different sub-plots going on.

In [[2002]] the episode "Free Hat" was aired. In this episode, prompted by Kyle's comment on [[Ted Koppel]]'s ''[[Nightline]]'' that changing ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|E.T.]]'' would be like changing ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', the ''South Park'' depictions of [[George Lucas]] and [[Steven Spielberg]] decide to alter the first Indiana Jones film. Soon after "Free Hat" aired, the real Lucas and Spielberg announced that they would not be altering ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' for [[DVD]] release (contrary to rumors surrounding it). Stone and Parker later claimed that their episode prevented any alterations from happening when they appeared on a [[VH1]] special, ''Inside South Park''.

==References==

While in college, Stone and Parker collaborated on the movie ''[[Cannibal! The Musical]]'', a [[Western movie|Western]] satire with humorous musical numbers (the "Braniff" tune that plays at the end of many South Park episodes is an excerpt from the ''Cannibal!'' song, "Shpadoinkle"). Later they created ''[[Orgazmo]]'', a comedy about a [[Mormon]] starring in a [[pornographic movie]], which found distribution thanks to the success of ''South Park'' later that same year. The pair starred in the [[1998]] film ''[[BASEketball]]'' directed by [[David Zucker]] (in a recent episode in which the boys see the ''Passion of the Christ'' and subsequently decide to get their money back for watching a lousy film, Stan comments to Kenny, "This is just like that time we got our money back from BASEketball," commenting on the film's box office failure). Their latest collaboration is the [[marionette]] [[action movie|action]]/[[comedy film|comedy]], ''[[Team America: World Police]]''.

{{reflist|1}}

==SeeExternal alsolinks==

*[http://www.nndb.com/people/266/000030176 Ville Valo] at Notable Names Database

*[[List of South Park episodes|List of ''South Park'' episodes]]

*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1204517 Ville Valo] at Internet Movie Database

*[[Cheesy Poofs]]

*[http://www.heartagram.com Official website] of [[HIM (band)|HIM]]

*[[Chewbacca Defense]]

*[http://www.sweetville.net Ukrainian HIM website] of [[HIM (band)|HIM]]

*[[Chocolate Salty Balls]]

*[http://www.himonline.tv UK HIM website] of [[HIM (band)|HIM]]

*[[Hell in Mexico]]

*[http://community.livejournal.com/valo_daily Valo Daily], Livejournal Community (images of Valo)

*[[It Hits the Fan]] one of the most notorious episodes of South Park

*[[List of celebrities on South Park|List of celebrities on ''South Park'']]

*[[List of fictional brands in South Park]]

*[[List of movies, television shows and books parodied on South Park]]

*[[List of songs featured on South Park|List of songs featured on ''South Park'']]

*''[[MK 22]]'' &mdash; Israeli cartoon with similar graphics and vulgarity, situated in a secret nuclear missiles storage base in the south of Israel.

*[[Park County, Colorado]]

*[[References to Star Trek in South Park|References to ''Star Trek'' in ''South Park'']]

*[[South Park Republican]]

{{HIM}}

==External links==

{{wikiquote}}

*[http://southparkstudios.com South Park Studios] (official website)

*[http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/southpark South Park television series] at Comedy Central's website

*[http://www.southpark.hu/ South Park television series (Home Box Office Hungary)]

*[http://www.mkbmemorial.com Memorial website] and [http://www.wackyvoices.com official website] of Mary Kay Bergman

*[http://www.planearium2.de/flash/spstudio.html Make your own South Park characters]

*[http://www.spscriptorium.com/ Tons of transcripts and other information on South Park]

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