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The List "The List/Trivia" "Tonsil Trouble/Trivia" "Britney's New Look/Trivia" Britney's New Look

This page contains trivia for "Tonsil Trouble". 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[]

  • Cartman states that AIDS is not funny even though AIDS had been officially declared funny in the episode "Jared Has Aides". This may be simply the fact that Cartman does not like when he is made fun of.
  • Kyle rips Clyde Frog's head off in this episode, killing him.
  • This episode may have been the creators' protest that many pharmaceutical companies have cut funding to research AIDS treatments, and how if a cure for AIDS was discovered then it would cost too much for people in places such as sub-Saharan Africa (where AIDS is a major problem), who would not be able to afford the cure.
  • When Kyle tears the Mel Gibson poster apart, he was screaming in rage, which was only heard in the digital release of the episode and not on the original Comedy Central broadcast.
  • This episode features a new opening sequence. It begins with the camera zooming out of Stan's eye as the characters fall into place like in the original version. Then various clips from past episodes are played out like in the Season 6 - 11 opening. As the boys sing their lines, they move about across the screen while minimized clips are played out. The crowd scene is also redesigned and includes future atheists, The Lollipop King, and Jesse Jackson amongst others. The theme music remains the same as the one introduced in "Make Love, Not Warcraft".
  • South Park Studios tried their best to keep this episode's plot a secret until broadcast, just as they did for "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", but it was still revealed, albeit later than usual.
  • Cartman saying "You fucking suck!" would eventually become recycled in South Park: The Stick of Truth whenever he gets attacked.

References to Popular Culture[]

  • Cartman's Philadelphia baseball cap and scarf worn during the majority of the episode is a reference to the movie Philadelphia in which Tom Hanks plays a man infected with AIDS.
  • Jimmy Buffett appears in this episode twice, singing "AIDSburger in Paradise" and later "Cureburger in Paradise", which is a pun of his song "Cheeseburger in Paradise". There is also a spoof of "Margaritaville".
  • Kyle threatens to smash an Xbox 360.
  • As Kyle and Cartman enter the airport, a voice over the loudspeaker says, "The white zone is for loading and unloading..." This is a reference to the opening scene of Airplane!. The same line is also used in Toy Story 2 when the toys arrive at the airport to save Woody from going to Japan.
  • Though not a direct allusion, the way Cartman contracts HIV in this episode is similar to how British actor Denholm Elliott (best known for his role as Marcus Brody in the Indiana Jones series) contracted the disease himself, through an accidental transfusion of blood infected with HIV. Denholm died of AIDS-related tuberculosis in 1992.
  • "Two brave little buddies who against all odds have journeyed across America to find a cure for AIDS; all they have is each other in a race against time," is an allusion to the 1995 Brad Renfro film, The Cure.
  • Cartman and Kyle meet Magic Johnson and reference his real life struggle with HIV.
  • In Magic Johnson's mansion, there are pictures of him standing next to NBA player Kobe Bryant and musician Michael Jackson.
    • In the picture with Michael Jackson, Magic Johnson is wearing an Egyptian themed headpiece. This is in reference to the music video for Jackson's 1992 song, "Remember the Time", in which he played one of the pharaoh's guards who introduces Jackson's character. [1]

Goofs[]

  • In the scene of Cartman and Kyle meeting Magic Johnson, 4:3 TV airings and home releases had a masking error where the plant in the back right is black for the first shot.

Continuity[]

  • In the episode "Red Sleigh Down", Kyle's cousin Kyle said if Cartman cured cancer and AIDS, he would still owe Santa two presents.
  • Cartman acknowledges how he has broken into Kyle's house many times before, something which he has not noted before despite having been seen numerous times, including "Casa Bonita".
  • Cartman squirts his blood into Kyle's mouth. Blood transfusions normally cause serious problems when not cross-matched, but Cartman has the same blood type as Kyle, as stated in "Cherokee Hair Tampons".
  • Also from "Cherokee Hair Tampons", Kyle did actually have a transfusion of sorts - he is currently using one of Cartman's kidneys.
  • Cartman's Xbox also reappears, having been seen previously in "Tsst".
  • Clyde Frog is also seen, having his head ripped off by an enraged Kyle, once again inferring Cartman's love of his stuffed toys.
  • A flag with a picture of a cow on it and the words "Cow Days" appears in Cartman's room. This is a reference to the South Park festival and episode entitled "Cow Days".
  • Cartman knows a lot about the exterior layout of the Broflovski house and says he has broken into Kyle's room a lot. In a previous episode, "Butt Out", he knew the interior layout well and tried to hammer boards over Kyle's door to keep him in.
  • In Magic Johnson's mansion, there is a picture on the wall of him and Kobe Bryant.
  • When Cartman’s family resorts to staying with Kyle in South Park: Post Covid, Kyle reveals to Cartman’s wife Yentl about when Cartman inflicted him with AIDS when they were children, which shocks her to know about.

Hidden Visitor(s)[]

  • One of the Visitors can be seen sitting by the table on the far left side in the celebration of the discovery of the remedy for AIDS, at the end of the episode.

Dubbing Changes[]

International Titles[]

Language Title Translation
Czech Problém s mandlemi A problem with tonsils
French Amygdales Tonsils
German Ärger mit den Mandeln Trouble with the tonsils
Hungarian Mandulaműtét-hiba Tonsillectomy mistake
Italian Problemi di tonsille Tonsil problem
Polish Kłopoty z migdałkami Trouble with the tonsils


  1201: "Tonsil Trouble" edit
Story Elements

Magic JohnsonJimmy BuffettAIDSAirport HiltonCure for AIDS • "AIDSburger in Paradise"

Media

ImagesScriptExtrasWatch Episode

Release

South Park: The Complete Twelfth SeasonSouth Park: The Cult of Cartman

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