Smug Alert!

Season 10, Episode 2, Aired
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Episode Summary

Stan is the driving force who gets the citizens of South Park to all buy hybrid cars. Just as everyone starts to feel really good about what they’re doing to help save the earth, a stormy dark mass has started accumulating over the town.
8.7
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EPISODE RATING: Great
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Cast & Crew

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  • Mona Marshall

    Voice of Sheila Broflovski; Linda Stotch; Various Others [ episode 50+ ]

  •

    Trey Parker

    Voice of Stan Marsh; Eric Theodore Cartman; Herbert Garrison; Officer Barbrady; Terrance; Timmy; Ned Gerblanski; Satan; Randy Ma

  •

    Matt Stone

    Voice of Kyle Broflovski; Kenny McKormick; Gerald Broflovski; Pip Pirrup; Jesus; Jimbo Kearn; Phillip; Saddam; Various Others

Fan Episode Reviews (34)

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  • 141st Episode

    8.2
    "Great"
    By jimbo_001, Nov 28, 2011 Report Abuse
    This episode is an entertaining one but quite absurd, which is to be expected from South Park. The plot of smug becoming not only a new environmental worry but a natural/man made disaster is someting that only SP could really pull off and the sub plot of Gerald getting sucked into the smug and the Broflovski's leaving South Park was also very well written, especially the ending with Cartman still wanting a Jew to rip on.

    The humour in the episode wasn't incredibly consistent but the fact that people who were helping the environment had to brag and be smug about it, thus producing smug smog is great irony even if smug smog is made up.

    Overall, this episode is a great SP episode but not one of the funniest ever.moreless

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    2 0

  • Good For YOU! This is why South Park is funnier than most shows these days.

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By SuperHiro77, Nov 28, 2011 Report Abuse
    This was another way that Matt and Trey make fun of Global Warming. I think this episode was great, one of the best actually. I enjoyed watching Cartman throwing a going away party for Kyle without him being there. Classic Cartman going to San Francisco to save Kyle from the Smug. Ike was funny too as always. Stan's song was hilarious, I always find South Parks songs to be funnier that the ones on the other shows. If the rest of South Parks episodes were as good as this than I wouldn't be able to complain. This season should do fine and at this point I'm not worried about having a future without South Park.moreless

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    2 1

  • A smug cloud develops over South Park after its residents begin driving hybrid cars. The cloud combines with the one over San Francisco, resulting in a perfect storm of self-satisfaction.

    5.5
    "Mediocre"
    By gpph, Nov 28, 2011 Report Abuse
    I thought this was a pretty poor episode of South Park. For one thing, its message contradicted that of their earlier global warming episode, Season 9's "Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow." That episode ridiculed environmentalists obsessed with global warming, arguing that there's little evidence to support the existence of global warming. It reminded me of George Carlin's point that humans are arrogant to think that they can affect the earth, which has been around for millennia and been bombarded by cosmic rays and whatnot. Anyway, the message of THIS episode was that hybrid cars may "save" the earth, but that people should be less smug about driving them. Also, that point is completely obvious to begin with, and I feel like most people who drive hybrid cars just do it to help the earth, not to feel good about themselves. The idea that all people concerned with the ecology are smug isn't cynical, it's just dumb.

    That said, parts of this episode were very funny. I liked Ike directing the conversation with Gerald, especially when he said the word "alienated." The whole part with Cartman going into San Francisco to rescue Kyle was hilarious. Every once in a while South Park has a story with real emotion, and those make for the best episodes. Cartman's dependency on Kyle, which is developed throughout the series, is one such story. Very often South Park has great messages, and it's one of the only shows on TV that can respond to events right after they happen. But man, some of their messages are lame and unthoughtful. So all in all, this was a bogus episode.moreless

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  • Kyle's Dad has bought a Hybrid, and showing it off and preaching to the locals about how it is saving the Earth, causes the family to become outcasts and leave for San Francisco, in this slightly unfocused tale of two halves.moreless

    7.9
    "Good"
    By Jay-Spacedust, Sep 18, 2007 Report Abuse
    I'm not sure where to start on this episode. Not bottom of the barrel, but not outstanding either. It kind of strikes me as "what topic can we put a spin on next?", and the result is not all that focused.
    Global-friendly cars are probably a good target, but it's like they weren't on the pulse quite as much as some of their other satirical takes. Very "okay, we've got the topic... now what to do with it?". "People who drive Hybrids are smug. Let's make a cloud of smugness; oh, and have them smell their own farts", O...kay.

    Suddenly, in the latter stages of the episode, it abruptly becomes a Cartman episode, where, with Butter's help, he makes his way into the depths of San Francisco to bring out Kyle and his family, who he misses now that he has no-one to pick on. I think I would have liked this episode better if this theme had been introduced earlier, but as it is, it feels like an abrupt shift.

    After the horrible start to the season ('The Return of Chef'), this is just a slightly uneven and very average episode. The season still needs something to really kick it into life at this stage.moreless

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  • An OK Episode

    7.0
    "Good"
    By MrBond5000, Mar 01, 2007 Report Abuse
    In this one all about Hybrid cars. Kyle's dad buys a Hybrid car and everyone is annoyed by him. He writes a bunch of fake tickets,pretty funny actually. Then Kyle moves away to San Francisco where all drive a Hybrid car. Also Stan makes everyone start drving Hybrids just to get Kyle back. Which creates smug and is to destroy San Francisco. Its funny cause Cartman puts on a whole suit to protect him. He only goes to get Kyle cause he misses yelling at him. Also like how the Ranger kept bugging Stan and his gay little song. In the end,Kyle got back and people stopped drving Hybrids.
    I actaully think was a good epsiode of all the season ten episodes. It was funny and different.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • Its amazing that with all the people driving around with their eyes closed and talking to other drivers, there were no accidents. Edit
    • When the smug comes out in town, the citizens run the same, like they did in the episode "Two Days before the Day After Tomorrow." Edit
    • Once again, Cartman's hatred for Hippies is referred to and he cites San Francisco as the birthplace of the Hippie Movement (so much so he requires a bio-suit just to enter it). Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Kenny didn't appear in this episode. Edit
    • For the first 2 episodes of this season, the show won the 2006 Peabody Award. Edit
    • The idea of everyone driving Hybrid cars was also used in Matt and Trey's movie, "Team America: World Police". It was mentioned during both of Alec Baldwin's speeches. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Cartman: I swore I would never set foot in San Francisco. God help me. Edit
    • Keenan: Kid, thanks to your gay little song, there's not gonna be a San Francisco. Edit
    • Cartman: (Singing) Nah nah nah! Hey hey hey. Goodbye Kyle! Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Ben and Jerry's: "Jen and Barry's" is an obvious parody of the famous ice cream shop "Ben and Jerry's". Edit
    • Smog: Smug is an allusion to smog, a cloudlike mass of dirty dust that forms near factories. Edit
    • Religion: The make of the hybrid car is "Pious" which seems to indicate that the sanctimonious (smug) behavior of the hybrid owners is simply a metaphor for those who believe that they are a cut above others because of their religious beliefs. The commentary for this episode does not indicate this, however, as both Trey and Matt state that the episode is about people who drive hybrid cars and support other progressive causes in order to show off. Edit

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