Spontaneous Combustion

South Park episode
“Spontaneous Combustion”
Episode no.	Season 3; Episode 33
Production no.	302
Original airdate	April 14, 1999
Episode chronology
"Rainforest Schmainforest"	"The Succubus"
	South Park - Season 3; April 1999 - January 2000
	Rainforest Schmainforest ; Spontaneous Combustion ; The Succubus ; Jakovasaurs ; Tweek vs. Craig ; Sexual Harassment Panda ; Cat Orgy ; Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub ; Jewbilee ; Chinpokomon ; Starvin' Marvin in Space ; Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery ; Hooked on Monkey Phonics ; The Red Badge of Gayness ; Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics ; Are You There God? It's Me, Jesus ; World Wide Recorder Concert ;
	List of all South Park episodes

From South Park Archives

Spontaneous Combustion is the 2nd episode of the 3rd season of South Park.

Spoiler warning: Plot details follow.

[edit] Synopsis

Kenny and many other townsfolk die from Spontaneous Combustion. Mayor McDaniels puts Randy Marsh in charge of finding out why people are dying from it.

[edit] Plot

The boys are trying to buy an erection for Kyle's dad but are kicked out of every shop (They have no idea what an erection actually is). While walking down the street Kenny suddenly catches fire and is reduced to a pile of ashes. The townsfolk witness this and recognize it as spontaneous combustion, prompting fear to spread in the town.

After many more cases the Mayor puts Randy Marsh in charge of finding out what is actually happening.

At church the town mourns over Kenny's death, burying what's left of his burnt-out coat. Afterwards, Priest Maxi tells the boys he hasn't seen them in church recently despite Kyle being Jewish. He then asks them to do the stations of the cross. Maxi insists that the combustion phenomenon is God's punishment for everyone's failure to attend Church regularly.

While learning about the stations of the cross they find out Jesus had a resurrection which Kyle mistakes for erection. Cartman is made to play Jesus despite Kyle saying Stan should.

After their performance they leave Cartman on the cross so he can get the "erection" which Kyle can give to his dad, having confused the word with "resurrection". Cartman desperately demands his friends to let him down, but is left there for days.

Randy finds out that the deaths are from people not passing gas enough since they are ashamed to fart in front of their partners. He advises the townsfolk to fart regularly.

Everyone begins to do so and Randy is awarded and praised by the town. Unfortunately the extreme amount of farts contributes to a hole in the Ozone layer which begins to burn the town.

During this uproar, Kyle's dad finally gets the erection Kyle had looked so hard for, having previously encountered some naked teenagers, so he goes to Sheila to "set things right". Kyle is glad that is off his chest, but once again forgets that Cartman is still waiting for his "erection".

After becoming hated Stan convinces Randy to work to find out how to stop it since he is now hated by all. He then explains that people need to fart, but in moderation. The town praises him once more.

The boys remember that they left Cartman on the cross and go to get him down. He has survived three weeks on his fat and is now incredibly thin. Infuriated that he has been left up there this long, he swears revenge on Stan and Kyle as soon as he gets down.

[edit] Goofs

The mayor calls Randy "The only scientist in town", seemingly forgetting all about Dr. Alphonse Mephisto, who even appears later in the same episode. The mayor might have said this because she thinks Mephisto is crazy, as seen in Starvin' Marvin
While Randy won the Nobel Prize, when seen close up the symbol on it is similar to one on the Nobel Peace Prize.
When the second spontanious combustion victim is brought to Randy he ask's what 'she' had been doing, despite Randy not seeing if it was a man or a woman who combusted in the first place or anyone telling him.

[edit] Trivia

This episode leads on from Rainforest Schmainforest, Kenny died from not farting in front of his girlfriend Kelly from the previous episode.

During the montage of Randy's dreaming of solving the problem, a chase scene mirroring scooby doo plays, with Randy, Stan, and Kyle running from some monster.

Officer Barbrady recognizes the cross as the letter t, marking his first known instance of reading since Chickenlover

General Store Manager is actually a ticket guy from South Park Theatre. In this episode he also disagrees to sell fireworks to children because of their age, but in Summer Sucks they weren't allowed to buy it because of prohibition by state government/.