Asspen
| "Asspen" | |
|---|---|
| South Park episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Trey Parker |
| Written by | Trey Parker |
| Featured music | "Take On Me" by A-ha "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats |
| Production code | 603 |
| Original air date | March 13, 2002 |
"Asspen" is the second episode of the sixth season and the 81st overall episode of the American animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 13, 2002. In the episode, the boys go on vacation at Aspen, Colorado, where Stan is repeatedly tormented by an older skier named Tad. Meanwhile, the boys' parents become stuck at a meeting as two salesmen attempt to coax them to purchase timeshare property.
The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode serves as a parody of underdog sports films from the 1980s, while the subplot was conceived while Parker and co-creator Matt Stone were repeatedly annoyed by timeshare salesmen while in Whistler, British Columbia. "Asspen" has received very positive reviews, with critics listing it as among the best episodes of the series. It is one of the few episodes to be rated TV-14 in its original airing. Along with the rest of the sixth season, it was released on home video on October 11, 2005.
On vacation in Aspen, Colorado, Stan, Kyle, Butters, and Cartman are learning to ski when an older and more experienced skier named Tad begins harassing Stan for no reason. Tad demands that Stan race him for "stealing" his girlfriend Heather, whom Stan has never even met before. Stan agrees, fully aware that, since he is a complete amateur, Tad will most certainly beat him. He reluctantly races Tad and loses, as he expected. Afterwards, he is approached by a geeky teenage girl who invites him to a dance at the Aspen Youth Center. There, the boys discover that Tad's father plans to bulldoze the Aspen Youth Center. Tad then appears on stage to sing an off-key song where he repeats "Stan Darsh" over and over until Stan snaps and asks what he wants. Tad demands another race, this time on a much larger hill: the K-13 (a reference to Better Off Dead). It is agreed that if Stan wins, Tad's father will not bulldoze the youth center. It is at this point an epic montage of training occurs with the geeky girl and the boys' instructor from earlier. The song goes so far as to mock the concept of a montage–even the lyrics say: "We're gonna need a montage". As the race begins, Tad races quickly down the hill, stopping to place traps in order to slow Stan down. Still inexperienced, Stan moves so slowly that the traps do not even affect him, while the geeky girl Stan met earlier distracts Tad by lifting up her shirt and supposedly exposing her breasts. Tad freezes, while Stan passes him and wins the race. After the race, however, it is revealed that Tad's reaction of shock was actually due to the fact that, instead of breasts, the girl has two mutants growing out of her chest (a reference to the film Total Recall, complete with one of the mutants saying "Quaid, start the reactor!").
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