Talk:Up the Down Steroid

message: * The episode came in the aftermath of the BALCO Scandal, where top US athletes and Olympic medalists such as Marion Jones and Barry Bonds tested positive for anabolic steroid THG.
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* This episode is based on an HBO Lifestories: Families in Crisis episode entitled "A Body to Die For: The Aaron Henry Story" starring Ben Affleck as a steroid-abusing high school athlete who ends up beating up his girlfriend.
* During the scenes in which Cartman and Jimmy are training for and also competing in the Special Olympics, a slightly remixed version of the song "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)" (from the 1983 movie Scarface) is playing.
* The trio of American baseball players who present the awards at the end of the Special Olympics are Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds, and Mark McGwire, all of whom have been linked, or allegedly linked, to use of steroids in Major League Baseball. In the scene in which Jimmy confesses his use of steroids, the camera cuts to the baseball players, implying that they used steroids as well. This scene is reminiscent of the scene in "Butters' Very Own Episode" where Mr. Stotch screams about "slimy scumbag liars" and "murdering murderers" while the camera cuts to Gary Condit, O.J. Simpson, and the Ramseys.
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* The scene when Jimmy's father asks Jimmy if he was masturbating is reminiscent of a scene in the American comedy film American Pie, when the father of one of the main characters asks his son, Jim Levenstein, if he was masturbating before he entered the room.
* During Cartman and Jimmy's training montage scenes, Cartman can be seen using a Mac, however the theme of Microsoft Word is from Windows 2000.
* The use of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings in a scene of violence mirrors Platoon and the episode of The Simpsons  "Strong Arms of The Ma."
* In Cartman's room, there's a poster of Mel Gibson in the film Braveheart as seen in the episode The Passion of the Jew.
* During the training montage, Cartman studies the movements of singer Kid Rock. This is not Kid Rock's only connection to South Park, as he was also featured in the soundtrack to South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut.
* Comedy Central accidentally played a voice over promo for Chappelle's Show meant to be used in the end credits in its premiere airing.
Alastairward (talk) 13:56, 15 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Cultural references

message: "putting on a bicycle helmet too tight so his face is badly deformed" I thought it was because some handicapped people wear helmets so that they don't get hurt in case they fall. S.Camus (talk) 17:58, 27 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Definitely true, since he is seen in his normal face while still wearing the helmet. --uKER (talk) 13:59, 4 January 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bicycle helmet 

message: does anyone know what their reaction was to this episode?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zobango (talk • contribs) 00:54, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  special olympics reaction? 

message: Should it be mentioned that, because Jimmy is physically disabled, he would competer in the Paralympics, whereas the Special olympics are for the retarded?Jasper420 14:32, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Special/Paralymipcs 

message: As mentioned above, the episode is clearly based on "A Body to Die For:  The Aaron Henry Story."  See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190277/ .  Should the article mention this?184.77.165.100 (talk) 00:33, 30 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I just watched back-to-back the beat-up scene at the very end of "The Aaron Henry Story", and the scene where Jimmy beats up his girlfriend. I don't know if I'd say it's "clearly" based on that, because some stuff just doesn't line up. In the Aaron Henry Story, the girlfriend threatens to tell, he starts to beat her up, then he punches the wall as she runs out, and there's a long, dramatic scene with him struggling and reaching for more drugs.  In the South Park episode, the girlfriend threatens to break up, Jimmy beats her, AND the mother comes in and he beats her too, after which he runs out of the room for the break-down scene.  The way they seemingly specifically played out the scene in South Park (the girlfriend, the mother, Jimmy running out, zooming out as he's on the floor, etc.) makes it look like they were trying to copy some movie scene-for-scene, like they did in "Cripple Fight" with the movie "They Live".  So I have to wonder if it's not The Aaron Henry Story, but some other steroid abuse drama they're parodying here. WillieBlues (talk) 22:31, 3 July 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  "A Body to Die For"