Band in China

Band in China

http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/images/south_park/episode_thumbnails/s23e02_720.jpg?width=285

Season	s23
Episode	e02
Written By	Trey Parker
Production Code	2302
Original Air Date	2019-10-02

Episode Chronology

• Previous
  Mexican Joker
• Next
  Shots!!!

Official Description

Randy sees an opportunity for TEGRIDY in China. Randy lands himself in big trouble on a visit to China. Meanwhile, Stan starts a band to work out his frustration over having to move away from South Park.

Full Description

As Stan Marsh sits in his room attempting to write a song for his new death metal band, Crimson Dawn, his father Randy Marsh announces to the family that he plans to travel to China and expand the family's Tegridy Farms marijuana business there.

However, when he boards a plane to China, he sees many other people are also traveling there for the same reason, including characters belonging to Disney. He is arrested in China when marijuana is discovered in his luggage. He is sentenced to prison where he witnesses the practice of summary execution, and is subjected to slave labor, torture, and Communist Party re-education.

During a Crimson Dawn rehearsal, the band is visited by a music producer who wants to make a biographical film, or "biopic" of the band, as traditional music resources such as albums and tours are no longer profitable. Stan, who desperately wants to leave his farm home, is thrilled. During their first meeting, when the film's structure is discussed, the band learns that certain aspects of the band's lives will have to be edited out in order to make the film marketable in China due to their censorship of the media.

In prison, Randy meets fellow prisoners Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, who are there because they were banned in China after internet memes comparing Chinese president and General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping to Disney's version of Pooh became popular. When Randy is brought before a court, he criticizes the Chinese government for the way it treats its prisoners, accusing them of lacking "integrity". When Mr. Mouse learns of Randy's criticism, however, he angrily confronts Randy over the Chinese customers he is losing because of it, but Randy holds firm on his beliefs that business should not be conducted on the basis of intimidation, and expresses his marijuana import idea to him. When Mickey and Randy make their case to the Chinese officials together, their offer is rejected, which Mickey attributes to the Winnie the Pooh matter. Randy is so angered at this that he lures Pooh to a secluded street with honey, and kills him as a horrified Piglet watches.

As the Crimson Dawn film is shot, the censorship continues to the point that Chinese officials are on set to approve its content. The producer asks Stan to rewrite the script "from his heart", but Stan is frustrated by a Chinese censor standing over his shoulder as he writes in his bedroom, erasing passages he does not approve of. Later with his band mates, Stan realizes that the only film that will even be accepted in China is something "vanilla and cheesy". Stan's best friend, Kyle Broflovski, disembarks from a bus with Eric Cartman following their stay in an ICE detention center in the previous episode. The friends' reunion inspires an idea for Stan.

Stan briefly reunites his previous band Fingerbang for a new biopic, but changes his mind during filming, saying that no matter how badly he wishes to leave the farm, he cannot bring himself to compromise for China, and commenting that anyone who does is worthless in his view. Meanwhile, Tegridy Weed has become legal in China. As a dump truck unloads a massive amount of cash at the farm during a family meal, Stan asks Randy why he is covered in honey and blood. When Randy discloses that he murdered Pooh, Stan calmly leaves the table to go write another song about his father.

Characters

<char name="Randy Marsh" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/alter-egos/alter-ego-randy-hempfarmer.png"/> <char name="Stan Marsh" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/alter-egos/alter-ego-stan-hemp-shirt.png"/> <char name="Kenny McCormick" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/kids/kenny-mccormick.png"/> <char name="Butters Stotch" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/kids/butters-stotch.png"/> <char name="Jimmy Valmer" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/kids/jimmy-valmer.png"/>

Cameos

• These characters only have one or two lines, or none at all, but still make a notable appearance in the episode, if briefly.

