Starvin' Marvin in Space
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"Starvin' Marvin in Space" is the thirteenth episode and the 11th produced episode of the third season of the animated television series '' South Park'' and the 44th 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 programmin ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
on November 17, 1999. Like the episode " Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics", the episode is dedicated to
Mary Kay Bergman Mary Kay Bergman (June 5, 1961 – November 11, 1999), also credited as Shannen Cassidy, was an American voice actress and voice-over teacher. She was the lead female voice actress on '' South Park'' from the show's 1997 debut until her death. Th ...
, who lent her voice to nearly all of South Park's female characters. This was the last show to use dialogue by Bergman, who committed suicide shortly after production was completed.


Plot

An alien lands on Earth to make first contact in the
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n desert. Not realizing it is facing lions, it is killed and devoured. Its ship is discovered by the people from Starvin' Marvin's village. The village is occupied by Christian missionaries led by Sister Hollis (voiced by Michael Ann Young), who attempt to convert the community by assuring them that their faith in Christianity will get them food, prompting Marvin to board the ship in search of a place free of missionaries to relocate his people. Meanwhile, two agents with the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA), having found out about this spaceship and wanting it for themselves, track down the boys and torture them by making scraping noises on a balloon until Cartman suddenly cannot take it anymore and tells them where Starvin' Marvin might have taken it. The two government agents then recruit
Sally Struthers Sally Anne Struthers (born July 28, 1947) is an American actress and activist. She played Gloria Stivic, the daughter of Archie and Edith Bunker (played by Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton) on ''All in the Family'', for which she won two Emm ...
, whose character is depicted as looking similar to
Jabba the Hutt Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a one-ton puppet po ...
. She is the leader of an
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
n food drive that is nothing more than a front for her to get all the food she wants. They offer her Chocolate Yum Yum bars in exchange. Marvin and the boys team up, and by accidentally pressing a button, they fly via a wormhole to the home planet of the ship's owner: the planet Marklar, whose inhabitants speak a language that is identical to English except for the fact that every noun is replaced with the word "Marklar". The benevolent Marklar agree to allow the Ethiopians to live on their planet. Back on Earth, the boys try to round up the Ethiopians, but the government agents seize the spaceship. The boys are able to take back the spaceship, letting Marvin load his people on while the boys distract the government agents, pretending to be
Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
. The agents are easily able to see through the disguise. Despite this, they are distracted long enough to load the ship, but Kenny is lost and seized by the government agents when the boys try to make a break for it. The boys try to make it to Marklar, but they are confronted by the missionaries, who have built their own ship and are trying to force Christianity to Marklar. During this time, while broadcasting his show '' The 600 Club'' on the Christian Broadcasting Channel,
Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...
is shown attempting to raise funds for various absurd weapons and upgrades to aid the missionaries while in space. A space battle ensues, before the boys have to face the government agents. The agents have had
Kenny Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith" ...
frozen in carbonite and given to Struthers so she can support them. Cartman convinces Struthers that she has influenced the boys that they need to help people more. This touches Struthers, so she lets the boys go and captures the missionary ship instead. Then, the wormhole is opened again, and all ships are taken to Marklar. When they arrive on Marklar, the aliens are very confused by the humans' attempts to explain their motives. Kyle explains the situation in the aliens' own language, and the Marklar are moved. They banish the missionaries and let the Ethiopians stay. The boys promise to visit again (with Cartman sarcastically adding "Yeah, and maybe Jesse Jackson will be
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
!"). Struthers then takes the boys back to Earth.


Production

The depiction of
Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...
and
The 700 Club ''The 700 Club'' is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, co ...
is used as an example of South Park episodes that lampoon the religious right. This is the first time that South Park did a cold open with no credits. On the DVD commentary, Parker and Stone refer to this as the first episode of ''Starvin' Marvin in Space'' instead of a ''South Park'' episode.


References


External links


"Starvin' Marvin in Space"
Full episode at South Park Studios * {{DEFAULTSORT:Starvin' Marvin In Space 1999 American television episodes Ethiopia in fiction South Park (season 3) episodes