If you asked 100 South Park fans to name their favorite episodes, a majority would have “Make Love, Not Warcraft” in the top-10. It’s a loving tribute to the addictive role-playing game, and a damning satire of the people who get obsessed with it (most of whom don’t look like Ronda Rousey).
The classic episode also nearly killed the show.
SBS 2 presenter Marc Fennell got the rare opportunity to speak to creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker in South Park Studios, where the ginger-kicking magic happens. Think of it as a condensed 6 Days to Air, with mostly Parker discussing the process behind making every episode, The Book of Mormon, and the time he and Stone dropped acid at the Oscars (“it seemed like a really good idea at the time”). It’s territory that’s mostly been covered before (still interesting!), with one exception: Parker’s near-breakdown over “Warcraft.”
“Every Tuesday, Matt and [Anne Garefino] know they have to talk me off a cliff. Every show, I’m like, this is a horrible show, I don’t want anyone to see it. There’s one episode we did, it was the first show of the season, and I’m like, I’ve lost it. I don’t know how to do this anymore. I was like, please, begging Anne, do not let this go on the air, because I don’t want the South Park legacy to be ruined, and this show is going to ruin it, because it’s so bad and I’m just going to feel terrible… I just went home and was depressed and couldn’t sleep, and I got in the next day and they’re like, dude, people really like that show. And it was the show about World of Warcraft.”
Don’t worry, Trey, you didn’t sh*t the pan, figuratively or literally.
