anal probing). Now genuinely traumatized, Butters accepts that he has been imagining Cartman's visits, but Cartman breaks into the asylum to get his help again. The two consult a psychic, who suggests that God has kept Cartman on Earth to help with a crisis. She runs screaming when Butters points to Cartman as the ghost. When they hear of a hostage situation at a Red Cross Center, Cartman and Butters set off; and Cartman stops the criminals by moving things around in the style of a poltergeist. The robbers are merely befuddled, which nonetheless provides a distraction for Butters to release the hostages and the police to subdue the criminals. The two are credited with saving the day. Cartman and Butters exchange protestations of friendship once again; but the other boys turn up and praise Cartman's heroic behavior, thinking he has truly changed. Cartman now realizes that he was merely being ignored and again goes berserk, blaming Butters for his own misunderstanding and threatening retaliation. Butters's parents arrive with the doctor with the probe, and Butters realizes he is going back to the asylum. Production Trey Parker says on the DVD commentary that he got the main idea for the episode while hiking on vacation in Tasmania, Australia. This is significant because Parker felt it was refreshing to have an idea just come to him rather than having to actively try to come up with ideas with the rest of the writing staff. Parker said he instantly had everything worked out except for what it would be that Cartman did to anger the other boys. It wasn't until late in the production of the episode, when nearly all animation was finished, that the opening scene was finalized. Parker, Matt Stone, and the rest of the writing crew were eating KFC one day when somebody mentioned how annoying it would have been if somebody just ate all the skin off the chicken before they ate it. They decided to go ahead with this idea because it seemed to slot in so perfectly. The series' running gag of Cartman waking up Butters by calling his name out menacingly while standing next to his bed originated in this episode. The episode is included on the two-disc DVD collection The Cult of Cartman. References External links "The Death of Eric Cartman" Full episode at South Park Studios South Park (season 9) episodes