Character Debuts

<char name="James Harden" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-sports-james-harden.png"/> <char name="Lebron James" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-sports-lebron-james.png"/> <char name="Will Barton" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-sports-will-barton.png"/> <char name="Clothing Company Rep" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/big-business-clothing-company-rep.png"/> <char name="Mitchell Google Rep" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/big-business-mitchell-google-rep.png"/> <char name="NBA Rep" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/big-business-nba-rep.png"/> <char name="Sounderoos" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-southpark-originals-southpark-sounderoos.png"/>

Chinese

<char name="Xi Jinping" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/world-leaders-xi-jiping.png"/> <char name="Chinese Custom Guards" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/outside-southpark-chinese-customs-guards.png"/> <char name="Chinese Custom Workers" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/outside-southpark-chinese-customs-workers.png"/> <char name="Chinese Judges" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/outside-southpark-chinese-judges.png"/> <char name="Chinese Prisioners" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/outside-southpark-chinese-prisoners.png"/> <char name="Chinese Prison Guard" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/outside-southpark-chinese-prison-guard.png"/> <char name="Chinese Shop Owner" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/default/wiki_characters.jpg"/>

Disney

<char name="Mr. Mouse" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/mr-mouse.png"/> <char name="Winnie the Pooh" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-winnie-the-pooh.png "/> <char name="Piglet" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-piglet.png"/> <char name="Beast" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-beast.png"/> <char name="Black Panther" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-blackpanther.png"/> <char name="Buzz Lightyear" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-buzz-lightyear.png"/> <char name="Captain America" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-captain-america.png"/> <char name="Captain Hook" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-captain-hook.png"/> <char name="Captain Marvel" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-captain-marvel.png"/> <char name="Elsa" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-elsa.png"/> <char name="First Order Stromtrooper" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-first-order-stromtrooper.png"/> <char name="Genie" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-genie.png"/> <char name="Ironman" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-ironman.png"/> <char name="Jack Sparrow" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-jack-sparrow.png"/> <char name="Jafar" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-jafar.png"/> <char name="Jasmine" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-jasmine.png"/> <char name="Kylo Ren" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-kylo-ren.png"/> <char name="Peter Pan" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-peter-pan.png"/> <char name="Queen of Hearts" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-queen-of-hearts.png"/> <char name="Snow White" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-snow-white.png"/> <char name="Thor" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/celebrities/celebrities-fictional-thor.png"/>

Costume Debuts

<char name="Crimson Dawn" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/default/wiki_characters.jpg"/> <char name="Prisoner Randy" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/alter-egos/alter-ego-prisoner-randy.png"/> <char name="Fingerbang (Band in China)" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/default/wiki_characters.jpg"/>

Locations

<char name="Tegridy Farms" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/locations/business-tegridy-farms.png"/> <char name="Another Chinese Government Building" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/locations/outside-southpark-another-chinese-government-bldg.png"/> <char name="Autumnfest Park" image="http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/locations/public-areas-n-parks-autumnfest-park.png"/> <char name="Chinese International Airport" image=" http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/locations/transportation-chinese-International-airport.png"/>

Continuity Nods

• The Record Producer who approaches the Crimson Dawn members at Tegridy Farms is the same one who appeared in season 22's "Buddha Box" working with the PC Babies, as he mentions a little later.
• The boys' very first boy band Fingerbang makes a stunning return nineteen years after season 4's "Something You Can Do With Your Finger", wearing their iconic white costumes first seen in Cartman's dream sequence.
  • In the original episode, Wendy Testaburger was a band member, but she doesn't appear in the scene.
• Given the previous appearances by Chinese Government officials in season 12's "The China Probrem", season 16's "Obama Wins!" and season 19's "Tweek x Craig", various art assets are reused:
  • Xi Jinping, the President of China, returns from his appearance in "Tweek x Craig", where he coincidentally was also on the phone with Randy.
  • Though General Tso from "Obama Wins!" makes no appearance in the episode, his assets are used to create two new Chinese Generals.

Bonus Factoids

Pointless Observations

• This is the third time that Stan Marsh and Kenny McCormick have been part of a band together, having previously worked together in season 4's "Something You Can Do With Your Finger and season 7's "Christian Rock Hard".
• This is the first time Stan is seen wearing his original jacket since season 22's "The Problem With a Poo", though he is quickly forced to wear his 'Tegridy' shirt again.

Season 23

e1 Mexican Joker

e2 Band in China

e3 Shots!!!

e4 TBA

e5 TBA

e6 TBA

e7 TBA

e8 TBA

e9 TBA

e10 TBA