South Park (season 17)

South Park (season 17)
DVD cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	10
Release
Original network	Comedy Central
Original release	September 25, 2013 – December 11, 2013

The seventeenth season of the animated television series South Park premiered on Comedy Central on September 25, 2013 and ended on December 11, 2013.

Production

The season consists of 10 episodes, as series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone decided to scale back and have one uninterrupted season, as opposed to two 7-episode runs, as had been the format since season 8.^[1] Aside from Parker, who wrote and directed all episodes, this season employed additional writers, one of whom is former Saturday Night Live cast member Bill Hader, who began working full-time on the show.^[2]

Due to a power outage at the studio, episode 4 ("Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers") missed the deadline and aired a week later than scheduled.^[3]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date [4]	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
238	1	"Let Go, Let Gov"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	September 25, 2013	1701	2.89[5]
Concerned over the government prying into his social media accounts, Cartman infiltrates the National Security Agency and does not like what he learns. Meanwhile, Butters uses the local DMV office to confess his sins.
239	2	"Informative Murder Porn"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	October 2, 2013	1702	2.49[6]
Thanks to a nerdy kid's oral report in school and a neighborhood incident, the boys become concerned over the growing rate of copycat incidents involving "murder porn" (i.e., the shows on Investigative Discovery centered on infidelity, spousal abuse, domestic violence, and murdering unfaithful lovers) and use Minecraft to distract parents from hurting each other.
240	3	"World War Zimmerman"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	October 9, 2013	1703	2.06[7]
In a parody of World War Z, Cartman fears for his and humanity's future after learning that George Zimmerman was found not guilty for killing Trayvon Martin.
241	4	"Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	October 23, 2013	1704	1.83[8]
When Henrietta, one of the Goth kids, is sent out to a camp for "troubled" kids, she returns deeply changed as an emo kid, which finally makes her parents happy. The rest of the goth kids panic and must seek help from the Vampire kids, who still do not forgive them for burning down Hot Topic as seen in "The Ungroundable".
242	5	"Taming Strange"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	October 30, 2013	1705	1.89[9]
When Ike experiences early puberty, he develops an antisocial personality and advocates a more sexualized image for Foofa from Yo Gabba Gabba!, to whom he becomes manager. Meanwhile, the Canadian Minister of Health experiences marriage problems, while Mr. Mackey has a new computer interface in the school, which is fraught with technical errors that disrupt the school.
243	6	"Ginger Cow"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	November 6, 2013	1706	2.39[10]
Cartman's latest prank brings about the necessary spiritual conditions for world peace. Religious leaders descend upon South Park to witness a Biblical prophecy that has been fulfilled. Cartman and Kyle are the only two at odds as the world embarks upon a thousand years of peace and harmony.
244	7	"Black Friday"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	November 13, 2013	1707	2.07[11]
Part one of three. In anticipation of a Black Friday sale, Randy Marsh takes a temporary job as a mall security guard to gain an advantage over the holiday shopping crowds. Meanwhile the children of South Park split into two factions over whether to collectively purchase bargain-priced Xbox Ones or PlayStation 4s to facilitate their online group gaming, a split on which Stan and Kyle find themselves on opposite sides.
245	8	"A Song of Ass and Fire"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	November 20, 2013	1708	2.39[12]
Part two of three. Hordes of shoppers gather outside the mall in anticipation of the Black Friday sales. The kids prepare for an epic battle to assert the superiority of one faction's favorite videogame platform over the other.
246	9	"Titties and Dragons"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	December 4, 2013	1709	2.48[13]
Conclusion. With the PS4 faction gaining more support through Princess Kenny's magical efforts, Cartman and Kyle inform the PS4 supporters that they have decided to give up and fight alongside them for PS4s.
247	10	"The Hobbit"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	December 11, 2013	1710	2.17[14]
After Butters insults Wendy's under-confident female classmate for her appearance, Wendy's criticism of Kim Kardashian as a "hobbit" leads her to speak out publicly about how unrealistically photoshopped images of famous women lead to poor body image among girls. It also results in a crusade by Kardashian's fiancé Kanye West, who tries to convince the world that Kardashian is not a hobbit.

References

1. Carr, David (January 27, 2013). "Fortifying the Empire 'South Park' Built". Retrieved January 28, 2013.
2. Evans, Bradford. "Bill Hader Is Writing for 'South Park' Full-Time This Season". Splitsider. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
3. "Episode 1704 will not air tonight". South Park Studios. October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
4. "South Park (a Titles & Air Dates Guide)". epguides. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
5. Kondolojy, Amanda (September 26, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'South Park' Wins Night + 'The Challenge: Rivals II', 'Key & Peele', 'The Daily Show', 'The Colbert Report' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
6. Bibel, Sara (October 3, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Wins Night, 'Bad Ink',' South Park', 'Miley: The Movement', 'The Bridge' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
7. Kondolojy, Amanda (October 10, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Beats 'American Horror Story: Coven' + MLB Baseball, 'Bad Ink', 'South Park' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
8. Kondolojy, Amanda (October 24, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Leads Night + 'American Horror Story', 'South Park', 'Million Dollar Listing' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
9. Bibel, Sara (October 31, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'American Horror Story' Wins Night, 'South Park', 'Key & Peele', 'Ghost Hunters', 'Preachers of LA' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
10. Kondolojy, Amanda (November 7, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'American Horror Story' Tops Night + 'South Park', 'Key & Peele', NBA Basketball & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
11. Kondolojy, Amanda (November 14, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings:'American Horror Story' Wins Night, 'South Park', 'Key & Peele','Extreme Cheapskates' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
12. Kondolojy, Amanda (November 21, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'American Horror Story' Wins Night + 'South Park', NBA Basketball, 'American Pickers' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
13. Kondolojy, Amanda (December 5, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'American Horror Story' Leads Night + 'South Park', 'American Pickers', College Basketball & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
14. Bibel, Sara (December 12, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Wins Night, 'American Horror Story', 'South Park', 'Rodeo Girls', 'Key & Peele' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 13, 2013.