page_title: Tom's Rhinoplasty
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Tom's Rhinoplasty / Production
caption_attribution_description: Matt Stone and Trey Parker at The Amazing Meeting on January 20, 2007
context_page_description: "Tom's Rhinoplasty" is the eleventh episode of the first season of the American animated television series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on February 11, 1998. In the episode, the South Park Elementary boys become infatuated with the new substitute teacher Ms. Ellen, making Wendy Testaburger highly jealous. Meanwhile, Mr. Garrison gets a nose job that makes him resemble actor David Hasselhoff.
  "Tom's Rhinoplasty" was the first Valentine's Day-themed episode of the series and was written by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode advocates the concept of inner beauty through the Mr. Garrison subplot, and shows the boys' efforts to win Ms. Ellen's affection despite the fact that she is a lesbian.
  Natasha Henstridge makes a guest appearances as Ms. Ellen, marking the first time a celebrity guest played a major role in a South Park episode. She is credited as "The Chick from Species" in the opening credits. The episode marked the first time a real photographic image of a person's head was superimposed over a cartoon body, a practice which would become common throughout the series.
context_section_description: "Tom's Rhinoplasty" was written and directed by South Park co-creator Trey Parker. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on February 11, 1998. It is considered the show's first Valentine's Day episode, since it came out three days before Valentine's Day and involved semi-romantic plot-lines. Natasha Henstridge makes a guest appearance as substitute teacher Ms. Ellen. Following the success of "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo", a large number of celebrities started contacting Comedy Central with the hopes of making guest appearances in South Park episodes, allowing Parker and fellow co-creator Matt Stone to practically take their pick of guest stars. Parker asked for Henstridge solely because he found her attractive in Species, the 1995 science fiction horror film in which she starred. Henstridge was nervous performing the role because she had never conducted a voice over performance before. Henstridge was credited as "The Chick from Species" in the opening credits.
  "Tom's Rhinoplasty" marked the first time a real photographic image of a person's head (in this case David Hasselhoff) was superimposed over a cartoon body, a practice which would become common throughout the series. Parker said the technology was not previously available in the earliest episodes of the series. Comedy Central was required to pay royalties to the photographer of the picture used for Hasselhoff's head, but was not required to pay Hasselhoff himself. "Tom's Rhinoplasty" displayed noticeable differences South Park's animation, which was gradually changing throughout the first season and settling into the defined look the series has maintained throughout the years. One of the exterior scenes in "Tom's Rhinoplasty" featured the first perspective angle of a street, which were previously only shown sideways or straight angles. Additionally, the simulated rain during a scene with Wendy watching Ms. Ellen and Stan from outside a restaurant was far more sophisticated than any such animation in previous episodes.
  Chef sings a song called "No Substitute" to Ms. Ellen in an attempt to woo her. The brief song was later expanded and included in Chef Aid: The South Park Album, a South Park soundtrack released in 1998. "No Substitute" was performed by Isaac Hayes and was written by Parker, Stone and Bruce Howell, a South Park composer and producer. During one montage scene in "Tom's Rhinoplasty", a jealous Wendy recalls memories of her relationship with Stan while a sad song plays in the background. The song is performed by actress Courtney Ford, who appeared as an extra in the 1998 comedy film BASEketball, which starred Parker and Stone. Like Henstridge, Parker asked Ford to appear in the episode because he found her attractive. The Indigo Girls-style song in "Tom's Rhinoplasty" was written and sung by Toddy Walters, who played protagonist Polly Pry in Trey Parker's 1996 film, Cannibal! The Musical. The song is called "I Love Domestic Chores", and was written "as sort of a lesbian anthem".
  During one scene, Wendy tells Stan that she smelled Ms. Ellen taking a "smelly dump" in the bathroom in an attempt to make him less attracted to her. In the original script, Wendy originally told Stan that she had a yeast infection, but Comedy Central censors made Parker and Stone change the line. Parker and Stone said although the network typically provides great leniency in permitting obscene jokes, they often object to lines about female hygiene problems. During a cafeteria scene, a boy visible at a lunch table in the background looks exactly like Craig Tucker, but the color of his hat has been changed to make him appear to be a different character. The idea of Ms. Ellen taking one of the children to dinner came from Parker's real-life experiences. At his school, the children were able to have lunch with the teacher and principal if they were awarded "Student of the Week". Parker said he went on one of the lunches once and found the experience "really, really creepy" because he had the impression the teacher and principal were having a romantic affair.
  Parker
caption: South Park co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote "Tom's Rhinoplasty"
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