"Chef Aid" is the fourteenth episode of the
second season of the American animated television series ''
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
''. The 27th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
in the United States on October 7, 1998. The episode was written by series co-creators
Trey Parker
Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. P ...
and
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...
, and directed by Parker. Guest stars in this episode include
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
,
Rancid,
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
,
Ween
Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are ...
,
Primus,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
,
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...
,
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...
, and
DMX.
In the episode, Chef tries to claim that
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...
plagiarized his song "Stinky Britches". However, the record company executive decides to sue him for harassment for this. The executive wins the lawsuit, and Chef has 24 hours to come up with the money or he will face a 4-year prison sentence. Meanwhile, Mr. Garrison witnesses many strange attempts on Mr. Twig's life.
Plot
Chef
A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...
discovers that
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...
's hit song "Stinky Britches" is a song that he wrote many years ago, before abandoning his musical aspirations. He contacts a
record company
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...
executive, seeking only to have his name credited as the composer of "Stinky Britches". The record company refuses, and furthermore, hires
Johnnie Cochran
Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr.Adam Bernstei ''The Washington Post'', March 30, 2005; retrieved April 17, 2006. (; October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer best known for his leadership role in the defense and criminal acquittal ...
, who files a lawsuit against him for harassment. Cochran employs the "
Chewbacca defense
In a jury trial, a Chewbacca defense is a legal strategy in which a criminal defense lawyer tries to confuse the jury rather than refute the case of the prosecutor. It is an intentional distraction or obfuscation.
As a Chewbacca defense distra ...
", resulting in a win for the record company and damages to be paid by the defense. Chef now has 24 hours to come up with the money or face four years of incarceration. Chef makes money by becoming a
prostitute
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
; instead of paying the executive, he intends to hire Cochran so ''he'' can sue the record company. Unfortunately, Chef's money is seized and he is sent to jail the next day.
Meanwhile,
Mr. Garrison
Herbert Garrison, formerly known as Janet Garrison, Ethan F Garrison, and the President, is a fictional character and occasional antagonist on the American animated television series '' South Park''. The character is voiced by cocreator Trey ...
witnesses many strange attempts on Mr. Twig's life; he finds him boiling in a pot of water, and later snapped in half. The evidence begins to point to Mr. Hat as the culprit, culminating in a showdown between Mr. Garrison and Mr. Hat which lands the former in jail. Mr. Hat breaks Mr. Garrison and Chef out of their cell. Mr. Garrison and Mr. Hat eventually make up their differences and get back together.
The boys try to help Chef by rounding up various musicians, whose careers have been boosted by Chef's advice, to hold a
benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...
. The record company executive sabotages the concert, but the outpouring of support for Chef touches Cochran, who agrees to defend Chef. He uses the Chewbacca Defense again (indirectly killing a juror when the defense so overwhelmed them that their head exploded), ending with Chef finally getting his name on the album.
Album release
An album was released based on the episode. It featured 21 songs, some being extended and unaired songs from this episode and previous episodes in the series, others being completely original to the album. Many notable artists from several different genres made
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
s on the album.
Chewbacca defense
The
Chewbacca
Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and firs ...
defense is a fictional legal strategy used in ''Chef Aid''. It is a form of
Red Herring
A red herring is a figurative expression referring to a logical fallacy in which a clue or piece of information is or is intended to be misleading, or distracting from the actual question.
Red herring may also refer to: Animals
* Red herring (fis ...
argument, used to deliberately confuse the
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
. The concept
satirized
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
attorney
Johnnie Cochran
Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr.Adam Bernstei ''The Washington Post'', March 30, 2005; retrieved April 17, 2006. (; October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer best known for his leadership role in the defense and criminal acquittal ...
's
closing argument
A closing argument, summation, or summing up is the concluding statement of each party's counsel reiterating the important arguments for the trier of fact, often the jury, in a court case. A closing argument occurs after the presentation of eviden ...
defending
O. J. Simpson in his
murder trial; he stated to the jury, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit", in reference to an earlier point in the trial when prosecutor
Christopher Darden
Christopher Allen Darden (born April 7, 1956) is an American lawyer, author, actor, and lecturer. He worked for 15 years in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, where he gained national attention as a co-prosecutor in the O. J. S ...
asked Simpson to try on a bloody glove found at the murder scene, and Simpson could not put it on because it did not fit his hand.
Criminologist Dr. Thomas O'Connor says that when DNA evidence shows "inclusion", that is, does not exonerate a client by exclusion from the DNA sample provided, "About the only thing you can do is attack the lab for its
ack ofquality assurance and proficiency testing, or use a 'Chewbacca defense'
..and try to razzle-dazzle the jury about how complex and complicated the other side's evidence or probability estimates are." Forensic scientist Erin Kenneally has argued that court challenges to
digital evidence
In evidence law, digital evidence or electronic evidence is any probative information stored or transmitted in digital form that a party to a court case may use at trial. Before accepting digital evidence a court will determine if the evidence ...
frequently use the Chewbacca defense ''per se'', in that they present multiple alternative explanations of forensic evidence obtained from computers and internet providers to raise the
reasonable doubt
Beyond a reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities standard commonly used in civil cases, becau ...
understood by a jury. Kenneally also presents methods that can be used to rebut a Chewbacca defense. Kenneally and colleague Anjali Swienton have presented this topic before the
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
State Court System and at the 2005
American Academy of Forensic Sciences
The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) is a society for forensic science professionals, and was founded in 1948. The society is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The AAFS is a multi-disciplinary professional organization that p ...
annual meeting.
The term has also seen use in political commentary; in 2007,
Ellis Weiner
Ellis Weiner (born 31 October 1950) is an author and humorist who has previously worked as an editor of '' National Lampoon'' and a columnist for ''Spy Magazine''. His humor has also appeared in ''The New Yorker
'', ''Paris Review'', and ''The New ...
wrote in ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' that
Dinesh D'Souza
Dinesh Joseph D'Souza (; born April 25, 1961) is an Indian-American right-wing political commentator, author, filmmaker, and conspiracy theorist. He has written over a dozen books, several of them ''New York Times'' best-sellers.
In 2012, D' ...
was using the Chewbacca defense in criticism of new
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
, defining it as when "someone asserts his claim by saying something so patently nonsensical that the listener's brain shuts down completely."
Home media
All 18 episodes of the second season, including "Chef Aid", were released on a DVD box set on June 3, 2003.
[Blevins, Tal (June 30, 2003)]
"South Park: The Complete Second Season"
''IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
''. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
References
Further reading
*
External links
"Chef Aid"Full Episode at South Park Studios
*
{{South Park episodes, 2
1998 American television episodes
Cultural depictions of Elton John
Meat Loaf
Cultural depictions of Ozzy Osbourne
Cultural depictions of pop musicians
Cultural depictions of rock musicians
Prostitution in American television
South Park (season 2) episodes
Works about chefs