Episode 413: Trapper Keeper

• Trapper Keeper (11/15/2000)

• Synopsis: Cartman's new Trapper Keeper threatens to destroy the world, and Mr. Garrison's kindergarten class cannot decide their class president.

• Kenny's death: crushed by Cartman's Trapper Keeper-induced mutations

See the vast differences between the plots? That's what really hurts this episode, a lack of cohesiveness between the two vastly different and unrelated storylines. I know that they're meant to be "A" and "B" storylines, but usually there's some connecting plot thread. The only thing that connects the two is when Cartman's Trapper Keeper eats Rosie O'Donnell, whose nephew is battling Ike for class president, but even that doesn't have an effect on that storyline.

In addition, the class president storyline, a parody of the Bush vs. Gore election, is very dated today. I don't like to use the term "dated," because it's an easy copout for not liking something, but there's no other way to describe it. The episode was produced only 9 days after the election, right in the middle of the Florida controversy, so it was an obvious choice then to do. But one of the consequences of being able to comment on the election (they obviously support Bush, though not very heavily) was that they couldn't wait to see what happened, and a lot of material came out in the months after that supported Gore, like the massive Republican-induced voter fraud against minorities and the right-wing Supreme Court decision that overruled every conservative judicial thought to choose Bush; and that's not even considering the facts that Matt and Trey got wrong, like how Gore was legally entitled to a recount, and did not just ask for one for no reason. (This is not political bias; I lean left, but despise politics in general, which is frightening when you consider that pretty much all my college buddies think that way also.) So, it's hard to look at that storyline now, and not completely dismiss it.

Besides that, the Trapper Keeper storyline isn't great either, though it's a lot better than the other one. I do remember having Trapper Keepers as a schoolboy, and there was a lot of competition between kids over who had the best one. It's a classic "boys being boys" plot, which couldn't go anywhere and thus had to be lengthened into the sci-fi heavy climax. But that also doesn't mesh well with the first act, which is a theme of this episode.

It's just too disjointed and dated to be a good episode. Some parts are good, like the "Bill Cosby" alien in general and Mr. Garrison's diatribe against Rosie:

People like you preach tolerance and open-mindedness all the time, but when it comes to Middle America, you think we're all evil and stupid country yokels who need your political enlightenment!! WELL, JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ON TV DOESN'T MEAN YOU KNOW CRAP ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT!!! NOW GET YOUR ASS BACK ON FIRST CLASS AND RESPECT THIS CLASS'S RIGHT TO MAKE UP THEIR OWN MINDS!!!

So true. But these things don't add up to a good episode.

Rating: C (third tier)