Sexual Harassment Panda (Episode)
Sexual Harassment Panda
| Season | s03 |
| Episode | e06 |
| Written By | Trey Parker |
| Production Code | 0306 |
| Original Air Date | 1999-07-07 |
Episode Chronology
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Story
A giant panda mascot educates the children on sexual harassment. Cartman sues Stan for sexual harassment, which eventually leads to everyone in South Park suing each other.
Description
A costumed mascot called Petey the Sexual Harassment Panda visits Mr. Garrison's class to teach the kids about sexual harassment. However, the kids misunderstand the issue. When Stan calls Cartman an "ass sucker", Cartman sues him for sexual harassment and wins half his belongings. Kyle's dad Gerald, who serves as Cartman's attorney, then sues the school system for millions. Gerald quickly makes a fortune representing both kids and adults in hundreds of similar court cases. He uses his new riches to turn his house into a mansion. Soon he's the most hated and most feared person in town.
The school system, impoverished by the huge payouts, is forced to fire Sexual Harassment Panda. Unable to find other work (and apparently suffering from the delusion that he really is a panda), he winds up on the Island of Misfit Mascots, a sort of rest home/insane asylum for unwanted costumed characters. The boys seek him out and convince him to help battle the wave of lawsuits, particularly a massive case called Everyone vs. Everyone with Kyle's dad representing literally everyone.
The mascot, who now calls himself Petey the Don't Sue People Panda, appears at the trial and advises everyone to stop suing each other because it damages society. The people agree that such lawsuits are frivolous, then angrily turn on Gerald and threaten to sue him. Not surprisingly, he instantly agrees that being overly litigious is bad and drops all the sexual harassment lawsuits.
What I Learned Today
"When you sue somebody it hurts everyone. You sue for money, but where do you think that money comes from? From the schools, from taxes, from the state. From you. There's no such thing as free money. When you sue somebody, you take money away from parks and schools and charities and put it in your own pocket. And that makes me a sad panda."
Memorable Quotes
- "That makes me a saaaaad panda." (Sexual Harassment Panda)
- "I'm telling you guys, suing people kicks ass." (Eric Cartman)
- "How would you like a big panda punch in your puss?" (Sexual Harassment Panda)
- "Does anyone know what sexual harassment means?" (Mr. Garrison)
- "Say HI to Sexual Harassment Panda!!" (Mr. Garrison)
- "When you're trying to have intercourse with a lady friend, and some other guy comes up and tickles your balls from behind?" (Eric Cartman)
- "This is freaking me out dude." (Kyle Broflovski)
- "You would think that, you little ass sucker." (Stan Marsh)
- "Lumpy potatoes! Oh, nooo!!" (Eric Cartman)
- "Hey! Panda Bear!! We don't take kindly to your types in here!" (Skeeter)
Characters
Character Debuts
Skeeter, an orange-haired redneck, and a couple of his drinking buddies first speak in this episode. Skeeter eventually becomes the owner of South Park's local bar, later named Skeeter's Bar and Cocktails. He is featured in later episodes as a vocal supporter of conservative views like in "Free Hat" and "I'm a Little Bit Country".
A bunch of awesome mascots with really long names are introduced, such as Petey the Sexual Harassment Panda; Willy the "Don't Stare Directly Into The Sun" Worm; Oinky the "Run Around With Scissors" Pig; Hoppy the "Don't Do Stuff That Might Irritate Your Inner Ear" Badger; and Jimmy the "Don't Hold Onto A Large Magnet While Someone Else Uses A Fan Nearby" Falcon.
We also see Judge Julie, the Judge that oversees the sexual harassment cases, and Kevin McCarty the newscaster. He is seen again in "Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub" as Derek Smalls.
Body Count
Kenny, slain sort-of-inadvertently by Jimmy the "Don't Hold Onto A Large Magnet While Someone Else Uses A Fan Nearby" Falcon. Jimmy demonstrates the dangers by handing Kenny a large magnet and then switching on an enormous fan. Kenny is promptly pulled into the blades and chopped to pieces.
Locations
Original Songs
Petey the Panda sings his very informative theme song, "Sexual Harassment Panda".
Behind The Scenes
This episode was the first to air after the release of the theatrical film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Before this episode was produced, Trey and Matt had been working nonstop on the movie and new South Park episodes. They were so exhausted at the time that they have no recollection of making this episode.
Where Did The Idea Come From
The episode is a satire on the numerous high-profile, widely publicized sexual harassment cases during the late 1990's. Changes to sexual harassment law by the Democratic Party led to many charges of potentially frivolous lawsuits, due to the vagueness of the law. A significant case was former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones's sexual harassment lawsuit against then President Bill Clinton.
Pop Culture References
Shout Outs
The Island of Misfit Mascots refers to the Island of Misfit Toys from the animated Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Sexual Harassment Panda sometimes goes to the length of replacing regular nouns with the word "panda", much like the Smurfs replace both nouns and verbs with the word "Smurf". Smurfs are blue humanoids from the Belgian comic franchise The Smurfs.
The judge presiding over the lawsuits is named Judge Julie, a parody of Judge Judy Sheindlin who hosts the long-running reality court show Judge Judy. She has been often criticized for her abrasive behavior when dealing with some of the people standing before her court.
The bartender's request to not cause any trouble in his bar is a common cliché from films and television originating from many westerns such as the 1956 film The Proud Ones.
Bonus Factoids
Pointless Observations
- On the Island of Misfit Mascots, there's a brief scene of a whale mascot with the words "Use Lambskin Condoms" on it. He's playing badminton.
- Principal Victoria on the witness stand admits to committing a pretty gruesome murder. Luckily, the question was about sexual harassment so no one cared.
- During the court case between Cartman and Stan, a light skinned version of Tolkien can be seen in the background.
- In the commercial for Gerald's legal representation, we learn that he got Bebe $1.6 million and Clyde $1.4 million. Later in the courtroom, Pip gets $1.6 million, Craig gets $2.1 million, and Mr. Mackey gets $2 million.
- A picture of the stuffed frog from "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka" can be seen in Mr. Garrison's classroom.
Season 3
- e1 Rainforest Shmainforest
- e2 Spontaneous Combustion
- e3 The Succubus
- e4 Tweek Vs. Craig
- e5 Jakovasaurs
- e6 Sexual Harassment Panda
- e7 Cat Orgy
- e8 Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub
- e9 Jewbilee
- e10 Chinpokomon
- e11 Starvin' Marvin in Space
- e12 Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery
- e13 Hooked on Monkey Fonics
- e14 The Red Badge of Gayness
- e15 Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics
- e16 Are You There, God? It's Me, Jesus
- e17 World Wide Recorder Concert